COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING

UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON
A special edition of PERSPECTIVE for alumni and friends of the UW-Madison College of Engineering

ANNUAL REPORT 2011

SPRING 2011

Opportunities in engineering
Advancing our workforce and our economy

View our annual report in video on the college playlist: youtube.com/engineeringuw.

A special edition of PERSPECTIVE for alumni and friends of the UW-Madison College of Engineering ANNUAL REPORT 2011
Volume 38, Issue 2
Editor: Renee Meiller Writers: Jim Beal, Sandra Knisely, Mark Riechers, Christie Taylor Design: Phil Biebl Photography: James Beal, Narayan Mahon, Renee Meiller, David Nevala COLLEGE OF ENGINEERING www.engr.wisc.edu Paul S. Peercy, Dean Steven Cramer, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs Brian Mattmiller, Assistant Dean for Alumni and Corporate Relations Contact the college: Brian Mattmiller, alumni relations 608/890-3004 bsmattmi@engr.wisc.edu Prospective students: Nancy Hansen 608/262-2473 EGRadvisor@engr.wisc.edu Industry, R&D: Lawrence Casper 608/265-4104 casper@engr.wisc.edu Professional education: Department of Engineering Professional Development 608/262-2061 or 800/462-0876 custserv@epd.engr.wisc.edu Make a gift to the college: Ann Leahy 608/265-6114 ann.leahy@supportuw.org donate.engr.wisc.edu Feedback about this annual report: Renee Meiller 608/262-2481 perspective@engr.wisc.edu

ON THE COVER
Arrielle Opotowsky, an American Indian PhD student in the Graduate Engineering Research Scholars program. Since 1999, ON THE COVER the program has increased opportunities for talented minority graduate students to study with world-class UW-Madison engineering faculty. Read more on page 4.

Features
4 GAINS IN GRADUATE STUDENT DIVERSITY Program marks 10 years of meaningful success. By Renee Meiller

College Departments
12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 Biomedical Engineering Chemical and Biological Engineering Civil and Environmental Engineering Electrical and Computer Engineering Engineering Physics Engineering Professional Development Industrial and Systems Engineering Materials Science and Engineering Mechanical Engineering

EXPO, OLYMPIAD, STUDENT EXCHANGE Engineering open house National science competition Nuclear education FROM THE MENOMINEE FOREST TO MADISON Engineering a path for American Indian transfer students. By Sandra Knisely TEACHING THE SOCIETAL SIDE OF ENGINEERING Outreach initiative engages middle-school students and teachers. By Sandra Knisely

Interdisciplinary Degree Programs

30 THEY DIG THE OUTDOORS Geological engineers live and work for the environment. By Renee Meiller

By the Numbers: 2010-2011

10 32 College of Engineering facts and figures 34 Student achievements 35 Industrial Advisory Board Early Career Advisory Board

CONNECT WITH THE COLLEGE

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2011 The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System. Published September 2011. Printed via gifts administered through the University of Wisconsin Foundation.
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ESP alumni: Lets hear from you!

The Engineering Summer Program will celebrate its 40th anniversary in August 2012 with an alumni party and reception. Wed like you to be a part of this special event. Did you participate in ESP or know someone who did? If so, contact us! Wed love to hear about your successes and have you join our celebration of UW-Madisons oldest residential summer camp. Contact Molly Reinhard at mpdavis@engr.wisc.edu, or 608/263-5367, to learn more about the anniversary event.

Message from Dean Peercy

Creating pathways to engineering success

Our visitors saw UW-Madison at its finest, with homerooms in our new Union South, a daylong showcase in the Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, competitions across engineering buildings and ceremonies in the Kohl Center. For most of these young people, their first exposure to Wisconsin will stay with them forever. We are also making greater strides in reaching middle-schoolers, whose academic pathways are starting to solidify. The highly successful Camp Badger took its show on the road this summer. With support from 3M Corporation, a camp at UW-River Falls gave two-dozen northwestern Wisconsin kids a weeklong exposure to engineering. And our middle-school modules, which introduce young people to engineering grand challenges, debuted in six Wisconsin middle schools this fall. Our diversity outreach programs have produced groundbreaking success. The Engineering Summer Program (see story on back cover), now entering its 40th year, has a nearly 100-percent success rate in preparing high school students for undergraduate enrollmentincluding more than 70 percent who pursue engineering. And our cover story on the Graduate Engineering Research Scholars (GERS) program highlights a decade of tremendous progress, as GERS produced 46 masters and 45 PhD recipients from underrepresented backgrounds since 2000. And, as always, our undergraduates put on quite a show during Engineering EXPO in spring 2011. More than 7,000 visitorsincluding 114 busloads of K-12 students enjoyed the 45 interactive exhibits scattered across the college. As engineers, the impulse to share our successes and prepare the next generation starts early and stays with us throughout our careers. This is our Wisconsin Idea.

s the University of Wisconsin-Madison celebrates the Year of the Wisconsin Idea, recognizing a century of contributions to the greater public good, its worth reflecting on how ingrained that tradition has become in engineering. The Wisconsin Idea drives us to extend the benefits of UW-Madison work to the citizens of the state and beyond. We see its expansive influence on areas such as healthcare, with new treatments, tools and services that improve quality of life. We also see it reflected in economic impact, through hundreds of spinoff companies and tens of thousands of talented, uniquely trained graduates making their mark on the world. Heres another perspective. This year, the Wisconsin Idea has come alive in the College of Engineering through unprecedented outreach to the next generation. As we detail in our 2011 Annual Report, this has been a transformative year in exposing young people to the possibilities of a career in science and engineering. Why does this outreach matter? Because its at the top of the list of concerns of Americas largest employers, who require a greater infusion of talent in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) in order to stay globally competitive. They need universities to help address a mismatch between current workforce skills and the skills required for new and emerging jobs. And they need a workforce that better represents the ethnic, cultural and gender diversity of the nation at large. In 2011, we took this pursuit further than ever before. The centerpiece was hosting the 2011 National Science Olympiad competition in May. More than 6,000 competitors, parents, educators and volunteers converged on campus for four days of fun and spirited competition.

A decade of gains in graduate student diversity

By Renee Meiller

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Robin Kempfer

hroughout the past decade, UW-Madison has earned myriad accolades for everything from its status as a global powerhouse for research and education to its efforts in sustainability and its ability to produce corporate CEOs.

On the College of Engineering campus, theres a more subtle yet no less meaningfulsuccess story playing out.
Its the story of the Graduate Engineering Research Scholars, or GERS, a program that since 1999 has increased opportunities for talented minority graduate students to study with world-class UW-Madison engineering faculty and achieve their goals for higher education in science, technology, engineering and math. In January 2011, the program received national attention when U.S. President Barack Obama presented Douglass Henderson, a professor of engineering physics who directs the program, the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics and Engineering Mentoring. Since 2000, 45 students in GERS have earned PhD degrees through the College of Engineering. In comparison, fewer than 350 minority students have earned PhDs nationwide in the past decade, according to the American Society for Engineering Education 2009 edition of Engineering by the Numbers. When GERS began, the graduate student profile of the College of Engineering looked much different, says Henderson. We had about nine to 11 minority graduate students in the college, with an enrollment of about 1,200 graduate students, he says. Among the faculty, we were hearing that there werent many minority students to draw from, and one of the obvious questions was why. Were doing top-rated research, and were one of the top-ranked research universities.
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The answerrecruit and retain more minority graduate students was obvious. Yet the process for achieving that goal is an ongoing effort. In the College of Engineering, GERS originated based loosely on a model developed by Richard Tapia, an engineering professor at Rice University. At UW-Madison, its aims are to build the campus community of minority graduate students in engineering and to provide a pathway for those students to attain top positions in industry, government and academia. For the latter, a major GERS objective is to produce more faculty of color and create systemic change in overall diversity in engineering. In 1999, the college hired Kelly Burton as GERS coordinator and she and Henderson began recruiting students into the program in 2000. Each year, the two attend the national conferences of such organizations as the National Society of Black Engineers, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, American Indian Science and Engineering Society, and the National Science Foundation-funded Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation Program, among others. Additionally, Burton coordinates the two major GERS recruiting efforts: Opportunities in Engineering, an annual weeklong conference that draws undergrad juniors and seniors to campus to explore graduate education in engineering; and SURE-REU, a nine-week summer undergrad research experience supported by the college, the UW-Madison Graduate School, and the NSF-funded UW-Madison Materials Research Science and Engineering Center. The program enables undergraduates to conduct laboratory research in engineering, meet current engineering graduate students, develop a network of supportive peers in GERS, and learn about the graduate application process and outside fellowships. Now, approximately 50 students annually participate in GERS.

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Strong personal connections
In 2006, Arrielle Opotowsky was an undergraduate at Louisiana State University, pursuing bachelors degrees in physics and astronomy. She spent the summer in Madison participating in the SURE-REU Program. During that summer program, Erwin W. Mueller Professor and Bascom Professor of Surface Science in Materials Science and Engineering Max Lagally was Opotowskys advisor. Now, Opotowsky is a GERS scholar pursuing a PhD under Lagally through the Materials Science Program. I knew he was the best option I could ever hope for in terms of an advisor, she says, of her decision to attend graduate school at UW-Madison. And I knew that GERS would be a great support group if I chose to come here. That personal connectionwhich often begins before GERS scholars ever visit the UW-Madison campusis key to recruiting and retaining the students. The friends Ive met through GERS mean a lot to me, given that my whole social network in Madison stems from GERS scholars, says Shannon Roberts, an industrial and systems engineering PhD student investigating the role of feedback in changing driver behavior under Industrial and Systems Engineering Professor John Lee. Henderson and Burton recruited Roberts at a National Society of Black Engineers national conference in 2009 and a special GERS welcome weekend. When I first moved here, GERS scholars were the first to invite me to events and help me navigate campus, says Roberts. Without them, Im sure I wouldnt be as far along as I am, both in terms of my social life and my academic progress. under Steenbock Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering James Dumesic. Tam Mayeshiba, a GERS scholar who is studying ways to make more cost-effective solid oxide fuel cells under Materials Science and Engineering Associate Professor Dane Morgan, says the NSF fellowship keeps her grounded in responsibility. I want to do work worthy of being an NSF fellow, she says. I also like being part of a national program that values research in all kinds of different areas. She says she feels her participation in GERS strengthened her NSF application because of the GERS focus on increasing the diversity of science, technology, engineering and math fields. I was also motivated by the idea that I could help the GERS program by securing a fellowship, both because it would be an additional credit to the program and because I could free up funds for other students, says Mayeshiba, whose career plans include becoming a professor. In the past two years, 10 of 20 College of Engineering students who received the NSF fellowship were GERS students. That high percentage is a testament to the commitment GERS scholars have made to help each other succeed. Roberts is a 2010 NSF fellowGERS scholar ship recipient and since has Arrielle Opotowsky provided advice to her fellow GERS scholars. As the reviewers read literally hundreds of essays a day, its important that students application really stand out from the rest, she says. I think its important to mentor students during this process because I had a lot of help when I was applying for fellowships and I want to give that same help to other students. When NSF announces the fellowships each spring, Roberts is first to notify GERS. I think she is as excited as the new recipients, says Burton. We celebrate with a cake, complete with the NSF logo, at the next GERS meeting.

Nationally recognized scholars

Given the universitys rigorous standards, academic progress is of the utmost importance, and GERS participants are top-notch scholars. However, an outstanding academic track record doesnt automatically guarantee success in graduate school. So, before GERS students set foot on campus, Henderson and Burton work with engineering faculty to ensure the students research interests and academic goals are a good fit. The two work with faculty to help secure financial support, including fellowships and research assistantships, for incoming GERS scholars. Currently, 10 GERS scholarsincluding Opotowsky and Roberts also hold National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowships. This prestigious award program recognizes outstanding graduate students and provides them three years of support, a $30,000 annual stipend, a $10,500 cost-of-education allowance, access to a powerful supercomputer, and international research and professional development opportunities. The NSF fellowship not only provides funding for three years of my studies, but provides me with freedom to work on projects I am interested in, says Ricardo Alamillo, a chemical and biological systems engineering PhD student and GERS scholar working on using heterogeneous catalysis to convert biomass to chemicals and fuels

An inclusive, supportive campus culture

GERS also provides a network of moral support and attempts to alleviate the isolation many minority students often feel on campus. The program offers biweekly meetings GERS scholars are required to attend. They help plan the meetings and play active roles on committees ranging in focus from social to recruiting. Its professional development, but we spend a little bit of time just being in the same room together, says Burton. They dont otherwise see each other. But even thats changing, as the college and UW-Madison continue to invest in efforts that increase the number of minority students both at the undergraduate and graduate student levelson campus. Offshoots of the GERS program now exist in seven other schools, colleges (Continued on next page)
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View a video about EXPO on the students playlist at youtube.com/engineeringuw.

Thousands experience science at successful Engineering EXPO

tanding anywhere in the Engineering Centers Building atrium April 14, 15 and 16, it was impossible to ignore the bass thundering out of a very large stereo speaker located at the north end of the building. This was no ordinary speaker. Just last night, said electrical engineering PhD student Dan Ludois on April 14, we submitted it to the Guinness Book of World Records. Measuring 8 feet square and 2 feet deep with a 6-foot-diameter cone, the speaker truly was one of a kind. Ludois and friends Justin Reed and Kyle Hanson built it specifically for its attention-grabbing value at Engineering EXPO, a biennial three-day event that draws thousands of students, teachers and parents to the College of Engineering campus. The group succeeded. The super-sized speakerand Engineering EXPO itselfattracted nearly 7,000 elementary-, middle- and highschool students, teachers and parents from such Wisconsin locales as La Crosse, Whitewater, Poynette and Sheboygan Falls. We had 74 buses of students show up on Thursday and 40 on Friday, says Alicia Jackson, who directs the Student Leadership Center in the College of Engineering. In a two-year process that begins not long after Rube Goldberg competition the last event ends, EXPO is planned and staffed entirely by engineering students. This large-scale open house offers students from all engineering disciplines the opportunity to share their passion for engineering with public audiences. EXPO visitors young and old had the unique chance

to experience hands-on engineering activities and to explore five buildings on the engineering campus. EXPO included six competitions and featured more than 45 hands-on exhibits and demonstrations. Firstgraders from Sauk Prairie schools toured the fusion experiment Pegasus. Third-graders from Leopold Elementary School in Madison learned how materials behave under extreme conditions as they State robotics competition watched materials science and engineering students use liquid nitrogen to freeze a banana and use it as a hammer. Eighth-graders from Savannah Oaks Middle School, Verona, learned how municipal solid waste facilities work at an exhibit titled, What happens to your garbage? For the Rube Goldberg competition, teams of high school students designed and built a complex machine that could raise a flag in 20 or more steps. Leopold parent Kris Cotharn appreciated EXPOs emphasis on exploring current scientific achievements to encourage future scientific endeavors. I think its important to expose them to opportunities they have if they go into the field of science, she said.

or programs at UW-Madison and the climate on campus for diverse students is improving. We see the culture change, says Henderson. The faculty say they see a lot more minority graduate students in the College of Engineering. They see students in the classrooms and performing wellor better than they had perceived or thought before. We see faculty picking up more minority students for research. Now they see other students successes and know the GERS program is bringing strong studentsand the NSF fellowships reinforce that were getting very good students. Perhaps the strongest testament to the quality of the GERS scholars is number of graduates who have advanced into high-level science, technology, engineering and math jobs. Its an area currently lagging in diversity, says Henderson. We hope theres a pyramid effect here, that more students will filter in, graduate and get hired into faculty positions,

industry and research positions, he says. And by increasing the number of people in these positions, hopefully theyll move up. In a decade, nine of 45 GERS PhD graduates have taken full-time, tenure-track faculty positions, eight are postdoctoral students, three are pursuing or have earned MD/PhD degrees, seven work at a national lab, and the remaining GERS graduates have found jobs in industry. Many of those former students keep in touch with Burton via Facebook and E-mail, and they often drop her notes to share high points in their lives and careers. That connection is among the many reasons Burton is dedicated to keeping GERS going strong. Ive always wanted everybody to have equal opportunity to be who they could be, she says of the scholars. Thats what motivates me every day. Its a gift to watch all of them go out and succeed.

GERS PROGRAM (Continued from page 5)

ore than 6,000 middle- and high-school students, educators and parents from 47 U.S. states visited UW-Madison May 18-21, 2011, for the 27th annual National Science Olympiad tournament. An after-school team activity, Science Olympiad is one of the nations most prestigious and rigorous competitions of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). At both the state and national level, teams compete in more than two-dozen scientific and engineering challenges on topics ranging from human health, ecology, chemistry, cell biology, geology and engineering. American competitiveness hinges on increasing the number of people educated in STEMand U.S. Department of Labor statistics indicate demand for workers with expertise in these fields is rising. The Science Olympiad focus on teamwork, cooperation and realworld challenges can be a powerful tool in promoting interest in such disciplines. UW-Madison landed the 2011 competition thanks in large part to College of Engineering Dean Paul S. Peercy. In 2005, Peercy developed an outreach program through which engineering undergraduates serve as mentors to help area schools form teams. More than two-dozen NSO teams have been established through the effort, bringing the Wisconsin team total to more than 100. Increasing the number of people educated in science, technology, engineering and math fields is vital to American competitiveness, says Peercy. Science Olympiad is one of the best programs I have encountered for inspiring a lasting interest in STEM disciplines. View videos about the 2011 national tournament on the Science Olympiad playlist at youtube.com/engineeringuw.

For South Carolina students, a nuclear engineering degree is within reach

record number of South Carolina State University (SCSU) students attended nuclear engineering courses on the UW-Madison campus in spring 2011. These nine students will earn degrees from both the SCSU Department of Civil and Mechanical Engineering Technology and in nuclear engineering and from the UW-Madison Department of Engineering Physics. The program began at UW-Madison in 2001 under Engineering Physics Professor Emeritus and then-Chair Gil Emmert. The unique collaborative educational opportunity is the result of the Department of Energy Nuclear Engineering University Partnership Program. Designed to increase the

number of minorities entering nuclear engineering, the program pairs students from minority-serving colleges and universities with institutions that offer a nuclear engineering degree. Here in Madison, the students have access to our reactor lab, which SCSU does not have, says current EP Chair Jake Blanchard. Students take a heavy load while theyre here, including courses in reactor operations, theory and design; economics and the environment; and our senior design class. Like UW-Madison students, the SCSU students graduate prepared to work in any part of the nuclear industry, from planning to designing, developing, testing and operating nuclear reactors. Because the SCSU curriculum emphasizes the fundamentals of engineering, students also are prepared for graduate studies in such fields as radiological sciences or materials science.

From the Menominee Forest to Madison: Engineering a path for American Indian transfer students

f a UW-Madison faculty member is late to work, its likely due to traffic. When Diana Morris, dean of instruction at the College of Menominee Nation (CMN), was late one morning, it was because a bear was sitting on her car. CMN is located at the southern end of Keshena, Wisconsin, a town of about 1,200 bordered by the expansive Menominee Forest. Founded in 1993 in the presidents basement with 43 students, CMN has grown into an established two-year college that includes campuses in Keshena and Green Bay and offers more than 20 majors and certificate programs to almost 700 students. Around 80 percent of CMN students are American Indian and represent tribal communities across the country. Most are first-generation female students, and for many, the only people with college degrees they interact with regularly are doctors and teachers. Most, even those who are traditional-age college students, have at least one child. Many of our students dont even know what an engineer is, Morris says. Yet Morris and her collaborators at UW-Madison and UW-Platteville want to do much more than tell CMN students the job existsthey want to help these students actually become engineers. The three schools are working together as part of a National Science Foundation-funded initiative to increase the number of American Indian students who transfer from CMN to UW-Madison and UW-Platteville to study engineering. The collaboration team aims for 10 students to transfer in the next five years. While the goal may seem modest, that number would more than double the current number of students who transfer to UW-Madison from CMN to pursue any field.

There are fewer than 30 American Indian students in the College of Engineering, of around 250 American Indian students enrolled at UW-Madison as of fall 2010. UW-Madison has long recognized the importance of increasing participation of underrepresented minorities in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields, and the partnership with CMN is yet another opportunity to do so, says Manuela Romero, assistant dean for student diversity and academic services in the College of Engineering. Nationally, minority students are most likely to begin their academic careers at two-year campuses, Romero says. This is true for Native students, and if were going to increase participation of underrepresented students, we have to look at two-year campuses.

Establishing a strong foundation

For the last few years, CMN has worked on expanding its programs and developing pre-engineering and materials science courses under various other national grants. Romero had a relationship with CMN during her tenure as the director of the Wisconsin Alliance for Minority Participation. When Romero joined the College of Engineering in 2009, Morris quickly got in touch to collaborate on the proposal that was eventually funded by an $825,000 grant from the National Science Foundation Tribal Colleges and Universities Program and the NSF Directorate for Engineering. CMN also partnered with UW-Platteville, which has many first-generation college students and is located in a community much smaller than Madison.

By Sandra Knisely
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The engineering disciplines that typically are of most interest to American Indian students are civil, environmental and mechanical engineering. Faculty members from these departments at both UW schools are participating in a working group that began meeting in spring 2011. The group will help CMN develop a more extensive science and math curriculum and establish a clear path for students to transfer to either UW institution. The collaboration team also will look at building a STEM foundation for American Indian students long before college. The grant will support an outreach coordinator to visit K-12 tribal schools in Wisconsin and perform experiments with students and give advice about how to prepare for college and a STEM major in particular. The intent of the grant is to make sure CMN can provide a strong foundation for their students so they can go on and transfer, Romero says. Were not going to see all the fruits of this labor by the end of the five-year grant. We will see the real benefits later, once CMN has the structure in place to provide students with strong skills so their students will be successful here. Fawn YoungBear-Tibbetts is one of the students who has made the transfer from CMN to UW-Madison. She is majoring in life sciences communication in the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences (CALS). Though she transferred with three other students who all enrolled in CALS, YoungBear-Tibbetts is the only one of the group who didnt switch to different program because of challenges with the math requirements.

significant financial and time-management adjustment. YoungBearTibbetts balances homework with a full-time position at the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, a part-time job as a science outreach coordinator at the UW Arboretum Earth Partnership for Schools and, most importantly, her 6-year-old twin boys. Ive been at the point where Ive said this is not worth it. I cant do this. Im leaving, she says. Ive felt that. Ive been there. YoungBear-Tibbetts credits her relationships with several American Indian faculty members at UW-Madison as the reason she has stayed and been successful. When I had a problem, there was no question who I would go to. My drive was having those mentors, she says. You learn from a mentor, then you start mentoring other people. Thats how we do things. Strong relationships on campus will be important for all students who transfer from CMN, says Morris. This is true for every student, but it is core to the success of Indian students, she says. The ability to build a relationship with someone on campus can be the make or break. The UW schools each will have advisors who work at both CMN and their respective UW institution, so students can get to know those advisors during their time at CMN and continue the relationship once they have transferred.

Strengthening the future

Despite the challenges individual students may face during the transfer process, increasing the number of American Indian engineers will have many economic and community benefits in northern Wisconsin and elsewhere. In the Northwoods region of the state, American Indian tribes are among the largest employers, with most working for tribal governments or casinos. But the tribes need to diversify, Morris says. Theyre looking for workforce opportunities. As CMN grows, so too will the number of science-related jobs it can offer. Morris hopes students who transfer from CMN to UW schools eventually will hold some of these jobs. CMN is the first and only tribal college in the United States to host a U.S. Forest Service research station, and Morris anticipates it will create around 60 jobs. Additionally, CMN plans to establish a materials science program that will emphasize fiber and wood products and hire several engineers and scientists. Beyond economic development, there are additional benefits to establishing a new engineering workforce in tribal communities. Indian students say they are getting their degrees for two reasons, says Morris. One is to return to the community and serve in whatever way will bring the community forward. The second is to serve as a role model for the young ones, to demonstrate that this is a career Indians are engaged in. For YoungBear-Tibbetts, theres no question what motivates her as a student at UW-Madison and coordinator at the Arboretum. Most Native people have this theory that seven generationswhich are either the next seven generations or the past three, present and next three generationsall have to be considered when we make any decision, she says. Im not doing this for me. Im doing what Im doing for the kids.
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Relying on relationships
Exposure to STEM and access to introductory coursework arent the only issues that prevent many American Indian students from pursuing an engineering degree. Many CMN students also juggle childcare and significant financial concerns. Finding pizza money on a Friday night is the least of their worries, says Morris. Growing up, YoungBear-Tibbetts knew several scientists and her mother earned a geography degree from UW-Madison in the 1980s. I practically grew up in Science Hall, she says. Despite the early exposure to higher education, YoungBear-Tibbetts didnt immediately pursue a degree after graduating from high school. Instead, she moved to Minneapolis to paint murals and work for a cultural outreach program for several years. She eventually returned to Wisconsin, and after earning her associates degree at CMN, YoungBear-Tibbetts decided to follow in her mothers footsteps and continue for a bachelors degree at UW-Madison. Though YoungBear-Tibbetts was more prepared than most for the culture shock of moving from CMN to UW-Madison, she still faced a

Showing middle school students the societal side of engineering

By Sandra Knisely

hen Electrical and Computer Engineering Professor Amy Wendt (right) was in ninth grade, her teacher asked the class if anyone liked math. Sitting in the front row, Wendt eagerly put up her hand. Then she realized she was the only one. Now, Wendt is helping math and science teachers ask their students a different question to get them thinking about careers in engineering: Would you like to help society? Led by Wendt, a UW-Madison team is working closely with teachers, counselors and administrators at six Wisconsin middle schools to develop a new kind of engineering outreach program. Along with Wendt, the UW-Madison team consists of Philip Dunham Reed Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering Professor Susan Hagness (left) and College of Engineering Associate Dean of Academic Affairs Steven Cramer, along with School of Education Professor L. Allen Phelps and Assistant Professor Kimberly Howard. Several graduate students are involved, including Lauren Aneskavich, Kevin Cheng and Tam Mayeshiba from the College of Engineering and Jacob Diestelmann, Stephen Gresham and Tsu-Lun Huang from the School of Education. Edgewood College Professor Amy Schiebel also contributes. The current list of schools the team will work with includes Lodi Area Middle School, Madison Middle School and Kaleidoscope Academy/ Roosevelt Middle School in Appleton, Mitchell Middle School and Starbuck Middle School in Racine, and Westfield Area Middle School. The schools represent a mix of urban and rural schools from different areas of the state close enough for the UW-Madison researchers to visit regularly.

This project exemplifies the Wisconsin Idea, Cramer says. It is our hope these students will see engineering in a whole new light.

Engineering grand challenges

The National Academy of Engineering has laid out a set of major societal issues that will require innovative engineering solutions in the 21st century. The challenges are broad-sweeping and include energy, healthcare and urban infrastructure, among several others. The Grand Challenges for Engineering initiative first came to UW-Madison in the form of an introductory engineering course spearheaded by Hagness and introduced in 2008. The course, which is now open to students across the UW-Madison campus, is based on a set of modules that asks students to investigate the various political, environmental, ethical and legal constraints behind technical solutions. The middle school program is an extension of the philosophy behind that course, which targets first-year college students because studies indicate early exposure to the societal impact of engineering helps retain students in the field. With the new program, UW-Madison engineers are reaching out even earlier in the education pipeline. Middle school is the time when students start having to make choices about what courses theyll take in high school, Wendt says. This gives us the opportunity to expose them to the humanitarian applications of engineering before theyve ruled out engineering without really knowing what it is.

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David Nevala

There are additional social issues in middle school that make it an ideal time for outreach. Middle school is a very impressionable time for students, Hagness says. Its the first time in a students academic career when peer influences really start to affect choices. Those influences can spread misconceptions about engineers, such as the stereotype that a student has to be a math whiz or will spend their career in a cubicle building gadgets. The UW-Madison researchers will emphasize instead that engineering can be a powerful gateway to helping society. At a basic level, I hope to just influence the awareness and attitude of students that some things arent just a social issue or technical issue but are a mix of factors, Wendt says.

During the 2012-2013 school year, the team will introduce two more modules that will address clean water and biomedical challenges. Each module will include classroom activities ranging from pencil and paper assignments to design and testing projects to watching videos about UW-Madison alumni working in the field. One of our goals is to have a curriculum that goes beyond the scientific method, where you form a hypothesis and test it, Wendt says. Well look more at how to achieve an engineering goal when you have constraints, so students can get a flavor of the engineering design process.

Eager for some company

While the program aims to reach out to a broad range of students, inspiring female and underrepresented minority students is a particular goal for Wendt and Hagness. Wendt says there were few women in many science-related careers when she became an engineer. Yet as the decades went by and other fields, such as medicine and the life sciences, saw substantial growth in terms of female practitioners, the number of women in engineering remained stalled. Women on average make up 18 to 20 percent of the engineering undergraduate student population at UW-Madison. Im eager to have more company, Wendt says. It seems like a shame to me that girls are missing out on some really exciting opportunities just because they arent aware those opportunities exist at the time they start to think about careers. Though they know not every student, female or male, will go into engineering after participating in the UW-Madison program, Wendt and Hagness say overall its a great opportunity to raise the profile of the profession. We can inform the students, who will become the general public, and give them a better appreciation for engineering, Hagness says.

Everybodys doing it

The program will include four classroom modules, each of which will provide up to three weeks of flexible instructional content that science and math teachers can draw from and fit into their lesson plans. The UW-Madison program is different from other outreach programs because it incorporates the modules directly into regular math and science courses instead of establishing elective courses or extracurricular activities. Every student at the participating schools will be exposed to engineering, rather than only those who self-select to join voluntary outreach programs. Doing this in core classes means everybodys doing it, and if its a positive experience for everybody, then a student whos kind of excited about it wont feel as much of an oddball, Wendt says. The program has received a three-year grant of nearly $1 million from the National Science Foundation, as well as additional support from the Plexus Foundation, Young Scientists of America and the Carl Marschke family. The funds cover module materials, questionnaires to examine students impressions before and after each module, a summer workshop for teachers at UW-Madison and travel costs to allow teachers and researchers to frequently meet over the next two years. Two of the modules will be introduced in The UW-Madison researchers hosted a weeklong workshop the partner schools during the 2011-2012 in summer 2011 for middle school teachers in the program. school year and will present particular themes as multidisciplinary problems. In the solar energy module, for example, students will look at solar cookers, solar water heaters and photovoltaic lights. The restoring infrastructure module will go well beyond building toothpick bridges. Students will learn about the broad challenges involved in restoring bridges across the country, including materials science questions and how electrical sensors can monitor bridges. Students also will learn how engineers retrofit buildings and structures to mitigate damage from earthquakes and hurricanes.

Renee Meiller

11

Biomedical Engineering www.bme.wisc.edu

From patent to proven product: A new approach to tech transfer

n paper, its listed as U.S. Patent No. 7,615,593: A faster and more effective way to treat chronic wounds through the use of a liquid cellular matrix, rather than conventional bandages. But in practice, the patent is the subject of an exciting shift in thinking at UW-Madison about how to move medical technology from patent to product. Developed by Professor John Kao (also pharmacy), the technology is one of the first tests of a new de-risking strategy developed in partnership with the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation. This project will take the technology full-circle, from a theoretical patent to a prototype product that is validated in human clinical trials. This is a completely new way of thinking from an academic perspective, says Kao. Were not just developing a patent. Were looking at licensing a proven product. Kao first developed his wound-healing technology in 2002, and immediately saw its advantages over current treatments for burns and traumatic injuries. The process of applying, removing and reapplying gauzes is painful, costly and offers little enhancement of the healing process. Kaos technology, a mix that includes synthetic polymers and biomolecules, is applied as a liquid and creates three-dimensional

scaffolding around damaged tissue. It acts as a kind of gel that mimics the extracellular matrix of tissue, which helps cells interact and tissue regenerate. This helps maintain moisture and allows for very intimate contact with tissue to speed up the regeneration process, Kao says. The material can be used along with drug therapies. Today a small army of professional experts, from inside and outside academia, is bringing the technology to fruition. Kaos team includes two private contract labs and three contract manufacturers; surgeons at UW Health; other partner hospitals; and experts on intellectual property, Food and Drug Administration regulations and startup company management. Interested parties will now get a patent with the proof of concept; the manufacturing know-how and the clinical benefits are already built in. What also should be attractive is the tremendous need for better alternatives in chronic wound healing. Chronic wounds affect nearly six million patients per year, with healthcare costs estimated at $20 billion. This technology could impact burn patients, people who suffered severe physical trauma such as a car accident, and people who have complications from conditions such as diabetes.

With careful thought, brain sensors connect neurons with actions

eurologists who work to unlock the secrets of brain activity encounter what one might call the Las Vegas effect: What happens in the brain, stays in the brain. The skull and dura mater are efficient insulators, keeping high-frequency electrical activity from leaving the brain. And between the blood-brain barrier and the brains aggressive immune system, nothing enters the brain without a fightessential for staving off disease, but tough for medical interventions. This is the challenge for Associate Professor Justin Williams. He and his students develop sensor technologies that capture stronger and more medically valuable signals from the brain, for use in therapies for stroke and epilepsy patients. This computerdirected therapy could be beneficial for millions of people who are living with epilepsy or the effects of chronic stroke. Williams says it is especially promising for patients who have reached a plateau in traditional therapies.

With sensors that are placed directly on the dura mater, the tough coating between the skull and brain tissue, Williams advance represents a tradeoff of risk and reward. His approach has led to improved measurement of key brain activity while staying outside the blood-brain barrier to avoid complications of infection. The sensors work by monitoring the part of the brain responsible for a particular actionin stroke patients, for example, arm or leg movement. We coordinate the brains intent to move your arm with the actual movement, with the goal of facilitating faster recovery, Williams says. This is a high-technology twist on traditional stroke therapies, which work to retrain the brain to control specific movements. But with technology, there is a precise connection between cause and effect. The way the brain rewires is it looks for coincidences, Williams says. Thats the fundamental basis of learning and brain plasticity: the idea that neurons that fire together, wire together. Supported by both the National Institutes of Health and the Coulter Foundation for Translational Research, Williams has clinical trials underway with colleagues at UW Health. The epilepsy team includes Neurological Surgery Assistant Professors David Niemann and Karl Sillay. The stroke project includes Radiology Assistant Professor Vivek Prabhakaran and Neurology Assistant Professor Justin Sattin.

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Expanding the potential of MRI for diagnosing breast cancer

n the world of medical imaging, no single technology provides all the answers for the critical procedure of breast cancer biopsy. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), for example, produces clear, highly revealing images of potential breast cancer lesions, but lacks practicality in obtaining a biopsy sample. Ultrasound imaging, on the other hand, is less revealing than MRI but provides the real-time images physicians need to visualize their target. A team of engineers and medical researchers at UW-Madison is working with a Madison biomedical firm, Marvel Medtech LLC, to merge the best of these technology worlds. The team is developing a new real-time visualization approach to using MRI in the breast biopsy process, an advance that could lead to far more precise biopsies, shorter procedure times and reduced anxiety for patients. Ultrasound is the technology of choice right now for image-guided biopsies, primarily because its easy to use and offers the real-time imaging, says Associate Professor Walter Block (left). Clearly, radiologists need to have confidence when conducting a biopsy that they are in the lesion. But many of the lesions detected by MRI are not visible in ultrasound. Lesions not detected by ultrasound have a malignancy rate of above 20 percent. For that reason, the American Cancer Society recommends using MRI as the top surveillance tool for high-risk breast cancer patients, which includes an estimated 1.4 million American women. The blind approach to MRI-assisted biopsies means that even the slightest movement of the patient or the tissue can shift the target and lead to a failed biopsy, causing additional painful readjustments or return visits. The new technology tackles two challenges. First, current MRI scanner design makes it nearly impossible for interventional access to the patient during imaging. Blocks research team developed a different kind of MR breast coil that leaves open a variety of angles accessible to a biopsy needle. The second challenge is in designing a functional device within MRIs high magnetic field environment. For this, the team is partnering with Mechanical Engineering Assistant Professor Michael Zinn, who is building a robotic arm that would control the needle with piezoelectric motors. Other collaborators include (from left, next to Block) Radiology Assistant Professor Roberta Strigel, Medical Physics Researcher Ethan Brodsky, Radiology Associate Professor Frederick Kelcz, and Marvel Medtech CEO Ray Harter.
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David Nevala

Chemical and Biological Engineering www.engr.wisc.edu/che Chemical and Biological Engineering www.engr.wisc.edu/che

This will be the headline for the

A
O

n the finance world, ROI, or return on investment, is a common performance measure that essentially tells investors whether the money they spent was worth it, or not. In Professor Teresa Adams case, the investors were U.S. citizens, and the money they spent funded transportation projects via the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. On campus, Adams directs the Wisconsin Transportation Center. However, for nearly a year in 2009 and 2010, she worked on sabbatical in the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of the Secretary, initially as part of a team of economists that conducted cost-benefit analyses of each grant proposal. It was very exciting to me because it was the first time since the Interstate Highway Act of 1956 that investments were chosen to support a national strategy, she says. That strategy centered around outcomes that included economic competitiveness for the nation or region, safety for all modes of transportation, contributions to livable communities, environmental sustainability, and infrastructure state of good repair. The department awarded 51 grants in February 2010 for innovative projects ranging from investments in an effort to reduce rail congestion in Chicago to a new streetcar line in a Hurricane Katrina-damaged area of New Orleans. After her work on the proposal evaluation team concluded, Adams collaborated with the assistant secretary for transportation policy and experts in many transportation modes to define and draft performance metrics for each project.

A new platform: DNA delivery, on demand

Thats where the ROI comes into effect. In this nation, weve been able to enjoy an economic advantage over other nations because of the efficiency of our transportation system, and in particular, our freight transportation system, says Adams. If we dont keep up that efficiency and make wise investments, then well fall behind and lose our ability to enjoy the quality of life we do.

Headline to go with the Schauer story

versatile new platform technology could enable doctors to release DNA locally in the body for a variety of therapeutic applications. Using a layer-by-layer fabrication process, Associate Professor David Lynn (left, pictured with PhD student Shane Beckler), can coat complex medical devices, such as vascular stents, with alternating nanoscale polymer and DNA layers. When doctors insert these devices into the body, the coatings will break down and control how slowly or rapidly DNA is delivered. The idea is local therapy, says Lynn. You can avoid some of the problems associated with administering something systemically. n needs a delivery agent to help it cross Kathy died of carbon monoxide cells to process it effectively. DNA September 4, 2006, Mark Wanglers wifecell membranes and enable thepoisoning in the couples Bath Township, Ohio, home. Yet, Wangler, who polymers are popular method survived. Positively charged, or cationic,was sleeping inaanother bedroom, for delivering DNA. Detectiveshis students the home as a matter of protocol began tothat will why only one spouse in solution to form since Lynn and who visited make and synthesize cationic polymers wonder assemble with DNA diedparticularly Wangler claimed the carbon monoxide accumulated because of a faulty ventilation system on the homes hot water tank. nanoparticles or on surfaces to form films. They are layering their cationic polymers alternately with DNA to form Suspecting foul play, the detectives ultimately collected ductwork from the home, as well as the hot water tank, vent covers, multilayered thin films on medical devices, including stents, balloon catheters or microneedle arrays. Layering hoses, carpet, Wanglers diary, journals, computer equipment. allows you tocalled the FBIamount of DNA or drug thats incorporated, simply by the number of layers that you add,specialized Then they control the and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for helpbut neither organization had the so that you to determinethe dose, says Lynn. carbon monoxide. The EPA told detectives to call Professor James Schauer. knowledge can control the real source of the Initially, is an international expert in usingbuilding stable polymer films that would fall apart in the body andhas analyzed Schauer he and his students focused on chemical tracers to identify sources of air pollution. His research group release DNA.samples ranging from air inplatform and making it useful Greenland ice sheet. DNA delivery. With pollutants in Now, they are taking this the Middle East to snow in the for controlled, timed collaborators at UW-Madison and elsewhere, Lynn and hishigh concentrations of motor vehicle exhaust had passed through the The Ohio detectives asked Schauer to determine whether students are expanding their basic understanding into in vivo studies inventilationWere out of the tool-building phase andquickly; however, Schauer and colleagues at the Wisconsin Wangler homes animals. system. Carbon monoxide itself dissipates entering the phase where we can try some State Lab of Hygiene a potential very high concentrations Lynn. interesting things indocumentedtherapeutic context, saysof soot in the ductwork, carpet and other evidence taken from the Wangler home.Lynn, whose funding for the research the sootfrom determine that an internal combustion engine was its source. Ultimately, They used chemical tracers to analyze comes and the National Institutes for Health, hopes use Schauer wrote a coat devices with multiple different layers of multiple different drugs. Then, you have to this approach toreport about the groups findings and testified at Wanglers trial in March 2011. Prosecutingaattorney Juergen Waldick says their contributionsto release multiple drugs in a controlled way over time,lab did was just essential toisruling out one potentially sophisticated way were critical. Schauers expertise and the work that the which is something that of the possible defenses they had approaches, says. difficult to do using conventionalin this case, hehe says. On March 16, 2011, a jury found Wangler guilty of murdering his wife.

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David Nevala

n a chemical plant, a singleMenassa story Carol raw such as Ithe refinedproduct becomesproductrequirescrude oiljetfeedstock might be into many products, including gasoline, fuel and asphalt. How one many extremely precise, tightly controlled integrated processes, and Paul A. Elfers Professor James Rawlings and his students develop the theory and algorithms to hone this control. For many years, standard industrial controllers, coupled together, controlled multistage processes. Over time, these processes became more complex, and different parts of a process affected others. It was hard to design local controllers to work together well to control a large, integrated system, says Rawlings. Rawlings and his students study the underlying theory of a control method called model-predictive control, which considers all variables in a large integrated system. The model uses plant data to forecast what the system will do, and then repeatedly optimizes the system over time. Rawlings group conducts research to verify and improve how accurately this happens. Can you prove that the system will go to the set point youve selected? he says. Can you prove that it will be whats called robust to disturbances and model errors? His group also has developed algorithms that take thousands of variables into account and repeatedly and efficiently solve optimization problems in real time.

Here will go the head for For industry, advanced control methods boost bottom line

In many industries, these advanced control methods lead to more efficient processes, energy savings, improved products and an increased bottom line, says Rawlings. This is having an impact of savings on the order of $1 billion per year, just in the chemical process industries in North America, compared with the previous technology used for this, he says. His collaborators include Computer Sciences Professor Steven Wright and industrial partners in the Texas-Wisconsin-California Control Consortium. Consortia members fund a variety of Rawlings applied research, while National Science Foundation enables the fundamental research Rawlings can extend to larger classes of optimization and control problems.

he models Associate Professor Christos Maravelias develops are somewhat like a crystal ball that pharmaceutical companies can use to make research and development decisions about which drug formulations to develop. Drug development is an expensive, highly risky, long-term endeavor. There might be hundreds of candidate compounds, for example, for just one target disease. Deciding which of those candidates to pursue involves extensive testing, time, and personnel and financial investments. Maravelias develops methods that incorporate a companys desired level of risk and account for all of this uncertainty. From a portfolio of potential drugs, we try to develop methods that would allow us to select which ones to further develop, how to prioritize and also how to plan for our resources, he says. In drug development, the uncertainty is rooted in decisions people make. These decisions result in challenging optimization problems. The underlying optimization problem is very interesting because of

Making drug development less of a gamble

the uncertainty and the way it depends on what we are doing, says Maravelias. Its a hard problem that hasnt been studied in the literature. In a general optimization problem, there is a set of constraints that describes the problem and a set of optimization decisions. In stochastic programming, its the same idea, but we generate multiple scenarios describing different uncertainty realizations, says Maravelias. We have to make the decisions that would be good in all these scenarios. This multiple-scenario approach leads to very large computational models, and another aspect of Maravelias work is developing the theory and solution methodsalgorithmsthat can efficiently solve the models for real-world applications. Maravelias, who in 2006 earned a National Science Foundation CAREER Award for this research, says the models also could extend into many industries in which businesses are developing new products with limited resources.

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Civil and Environmental Engineering www.engr.wisc.edu/cee

Keeping U.S. transportation investments on track

Photo courtesy of Lance Nishihira

n the finance world, ROI, or return on investment, is a common performance measure that essentially tells investors whether their money was well-spent, or not. In Professor Teresa Adams case, the investors were U.S. citizens, and the money they spent funded transportation projects via the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. On campus, Adams directs the Wisconsin Transportation Center. However, for nearly a year in 2009 and 2010, she worked on sabbatical in the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of the Secretary, initially as part of a team of economists that conducted cost-benefit analyses of each grant proposal. It was very exciting to me because it was the first time since the Interstate Highway Act of 1956 that investments were chosen to support a national strategy, she says. That strategy centered around outcomes that included economic competitiveness for the nation or region, safety for all modes of transportation, contributions to livable communities, environmental sustainability, and infrastructure state of good repair. The department awarded 51 grants in February 2010 for innovative projects ranging from investments in an effort to reduce rail congestion in Chicago to a new streetcar line in a Hurricane Katrina-damaged area of New Orleans. After her work on the proposal evaluation team concluded, Adams collaborated with the assistant secretary for transportation policy and experts in many transportation modes to define and draft performance metrics for each project.

Thats where the ROI comes into effect. In this nation, weve been able to enjoy an economic advantage over other nations because of the efficiency of our transportation system, and in particular, our freight transportation system, says Adams. If we dont keep up that efficiency and make wise investments, then well fall behind and lose our ability to enjoy the quality of life we do.

September 4, 2006, Mark Wanglers Kathy of carbon monoxide the Bath Township, Ohio, Onhome. Yet, Wangler, who was sleepingwifeanotherdiedsince Wangler claimedpoisoning invisitedcouplesaccumulated because of a in bedroom, survived. Detectives who the home as a matter of protocol began to wonder why only one spouse diedparticularly the carbon monoxide

Revealing the chemical fingerprints of a crime

faulty ventilation system on the homes hot water tank. Suspecting foul play, the detectives ultimately collected ductwork from the home, as well as the hot water tank, vent covers, hoses, carpet, Wanglers diary, journals and computer equipment. Then they called the FBI and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for helpbut neither organization had the specialized knowledge to determine the real source of the carbon monoxide. The EPA told detectives to call Professor James Schauer. Schauer is an international expert in using chemical tracers to identify sources of air pollution. His research group has analyzed pollutants in samples ranging from air in the Middle East to snow in the Greenland ice sheet. The Ohio detectives asked Schauer to determine whether high concentrations of motor vehicle exhaust had passed through the Wangler homes ventilation system. Carbon monoxide itself dissipates quickly; however, Schauer and colleagues at the Wisconsin State Lab of Hygiene documented very high concentrations of soot in the ductwork, carpet and other evidence taken from the Wangler home. They used chemical tracers to analyze the soot and determine that an internal combustion engine was its source. Schauer wrote a report about the groups findings and testified at Wanglers trial in March 2011. Prosecuting attorney Juergen Waldick says Schauers contributions were critical. Schauers expertise and the work that the lab did was just essential to ruling out one of the possible defenses they had in this case, he says. On March 16, 2011, a jury found Wangler guilty of murdering his wife.

16

Does green behavior occur in a green building?

ompleted in December 2010, the UW-Madison Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery Building marries majestic lightfilled public spaces with state-of-the-art scientific facilities. But while a hallmark of the building is its visual appeal, equally important to its users are the mechanical, electrical and other systems that operate behind the scenes. In each of these systems, building designers included sensors that record data about everything from lighting and electricity use to occupancy and heating, ventilation and air-conditioning operations. Using intelligent building automation software, Assistant Professor Carol Menassa, Adjunct Professor John Nelson and graduate students Elie Azar and Nathan Taylor are collecting this data to learn more about occupants energy use. They will use the information to verify and validate the designers assumptions about how the building and its systems should work. More importantly, they hope to understand how building occupants and their behavior will affect building performance. Based on past research of buildings in other parts of the country, the researchers expect to find differences between predicted and actual energy use. If we see these discrepancies, the next step is to understand why they are occurring, says Menassa. Is it the systems in the building, or is it the occupants? Occupants could affect energy use based on the length of time they spend in the building, and whether they leave equipment or lights on when they are not in use, among other factors. Once the researchers gather data from the building systems, they will develop an agent-based model to simulate the ways in which people use the building. That simulation could lead to better building designs that more thoroughly consider occupant behavior. Additionally, it could help building owners enable users to understand and reduce their energy consumption. In fact, Menassa will assemble a Green Team of graduate students to discuss personal energy use with Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery occupants and assess the efficacy of this peer-to-peer approach to change. Menassa recently received $282,576 from the National Science Foundation to fund this research.

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David Nevala

Electrical and Computer Engineering www.engr.wisc.edu/ece

Narayan Mahon

Nanoscale silicon: A really cool hot spot

ilicons ability to dissipate heat, a property called high thermal conductivity, is part of the reason it is a popular material for electronics applications. Yet when silicon is reduced to the nanoscale, it displays a very different property, becoming an efficient thermoelectric material that can convert heat into electricity (a process called energy harvesting) or produce cooling via an electrical current. Associate Professor Irena Knezevic (pictured with postdoctoral research associate Edwin Ramayya, left, and postdoctoral fellow Zlatan Aksamija), and Erwin W. Mueller Professor and Bascom Professor of Surface Science and Materials Science and Engineering Max Lagally, and Physics Professor Mark Eriksson are exploring ways to develop silicon nanostructures that best take advantage of the materials thermoelectric properties. Knezevic is an expert in microscopic computer simulations, and her group helps guide experiments by Lagally, an expert in materials growth, and Eriksson, who measures the thermal and electrical properties of nanostructures. Semiconductors with good thermoelectric properties typically are materials with a heavy atomic weight, such as bismuth telluride. However, tellurium-based materials are toxic and rare, which is a

barrier to developing thermoelectric devices beyond research labs. Silicon is the most abundant semiconducting material. Thermoelectric devices are designed to preserve heat at one end and cooler temperatures at the other; good thermal conductivity does exactly the opposite by dissipating heat evenly to both ends. When silicon is grown so that at least one dimension is at the nanoscale, its nano-boundary scatters the quantum lattice vibrations, or phonons, that serve as primary heat carriers. This scattering is an effective way to reduce a materials thermal conductivity. Knezevic has discovered that growing silicon nanowires to a range of 20 to 50 nanometers is the optimal size to scatter phonons but not charge-carrying electrons. This range drastically reduces silicons thermal conductivity and a quantity known as the thermoelectric figure of merit, making it the sweet spot for silicon to demonstrate its optimal thermoelectric properties. The researchers also are evaluating the thermoelectric behavior of various silicon nanomembranes with quantum dots inclusions and membrane-based heterostructures. Nanostructuring enables you to get surprising performance out of household materials, and were using silicon in ways we wouldnt normally envision, Knezevic says.

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New wave of energy research

Vining decided to eliminate the problems with these intermediaries. She modeled, constructed and tested a new class of linear generators that are wound-field devices, meaning the generator field is composed of coils, rather than permanent magnets, which are made from rare, expensive materials. Vinings generator could be made from more common, ocean-friendly materials, such as copper and iron. Developing an efficient means for extracting energy from wave motion is poised to be the next research challenge in the field of electrical power, says Grainger Professor Emeritus of Power Electronics and Electrical Machines Thomas Lipo. Jennifers PhD on new wave motion generators introduces an important alternative and clearly places UW-Madison at the forefront of this rapidly developing technology.

renewable energy source that could serve the majority of the U.S. population often flows by unnoticed, even as it continuously rolls and crashes onto the shores of a country searching for petroleum alternatives. PhD student Jennifer Vining has brought the attention of Wisconsin Electric Machines & Power Electronics Consortium researchers to the sea. Water is much more energy-dense than air, and you can feel this when youre swimming, because its more difficult to pass your arm through water than air, Vining says. As such, a unit area of ocean has the ability to produce far more energy than the same area of wind. One of the most common types of ocean wave energy converters is known as a point absorber, which is a buoy-like device that heaves up and down with the waves. The point absorber is connected to a generator, which typically sends power via undersea cables to a substation on shore. Waves produce a linear heaving motion in point absorbers, and current devices convert this energy into rotational motion to drive conventional rotary generators (like wind turbines). Commercial solutions for this conversion process include hydraulic intermediaries, which decrease system efficiency and reliability.

With second company, laser researchers are seeing new light

wo professors have formed a startup company to commercialize a nanoscale laser structure that could benefit a wide range of industries. Intraband LLC was co-founded in 2008 by Philip Dunham Reed Professor Dan Botez and Professor Luke Mawst and has received recent funding from the U.S. Army and Navy Small Business Technology Transfer Programs. Botez and Mawst also have received a grant from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation Accelerator Program, which will support more research toward proving their patented concepts. We have the ideas and now were gradually building toward making these devices a reality, Botez says. In the next two years, Botez and Mawst will build a prototype based on their concepts for a novel structure that could yield lasers twice as efficient as current continuous-wave semiconductor lasers emitting in the mid-infrared. These lasers could be used in biomedical devices, environmental monitoring devices, missile avoidance systems and even food packaging processes. This wide range of applications is possible because the researchers have all but eliminated the temperature sensitivity for lasers operating in continuous-wave mode, meaning the laser emits uninterrupted, coherent light.

Mid-infrared semiconductor lasers release most energy as heat rather than light. To overcome this inherent deficiency, researchers have developed a quantum cascade laser structure, where electrons move like a ball falling down a ladder. The ball may hit the first couple of steps and emit a quantum unit of light, or photon, each time it falls from one step to the next. Eventually, though, the ball may veer off course and drop off the ladder entirely. This efficiency problem, called carrier leakage, results in heating and poor reliability, which currently is the major barrier to using continuous-wave, quantum-cascade lasers in most industrial applications. Botez and Mawst have created structures that work more like a set of tiered boxes, with a ball getting caught at each stage of the structure. This ensures the electrons will not fall off the cascade structure, or leak, and thus continue to produce photons efficiently. The new tiered-box structures are called deep-well and tapered-active quantum cascade lasers. Importantly, Botez and Mawst grow the new structures via a process known as metalorganic chemical vapor deposition, which is suitable for large-scale manufacturing. Botez and Mawst also are co-founders of the startup Alfalight, and both say this previous experience will help them grow Intraband. Its really satisfying to see a concept as a product, Mawst says.

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Jim Beal

Engineering Physics www.engr.wisc.edu/ep

David Nevala

Materials engineer applies education to stem cell challenges

T
DOE awards UW-Madison engineers $5.6 million for future reactor technology

he more Professor Wendy Crone (above, with Tim Kamp) worked with biologists, chemical engineers, medical professionals and others, the more she realized she wanted to go back to school. Now Crone is studying polymeric hydrogels, a class of polymeric materials that incorporate 10 to 100 times more water than the polymer that holds them together. JELL-O and contact lenses are common hydrogels. Crone and an interdisciplinary team are looking at stem cell response to a surrounding three-dimensional hydrogel matrix. The goal is to test the influence of hydrogel material properties and mechanical stimulation on stem cell differentiation. It is possible that researchers could use hydrogels as scaffolding on which to coax stem cells into producing engineered tissues.

he U.S. Department of Energy Nuclear Energy University Program awarded five out of 51 grants nationwide to researchers in the Department of Engineering Physics. In total, DOE awarded $39 million in research grants aimed at developing cutting-edge nuclear energy technologies, and training and educating the next generation of leaders in the U.S. nuclear industry. Izabela Szlufarska, an associate professor of materials science and engineering and engineering physics, will study the effects of radiation on fission product transport in silicon carbide. Silicon carbide coats fuel particles in very-high-temperature reactor applications. A major problem with the compound is undesired diffusion of silver from the fuel core into the coolant.

Wisconsin Distinguished Professor Michael Corradini will study critical heat flux phenomena under high-pressure and lowmass flux conditions. Critical heat flux is one of the key physical phenomena that limit the allowable linear power for a nuclear reactor core design. Corradini will also conduct safety analysis research on the next generation nuclear plant. Associate Professor Todd Allen will develop advanced highuranium-density fuels for light water reactors. Because highly enriched uranium may increase the danger of nuclear proliferation, researchers continue to improve low enriched uranium alloys with high uranium density. The challenge is to create a highdensity fuel that can be manufactured and reprocessed.

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Although Wisconsin is known for its interdisciplinary research, building the bridge between disciplines requires time and effort. With a Career Enhancement Award for Stem Cell Research from the National Institutes of Health, Crone is taking courses, participating in training workshops, and engaging in stem cell research over the next two years to become a better collaborator with her colleagues in other disciplines. Bridging the gap between disciplines requires Crone and colleagues to speak and listen in a perpetual state of translation. For example, stress has a very specific meaning to a mechanics professor but may mean something completely different to a biologist. The way a person is trained in a discipline causes them to approach problems in a certain way, Crone says. An engineer may approach a problem quite differently than a biologist. In order to collaborate, both have to understand how they look at the world differently. As part of her retraining, and with the help of her colleague and mentor Professor of Medicine Tim Kamp, Crone has to develop her own lesson plan. Being a student again is great. Its so easy to sit in a class and have information delivered to you in an organized way, she says. Beyond the classroom, we have to figure out what we need to know. You have to dig out what you need and structure it yourself.

To deter nuclear terrorism, should we inspect all incoming freight?

Associate Professor Paul Wilson will design and develop the user experience for a next generation nuclear fuel cycle simulator. Because decisions for individual nuclear energy technologies must be informed by the technical, political and socioeconomic impacts of those technologies on the whole nuclear energy system, the Fuel Cycle Research and Development Program is creating a nextgeneration fuel cycle simulator with sufficient modularity to accommodate a wide variety of audiences, use cases and developer needs.

nspecting ship containers for nuclear weapons is a daunting task. More than 11.6 million cargo containers enter U.S. ports each year, with 32,000 maritime containers entering ports each day. Ninety percent of containers enter through 10 of the highestvolume ports, but there are more than 300 ports operating in the United States. The United States currently inspects about five percent of containers entering the country. With funding from the University of Southern California-based Center for Risk and Economic Analysis of Terrorism Events, Professor Vicki Bier conducted a decision analysis on the potential impact that 100-percent inspection and the threat of retaliation would have on deterring smuggling of nuclear weapons in container freight, as well as whether partial inspection might also have a deterrent effect. We attempted to quantify the model as best we could. It involves complex considerations. How confident can we be that there would be retaliation? How confident can we be that the smuggler believes there would be retaliation? What if the attacker has multiple weapons? Bier says. The analysis tells you under what conditions you could achieve deterrence. It is based on an assumption that the smugglers are operating rationally, which they may or may not be. Based on publicly available data, Biers team quantified a game-theoretic model of terrorist decision making to understand the subject. The results suggest that unless the defender imposes high retaliation costs on the attacker, 100-percent inspection is likely to be needed, and deterrence with partial inspection may not be achievable in practice even though it is possible in theory. On the other hand, when the defender can credibly threaten the attacker with costly retaliation, partial inspection may be sufficient to deter nuclear smuggling attempts. Thus, for policy debates about how to prevent nuclear terrorism, consideration of the diplomatic stance on retaliation is as important as, or maybe even more important than, debate about the optimal percentage of containers to inspect.

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Engineering Professional Development www.engr.wisc.edu/epd

James Beal

Hands-on engineeringthe Camp Badger way

or six weeks in summer 2011, more than 200 kids and more than a dozen facilitators, many of them area teachers and UW-Madison engineering students, hiked, bussed to, and generally scoured the UW-Madison campus, local attractions and area companies. These educational excursions were all part of the 14th annual Camp Badger, a one-week residential program for Wisconsin and Minnesota teenagers entering eighth grade. As campers, they explore the many aspects of an engineering education and the profession, all while living in a student dorm and experiencing life on a college campus. We involve middle and high school teachers to run the camps, says Professor Phil OLeary. One of our informal objectives is to have teachers experience camp, too. It opens their eyes to engineering and helps them in the classroom. We have teachers involved from Madison, Verona, Stoughton and Racine. This year, for the first time, Camp Badger held a session in River Falls, Wisconsin, thanks in part to a generous donation from 3M Corporation. The program continues to grow in number of students, activities,

locations and important demographics. The percentage of girls involved in camp went up this year, as did the number of students on needbased scholarships, says OLeary. A primary goal of Camp Badger is to offer an experience to kids who would not otherwise have the opportunity. Scholarships offset part or all of the cost of camp, based on a recommendation from teachers. Funding for camp comes from alumni, corporations and a small portion of fees paid to Engineering Professional Development short courses. Many Camp Badger alumni have gone on to pursue undergraduate engineering degrees, often at University of Wisconsin schools, reflecting the impact of their experience. Its part of our social responsibility, both to our profession and to the state of Wisconsin, says OLeary.

Close ties among online classmates overcome geographic distance

raduation ceremonies for the Master of Engineering in Professional Practice (MEPP) and Master of Engineering in Engine Systems (MEES) draw people from all over the world. The 40 or so graduates often bring their children, parents, grandparents and significant others to celebrate. It is not unusual to have 200 people at the combined graduation ceremonies. The students are proud of their accomplishment and proud of their cohort. They want those close to them to meet the people theyve been studying with for two years, says Program Director Wayne Pferdehirt. What is most striking about the graduation scene is that MEPP and MEES are programs delivered at a distance. The students come to campus for one week each summer, but otherwise, they work together online. Instructors say the strong connection that students make with each other is due in part to EPDs efforts to build learning communities. The programs are designed to get students to work together in project teams, and to interact extensively in online discussions. Each cohort has a wealth of experience, spread across job functions and industries, and the individual students quickly learn the benefits of sharing this experience in relation to the courses they take together. They are solving common problems and

find it very useful to see how their peers in other companies and other industries approach these problems. Students also support each other in their day-to-day coursework. All are working adults and each one arrives with a different set of strengths. In any of the courses, whether it be statistics, project management or technical communications, there will be some experts and novices. They learn that they can count on each other for moral support and for technical support, says Pferdehirt. At the beginning of the MEPP and MEES programs, students take a course called Network Skills for Remote Learners, where they learn to use the tools and techniques required for effective online work. At the end of this course, they are comfortable in the online environment and eager to meet their fellow students in the summer residency week which follows. Other distance degree programs promote the idea that students should work together, but the EPD programs take that to a whole new level. The results can be seen in the bonds that students form and the contact they continue after graduation. There was a great deal of balance in the cohort, says MEPP graduate David Gottshall. Such professionals, such diversity, such technical competence. And what I really appreciated about our cohort was a lack of competitiveness. There was not a sense of pretense. Everybody was on the team. It didnt matter what your need was from a fellow cohort, they were there.

22

When process equals progress: Building blocks for biotech businesses

ou cant solve a problem if you dont know where to look, says Faculty Associate Frank Rath (pictured left). Rath is working to bring the same benefits of industrial engineering enjoyed by traditional manufacturers to the biotech industry. Its very fertile ground, he says. For the most part, scientists dont view processes the same way that engineers do. They view what they do in the lab as more of a scientific art. The best scientists are artists. They dont boil the business down to a defined engineered process. Going from customer contact to an actual order needs a process. Production needs to have a true, defined process. NeoClone is a Madison-based company that excels at producing monoclonal antibodies. Raths team interviewed NeoClone employees to better understand its products and processes and then formed a NeoClone team. The team identified company problem areas, helped create a flow chart, and performed an order fulfillment analysis, through which orders are followed through the company from initiation to completion. As a result of working with Rath, NeoClone was able to better engage and initiate clients early. That helped the company reduce the time from initial contact to the launch of production on projects by almost two weeks. We still, in some ways, followed a process like we would a research program, says NeoClone CEO Deven McGlenn (right). We did things a certain way because thats always the way wed done themwhich is not uncommon in the life sciences world. However, with the critical outside look that Frank and his team brought, we were able to identify a set of measurement points that allowed us to change the process in ways that created efficiencies. Thats a common issue in the biotech companies Rath has worked with. Biotech manufacturers often work with complex recipes to create products. There can be days when nothing seems to work right and production withers to a halt. But by applying industrial engineering principles, Rath helps companies define materials, conditions and processes so that when something goes wrong, employees have a strategy to see through the complexity and solve the problem.

23

David Nevala

Industrial and Systems Engineering www.engr.wisc.edu/ie

David Nevala Jim Beal

Bringing best practices to Wisconsin manufacturers

W W

isconsin is home to approximately 10,000 small to to medium Veeramani says working with WMEP allows UWEBI and its isconsin is home to approximately 10,000 small In addition to workshops, webinars and confermedium manufacturers, which provide approximately jobs. manufacturers, which provide approximately 430,000 consortium members, which typically are large companies, to share ences, UWEBI offers WMEP customers the opportu430,000 jobs. UW-Madison has a longmanufacturing research, lessons learned with thein graduate student projects that UW-Madison has a long history of history of nity to participate broader state manufacturing community. manufacturing research, education and outreach, and the UW This allows us to amplify the impact of those lessons, he says. education and outreach, and the UW E-Business Institute (UWEBI) and address a companys specific challenges or needs. E-Business Institute (UWEBI) and itsthe UW E-Business Consortium, are corporate membership arm, In addition to workshops, webinars and conferences, UWEBI offers its corporate membership arm, In spring 2011, UWEBI students worked with the UW E-Business Consortium, are especiallyindustry. Directed by RobertWMEPWaunakee-based Hellenbrand Inc., which produces projects customers the opportunity to participate in student especially active with the manufacturing active with the A. manufacturing industry. Directed by Robert A. Ratner Undergraduate is that address awater-softener systems, and MadisonRatner Undergraduate Chair and Professor Raj Veeramani, UWEBI a custom companys specific challenges or needs. based Bock UWEBI students worked with Waunakee-based Chair multidisciplinary center that conducts research on e-business strategies, In spring 2011,Water Heaters, among other compaand Professor Raj Veeramani, UWEBI is a multidisciplinary emerging information technologies and strategies, business practices.Hellenbrand Inc., which produces custom water-softener systems, innovative emerging nies. At Hellenbrand, students helped the company center that conducts research on e-business UWEBI has a decade-long relationship with the Wisconsin Manu- and Madison-based Bock Water engineering processes companies. rethink its entire sales and Heaters, among other information technologies and innovative business practices. facturing decade-long relationship with the aims to keep as Hellenbrand prepared to the company rethink UWEBI has aExtension Partnership (WMEP), whichWisconsin state At Hellenbrand, students helped adopt a new product its sales manufacturers competitive, profitable and growing in a global economy. engineering processes as it prepared to adopt a new product Manufacturing Extension Partnership (WMEP), which aims to and configuration software tool. The organizations currently are working together on a two-year initiaWith Bock Water Heaters, students redesigned keep state manufacturers competitive, profitable and growing in a configuration software tool. tive to introduce WMEP customers to the best practices that UWEBI and the shop space and streamlined operations to make global economy. The organizations currently are working together With Bock Water Heaters, students redesigned the shop space and its affiliates have learned over the years. We reach out to only the best room for new model production. Bock now plans to on a two-year initiative to introduce WMEP customers to the best director streamlined operations to make room for new model production. organizations for partnership, says Roxanne Baumann, WMEP apply principles from the project to other areas of practices that UWEBIand alliances. UWEBI builds trust and communicationBock now company.apply principles from the project to other areas of plans to Together were providing hands-on of partnerships and its affiliates have learned over the years. the We reach manufacturers and creates a safe havenpartnership, says the learning, skills and knowledge transfers that learning, skills and with out to only the best organizations for for learning and coaching. company. Together were providing hands-onreally RoxanneVeeramani says working with WMEP allows UWEBI and its consor- knowledge transfers that really enhance themanufacturBaumann, WMEP director of partnerships and alliances. enhance the competitiveness of small competitiveness of small UWEBI builds trust and communication with manufacturers and manufacturers in Wisconsin, says Baumann. By keeping their perfortium members, which are typically large companies, to share lessons ers in Wisconsin, says Baumann. By keeping their creates a safewith the broader state manufacturing community. This allows performancecontinue tocontinue toand the state economy. mance strong, we strong, we build jobs build jobs and learned haven for learning and coaching. us to amplify the impact of those lessons, he says. the state economy.

Pictured, from left: Bock Water Heaters plant manager Ron Knuteson, Bock CEO Terry Mullen, ISyE student Jayme Udvare and Professor Raj Veeramani
24

Collaborative optimization simplifies real-world problems

f the 10 themes that make up the core research program at the new Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery (WID), the mathematical optimization group is especially well positioned to have a multidisciplinary impact at the institutes and beyond. The team is a blend of industrial and systems engineering and computer sciences faculty and will expand to include experts from other fields in the next year. Led by Professor Michael Ferris (also computer sciences), the group includes Associate Professor Jeffrey Linderoth and Assistant Professor Jim Luedtke, along with Professor Stephen Wright (also computer sciences) and Computer Sciences and Electrical and Computer Engineering Assistant Professor Ben Recht. The WID group brings together a rare combination of researchers with a variety of optimization specialties who will study and develop new methods, as well as apply these methods, to a wide range of important real-world problems. The teams dual emphasis on research and applications makes it unique. Optimization experts tend to specialize in tackling problems that involve either discrete variables, which are essentially yes or no decisions, or continuous variables, where design parameters fall

along a continuum of values. Such optimization teams at other institutions tend to have expertise in one class of problems or the other. The WID team has experts in both. To tackle real-world issues, the researchers will translate problems into mathematical equations that can be solved and analyzed, and develop the optimization methods for solving these problems. The team will work closely with other researchers to expand the use of optimization methods to their WID-sponsored projects, such as systems biology, epigenetics or medical devices. UW-Madison has a long tradition of being a world-leading institution in mathematical optimization, and the institute will allow us to continue this tradition, Linderoth says. The group also will study complex problems beyond WID. Examples of ongoing projects include better-targeted radiation for cancer treatments, more efficient operating room scheduling in hospitals, and designs for more reliable electric grids. The optimization group embodies the collaborative mission of WID, Ferris says. Our tools and techniques will provide a direct benefit to our collaborators, allowing them to more efficiently analyze and effectively model their data, whether the subject and variables are drawn from ecology, medicine, statistics, agriculture, engineering or genetics.

s its 40th anniversary approaches, the Center for Health Systems Research and Analysis (CHSRA) is at the beginning of new era. Professor David Zimmerman, who directed the center for more than 20 years, retired in summer 2011. Yet that doesnt mean he or CHSRA are slowing down; as Zimmerman focuses on new projects, CHSRA researchers are expanding the centers expertise. Founded in 1973 by Professor Emeritus David Gustafson, CHSRA has become a dynamic center for developing and implementing healthcare performance measures. Among the centers many accomplishments are the CHSRA indictors used by federal regulators and healthcare providers to target areas of nursing homes in need of improvement. In the last decade, CHSRA has begun exploring ways to address healthcare efficiency, a critical issue in the U.S. healthcare system. The challenge requires multidisciplinary efforts, and CHSRA collaborates closely with local and national healthcare providers, purchasers and regulators. We hope to build on our success by expanding the scope of CHSRAs research to include care quality, cost and value issues in longterm care and other healthcare venues, says Senior Research Scientist

Smooth transitions: CHSRA and Zimmerman will expand expertise

Jim Robinson, who became the CHSRA director in 2009. We plan to leverage CHSRAs expertise in managing and analyzing large secondary healthcare data sources to facilitate efficient and secure access to these data by other UW researchers. Zimmerman hopes to continue his affiliation with the department as a professor emeritus and in retirement, he intends to develop a better system to meet the needs of patients during the process of transferring from one healthcare setting to another, such as from a hospital to Zimmerman nursing home. He also is passionate about reforming the policy of administering antipsychotic drugs to nursinghome patients who may not need them. Ultimately, both Zimmerman and current CHSRA researchers plan to build on the centers long tradition of healthcare performance measurement. The major accomplishment of my work at CHSRA and as a member of the ISyE department has been to help people understand how to improve healthcare systems and evaluate those efforts objectively, Zimmerman says.

25

Materials Science and Engineering www.engr.wisc.edu/mse

Nanomembranes promise new materials for advanced electronics

phone collects light silicon and translates The camera in yourinto digitalimprove isofontheresearchers are that information bits. One reasons those cameras and phones continue to that developing new materials that absorb more light, use less power, and are less expensive to produce. Recent innovations by a team of materials science and engineering researchers now promise even greater opportunities in the growth of materials beyond silicon and other traditional semiconductors. Research Assistants Deborah Paskiewicz and Boy Tanto, along with Scientist Donald Savage and Erwin W. Mueller Professor and Bascom Professor of Surface Science Max Lagally have developed a new approach for using thin sheets of semiconductor known as nanomembranes. Controlled stretching of these membranes via epitaxy allows the team to fabricate fully elastically relaxed silicon-germanium alloy nanomembranes for use as growth substrates for new materials. The team grew defect-free silicon germanium layers on silicon substrates and then released the silicon germanium layers from the rigid silicon, allowing them to relax completely as free-standing nanomaterials. The silicon germanium film is then transferred to a new host and bonded there. From this stage, a defect-free bulk silicon germanium crystal can be grown (something not possible with current technology), or the silicon germanium membrane can be used as a unique substrate to grow other materials.

At one point during fabrication, the nanomembrane is wrinkled because the elastic strain is partially released.

Epitaxy, growth that controls the arrangement of atoms in thin layers on a substrate, is the fundamental technology underlying the semiconductor industrys use of these new materials. By combining elements, researchers can grow semiconductor alloy materials with unique properties that make possible new kinds of sensors or high speed, low-power, efficient advanced electronics. It is the ability to grow them without detrimental defects that makes these alloys useful to the semiconductor industry. However, making high-quality crystals that combine two or more elements faces significant limitations that have vexed researchers for decades. With this new method, researchers could develop better oscillators, sensors and optical devices that are important to the cell phones, cameras and computers we use everyday.

Slippery concepts: Tiny interactions explain massive phenomena

n earthquake conjures images of massive tectonic plates shifting and ocean waves heaving across the planet. To understand such interactions better, Associate Professor Izabela Szlufarska is looking at them on the molecular level. Szlufarska researches the phenomena that result from coupling chemistry and mechanics, with specific focus on adhesion and friction. For example, her group has discovered that dry nanoscale contacts follow different laws of friction from those typically encountered in larger engineering contacts. In small enough contacts, friction can be described as a sum of forces that arise from individual bonds formed across the sliding interface. Shallow tectonic earthquakes can be viewed as frictional instabilities. Since water is ubiquitous in these environments, understanding the effects of water and humidity on friction is of critical importance. Szlufarskas group is performing quantum mechanical molecular dynamics simulations of

friction between quartz surfaces in the presence of water. The team discovered that in static, or non-sliding, contact, the rate of formation of chemical bridges across the quartz interface slows down with time because, once formed, these bridges interact with each other. The phenomenon is particularly important because it implies that during the time when surfaces are stuck together, the strength with which the surfaces adhere to one another increases logarithmically with timea dependence that has been observed for these systems in laboratory conditions and used as a phenomenological law in earthquake mechanics. Szlufarska also is applying her expertise in mechanochemistry to the effects of chemical environments on cell migration in the context of cancer research. In particular, she is exploring how chemical pathways inside a cell, as well external chemical stimuli, couple to the ability of the cell to adhere to a substrate and its ability to migrate.

26

Strengthening bonds with the welding industry

n engine block cast from aluminum or magnesium-matrix nanocomposites can be much lighter than one cast from aluminum alone. Similarly, a power-plant pressure vessel made from advanced steel that can withstand higher temperature and pressure without deforming could burn more efficiently and produce less pollution. Researchers continue to create new materials with properties that promise to reduce weight, increase performance and save energy in numerous applications. But in many cases, before these advanced materials can be put to use, someone has to figure out how to weld them. With funding from the National Science Foundation, Professor Sindo Kou (pictured with graduate student Dustin Wagner) and colleagues from Ohio State, Lehigh University and the Colorado School of Mines have formed the Industry/University Collaborative Research Center for Integrative Materials Joining Science for Energy Applications. The center seeks to extend the service lifetime of welds in the existing energy infrastructure, increase the efficiency of advanced welding materials, and create the technologies required to join those materials for use in new infrastructure. Industry partners such as Hobart Brothers, Cummins and NASA have joined the center to explore options for creating or improving new joining science. Hobart Brothers is working with Kou to develop new welding filler wires that will make welds not only resistant to creep (deformation at high temperatures) but also tough enough to resist cracking when the pressure vessel is cooled down. Cummins is working with Mechanical Engineering Professor Xiaochun Li, the associate center director, on the weldability of cast metal-matrix nanocomposites for engines. Arc welding is routinely used to repair cracks and surface defects of metal castings, but metal-matrix nanocomposites are so new, no one has devised a method to weld them. NASA seeks to weld metals by traversing a rotating rod along the joint between two plates that are held tight together under thousands of pounds of pressure and softened in the area ahead of the rod by localized heating. The heating prevents the rod from wearing out. The pressure and heat create atomic-level contact between the metals, and they form new bonds, or weld, without melting. The process, called thermal-stir welding (as opposed to friction-stir welding), has been used successfully with titanium alloys. Now, NASA will work with Kous team to apply it to energy-related materials.

27

David Nevala

Mechanical Engineering www.engr.wisc.edu/me

David Nevala

Power steering: A system for more capable catheters

trial fibrillation is a condition where the upper chambers of a patients heart beat irregularly, which can cause blood to pool and increase the risk of stroke-causing clots. Treatment is difficult: A physician has to maneuver a catheter around a patients chest cavity to the diseased regions of the heart, which are then frozen or burned. A robotic catheter is articulated and moves in and out. In theory, a clinician controls it by pulling on the cables that run along the outside of the catheter, but in reality, friction develops and robs the cables of tension. This is a particular problem when clinicians are trying to operate the catheter in an open body cavity rather than snaking the device through a vein or artery. There isnt a one-to-one relationship in how much you pull and the catheters response, says Assistant Professor Michael Zinn, (pictured, with Nicola Ferrier) who is investigating model-based control strategies to improve the performance and efficacy of these catheters. Zinn is developing a closed-loop control system that will adjust a catheter electronically to go where a physician directs it and correct for errors. He is collaborating with Professor Nicola Ferrier to develop better imaging of a catheter during a procedure. Current imaging is done via X-rays, which cant be delivered continuously to patients, so physicians can only view the catheter intermittently. Zinn and Ferrier are merging the benefits of various computer- and radiation-based imaging technologies to develop more advanced techniques to determine where a catheter is at all times. Along with developing the algorithms and sensing techniques and implementing them in hardware, Zinns team is modeling the new device and studying the underlying physics of how the catheter moves. Improved catheter control has applications in any minimally invasive procedure that uses a flexible robotic device. Creating a more seamless and intuitive system may broadly expand the number of doctors who will use these technologies, Zinn says. Current catheters are resigned to poor performance. If successful, this could significantly increase the capabilities of most types of flexible robotics and increase the effectiveness of procedures that use them, he says.

28

Casting a nano future for the metals industry

luminum and magnesium alloys hold great potential for manufacturers, as these alloys are much lighter than traditional high-strength materials such as iron and steel. However, most high-strength aluminum and magnesium alloys are difficult to cast because these materials tend to crack as they solidify in casting molds. This hot tearing is a major barrier to expanding commercial uses for these alloys. Companies that use hard-to-cast alloys must cut shapes out of large chunks of the materials with machinesan expensive process that prevents most manufacturers from using alloys to cast products with geometrically complex shapes. Led by Professor Xiaochun Li, researchers in the Nano-Engineered Metals Processing Center have developed a method to inject

and evenly disperse nanoparticles into metal melts. These nanoparticles, which are typically ceramic, induce nucleation in an alloy to refine grain size while shortening its solidification time, which helps prevent hot tearing. Center researchers also are testing an initial industrial system that can handle 20 to 50 pounds of nanocomposite aluminum, a scale necessary for manufacturers to produce actual products. The centers industrial partners are ready to begin implementing the research and new system, and Wisconsin-based Eck Industries and Oshkosh Corp. will be first. One early project with Oshkosh will use an aluminum alloy instead of steel for an armored vehicle door. Currently, a gallon of gas to fuel one of these vehicles on a battlefield costs as much as $300. Using lighter high-strength materials could help reduce such costs.

Future projects will include exploring how to enhance nanocomposite aluminums high-temperature properties for power lines or conductor plates and using nanocomposite magnesium to develop body implants and other biomedical devices. The centers emphasis on industrial application is supported by a five-year, $10.1 million grant from the National Institute of Standards and Technology and joint venture partners. Li is planning to form a nano-engineered metal processing consortium, and more than 60 companies have already expressed interest in working with the center. Our research really brings a fresh, new frontier to the traditional metals industry, Li says. Were building a new nanotechnology industry on top of this traditional industry.

strophysics instruments that measure very faint, distant sources of light need to be very cold to be sensitive enough to detect individual photons. These detectors work by measuring the change in temperature that occurs when a single photon hits the detector and deposits energy. Because this temperature rise is extremely tiny, only a very cold semiconductor is sensitive enough to detect it. Some of the worlds most sensitive X-ray and infrared detectors operate at temperatures below 1 degree Kelvin. Although space is very cold, the detectors used in orbiting telescopes must be cooled artificially if they are to reach temperatures below about 40 Kelvin, because thermal radiation from the earth and sun warms them. Thats where Assistant Professor Franklin Miller comes in. Miller, who got his start working on projects like the James Webb space telescope at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center, works in the field of sub-Kelvin cryogenics to cool sensitive instruments to temperatures colder than 1 degree Kelvin. In space, astrophysics detectors operate at temperatures of about 50 thousandths of a Kelvin, or 50 millikelvin. But Miller is

Cold enough to see clearly

striving to make them even colderon the order of 20 millikelvin. Although that difference might seem small, only about a hundredth of a degree Fahrenheit, its still two and a half times colder than previously achieved in space. Reaching such temperatures in space would pave the way for a new generation of even more sensitive instruments, says Miller. His project involves adapting dilution refrigeration, which uses an endothermic reaction between superfluid helium-4 and helium-3. Mixing the two isotopes causes them to cool and has been used in laboratories since the 1970s to reach temperatures below 20 millikelvin. Currently, standard dilution refrigeration wont work in microgravity, but Miller is currently testing two improvements: a more compact pump with no moving parts, and a means of separating the two isotopes after the mixing that relies on surface tension, not gravity. He expects to have a working prototype around 2013. If we can get the detectors to be more sensitive we can understand more about how the universe works and may answer some important questions about why the universe does not appear to be working as everyone thought it should, he says.

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Interdisciplinary Degree Programs Interdisciplinary Degree Programs www.engr.wisc.edu/interd

They dig the outdoors:

Geological engineers liveand workfor the environment

Geological engineers find the best ways to use the earths resources to solve technical problems while protecting the environment, and they work in such industries as energy, mining and environmental consulting, among many others. At UW-Madison, GLE undergraduates can gain technical expertise through one of five technical tracks: energy, minerals and mining; sustainability and the environment; geohazards; groundwater and surface water; and infrastructure. I like the strong emphasis the GLE program puts on sustainability, says Freitag, who recently took a job at a new underground mining project near Phoenix, Arizona. It focuses on being able to use the resources we have in a sustainable, environmentally conscious manner. I try to keep that in mind when I am working, too. In addition to a bachelors degree in engineering, GLE students also earn a dual degree in geoscience through the UW-Madison College of Letters and Science. The curricula naturally complement each other, says Benson.

ost of the people who were in the Geological Engineering Program (GLE) with me got involved because we enjoy the outdoors, says Sam Freitag (pictured). We liked all the time we got to spend on camping trips for geology and doing outdoor field work, but we also liked the environmentally sustainable aspect of our learning. Freitag, who earned his bachelors degree in geological engineering in May 2011, is among an increasing number of engineering students who are choosing to major in GLE at UW-Madison. With its 25-year anniversary approaching in 2013, the Geological Engineering Program has grown from just 18 undergraduates in 2009 to nearly 60 studentswith an additional 30 graduate students in fall 2011. In part, that uptick in enrollment is due to an updated curriculum and improved marketing that emphasize the societal and environmental benefits of work in the discipline, says Wisconsin Distinguished Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Geological Engineering Craig Benson. Realigning ourselves with themes that are very relevant to the future is just a tremendous advantage for us, he says.

By Renee Meiller
30

In addition to its nine departments, the UW-Madison College of Engineering has six degree-granting programs with strong emphasis on interdisciplinary studies. Participating UW-Madison faculty members are based in these schools and colleges: College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, College of Engineering, College of Letters and Science, Wisconsin School of Business, School of Education, School of Nursing, School of Medicine and Public Health, School of Pharmacy
Douglas Dettmers, who earned his dual bachelors degrees in 1997, has spent his entire career working in the geotechnical engineering field and now is a regional manager with Gestra Engineering of Milwaukee. He says the cross-departmental GLE curriculum enabled him to add skills that have benefited his career. There was a real range of options for the upper-level elective courses and I had the ability to select classes during my undergraduate program that specifically applied to my future employment, says Dettmers. The non-elective courses, which included geology, hydrogeology and geotechnical courses, exposed me to a broad range of technical issues. I find that I often refer to some of the reference material from these courses when I encounter non-typical conditions. At UW-Madison, GLE students receive the kind of broad education that enables them to bridge boundaries between engineering and the natural sciences. And GLE students themselves are entering with a richer diversity of backgrounds, thanks in part to Research Scientist Sabrina Bradshaw. A GLE alumna who serves as the programs undergraduate recruiter, Bradshaw manages the GLE undergraduate research program and talks about GLE with students at the universitys freshman orientation program. Currently, nearly 50 percent of GLE students are women. Sabrina is a role model who is bringing different people into the program, says Benson, who also sends a personal letter to every entering engineering student. Were going to have a diverse workforce everywhere and theres great value in diversity of ideas. Thats very important, and I want to embed this in the GLE program for the future. Megan Jehring, a senior who is planning to pursue a masters degree in geological engineering, chose GLE because it combined her interest in geology and her desire to pursue a field that involved using math skills. I really enjoy how widely applicable the major is to society, such as construction and environmental issues, she says. An active member of the UW-Madison student chapter of the Association of Environmental and Engineering Geologists, Jehring says she appreciates the GLE programs close-knit feel. The program is very diverse, but also very welcoming, she says. The faculty, staff and students make up a supportive community that feels more like family. Ive made many connections that have helped me gain internships and recommendations for grad schools and careers in industry. Environmental Chemistry and Technology Program Marc Anderson (chair) Tel: 608/263-3264 Fax: 608/262-0454 mcpossin@wisc.edu www.engr.wisc.edu/interd/ect Geological Engineering Program Craig H. Benson (chair) Tel: 608/890-2420 Fax: 608/890-3718 gle@engr.wisc.edu www.gle.wisc.edu Limnology and Marine Science Program Jake Vander Zanden (chair) Tel: 608/263-3264 Fax: 608/262-0454 mcpossin@wisc.edu www.engr.wisc.edu/interd/limnology Manufacturing Systems Engineering Program Ananth Krishnamurthy (director) Tel: 608/262-0921 Fax: 608/265-4017 mse@engr.wisc.edu msep.engr.wisc.edu Master of Engineering (Polymer Engineering & Science) A. Jeffrey Giacomin (co-director) Tim A. Osswald (co-director) Tel: 608/262-7473 or 608/263-9538 Fax: 608/265-2316 rheology@engr.wisc.edu rrc.engr.wisc.edu/PolEngSci.html Materials Science Program Ray Vanderby (director) Donald Stone (associate director) Tel: 608/263-1795 Fax: 608/262-8353 rhoads@engr.wisc.edu www.engr.wisc.edu/interd/msp

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By Interdisciplinary Degree Programs the numbers: 20102011

FACTS AND FIGURES

Educational excellence
U.S. News and World Report rankings: 13 undergraduate program (tied)
th

90 90

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 The college has posted 10 consecutive years of 100 or more patent disclosures.

102

112

112

he UW-Madison College of Engineering is among the most innovative and consistently highly ranked U.S. colleges of engineering. We are internationally renowned for our leading-edge research and widely recognized for our ability to transfer technological advances into real-world applications via myriad partnerships with industry. Through our world-class undergraduate, graduate- and professionallevel educational programs, we enable students to develop as thoughtful, ethical leaders and to acquire the technical expertise they need to tackle complex global engineering challenges.

137

150

150 150

Patent disclosures 2001-2010

134

120 120 116 116

128

137
2010

16thgraduate program (tied) Most academic departments rank in the top 20; some rank in the top 5

Faculty excellence
2 professors named to the Institute of Medicine 22 professors named to the National Academy of Engineering 3 professors named to the National Academy of Sciences 82 faculty recipients of National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator, PECASE, or CAREER awards $150M 150000

Research expenditures 2001-2010

$142,000,000
2010

$125M 125000 $113,000,000 $116,700,000 $122,000,000

137 invention disclosures to the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation in 2010-2011 fiscal year 10 consecutive years of more than 100 patent disclosures 44 research centers 19 research consortia with more than 400 industrial and governmental members

$75M 75000

$50M 50000

2001 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

32

$90,159,000

$95,500,000

Research and innovation excellence

$102,500,000

$104,000,000

$100M 100000

$106,030,000

$108,000,000

Research expenditures by source

Total funding by source

Federal 66% 11% University Budget

State Taxes 7% Tuition 10%

Federal 51%

Industry 20%

Industry 17%

3% Grad School UW Foundation

6% 1% Other

8% Engineering Professional Development

Differential tuition expenditures

Research Instructional Innovation 14% 11% Student Services 46% Instruction

Total expenditures
$142,000,000 42,625,000 12,610,000 10,970,000 $208,205,000 Instruction and Education Engineering Professional Development Alumni and Industrial Gift Funds TOTAL

29% Hands-on experiences

Annual enrollment
Undergraduate students Graduate students Professional engineering education students Approx. 3,750 Approx. 1,550 Approx. 10,000

Differential tuition began in 2008 as a core investment in top undergraduate priorities.

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By Interdisciplinary Degree Programs the numbers: 20102011

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS
Student innovation
Qualcomm Wireless Innovation Prize Runner-tracking app wins inaugural competition Innovation DaysElectronic stent deployment system nets inventor second $10K prize in a row Undergrads win NASA eXploration Habitat Academic Innovation Challenge

International opportunities
201Students who studied, worked or served abroad in the 2010-2011 academic year 31Countries they visited

Internships and co-ops

116 students on co-opfall 2010 109 students on co-opspring 2011 205 students on co-opsummer 2011 438 students on internshipssummer 2011

Hybrid vehicle teams successes since 2000

2000Hybrid Chevy Surburban earns 4th place in the FutureTruck Competition 2001Hybrid Ford Taurus wins Tour de Sol 2001Hybrid Chevy Suburban earns 2nd place in FutureTruck Competition 2002Ford Explorer hybrid wins FutureTruck Competition 2003Ford Explorer hybrid wins FutureTruck Competition 2004Ford EXplorer hybrid wins FutureTruck Competition 2004Clean Snowmobile Team wins SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge 2006Hybrid Chevy Equinox Crossover SUV earns 2nd place in the Challenge X Competition 2006Clean Snowmobile Team wins SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge 2007Hybrid Chevy Equinox Crossover SUV earns 2nd place in the Challenge X Competition 2008Hybrid Chevy Equinox Crossover SUV earns 2nd place in the Challenge X Coast to Coast Competition 2008Clean Snowmobile Team wins SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge 2009Clean Snowmobile Team wins SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge 2010Clean Snowmobile Team wins SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge 2011Clean Snowmobile Team wins SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge

Career opportunities
2010 fall Career ConnectionThousands of students talked with recruiters from more than 220 local, state and national corporations 2011 spring Career ConnectionDespite a campusclosing blizzard, the event drew more than 120 employers

Concrete Canoe Team National Concrete Canoe Competition successes since 2000
2000Prominence earns 7th place 2001Eclipse earns 11th place 2002Mine Bender earns 5th place 2003Chequamegon wins national title 2004Rock Solid wins national title 2005Taliesin wins national title 2006Forward wins national title 2007Descendant wins national title 2008Buckingham earns 6th place 2010Centennial earns 5th place 2011Element earns 2nd place

Steel Bridge Team National Steel Bridge Competition successes since 2000
More than 120 employers attended the two-day spring career fair.

20032nd place 20044th place 20063rd place

20073rd place 20086th place

200912th place 201013th place

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COLLEGE ADVISORY BOARDS

hank you, Industrial Advisory Board and Early Career Advisory Board members! These industry leaders draw on valuable engineering, business and academic experiences in their service to the college. Their insight helps College of Engineering administrators set priorities that advance college excellence in research and education and strengthen connections with alumni and industry.

EARLY CAREER ADVISORY BOARD

Carolina Castellanos R&D Group Leader Packaging Division Kraft Foods Corp. Talia Cawrse Inventory Leader Materials & Demand Planning Team, GE Healthcare Tom Gilbert Product Development Engineer 3M Trevor Ghylin Water and Wastewater Process Engineer CH2M Hill Joshua Hinnendael Functional Manager Digital Group, Plexus Corp. Dan Jonovic EDI Interface Analyst Epic Systems Jonathan Koch Project Development Manager Mortenson Construction Mark A. Polster Environmental Engineer Ford Motor Co. Andrew Schaeve Project Manager American Transmission Co. Christopher J. Thorkelson Vice President Construction Development, Lloyd Companies Eric N. Van Abel Reactor Engineer Dominion-Kewaunee Nuclear Power Station Megan L. Voelker Plastics Process Engineer Placon Corporation

INDUSTRIAL ADVISORY BOARD

Richard Antoine President National Academy of Human Resources Cynthia Bachmann Vice President Engineering, Kohler Kitchen & Bath William C. Beckman CEO, X-nth John E. BerndtIAB CHAIR President (retired) Sprint International Vincent S. Chan Director Theory & Computational Science Energy Group, General Atomics Kim Christopher Senior Vice President Product Management and Development, OptumHealth Donna J. Fairbanks Chief Technology Officer GE Sensing and Inspection Technologies R. Fenton-May Chairman and CEO CarrierWeb / e*freightrac LLC Thomas F. Gunkel CEO and President Mortenson Construction Michael J. Harsch Vice President and Chief Technology Officer GE Healthcare Dr. Ian M. Hau CEO, Orchestrall Inc. Mark A. Henning General Manager Dow Microbial Control, The Dow Chemical Co. Todd Kelsey Senior Vice President Global Customer Services, Plexus Corp. James R. Meister Vice President, Operations Support, Exelon Nuclear Tom Still President Wisconsin Technology Council James H. Thompson Senior Vice President Engineering, Qualcomm Inc.

Engineers Without Borders (student chapter)

2003Formed at UW-Madison 2005Earned international recognition: The prestigious United Nations and Daimler Mondialogo Engineering Award for efforts to help build basic infrastructure in Rwanda 2009Received Mondialogo Engineering Award for efforts to help build basic infrastructure in rural Haiti More than 80 active members Project partnerships with residents of Rwanda, Haiti, El Salvador, Kenya and Red Cliff, Wisconsin

Engineering Professional Development impact

In 2010, students who participated in EPD continuing-education courses came from 50 U.S. states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, and 82 countries around the world. 1Ranking as largest university-based provider of continuing engineering education 6Distance-delivered masters degrees 11Certificate series 25Technical and professional subject areas ranging from the basics to high-level topics 420Short courses per year 1,000Course instructors 12,000Annual enrollment

EX-OFFICIO: Paul S. Peercy, Dean College of Engineering, UW-Madison

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College of Engineering
UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN MADISON

1415 Engineering Drive, Madison, WI 53706

The Engineering Summer Program

When a group of high school students gets together to decide the best way to text while riding a bicycle, the expected result would probably involve mangled spokes and a broken limb or two. But during the UW-Madison Engineering Summer Program (ESP), high school juniors and seniors approach such problems as real-world engineering challenges in which they apply college-level coursework in physics, chemistry, calculus and technical communications. Our project focused on making communication a lot easier to do during everyday use of your bike. That way, you wouldnt miss an important call or important issues, says Geraldo Herrera, a high school senior from Tucson, Arizona.
The project was one of five created during ESP participants Introduction to Engineering class. The students display would magnify texts to make them visible to commuters without drawing too much of their attention from the road ahead. Held six weeks each summer, ESP is the longest-running pre-college outreach program at UW-Madison, about to enter its 40th year. It targets minorities, women and first-generation college studentspeople who traditionally are underrepresented in science, technology, engineering and math. The academic core of ESPcollege-level instruction in science, math and technical communicationsgives students a realistic expectation of what to expect in a demanding college environment, while guest speakers from industry and tours of companies such as Rockwell Automation and Abbott Laboratories enable them to learn about jobs in scientific fields. Students come to ESP from all over the country. Nearly all ESP alumni ultimately attend college at institutions ranging from UW-Madison to MIT and Stanford. Eighty percent of ESP alumni apply to UW-Madison as undergraduatesand 90 percent of those students enroll in the College of Engineering. Sourinthone Bounkets experience in ESP in summer 2011 typifies the programs success in attracting engineering students. Ive been really undecided on what kind of engineering I wanted to do, and I was hoping that ESP would help me decide, says the Milwaukee Rufus King High School senior. Now I want to do chemical engineering.

PREPARING KIDS FOR COLLEGE

ESP participants discuss their design with College of Engineering Dean Paul Peercy.

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