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aerial engineering
July 13, 2026

Recognizing 2026 ME department retirements

Written By: Caitlin Scott

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The ME Department is recognizing four retirements this summer. Randy Jackson, Jason Oakley, Riccardo Bonazza, and Tom Krupenkin made substantial contributions during their careers at UW and we thank them for everything they shared with the UW Engineering community!

Randy Jackson, Lecturer

Randy jackson lecturer

Dr. Randy Jackson served as a lecturer at UW-Madison since 2019, earned his BS from UW Mechanical Engineering, and held five different jobs with many projects throughout his career. Some highlights from each location include:

  • Designing equipment to transport the Centaur from San Diego to Cape Canaveral
  • Working on a flow control loop to study how the control valve affects process variability and getting his first patent
  • Developing the INCOVA system, fitting it to an excavator, and getting three more patents
  • Managing a group of talented engineers in designing a wide variety of solenoid-operated valves for mobile equipment and getting his fifth patent
  • Working with future engineers, riding the Bucky Wagon, meeting Barry and Michael Finley

Jason Oakley, Assistant Scientist & Lecturer

Bonazza first shock tube run

Dr. Jason Oakley earned his BS and MS from Texas A&M University. He was awarded a Department of Energy Defense Programs fellowship for two years of graduate study and was fortunate to find Prof. Riccardo Bonazza. He graduated from UW-Madison with his PhD in 2001 and stayed on as a post-doc and then a scientist until 2017. With all the undergraduate and graduate student contact, Oakley developed a passion for teaching, and in 2018 became a lecturer. He taught over 4,000 students in thermal sciences and mechanics courses. 

Career highlights include the joy he takes in all the engineering challenges his former students have yet to conquer. Long after they have forgotten his name, solving problems with skills learned in his courses is his greatest reward.

Pictured: First shock tube run in the lab of Riccardo Bonazza, 2/20/1998. Left to right: Jason Oakley, Paul Brooks, Mark Anderson, Prasanna Puranik

Riccardo Bonazza

Riccardo Bonazza, Professor

Dr. Riccardo Bonazza retired in Spring 2026 after completing 33 years at UW–Madison. He started as a post-doc in Nuclear Engineering and became an assistant professor in 1993. For three decades, Bonazza was the driving force behind aerospace opportunities in Engineering Mechanics. His vision and persistence helped make our new Aerospace Engineering degree launching in fall 2026 possible.

Read Bonazza’s reflections here.

Tom Krupenkin, Professor

krupenkin

Dr. Tom Krupenkin joined UW–Madison in 2007 after nearly a decade at Bell Labs within Lucent Technologies, where he conducted pioneering research in nanostructured surfaces, electrowetting technologies, and MEMS. During his time at UW–Madison, he became widely recognized for his innovative work in micro- and nanosystems, liquid-solid interfaces, and energy harvesting technologies. Krupenkin’s research was distinguished by a highly creative and entrepreneurial approach to engineering, leading to an extensive portfolio of patents and numerous translational research efforts aimed at real-world applications. He also fostered innovation and entrepreneurship through the development of a course that introduced students to the theory and practice of invention, including intellectual property protection, patent research and writing, technology commercialization, and licensing.

Prof. Krupenkin is a prolific inventor with 117 patents worldwide. Among the innovations he is particularly proud of are:

  • Reverse electrowetting (REWOD): Krupenkin theoretically predicted and experimentally demonstrated the reverse electrowetting phenomenon, a novel method for converting mechanical energy into electrical energy. REWOD established a new approach to high-power energy harvesting from a broad range of environmental sources, including human locomotion.
  • Nanograss: He developed “nanograss,” a new class of nanostructured surfaces with dynamically tunable wetting behavior. This technology has potential applications in fields ranging from hydrodynamic drag reduction and tunable optics to advanced semiconductor cooling.
  • Liquid optics: Krupenkin pioneered the development of liquid optics, using electrowetting to control the performance of lenses, diffraction gratings, and optical fiber devices. His work included the invention of the first tunable liquid microlens.