Four ECE faculty appointed to named professorships

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Wisconsin–Madison has announced the appointment of four faculty members to named professorships. These prestigious positions provide additional support for the faculty members to advance their research and expand their professional impact.

Nader Behdad, Harvey D. Spangler Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering

Established in 2005 through a gift from Harvey D. Spangler, the professorship was created to support faculty excellence. Spangler received a Bachelor of Science in Chemical and Biological Engineering from UW–Madison in 1956.

Behdad’s research focuses on applied electromagnetics, with particular expertise in electrically small antennas, phased-array antennas, bioelectromagnetics, microwave ablation, microwave periodic structures, and high-power microwaves.

Daniel Ludois, Jim and Anne Sorden Professor

The James and Anne Sorden professorship, established by ECE alumnus James Sorden (BS’62), is awarded to exceptionally meritorious faculty at the rank of full professor.

Ludois’ work takes a multi-faceted approach that combines power electronics, fluid mechanics, and electrodynamics to develop capacitive rather than inductive electrical and electromechanical power conversion devices. His research has applications in wind turbines, electric and hybrid vehicles, aerospace systems, energy storage, and infrastructure.

Line Roald, Grainger Institute for Engineering Associate Professor

Candidates are selected for Grainger Institute for Engineering professorships based on their exceptional contributions to advancing departmental and college research priorities through large-scale, collaborative, and commercially impactful efforts aligned with the mission of the Grainger Institute for Engineering.

Roald’s research focuses on supporting the transition to a more sustainable and resilient energy system, while ensuring that electricity is delivered in an economically efficient and secure way. To address challenges faced by system operators, power producers, and consumers, her group develops mathematical tools and software to model and optimize system operations and energy markets.

Daniel van der Weide, Grainger Institute for Engineering Professor

Van der Weide is recognized for advancing large-scale, collaborative, and commercially impactful research. His work spans microwave through terahertz science and engineering, pioneering ultrafast nonlinear transmission line and sampling technologies applied to spectroscopy, communications, radar, and biomedical systems. Through the Grainger Institute for Engineering, he leads Wisconsin CHIPS, a multidisciplinary initiative in microelectronics, sensing, and high-frequency systems, bridging fundamental discovery with industry adoption and workforce development.