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College of Engineering news

Grad student Anna Konstant examines a collaborative robot
October 4, 2023

When UW-Madison engineering ideas make their way across Wisconsin, everybody wins

Engineers play a critical role in solving challenges, whether they’re devising technology for the smart farms of the future, building fusion reactors to drive new sustainable energy possibilities, or creating…

ECE PhD student Hongyan Mei and Associate Professor Mikhail Kats
September 22, 2023

How a handful of stray atoms led to a new material that curves light in a record-setting way

A team led by scientists and engineers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the University of Southern California and Washington University in St. Louis, has created a unique, record-setting material that…

James Pikul
September 18, 2023

Focus on new faculty: James Pikul is redefining what we use to generate and store energy

A robot, hard at work, runs low on power. Instead of needing to be plugged in and waiting to recharge, the robot simply “eats” some nearby metal, which provides power…

Lei Zhou
September 12, 2023

Focus on new faculty: Lei Zhou is breaking down boundaries in precision mechatronics

Lei Zhou uses her interdisciplinary precision mechatronics research as a powerful tool for solving problems in various application areas, including semiconductor manufacturing equipment and robotics. With a systems focus, she…

Patrick Sullivan (left) and Xiu Liang Lyu working on designing and synthesizing new organic molecules.
August 3, 2023

For the sustainable grid of the future, the right battery chemistry matters

Renewable energy is ramping up quickly; in 2022, wind and solar power accounted for 12 percent of global energy output according to climate think tank Ember. But for these intermittent…

Yuan Ping
July 13, 2023

Focus on new faculty: Yuan Ping creates powerful tools to study quantum materials

Silicon transistors have made the modern electronics world possible over the last 50 years. In the next few decades, processors will need a new technology to improve computing power and…

Postdoctoral research associate Komal Chawla working in the lab
July 12, 2023

Discovery opens door to ultra-lightweight protective materials

In November 2022, University of Wisconsin-Madison engineers garnered widespread attention when they announced the creation of an ultra-shock-absorbing foam material that could dramatically improve helmets. The researchers’ material, an architected,…

PhD student Michael Patton working in lab
July 11, 2023

A unique material twist could expand spintronic memory devices

Materials science researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have developed a new way of making materials key to smaller, faster and more powerful next-generation computer memory devices. In the materials…

Izabela Szlufarska and graduate students Xuanxin Hu and Nuohao Liu conducting research
June 29, 2023

With sheer determination, researchers can make tough materials that bend without breaking

Shear band formation is not typically a good sign in a material—the bands often appear before a material fractures or fails. But materials science and engineering researchers at the University…

Jason Kawasaki working in his lab
June 27, 2023

Major NSF-sponsored materials research center funded for $18 million

The University of Wisconsin-Madison Materials Research Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) has received $18 million in funding from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for interdisciplinary exploration of fundamental questions in…