2024 in review: Building on strong foundation - College of Engineering

Northwest view of the outside of the new UW-Madison College of Engineering building

The start of a new era

State funding and private donations, including a record gift from UW-Madison alumni Marvin and Jeffrey Levy, will allow the college to construct a new $347 million engineering building for research and instruction. At nearly 400,000 square feet, it will continue to facilitate the college’s growth. Following the building’s approval, Grainger Dean Ian Robertson announced his retirement.

Southwest view of the outside of the new UW-Madison College of Engineering building

Wisconsin approves new UW-Madison engineering building

March 6, 2024

Phillip A Levy Engineering Center spelled out on the entrance of the new UW-Madison College of Engineering Building

With $75 million gift for new UW-Madison engineering building, brothers’ impact spans generations and transcends campus boundaries

September 11, 2024

Robertson to step down as College of Engineering dean

April 22, 2024

Research that enables the future

Every new device or technology emerges from years of progress. Among the milestones our researchers hit this year:

UW-Madison engineers make 3D printing breakthrough in race to in-space manufacturing

Krishanu Saha reviews cells in his laboratory with a student

Serendipity reveals new method to fight cancer with T cells

Patrick Sullivan and Gyohun Choi working in the lab

Engineered additive makes low-cost renewable energy storage a possibility

New antenna design thwarts attempts to sidetrack or steal sensitive information

postdoctoral researcher Wissam Kontar and PhD student Erin Bulson

A more digestible CO2 calculator swaps cheeseburgers for carbon

Researchers celebrate achieving a plasma from the control room at the Wisconsin HTS Axisymmetric Mirror Project (WHAM) experiment

First plasma marks major milestone in UW–Madison fusion energy research

Printed sensors in soil could help farmers improve crop yields and save money

PhD student Yizhou Yao working in the lab

An electrifying discovery may help doctors deliver more effective gene therapies

Xudong Wang and graduate student Wenjian Liu show off the dendrite-inhibiting membrane

Self-flattening membrane will power a smooth transition to next-generation batteries

Sean Palecek and Eric Shusta working in the lab

For researchers, new serum-free cell line could advance understanding of brain disorders

A sweet solution: Chemical process can turn high-fructose corn syrup into valuable pharmaceuticals

Researchers Md Sariful Sheikh, Ryan Jacobs, Jun Meng and Dane Morgan

An oxide in a haystack: From a field of 34,000, advanced computational techniques identify exactly the right material

Expert perspectives

Our faculty members use their hard-won knowledge to explain timely topics.

Whitney Loo being interviewed by Alex Holloway

Ask an expert: Whitney Loo explains plastics recycling and the challenges of sustainability

Christian Franck discusses traumatic brain injuries in an interview

Ask an expert: Franck breaks down blast and bump injuries to the brain

Ask an expert: Science and common sense for the solar eclipse

Ask an expert: Saha explains CRISPR

Through major new research centers, prestigious early career awards and more, our engineers continue to attract some of the nation’s top honors.

Top honors

Fresh faces

We’ve welcomed 14 new faculty members during the 2024-25 academic year.

Biomedical Engineering Assistant Professor Aarushi Bhargava

Industrial and Systems Engineering Assistant Professor Michael Biehler

Mechanical Engineering Assistant Professor Thomas Breunung

Electrical and Computer Engineering Professor Dorota Grejner-Brzezinska

Electrical and Computer Engineering Assistant Professor Mahima Gupta

Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics Assistant Professor Charles Hirst

Mechanical Engineering Assistant Professor Prateek Jaiswal

Mechanical Engineering Assistant Professor Xiao Kuang

Industrial and Systems Engineering Assistant Professor Dan Li

Mechanical Engineering Assistant Professor Weiyu Li

Chemical and Biological Engineering Assistant Professor Mai Ngo

Electrical and Computer Engineering Assistant Professor Georgios Tzimpragos

Electrical and Computer Engineering Assistant Professor Jennifer Volk

Industrial and Systems Engineering Assistant Professor Andi Wang

Superb students

In and out of the classroom, our undergraduate and graduate students embrace our college’s mantra of “learning by doing.”

Student Ben Levy makes an adjustment to his haptic glove

Undergrad’s ambitious research project produces novel haptic glove design

As a high school student in the San Francisco Bay Area during COVID pandemic lockdowns, Ben Levy had a lot of free time on his hands while being stuck at…

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In the news

Whether they’re discussing their own research or lending their expertise to add context to the latest news, our engineers appear in hundreds of media outlets each year.