Experts Say Cold Is Unlikely To Cause Power Crisis In Wisconsin, But There Are Still Lessons From Texas
More than half a million Americans from Oregon to Virginia dealt with power outages Thursday as winter storms continued in parts of the country. Earlier this week, Texas was hit particularly hard. Frigid temperatures caused …
February 25, 2021New solvent-based recycling process could cut down on millions of tons of plastic waste
Multilayer plastic materials are ubiquitous in food and medical supply packaging, particularly since the specific properties of layered polymers can keep moisture from fouling sterile syringes or light and oxygen from making potato chips stale. …
November 20, 20202020 WARF INNOVATION AWARD FINALISTS
Bridging Biology and Electronics for “Hybrid” Biosensing | Watch Video Bhuvana Krishnaswamy (Electrical & Computer Engineering) Megan McClean (Biomedical Engineering) High-Energy Plasma Generator for Medical Isotope Production, Nuclear Waste Disposal & Power Generation | Watch Video Cary …
November 20, 2020Gross wins best-of-the-best paper award at IEEE Power & Energy Society General Meeting
A paper co-authored by UW-Madison Electrical and Computer Engineering Assistant Professor Dominic Gross received a best paper award at the virtual IEEE Power & Energy Society General Meeting held in August 2020. Of the 1,200 conference papers submitted, 66 …
October 27, 2020$11.5M army funding supports aircraft hybrid-electric engine research at UW-Madison
University of Wisconsin-Madison engineers are leading an extensive research effort that aims to enable innovative propulsion technologies for future U.S. Army air and ground vehicles. With an $11.5 million cooperative agreement from the U.S. Army …
September 29, 2020Small changes, big impact
“How do you convince people there’s a big idea?” According to Zhenqiang “Jack” Ma, the Lynn H. Matthias Professor and Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor in electrical and computer engineering, questions like these are fundamental to …
August 28, 2020New 3D-printed artery can monitor blockages from the inside
When surgeons replace part of a blood vessel — something they do in 450,000 patients per year in the United States to treat blood clots, coronary disease, stroke damage and more — the grafted vessel …
July 28, 2020Bringing Research to the Grid: Overcoming Renewable Energy Challenges
As energy demands continue to grow, clean and sustainable energy sources become forefront in global efforts to reach ‘net zero’ carbon emissions by 2050 [1]. While these standards may seem lofty, researchers across disciplines at …
June 24, 2020Andrea Hicks Earns 2020 Distinguished Teaching Award
The Distinguished Teaching Awards recognize the university’s finest educators. This year, thirteen faculty members were chosen to receive this honor. Among those is Grainger Institute for Engineering Faculty Scholar, Andrea Hicks. Andrea is an Assistant …
January 24, 2020Focus on new faculty: Lianyi Chen, taking metal additive manufacturing to the next level
When it comes to producing metal parts with very complex geometries, additive manufacturing (also known as 3D printing) beats conventional manufacturing methodshands down. And additive manufacturing offers the potential to create metallic parts with desirable …
November 26, 2019Bu Wang Earns 2019 Faculty Scholar Award
Atmospheric CO2 has reached its highest point in three million years and doesn’t look to be slowing down. This is a major cause of concern and the public is desperate for resolutions. Engineers like Bu …
October 25, 2019Electric tech could help reverse baldness
Xudong Wang, GIE Lead for Energy and Sustainability, leverages his wearable energy-harvesting technology for reversing hair loss. The small nanogenerators have a variety of exciting applications.
September 13, 2019Modern medicine: Electrical bandage zaps wounds
We have electric cars, razors and now an electric bandage? Researchers at the University of Wisconsin have developed an electrode-dressed bandage to help the body heal itself. Electrical currents are created when the body moves. …
September 12, 2019From the big red to the big apple: Line Roald lights the way toward reliable renewable power
Blackouts can trigger additional chaos—for example, in both New York and Madison, people were trapped in elevators for hours and traffic lights went dark across each city. That’s one reason Line Roald, GIE Fellow and Assistant …
September 6, 2019Min earns NSF CAREER Award: Cutting ceramics loose from their difficult reputation
GIE Fellow, Sangkee Min was awarded a prestigious NSF CAREER grant for his work investigating properties of ceramics. Min’s research will help expand ceramic applications to new fields like biomedical, manufacturing, and even smartphones!
August 7, 2019UW Madison Researchers Win Presidential Award
Four promising young University of Wisconsin–Madison researchers have been named winners of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, including GIE’s lead of energy and sustainability research efforts, Xudong Wang. Xudong’s groundbreaking work …
July 18, 2019Thoma Presents at Vail Symposium
GIE Director, Dan Thoma’s enthusiasm for technological advances in manufacturing and his optimism about the future were infectious during his presentation at Colorado Mountain College. Read about Dan’s presentation and learn more about the Vail …
June 20, 2019Not so defective, after all: Demystifying advanced quantum materials
Recently, buzz has been building about a newly discovered variety of quantum emitters consisting of two-dimensional materials (think flat sheets only as thick as a single molecule, similar to graphene). But there’s a hitch: No …
June 7, 2019GIE Collaborators Win UW2020 Awards
Congratulations to our colleagues and collaborators on their UW2020 awards! Check out this year’s winners. Developing the Next Generation of Quantum Emitters in 2D Materials Jason Kawasaki, Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering From …
May 9, 2019Hands-on learning in the Rockwell Automation lab
Not many undergraduates have the chance to get their hands on top-of-the-line industrial control equipment. But in late-spring 2019, University of Wisconsin-Madison engineering juniors and seniors in the class Computer Control of Machines and Processes (ME …
May 2, 2019Learning by doing: Undergrad embraces innovation in nuclear
Fast-moving startups are shaking up the nuclear industry with new energy and ideas, and their innovations are inspiring the next generation of nuclear leaders to embrace an entrepreneurial mindset. “Startups are a very new development …
April 5, 2019Min aims to advance understanding of ceramics with NSF CAREER award
This Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program research will create a fundamental understanding of ceramic material removal during nanoscale machining. Congratulations, Sangkee Min! Read about the award here.
February 1, 2019LISTEN: WPR Covers Negative Emissions with Grainger Fellow Greeshma Gadikota
Researchers are working on new technologies that can remove carbon from the atmosphere, but are they viable? Listen to Greeshma Gadikota and Gregory Nemet as they are interviewed on Wisconsin Public Radio. Find the full …
January 28, 2019Accelerating materials development to advance clean energy production
A group of University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers has received a $1.8 million grant to develop new materials for multiple uses, including the ability to withstand the corrosive environment within a molten salt nuclear reactor. The …
January 10, 2019Constructing More Sustainable Concrete
Concrete is the most produced material and the world?—?it is also one of the most damaging for the environment. Bu Wang and researchers at CO2NCRETE are looking to change that. Read the full article and …
January 7, 2019The Next Dimension
Remember when Captain Picard commanded the replicator on the Enterprise to make a cup of Earl Grey tea?“Well, we can’t make the tea, but we can [print] the cup,” Thoma says. The concept is simple enough, Thoma says. Conventional …
December 19, 2018DOE PROJECT ON HYBRID HYDRAULIC-ELECTRIC ARCHITECTURE FOR MOBILE MACHINES
The hydraulic systems used in today’s off-road vehicles (think construction and farm equipment) are only 20% efficient. The Severson Group is part of a multi-institution team that has received funding from the United States Department …
December 10, 2018THOMA NAMED MINERALS, METALS & MATERIALS SOCIETY FELLOW
In recognition of his outstanding contributions to the practices of metallurgy and materials science and technology, the Minerals, Metals & Materials Society honored Dan Thoma, a professor of materials science and engineering and director of …
October 29, 2018Automatic, and Anything but Ordinary: Partnership with Rockwell Prepares Engineers to Excel
Thanks to a partnership with industrial automation giant Rockwell Automation, engineering students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison can get their hands on today’s most advanced industrial manufacturing technologies. That’s one reason the Rockwell Automation Industrial …
October 16, 2018Breaking the Nuclear Box: What Frank Lloyd Wright Can Teach Us About Engaging the Community to Successfully Deploy Advanced Nuclear Technologies
As the nuclear energy industry vies for its place in the clean energy industry, it has plenty to learn from Frank Lloyd Wright. The basic tenet of Wright’s work was that architecture should change to …
September 19, 2018Focus on New Faculty: Line Roald is Reshaping the Power Grid for a Renewable Energy Future
The energy infrastructure that powers our world was largely built to transmit electricity from traditional sources like coal-fired or nuclear power plants. As more and more electricity comes from renewable sources like solar and wind, …
September 13, 2018Grainger Fellow to Represent UW on Multidisciplinary Research Effort
Greeshma Gadikota, faculty fellow of the Grainger Institute for Engineering and assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, will be representing the UW-Madison College of Engineering on a new multidisciplinary, multi-institute collaboration led by the …
September 11, 2018UW-Madison and Argonne partner on advanced manufacturing technologies and entrepreneurship
Through its Grainger Institute for Engineering, the University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Engineering and Argonne National Laboratory are partnering on ways to accelerate technology development that fuels growth in the $1.2 trillion manufacturing sector, while …
August 8, 2018LISTEN: WTMJ covers 3D Printing with Dan Thoma
How do 3D printers really work? How accessible are they to the average person? Listen to Dr. Dan Thoma as he is interviewed on WTMJ and answers these questions.
August 2, 2018Adrien Couet Investigates Materials for Making Nuclear Energy Cleaner and Safer
It’s safe to say that the world would be lost, both figuratively and literally, without electricity. About 11% of the world’s electricity is currently generated by nuclear energy. But for this energy to continue to …
July 1, 2018Shiva Rudraraju Explores Materials to Make Metal 3D Printing a Reality in Manufacturing
In the global economy, manufacturing is a central pillar that drives innovation and competition. It’s a fast-growing sector and a vital source of opportunity, which has only increased since metal additive manufacturing, or 3D printing, …
July 1, 20183D Printed Bucky Badger!
June 4, 2018Focus on new faculty: Bu Wang, studying materials for a safer, more sustainable world
Bu Wang has always been drawn to engineering. Whether it was building model planes as a child or roasting his own coffee beans after he moved from China to the United States for graduate school, …
February 14, 2018Focus on new faculty: Greeshma Gadikota, using green chemistry to close elemental loops
As a toddler, Greeshma Gadikota was drawn to chemistry by the smell of acidic fumes from her father’s company. While they may not have been the healthiest exposure, those fumes became some of her earliest and …
December 8, 2017Focus on new faculty: Eric Severson, finding ways to reduce energy consumption
Faster. Smaller. Smarter. For new faculty member Eric Severson, these three qualities are the key to reducing wasted electrical energy. Severson, who joined the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and the Grainger Institute for Engineering in fall 2017, …
October 26, 2017WATCH: Thoma Speaks on High-Tech Manufacturing in Honor of Manufacturing Month
The WMC video shows the bright, clean and technology-filled floor of the John Deere Horicon Works facility. Specifically, the video highlights John Deere’s use of robots that automatically drive from stop to stop on the …
October 9, 2017One step closer to market: Renewable energy flooring makes debut in Union South
As tens of thousands of visitors each day walk across a new flooring installation in UW-Madison’s Union South in fall 2017, they might not realize they’re participating in what could very well represent a leap …
September 6, 2017Andrea Hicks investigates environmental impacts of novel technologies
Most of us are not fond of stinky feet, so the idea of adding antimicrobial nanoparticles to socks to reduce odor seems great. But what are the societal and environmental costs and benefits of lacing …
July 18, 2017Sangkee Min aims to transcend design constraints in manufacturing
Due to manufacturing constraints, the designs of many consumer products from computers to watches to automobiles haven’t changed much over the years. Sangkee Min wants to alter that, and a Grainger Institute for Engineering Faculty Scholar Award …
June 9, 2017Nuclear innovation policy guide named one of top 50 policy reports
The University of Pennsylvania Think Tanks and Civil Societies Program (TTCSP) has selected a report co-authored by Engineering Physics Professor Todd Allen as one of the top 50 worldwide policy study-reports produced by a think tank in …
May 1, 2017Focus on new faculty: Jiamian Hu, using computer models to improve materials for many applications
For materials scientist Jiamian Hu, the culture of interdisciplinary research collaboration at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is a major selling point for the university. “That’s actually one of the very important reasons that I wanted …
February 23, 2017Allen to lead Grainger Institute for Engineering energy thrust
January 11, 2017 Given the great scope and complexity of the energy challenges facing society, innovative research collaborations across disciplines hold the most potential to produce transformative technological breakthroughs. Through the Grainger Institute for Engineering, an …
January 11, 2017UW-Madison engineers part of $140 million ‘Manufacturing USA’ clean-energy initiative
Several University of Wisconsin-Madison engineers are among leading researchers around the country who will participate in the newly created Reducing Embodied-Energy and Decreasing Emissions (REMADE) Institute. Led by the Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) Golisano …
January 6, 2017Focus on New Faculty: Shiva Rudraraju, Studying Mechanics and Morphology Evolution in Materials
In January 2017, Shiva Rudraraju will join the Department of Mechanical Engineering as an assistant professor. Also an affiliate of the college’s Grainger Institute for Engineering, Rudraraju comes from the University of Michigan, where he’s been a graduate …
November 22, 2016Advanced Nano-cutter to Boost Emerging Materials Research at UW-Madison
The University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Engineering is the new home of a unique machine that is capable of 3D milling precise to one nanometer. The machine, called the ROBONANO ?-0iB, is the first of …
September 15, 2016WATCH: Thoma Leads Smart Manufacturing Webinar
Grainger Institute for Engineering recently led a smart manufacturing webinar. View the video here (note that this link will open a new browser window and lead you to Box.)
September 12, 2016Focus on New Faculty: Sangkee Min, Manufacturing the Future of Innovative Design
Sangkee Min doesn’t merely want to push the envelope of possibility for manufacturing; rather, he hopes to redefine the envelope entirely, ushering in a new era of truly innovative designs. Product development involves an iterative dialogue …
October 22, 2015Two-minute Drill: The Future of Manufacturing
In this special edition Two Minute Drill, meet the Wisconsin executive making combat ships for the Navy and the new UW engineer making the next great material. WMC CEO Kurt Bauer presents a look at …
October 15, 2015Focus on New Faculty: Xin Wang, Untying Knotty Systems
Where others see hopelessly foundering logistics, Xin Wang sees the possibility of creating sustainable and resilient systems for things like developing biofuels and keeping cities operating when disaster strikes. Wang, assistant professor of industrial and …
September 2, 2015