Skip to main content

College of Engineering news

Aviad Hai
April 15, 2026

New tool for researchers makes it easier to analyze individual neurons

The electrical properties of a neuron paint a picture of its development and function. A new user-friendly and accessible tool developed at the Waisman Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with the help of biomedical…

Lukas Desorcy takes a microscope image of a diffusion welded sample
March 16, 2026

The safety breakthrough behind tomorrow’s compact nuclear reactors

Compact heat exchangers could enable advanced nuclear reactors that are smaller, more efficient and more affordable—but a critical step in their adoption is verifying they can withstand the high temperatures and possibly high pressures in…

Stock image of an electrocardiogram readout
February 16, 2026

Once confined to the lab, new hyperspectral imaging tech is on the cusp of application for remote biometric sensing and much more

University of Wisconsin-Madison engineers have developed a new technology that can read a person’s pulse, blood pressure and oxygen saturation—remotely. Unlike other remote biometric sensors, this new “hyperspectral imaging” technology can operate in real-world, ambient-light…

A student follows a robotic dog on a construction site
January 29, 2026

Robots to the rescue?

While fantasies of mechanical maids aren’t yet reality, autonomous aides are emerging in a few areas of the modern world. Highlight reels from the inaugural World Humanoid Robot Games, held in August 2025 in Beijing,…

Mehmet Orman
January 28, 2026

Focus on new faculty: Mehmet Orman uncovers secrets of drug-tolerant ‘persister’ cells

Genetic mutations can yield antibiotic-resistant bacteria that stifle medical treatments, drive recurrence of disease and cause patient deaths. But there’s another, lesser-known way bacterial cells can thwart antibiotics—by essentially playing possum. “Persister” cells lie low…

Charlie Hirst works on equipment in the UW-Madison Ion Beam Laboratory
January 23, 2026

Engineers watch radiation-damaged nuclear reactor materials fix themselves in real time

In nuclear reactors, radiation causes defects to form inside materials, and this process can change those materials’ overall properties—usually for the worse. One approach for mitigating this radiation damage is heating those damaged materials. This…

PhD student Molly McCord works in the lab
January 23, 2026

Physics-defying discovery sheds new light on how cells move

The cells in our bodies move in groups during biological processes such as wound healing and tissue development—but because of resistance, or viscosity, those cells can’t just neatly glide past each other. Or can they?…

JungHyun Bae
January 23, 2026

Focus on new faculty: JungHyun Bae is developing radiation detection technology to enhance safety

As the demand for nuclear energy increases, there are growing challenges for managing the spent nuclear fuel. The United States doesn’t yet have a licensed site for permanent storage, so the spent fuel is stored…

Randy Bartels
January 21, 2026

‘Quantum imaging’ could open new window to nanoscale universe

As spectacular as modern imaging can be in illuminating the tiniest aspects of life, some avenues of biology are still cloaked in darkness. Biological processes that happen over long periods of time—for example, exchanges of…

Researchers use equipment in the lab of Professor Mikhail Kats, led by PhD student Rabeeya Hamid
December 19, 2025

Power-free imaging breakthrough brings near-infrared light into sight

University of Wisconsin-Madison electrical engineers have dramatically improved a semiconductor-based imaging system that makes near-infrared light visible to the naked eye. Near-infrared is the band of electromagnetic radiation between roughly 750 and 1,400 nanometers; it…