UW-Madison College of Engineering

09/04/2026

UW-Madison engineers have designed a protective hybrid fiber-reinforced polymer composite “blanket” that could significantly reduce lightning strike damage and improve protective coverage for aircraft and other high-flying vehicles.

The material integrates metal “yarn” within the carbon fiber fabric and can be used as a fiber-reinforced polymer composite near the surface of a structure to distribute electrical charge away from a lightning strike site.

Pavana Prabhakar, an associate professor in UW-Madison Civil & Environmental Engineering and the UW-Madison Department of Mechanical Engineering, led the research, which was published recently in the journal Composites, Part B: Engineering.

A team of University of Wisconsin-Madison engineers has designed a protective hybrid fiber-reinforced polymer composite "blanket" that could significantly reduce lightning strike damage and improve protective coverage for aircraft and other high-flying vehicles. The research...

09/03/2026

We're excited to announce that academic leader and educator Amanda Smith has been selected to head our Center for Innovation in Engineering Education.

The College of Engineering launched the Center for Innovation in Engineering Education in 2022 to lead innovation and scholarship in undergraduate engineering education and to help faculty and staff in the college adopt and assess new approaches that enhance students' educational experience.

Smith, who's currently an associate teaching professor and associate chair for undergraduate affairs in the UW-Madison Industrial and Systems Engineering Department, brings deep expertise in engineering education, curriculum innovation, faculty development and student success. She's led transformative academic initiatives at both the department and college levels—among them, creation of the college's Applications of Artificial Intelligence in Engineering certificate.

https://engineering.wisc.edu/news/college-taps-amanda-smith-to-lead-its-center-for-innovation-in-engineering-education/?utm_campaign=coe_mkt&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook_uwmadengr&utm_content=coe

Devesh Ranjan

The College of Engineering has selected academic leader and educator Amanda Smith to head its Center for Innovation in Engineering Education. Smith, who's currently an associate teaching professor and associate chair for undergraduate affairs in...

09/03/2026

For five summers, computer engineering senior Brooke Weiss worked at Sunrise Day Camp, a camp that serves children with cancer and their siblings. What began as an opportunity to combine her interests in technology and...

09/01/2026

We’re very excited to welcome nearly 1,700 new engineering students — the largest incoming class in our college’s history!

Their enthusiasm was on display today at the College of Engineering’s new student welcome, an epic gathering of incoming students officially joining the Badger engineering community.

https://engineering.wisc.edu/news/in-2026-nearly-1700-new-badger-engineering-undergrads-arrive-eager-to-make-an-impact/?utm_campaign=coe_mkt&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook_uwmadengr&utm_content=coe

Devesh Ranjan

08/26/2026

Fuel costs are soaring, with little end in sight, and a handful of manufacturers have debuted electric semis. But are they really practical for efficiently hauling our goods across the country?

In our latest "Ask an Expert" Q&A, UW-Madison Department of Mechanical Engineering Professor Sage Kokjohn discusses the future of heavy-duty transportation.

Sage Kokjohn is the Phil and Jean Myers Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. A member of the College of Engineering’s Engine Research Center, Kokjohn researches energy conversion for transportation and power...

08/25/2026

A $27 million investment from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) will accelerate four University of Wisconsin-Madison high-impact transdisciplinary research initiatives—two of which are led or co-led by College of Engineering researchers.

Building on existing strengths in quantum technologies, brain health, fusion energy and national security, the initiatives touch the work of faculty, staff and students across the College of Engineering.

The quantum and fusion initiatives support the Engineering Moonshots—transdisciplinary efforts that concentrate UW-Madison strengths on the challenges engineering and other disciplines can tackle together to deliver meaningful societal impact.

“Engineering Moonshots represent not just ambition, but direction,” says Devesh Ranjan, Grainger Dean of the College of Engineering. “Not just ideas, but a commitment to act together to help address significant, complex challenges of particular importance to Wisconsin and the world.”

A $27 million investment from the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) will accelerate four University of Wisconsin-Madison high-impact transdisciplinary research initiatives—two of which are led or co-led by College of Engineering researchers. Building on existing...

08/24/2026

We are excited to announce that Falicia Hines, chief of staff for the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association president and CEO, will join the College of Engineering as chief advancement officer.

Hines will be part of the college’s senior leadership team and lead its efforts in philanthropy and alumni relations, tying them closely to the college’s corporate relations activities.

https://engineering.wisc.edu/news/falicia-hines-named-chief-advancement-officer/?utm_campaign=coe_mkt&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook_uwmadengr&utm_content=coe

Devesh Ranjan

08/19/2026

A team of University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers has developed an implantable, battery-free pacemaker that’s charged by a patient’s heartbeat.

The device has the potential to last an entire lifetime, reducing the risks and costs associated with replacing the devices when their batteries fail.

Led by Pengfei Chen, a postdoctoral scholar in the UW-Madison Department of Materials Science and Engineering, the research appears in the August 19, 2026, issue of the journal Science Advances.

“For a device like this, it’s not just about producing energy. Power density is the most important part. You need to get enough power in a small enough volume,” says Xudong Wang, a professor of materials science and engineering who oversees Chen’s research. “With our technology, we achieved a power output density an order of magnitude higher than previous nanogenerators.”

https://engineering.wisc.edu/news/engineers-pioneer-a-pacemaker-that-can-power-itself/

Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF)

A team of University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers has developed an implantable, battery-free pacemaker that's charged by a patient’s heartbeat. The device has the potential to last an entire lifetime, reducing the risks and costs associated...

08/18/2026

Yesterday, our leadership team had a little fun celebrating our collective achievements at an ice cream social hosted by Grainger Dean Devesh Ranjan. On the menu were several delicious flavors of UW's own Babcock Ice cream and great people and conversation filled Huibregste Commons, the Engineering Hall atrium!

08/17/2026

UW-Madison Department of Mechanical Engineering Assistant Professor Xiao Kuang is part of a team led by Mass General Brigham that developed a hydrogel device for tissue expansion that offers several advantages over the current technology.

The devices can be fabricated into personalized ear- and breast-shaped geometries and achieve large-volume expansion while supporting natural tissue growth.

The team recently published its research in the journal Nature Biomedical Engineering.

In performing reconstructive surgery, surgeons commonly use a technique called tissue expansion, which involves slowly stretching nearby skin to grow extra tissue that can be used to rebuild areas such as the ear, breast or...