If she weren’t working at Promega, Evie Zadzilka probably would’ve spent the summer after high school graduation taking summer classes before reporting to her freshman year at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She runs a small art business, and she might’ve spent more time taking commissions.

Instead, Evie spent the summer before college as an intern in Promega R&D, honing her pipetting skills as she learns about primer design and contributing to the development of a new Promega assay.

“I’ve had a great time,” she says. “I’ll definitely take a lot with me from this experience. I’m so glad I got to do it.”

Evie and her fellow intern Tess Clark were the two high school-aged interns placed at Promega through a relationship with a Madison-based nonprofit called Maydm. This organization helps girls and youth of color in grades 6-12 prepare for careers in STEM by providing educational opportunities and experiences. Through school and summer programs, they strive to disrupt systemic barriers by empowering students like Evie to pursue their dreams as entrepreneurs, developers, engineers and more.

“This will really boost my confidence when I get into lab work next year,” Evie says.

High School Internships at Promega

During their senior year of high school, Tess and Evie were both enrolled in dual-credit courses through Madison College. These classes made them eligible to apply for a high school internship through Maydm.

“I’ve been interested in research for a very long time,” says Tess, another recent school graduate preparing to enter the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “I’m going to major in physics next year, and I don’t have many ties to the biotechnology or chemistry I’ve worked with at Promega. But I wanted hands-on lab experience, so that’s how I ended up here.”

Continue reading “High School Interns Get Hands-On Experience in Promega R&D”

Earlier this summer, Promega Madison welcomed three rising researchers from Europe for an immersive experience on the company’s main campus. Alexandre Lalande (PhD student, International Center for Infectiology Research, France), Margaux Cochard (Post-Doc, University of the Littoral Opal Coast, France) and Emmanuel Heilman (Post-Doc, Medical University of Innsbruck) were selected as Young Researcher Award winners by Promega France and Promega Germany. Their prize trip to the United States included tours of Promega facilities, conversations with Promega leaders and research scientists and hands-on training with emerging technologies.

“It’s really interesting to see how Promega manages to find harmony between the science, the people and the business,” Alexandre says. “When you arrive here you immediately feel comfortable.”

Meeting Industry Scientists

Alexandre says that he has always imagined himself working in academia doing basic research, but he never totally ruled out opportunities in industry.

Continue reading “A Peek Behind the Scenes: Young Researchers Visit Promega Madison”

Names are part of something called “arbitrary communication”, wherein a sound represents an idea without imitating it. Where we have so far seen names used in nature, they are typically imitative—for instance, bottlenose dolphins and parrots mimic an individual’s signature call to get their attention. However, this differs from how humans refer to each other using an arbitrary or random sound chosen to represent an individual. The use of arbitrary language is a mark of linguistic complexity that moves beyond the limitations of imitative speech and expands expressive power into the potential exchange of intricate ideas, abstract concepts and symbolic thought.

Continue reading “Elephants May Call Each Other By Name”

In March 2024, Promega celebrated a significant milestone by completing extensive renovations to Kepler Center, the primary distribution warehouse located at Promega Madison. This massive expansion has increased the facility’s total area to an astounding 320,000 square feet (29,822 square meters).

So, what does this mean for you?

When you place an order from Promega, you can be confident your products will arrive on time. With customers in more than 120 countries, we have built a global logistics network that ensures quality and reliability from the warehouse to your lab. This expansion of Kepler Center enhances our ability to ensure prompt shipping, reaffirming our commitment to timely deliveries.

Delivering Products When You Need Them

Promega Madison ships directly to 40 countries. We maintain close relationships with domestic carriers and international freight forwarders to make sure packages are transported safely and efficiently. Some of these shipments go directly to customer labs, while others will stock distribution facilities around the world.

Promega has additional logistics warehouses strategically located around the world. These warehouses have much of the same capabilities as Kepler Center, such as a range of storage temperature capabilities including ambient, +4°C, -20°C, -70°C and liquid nitrogen cryogenic storage.

Our logistics teams around the world maintain local inventory and oversee the final delivery of orders. We share common processes around the world to ensure quality and continuity throughout the supply chain. These teams also work with our network of distributors to supply products to specific regions.

Our largest logistics facility outside the United States is the EuroHub, located in Walldorf, Germany. This 3,200 square foot (300 square meter) facility acts as a fulfillment agent, managing the entire logistics process to supply customers of every European branch. In 2023, almost 83,000 parcels were dispatched through the EuroHub.

Continue reading “Logistics Built to Deliver: Kepler Center and Beyond”

Katelyn Geleynse presses the button and the machine groans to life. The massive metal plates shift until a half-ton of compressed plastic tumbles out onto the waiting pallet. The crowd cheers. Permanent markers are passed around and everyone takes turns signing the massive block.  

It’s February 16, 2024, and the members of the Promega Sustainability Committee are gathered to witness the first bale of plastic film being ejected from the Madison campus’s new baler. It’s only the first bale, but it represents a major step in the company’s efforts to reduce plastic waste.

“All of this would have gone to the landfill if we hadn’t set up this program,” Katelyn says. “It feels good to know that at least some of my waste is getting a second life.”

Plastic film is notoriously difficult to recycle and takes decades to break down in a landfill. The Promega initiative to divert this waste was started by a small group of employees who noticed a problem and worked for over a year to build a sustainable solution. What began as a small volunteer operation grew to spur capital investment in a process that will rescue around 35,000 pounds of plastic per year.

Continue reading “Employee-Led Program Reduces Landfill Waste by Rescuing Plastic Film”