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Materials Science & Engineering News

Professor Mikhail Kats sits in the college clean rooms.
March 23, 2026

Cracking the quantum code

The strangest physics on Earth is about to transform life as we know it. These days, you don’t have to look far to find the term “quantum”: Marketers have slapped the word on dishwasher pods,…

Yuan Ping
March 23, 2026

Computational tool reveals the structure of breakthrough quantum material

Quantum technology is all about taking advantage of the powerful, and sometimes inexplicable, quantum properties of particles to enhance the precision, speed and security of applications like sensing, computing and communications. To do this, researchers…

February 16, 2026

With chemistry and heat, new ‘mixed materials’ ramp up radiation resistance

Drawing on their leadership in materials simulation and design, advanced microscopy and materials fabrication, University of Wisconsin-Madison engineers have developed a method for tuning the radiation resistance of high-entropy carbides. This new class of advanced…

Sebastian Kube
December 16, 2025

With DOE early-career award, Kube will unlock the secrets of molten metals

The U.S. Department of Energy has selected Sebastian Kube, an assistant professor in materials science and engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, to receive a 2025 DOE Office of Science Early Career Research Program award….

Daniel Rhodes
October 10, 2025

Army recognizes Rhodes with a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers

Daniel Rhodes, an assistant professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has been awarded a prestigious Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) from the U.S….

Jason Kawasaki
October 8, 2025

Kawasaki named a Moore Foundation Experimental Physics Investigator

Jason Kawasaki, an associate professor in materials science and engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, has been named a 2025 Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Experimental Physics Investigator. Selection to the program is a prestigious…

October 7, 2025

With major U.S. investment, UW-Madison leads effort to advance abundant fusion energy for all

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is leading a major multi-institution project to develop and test a critical fusion technology—research that will directly benefit commercial fusion power plant developers. A $19 million Fusion Innovative Research Engine (FIRE)…

Yuan Ping and PhD student Andrew Drieder
September 24, 2025

In advanced materials, new quantum method sees what others can’t

Lead halide perovskites are a class of materials that have shown great promise for use in solar panels, semiconductors, LEDs and other optoelectronic devices. One of the most impressive features of these materials is their…

Students in MS&E 362: Synthesis and Characterization Lab
September 18, 2025

Alumni generosity upgrades lab experience for MS&E undergraduates

In the fall 2024 semester, a group of freshmen in MS&E 260: Materials Experience—a hands-on introductory course for MS&E majors and the materials science “curious”—designed a final class project to recycle metals from discarded circuit…

Assistant Professor Fang Liu and PhD student Qianli Xing
September 15, 2025

Enabling an electric future, researchers create electrode-agnostic electrolyte

In developing a versatile new electrolyte, a team of University of Wisconsin-Madison engineers has taken the next step toward a more efficient, energy-dense battery that could supplant today’s ubiquitous lithium-ion batteries. This new battery type—an…