Ideas Challenge Fellows

Our Ideas Challenge Faculty Fellows are some of UWM’s most innovative instructors helping to transform the educational experience for UWM students. Check out the Ideas Challenge Faculty Fellows below to learn more about each fellow, what skills and experiences they can offer, and what courses with innovation they teach.

Jim Hunter III

Courses:
Business & Entrepreneurship

Jim Hunter III

Bostrom Entrepreneur-in-Residence

Mr. Hunter is Bostrom Entrepreneur-in-Residence and has taught entrepreneurship courses at the Lubar School of Business since the mid-1990’s. He is the president of three companies, CFO of one company, vice president of four companies, and director of nine companies.

I can offer…

BUS ADM-447

Courses

Business & Entrepreneurship – Study the creation, growth, or acquisition of business through entrepreneurial efforts. Students develop their own ideas into effective business models and strategies that ultimately lead to increased management skills and positive management succession. Topics include methods of financing, venture capital, leveraged buy-outs, and acquisitions.

Priya Nambisan

Courses:
Entrepreneurship for Healthcare Professionals

Priya Nambisan

Ph.D, Associate Professor, Chair, Health Sciences

Dr. Priya Nambisan’s research focuses on broad areas of marketing and organizational communication, social media, innovation, and entrepreneurship. Her work has been published in premier journals such as MIT Sloan Management Review and the Journal of Business Research.

I can offer…

Offerings go here…

Courses

Entrepreneurship for Healthcare Professionals – This course teaches entrepreneurial thinking skills that are necessary for healthcare managers while receiving hands-on experiences through developing business ideas into marketable products.

Shana Ponelis

Courses:
Infopreneurship

Shana Ponelis

Ph.D, Assistant Professor, Information Studies, Member, Association for Computing Machinery, Association for Information Systems

Dr. Ponelis is Assistant Professor of Information Studies and a member of the Association for Computing Machinery and Association for Information Studies. She focuses on empowering people to make informed decisions concerning themselves, their organization, and their society as a whole.

I can offer…

INFOST-691

Courses

Infopreneurship – This course provides students with the skills and knowledge to identify potential business ideas centered on information while developing business plans to secure funding.

Brian Thompson

Courses:
Information & Commercialization

Brian Thompson

Director, Lubar Entrepreneurship Center, President, UWM Research Foundation

Mr. Thompson is the Director of the Lubar Entrepreneurship Center, Co-PI of the Milwaukee I-Corps Site, and President of the UWM Research Foundation. He also teaches new ventures as an adjunct instructor in UWM’s College of Engineering and Applied Science and the Lubar School of Business.

I can offer…

CIV ENG-691

COMPSCI-657

ELECENG-490

IND ENG-590

MATL ENG-690

MECH ENG-490

Courses

Information & Commercialization – Students focus on the basics of innovation and commercialization as well as “Lean Launch” methodologies that are used in early stage business formation to help develop specific skills that are useful in engineering and technology ventures.

Michelle Silverman

Courses:
Gizmos & Gadgets

Michelle Silverman

Professor of Occupational Therapy, Coordinator of Assistive Technology & Adaptive Design

Michelle Silverman, MS, OTR, is Professor of occupational therapy and coordinator of assistive technology and adaptive design at UWM. She instructs the course through the use of internet resources, print resources, and guest speakers.

I can offer…

OCCTHPY-220

Courses

Gizmos & Gadgets – This course introduces students to the history, depth, and breadth of assistive technology and universal design through a combination of direct instruction and individual exploration.

Anne Basting, Ph.D

Courses:
Performing Communities

Anne Basting, Ph.D

Professor of Theater, Artist in Residence Program Coordinator

Dr. Basting is an educator, scholar, and theater artist whose work over the last 15 years has focused on encouraging community engagement, intergenerational connections, and enriching the lives of elders through long-term care embedded with cognitive art projects.

I can offer…

THEATRE-320

Courses

Performing Communities – Performing Communities explores the development of communities through cultural and performing practices by creating community-based work in the arts. This course teaches students how to collaborate with community partners in order to identify social change goals and learn skills to facilitate change.

Kim Beckmann

Courses:
Design  and Visual Communication

Kim Beckmann

Co-Area Head & Associate Professor of Design & Visual Communication

Kim Beckmann is currently an Associate Professor in Design & Visual Communication at the Peck School of the Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She has served as the Co-Area Head for the Design and Visual Communication Program (2009-2011 and 2014-2016), and as Associate Chair for the Department of Art & Design (fall 2011).

I can offer…

ART-422

Courses

Design and Visual Communication – Design and Visual Communication focuses on the creative process through an entrepreneurial, professional, and cross-disciplinary practice in design and related fields. The curriculum includes coursework in strategy and design process, design methodologies and research, portfolio development, web and multimedia design, and design entrepreneurship. For more information, visit the website.

Douglas Stafford, Ph.D

Courses:
Scientist Career Transitions

Douglas Stafford, Ph.D

Ph.D, Director, Milwaukee Institute of Drug Discovery

Dr. Douglas Stafford is the founder of the Milwaukee Institute for Drug Discovery. He has over 25 years of experience in the biomedical industry with executive position in operations.

I can offer…

CHEM-690

Courses

Scientist Career Transitions – Scientist Career Transitions is designed to enlighten science undergraduates as they transition to employment in science-oriented industries by exploring topics that help translate academic learning to initial employment, job success, and career development.

Andrew Dressel, Ph.D

Courses:
Design Thinking, ME-809

Andrew Dressel, Ph.D

Ph.D, Lecturer, CEAS

Dr. Andrew Dressel is a UWM lecturer of Mechanical, Civil, and Environmental Engineering. His research focuses on bicycle and motorcycle dynamics as well as mechanical properties of bicycle tires.

I can offer…

ME-101

Courses

Computer Aided Engineering Lab – Computer Aided Engineering Lab incorporates state-of-the-art CAD (Computer Aided Design), kinematics, and FEA (Finite Element Analysis) computer tools to build upon mechanical design and analysis skills from previous classes with the goal of designing a product that can be brought to market.

 

Nathaniel Stern, Ph.D

Courses:
Product Realization
Electronics & Sculpture

Nathaniel Stern, Ph.D

Professor, Art & Design / Mechanical Engineering,
Director, Startup Challenge

Dr. Stern is an artist and engineer as well as the Director/Co-founder of the UWM Student Startup Challenge. He has produced and collaborated on projects ranging from interactive and immersive to prints and sculptures.

I can offer…

ART-318(undergrad)/418(grad)

ART-405

COMPSCI-678

IND ENG-405

MECH ENG-405

Courses

Product Realization – Product Realization courses teach students how to design, test, and produce prototypes for companies that offer mentorship and funding. Industries like Aurora Healthcare, Eaton Corporation, and Biz-starts, are just some of the local industries that have participated in the course.

Electronics & Sculpture – This production class focuses on technologies and aesthetics that incorporate electronics, sensors, motors, physical animation, and other devices into contemporary art and design projects. Students learn programming, kinetics, analog and digital input and output, and communication between computers and micro-controllers.

 

Ilya Avdeev, Ph.D

Courses:
Design Thinking, ME-809
Product Realization

Ilya Avdeev, Ph.D

Ph.D, Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering

Dr. Avdeev is the Director of Innovation at LEC, founding director of the Advanced Manufacturing Design Laboratory, Co-founder of the Student Startup Challenge, Co-PI of the Milwaukee I-Corps Program, and Kellner Entrepreneurship Fellow.

I can offer…

ART-405
COMPSCI-678
IND ENG-405
MECH ENG-405

Courses

Design Thinking, ME-809 – Design Thinking teaches students how to navigate ambiguity, learn from others, synthesize information, and experiment rapidly between concrete and the abstract. Students will learn how to build and craft prototypes as well as communicate deliberately through the design process and work.

Product Realization – Product Realization courses teach students how to design, test, and produce prototypes for companies that offer mentorship and funding. Industries like Aurora Healthcare, Eaton Corporation, and Biz-starts, are just some of the local industries that have participated in the course.

Nicole Powley

Courses:
Design Thinking, ME-809

Nicole Powley

Program Coordinator, Lubar Entrepreneurship Center

Mrs. Powley promotes entrepreneurial and innovative thinking across campus by regularly collaborating with professors to bring hands-on workshops, highlighting entrepreneurial and design thinking, to their classrooms.

I can offer…

Offerings go here…

Courses

Design Thinking, ME-809 – Design Thinking teaches students how to navigate ambiguity, learn from others, synthesize information, and experiment rapidly between concrete and the abstract. Students will learn how to build and craft prototypes as well as communicate deliberately through the design process and work.