Recent ranking of top 2% of scientists in world includes 19 in the college

October 17, 2024

In the latest ranking by Stanford University and Elsevier 19 faculty members from the UWM College of Engineering & Applied Science fell into the top 2% of scientists in their field globally.

Pradeep Rohatgi, Distinguished Professor, materials science & engineering, leads the pack, according to the survey that ranks scholars in two categories: work over a career and work completed in 2023 alone. Rohatgi also was ranked No. 1 among the 77 UWM scholars on the list for lifelong contributions.

The top 2% scientist ranking just released is largely based on citations updated to the end of 2023 but includes other metrics which reflect a scientist’s influence rather than just their publication count. The list below includes active and retired faculty and scientists from the college.

Lifetime Work

Ryo Amano
Brian Armstrong
Erik Christensen
Robert Cuzner
Anoop Dhingra
George Hanson
Yi Hu
Rohit Kate
Hugo Lopez
Devendra Misra
Michael Nosonovsky
Kishna Pillai
Deyang Qu
Ali Reza
Pradeep Rohatgi
Konstantin Sobolev
Lingfeng Wang
Zeyun Yu
Jun Zhang

For 2023
The organization has also put out a listing of scholars who rank in the top 2% globally for a 2023 alone. The college had 13 researchers listed.

Ryo Amano
Robert Cuzner
George Hanson
Yi Hu
Rohit Kate
Michael Nosonovsky
Deyang Qu
Ali Reza
Pradeep Rohatgi
Konstantin Sobolev
Yongjin Sung
Lingfeng Wang
Xiaoxiao Zhang

ScholarGPS ranking
In separate ranking database, ScholarGPS, three CEAS faculty members are recognized as ‘highly ranked lifetime scholars’ as of 2023, the most recent year tabulated. ScholarGPS is an AI assistant in academic research and learning that also ranks scholars primarily in terms of their number of publications and citations.

The overall ranking within the ScholarGPS system is updated periodically. Updates are not necessarily done annually.

Michael Nosonovsky
No. 3: Biomimetics
No. 3: Superhydrophobic coatings

Pradeep Rohatgi
No. 1: Metal matrix composites
No. 38: Composite materials

Lingfeng Wang
No. 4: Energy management

IPIT and WisDOT host annual Southeast Wisconsin Transportation Symposium

October 8, 2024

One-fifth of traffic deaths in the U.S. involve pedestrians and bicyclists, a rising trend that UWM’s Robert Schneider (urban planning) and Xiao Qin (civil engineering) are examining in detail.

Schneider presented the research he and Qin are working on at the annual Southeast Wisconsin Transportation Symposium held on campus Oct. 4.

UWM’s Institute for Physical Infrastructure and Transportation (IPIT) and WisDOT co-hosted the symposium, bringing together researchers, students and transportation professionals to showcase related research and share innovative practices.

Attendance for the event set a record, with more than 200 participants registered, said Qin, IPIT director and the Lawrence E. Sivak Professor in Civil & Environmental Engineering.

“This symposium carries some weight in terms of influence,” he added. “Attendees are those who collectively guide the investment strategies for WisDOT’s $4 billion annual budget.”

Is there a project you’d like to partner with IPIT on? Interdepartmental research ideas are welcomed. Contact Xiao Qin, qinx@uwm.edu

Qin and Schneider’s pedestrian fatalities project looked at two five-year time periods – 2008-2012 and 2017-2022 and sought to understand what changed to result in higher numbers of deaths in the latter period.

Data on pedestrian fatalities in the earlier period showed that fatalities in Wisconsin were fairly stable. But in the latter period, fatalities increased dramatically, spiking in 2022. Identifying the differences could lead to interventions that would reduce the death rate, Schneider said.

A group of university and transportation leaders looking at the camera — CEAS Associate Dean Andy Graettinger (from left), IPIT Director Xiao Qin, WisDOT Secretary Kristina Boardman, UWM Provost Andrew Daire and CEAS Dean Brett Peters at the event.

a group standing next to a display — Graduate students from the lab of Tom Shi, assistant professor, civil & environmental engineering, gave symposium visitors a demonstration of their research. Shown are, from left, Fahad Muhammad (civil), Yi-Wen Su (electrical), Professor Shi, Je-Nong Lin (electrical), Narayan Rai (civil) and Xiao Liang (civil).

a group attending a lecture — An attendee enjoys a breakout session.

a group of people talking among themselves — Robert Schneider (right), UWM professor, urban planning, talks with audience members after his research presentation.

a group talking among themselves — David Nguyen (center), WisDOT project development chief, chats with other participants.

two young men talking to each other — Symposium attendance set a record this year, attracting a mix of students, professionals and academic researchers.

“Pedestrian fatalities nearly doubled nationally in the last decade and the majority are happening at night,” he said. “This not happening worldwide so we need to understand why the U.S. is an outlier.”

The ongoing work is funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation through its University Transportation Centers and WisDOT.

Qin will be doing the statistical modeling of some of these variables as a next step, including

one of the study’s findings that areas where unemployment is high was related to an increase in pedestrian fatalities.

Symposium breakout sessions covered a wide range of other topics, such as:

The City of Milwaukee’s Vision Zero program to address fatal and severe traffic crashes
The public’s perceptions of autonomous vehicles
Countermeasures for preventing bridge hits
The Wisconsin Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program from WisDOT

Speakers included C.Y. David Yang, president and executive director of the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety and WisDOT Secretary Kristina Boardman. The event included a “walk-shop” where participants took a tour of the new pedestrian and bicyclist facilities on the UWM campus.

Rahman chosen for a UWM research recognition award for his work in biorobotics

October 2, 2024

Mohammad Habib Rahman’s pioneering research in assistive and rehabilitation robotics has been recognized with an Office of Research/UWM Foundation Award.

Rahman, Richard and Joanne Grigg Professor of mechanical engineering, is an expert in rehabilitation robotics, assistive robotics, mobile robots, control systems and digital twin technologies applied to such devices.

The award is one of the annual UWM Employee Excellence Awards that will be presented at a ceremony in the Student Union Ballroom, Thursday, Oct. 9, beginning at 3 p.m.

His innovative work has not only earned him prestigious honors, including the Switzer Research Distinguished Fellowship, but also substantial funding of more than $3.35 million.

“Dr. Rahman’s impact transcends mere academic achievements,” said Deyang Qu, UWM professor, mechanical engineering and one of Rahman’s nominators. “His contributions to the field of rehabilitation robotics have reshaped theoretical paradigms and propelled practical applications to new heights.”

His research has enhanced the efficacy and user-friendliness of robotic systems for individuals with disabilities, integrating state-of-the-art technologies like artificial intelligence and Cloud computing.

He also has established partnerships with institutions such as the Medical College of Wisconsin, Marquette University, the Veteran’s Administration Hospital Milwaukee and Independence First in order to obtain feedback from patients and users of the devices.

Rahman, who joined the faculty in 2015, was just promoted to full professor.

“I have closely witnessed Dr. Rahman’s evolution from a passionate researcher to a visionary leader in biorobotics,” said Sheikh Iqbal Ahamed, Wehr Professor of computer science at Marquette University, another of Rahman’s nominators.

“His ongoing and future research is not only set to enrich academic discourse but also to make a profoundly positive impact on the lives of those with mobility challenges, reflecting a true blend of scholarly innovation and real-world application,” Ahamed said.

Woo-Jin Chang awarded a patent for sensor that detects phosphates in water

October 2, 2024

Woo-Jin Chang, associate professor, mechanical engineering, has secured a patent for a graphene-based sensor developed in his lab specifically for detecting phosphates in water. Co-inventors and UWM graduates Misong Ryu and Mohammad Rizwen Ur Rahman are also on the patent, issued through the UWM Research Foundation.

Monitoring phosphates, a natural source of phosphorus, is crucial for protecting drinking water and detecting a major source of nutrient pollution in water.

The researchers’ electrochemical sensors are highly sensitive and easy to use, affordable and compact and are produced with off-the-shelf materials. In addition to water-quality monitoring, they can be used in aquaculture.

The sensor measures changes in electrical potential when phosphate ions interact with a novel composite material that Chang and his lab members developed. This material enhances selectivity and sensitivity to phosphate ions.

“Traditional methods for phosphate monitoring often require complex sample preparation, reagents and time-consuming procedures,” Chang said. “In contrast, my sensor offers a simpler solution that facilitates on-site phosphate measurement.”

This research has been supported by the Water, Equipment and Policy Center.

College community enjoyed food, friends and fun at Fall Welcome Fest

September 24, 2024

You say there’s no such thing as a free lunch? Not true! Engineering and computer science students got their free lunches and more at the annual Fall Welcome Fest held on the EMS plaza Sept. 19.

Thank you to all the faculty and staff who showed up to greet students and represent their departments. The energy was palpable. Some of the highlights: the foundry demo, Baja car, student organizations, games and free T-shirts for new freshmen and transfer students.

In addition, attendance by Pounce and campus police’s comfort dog Ezmae contributed to the relaxed feel. What a great way to welcome our students to a new semester and introduce new students to the college and its people.

two people demonstrating to a third — Sara Huerta (center) and Kaustubh Rane (right), members of the foundry lab, give a student the chance to get her hands dirty.

woman petting dog — Ezmae, the UWM police department’s comfort dog, made a welcomed appearance and got lots of attention.

woman behind a table talking to passersby — New and returning students got to check out the various student organizations all in one spot at Fall Welcome Fest.

a young man holding equipment — This biomedical engineering student brings out the prototypes.

large group — Welcome, UWM Milwaukee Engineers!

Cuzner leads $1.2 million research grant to ease design of future all-electric ships

September 24, 2024

The U.S. Navy wants to move to all-electric ships because they are more efficient and require less maintenance than traditional fuel-propelled ships. They also reduce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.

Producing smaller, more agile ships that have increased electrical capacity is another of the Navy’s priorities. Doing that means increasing the voltage levels of shipboard energy systems through more compact equipment.

Putting in more electrical equipment and producing more power on a smaller footprint is currently a time-consuming challenge for ship designers, requiring painstaking trade-offs between physical aspects of the electrical system and its capability, and the ship’s objectives.

To ease the process, Robert Cuzner, professor, electrical engineering, has received a five-year, $1.2 million grant from the Office of Naval Research, in collaboration with Arizona State University, to continue development of a virtual prototyping process.

Space isn’t the only concern

Next-generation all-electric ships operate high-voltage electrical systems that use more power electronics for distribution and control than traditional ships.

The modeling tool Cuzner is working on will help naval architects make choices in an environment where the physical space needs of the electrical systems aren’t the only concern.

Many architectural and environmental considerations will affect a ship’s design in ways that are difficult to predict, he said, such as voltage levels, thermal management, fault protection philosophy, placement and amount of energy storage, and the introduction of new power semiconductor technology.

For example, the impact of voltage stresses brought on by power electronics are poorly understood.

“The model will help us better scale the size and weight of this equipment given the unique nature of the voltage stresses,” he said.

Air insulation

When operating system voltages range from 6,000 to 24,000, Cuzner said, designers must consider the spacing of air-insulated power conversion equipment.

The research team is also investigating variables that pertain to insulation. Currently air is the insulator, so designers must provide enough clearance between energized parts of the system. And they are testing an advanced insulating material, called electret, that can be used to significantly reduce this spacing.

The model will help quantify the impact of applying this insulation material to shape the electric fields and reduce stresses on equipment.

“We are applying a machine-learning approach to the significant amounts of experimental data we are collecting,” Cuzner said. “This will enable correlation of experimental data at the limits of operation to a physics-based model, resulting in a usable model that will help designers come up with compact designs that are reliable.”

The research will accelerate the development of multi-disciplinary, multi-level modeling tools to another area vital to the future: green energy. Renewable sources feeding the power grid fluctuate, requiring energy storage to keep the flow of electricity on the grid in balance. Use of power electronics in similarly complex system configurations will enable that.

Cuzner has been involved in the Navy’s quest for creating the next-generation, all-electric ships for the last decade, through multiple grants from the Office of Naval Research and Naval Sea Command.

Ghose discusses spatial data at NSF workshop on climate change

September 23, 2024

Most of the scientists attending the workshop “Sustainable Computing for Sustainability,” hosted by the National Science Foundation last spring, were computer scientists developing algorithms for more nuanced sustainability and climate-change models.

Rina Ghose, professor, industrial engineering, was one of the minority from another discipline serving as an invited panelist at the workshop. She brought a vital piece to the event’s two broad topics: making the computing industry greener and addressing data and analytical needs for predicting climate change impacts.

With a background in climatology and data analysis, Ghose was able to share her expertise on the use and interpretation of spatial data, a topic that few computer scientists know much about.

That interdisciplinary perspective was one of the NSF’s aims for the workshop, Ghose said.

“That’s important because the multitude of data that is used in climate-change modeling comes from remote sensing,” she said. “Spatial data collection and analysis using Geographical Information Systems and remote sensing is fundamental to modeling climate change.”

Large forest fires, ocean temperatures and hurricane flooding are examples of the data that can be mapped from space, she said. And most of the data is free through federal agencies.

Among the wider findings of the workshop were:

Industries need to immediately prioritize climate change in their strategic planning. For instance, industries could stop locating data centers in dry, hot locations.
More attention should be directed at recycling in the computer industry, which currently generates a lot of waste.
More education and research about sustainable computing is needed. Ghose called out the growing number of data centers needed to make artificial intelligence possible. And yet, data centers are incredibly energy intensive.

She also participated in discussions on a variety of topics, including disaster mitigation plans, sustainable agriculture and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.

An early release version of the report documenting the workshop’s findings and recommendations can be found at https://arxiv.org/abs/2407.06119.

Morencys fund new undergraduate scholarships in computer science and computer engineering

September 17, 2024

John R. (’88 BS & ‘89 MS Computer Science) and Kathryn A. (‘96 MBA) Morency have pledged a $10,000 gift to fund an undergraduate scholarship for UWM students pursuing a degree in computer science or computer engineering.

Eligible students must have achieved sophomore or junior standing in the college. The first scholarship will be awarded for the 2025-26 academic year.

“We are happy to provide the UW-Milwaukee Computer Science Department with this scholarship,” John said. “My UWM computer science degrees have been instrumental in my success, and I want to help current and future computer science students achieve similar success.”

John Morency is Vice President of Cloud Engineering at Trisept Solutions, which creates software for the travel merchandising field. He also is a member of the Computer Science Department’s Industry Advisory Board.

Ten faculty recognized with named professorships, fellowships

September 12, 2024

Congratulations to the following 10 faculty members, each of whom was honored with a named professorship or named fellowship, backed by three donor funds: Richard and Joanne Grigg, Lawrence E. Sivak and Alan D. Kulwicki.

Through these gifts, the college is providing a third year of philanthropic support to faculty.

The named professorships and fellowships support the growth of some of the college’s key research areas and honor recipients’ research, teaching and scholarship. Named professorships, which are for a three-year period, provide a salary supplement, in addition to the funding award. Named fellowship awards are for one year.

Named Professorships

Rob Cuzner, Richard and Joanne Grigg Professorship
Cuzner is an expert in electric grid compatibility and extreme power conversion.

Roshan D’Souza, Richard and Joanne Grigg Professorship
D’Souza’s research using advanced processing of images from scans such as MRIs and deep learning methods to better understand the impact of hemodynamics (blood flow) on cardiovascular diseases.

Junjie Niu, Richard and Joanne Grigg Professorship
Niu is designing next-generation batteries for electronic devices and electronic vehicles. He also is addressing drinking water and groundwater decontamination.

Xiao Qin, Lawrence E. Sivak ’71 Professorship
Qin, a nationally renowned expert in transportation data analytics and highway safety, is working to solve both local and national transportation issues.

M. Habib Rahman, Richard and Joanne Grigg Professorship
Rahman is an expert in bio-robotics, including human-assist robots, mobile robots, rehabilitation robotics, and exoskeleton robots for rehabilitation and daily living assistance.

Brooke Slavens, Richard and Joanne Grigg Professorship
Slavens is an expert in rehabilitation engineering, orthopaedic biomechanics, and musculoskeletal imaging.

Yin Wang, Lawrence E. Sivak ’71 Professorship
Wang is developing advanced and sustainable materials and technologies for water purification that aim to rid water of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) and other contaminants.

Named Fellowships

Ryo Amano, Alan D. Kulwicki ’77 Faculty Fellowship
Amano researches energy and power areas, including wind, hydro, biomass, gas turbines and combustion. He also is funded through the U.S. Department of Energy to help manufacturers improve their energy efficiency and decarbonization.

Konstantin Sobolev, Lawrence E. Sivak ’71 Faculty Fellowship
Sobolev’s research includes hydrophobic and ice-phobic coatings for porous materials including concrete, and cost-saving, environmentally friendly ways to make concrete stronger, smart and longer-lasting.

Xiaoli Ma, Lawrence E. Sivak ’71 Faculty Fellowship
Ma focuses on the design and development of advanced materials, such as adsorbents and membranes, for use in water purification. He also works on materials for gas separation and sensor technologies.

The Donors

Richard and Joanne Grigg
Richard “Dick” Grigg (’04, ’75, ’70 engineering) devoted his career to advancing new energy technologies. After earning his degrees from UWM, he went on to become the president and CEO of We Generation, the electric-generation arm of We Energies. In 2004, he joined FirstEnergy Corp., in Ohio and retired as executive vice president and president of FirstEnergy Utilities in 2010. Richard Grigg and his wife, Joanne Grigg, died in 2018 and 2016, respectively.

Lawrence E. Sivak
Sivak (’71 BS, civil engineering) has held many key positions in during his 40-year career and experienced many unique projects, including harbor maintenance and flood control with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and participating in the Milwaukee Water Pollution Abatement Program.

Alan D. Kulwicki
Kulwicki (’77, BS mechanical engineering) applied his degree to his skill in racecar driving to achieve success on the track. He was on the cutting edge of an increasing emphasis on technology in the sport. Despite his death in a plane crash in 1993, Kulwicki’s name and legacy live on. He was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2019.

Narasimhan joins college as a visiting assistant professor of biomedical engineering

September 5, 2024

Welcome Ashwin Kumar Narasimhan, a new visiting assistant professor in biomedical engineering.

Narasimhan comes to UWM from Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada, where he was a visiting assistant professor in the Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering.

Narasimhan holds a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology- Madras, where he focused on the development of multimodal theranostic nanoparticles for biomedical imaging used to determine cancer staging.

His research interests include nano-theranostics, cancer diagnostics, and microfluidics, with a strong focus on developing affordable healthcare solutions.

Narasimhan has secured several research grants from both public and private funding agencies like the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, Indian Council of Medical Research and BIG-Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council, India. He has published 20 peer-reviewed journal articles, authored multiple book chapters and holds four patents.