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College of Engineering news

A drone used to deliver an AED to remote areas
March 17, 2025

Autonomous defibrillator-toting drone can fly aid anywhere

A team of University of Wisconsin-Madison engineers has designed a drone-based system to rapidly deliver an Automated External Defibrillator, or AED, to remote areas. In February 2025, the team had…

UW-Madison civil and environmental engineering PhD student Wei Han demonstrates a virtual reality system his group is using to research how drones affect construction worker safety on work sites
March 12, 2025

In virtual reality, new study explores safe drone use on construction sites

The buzz of drones on construction sites is becoming ever more common, enabling crews to scan or inspect their work from above. At the same time, those drones can distract…

Kaibo Liu
March 12, 2025

Touched by cancer, Liu trains artificial intelligence to uncover the genes behind disease

As an industrial data science researcher, Kaibo Liu has devoted much of his adult life to improving quality in manufacturing systems and monitoring the health of machines. That changed in…

George Tzimpragos
March 7, 2025

Focus on new faculty: George Tzimpragos is rebooting computer architecture

Over the past 80 years, computers have progressed from room-sized collections of vacuum tubes and mechanical relays to the tiny digital devices we now carry in our pockets. Along with…

Jennifer Volk
February 26, 2025

Focus on new faculty: Jennifer Volk aims to make the promise of unconventional devices a reality

Estimates show that in the near future, traditional semiconductors will no longer keep up with our computing demands. That has led to a wave of interest in unlocking the potential…

UW Crest with engineering background
February 17, 2025

Researchers harness machine learning to discover membranes that remove ‘forever chemicals’ from drinking water

Someday, your drinking water could be completely free of toxic “forever chemicals.” These chemicals, called PFAS (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), are found in common household items like makeup, nonstick cookware,…

Professor Haoran Wei, left, and PhD student Hanwei Wang work in a lab
February 13, 2025

For at-home tap water test under development, seeing red means no lead

A group of civil and environmental engineering graduate students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is designing an affordable, easy-to-use test that will allow residents to identify lead in their tap…

Students in ME 376 work on a lab assignment. Credit: Adam Malecek.
February 10, 2025

New mechatronics course prepares students for high-demand engineering jobs

Mechatronics—integrating mechanical systems with electronics and software—is essential to a growing number of products and systems, including cellphones, vehicles and robots. “There is a significant demand for engineers with mechatronics…

Xiaopeng Li with UW-Madison autonomous passenger vehicles
February 7, 2025

With UW-Madison leadership, autonomous vehicles could bridge transportation gaps for people living in rural areas

University of Wisconsin-Madison engineers are leading a first-of-its-kind research center devoted to advancing autonomous vehicle (AV) availability in rural and tribal communities. The Tribal and Rural Autonomous Vehicles for Equity,…

PhD student Jinuan Lin (left) and ECE Assistant Professor Chu Ma in the lab
January 31, 2025

New far-field imaging technique brings deeper clarity to ultrasound

University of Wisconsin-Madison engineers have developed a new technique for improving the penetration and resolution of ultrasound—an imaging tool that’s not only commonly used in medicine, but also in everything…