Four researchers in the college recently have been awarded funding from the UWM Research Foundation to further projects that aim to better facilitate renewable energy sources, find circulating cancer cells, and provide robotic physical therapy to patients confined to a bed.
The Catalyst Grants are supported by the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation and Invenergy through the UWM Research Foundation and are designed to support research in areas where UWM has the greatest potential to impact the regional economy through commercialization.
Each team is using the funding to advance early-stage solutions that address urgent societal needs and position their innovations for real-world deployment. The CEAS projects include:
Next-generation power conversion for energy storage
Feng Guo, electrical engineering
Guo is prototyping a novel power converter to improve the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of battery storage systems, enabling better integration of renewable energy.
Precision cancer diagnostics
Ashwin Narasimhan and Priya Premnath, biomedical engineering
The researchers are developing a liquid biopsy platform to isolate rare circulating tumor cells with greater accuracy, improving early cancer detection and personalized treatment planning.
Rehabilitation robotics for bedridden patients
Habib Rahman, mechanical engineering
Rahman is creating a portable, bed-attachable robotic exoskeleton to deliver early-stage lower-limb therapy, reducing caregiver burden and improving recovery outcomes.