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Centers, consortia and institutes

Our centers, institutes and consortia help drive discovery

A diverse, robust array of engineering research centers, institutes, research groups and consortia builds on UW-Madison’s rich tradition of cross-disciplinary research and helps advance knowledge and discovery and create connections within the research community and with industry and the private sector. The College of Engineering is home to many nationally and internationally recognized research centers, institutes and research groups.

Trans-departmental research centers and institutes

  • an initiative to advance biomanufacturing research, entrepreneurship and workforce development

  • an incubator for transdisciplinary research and technological advances across the College of Engineering

  • an NSF-sponsored center that brings together interdisciplinary teams to advance knowledge of disordered materials

  • A suite of shared instrumentation facilities providing equipment, facilities and expertise in microelectronics, nano-fabrication technology, electron microscopy, micro-analysis and soft materials characterization.

  • brings together practitioners and researchers to create new knowledge and design better systems in healthcare

  • Women in Science and Engineering Leadership Institute

    working to increase the representation, advancement and workplace satisfaction of female faculty and members of underrepresented groups on the faculty and in leadership at UW-Madison

Department centers and research groups

Our engineering departments are home to more than 150 research laboratories and groups, including the multi-investigator centers listed below. Visit any of our departmental research websites to learn more about their research areas of focus, laboratories, and the people who are driving discovery within them. You can also browse our faculty and staff directory to learn more about individual research interests.

Civil & Environmental Engineering

Electrical & Computer Engineering

  • Over 70 instruments in cleanroom space. Services include lithography, deposition, packaging, assembly, thermal processing, and plasma etching.

  • The center contains sophisticated microscopy and analysis instruments for characterizing materials and nanostructures.

  • The lab is equipped with nearly 50 instruments for polymer synthesis and characterization of physical and mechanical properties of polymers and other materials.

  • A suite of shared instrumentation facilities providing equipment, facilities and expertise in microelectronics, nano-fabrication technology, electron microscopy, micro-analysis and soft materials characterization.

Industrial & Systems Engineering

  • A suite of shared instrumentation facilities providing equipment, facilities and expertise in microelectronics, nano-fabrication technology, electron microscopy, micro-analysis and soft materials characterization.

Materials Science & Engineering

  • A suite of shared instrumentation facilities providing equipment, facilities and expertise in microelectronics, nano-fabrication technology, electron microscopy, micro-analysis and soft materials characterization.

Nuclear Engineering & Engineering Physics

College consortia

Through research consortia, the college shares its expertise with government and industry. Members benefit through seeing work in progress, helping set research directions, and interacting with faculty and students.