Spring 2022

This year has challenged all of us for reasons that seem to multiply every day. Between the COVID-19 pandemic and calls for social justice around the country, it seems that everyday life has been in a state of limbo since March. When rumors first spread that UW-Madison would transition to online after Spring Break, I…

An investigation into human factors engineering as applied  by the Werner Lab in their work to design systems to support specialized healthcare users. A teenager suffered from brain damage and died two weeks after she received an organ transplant because the organs from her donor were incompatible with her blood type. An investigation into the…

An exploration of how linguistic practices impact scientific discovery. Natural language is the inescapable medium in which we learn and relate information. It infuses our daily tasks: we narrate while searching for keys, think and talk on our feet during meetings, and read to ourselves while glancing at an article. Yet, linguistics is often overlooked…

No engineer can complete their best work alone. See how this idea is exemplified in the College of Engineering’s largest student organization. What good is an engine, a wheel, a transmission, and a set of brakes, sitting all alone in a workshop? They have no greater purpose without the whole host of parts that make…

This podcast by two undergraduate UW-Madison students highlights the experiences of women professionals in STEM and discusses how to overcome the obstacles of a field riddled with sexism. As society progresses, women’s impact in science and technology has become more prevalent and accepted. Although there has been progress, the progression of women in STEM has…

A glimpse into the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering’s five-week summer lab program in Oviedo, Spain—an opportunity to see the world and complete the capstone course in the most exciting way possible! For most students, the idea of taking a summer class can be daunting. However, it’s a reality for all students majoring in…

Tasked with investigating the intentions of rival engineers, UW-Madison civil engineering alumnus John Lane (J. L.) Van Ornum set off on a clandestine reconnaissance mission for the chief engineer of a Virginia railroad, posing as a bird hunter. He describes his escapade in a roman à clef titled “A Hot Trail” for the very first…

Most engineering students at UW-Madison have some grasp of the importance of extracurriculars, especially when it comes to finding real-world experience that will prove beneficial in the job market. In fact, there are over 50 engineering-specific organizations scattered around campus, vying for their next new member. However, while there are several clubs that focus on…

The root of all innovation, the pinnacle of all great advancements, the motivation for everything to come, may lie in the hands of the 21st century’s most crucial resource: data. Advances in computing and communication technology, along with the growth that has occurred in the field of data science and artificial intelligence, have put society…

The power grid is a network connection responsible for providing power from big power stations to homes. Within the grid, power generation and load must be balanced to maintain reliable grid operation on time scales of milliseconds to seconds. As we are adding more renewable energy sources, power generation becomes variable due to uncontrollable natural…

Welcome to the College of Engineering! With UW-Madison returning to in-person classes this semester, thousands of college students just like you will once again swarm the campus – many for the very first time!  Whether you are a first-year, second-year, or third-year freshman, this semester will not be without its obstacles. Between navigating the engineering…

Catalysis, the process of accelerating the rate of chemical reactions, has been a focal point of scientific research for many decades. In the 21st century, catalysis continues to contribute to the manufacturing of 90% of the products we encounter daily, from modified foods, to gas for your car, to the majority of manufactured consumer products.…

In the last decade, headlines surrounding the therapeutic potential of CRISPR have been dazzling the public. This revolutionary gene-editing technique has ignited the hopes of healthcare professionals and patients alike in tackling genetic diseases. However, the question remains: who will benefit from CRISPR and how soon? The Somatic Cell Genome Editing (SCGE) Consortium sponsored by…

When the idea of a professional astronomer comes to mind, perhaps the first thing one pictures is a person sitting in a rural area in the middle of the night, squinting through a telescope, hoping to find some new star, planet, or asteroid. While this is certainly the case for the occasional astronomer or student…

When you think “engineer,” what’s the first thing you think of? Perhaps problem-solver, creative thinker, and decent at math are all things that come to mind. But what about worldly? In an economy that is globalizing rapidly, many would argue that the fourth quality is now just as important as the first three. But how do you get a…

For over a century, the Wisconsin Idea has been the guiding philosophy of faculty, students, and alumni of UW-Madison. One of the earliest university presidents once said, “I shall never be content until the beneficent influence of the university reaches every family in the state.” Today, that sentiment still holds true, reaching communities worldwide through…

In the fast paced, ever changing world of science, effective communication could not be more important. Bridging the gap between the research in the lab and the diverse audience of the general public has its challenges, as has been highlighted in the past year with the Covid-19 pandemic. As we move forward, more work is…

The construction industry is a competitive field with constant pressure to complete projects on schedule and within budget. Due to this, projects are often launched without adequate assessment of the readiness of the project. This leads to low productivity, delays, and even projects coming to a halt while decisions and changes are made. UW Madison’s…

Our experiences outside the classroom can be just as vital as the professors’ lectures inside. A number of cardinal life lessons and soft skills cannot be easily “taught” but are instead instilled through experiences. Participating in the Emerging Leaders in Engineering (ELE) program is one way for students at UW-Madison to develop these leadership skills…

Faulty jets? Leaky pipes? Not enough water in Madison? Find out the real reason why the Descendant’s fountain doesn’t work. Why, on a campus full of engineers, is there a fountain that does not spray water? I sat down (virtually) with Dean Ian Robertson to find out. The Descendant’s Fountain, or Máquina (Spanish for machine)…

The recently established office of sustainability takes a system approach to studying sustainability in a holistic and transdisciplinary way. When students return to campus each year, their main priorities often include attending sporting events, catching up with friends, and preparing for another semester of classes. Meanwhile, the Office of Sustainability is working behind the scenes…

UW-Madison professor Aviad Hai is developing tiny electronic sensors to study brain activity using MRI. A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner can be used to take detailed anatomical snapshots of the brain noninvasively — without harming the brain. It can even detect changes in the flow of blood related to brain activation using what is commonly referred…

While many people waste tons of time in traffic, new research is focused on using automated vehicles to maximize our happiness and safety in our daily commute. Automation is a hot trend in technology, especially within the vehicle industry. One of the main purposes of an automated vehicle is to maximize people’s usage of previously…

Recently, UW-Madison has invested more than six million dollars in quantum science. According to professor Shimon Kolkowitz, this field has a very promising future, and this investment can help UW-Madison stay at the forefront of quantum research. The application of quantum physics in different fields is becoming increasingly popular. From tech companies, such as IBM…

A UW-Madison group hopes to transform the plastics industry by developing a plant-based plastic. What started in the 1970s as a hunt for a “critter” that could clean areas contaminated by hydrocarbons has turned into a research project that could forever change the plastics industry. UW-Madison’s Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC), funded by the…

By creating affordable, portable, and reproducible microscopy technology, Jan Huisken and his team are looking to change the way we see science — literally. The reproducibility of experiments is an integral component of science. Without it, science is reduced to a field of ‘he said, she said’ and lacks the ability to foster human achievement and progress.…

Recycled asphalt provides a platform for a sustainable future within civil infrastructure. The demand for an improved quality of civil infrastructure, particularly concerning cross-country roads and parkways, is encouraging global research of novel engineering solutions for a sustainable paving material. The sheer quantity of asphalt production required to maintain optimal road conditions invites an environmental…

Dr. Witzenburg designs models of the heart that predict how the heart will grow and change in response to cardiac heart diseases such as hypoplastic left heart syndrome (HLHS) to improve medical decision-making for clinicians. When it comes to cardiac surgery, clinicians are under pressure to make timely and logical clinical decisions. Without any formal…

By Stephen Schwartz As a founding member of the Big Ten Conference, the Wisconsin Badgers athletic teams have a long and rich history dating back more than century. Proudly donning the iconic cardinal and white throughout the years, both men and women student athletes competing in a variety of different sports have historically earned national…

By Matt Stout As issues around climate change have intensified, the City of Madison has grown particularly interested in increasing its sustainability, especially in the 21st century. In 2004, the mayor proclaimed a city-wide emphasis on solar energy. Since then, Epic Systems, a local healthcare software company, has created two major solar fields with a combined…

By Nick Moulton Cars have always been an icon in American culture. An aura of freedom and independence is associated with automobile ownership. Track races like the Indy 500 have highlighted the confidence and courage of champion drivers. The internal combustion engine is an invention that has distinctly changed everything from a worldwide perspective. All of…

By Madison Knobloch Walking through the upper levels of Engineering Hall, the classrooms are still full of rickety desks with names carved in the wood. The hallways are lined with pale sea-foam green doorframes and with greenish-blue terrazzo flooring to complete the ensemble. You almost feel like you forgot to shine your shoes or wear…

By Emily Morzewski For 120 years, the Wisconsin Engineer Magazine has been a magazine with a mission to document engineering topics that are relevant to the students and alumni of UW-Madison. The Magazine published its first issue in June 1896 with the purpose of establishing a journal to share the knowledge and experiences of the…

By Ben Zastrow From ancient history to the distant future, from The Flintstones to Star Wars, we have always been a species fascinated with both how we got here and where we will be years from today. It is a topic with a constantly expanding base of knowledge, which covers a wide variety of disciplines…

By Brandon Grill Music has changed drastically throughout the decades, perhaps more in the past century than in any other time in history. While genres and styles have been in constant development and evolution prior to the widespread use of electricity, the instruments being used by composers and performers were largely the same ones that had…

By Chris Hanko Astronomy is a place where curious minds thrive, and are often rewarded with amazing, seemingly improbable discoveries. While we have come so far in terms of knowledge and technology, there is still so much for us to learn about our surroundings and even our very existence. In this article, I will guide…

By Morgan Adkins When you say Wisconsin, you’ve said it all: Home of Titletown and Cheese Days, America’s Dairyland, Land of the Bratwurst, and leading exporter of cranberries, sweet corn and more. Wisconsin is known for a lot of things, but perhaps its greatest claim to fame is the Wisconsin Idea. Providing a vision for the…

By Stephen Eick Computers drive the world, it seems, and with the rise of applications like self-driving vehicles, this is true more so than ever before. The intricacies involved in their development are vast and numerous. A modern computer processor can have more transistors (the basic building blocks of computer chips) than the number of blades…

By Edwin Neumann Viruses have been around for eons — possibly close to 3.5 billion years, according to many scientists. Some viral proteins even predate the divergence of life into the three domains: bacteria, archaea (ancient bacteria), and eukarya (plant, animal, and fungus cells). These ubiquitous microbes, which are not classified under any of the domains, have…

By Eric Fleming Today, most people expect to be able to do anything and everything on their smartphone. Apple’s famous 2009 refrain “There’s an app for that” has quickly transformed from a selling point into an expectation. Almost every conceivable task has been moved to the internet, and subsequently to the mobile phone. People use…

By Anastasia Montgomery Walking into an engineering class on the first day of a semester, I find it amusing to do a quick survey of my class, and without fail I find that only about 1 in 5 people are female. Depending on the class, that proportion can be much worse, as is the case…

By Mark Bodnar During childhood, just about everyone received an unfortunate nickname or two that they are quite glad to have left firmly in the past; and fortunately, time does have a certain knack for erasing things from memory. Today most people know Illinois as the Prairie State and Wisconsin as the Badger State. But…

By Alex Chay On campus, professors are doing many different types of research. Some of these topics are consistent with what one thinks of when hearing the word “research”: mixing chemicals in test tubes or observing bacteria cells under a microscope. On the other hand, some professors are delving into topics that may baffle a…

By Chris Hanko There is definitely no shortage of groundbreaking research being done at UW-Madison, and the next breakthrough could happen in the heart of Mechanical Engineering. In Associate Professor Frank Pfefforkorn’s Laser-Assisted Multi-Scale Manufacturing Lab, major research is being done in the fields of materials science, manufacturing, welding and many others to ultimately grow…

By Stephen Eick Energy is everything. Without energy, Earth would be a frozen hunk of rock meandering through space. Without energy, society would cease to exist as we know it today. Humans use water, the oil in the earth, the wind, the sun, and many other methods to generate this energy. Some methods harm our…

By Emily Morzewski Across the United States, students are underexposed to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields, but Project Lead the Way is trying to fix that. Project Lead the Way is a nationwide organization consisting of six different programs, starting with grade school students and moving through high school. Within these programs, a…

By Krishna Patel As UW-Madison students begin to search for post-graduation job opportunities, many turn to the expanding medical software company, Epic, which is conveniently located here in Madison. Epic, the third-largest employer in Dane County, has placed great emphasis on recruiting graduates from UW-Madison. Not only does this growing company have the software to…

By Hanwook Chung “When midterm season starts, it’s almost like a war!” says one of the engineering students who failed to find study spaces on engineering campus. As the home turf of more than 8,000 engineering students, the engineering campus could be one of the toughest places to found a good study spot when midterm…