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College of Engineering news

Photo of the newly developed thin film
May 16, 2025

Easy off: New technique levels up the industrial-scale production of electronic thin films

A team of researchers across several universities has developed a new, efficient technique for peeling ultra-thin crystalline electronic membranes away from their substrates—an advance that opens the door to wide-ranging…

May 15, 2025

In Wisconsin, Great Lakes partners are powering the next manufacturing revolution

An aggressive push to advance fusion from university experiments into energy for the real world. A new group aims to tap experts in the Midwest and beyond to capture the…

Professor Xiaoping Qian holds the 3D-printed optimized heat exchanger
May 6, 2025

Tapping a new toolbox, engineers buck tradition in new high-performing heat exchanger

By combining topology optimization and additive manufacturing, a team of University of Wisconsin-Madison engineers created a twisty high-temperature heat exchanger that outperformed a traditional straight channel design in heat transfer,…

Spot, a dog-like robot created by Boston Dynamics
April 30, 2025

The race for animal-like endurance in mobile robots hinges on new energy storage technology

If we envision a future in which humanoid or animal-inspired robots work at construction sites or safeguard older adults, then we’ll need to develop energy storage systems that will allow…

Xiao Kuang
April 24, 2025

Charting a bright path for volumetric 3D printing

Over the past 40 years, additive manufacturing techniques have opened up new possibilities in manufacturing by enabling the fabrication of highly complex parts. An emerging technology called volumetric 3D printing…

Industrial steel pipes iStock
April 21, 2025

A faster, cheaper way to restore stainless steel’s corrosion resistance

Found in everything from kitchen appliances to sustainable energy infrastructure, stainless steels are used extensively due to their excellent corrosion (rusting) resistance. They’re important material in many industries, including manufacturing,…

Alastair Big Luna
April 9, 2025

From finance to fission: Nontraditional student makes bold move for PhD

Alastair Big Luna (PhDME ’25) speaks deliberately and calmly, even though he’s unsure what the next chapter of his life will bring. As a father of three who moved across…

Colleen Witzenburg
April 7, 2025

With CAREER Award, Witzenburg examines the mechanics behind a change of heart

A cell in a crucial heart valve leaflet feels a disruptive stretch, so it produces more of the structural protein collagen—and in extreme cases even produces calcium—to ease its physical…

Postdoctoral scholar Ted Chavkin
April 7, 2025

“Super algae” could suck phosphorus out of manure and keep waterways healthy

A team of chemical and biological engineering researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison has developed a new strain of cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae, which takes up 8.5 times…

iStock image of an electric vehicle charging
March 24, 2025

Mechanistic understanding could enable better fast-charging batteries

Fast-charging lithium-ion batteries are ubiquitous, powering everything from cellphones and laptops to electric vehicles. They’re also notorious for overheating or catching fire. Now, with a groundbreaking computational model, a University…