Professional magazine highlights Amano lab in research on animal waste as energy
Ryo Amano, professor, mechanical engineering, and his doctoral students, Mohamed Maache and Cheikh Kada, were featured in a story in The American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ magazine about their research into optimizing animal waste for maximum energy output.
The story, which ran as the cover of the online magazine, elaborated on an academic paper Amano’s research team recently published in the ASME Journal of Energy Resources Technology.
The technology already is being tested at multiple sites across Milwaukee. Other lab members involved in the work were PhD students Kada Kada and Abdallah Benelmadjat.
The study looked at the thermochemical properties of horse manure – and suggests that biowaste can provide an efficient means of energy generation in oxygen-free environments.
Researchers tested mixing sewage sludge with cow or chicken manure to see if it could produce more energy when heated. Then they used experimental and mathematical modeling and found that the right mix matters: about 30% sludge with 70% cow manure more than doubled the energy output.
The ASME is the second-largest professional organization in the field, subscribed to by 85,000 members in 135 countries.
Faculty recognized with named professorships, fellowships
Congratulations to the following faculty members, each of whom was honored with a named professorship or named fellowship for this academic year. The awards are backed by two donor funds – Richard and Joanne Grigg and Alan D. Kulwicki.
Through these gifts, the college is providing a fourth year of philanthropic support to faculty.
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.
Richard and Joanne Grigg Professors
Rob Cuzner, electrical engineering (renewed) Roshan D’Souza, mechanical engineering (renewed) Xiao Qin, civil & environmental engineering Md Habib Rahman, mechanical and biomedical engineering (renewed) Brooke Slavens, mechanical and biomedical engineering (renewed) Konstantin Sobolev, civil & environmental engineering
Richard and Joanne Grigg After earning his degrees, the late Richard Grigg (’04, ’75, ’70 engineering) 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.
Alan D. Kulwicki Kulwicki (’77, BS mechanical engineering) applied his degree to his skill in racecar driving to achieve success on the track. 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.
George Davida, professor emerit and pioneer in computer science, passed away in August
George Davida, professor emerit, electrical engineering & computer science, passed away in August. Davida, a pioneer in the field of cybersecurity, was on the faculty at the college from 1970 until his retirement in 2010.
The field of computer science essentially did not exist when Davida began his career. He served on several national committees that established the field and created accreditation standards for university programs.
Davida was among the first faculty members hired for the newly created UWM College of Engineering & Applied Science. He delved into unbreakable codes that can hide information, quickly becoming one of the foremost leaders in the field and creating UWM’s Center for Cryptography, Computer and Network Security.
His groundbreaking work in data encryption helped the college’s computer science program establish an international reputation, attracting students, including Satya Nadella, (MS ’90) who went on to become Chairman and CEO of Microsoft.
“He diligently fought for citizens’ rights to privacy and personal data encryption by raising public awareness of the importance of cryptography,” said Edward Beimborn, UWM professor emerit of civil & environmental engineering. “His win ushered in our everyday ability to use online banking, send private emails, phone calls, or messages, and other uses of electronic security and online applications.”
Davida was one of the first on campus to use the internet and also brought the Unix operating system to UWM to facilitate research in computer science.
“I remember his friendship for many years,” said K. Vairavan, professor emerit, electrical engineering & computer science. “I also value his major contributions to the development of our computer science program.”
Early years
Davida grew up in Baghdad, Iraq, during a difficult political and social time. At the age 17, he received a Fulbright Scholarship to come to the U.S. and attend the University of Iowa, where he earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees.
At Iowa, he worked for Professor James Van Allen during the time high energy belts surrounding the earth were investigated (the Van Allen radiation belts). Davida participated in NASA-related research projects with Allen.
His funeral is Friday, Aug. 29 at Saint Peter & Paul, 2490 N. Cramer St. near campus. Visitation is at 11 a.m. and the Catholic service begins at noon. The burial is at 2:30 p.m. at Resurrection Cemetery, 9400 W. Donges Bay Road, Mequon, Wis.
MPS high school seniors test-drive engineering at UWM
When Salman Ibrahim, a senior at Ronald Reagan High School, heard he could take a real college engineering class while still in high school — and for free — he didn’t hesitate.
“This way, I can try it out and see if I like it,” he said. “Since it’s free, I don’t have to spend money if I change my mind later.”
Ibrahim is one of 19 Milwaukee Public Schools seniors spending Fridays this year at UWM, earning three credits for taking Introduction to Engineering.
The opportunity comes through the M3 College Connections Pathways Program, a partnership between UWM, MPS, and MATC that allows high school students to take college-level classes in fields like nursing, psychology, education, and architecture. This year, engineering joined the list for the first time.
How it works
Through College Connections, seniors take English and math courses at MATC for most of the week. On Fridays, they take their chosen elective course. The engineering course, taught by faculty member Madiha Ahmed, gives students an early look at what the field is really like. It’s also a chance to ease into the college environment, said Chris Beimborn, UWM’s STEM outreach manager.
“This class gives students a chance to explore their interests and get familiar with the college experience,” Beimborn said. “MPS’s career and college readiness mentors will provide support services. But students also will have access to campus resources like tutoring, so they’ll be set up for success.”
Jayla Harris took some time out from UWM’s summer “Design & Build” camp to talk about why she joined the M3 College Connections pathway in engineering. Through the program, she will be taking an engineering course at UWM on Fridays during her senior year.
Other students weigh in
For Jayla Harris of Golda Meir High School, the addition of the engineering class is more than an experiment — it’s a launchpad. “I want to be an engineer, and this helps me get a head start,” she said. “And if I’m already acclimated here [at UWM], and if I like the program, then why not stay?”
Abeedah Adebayo, a senior at Rufus King High School, is attracted to engineering because it combines her favorite things. “I decided I wanted to be an engineer because I love working hands-on and with computers,” she said. “This major lets me do both.”
She said she was already leaning toward UWM for college so the free course is just icing on the cake.
New cohort of Nadella Scholars announced
UWM has named its fourth cohort of full-ride Nadella Scholarship in Tech Education winners, funded through a gift from UWM alumnus and Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella (’90 MS) and his wife, Anu Nadella.
Fourteen graduates of Milwaukee high schools, 11 of them pursuing computer science or computer engineering, were awarded the scholarship for 2025-26.
Recipient Owen Hirthe, a graduate of Ronald Reagan College Preparatory High School, is planning to study computer science. He said the scholarship is life-changing for his family.
“Receiving this award is incredibly important to me. When I start in the fall, I will be one of three of my siblings in college at the same time, so not burdening my parents with the cost of it means a lot to me.”
The original cohort of scholarship winners, which began in fall 2022, are seniors this fall. To date, 44 Nadella Scholars have been named; 37 are studying computer science or computer engineering.
The Anu and Satya Nadella Scholarship is specifically for students who graduate from Milwaukee high schools and intend to study computer science, computer engineering, data science or information technology. Each scholarship provides financial and academic support and room and board for up to five years.
The Nadellas have donated $4 million to support tech education. In addition to providing funding for scholarships, their gift also provides funding for academic support to help students remain successful in pursuing their degrees.
College scores half of new Catalyst Grants from the UWM Research Foundation
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.
Stern awarded funding from the National Endowment for Arts
Nathaniel Stern, professor of mechanical engineering and art & design, is principal investigator for a $100,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Arts to support a new fellowship for autistic individuals as they transition into the workforce.
The fellowship will be offered through the Autism Brilliance Lab for Entrepreneurship (ABLE) which brings together art, design, engineering, and nursing with nonprofit partner Islands of Brilliance to explore how creativity empowers autistic people. Stern also is ABLE executive director. More
Concrete researcher earns Arthur R. Anderson Medal
Konstantin Sobolev, professor of civil & environmental engineering, has been awarded the Arthur R. Anderson Medal from the American Concrete Institute for his outstanding contributions to the advancement of knowledge of concrete as a construction material.
Sobolev, who is the Lawrence E. Sivak (’71) Faculty Fellow anddirector of the Concrete Sustainability and Resilience Center in the college, is also a founding leader of the Concrete Advancement Network, an NSF-backed Industry University Cooperative Research Center.
The Arthur R. Anderson Medal was established in 1972 and recognizes people, firms or organizations for outstanding contributions to the advancement of knowledge of concrete as a construction material.
Sobolev’s research interests include superhydrophic materials, photocatalytic and photovoltaic materials, ultra-high-performance composites, and nanotechnology for advanced cement-based materials.
He earned his PhD at the Research Institute of Concrete and Reinforced Concrete, Russia and his master’s at Moscow State University.
The award will be given at the ACI Concrete Convention Oct. 26.
Spectrum News highlights researchers’ work to remove PFAS from water
New federal rules require nearly all harmful PFAS compounds to be removed from drinking water – a tough challenge with these so-called “forever chemicals.” Professor Yin Wang and Associate Professor Xiaoli Ma, civil & environmental engineering, recently discussed two innovative approaches to improving the efficiency and precision of removal with Spectrum News.
Professor Yin Wang demonstrates how adsorbents are used in PFAS removal.
Ma’s lab is focused on membrane technology, while Wang’s lab works with adsorbents. Both also are contributing to our understanding of PFAS and how prevalent it is in our environment.
Yi named CSI’s Director of Research and joins the EE faculty
Alex Yasha Yi has joined the faculty in electrical engineering and become the Director of Research at the Connected Systems Institute.
He comes to the college from the University of Michigan-Dearborn, where he was a faculty member in the College of Engineering and Computer Science and a Provost Fellow with both the Dearborn campus and the Energy Institute at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor.
“His expertise reinforces the already significant growth potential of CSI,” said Joe Hamann, executive director of the institute. “Alex has a proven track record of capturing significant funding from federal agencies and industry partners. We are excited for him to join the team and look forward to continued research advancements he will bring in optoelectronics, solid-state electronics, and advanced manufacturing.”
His areas of research include intelligent solid-state electronics, integrated devices for artificial intelligence, and smart energy-related optoelectronic devices.
Yi has applied nano-optoelectronic devices to applications in energy, solid state lighting, biomedicine, photonic sensors, and autonomous driving. Because they can manipulate light at the atomic scale, integrating optoelectronics can improve performance in devices, compared to larger-scale solutions.
Some of his other research highlights include:
Pioneered textured nanomaterials that interact with light and electricity, advancing thinner, more efficient solar panels and other renewable energy technologies.
Developed a compact Lidar system for Mcity, enhancing safety testing of self-driving and connected vehicles.
Created semiconductor-based sensors that detect particles or molecules as small as those in air pollution.
Yi received his PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and was a post-doctoral associate with MIT’s Microsystems Technology Laboratory.
A fellow of the Optical Society of America, Yi has had leadership experiences with the Los Alamos National Laboratory, Air Force Research Laboratory, and the 3M Corporate Research Laboratory. He holds 18 issued U.S. patents.
