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Industrial & Systems Engineering News

Robert Spencely
April 13, 2026

How do robots impact search-and-rescue teamwork? Engineers look at human brain activity to find out

A search-and-rescue team converges on a disaster site and deploys an autonomous drone or a four-legged robot to navigate dangerous terrain. While the advantages are obvious, the ripple effects of mixing humans and robots within…

Ranjana Mehta
April 8, 2026

Ranjana Mehta named interim director of the Grainger Institute for Engineering

Ranjana Mehta, Grainger Institute for Engineering Professor in industrial and systems engineering, will serve as interim director of our Grainger Institute for Engineering. She will begin this one-year role on April 15. Ranjana will take…

Laura Albert
April 2, 2026

Laura Albert named the inaugural senior associate dean for faculty affairs and development

The College of Engineering has chosen Industrial and Systems Engineering Professor Laura Albert as its inaugural senior associate dean for faculty affairs and development. In this new position, Albert will play a key role in…

Robert Radwin
March 26, 2026

UW-Madison ergonomics expert Radwin named AAAS fellow

Robert Radwin, professor emeritus of industrial and systems engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has been elected to the 2025 class of fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The lifetime…

2025 Wisconsin Impact Nexus award recipients
March 16, 2026

Grants empower bold thinking and transform vision into momentum

Expanding a consortium that strengthens ties between the college and the steel industry. Commercializing chip-cooling tech. Designing an economical nuclear microreactor. Through funding and in-kind support, Wisconsin Impact Nexus grants are igniting a ripple effect,…

Dave Gustafson
March 9, 2026

Remembering health systems engineering pioneer Dave Gustafson

Dave Gustafson, a pioneer in applying technology to human-centered health systems and a longtime professor of industrial and systems engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, died March 3, 2026. He was 85 years old. A…

Professor Laura Albert talks to the class about the case of the Ford Pinto
March 9, 2026

Industrial engineering students explore how to do the right thing when money matters

A video plays on the projector screens of a lecture hall in the Mechanical Engineering Building on the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, telling undergraduate students in Industrial and Systems Engineering 313: Engineering Economic Analysis the…

February 2, 2026

The numbers add up: Women’s health outcomes can benefit from risk-based breast cancer screening

By replacing generic, age-determined breast cancer screening recommendations with personalized guidelines based on risk, a team of researchers says healthcare decision makers could save lives and reduce false-positives. Oguzhan Alagoz, a professor of industrial and…

A student follows a robotic dog on a construction site
January 29, 2026

Robots to the rescue?

While fantasies of mechanical maids aren’t yet reality, autonomous aides are emerging in a few areas of the modern world. Highlight reels from the inaugural World Humanoid Robot Games, held in August 2025 in Beijing,…

Carla Michini
November 10, 2025

Michini will use CAREER Award to improve post-disaster aid operations and more

While Carla Michini and her family took their usual summer trip to her native Italy in 2025, this was no relaxing getaway. Michini, an assistant professor of industrial and systems engineering at the University of…