{"id":29037,"date":"2026-04-10T14:58:34","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T19:58:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/?p=29037"},"modified":"2026-04-13T17:18:05","modified_gmt":"2026-04-13T22:18:05","slug":"college-faculty-score-most-of-the-uw-grants-to-strengthen-partnerships-with-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/college-faculty-score-most-of-the-uw-grants-to-strengthen-partnerships-with-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"College faculty awarded a funding nudge to strengthen partnerships with industry"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Troy Tesmer, co-owner of Soul Mobility based in Oconomowoc, met Professor Brooke Slavens, mechanical engineering, in 2023 through a mutual connection. Now the two, along with Scientist Alyssa Schnorenberg in the Slavens’ lab, have teamed up to study a problem that all are interested in \u2014 making life easier for wheelchair users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their project, investigating solutions to the constant exposure to vibration that users often experience, is one of 12 funded in the college this year through the UWM Faculty-Industry Partnership Seed Grants (FIPS). Fifteen faculty members and two scientists from the college have earned the largest share of 20 grants awarded across UWM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Designed to overcome the inertia of getting started with industry, the FIPS program helps faculty and industry partners move quickly from idea to application, with amounts ranging between $41,000 and $50,000 each. The grants support multidisciplinary research, early-stage product development, and preparation for larger external funding proposals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s a look at this year\u2019s awardees and their partners:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Alyssa Schnorenberg, Brooke Slavens<\/strong>, Soul Mobility<\/em>
“Comparing suspension and non-suspension power-assist technologies for reducing vibration and impact exposure in wheelchair mobility.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Feng Guo, Rob Cuzner<\/strong>, Eaton<\/em>
“Development of bidirectional-switch-based paralell SiC\/GaN hybrid three-level, T-type active-front end for high-power and ultra-high efficiency, fast-charging stations.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Qingsu Cheng<\/strong>, Exact Sciences<\/em>
“Scalable automation for organoid-based cancer research.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Junjie Niu<\/strong>, GE Appliances<\/em>
“PFAS removal via electrochemical oxidation in water.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Priyatha Premnath<\/strong>, (Sandeep Gopalakrishna), RxOS<\/em>
“Engineering of selective p21 inhibition with radical scavenging hydrogel matrices: a strategic academic industrial partnership for regenerative wound therapy.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nikolai Kouklin, Konstantin Sobolev<\/strong>, Qcells, Silfab Solar, JincoSolar<\/em>
“Polycrystalline zinc-phosphate thin films: multispectral low-cost solar energy photovoltaics for industrial deployment.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jian Zhao, Nathan Salowitz<\/strong>, Precast Engineering Company<\/em>
“Nondestructive testing and field monitoring of adhesive anchors in precast concrete connections.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rani F El Hajjar, Tian Zhao<\/strong>, Carlisle Construction Materials<\/em>
“Machine learning and acoustic methods for nondestructive characterization of thermoplastic polyolefin membranes.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yin Wang, Xiaoli Ma<\/strong>, (Shangping Xu), AO Smith<\/em>
“Accelerating the development of next-generation membrane\/composite water filters through an AI- driven digital twin framework based on pore-scale simulations.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Konstantin Sobolev, Jian Zhao<\/strong>, Elastizell Corporation of America<\/em>
“FireShield: development of an advanced cellular concrete system for wildfire protection.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Woo-Jin Chang<\/strong>, Baker Manufacturing Co.<\/em>
“Rapid characterization of the portable, minimum viable lead detection device for onsite drinking water quality monitoring.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zhen Zeng, Joe Hamann<\/strong>, Rockwell Automation<\/em>
“Developing and validating multi-agent-assisted industrial robotics systems.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Find out more about internal grant opportunities at UWM.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Troy Tesmer, co-owner of Soul Mobility based in Oconomowoc, met Professor Brooke Slavens, mechanical engineering, in 2023 through a mutual connection. Now the two, along with Scientist Alyssa Schnorenberg in the Slavens’ lab, have teamed up to study a problem …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":836,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29037","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nCollege of Engineering & Applied Science<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/engineering\/college-faculty-score-most-of-the-uw-grants-to-strengthen-partnerships-with-industry\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"College faculty awarded a funding nudge to strengthen partnerships with industry\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Troy Tesmer, co-owner of Soul Mobility based in Oconomowoc, met Professor Brooke Slavens, mechanical engineering, in 2023 through a mutual connection. 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