College of Engineering rural networking event
2026-03-05 17:00 - 18:00 (America/Chicago) | Engineering Centers Building: Tong Auditorium, Madison, 53706
Engineering Centers Building – Tong Auditorium

Dr. Jennifer Detlor

Join the College of Engineering for a presentation by Dr. Jennifer Detlor about her current research project on rural engineering students and her own rural background! Attendees will be invited to express their interest in being a part of the study. Come learn how your experiences can shape future support for rural CoE students!

Sign up – rural networking event

ISyE - Welcome Back, Badger!
2026-03-06 09:55 - 10:45 | 1800 Engineering Hall, 1415 Engineering Drive, Madison, 53711
Our alumni speaker series is back! Join us as we welcome Jodi Glunz, (BSIE ’92) to share her career journey as an Ergonomics Consultant.

Jodi Glunz – MS, CPE

Mechanics Seminar: Professor Theresa Saxton-Fox
2026-03-06 12:00 - 13:00 | 1227 Engineering Hall, 1415 Engineering Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, United States
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 Theresa Saxton-Fox is a professor at University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

ISyE - Ice skating with IISE
2026-03-06 17:00 - 18:15 | Bakke Recreation & Wellbeing Center, 1976 Observatory Dr, Madison, Wisconsin, 53706
Bakke Recreation & Wellbeing Center

Join IISE at the Bakke for an awesome ice skate social. Free admission and complimentary skates for all!

ECE RISE-AI SEMINAR SERIES: Dr. Jingfeng Wu
2026-03-09 16:00 - 17:00 | Discovery Building, 330 N. Orchard St., Madison, Wisconsin, 53715
Towards a Less Conservative Theory of Machine Learning: Unstable Optimization and Implicit Regularization

Abstract: Deep learning’s empirical success challenges the “conservative” nature of classical optimization and statistical learning theories. Classical theory mandates small stepsizes for training stability and explicit regularization for complexity control. Yet, deep learning leverages mechanisms that thrive beyond these traditional boundaries. In this talk, I present a research program dedicated to building a less conservative theoretical foundation by demystifying two such mechanisms:

1. Unstable Optimization: I show that large stepsizes, despite causing local oscillations, accelerate the global convergence of gradient descent (GD) in overparameterized logistic regression.

Dr. Jingfeng Wu

2. Implicit Regularization: I show that the implicit regularization of early-stopped GD statistically dominates explicit $ell_2$-regularization across all linear regression problem instances.

I further showcase how the theoretical principles lead to practice-relevant algorithmic designs (such as Seesaw for reducing serial steps in large language model pretraining). I conclude by outlining a path towards a rigorous understanding of modern learning paradigms.

Bio: Dr. Jingfeng Wu is a postdoctoral fellow at the Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing at UC Berkeley. His research focuses on deep learning theory, optimization, and statistical learning. He earned his Ph.D. in Computer Science from Johns Hopkins University. Prior to that, he received a B.S. in Mathematics and an M.S. in Applied Mathematics, both from Peking University. In 2023, he was recognized as a Rising Star in Data Science by the University of Chicago and UC San Diego.

Location details: Discovery Building – Research’s Link, 2nd floor of Discovery Building (access through glass doors behind information desk)

ISyE - Study night
2026-03-09 17:00 - 19:00 | 410 Wendt Commons, 215 N Randall Avenue, Madison, 53706
410 Wendt Commons

Studying alone is no fun – join the students of IISE to subsitute a boring study night with one full of food and friends. Special thanks to corporate sponsor AprilAire.

ECE Discovery Panel: Optimization and Control
2026-03-10 12:20 - 12:50 | 1610 Engineering Hall, 1415 Engineering Drive, Madison, 53706
Engineering undergraduates! Join us in 1610 Engineering Hall as faculty members explore the technical area of Optimization and Control! All undergraduate students are welcome as Assistant Professor Jeremy Coulson, Associate Professor Line Roald, and Assistant Professor Manish Singh talk about application ideas, advanced course electives, and future job opportunities in this area. It’s a great place to ask your questions about classes and career paths in this exciting ECE field.

Come for the insights, stay for the Jimmy John’s sandwiches!

Jeremy Coulson

Line Roald

Manish Singh

CBE Seminar Series: Alexandra Bayles
2026-03-10 16:00 - 17:00
Alexandra BaylesChemical and Biomolecular EngineeringUniversity of DelewareNewark, Delaware

Advective processing strategies for architecting functional soft materials

Natural and engineered soft materials often derive their functionality from the hierarchical arrangement of chemically distinct building blocks. Self- and directed-assembly strategies that organize nano- and microscale elements into mesoscopic architectures have transformed our ability to realize materials with macroscopic properties superior to those of their individual components. However, challenges associated with adapting these processes across diverse chemistries and production volumes can limit their practical utility and deployment in advanced manufacturing. In this context, our research group leverages principles of chaotic advection to continuously architect functional soft materials.

In this talk, I will describe how we design modular fluidic devices to sculpt the spatial distribution of building blocks along laminar streamlines. Inspired by static mixers optimized to layer polymeric melts, these devices incorporate junctions that split, rotate, and recombine serpentine flows. We demonstrate the ability to assemble an extensive library of geometric patterns by ordering junctions in deliberate sequences. Serial combinations of certain junctions multiply patterns while preserving their relative spacing and orientation. This implementation of the baker’s transformation rapidly thins the characteristic feature size in layered, fibrous, and dendritic architectures. Combining junctions in parallel breaks symmetry, providing access to previously unattainable voxelated structures. Because organization is primarily governed by rheology rather than chemistry, these advective assembly processes provide an adaptable framework for patterning long-range order in extruded materials with rheologically similar precursors. We illustrate this versatility by processing viscoplastic materials to advance emerging applications. For extrusion-based 3D printing, we sculpt multimaterial filaments in advective assembly nozzles prior to deposition. Preassembling lower levels of the hierarchy in flow circumvents challenges of layer-by-layer deposition, including maintaining high throughput while preserving resolution. For soft actuator fabrication, we organize contrasting polymer solutions in flow and secure distributions after extrusion via UV polymerization. Including specific moieties induces swelling in response to light, temperature, and salt stimuli, while the mesoscale arrangement directs motion without delamination. For synthetic tissue engineering, we exploit the gentle laminar flows organize mammalian cells in biomimetic, fine architectures while mitigating shear-induced damage. Overall, the modular extrusion platform expands the assembly toolbox, unlocking new opportunities in designing functional soft and living materials.

MS&E Seminar Series: Professor Michael F. Toney, University of Colorado Boulder
2026-03-12 13:00 - 14:00
UW-Madison Department of Materials Science and Engineering welcomes Professor Michael F. Toney. His seminar, “Understanding static and dynamic local structure: Metal Halide Perovskites”, will take place on Thursday, March 12 from 1-2 p.m. in MS&E 265.

Bio

Michael Toney is a Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering and the Materials Science Program at the University of Colorado Boulder. He is a pioneer in the use of X-ray scattering and spectroscopy for the determination of atomic structure in materials for sustainable energy applications, especially inorganic and organic solar cells, interfacial electrochemistry, and electrochemical energy storage. Toney received his B.S. from Caltech and his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Washington. After a NATO Postdoctoral Fellowship in Denmark, he joined the IBM Research Division to focus on the use of X-ray scattering methods for structure determination for polymer thin films and interfaces. He joined the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL) in 2003 where he initiated science programs in sustainable energy materials. In 2020, he joined CU Boulder. Toney has reviewed several honors including a Fellow of the American Physical Society, the Farrell W Lytle Award and the CU Boulder Deans Performance Award in Research. He is a Thomson Reuters highly cited researchers in Materials Sciences from 2015 – present.

Abstract

Local atomic structure often differs from the global average structure as measured with diffraction and yet the local structure has a profound impact on properties. This structurefunction relationship applies in many materials classes, ranging from organics to Li-ion battery cathodes to oxide and halide perovskites. Accurately characterizing this local structure has proven challenging but recent advances in three-dimensional diffuse scattering (“between” Bragg peaks) has enabled local structure determination. In this talk, I will discuss the importance of local structure and how this can be quantified and will demonstrate this for organicinorganic hybrid halide perovskites [1,2]. These materials are a recently re-invigorated class of semiconductors that have demonstrated very high efficiencies for solar cells after just over a decade of research. While the importance of lattice dynamics and dynamical (dis)order have been recognized in these materials, their nature is only poorly known and understood. We used X-ray and neutron diffuse scattering coupled with molecular dynamics to quantify the nature, size, and time scale associated with dynamical local order in CH NH PbI and CH NH PbBr perovskites. We observe that the nominally cubic perovskite consists of dynamical, twodimensional sheets of lower symmetry tetragonal regions of about 3 nm diameter with several picosecond lifetimes. The implications of the local structure on halide perovskite properties will be discussed.

[1] NJ Weadock et al., Joule 7, 5, 1051-1066 (2023)[2] DM Ladd, unpublished.

ME 903 Graduate Seminar: Professor Harley Johnson
2026-03-12 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 Harley Johnson is a professor at the University of Illinois – Urbana Champaign.

ISyE - Welcome Back, Badger!
2026-03-13 09:55 - 10:45 | 1800 Engineering Hall, 1415 Engineering Drive, Madison, 53711
ISyE’s alumni speaker series continues! Please welcome Jake Birrenkott (BSIE ’18), currently Technical Sales/Automation Solutions Engineer at Isthmus Engineering & Manufacturing Co-Operative.

Jake Birrenkott

Mechanics Seminar: Professor Xiaobo Tan
2026-03-13 12:00 - 13:00 | 1227 Engineering Hall, 1415 Engineering Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, United States
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 Xiaobo Tan is a professor at Michigan State University.

ECE RISE-AI SEMINAR SERIES: Kunhe Yang
2026-03-13 12:00 - 13:00 | Discovery Building, 330 N. Orchard St., Madison, Wisconsin, 53715
Designing and Evaluating AI Algorithms in Strategic Environments

Kunhe Yang

Abstract: As AI models are increasingly deployed in environments shaped by complex human behaviors, there is a critical need for algorithmic principles that account for human values and strategic incentives. In this talk, I will introduce my research on the theoretical foundations for designing and evaluating AI in human-centered strategic environments. I will focus on two key representative lines of my research: first, I will discuss incentive-aware evaluation, with the goal of designing metrics that remain robust even when they become targets of optimization. I will illustrate this in the context of online probability forecasting and introduce algorithmic principles for designing calibration measures that incentivize truthful predictions. Second, I will discuss AI alignment with heterogeneous human preferences by introducing a framework called the distortion of AI alignment. Within this framework, I will characterize the information-theoretic limits of learning from sparse heterogeneous feedback, and compare the robustness of different alignment approaches including RLHF and NLHF. I conclude by discussing future directions and a broader vision for integrating these algorithmic principles into the design of trustworthy, human-centric AI.

Bio: Kunhe Yang is a fifth-year PhD candidate in Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at the University of California, Berkeley, where she is advised by Professor Nika Haghtalab. Her research focuses on the theoretical foundations of AI in human-centered environments by drawing on tools from machine learning theory and algorithmic economics. Her work has been recognized by several awards, including EECS Rising Star, invited speaker at the Cornell Young Researchers workshop, finalist for the Meta Research PhD Fellowship in the Economics and Computation track, and a SIGMETRICS best paper award.

Location details: Discovery Building – Research’s Link, 2nd floor of Discovery Building (access through glass doors behind information desk)

ISyE - Deterministic Benchmarks to Inform Sequential Decisions Using Lookahead
2026-03-13 12:00 - 13:00 | 1163 Mechanical Engineering, 1513 Engineering Dr., Madison, WI, 53706, United States
UW-ISyE looks forward to welcoming Itai Gurvich from Northwestern University.

Dynamic programming is a canonical tool for solving complex sequential decision problems in operations. Yet, because it suffers from the curse of dimensionality, one often must rely on approximations. Among these, deterministic—or “fluid”—approximations have long served as tractable benchmarks that reveal key structural properties of optimal or near-optimal policies in dynamic resource allocation problems across service operations and revenue management.

While such fluid approximations have been widely—and often ad hoc—applied, this talk presents a systematic framework for leveraging them to design high-quality control policies through what we call fluid lookahead. I will illustrate the approach in a family of finite-horizon revenue management problems, showing how fluid lookahead captures key structural properties of the true optimal policies and, perhaps surprisingly, achieves near-optimal performance with only a few lookahead steps.

This is joint work with Daniel Loredo Duran (PhD student) and Jan A. Van Mieghem.

Bio: Itai Gurvich is a Professor at the Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. He earned his Ph.D. from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business in 2008 and joined Kellogg the same year. From 2016 to 2020, he was on the faculty of Cornell University’s campus in New York City (Cornell Tech) before returning to Kellogg in 2021.

Professor Gurvich’s research focuses on the performance analysis and optimization of processing networks, as well as the theory of stochastic-process approximations. His work has been recognized with the INFORMS Applied Probability Society’s Best Publication Award. He has served as the Stochastic Models Area Editor for Operations Research and as Chair of the INFORMS Applied Probability Society.

ECE QUANTUM ENGINEERING SEMINAR SERIES: Joshua Viszlai
2026-03-16 10:00 - 11:00 | 2534 Engineering Hall, 1415 Engineering Drive, Madison, Wisconsin, 53706, United States
A Systems Approach to Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computing

Joshua Viszlai

Abstract: We are beginning a remarkably exciting time for quantum computing. There is a growing consensus that quantum error correction (QEC) is needed to reach scales necessary for quantum advantage, and recent major demonstrations have led to a new generation of error-corrected quantum computers. These demonstrations transition QEC from a theoretical idea introduced in 1995 to an experimental reality. Underlying this milestone is rapid progress in the scale of quantum hardware, with systems today featuring up to 1,000 qubits and error rates nearing 0.1%. However, looking towards the future, significant work is still needed to organize and scale quantum hardware to create fault-tolerant quantum computers (FTQC) capable of practical quantum advantage.While the theory of FTQC is promising, effectively connecting it to real devices poses significant challenges. In this talk I will discuss the role of systems and architecture research in efficiently addressing these challenges, focusing on two examples of my work. First, I will describe the problems involved in large-scale, real-time QEC decoding, and detail a speculative window decoder that reduces decoder reaction time by up to 50%. Second, I will show how insights from decoding lead to a heuristic for compiling QEC codes that reduces logical error rates by 2.5x-4x and helps automate QEC design space exploration. Together, these works fit into a larger vision on a full-stack view of FTQC and highlight opportunities for interdisciplinary, systems-level research to accelerate the realization of large-scale quantum computing.

Bio: Joshua Viszlai is a Ph.D. student at the University of Chicago advised by Fred Chong. His research spans both theory and experiment with a focus on bridging the gap between current quantum devices and fault-tolerant quantum computing. His work has been implemented in quantum hardware and has been published in top-tier conferences in the fields of computer architecture and quantum computing leading to two best paper awards and a best poster honorable mention award. Joshua is also a consultant at Infleqtion, a company developing neutral atom quantum computers, where he helps lead research on quantum error correction.

BME Seminar Series
2026-03-16 12:00 - 13:00, 2026-03-23 12:00 - 13:00 | 1003 (Tong Auditorium) Engineering Centers Building, 1550 Engineering Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, United States
Speaker TBA

ECE QUANTUM ENGINEERING SEMINAR SERIES: Dr. Shai Tsesses
2026-03-17 10:00 - 11:00 | 2317 Engineering Hall, 1415 Engineering Drive, Madison, 53711
Unlocking New Capabilities for Quantum Computation with Neutral Atom Arrays

Dr. Shai Tsesses

Abstract: Neutral atom arrays have become a frontrunner in the race for utility scale quantum computation [1], building on their reconfigurability [2], scalability [3] and high fidelity for all operations [4] – idling, detection, single- and two-qubit gates. However, they still suffer from key bottlenecks that constrain their operational speed and their implementation of deep quantum circuits. In this talk, I will show how my recent work can bend these constraints and sometimes completely break them. I will present results on accelerated detection of the atoms via high-lying energy states (Rydberg states) [5] and introduce novel protocols for reconfigurable multi-qubit gates [6], promoting improved circuit implementation speed for error correction. I will then update on our current progress in building a continuously operating neutral atom quantum processor, which mitigates the negative influences of atom loss, and present a new scheme we developed to operate atom array systems for this purpose [7]. Lastly, I will touch on the final frontier – how to increase system size to a utility scale number of qubits and provide my own solution to it: free electron quantum interconnects between neutral atom quantum processing modules.

Bio: Dr. Shai Tsesses is a postdoctoral associate at the MIT–Harvard Center for Ultracold Atoms, working with Prof. Vladan Vuletić. At MIT, he is leading a team developing the next generation of neutral atom quantum processors, able to implement deep and high-fidelity quantum circuits. Dr. Tsesses earned his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the Technion–Israel Institute of Technology, where he made key experimental contributions to topological and quantum nano-photonics, as well as free-electron–light interactions. His research explores the frontiers of light–matter interaction, bridging atomic physics, electron beam physics, and quantum information science. He has authored more than 30 publications in leading journals such as Science and Nature, and is a recipient of numerous fellowships and awards, including the Rothschild and Adams Fellowships, as well as the OPTICA Tingye Li Innovation Prize.

Founder's Day Lecture: Nedim Emil Altaras
2026-03-17 16:00 - 17:00
Room 1610 Engineering Hall

Nedim Emil AltarasSVP Technical Development LeadModerna Therapeutics, Cambridge, MA

Pressure Is a Privilege: Industrializing an mRNA Platform for Speed, Scale, and Reliability

As a chemical engineer, I think of our profession as the discipline of translating fundamentals into working systems: reducing complex problems to first principles, quantifying constraints, and designing processes that perform in the real world. Over the past decade at Moderna, that mindset was tested in the most consequential setting. I built the Technical Development capabilities that supported pandemic readiness and then worked from Day 1 of the Covid-19 pandemic to translate an mRNA vaccine from sequence to reproducible clinical and commercial supply.

This lecture is about industrialization—moving from a working process to a scalable, controlled manufacturing system. It is not simply “making more.” It is establishing a platform that can execute with short cycle times while maintaining process capability and product quality. I will describe what it takes to industrialize an mRNA platform when time becomes the first-class design constraint: parallelizing development, standardizing unit operations/interfaces, and using modular manufacturing approaches so performance can be robustly replicated across equipment, sites, and teams.

The same platform and operational discipline that proved itself under pandemic pressure has continued to translate beyond a single product—supporting additional licensed vaccines and extending into therapeutics, including individualized oncology programs and rare-disease efforts.

I will frame the experience around three engineering priorities: speed, scale, and reliability. Speed comes from clear decision rules under uncertainty, risk-based development plans, and rapid feedback from analytics and manufacturing. Scale is achieved by designing robustness to variability, building standard work for technology transfer, and ensuring consistent execution across the network. Reliability—and the assurance to defend it—is built through characterization, a defined control strategy, comparability to enable lifecycle changes, and documentation discipline that makes data and decisions defendable.

Ultimately, pressure is a privilege because it reflects responsibility: responsibility to solve problems that matter, to build systems that hold up under scrutiny, and to translate engineering work into human impact with life changing mRNA medicines.

ECE QUANTUM ENGINEERING SEMINAR SERIES: Hezi Zhang
2026-03-18 10:00 - 11:00 | 2534 Engineering Hall, 1415 Engineering Drive, Madison, Wisconsin, 53706, United States
Quantum Computing Systems: Toward Scalable and Efficient Quantum Computation

Hezi Zhang

Abstract: Quantum computing has emerged as a transformative frontier of computation. In recent years, quantum hardware has scaled at an unprecedented rate. As this momentum continues, the central challenge is shifting upward in the stack—from hardware-level feasibility toward system-level scalability. This talk will focus on quantum computer architecture and compiler systems, introducing the challenges and opportunities to efficiently harness device capabilities and lower the demands on hardware technology, thereby accelerating timelines for practical quantum advantage.

Bio: Hezi Zhang is a fifth-year Ph.D. candidate in the Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) department at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD). She received her M.S. in Computer Science from the Georgia Institute of Technology (GT) and her B.S. in Physics from the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC). Her current research interests lie in quantum computing architecture and compiler optimization, including supporting scalable quantum computing and exploring different quantum computing paradigms.

Mechanics Seminar: Professor Dabanjan Mukherjee
2026-03-20 12:00 - 13:00 | 1227 Engineering Hall, 1415 Engineering Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, United States
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 Dabanjan Mukherjee is a professor at University of Colorado Boulder.

ECE SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIALS SEMINAR SERIES: Dr. Alex Honghyuk Kim
2026-03-24 12:00 - 13:00 | 2345 Engineering Hall, 1415 Engineering Drive, Madison, 53711
Development of Novel III–V Semiconductor Heterostructures: Overcoming Physical Limits

Alex Honghyuk Kim

Abstract: Recent advances in the epitaxial growth of III–V compound semiconductors have enabled high-performance electronic and photonic devices. However, conventional III–V and III–N material systems remain fundamentally limited by intrinsic physical and chemical constraints, including substrate-dependent lattice and bandgap properties. These limitations hinder progress in emerging applications such as neuromorphic photonics, monolithic integration with silicon photonics, and full-color micro-LED arrays. In this talk, strategies to overcome these intrinsic limitations will be discussed, with a focus on the development of novel III–V compound semiconductor material systems enabled by precise control of lattice mismatch, phase stability, and miscibility gaps. The role of metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) in kinetic material design will be highlighted, together with the realization of chemically and physically metastable III–V heterostructures beyond conventional epitaxial limits.

Bio: Alex Honghyuk Kim is an Assistant Professor in the School of Semiconductor Convergence Engineering at Hanyang University, South Korea. He received his Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, where his research focused on the epitaxial growth of III–V compound semiconductors for advanced optoelectronic applications. His research interests include MOVPE-based epitaxy of III–V compound semiconductor materials, metastable heterostructures, and the design and characterization of advanced optoelectronic devices. Prior to joining Hanyang University, he held research positions at Lumileds LLC, Northwestern University, and the Korea Photonics Technology Institute. He has authored and coauthored over 30 peer-reviewed journal papers and currently serves as a co-principal investigator on multiple nationally funded semiconductor research projects.

ME 903 Graduate Seminar: Laura Grossenbacher
2026-03-26 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 Laura Grossenbacher is the Director of Technical Communication with the College of Engineering at UW-Madison.

Mechanics Seminar: Professor Xiangru Xu
2026-03-27 12:00 - 13:00 | 1227 Engineering Hall, 1415 Engineering Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, United States
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 Xiangru Xu is a professor at UW-Madison.

BME Seminar Series: Natasah Seybani, PhD
2026-04-06 12:00 - 13:00 | 1003 (Tong Auditorium) Engineering Centers Building, 1550 Engineering Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, United States
Topic TBA

ECE Distinguished Speaker Seminar Series: Professor Seth Ariel Tongay
2026-04-07 13:00 - 14:00 | 2317 Engineering Hall, 1415 Engineering Drive, Madison, 53711
Pushing the Limits of 2D Janus Layers

Abstract:Named after the two faced Roman God Janus, 2D Janus layers contain two different atomic types on its top and bottom faces. Previous theoretical studies have shown that broken mirror symmetry together with large change transfer across the top and bottom face opens up completely new quantum properties including Rashba effect, colossal Janus field, dipolar excitons, and Skyrmion formation. Despite the theoretical advances in the field, experimental results are still limited due to limitations in high quality 2D Janus layer synthesis. In this talk, I will introduce recent discoveries made at Arizona State University towards different types of Janus layers. The growth process relies on Plasma enhanced low pressure chemical vapor deposition (PE-LPCVD). With this all room temperature technique, our team can synthesize different Janus layers as well as their vertical / lateral heterojunctions, and Janus nanoscrolls. Further studies from our team will introduce on-demand fabrication of 2D Janus layers with unique in-situ growth capabilities that allows us to collect spectroscopy data during the course of Janus material growth. Results are presented along with microscopy, spectroscopy, high – pressure studies, and electronic transport datasets for complete understanding of these systems.

Professor Seth Ariel Tongay

Bio:Professor Seth Ariel Tongay is an internationally recognized materials scientist and engineer whose research bridges fundamental discoveries and real-world manufacturing of next-generation semiconductors. He serves as one of the research directors of College of Engineering at Arizona State University, home to the largest engineering college in the United States.Prof. Tongay’s research focuses on lab-to-fab integration of emergent semiconductor materials, addressing key challenges in metal interconnects, stress liner technologies, and advanced device architectures such as FinFETs and gate-all-around (GAA) transistors. He is particularly known for his seminal contributions to two dimensional (2D) materials, including Janus semiconductors and the discovery of quasi-one- dimensional (quasi-1D) layered systems.He has published over 350 peer-reviewed papers and holds an h-index of 86, reflecting his high impact across materials science, nanotechnology, and semiconductor physics. His work has been recognized with the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE), NSF CAREER Award, and fellowships from the American Physical Society, Royal Society of Chemistry, and the Institute of Physics.Prof. Tongay is also an associate editor for Applied Physics Reviews (AIP) and npj 2D Materials and Applications (Nature). His research is supported by the CHIPS Act, NSF, DOE, ARO, and industry leaders including Intel and Applied Materials.

ME 903 Graduate Seminar: Professor Riley Barta
2026-04-09 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 Riley Barta is a professor at Purdue University.

Mechanics Seminar: Professor Ricardo Vinuesa
2026-04-10 12:00 - 13:00 | 1227 Engineering Hall, 1415 Engineering Drive, Madison, WI, 53706, United States
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 Ricardo Vinuesa is a professor at Michigan University.

ECE Undergraduate Research Symposium
2026-04-14 11:30 - 13:00 | Discovery Building, 330 N. Orchard St., Madison, Wisconsin, 53715
The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering invites you to join us for the second annual ECE Undergraduate Research Symposium. The symposium will be an exciting showcase of undergraduate research beyond the classroom. Selected students and teams will present their innovative work during a poster session where all are encouraged to talk with the undergraduate researchers about their discoveries.

This event is open to the public—come support our students and explore their cutting-edge research!

Event schedule:11:30 – 1:00 Poster session with light refreshments – Discovery Building Town CenterAwards to follow

ME 903 Graduate Seminar: Dr. Kelly Senecal
2026-04-16 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. Dr. Kelly Senecal is the co-founder of Converge CFD.
