Two graduate students in the College of Engineering have received research awards from the University of Wisconsin-Madison Global Health Institute supporting their innovative projects.
Rebecca Alcock, a PhD student in industrial and systems engineering, and Ilhan Bok, a PhD student in biomedical engineering, are among six UW-Madison graduate students to earn the awards, which provide up to $3,000 for projects benefitting communities around the world.
Alcock, who also earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biomedical engineering at UW-Madison, is working with her advisor, Assistant Professor of Industrial and Systems Engineering Justin Boutilier, and Grainger Engineer Design Innovation Lab Director Lennon Rodgers to create a renewable energy and transportation system that could be employed by rural healthcare clinics in sub-Saharan Africa. As part of that work, she’s installing solar panels and electric bicycles at Eagle Heights Community Gardens on the UW-Madison campus.
Bok, a member of Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering Aviad Hai’s lab, is collaborating with Assistant Professor of Materials Science and Engineering Jiamian Hu, along with researchers at Northwestern University and the University of Toronto, on an effort to optimize magnetic particle imaging to monitor brain activity. As part of the Wisconsin Institute for Translational Neuroengineering, Bok develops and tests tools to record and stimulate brain activity.