Congratulations to faculty members Konstantin Sobolev (left) and Pradeep Rohatgi (right), who received UWM Research Foundation Bridge grants that will support the commercialization of their inventions: spray-on protection for concrete and a stronger aluminum.
Sobolev is a Lawrence E. Sivak ’71 Faculty Fellow and professor, civil & environmental engineering; Rohatgi is a UWM distinguished professor in materials science & engineering, biomedical engineering and mechanical engineering.
More.
In March, Ilya Avdeev and Brian Thompson received the second of five years of funding for leading UWM’s participation in the Great Lakes Region Innovation Corps Hub (I-Corps Hub).
Avdeev is an associate professor, mechanical engineering, in UWM’s College of Engineering & Applied Science, director of the Milwaukee I-Corps Program, and director of innovation at the Lubar Entrepreneurship Center. Thompson is director of the Lubar Entrepreneurship Center and a member of the Milwaukee I-Corps Program’s core team.
Established in 2022 by the National Science Foundation, this I-Corps hub pools researchers at 16 universities to nurture the region’s innovation ecosystem and move more discoveries from the research lab to the real world.
Total funding for the Great Lakes Region I-Corps Hub is $15 million; UWM’s sub-grant this year is $92,672.
Goal is to train 2,350 teams
The Great Lakes Region I-Corps Hub is one of five nationally and is led by the University of Michigan. The goal is to train 2,350 teams in the next five years and send 220 teams to the in-depth National NSF I-Corps program, where participants use the scientific method to help create their business model designs and connect with potential customers to ensure the solutions they’re developing fill a pressing market need.
Avdeev has led the NSF I-Corps Site of Southeastern Wisconsin for six years. The program has trained 750 researchers and students from more than 200 translational research teams representing UWM, Marquette University, Milwaukee School of Engineering, Concordia University of Wisconsin, Medical College of Wisconsin, and a few other universities. These teams formed 35 startups and raised more than $25 million in early-stage funding and federal grants supporting commercialization of research.
The nation is preparing for seismic changes in transportation and UWM secured a role at the table in February with a $1.67 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to advance research and education programs that address a specific challenge: promoting pedestrian and bicycle safety.
Robert Schneider (pictured, left) and Xiao Qin (pictured, right) will contribute to the Center for Pedestrian and Bicycle Safety, a DOT-funded, Tier 1 University Transportation Center (UTC), as members of a team led by the University of New Mexico. Schneider is a professor of urban planning in UWM’s School of Architecture & Urban Planning. Qin is a Lawrence E. Sivak ’71 professor of civil & environmental engineering in CEAS. More.
Two alumnae from UWM’s College of Engineering & Applied Science were named to the Biz Times Notable Women in STEM list.
Congratulations to Carrie Bristoll-Groll (‘94, BS Civil Engineering, pictured left), chief executive officer of Milwaukee-based Stormwater Solutions Engineering, and Ashley Miller (‘07, MS Industrial Engineering, pictured right), senior industrial engineer at Prolec-GE Waukesha Inc.
Criteria for earning a spot on the list include serving in a senior-level role, demonstrating excellence in one’s field, making a significant contribution to advancing women in STEM professions, and demonstrating the ability to effect change within an organization, industry or community. More.
See our very own associate dean for academic affairs, Dr. P. Neel Guptasarma, present “Data Science and Physics: A Curious Case of the Ouroboros” as part of the NMDSI (Northwestern Mutual Data Science Institute) virtual speaker series on Friday, April 7 from 12-12:45 pm CST.
Early on, physicists and astronomers figured out that applying mathematical and statistical methods to large data sets can reveal deep insight not otherwise accessible to the five senses, or to human intuition. Initial developments in data science and data analytics outgrew these techniques developed by physicists to make sense of “big data” from accelerators, observatories, and labs.
Despite such a founding relationship with data science, the emergence of information science, predictive analytics, and neural networks found physicists holding courtside seats, but not jumping all-in. This has shifted significantly over the past decade. The presentation will explore this ouroboros type relationship between physics and modern data science – why physicists didn’t initially jump in, and what has recently changed.
Reserve your spot to see Dr. Guptasarma at this NMDSI virtual speaker series here.
About Dr. Guptasarma
Dr. Guptasarma’s research has resulted in over 135 peer-reviewed publications, including in very high-impact journals, over 90 invited lectures in different countries, and several million dollars in federal funding. The research lab he directs at the Kenwood Interdisciplinary Research Complex (KIRC) on UWM’s main campus hosts scientists, Ph.D. candidates, and undergraduates. Dr. Guptasarma loves to teach at all levels. Outside of work, his interests include learning new languages, music, and theater.
By Chandler Baures, President of Construction Leadership Council (CLC)
In February, UWM’s Student Chapter of CLC was given the opportunity to tour the new Couture high-rise along Milwaukee’s beautiful lakefront. Once complete, this 44-story building will become Wisconsin’s tallest residential building and will shape the skyline for generations to come. We had nearly 30 students in attendance, making this the largest CLC event ever hosted by our club! As President of CLC, I was very proud to arrange this tour as it was the project that I worked on during both my co-op and internship with J.H. Findorff, and I will forever be grateful for the experiences that I had and can showcase to others.
Students were able to see first-hand what it takes to construct a new high-rise that’s heavy in structural concrete. Findorff is full steam ahead on the transit corridor and tower portions of the project. We were able to look at high-bay formwork, MEP (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing) installation and discuss other unique challenges faced with this type of project. The overall goal of this tour was to get students to understand what it takes to physically construct a building of this scale and how different disciplines interact. Our students were left with a priceless experience that will help shape our knowledge and understanding within the construction industry.
The Construction Leadership Council (CLC) is a student-led organization that provides civil engineering majors and other interested students with an opportunity to observe and develop their skills with current construction industry leaders.
To connect with CLC, visit their Instagram page or scan the QR code on one of their posters (typically located around the Engineering & Mathematical Sciences building).
At the request of Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin, and under the leadership of Ilya Avdeev (top left), a UWM team of engineering, nursing and art students created a full-sized, low-resolution prototype of a mobile health clinic in fall 2022. Avdeev, is director of innovation at the Lubar Entrepreneurship Center, associate professor of mechanical engineering, and affiliated faculty member at the Medical College of Wisconsin’s Kern Institute.
Based on this design, Froedtert & the Medical College plan to roll out two 32’ mobile health clinics in fall 2023 to serve the needs of Black and Latino women in Milwaukee’s northwest and south neighborhoods. Services would include mammography, colon cancer screenings, well-baby checks, and management of chronic conditions including asthma, diabetes and obesity.
In this article published by the Kern Institute, Avdeev details the process of designing the clinic using a human-centered approach, which involved more than 100 faculty members and students from UWM, community leaders, patients, and clinical and operational staff from Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin.
On March 7, CBS58 showcased UWM’s research and its importance to the city in conversations with Andy Graettinger, the associate dean for research, College of Engineering & Applied Science, Jay Kapellusch, professor and chair, rehabilitation sciences & technology, and Chia Vang, vice chancellor of diversity, equity and inclusion.
On March 6, Mark Gottlieb, associate director of UWM’s Institute for Physical Infrastructure and Transportation, was a guest on the Wisconsin Public Radio show Central Time. He discussed the pros and cons of toll roads as a funding source.
Wilkistar Otieno, chair and associate professor, industrial & manufacturing engineering, was a guest Feb. 27 on TMJ4’s segment At The Table Monday Night, where the discussion centered on encouraging women and those in other underrepresented groups to consider careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math).