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Chemical & Biological Engineering News

Quentin Dudley
November 3, 2023

Focus on new faculty: Quentin Dudley is engineering plants to produce medicine, fuels and more

Most of today’s pharmaceuticals and chemicals are produced from petroleum products or refined from natural materials, often using energy-intensive and costly methods. But as it turns out, we’re surrounded by…

Grad student Anna Konstant examines a collaborative robot
October 4, 2023

When UW-Madison engineering ideas make their way across Wisconsin, everybody wins

Engineers play a critical role in solving challenges, whether they’re devising technology for the smart farms of the future, building fusion reactors to drive new sustainable energy possibilities, or creating…

Students and postdoctoral fellows researching innovations in STRAP recycling
September 25, 2023

With innovation and determination, grad students drive new plastics recycling applications

Take a stroll through a grocery store and one thing is clear—almost everything, from meat and bread to produce and cookies—is packaged in some form of plastic. While those wrappers…

A student talks with a recruiter at the fall 2023 Engineering & STEM Career Fair.
September 15, 2023

Hungry for engineering talent, employers flock to UW-Madison

Badger Engineers are in demand. Just ask some of the more than 320 employers who descended upon the College of Engineering Sept. 11-14 for the fall 2023 Engineering & STEM…

Algae blooms
August 31, 2023

On manure diet, cyanobacteria is a balanced biofertilizer that can help keep phosphorous out of our lakes

In Madison, Wisconsin, May is typically a great time to experience the city’s four large lakes; while the air temperature warms up, the water is still relatively cool and clear,…

Professor George Huber and postdoctoral researcher Houqian Li working in lab
August 10, 2023

Revolutionary chemical recycling process adds big value to ‘junk’ plastic waste

Although many Americans dutifully deposit their plastic trash into the appropriate bins each week, much of that material, including flexible films, multilayer materials and a lot of colored plastics are…

Jason Kawasaki working in his lab
June 27, 2023

Major NSF-sponsored materials research center funded for $18 million

The University of Wisconsin-Madison Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) has received $18 million in funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for interdisciplinary exploration of fundamental questions in…

computational researcher doing coding
June 5, 2023

Perspective highlights need for systemic change to make computational research a more welcoming field for women

While overt discrimination and harassment of women is not as common as it used to be, women still face substantial barriers that many people in the computational materials research community…

College of Engineering graduate recognition celebration 2023
May 15, 2023

In festive form, college honors hundreds of Badger engineering grads

On Saturday, May 13, 2023, nearly 700 of the college’s 1,200 total engineering graduates—bachelor’s, master’s and PhD—packed the Kohl Center for the college’s annual graduate recognition celebration. Even after a…

fertilizer production iStock image
April 6, 2023

New atomic-scale understanding of catalysis could unlock massive energy savings

Catalysts are materials that accelerate chemical reactions without undergoing changes themselves. They are critical for refining petroleum products and for manufacturing pharmaceuticals, plastics, food additives, fertilizers, green fuels, industrial chemicals…