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College of Engineering news

Professor William Murphy and PhD student Joshua Choe use a microscope
December 8, 2023

Mineral coatings could enable shelf-stable mRNA therapies

The rapid development of mRNA-based vaccines against COVID-19 was a gamechanger in the global pandemic. The vaccines employ messenger RNA to direct cells to produce a protein from the surface…

December 7, 2023

Student-driven project brings solar-power to campus bus shelters

As bus riders traverse the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus, they may notice a few enhancements to the transit landscape: screens delivering real-time arrival information and overhead lights that illuminate late-night…

Chang Beom-Eom and Mark Rzchowski in the lab
December 5, 2023

A new spin on an old superconductor means that it can be an ideal spintronic material, too

Back in the 1980s, researchers discovered that a bismuthate oxide material was a rare type of superconductor that could operate at higher temperatures. Now, a team of engineers and physicists…

Evan Willing and Tyler Dabney working in cold spray lab
December 5, 2023

“Wonder” material gulps down hydrogen, spits it out, and protects fusion reactor walls

University of Wisconsin-Madison engineers have used cold spray coating technology to produce a revolutionary workhorse material that can withstand the harsh conditions in a fusion reactor. The advance, detailed in…

H3X co-founders Eric Maciolek, Jason Sylvestre and Max Liben
December 4, 2023

Power players: UW-Madison trio’s innovative electric motors land them on Forbes 30 Under 30 list

Electric cars and trucks are slowly but surely finding their way onto roads across the world. But when it comes to air travel, electric aviation still has a ways to…

cooling glass stock image
November 28, 2023

Computationally designed nanoparticle cuts building A/C costs while contributing to a healthier climate

About 10% of all the electricity produced in the world is used for air conditioning, and by some estimates that number is set to triple by 2050. So cutting down…

NECTO device attached to a surgical guidewire
November 28, 2023

Students’ invention aims to clip crucial minutes off endovascular surgeries

The device that netted a foursome of University of Wisconsin-Madison biomedical engineering classmates a 2023 Wisconsin Innovation Award doesn’t look flashy. It’s a small plastic cylinder, just over 1.5 inches…

electrically tunable optical device
November 20, 2023

Nanoscale “metasurface” turns one special material into a multifunctional optical device

A team of University of Wisconsin-Madison engineers has used the material vanadium dioxide to craft an optical device that is simultaneously an electrically tunable optical switch, optical limiter, and one-way…

UW Crest with engineering background
November 15, 2023

How machine learning can accelerate the design of next-gen nuclear reactor materials

A team of researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Indian Institute of Science (IISc) has developed machine learning models that can predict changes in the mechanical behavior of materials…

Team Wendy helmet liner system prototype
November 8, 2023

With $15M in new grants, engineers will help prevent traumatic brain injuries

With new funding from the U.S. Office of Naval Research, an interdisciplinary research initiative led by the University of Wisconsin-Madison will continue to grow its research on concussions and other…