ECE Research Seminar Series: Professor Carsten Ronning
2025-07-31 11:00 - 12:00 (America/Chicago) | 2321 Engineering Hall, 1415 Engineering Drive, Madison, 53711
2321 Engineering Hall

Ion beams for photonics and quantum technology

Abstract:

Ion beam technologies are today routine methods in electronic device manufacturing, e.g. the production of a modern processor needs 20-30 ion implantation steps. On the other hand, the 21 st Century is considered by many to be the century of light following a century of developments in electronics. Therefore, Ronning will present several experiments for the manipulation of the optical properties of (nano)materials using ion beams, as well as corresponding strategies for the realization of photonic and quantum devices.

Bio:

Carsten Ronning

Carsten Ronning is full professor and director of the Institute of Solid State Physics at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany. He studied physics at the Universities of Bremen and Konstanz, and completed his PhD thesis entitled “Diamond-like materials prepared via mass selected ion beam deposition” in 1996. After holding a post-doc position at the North Carolina State University (USA), he performed intense research at the University of Göttingen on thin films, semiconductor physics as well as on semiconductor nanowires. He moved to the Friedrich Schiller University Jena in 2008, where his group is today studying the synthesis, modification and characterization of nano-scale solids, where the optical properties of semiconductor nanowires and metasurfaces are in focus.

CBE Seminar Series: Harry Atwater
2025-09-09 16:00 - 17:00
Harry AtwaterDepartment of Applied Physics and Materials ScienceCalifornia Institute of TechnologyPasadena, California

Design of Materials and Devices for Carbon Dioxide Capture and Conversion using Sunlight

Over the next two decades, science advances will be needed to enable scalable technologies for i) direct capture of dilute CO2 at the gigaton scale as well as ii) CO2 reduction to fuels, chemicals, and materials, powered by renewable energy or directly by sunlight. I will discuss materials and device advances needed for a promising capture approach, a scalable energy-efficient route to direct ocean capture of CO2, via an electrochemical pH swing. This scheme utilizes bipolar membrane electrodialysis to create the pH swing required to capture CO2 drawn down into the ocean in the form of dissolved inorganic carbon. I will also explore approaches for directly generating liquid solar fuels from carbon dioxide, sunlight, water. This requires new photocatalysts and thermocatalytic structures to facilitate transfer of electrons, protons, and reactants, to selectively yield multi-carbon products at semiconductor photoelectrode surfaces and catalytic sites. Two tandem reaction schemes for liquid solar fuel generation from CO2 will be discussed: i) a three-terminal tandem photoelectrode with two monolithically integrated but distinct catalytic centers operating at independent potentials to yield products via a cascaded reaction sequence, and ii) a tandem photoelectrochemical/solar thermocatalytic cascade that uses electrochemically synthesized ethylene, carbon monoxide and hydrogen as intermediates to yield multi-carbon products (butene, hexene, and heavier hydrocarbons) synthesized via solar-driven thermocatalytic reactions.

ME 150th Celebration: Distinguished Alumni, Dean Devesh Ranjan
2025-09-11 16:00 - 17:00 | 3M Auditorium, rm 1106 Mechanical Engineering Building, 1513 University Ave, Madison, 53711
To celebrate 150 years of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, the Department of Mechanical Engineering will feature distinguished alumni in mechanical engineering and engineering mechanics who have made a lasting impact on the field. Newly appointed dean to the College of Engineering, Devesh Ranjan graduated from UW-Madison with his master’s degree in 2005 and his doctorate in 2007. To learn more about Dean Ranjan’s experience, please join us for this installment of our ME 903: Graduate Student Lecture series.

CBE Seminar Series: Ted Lightfoot
2025-09-11 16:00 - 17:00
Reception 3:30-4:00pm (2-story space besides 1610 E Hall)

E.J. (Ted) LightfootTed Lightfoot ConsultingAmherst, NY

Transport Phenomena and Coating Science

In the 1960s Transport Phenomena triggered a shift in engineering education from engineering technology to engineering science. In the 1970s the more advanced coating companies (in the photographic, magnetic tape, and paper industries) began to undertake fundamental studies of the formation and drying of thin liquid layers on a moving solid substrate. Over the next fifty years, tremendous progress has been made in understanding how transport phenomena (including rheology, fluid mechanics, and both internal and external mass transport) affect the production of coated layers applied to a range of substrates. This talk will review the history of mathematical modeling of the transport processes encountered in the coating industry as well as several opportunities for fundamental advancement that could benefit battery and fuel cell manufacture as well as the development of Perovskite solar cells. Although the talk will review the use of mathematical tools to describe key physical phenomena important to the industry, the emphasis will be on human factors — both cultural biases and the individual people who have shaped the field.

Mechanics Seminar: Professor Joseph Andrews
2025-09-12 12:05 - 12:55 | 3M Auditorium, rm 1106 Mechanical Engineering Building, 1513 University Ave, Madison, 53711
The Mechanics Seminar Series is a weekly seminar given by campus and visiting speakers on topics across the spectrum of mechanics research (solids, fluids, and dynamics). Professor Joseph Andrews is a professor at UW-Madison.

BME Seminar Series: Allen Garner PhD
2025-09-15 12:00 - 13:00 | 1003 (Tong Auditorium) Engineering Centers Building, 1550 Engineering Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, United States
Electrical Manipulation of Biological Cells: Models and Applications

Allen Garner, PhD, PEProfessor, Graduate Program ChairSchool of Nuclear EngineeringPurdue University

Electric waveforms, including electric pulses (EPs) and alternating current (AC) fields, such as radiofrequency and high-power microwaves, can induce deleterious or beneficial effects that require additional characterization. We combine thermal models with the Smoluchowski equation to assess the interactions of EP and AC waveforms with biological cells. We further develop a computationally efficient model based on the asymptotic Smoluchowski to screen biological response over seven orders of magnitude of pulse duration with excellent agreement between simulated electroporation and experimental observations. Applications in microorganism inactivation, natural products for cancer therapy, platelet activation, and stem cell stimulation will be discussed.

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ME 903 Graduate Seminar: Mike Molnar
2025-09-18 16:00 - 17:00 | 3M Auditorium, rm 1106 Mechanical Engineering Building, 1513 University Ave, Madison, 53711
The ME 903: Graduate Student Lecture Series features campus and visiting speakers who present on a variety of research topics in the field of mechanical engineering. Michael Molnar (BSME ’85) is the founding director of the Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office at NIST.

Presentation Title: The Federal Role in Accelerating Technology and Manufacturing Innovation

Abstract: The development of critical and emerging technologies plays a key role in U.S. national and economic security. Since the founding of our nation the role of the federal government has been clear on national security but a matter of considerable debate on the broader economic security. Beginning with Alexander Hamilton’s Report on Manufactures through Vannevar Bush’s Science, the Endless Frontier, to today – the principles of an innovation policy are clear. What though is the federal role in industrial policy with a free market system?

Several successful models have emerged, all having elements of partnership to support industry and academia. Manufacturing USA is an example of industry-led public private partnerships. Established as a program just ten years ago as applied research institutes on emerging technologies, these institutes feature mass collaboration of industry and academia on projects of technology acceleration, supply chain and workforce development. Some 18 institutes are currently in the national network with a new institute on Artificial Intelligence for Resilient Manufacturing planned this year. The talk concludes with briefly contrasting other engagement models, such as Operation Warp Speed, for accelerating technology.

Bio: Mike is the founding director of the Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office, the interagency team responsible for the Manufacturing USA network of applied research manufacturing innovation institutes. He also leads the NIST Office of Advanced Manufacturing and serves as co-chair of the National Science and Technology Council, Subcommittee on Advanced Manufacturing – the White House team responsible for the National Strategic Plan for Advanced Manufacturing. Prior to joining federal service in 2011 Mike had a successful industry career, including 25 years leading manufacturing and technology development at Cummins, a U.S. based global company that designs and manufactures engines and power generation products. Mike is a proud Badger, with two of his degrees from the University of Wisconsin – a Mechanical Engineering B.S. and one of the first graduates of the Manufacturing Systems Engineering Masters program.

CBE Seminar Series: Pramod Wangikar
2025-09-18 16:00 - 17:00
Seminar 9-10am at Union South Landmark Room

Pramod WangikarChair Professor for Green Chemistry and Industrial BiotechnologyDepartment of Chemical EngineeringIndian Institute of Technology BombayMumbai, India

Harnessing Metabolomics for Precision Medicine and Fermentation

Metabolomics is an emerging tool in bioengineering research, based on profiling hundreds of metabolites in biological systems to provide a detailed view of cellular metabolism. In this evolving field, success hinges on advanced data acquisition methods, particularly mass spectrometry coupled with liquid chromatography (LC–MS) or gas chromatography (GC–MS). We present specific use cases from our research that demonstrate the transformative potential of metabolomics in understanding and manipulating biological systems for healthcare and industrial applications:

Biomarker Discovery in Metabolic Disorders: We used untargeted metabolomics to discover novel biomarkers for chronic metabolic disorders. In patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D), we identified distinct panels of metabolites associated with the risk of kidney and cardiovascular complications. These biomarkers hold potential for diagnostic tools offering greater predictive power and clinical efficacy than the standard glucose test.

Fermentation Optimization via Spent Media Analysis: Metabolomic analysis of spent culture media reveals critical insights into cellular metabolism in fermentation processes. By integrating these data with genome-scale metabolic models through constraint-based modeling, we optimized nutrient supplementation strategies, achieving substantial improvements in product yield with minimal experimental trials.

Handling large, complex datasets from untargeted metabolomics presents a significant challenge due to data complexity and noise. To streamline the analysis of such large metabolomics datasets, we developed MSOne, an AI-based platform that automates and accelerates data processing. Additionally, we leverage MetaMine, a repository derived from thousands of public-domain metabolomics studies that supports comparative analysis and meta-level insights. Together, these tools serve as essential resources for addressing challenges in large-scale metabolomics data handling and interpretation, reinforcing the promise of metabolomics in precision medicine and industrial biotechnology

Mechanics Seminar: Professor Matthew Brake
2025-09-19 12:05 - 12:55 | 3M Auditorium, rm 1106 Mechanical Engineering Building, 1513 University Ave, Madison, 53711
The Mechanics Seminar Series is a weekly seminar given by campus and visiting speakers on topics across the spectrum of mechanics research (solids, fluids, and dynamics). Professor Matthew Brake is an Associate Professor at Rice University.

Presentation Title: Videographic Modal Analysis

Abstract: Experimental modal analysis is a classical tool that has formed the basis of modern vibration testing and qualification. Despite this, the process of experimental modal analysis is largely reliant upon techniques from over 60 years ago. Typical experiments of large structures can take months of planning and setup, and require thousands of channels of accelerometer data. To lower the cost and time associated with vibration testing, Videographic Modal Analysis (VMA) combines recent advances in data science, image processing, and traditional modal analysis concepts. First, natural frequencies are identified from videos of an experiment using a deep learning algorithm. Once these frequencies are identified, optical flow, phase-based motion magnification, and edge detection techniques are automatically applied to quantitatively characterize the mode shapes of the structure. Without instrumentation, we can now identify mode shapes and natural frequencies of arbitrary structures in real-world settings (not just beams vibrating in labs!). This talk will present the science behind VMA and demonstrate its applicability.

Bio: Prof. Brake started at Rice University in 2016 after working at Sandia National Laboratories for nine years. Prior to Sandia, Prof. Brake graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 2007. Prof. Brake has been elected to several leadership positions, including as the director of the International Committee on Joint Mechanics, the chair of the Nonlinear Dynamics Technical Division of SEM, and the chair of the ASME Technical Committee on Vibration and Sound. He is a recipient of the 2012 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the 2018 C.D. Mote Jr Early Career Award, and the National Science Foundation Career Award. His primary research interests are in data-driven experimentation, multi-scale and multi-physics modeling, vibration, tribology, uncertainty propagation, structural health monitoring, and nonlinear dynamics.

BME Seminar Series: Marty Pagel, PhD
2025-09-22 12:00 - 13:00 | 1003 (Tong Auditorium) Engineering Centers Building, 1550 Engineering Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, United States
Molecular Imaging of the Tumor Microenvironment

Marty Pagel, PhDProfessorDepartment of Medical PhysicsDepartment of RadiologyUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison

Abstract:Tumor acidosis, hypoxia, and vascular perfusion are well-known characteristics of the tumor microenvironment. We have developed MRI, MR Fingerprinting, PET/MRI, electron paramagnetic resonance imaging (EPRI), and photoacoustic imaging (PAI) to quantitatively measure extracellular pH, oxygenation, and pharmacokinetic transport rates in solid tumors. We apply these molecular imaging methods to preclinical tumor models, and we have translated some of our methods to evaluate patients who have cancer. We are especially focused on employing molecular imaging to predict treatment effect before starting therapy, and to evaluate the early response to treatment, during evaluations of chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy. This presentation will discuss a variety of molecular imaging methods and research applications, and also discuss a value proposition for molecular imaging.

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CBE Seminar Series: David Schaffer
2025-09-23 16:00 - 17:00
David SchafferDepartment of Chemical and Biomolecular EngineeringUniversity of California-Berkeley Berkeley, CA

Directed Evolution of New AAV Vectors for Clinical Gene Therapy

Gene therapy has experienced an increasing number of successful human clinical trials, leading to 6 FDA approved products using delivery vectors based on adeno-associated viruses (AAV). These successes were possible due to the identification of specific disease targets for which natural variants of AAV were sufficient. However, vectors face a number of barriers and shortcomings that preclude their extension to most human diseases, including limited delivery efficiency to target cells, pre-existing antibodies against AAVs, suboptimal biodistribution, limited spread within tissues, and/or an inability to target delivery to specific cells. These barriers are not surprising, since the parent viruses upon which vectors are based were not evolved by nature for our convenience to use as human therapeutics. Unfortunately, for most applications, there is insufficient mechanistic knowledge of underlying virus structure-function relationships to empower rational design improvements. As an alternative, for over two decades we have been implementing directed evolution–the iterative genetic diversification of the viral genome and functional selection for desired properties–to engineer highly optimized, next generation AAV variants for efficient and targeted delivery to any cell or tissue target. We have genetically diversified AAV using a broad range of approaches from fully random (e.g. error prone PCR) to computationally guided (e.g. by machine learning). The resulting large (~109) libraries are then functionally selected for substantially enhanced delivery, yielding AAVs capable of highly efficient therapeutic gene delivery. Our variants have been effective in both animal models and in 6 human clinical trials to date, and results from both will be discussed.

Midwest Mechanics Seminar: Professor Daniel Chung
2025-09-26 12:05 - 12:55 | 3M Auditorium, rm 1106 Mechanical Engineering Building, 1513 University Ave, Madison, 53711
The Mechanics Seminar Series is a weekly seminar given by campus and visiting speakers on topics across the spectrum of mechanics research (solids, fluids, and dynamics). Professor Daniel Chung is an Associate Professor at The University of Melbourne.

Presentation Title: Fluid mechanics of riblets drag reduction

Abstract: Riblets are a surface texture composed of tiny ribs applied on aircraft skin to reduce drag, which saves on fuel, increases the payload and extends the range. To the fast-moving turbulent air that flows over it, riblets turn out to be smoother, generating less skin friction, than a perfectly flat surface. However, riblet performance is highly sensitive to their cross-sectional shape and features, which is bad news because the micron-sized ribs, imperceptible to the naked eye and challenging to measure even with precision instruments, are impossible to manufacture and maintain perfectly. Thus, accurate tolerancing, not only for manufacture but also for lifetime wear planning and monitoring, is key to this technology, requiring predictive capability of the kind that derives from advances in basic understanding. In this regard, I will present some of the progress we have made in the last few years, building on decades of research, on the fluid mechanics of turbulence over riblet surfaces.

The support of the Australian Research Council, Cooperative Research Australia and the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research FA2386-23-1-4071 is gratefully acknowledged.

Bio: Daniel is an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Melbourne. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in engineering and computer science from the University of Melbourne in 2003, and his PhD in aeronautics from Caltech in 2009. He was a postdoc at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory before joining the University of Melbourne in 2012. Daniel’s research uses computational fluid dynamics, where he tries to distil turbulent flows into simplified problems and to build physics-based models for prediction. Recently, he has been interested in understanding and controlling turbulent flow and thermal convection over rough surfaces, riblets and moving wavy surfaces.

BME Seminar Series: Hua Wang, PhD
2025-09-29 12:00 - 13:00 | 1003 (Tong Auditorium) Engineering Centers Building, 1550 Engineering Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, United States
Molecular to Systemic Engineering of Immune Cells for Robust Immunotherapy

Hua Wang, PhDAssociate ProfessorDepartment of Materials Science and EngineeringUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Abstract:Immunotherapy has achieved significant clinical progress for the treatment of cancer and other diseases over the past decade, but challenges, including low patient responses, off-target side effects, and poor efficacy against solid tumors and autoimmune disorders, remain. One of our research interests is to understand how immune cells (e.g., dendritic cells (DCs)) can be manipulated or engineered using chemistry, material, and chemical biology approaches, in order to develop effective therapies for cancer and other diseases. In this talk, I will present our recent efforts in molecular, systemic, and in situ engineering of DCs and further development of robust cancer vaccines. These include molecules and polymers that can interact with DC membrane and thus activate DCs, and macroporous materials that can actively recruit and program DCs in situ. I will then conclude my talk with several short stories along the line of metabolic glycan labeling, another key technology in my lab, regarding how we made it possible to precisely modulate cells that are historically challenging to engineer.

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CBE Seminar Series: Hal Alper
2025-09-30 16:00 - 17:00
Hal S. AlperProfessor & Cockrell Family Regents Chair in EngineeringDepartment of Chemical EngineeringUniversity of Texas-AustinAustin, TX

Beyond the test-tube: metabolic engineering for next-generation applications

Advances in metabolic engineering and synthetic biology can enable microbes to produce nearly any organic molecule of interest—from biofuels to biopolymers to pharmaceuticals. While this approach has fueled the industrial biotechnology, new challenges arise for microbe engineering when considering non-conventional settings. This talk will highlight several unique application areas for metabolic engineering. First, the use of engineered biology for the degradation of waste products (including plastics and other hydrophobic substrates) will be discussed considering the unique challenges required to consume these non-carbohydrate substrates. Second, the use of a printable hydrogel system for encapsulating cells will be discussed as a means for both portable cultivation of engineered microbial systems as well as for responsive theranostics. Third, the engineering of microbial factories for space environments will be discussed. Robust “space-ready” organisms require an understanding of how cells respond to the unique challenges and stressors of space including microgravity, radiation, and desiccation. Together, these efforts demonstrate how to deploy metabolically engineered cells outside of traditional sugar-based bioreactor settings.

Mechanics Seminar: Tanmoy Chatterjee
2025-10-03 12:05 - 12:55 | 3M Auditorium, rm 1106 Mechanical Engineering Building, 1513 University Ave, Madison, 53711
The Mechanics Seminar Series is a weekly seminar given by campus and visiting speakers on topics across the spectrum of mechanics research (solids, fluids, and dynamics). Tanmoy Chatterjee is the Lead Research Engineer in Aerodynamics at GE Research Inc.

Presentation Title: From Turbulence to Turbines: Exascale CFD in Wind Energy

Abstract: Wind energy is rapidly expanding in scale, with individual turbines now exceeding 100-meter blades and offshore farms stretching tens of kilometers. Yet, predicting their performance and more critically reliability remains a grand challenge of fluid mechanics, spanning phenomena from centimeter-scale blade boundary layers to kilometer-scale atmospheric flows. This talk explores how exascale computational fluid dynamics (CFD) is transforming our ability to model and design wind energy systems across these scales. I will discuss recent advances in high-fidelity, turbulent fluid–structure interaction simulations, and their integration with the Department of Energy’s ExaWind project. Specific examples will include simulations of coastal low-level jets (LLJs) driving wind farm variability, and the development of data-driven dynamic stall models for next-generation turbine blades. Together, these efforts highlight how exascale CFD is reshaping our understanding of turbulence, turbines, and wind farms — and accelerating innovation in the renewable energy industry.

Bio: Tanmoy Chatterjee is a Lead Research Engineer in Advanced Simulations and Methods at the GE Vernova Advanced Research Center. Prior to joining GE, he was a postdoctoral researcher at Argonne National Laboratory, where he developed exascale CFD models using spectral codes for internal combustion engine simulations. He earned his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from Arizona State University, focusing on turbulence–turbine interactions in large wind farms.

At GE Vernova, Dr. Chatterjee has led the development of high-fidelity exascale CFD–FSI simulations of wind farms and turbine blade-level turbulence, as well as data-driven reduced-order models for blade vibrations in the regimes of stall-induced and vortex-induced vibrations (SIV/VIV). He has also contributed to advanced controller strategies for mitigating turbine loads under unconventional wind conditions. In addition to his technical contributions, Dr. Chatterjee has successfully led several GE-internal and government-funded research initiatives, including projects supporting the DOE-WETO RAAW campaign in collaboration with national laboratories and academic partners.

BME Seminar Series: From Campus to Career: Maximizing Experiences for Industry Readiness
2025-10-06 12:00 - 13:00 | 1003 (Tong Auditorium) Engineering Centers Building, 1550 Engineering Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, United States
Abstract: Universities are organized primarily by departments, but industry is organized by function: research, design, regulatory, quality assurance, sales, marketing. Having some knowledge of this structure ahead of time will help you select and approach classes in ways more likely to have you end up where you want to be.Fortunately, the UW-Madison also has many opportunities that let you “try on” an industrial career ahead of time. These opportunities vary in duration from hours to months. As you start to invest in these channels, you will be more likely to benefit from the serendipity that the breath of expertise present at UW-Madison naturally provides.This seminar will feature three individuals in a conversational format who will discuss how they used these channels to supplement their coursework and research to build industrial success. While all three of these individuals eventually earned PhDs, the topics and approaches discussed are equally applicable to MS students.

Speakers (L to R):Professor Chris Brace, PhD; UW BME Vice Chair; Co-founder, NeuWave MedicalJustin Koepsel, PhD, MBA; UW BME MS’08, PhD’12; Senior Director of Commercial Operations at Catalent BiologicsTom Lilieholm, PhD’24; Co-founder and Director of Neuroimaging ImgGyd

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CBE Seminar Series: Phil Christopher
2025-10-07 16:00 - 17:00
Phil ChristopherUniversity of California, Santa BarbaraSanta Barbara, CA

Catalyst deactivation: Mechanisms, stability by design, and pathways to machine-learned models

Supported metal catalysts are used ubiquitously in industrial applications for energy conversion, material/chemical manufacturing, and pollution mitigation. Fundamental research often focuses on elucidating structure-function relationships that connect active site structures and compositions to their reactivities. Relationships that connect active site structure to stability are less well developed. Such insights require appreciation of dynamic structure changes, longer term experimentation, and reactors characterized by gradients in temperatures and chemical potentials. I will highlight two recent research efforts studying the deactivation of supported metal catalysts. First, I will discuss the deactivation of supported coinage (Cu and Ag) metal catalysts which occurs via sintering due to the low melting points of these metals. We found that the addition of < 1:100 mol fraction of certain dopant metals results in drastic stability enhancement under methanol synthesis reaction conditions A model was developed that proposes the role of dopants as local stabilizers of highly mobile metal atoms. Secondly, I will discuss the deactivation of Rh/TiO2 catalysts under CO2 hydrogenation conditions. Mechanistic studies suggest that deactivation occurs through competing mechanisms as a function of catalyst composition and reaction conditions, motivating the use experimentally trained machine learnt models to predict deactivation behavior. A round robin style experimental campaign was performed across 4 institutions to generate data for this effort. I will discuss our learnings in terms of the drivers of catalyst deactivation and experimental uncertainty in studies of catalyst deactivation.

ME 150th Celebration: Distinguished Alumni, Brewster Shaw
2025-10-09 16:00 - 17:00 | 3M Auditorium, rm 1106 Mechanical Engineering Building, 1513 University Ave, Madison, 53711
To celebrate 150 years of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin – Madison, the Department of Mechanical Engineering will feature distinguished alumni in mechanical engineering and engineering mechanics who have made a lasting impact on the field. Brewster Shaw, who received his bachelor’s (’68) and his master’s (’69) in engineering mechanics, is a former astronaut who completed three space-shuttle missions, helped to dissect the 1986 Challenger disaster, and then held key management positions for NASA before entering the private sector. To learn more about Brewster Shaw’s experience, please join us for this installment of our ME 903: Graduate Student Lecture series. *Students, Nicholas Rienstra and Nathan Wagner, who received the 2025 Astronaut Scholar Foundation award, will also be recognized at this event.

Abstract: A great many, if not most, UW-Madison engineering students start their first year not knowing where they are headed nor what they want to do with their lives. The ensuing process of self discovery can be daunting to say the least. For most, timing (ergo luck), is a huge factor in the ultimate degree of success. It can be a significant challenge for the student to realize that now their future, and the effort and responsibility to make that future what they want it to be, lies on their shoulders.

Brewster Shaw is a graduate of the UW-Madison engineering mechanics program (BS 1968, MS 1969) who was never a “practicing” engineer, but has always appreciated the value of his engineering education in all the aspects of his professional life. The abilities to understand the technical aspects of executing “high risk” technical programs, specifically human spaceflight programs, and to ask penetrating questions of the teams involved in those executions, proved to be invaluable throughout his career.

In his speech, Brewster Shaw will demonstrate the broad applicability of a quality engineering education to show students if one has a roadmap to help guide one through the unavoidable forks in the road, better choices can be made that will increase the probability of success greatly.

Bio: Brewster Shaw has served The United States of America in aerospace with government and industry teams throughout a career spanning 43 years. During this time he was a member of The United States Air Force (USAF), The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), and The Boeing Company. He is a Vietnam combat veteran with tours in the F-100 and F-4 fighter aircraft in Vietnam and Thailand respectively.

During his USAF career, Shaw served as combat fighter pilot, test pilot, and instructor pilot. In 1978 he was selected by the USAF and NASA to the first group of Space Shuttle Astronauts. As an astronaut, Shaw flew three space shuttle missions – as pilot of STS-9 in November 1983, as commander of STS-61B in November 1985, and as commander of STS-28 in August 1989. After this mission he served at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida as Shuttle Operations Manger and the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas as Space Shuttle Program Manager. During this time Shaw retired from the USAF with rank of Colonel and joined NASA as a Senior Executive Service government employee.

Shaw retired from NASA and joined Rockwell Aerospace and Defense in Seal Beach, California in January 1996. In December that year Rockwell Aerospace and Defense was acquired by Boeing.

In his final career position Shaw served as vice president and general manager, Space Exploration, for Boeing Defense, Space & Security at The Boeing Company. In this role he was responsible for the strategic direction of Boeing’s civil space programs and support of NASA programs such as Space Shuttle, International Space Station (ISS), Checkout, Assembly & Payload Processing Services (CAPPS), Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) and future Space Launch Systems. Prior to that, he was Boeing International Space Station vice president and general manager, responsible for leading the industry team in designing, developing, testing, launching, and operating NASA’s international orbiting laboratory and Chief Operating Officer of United Space Alliance, re-sponsible for executing Space Shuttle Program operations under contract to NASA.

Over his twenty year flying career, Shaw logged 533 hours of spaceflight and more than 5,000 hours flying time in over 30 types of aircraft – including 644 hours of combat in the F-100 and F-4 aircraft. He is the recipient of many awards for serving his country in the U.S. Air Force and with NASA. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Science degree in engineering mechanics from the University of Wisconsin.

Shaw is married to Kathleen Anne Mueller of Madison, Wisconsin. They have three children (one deceased) and five grandchildren.

Mechanics Seminar: Professor Rika Carlsen
2025-10-10 12:05 - 12:55 | 3M Auditorium, rm 1106 Mechanical Engineering Building, 1513 University Ave, Madison, 53711
The Mechanics Seminar Series is a weekly seminar given by campus and visiting speakers on topics across the spectrum of mechanics research (solids, fluids, and dynamics). Professor Rika Carlsen is an Associate Professor at Robert Morris University.

CBE Seminar Series: Kate Galloway
2025-10-14 16:00 - 17:00
Kate GallowayMassachusetts Institute of TechnologyCambridge, MA

Engineering high-precision, dynamic genetic control systems for cell fate programming

Integrating synthetic circuitry into larger transcriptional networks to mediate predictable cellular behaviors remains a challenge within synthetic biology. In particular, the stochastic nature of transcription makes coordinating expression across multiple genetic elements difficult. Further, delivery of large genetic cargoes limits the efficiency of cellular engineering. Thus, our work is focused on the design of highly-compact genetic tools with a minimal genomic footprint. Simultaneously, we have been developing cocktails of transgenes that are capable of rapidly convert cells into neurons. The sparse and stochastic nature of reprogramming has obscured our understanding of how transcription factors drive cells to new identities. To overcome this limit, we developed a compact, portable reprogramming system that increases direct conversion of fibroblasts to motor neurons by two orders of magnitude. Low rates of direct conversion have previously limited the potential for central nervous system (CNS) applications. Using compact, optimized, polycistronic cassettes, we generate motor neurons that graft with the murine central nervous system, demonstrating the potential for in vivo therapies. In this talk, I will describe how we are building genetic controllers that can regulate transgenic cargoes and cell fate in primary cells. These genetic control systems provide an essential foundation for realizing the promise of synthetic biology in translational therapies.

Mechanics Seminar: Professor Jacob McFarland
2025-10-17 12:05 - 12:55 | 3M Auditorium, rm 1106 Mechanical Engineering Building, 1513 University Ave, Madison, 53711
The Mechanics Seminar Series is a weekly seminar given by campus and visiting speakers on topics across the spectrum of mechanics research (solids, fluids, and dynamics). Professor Jacob McFarland is an associate professor at Texas A&M University.

BME Seminar Series: Susan Leggett, PhD
2025-10-20 12:00 - 13:00 | 1003 (Tong Auditorium) Engineering Centers Building, 1550 Engineering Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, United States
Engineering Tumor Microenvironments on a Chip to Model Early Events in Breast and Ovarian Cancer Metastasis

Susan Leggett, PhDAssistant ProfessorDepartment of BioengineeringUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Abstract:The tumor microenvironment is a dynamic and multifaceted ecosystem in which biochemical and mechanical cues jointly regulate cell behavior, tumor heterogeneity, and disease progression. My lab develops engineered “tumor-on-a-chip” systems to reconstruct the 3D tumor microenvironment and dissect how cell-cell interactions, fluid flow, and interfacial mechanics influence early metastatic events. In this talk, I will first introduce our approach for the rapid and accessible fabrication of organ-on-a-chip devices using epoxy-coated 3D printed molds. This workflow enables the generation of high-fidelity, biocompatible PDMS-based devices in a scalable, reproducible, and imaging-compatible format. I will then discuss how we are leveraging this technology to reverse-engineer solid breast tumors composed of heterogeneous cancer cell and immune cell subpopulations, including macrophages, to model how tumor-immune interactions shape cell plasticity and collective invasion. Finally, I will present our novel peritoneal cavity-on-a-chip, designed to mimic the primary route of ovarian cancer spread. In this model, individual ovarian cancer cells and clusters can be injected into fluid-filled peritoneal cavities to emulate circulating tumor cells that shed from the ovary during disease progression. Using live-cell imaging, we examine how these cells interact with, and infiltrate, the surrounding mesothelium to initiate metastatic colonization. Together, these approaches establish versatile experimental platforms to study dynamic cell and tissue-level behaviors, providing new strategies to model, predict, and ultimately control metastatic progression.

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CBE Seminar Series: Önder Metin
2025-10-21 16:00 - 17:00
Önder MetinCollege of Sciences, Koç UniversityIstanbul, Türkiye

Rational Design of Nano(photo)Catalysts for Green and Sustainable Chemical Conversions

Catalysts are central to numerous industrial processes, including fuel synthesis, polymer production, and pharmaceutical manufacturing, enabling reactions to proceed under milder conditions, with lower energy requirements, and with better selectivity by minimizing undesirable byproducts. Over the last quarter century, transition metal nanoparticles (NPs) have emerged as highly effective catalysts due to their large surface-to-volume ratio and the enhanced reactivity of surface atoms compared to bulk metals. These properties have enabled the rapid advancement of nanocatalysis, which often offers superior performance compared to traditional homogeneous and heterogeneous catalysts. Bimetallic NPs, either alloys or core-shell structures, are particularly important, as they often exhibit enhanced catalytic activity, selectivity, and stability due to synergistic interactions between two-distinct component metals. This approach is particularly useful for combining noble and non-noble metals, reducing cost without sacrificing efficiency.

In parallel, aligning catalytic strategies with green chemistry principles has motivated efforts to integrate photocatalysts capable of harvesting a broad spectrum of the solar spectrum. Such systems offer a sustainable route to more efficient and cost-effective chemical transformations. While semiconductor-based photocatalysts have long been under investigation, their widespread application is limited by challenges such as poor band-edge alignment with target reactions and rapid recombination of photogenerated charge carriers, both of which significantly reduce photocatalytic efficiency.

In this talk, I will highlight our rational approach to synthesizing monodisperse monometallic and bimetallic NPs, including alloy and core-shell structures supported on two-dimensional materials such as high-surface-area carbon or reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and mesoporous graphitic carbon nitride (mpg-CN). The rationale behind support selection will also be discussed. I will also describe the rational design of g-CN and other 2D semiconductor-based photocatalysts for various chemical transformations. The catalytic performance of these nanomaterials will be demonstrated in applications such as hydrogen production from chemical hydrogen storage materials (water, ammonia borane, and formic acid), transfer hydrogenation for the synthesis of valuable organic molecules under mild conditions, C–H bond functionalization, and electrochemical processes including CO₂ reduction and fuel-cell reactions. Finally, I will share insights from our experience commercializing an rGO–Ni₃₀Pd₇₀ nanocatalyst and a bismuthene photocatalyst for practical chemical transformations.

BME Seminar Series: Keefe Manning, PhD
2025-10-27 12:00 - 13:00 | 1003 (Tong Auditorium) Engineering Centers Building, 1550 Engineering Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, United States
Predicting Thrombus Formation, Deformation, and Embolization: A Look at Devices, Stroke, and Deep Vein Thrombosis

Keefe Manning, PhDProfessor of Biomedical Engineering and SurgeryDepartment of Biomedical EngineeringPennsylvania State University

Abstract:Thrombosis remains a significant clinical issue manifesting in heart attacks and strokes but also challenges the success of cardiovascular devices. Given the complex process associated with thrombosis, developing accurate computational models is difficult as validation needs to occur over a range of flow and surface interactions and at different temporal and spatial scales. Thrombi are particularly interesting because of their inherent heterogeneity. Leveraging canonical experiments that acquire a breadth of data will be crucial to validate any computational model, but do these experiments accurately represent how thrombi form, deform, and embolize in the context of devices, stroke, and deep vein thrombosis? This presentation will cover the development and experimental validation of our computational models in these areas and the complications posed with blood experiments.

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CBE Seminar Series: Seth Darling
2025-10-28 16:00 - 17:00
Seth DarlingArgonne National LaboratoryLemont, IL

Layered Phyllosilicate Membranes for Energy-Critical Ion Separations in Resource Recovery

Energy systems depend not only on resilient generation and efficient storage but also on the management of critical materials. One of the most pressing challenges is the selective extraction and purification of ions from complex aqueous environments—such as recovering lithium from brines or separating rare earth elements from waste streams—using processes that are both energy-efficient and scalable. In this talk, I will present recent advances in designing and deploying two-dimensional laminar membranes based on earth-abundant phyllosilicate minerals for these applications.

Our work harnesses exfoliated vermiculite and montmorillonite flakes, which are reassembled into flexible, robust membranes with tunable interlayer galleries. Through the use of molecular cross-linkers (e.g., alkanediamines) and inorganic pillaring agents (e.g., Keggin clusters), we achieve control over interlayer spacing and surface charge, enabling precise tuning of ion transport properties. This design flexibility opens pathways to address critical separations. The resulting membranes exhibit outstanding aqueous stability, low-cost scalability, and performance characteristics rivaling or surpassing synthetic alternatives.

Beyond material synthesis and processing, I will share insights from our newly developed high-throughput ion permeation platform, which enables rapid, parallelized measurements across a wide parameter space of membrane chemistry, structure, and testing conditions. This dataset supports the development of machine learning models aimed at predicting ion transport performance from structural descriptors and experimental metadata—laying the groundwork for a material genome approach to membrane design. By connecting scalable materials chemistry with targeted energy applications, this research exemplifies a holistic approach to energy materials innovation—from atoms to applications.

ME 903 Graduate Seminar: Professor Evangelos Theodorou
2025-10-30 16:00 - 17:00 | 3M Auditorium, rm 1106 Mechanical Engineering Building, 1513 University Ave, Madison, 53711
The ME 903: Graduate Student Lecture Series features campus and visiting speakers who present on a variety of research topics in the field of mechanical engineering. Professor Evangelos Theodorou is a professor at Georgia Tech.

Mechanics Seminar: Bonnie Bachman
2025-10-31 12:05 - 12:55 | 3M Auditorium, rm 1106 Mechanical Engineering Building, 1513 University Ave, Madison, 53711
The Mechanics Seminar Series is a weekly seminar given by campus and visiting speakers on topics across the spectrum of mechanics research (solids, fluids, and dynamics). Bonnie Bachman is the TEO Director and I-Corps Program Director at UW-Madison.

BME Seminar Series: EnsoData
2025-11-03 12:00 - 13:00 | 1003 (Tong Auditorium) Engineering Centers Building, 1550 Engineering Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, United States
The Entrepreneurial Journey of EnsoData Co-Founders

Chris Fernandez BMEBS’14, MS’15; Ensodata Co-founder, Executive Chairman and Chief Research OfficerNick Glattard BMEBS’14, MS’15; EnsoData Co-founder and Chief Technology Officer

Hear firsthand how two BME alumni turned a bold idea into a nationally recognized startup.

Nick Glattard (BMEBS ’14, MS ’15) and Chris Fernandez (BMEBS ’14, MS ’15), Cofounders of EnsoData, will share their remarkable journey from UW–Madison biomedical engineering students to leading a cutting-edge company that’s transforming sleep medicine. Their presentation will delve into the challenges and triumphs of building EnsoData.

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ECE Distinguished Speaker Seminar Series: Professor Grace Xing
2025-11-05 15:00 - 16:00 | 2305 Engineering Hall, 1415 Engineering Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, United States
AlN – a New Platform for Electronics

Abstract:AlN has been ardently pursued as one of the most promising ultra-wide bandgap semiconductors (UWBGs) after GaN and SiC as the industry has been expanding rapidly on the high-volume manufacturing of GaN and SiC based technologies, including 12-inch GaN-on-Si, 8-inch SiC substrates and processing foundries etc. AlN is CMOS compatible with high thermal conductivity, high acoustic velocity and a rich family of heterostructures. Recently, Sc-, B- and Y-doped AlN alloys have garnered tremendous interest for their ferroelectric behavior. In this talk, I will focus on findings in our journey to develop new electronic devices on AlN in the past two decades.

Wurtzite III-nitrides are well known as a family of polar semiconductors. When sandwiching a narrow gap III-nitride layer with wider gap barrier materials, one interface is characterized as the negative polarization charge interface while the other as the positive polarization charge interface. The polarization charges are fixed in space and emanating electric field while the entire material stack will do everything it can to minimize its total free energy due to the thermodynamic driving force. As a result, compensating charges can be generated: either mobile charge carriers including delocalized electrons and holes, or charged defect states that are localized in the real and energy space. If undesired defect formation is sufficiently suppressed in the heterostructure, mobile charge carriers will be generated and can be harvested for electronic applications. To this end, we succeeded in generating both mobile electrons and holes in thin GaN quantum well sandwiched by AlN. I will discuss how we generate and detect these mobile charges, and some demonstrated utilities in terms of fundamental understanding and practical applications.

Professor Grace Xing

Bio:Huili Grace Xing is currently the Director of SUPREME – a SRC JUMP2.0 research center, the William L. Quackenbush Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering at Cornell University, and has recently served as the Associate Dean for Research & Graduate Studies of the College of Engineering.

She is a recipient of the AFOSR Young Investigator Award, NSF CAREER Award, ISCS Young Scientist Award, the Intel Outstanding Researcher Award, and the SIA/SRC University Researcher Award. She is a fellow of APS, IEEE & AAAS.

Xing received a B.S. in physics from Peking University, M.S. in Material Science from Lehigh University and Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from University of California, Santa Barbara, respectively. She was a faculty member with the University of Notre Dame from 2004 to 2014. Her research focuses on development of III-V nitrides, 2-D crystals, oxide semiconductors, recently also multiferroics & magnetic materials: growth, electronic and optoelectronic devices, especially the interplay between material properties and device development for high performance devices, including RF/THz devices, tunnel field effect transistors, power electronics, DUV emitters and memories. Together with her colleague Debdeep Jena, they were the first to demonstrate distributed polarization doping (DPD), especially the p-type DPD in nitride semiconductors. This doping scheme is fundamentally different from impurity doping and modulation doping, thus dubbed as the 3rd generation of doping science by Xing. Polarization doping is particularly powerful in polar ultrawide bandgap semiconductors since it might be the only known method to achieve both n-type and p-type in an UWBG semiconductor with doping properties akin to shallow impurity dopants.

Xing has delivered 200+ invited talks and seminars, and has authored/co-authored 350+ journal papers including Nature journals, Physical Review Letters, Applied Physics Letters, Electron Device Letters, and 140+ conference proceeding publications in IEDM, ISPSD etc. Her h-index is 89 on google scholar.

ME 903 Graduate Seminar: Laura Grossenbacher
2025-11-06 16:00 - 17:00 | 3M Auditorium, rm 1106 Mechanical Engineering Building, 1513 University Ave, Madison, 53711
The ME 903: Graduate Student Lecture Series features campus and visiting speakers who present on a variety of research topics in the field of mechanical engineering. Laura Grossenbacher is the Director of Technical Communications for the Interdisciplinary Professional Programs with the College of Engineering at UW-Madison.
