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.