Wisconsin Engineer Magazine
Mechanical Engineering Associate Professors Corinne Henak and Melih Eritan developed a portable device patented by WARF that tests the failure threshold of soft materials, helps design medical devices, and diagnoses tissue damage. Sound moves through the air as undulating waves of pressure, which sensory receptors on the tiny stereocilia hairs in our ear convert into […]
As the ubiquity of AI seems increasingly certain, we must ask ourselves if it’s being implemented in the right way. This summer marked the return of the NCAA Football Video Game series with the release of College Football 25, or CFB25. Within weeks, the video game exploded in popularity, quickly becoming the highest selling video […]
Madison is committed to eliminating serious injuries and fatalities due to traffic accidents. In 1975, Oslo, Norway had 41 fatalities due to traffic accidents. Forty-four years later, the city lost zero pedestrians and cyclists and had only one total fatality due to traffic accidents. How did Oslo fall from 41 deaths to one? The answer […]
The College of Engineering’s most decorated alum…a fashion designer? Before his passing in 2021, Virgil Abloh achieved global fame and recognition from around the world. Abloh founded the world-renowned clothing brand Off-White, which he headed as CEO. He was the first African American artist director at luxury fashion house Louis Vuitton, and he worked as […]
Materials Science and Engineering Professor Xudong Wang is improving the electrical efficiency and biocompatibility of batteries and implantable electrostimulation devices for tissue repair. When light hits the nacre of an oyster’s inner shell, variations in thickness create shimmering interference patterns, resulting in the lustrous glow of mother-of-pearl. Nacre is composed of thin, microscopic layers of […]
The Máquina fountain has been a popular topic among Wisconsin Engineer writers, but its recent demolition closes an important chapter for the College of Engineering. “That’s supposed to be a fountain?” “Does it actually work?” “I heard that if you turn it on, Agricultural Hall will fall down.” These rumors, exchanged amongst UW–Madison’s student population, […]
What makes Madison stand out from the rest of the world? Taking a step away from the city can give students a fresh perspective to answer this question. Like any city, Madison has its own unique culture. Understanding it empowers you to know how the city differs from the rest of the world and understand […]
Throughout the 128-year history of the magazine, its writers have attempted to predict what the future will look like. Now that the future’s here, is it everything they dreamed of? First and foremost, let’s get one thing out of the way: No, humans haven’t developed nuclear fusion power yet. Despite predictions made by WEM writers […]
25 years after the magazine featured a story about life on Mars, we’re still searching — but recent science sheds light on what we could find. Aliens have been the darling of human imagination since ancient times. From Christiaan Huygens’ hemp-growing sailors and musicians to Marvel’s trees and racoons, visions of alien life over the […]
After 85 years, 1410 Engineering Drive will soon be demolished and replaced by a state-of-the-art engineering building. The UW-Madison College of Engineering announced in early 2024 their decision to demolish 1410 Engineering Drive, one of the oldest buildings on the engineering campus, this autumn. Over the upcoming summer, its occupants, including engineering research labs, Computer […]