Talking Tech in the Twin Cities
2025-06-26 17:30 - 20:30 (America/Chicago) | WI
Ovative Group729 N Washington Ave., Floor 11Minneapolis, MN 55401

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Join fellow Badgers at an exclusive and collaborative in-person event where local experts will outline the skills, mindsets, and insights you’ll need to lead as new technologies continue to disrupt our working lives.

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Talking Tech in the Twin Cities is co-hosted by Wisconsin Business Alumni Board members Tim Bratland (BBA ’89) and Luke Anderson (BS ’98) in partnership with the Wisconsin School of Business, the School of Computer, Data & Information Sciences, and the College of Engineering.

Grad School Virtual Info Session
2025-07-02 09:00 - 10:00, 2025-08-06 09:00 - 10:00, 2025-09-03 09:00 - 10:00 | WI
Join us to learn more about graduate school with the Department of Mechanical Engineering at UW-Madison! We will be hosting virtual sessions on the first Wednesday of every month from June through December from 9:00-10:00am CST. Please RSVP here.

Those who attend will learn more about:

Mechanical Engineering Department programs overview (including department research overview)

Research MS and PhD program information

Professional (course-only) based MS program information

Admissions Information

Faculty & Graduate Student Panel

Q&A

Much More!

Questions? Email us at dept@me.engr.wisc.edu

2025 Simons Hidden Symmetries and Fusion Energy Retreat
2025-07-14 00:00 - 2025-07-18 23:59 | WI
The 2025 Simons Hidden Symmetries and Fusion Energy Retreat will be hosted from July 14-18, 2025 in the Pyle Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Pyle Center702 Langdon StreetMadison, WI 53706Get Directions

RegistrationTo register for the event, please fill out the following form: https://forms.gle/iU2na3CMBwRLErAA9

Accommodation

There is a room block reserved at the Graduate for this event. Please use the link below to reserve your room in the block at a discounted rate. Accommodation (Discounted Rate)

If you are eligible for state rate, use the link below.Accommodation (State Rate)

Graduate by Hilton Madison601 Langdon StMadison, Wisconsin 53703(608) 257-4391Get Directions

AgendaView the agenda here.

For questions regarding the event, registration, or accommodations, please contact Adelle Wright at adelle.wright@wisc.edu.

Learn more about the Simons Collaboration on Hidden Symmetries and Fusion Energy here.

The Next Era: A Reception with Dean Ranjan
2025-07-15 17:30 - 19:30 | The Edgewater Hotel, Madison, 1001 Wisconsin Pl, Madison, Wisconsin, 53711, United States
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Please join us for a special evening as we welcome the new Grainger Dean for the College of Engineering, Devesh Ranjan (MS ’05, PhD’07) back to Madison.

This casual reception is an opportunity to connect with fellow alumni, engage in meaningful conversation, and celebrate the beginning of an exciting new chapter for the College of Engineering.Date: July 15, 2025 Time: 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. Location: The Edgewater Hotel, The Sky Bar(1001 Wisconsin Pl, Madison, WI 53703)Heavy appetizers and refreshments will be served. Parking validations available.

We look forward to extending a warm Wisconsin welcome (back) to Dean Ranjan and help shape the future of engineering—together.

This event is free to attend.

ECE Research Seminar Series: Dr. Oliver Burrow
2025-07-28 11:00 - 12:00 | 2321 Engineering Hall, 1415 Engineering Drive, Madison, 53711
2321 Engineering Hall

Compact Cold-Atom Platforms Enabled by Grating MOTs and Progress to Real-World Quantum Sensing

Abstract:

Laser cooling of atoms is the first step in a wide range of atomic and molecular experiments, where low temperatures enable precision measurements. Traditionally, laser-cooling apparatus were large, often approaching room-scale, but over the past decade there have been concerted global efforts, including the UK’s Quantum Hubs initiative, to reduce their size, weight, power, and cost to enable the real-world deployment of quantum technologies.

The University of Strathclyde developed the grating magneto-optical trap (gMOT), which replaces the traditional six-beam MOT optical-geometry with a single input beam and a diffractive optic. This greatly reduces system complexity, eases miniaturisation, and provides a large solid angle of optical access. Typical Rb gMOTs trap >10⁷ atoms from vapour and achieve microkelvin temperatures. Recent advances at Strathclyde include gMOT atomic fountains, optical lattices with the gMOT optic as the reflector, and integration with sub-wavelength RF cavities, paving the way for compact atomic clocks with stabilities approaching 10⁻¹³ τ -1/2.

Another challenge is achieving compact vacuum systems suitable for laser cooling. In collaboration with industrial partners, we have created centilitre-scale ultra-high vacuum chambers with integrated gMOT optics, demonstrating long operational lifetimes without active pumping. When combined with packaged electronics and beam-launch optics, these become true cold-atom platform subsystems, requiring only a power supply and a fibre-coupled laser input.

These platforms are now being translated into field-ready quantum sensors through UK academic–industrial partnerships. Applications include compact atomic clocks (gClock) and hybrid classical–quantum inertial navigation systems, with initial sea trials planned for 2025.

Bio:

Oliver Burrow

Dr. Oliver Burrow is a Research Fellow in the University of Strathclyde’s Experimental Quantum Optics and Photonics Group. He completed his MPhys in Physics with Theoretical Physics at the University of Manchester in 2011 before moving to the University of Liverpool, where his studies were developing a prototype atom interferometer to probe the dark contents of the vacuum under the supervision of Dr Jon Coleman, earning his PhD in 2016. That research group has since become a founding member of the AION and MAGIS collaborations, which are developing cutting-edge atom interferometers for gravitational-wave detection.

Since joining Strathclyde in 2015, Dr. Burrow’s research has focused on developing compact components for laser cooling, with a strong emphasis on knowledge exchange and industrial collaboration. He has played a key role in advancing gMOT optics with Kelvin Nanotechnology and in developing centilitre-scale ultra-high vacuum gMOT systems with CPI-TMD. These technologies have become integral to next-generation quantum sensors in the UK, and he is now leading efforts at Strathclyde with industry to deploy these cold-atom platforms as core subsystems in practical quantum sensors.

Dr. Burrow’s visit is hosted by ECE Associate Professor Jennifer Choy, and ECE Antoine-Bascom Professor and Jack St. Clair Kilby Professor Mikhail Kats

ECE Virtual Alumni Town Hall
2025-07-30 12:00 - 13:00 | WI
ECE alumni, we hope you will join us for this one-hour event hosted by ECE Department Chair Susan Hagness. We have assembled an expert panel of ECE faculty who will share their perspectives as research leaders in the foundations of artificial intelligence and the computing systems that power AI. As AI continues to transform nearly every facet of modern life, ECE research advances are playing a central role in shaping its future. Join us to hear how ECE is driving innovation in AI and preparing students to live, learn, and lead in this rapidly evolving field. We welcome your questions for our panelists.

Ramya Korlakai Vinayak, Dugald C. Jackson Assistant Professor (left)

Tsung-Wei Huang, Associate Professor (middle)

Robert Nowak, Keith and Jane Morgan Nosbusch Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering Grace Wahba Professor of Data Science (right)

Zoom registration information will be sent mid-July via email to alumni, so check your Inbox!

Questions can be directed to: Office@ece.wisc.edu

ECE Research Seminar Series: Professor Carsten Ronning
2025-07-31 11:00 - 12:00 | 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.

Wide and Ultrawide Bandgap Semiconductor Deposition Facility Grand Opening
2025-08-05 13:30 - 14:00 | Engineering Centers Building, 1550 Engineering Drive, Madison, 53711
The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering invites you to join us on Tuesday, August 5th at 1:30 p.m. for the grand opening celebration of its Wide and Ultrawide Bandgap Semiconductor Deposition Facility. The event will be held on the second floor of the Engineering Centers Building, and will include a short program, ribbon-cutting ceremony, and an opportunity to view the lab’s state-of-the-art AlN Agnitron MOCVD reactor.

Alumni Ice Cream Social
2025-08-21 16:00 - 18:00 | Memorial Union Terrace, 800 Langdon St, Madison, Wisconsin, 53706
Hey, Badger Engineering Alum! We invite you to join us for an evening of reminiscing, networking, and delicious Babcock ice cream on Thursday, August 21st from 4-6pm at the Memorial Union Terrace. Alumni from across the college will have the chance to connect at one of the most beloved sites on campus.

Leadership from across the college will be on hand to chat with alumni and learn more about what paths they took after leaving campus, as well as share the latest department and college news.

Engineering alumni from all departments are welcome and encouraged to join in on the fun.

Register now

ECE New Graduate Student Orientation
2025-08-29 09:00 - 13:00 | WI
Graduate Student Orientation offers newly enrolled ECE graduate students the support and resources needed to help transition to life as a UW-ECE graduate student. The event will provide information on payroll, benefits, student services and more. Lunch will follow the morning session.

All first-year graduate students are required to attend, except those enrolled in the MS Power online program.

First-year graduate students, check your wisc.edu email for invitation and link to RSVP.

New Graduate Student Orientation
2025-08-29 10:00 - 13:30 | 1153 Mechanical Engineering, 1513 University Ave, Madison, WI, 53706, United States
Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Mechanics new graduate students are invited to join us on Friday, August 29th from 10:30-1:30pm in the Mechanical Engineering Building Room #1153 for New Graduate Student Orientation. Come meet your peers, interact with faculty, find out about graduate student services, learn about the Grad Student Advisory Council, or ask questions specific to you. This orientation will be the perfect way to jumpstart your degree with the Department of Mechanical Engineering! RSVP here.

NEEP Graduate Student Orientation & Ice Cream Social
2025-08-29 14:00 - 17:00 | WI
Welcome new NEEP grad students! Please join us on August 29, 2025 from 2:00 – 4:00 PM in ERB 106 for our grad student orientation. During the orientation, you’ll meet faculty and staff and learn about key academic resources. Afterward, stick around for an ice cream social with faculty and current students!

Friday, August 29Orientation: 2:00-4:00 PMIce Cream Social: 4:00-5:00 PMEngineering Research Building, Room 106RSVP here: https://forms.gle/v9wsY89mMkMAc3eJ6

The Next Era: A Reception with Dean Ranjan
2025-09-03 17:30 - 19:30 | 631 East Chicago Street, Milwaukee WI 53202, 631 East Chicago Street, Milwaukee, 53202, United States
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You’re invited to join us for a special evening as we welcome Devesh Ranjan (MS ’05, PhD ’07), the new Grainger Dean of the College of Engineering, for a casual reception with fellow alumni in the Milwaukee area.

This is a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with the College, engage in meaningful conversations with Dean Ranjan, and network with fellow engineering alumni living and working in the region. Come celebrate the exciting future of the College of Engineering and be part of this growing community of innovators and leaders.Date: September 3, 2025Time: 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. (featuring brief remarks and Q+A)Location: The Italian Community Center, Courtyard/Galleria (631 East Chicago Street, Milwaukee, WI 53202)

Heavy appetizers and refreshments will be served. Complimentary parking is available off Jackson and Menomonee.

We look forward to extending a warm Wisconsin welcome to Dean Ranjan and help shape the future of engineering—together.

This event is free to attend.

BME Welcome Back Social
2025-09-05 14:00 - 16:00 | Engineering Centers Building Atrium, 1550 Engineering Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, United States
All Biomedical Engineering undergraduate and graduate students are welcome to join us in celebrating the new academic year. Enjoy snacks and department giveaways in the ECB atrium from 2-4pm.

ECE Student Welcome!
2025-09-08 14:30 - 16:30 | Union South Varsity II and III, 1308 West Dayton Street, Madison, 53711
Kick off the semester with your fellow ECE students, staff, and faculty at a sweet welcome event! 🍦 Enjoy free Babcock ice cream, score some awesome ECE swag, and celebrate the start of a new year together. Check your wisc.edu email to RSVP by September 4!

See you at Union South on September 8!

NEEP First Year Student Welcome & Orientation
2025-09-08 18:00 - 19:00 | WI
Welcome new NEEP Badgers! We’re excited to welcome you into the NEEP community. Please join us on September 8, 2025 to learn about opportunities for undergrads, meet faculty, connect with your fellow first-year students, and enjoy some pizza!

Date: Monday, September 8, 2025Time: 6:00 – 7:00 PMLocation: Mechanical Engineering Building (Room TBA)RSVP here: https://forms.gle/MYmTLznGyPTFXPBh9

CBE Seminar Series: Harry Atwater
2025-09-09 16:00 - 17:00 | WI
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.

Welcome Back Ice Cream Social
2025-09-09 16:30 - 18:30 | Mechanical Engineering Building – Atrium, 1415 Engineering Drive, Madison, 53711
All undergrad and graduate students in the Mechanical Engineering or Engineering Mechanics majors are invited to celebrate the new academic year with the Department of Mechanical Engineering on September 9th from 4:30-6:30pm in Mechanical Engineering Building Atrium. *Please bring your student ID to check-in to the event​.

ISyE - IISE Kick-off Meeting
2025-09-10 19:00 - 20:00 | 3M Auditorium, rm 1106 Mechanical Engineering Building, 1513 University Ave, Madison, 53711
Join the IISE Student org for their fall kick-off meeting.

You’ll also get a chance to work on preparing for the upcoming career fair, and to network with folks from GE Healthcare, all of which will help you learn how to better market yourself. Free food will be provided, and you can earn 2 DM points.

NEEP Seminar Series: Paul Cosgrove & Valeria Raffuzzi, University of Cambridge
2025-09-11 12:00 - 13:00 | WI
Thursday, September 1112:00 – 1:00pm106 Engineering Research BuildingPlease contact office@neep.wisc.edu for assistance with remote participation.

Short-cutting critical searches with the zeta-eigenvalue equationCriticality searches, such as finding the boron concentration or control rod position that makes a reactor critical, are usually performed through repeated k-eigenvalue calculations. This presentation will introduce a new approach based on the zeta-eigenvalue, a scaling parameter applied to material densities or system dimensions in the neutron transport equation. At convergence, zeta directly yields the critical density or dimension. This talk will go through the theory, its implementation in the SCONE Monte Carlo code, and numerical results relevant to reactor physics and criticality safety.

Valeria RaffuzziValeria Raffuzzi is a Research Associate at the University of Cambridge. She holds a BSc in Energy Engineering from Politecnico di Milano, an MSc in Nuclear Engineering from ETH Zurich, and a PhD from the University of Cambridge. Her research focuses on developing and analysing Monte Carlo methods for neutron transport, and on nuclear data evaluation and validation.

Paul CosgrovePaul is an assistant teaching professor and research fellow at the University of Cambridge. After graduating from Queen’s, Belfast in chemical engineering (2014), he moved to Cambridge where obtained his MPhil in Nuclear Energy (2016) and PhD in engineering (2020). Paul’s research concerns computational reactor physics, particularly stochastic transport and understanding the behaviour of different algorithms.

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 | WI
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.

Human Factors & Ergonomics Society (HFES) Kick-off Meeting
2025-09-11 16:00 - 17:30 | 3210 Mechanical Engineering Building, 1513 University Avenue, Madison, 53706
Meet the board, learn about human factors opportunities, and connect with fellow students. Pizza provided!

RSVP here!

ISyE -IISE - Bonfire & Smores Night
2025-09-11 18:00 - 20:00 | Picnic Point (Fire Pit 4), Enter from University Bay Drive, Madison
Join the IISE student organization for this social networking event at Picnic Point! (And earn 1 DM point!)

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.

INFORMS Kick-off Meeting
2025-09-12 14:00 - 15:00 | 3127 Mechanical Engineering, Madison, 53717
Please join UW-Madison’s INFORMS student chapter for their fall kick-off meeting.

INFORMS is the largest professional association for the decision and data sciences. Come learn what INFORMS is all about, meet fellow students, and hear about upcoming events and opportunities. All are welcome!

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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ECE Discovery Panel: Computer Systems & Architecture
2025-09-16 12:20 - 12:50 | 2317 Engineering Hall, 1415 Engineering Drive, Madison, 53711
Engineering undergraduates! Join us in 2317 Engineering Hall as faculty members explore the technical area of Computer Systems and Architecture! All undergraduate students are welcome as Teaching Faculty Eric Hoffman, Associate Professor Joshua San Miguel, and Professor Azadeh Davoodi talk about application ideas, advanced course electives in this area, and future job opportunities. It’s a great place to ask your questions about classes and career paths in this growing ECE field.

Jimmy John’s sandwiches will be served after the panel.

Eric Hoffman

Joshua San Miguel

Azadeh Davoodi
