UW-Platteville College of Engineering, Mathematics and Science

09/09/2026

A great visit to Sargento Cheese on Sep 8!

Dean Philip Parker and Assistant Dean Jessica Fick met with Anne Troka, Senior Manager - Community & Workforce Development, and alum Brett Kraemer, Engineering & Operations Leader, at Sargento Headquarters in Plymouth, WI.

One thing that stood out was how much Sargento values and invests in its people. Their commitment to supporting employees and helping them grow felt very familiar—it aligns closely with the culture of care everyone works hard to foster at UW-Platteville.

The team also enjoyed comparing how we each develop young people for what comes next. There were so many parallels between the entrepreneurial mindset UW-Platteville cultivates in its students and Sargento’s enterprise mindset—both focused on empowering people to recognize opportunities, take initiative, and create value.

09/04/2026

The first week of classes is even sweeter with CEE!🍦

09/04/2026

RESEARCH SPOTLIGHT! Alex Litza is a double major student studying biology with a genetics/molecular emphasis and forensic investigation with a lab emphasis. This summer she had the opportunity to work on a collaborative research project with Dr. Rabbani in the Department of Chemistry and Dr. Levenstein in the Department of Biology to determine if cotton physically modified with alcohol groups can inhibit bacterial growth. She also had the opportunity to present her findings at the WiSys SPARK symposium at UW-Eau Claire in August.

“To my understanding, this research project is a two-step process: the first step is to functionalize the cotton, and the second step is the modification. The second step is when the isopropyl group has been bonded to the cotton fabric. Since isopropyl alcohol is found in rubbing alcohol, it was hypothesized that the cotton should have some antimicrobial properties. Once I receive the cotton from Dr. Rabbani’s group, I process it into 1 cm squares and use it in different experiments to try and characterize if/how the cotton is able to prevent bacterial growth. A few experiments yielded results where the cotton was able to inhibit bacterial growth. So far, the cotton has only been used in experiments with E. coli, but I am planning on introducing different microbes like yeast or other species of bacteria during the fall semester,” said Litza. “It has been an amazing experience so far, allowing me to utilize skills and techniques I have learned in my previous biology classes here at UW-Platteville as well as providing hands-on experience in a full-time lab setting.”

UW-Platteville Biology Department University of Wisconsin-Platteville WiSys UW-Platteville College of Engineering, Mathematics and Science Criminal Justice & Forensic Investigation at UW- Platteville

09/03/2026

09/03/2026

Welcome back, researchers! ⚛

Kicking off the first week of classes, the College of Engineering, Mathematics and Science hosted its Fall Research Show and Tell! In this informal event, researchers of all types were invited to show off their projects - regardless of what stage of development they're in.

Packing into the UW-Platteville Huff Family Innovation Center, posters were showcased, models were demonstrated, and many discussions were held. Thank you to all who came and participated tonight!

08/31/2026

What started out as a dream grew into an exciting new collaboration!

In 2020, Julie and Peter Hewitt set out to expand their wood crafting hobby into a business, and to help with this goal, they sought help from the Platteville Business Incubator. Relocating from garage to business was no small feat, but with some help, they now proudly hold up shop on Main Street, at Hewitt's Handicraft Haven, LLC.

The Platteville Incubator, now managed by the UW-Platteville Huff Family Innovation Center, provides a roadmap to entrepreneurs to bring their ideas to life. Through workshops, mentorship programs, educational programs, and now prototyping access at Huff, the Platteville Business Incubator hopes to foster a diversity of ideas in our regional business ecosystem.

“We’re hoping that it becomes kind of the front door to other artists and creatives actually considering the incubator as a place to start a business because of that network and that connection to the space,” Andrew Woodard, Platteville Business Incubator Manager and Huff Family Innovation Center Director

Read more about the new partnership and future-focused vision for the Platteville Business Incubator at: https://biztimes.biz/new-investments-grow-ecosystem-supporting-area-entrepreneurs/

08/31/2026

08/28/2026

08/28/2026

In the final two weeks of summer, the College of Engineering, Mathematics and Science held Springboard to Success – a two week bootcamp style workshop designed to introduce new instructors to the college and campus. Participants explored campus, met colleagues starting their UW-Platteville career this fall, and collaborated with current professors and academic staff.

We are excited to welcome our newest EMS team members:

Dr. Caleb Ogbeta, assistant professor, civil and environmental engineering
Dr. Himali Upadhyay, assistant professor, chemistry
Dr. Nisan Chhetri, instructional academic staff, computer science and software engineering
Dr. Zachary Patterson, assistant professor, computer science and software engineering
Dr. Nabanita Saha, lecturer, electrical and computer engineering
Emmanuella Ejichukwu, lecturer, industrial engineering
Dr. Saurabh Singh, assistant professor, industrial engineering
Dr. Daniel Yee, assistant professor, mathematics
Hannah Wubben, lecturer, mathematics
Dr. Maggie Reardon, assistant professor, mathematics
Dr. Huan Liu, assistant professor, mechanical engineering
Dr. Lisa Murray, assistant professor, mechanical engineering
Dr. Sambhaji Kusekar, lecturer, mechanical engineering

08/27/2026

We are so proud of Faith!

Congratulations to University of Wisconsin-Platteville student Faith Rothkopf, winner of the Student Poster Showcase at last month’s WiSys SPARK Symposium! Learn more about her research:

https://buff.ly/CzVnHns