History

The Wisconsin Institute for Discovery (WID) was first proposed by Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle in 2004 as part of a new UW–Madison research enterprise. WID would be housed along with the private, not-for-profit Morgridge Institute for Research (MIR) in the heart of the UW–Madison campus. Together, the institutes were envisioned as strengthening the state’s position in science and technology, and stimulating the economy.

In 2006, UW–Madison alumni John and Tashia Morgridge pledged $50 million toward construction of the institutes. That contribution, the largest individual gift in the university’s history, was subsequently matched by a $50 million donation from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation and a $50 million commitment from the state of Wisconsin. Ground was broken for the new facility in 2008.

In August of 2006, Marsha Mailick Seltzer, director of the UW–Madison Waisman Center, was named the first WID interim director.

The scientific program and vision for WID — to promote human health and welfare by facilitating interdisciplinary research spanning biotechnology, nanotechnology and information technology — has been developed by a broad-based program committee of UW–Madison faculty and staff. In October of 2007, after a yearlong process of planning and consultation, WID was formally established as an academic unit of the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

In August of 2008, a theme competition seeking proposals from UW–Madison faculty was launched as a critical first step toward developing the interdisciplinary programs of research that will provide the intellectual foundation of WID. By September of 2009, five themes will be selected through the competition and faculty who are the authors of successful theme proposals will occupy the new WID facility by the end of 2010.

On November 1, 2008, former UW–Madison Chancellor John D. Wiley succeeded Seltzer as WID interim director.