Researchers’ new coating turns metals into solar panels, potentially cutting costs

a young woman in a while lab coat showing off a piece of equipment

What if you could turn common metals, like steel or copper, into mini-solar panels by applying a coating? Professors Nikolai Kouklin, computer science, and Konstantin Sobolev, civil & environmental engineering, stumbled onto a way to do just that.

The coating they developed with Yuting Spiegelhoff, a doctoral student in electrical engineering, is easier to use and cheaper than materials used in traditional solar panels.

The discovery came about by accident.

The research team was originally testing hopeite, a zinc-based mineral used for corrosion protection, when they found it had a photovoltaic effect—producing electricity from light, especially when a particular plant dye was used.

Two probes are attached to a sample material smeared between two small glass slides held together with binder clips.
A voltage is applied to a sample of a new metal coating to measure its electric capacity under a light source.

“We didn’t know that the zinc-phosphate would have this photovoltaic effect,” Kouklin said.  

The researchers found that layers of hopeite reacts quickly to changing light conditions. Unlike traditional solar cells, it doesn’t require semiconductors or an external power source.

That simplicity matters. Traditional solar cells need semiconductors to convert sunlight into an electrical current. Manufacturing those semiconductors is costly, resource-intensive, and requires ultra-pure water.

The team has filed for a patent through the UWM Research Foundation.

The effect of blackberry juice

The coating’s effect is amplified when the coating is combined with anthocyanin, a natural dye found in blackberries. The pigment alters how the mineral interacts with light, boosting voltage output.

“This opens the door to affordable and widely deployable solar cells,” Kouklin said. “Just think – embedded energy generation on metal roofs, infrastructure, or industrial surfaces.”

The Research Foundation helped kickstart this project with early-stage Catalyst Grant funding that allowed the team to demonstrate key properties and build a prototype. See the publication in Applied Physics Letters.

WUWM’s ‘Chancellor’s Report’ features Dean Peters and an engineering student

Three men with headphones on around a round table look at the camera. They are in a radio studio.

UWM Chancellor Thomas Gibson and WUWM general manager David Lee delve into what UWM’s College of Engineering & Applied Science has to offer in a recent on-air interview with Dean Brett Peters and Kayla Knudtson, an undergraduate in electrical engineering. Peters and Knudtson share their views on the student experience, curriculum, and job opportunities.

Listen on WUWM.

CEAS students and faculty help Sen. Baldwin learn about AI innovation during CSI visit

Two men and a woman in discussion. The man on the left is shaking hands with the woman on the right with the second man in the middle.

Students and faculty from the college were well-represented at a welcome event for U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin when she visited UWM’s Connected Systems Institute (CSI) Sept. 24.

Baldwin explored the cutting-edge artificial intelligence research at the Microsoft AI Co-Innovation Lab to learn how the facility and the whole CSI and its industry partners are contributing to advanced manufacturing.

Students and an alumnus presenting included:

  • Peyton Anderson, undergraduate, mechanical engineering
  • Isaac Gerner, undergraduate, computer science
  • Calvin Irvine, undergraduate, electrical engineering
  • Abe Benelmadjat, PhD student, mechanical engineering
  • Faria Hoque Bhuiya, MS student, mechanical engineering
  • Sammie Omranian, PhD student, computer science
  • Isaac Wolf, ’24 BS mechanical engineering

In addition to Associate Dean Andy Graettinger, CEAS faculty on hand were:

  • Ali Abedi, UWM Vice Provost for Research and professor, electrical engineering
  • Alex Yasha Yi, CSI Director of Research and professor, electrical engineering

See all the photos.

Four NMDSI Student Research Scholars from the college named

Congratulations to the four engineering & computer science students who were awarded research funding this semester from the Northwestern Mutual Data Science Institute.

A partnership among UWM, Marquette University and Northwestern Mutual, NMDSI aims to establish Wisconsin as a national hub for data science and technology. 

Since its inception, NMDSI has awarded more than $300,000 to support over 100 semester-long projects through the Student Research Scholars initiative. The selected projects focus on five areas: artificial intelligence; AI and data bias and ethics; behavioral economics; financial literacy; and health and wealth inequities.

This semester’s student scholars from the college and their faculty advisors include:

Xavier Sebastian Adettu, “Partial Evaluation for Optimizing Data Science Library”
Tian Zhao, associate professor, computer science

Sajede Farahani, “Use of AI in Leveraging Alternative Data in Mortgage Industry.”
Wilkistar Otieno, associate professor, industrial & manufacturing engineering

Mohammad Shalmani, “Leveraging Large Language Models and User-Centered Design to Enhance Older Patients’ Engagement with Patient Portals.”
Jake Lu, associate professor of health informatics, affiliate professor of computer science, graduate program director of biomedical health informatics

Divakar Yadav, “LLMFlux: Cold-Start-Aware Inference Server for Modern Transformers.”
Tian Zhao, associate professor, computer science

Thomas and Zhang awarded campus DIG grants for research in VR and batteries

Two men testing computer science VR equipment. The one on the right is wearing the VR goggles.

Two research projects – one focusing on virtual reality exposure and the other on a pretreatment for battery parts – have received funding by the UWM Graduate School’s Discovery and Innovation Grant (DIG) program. This yearlong, internal seed funding prioritizes new lines of research that have high external funding potential.

The grants from engineering and computer science were among a dozen awards given for this academic year.

Studying how walking in VR changes what we see in real life
Jerald Thomas, assistant professor, computer science

Members of Thomas’ lab are studying how real-world movements translate to virtual reality – and what happens when the two don’t align. The most natural way to navigate VR is by walking, with steps mirrored in the virtual world. This helps users build a mental map, just like in real life.

But virtual spaces are often much larger than the physical space available. Designers of VR use a strategy called “translation gain” to mark changes in how far you appear to move in VR compared to real life.

For instance, one meter of physical walking might equal 1.5 meters virtually. Small adjustments usually go unnoticed by the user, though sensitivity varies by person.

Thomas will test a question no one else has: Does VR alter how people judge distances once the headset is off—and how long those effects last. It’s important because altered depth perception after using VR could pose a safety hazard for users, Thomas said.

Scaling up a patented process to cut lithium loss in batteries
Xiaoxiao Zhang, scientist, mechanical engineering
Deyang Qu, professor, mechanical engineering (co-investigator)

Zhang and Qu are demonstrating a new way to enhance battery performance by pre-treating electrodes through their patented process at a pilot scale.

“One of the key challenges with lithium-ion batteries is that they lose a portion of active lithium during the very first charge, which reduces performance right from the start,” Zhang said. “Our patent addresses this issue by pre-treating the electrode with li-organic complex solution to compensate for that initial loss.”

This pretreatment can be directly integrated into existing production lines and is compatible with both lithium-ion and sodium-ion batteries. It also is adaptable to multiple anode types – from hard carbon to silicon – and can be precisely tuned to add the right amount of lithium or sodium. 

The grant will allow them to test the process at the semi-industrial scale.

If successful, this work could lead to longer-lasting, more affordable batteries for technologies like electric cars. Also, by wasting less lithium in production, it also helps conserve a valuable resource and reduce environmental impact.

Rohatgi group awarded a patent for innovative pretreatment of steel

Three men looking at the camera. One has his arms crossed.

Five members of the UWM Foundry research group, led by and including Distinguished Professor Pradeep Rohatgi, materials science & engineering, have been granted a U.S. patent for their innovative work on surface alloying of sand-cast steel components.

Current doctoral students Kaustubh Kishore Rane, Swaroop Kumer Behera, and Michael Beining are named on the patent, as well as Amir Kordijazi, an alum who is now an assistant professor at the University of Southern Maine.

This breakthrough technology involves applying a specially designed metal slurry to sand molds, resulting in metal castings with a durable, corrosion-resistant surface layer, which reduces corrosion, oxidation, and wear. This process gives mild steel a similar surface to stainless steel, at a much lower cost.

It also will reduce dependence on scarce alloying elements, like nickel and chromium, which are getting more expensive and difficult to import.

The work was funded by the Water Equipment and Policy Center, an NSF-backed I/UCRC at UWM. The patent is available for licensing through the UWM Research Foundation.

Fall Welcome Fest delivered on its promise of fun and community building

a group of three young men posing with a Panther mascot

Engineering and computer science students got a chance to mingle, meet faculty and enjoy lunch at the annual Fall Welcome Fest held on the EMS plaza Sept. 18.

Thank you to all the faculty and staff who showed up to greet students and represent their departments. The event is an invigorating way to start a new semester and introduce students to the college.

A young woman and a Panther mascot show their "claws."
Pounce is showing this student how to show their Panther Pride!
A mechanical engineering bachelor's student with a helmet on is sitting in the drivers seat of a Baja car.
A member of the student chapter of Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) demonstrates the cozy driver’s seat in the group’s Baja car.
Electrical Engineering faculty demonstrate a Tesla coil display at the college's Fall Welcome Fest.
Teaching faculty Bill Dussault, electrical engineering, explains how the Tesla coil works.
Two women, one sitting and one standng face each other across a table, have a discussion.
Professor Susan McRoy, computer science (seated), discusses the field with an interested student.
A young woman works on a large 3D printer.
A member of the Prototyping Club shows off the group’s portable 3D printer.
A man with glasses talks with two female students. We see his face but not theirs.
Associate Professor Jaejin Jang, industrial & manufacturing engineering, explains the course options in his department to two students.
Six men at a foundry demonstation, all looking at the camera.
Members of the American Foundry Society, student chpater, man the Foundary-in-a-Box activity. The two on the right are Associate Professor Ben Church and Professor Pradeep Rohatgi, both materials science & engineering.
A group shot of about 30 people in celebratory mode, looking at the camera
The whole group of Milwaukee Engineers and Computer Scientists celebrates the new school year.
An African American man with dreadlocks speaks to a students whose back is facing the camera.
A student talks to another about joining the National Society of Black Engineers, student chapter.
A civil engineering student shakes hands with a faculty member as a third, standing between and behind them, looks on.
Professor Hani Titi, civil & environmental engineering (right), meets new students attending the festivities.

The highlights include attendance by Pounce and campus police’s comfort dog, Ezmae, giveaways, and a free lunch! Many student organizations and individual departments hosted demonstrations of work or equipment.

Engineering topics were on display, including a Tesla coil demonstration.

Student orgs hosted their own show-and-tell. To name a few: The foundry group showed what you can do with molten tin; the Prototyping Club brought its portable 3D printer, the Biomedical Engineering Society chapter exhibited some of its creations, and, of course, American Society of Mechanical Engineers chapter brought its current Baja car.

Spectrum News asks the Shen lab how to reduce energy used by data centers

an Asian man talking while looking at the camera

Researchers at UWM are looking for ways to reduce the amount of data that is processed at data centers while still getting good computing results and saving energy.

Shuaiqi Roger Shen, assistant professor of electrical engineering, said this research, powered by a tiny GPU processor, also called an edge-of-network AI device. He pairs efficient algorithms with edge processing by these small devices right at the source of the data. This kind of processing keeps the data private and out of the cloud and out of data centers.

It’s one strategy that improves efficiency both for data centers and industries using AI, like manufacturing. Shen’s doctoral student, Monika Gawande also was interviewed. She said the device works like a mini data center, enabling AI to comb through a lot of information very quickly. 

She described how the GPU technology allows her to “prune” the processing — reducing the data that needs to be stored and keeping only the essential information required by AI to do the job. Watch the report.

Dedicated space for senior design studios funded entirely by private donors

a modern open space with tables, backed by a bright yellow wall.

The new EMS Senior Design & Capstone Studios in EMS 371 have been renovated and will open for use later this month. These spaces are entirely funded by private philanthropy and offer a permanent collaborative workspace for student/industry capstone projects.

Two young men, one of the left and one of the right, work on laptops in a combined work station.
Writing in blue, red and black on a whiteboard.
Three men and one woman look over an infant bed that that was modified. An infant doll lies on the bed.
A half-dozen young men socialize in a maker space.

Donors whose gifts have supported the new space include:

  • Alan D. Kulwicki Legacy Fund
  • Paul McNally Fund, and
  • Donors to the CEAS General Fund

The capstone projects are critical to prepare students for the workforce, said Mohamed Yahiaoui, teaching faculty, mechanical engineering. Previously, seniors working on their capstone projects had to share room with all engineering students in the Makerspace and its adjacent study area.

That space crunch prompted Yahiaoui to propose a dedicated studio, reserved exclusively for senior design students, with 24/7 access.

“The new senior design studio will bring together students from all engineering disciplines in one permanent space,” he said. “It fosters cross-disciplinary collaboration that mirrors industry, a crucial soft skill students would not otherwise have the opportunity to develop.”

Donors were enthusiastic about the idea. 

“This is a worthy project that the Alan Kulwicki Legacy fund is honored to be a part of,” said Jan Beatty-Hendley, chair of the fund’s advisory committee.

If you haven’t already signed up to use the studios, contact lab manager Avie Judes at judes@uwm.edu.

Joint degree programs provide global opportunities for CYCU students

a group of students from Taiwan at Milwaukee's Bradford Beach.

Welcome to 35 new and returning students from Chung Yuan Christian University (CYCU) in Taiwan who are participating in joint academic programs with UWM’s College of Engineering & Applied Science.  

a large group of Taiwanese students having dinner.
A group of returning students and staff are supporting the new cohort. Yu-Ping (Peter) Teng, PhD student in physics (clockwise from left) joins CYCU staff member Jiaxian Freya Lin; CYCU Associate Professor Dung-Sheng Tsai; doctoral disserter Li-Chih Tsai, bioinformatics; Te-En (Danny) Liu, PhD student, mechanical engineering and president of the Taiwanese Student Association at UWM; Ting-Rui (Ray) Chang, industrial & manufacturing engineering; Chi-Ping Chiu, senior, EE; Yu-An Su, senior, EE; Chi-Yueh Tai, senior, EE; and Chen Chang, senior, computer science.
Dung-Sheng Tsai (back row, from left), CYCU associate professor, electronic engineering, and director of the CYCU-UWM undergraduate dual degree program, takes a moment with Te-En (Danny) Liu, current president of the Taiwanese Student Association at UWM, and Jiaxian Freya Lin, secretary of the CYCU-UWM undergraduate dual degree program. Yi-Chen (Kelly) Chen (foreground), a returning master’s student, electrical engineering, offers positive vibes for the new school year.
A group of men and women in discussion.
Susan McRoy, UWM professor, computer science (with microphone), speaks to the new cohort of CYCU students at a gathering at the Lubar Entrepreneurship Center. In the background are Dah-Chuan Gong, teaching faculty, industrial & manufacturing engineering (left) and Deyang Qu, professor, mechanical engineering (center).
Two men on a stage, one behind a podium, address an audience. Only a few audience members' heads are shown.
Te-En (Danny) Liu, returning PhD student, mechanical engineering, (left) and CYCU Professor Dung-Sheng Tsai welcome the gathering.
A group of Taiwanese college men, all seated except for one who is standing and speaking with a microphone.
Chen Chang, senior, computer science, takes his turn as students introduce themselves around the room.
a middle-aged man talking with a microphone in his hand.
Dean Brett Peters makes welcoming remarks at the gathering at the start of the semester.
A group shot of about 25 seated persons shot from above.
Have a great school year!

This is the continuation of a successful partnership: the college and CYCU have operated a dual master’s degree program since fall of 2017. In 2023, the partnership expanded to include CYCU undergraduates, who attend UWM for their final two undergraduate years.

In both programs, the credits students earn are transferrable to their home institution and students receive their degrees from both universities. 

This year’s cohort includes 11 juniors in the “2+2 program” in three departments: computer science, computer engineering and electrical engineering.

There also are four new dual master’s students in the electrical engineering and industrial & manufacturing engineering departments. 

These students join the 18 CYCU undergraduates who are beginning their senior year and two master’s students who are continuing their studies at UWM. 

The Taiwanese Student Association at UWM recently hosted a welcome event for these students. Te-En (Danny) Liu, mechanical engineering doctoral student, and college leadership, including Dean Brett Peters, faculty and academic staff organized the event.

In addition to the students, CYCU guests included Dung-Sheng Tsai, associate professor in the department of electronic engineering and director of the CYCU-UWM undergraduate dual degree program, and Jiaxian Freya Lin, secretary of the CYCU-UWM undergraduate dual degree program.