MILWAUKEE _ Smart buildings, the internet of things and the state’s economy are among the topics to be discussed during the Milwaukee Engineering Research Conference May 11-12 at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Representatives from federal agencies, industry and academia will share developments in energy, materials, biomedical technologies, water and more.

The conference, held at the Zelazo Center, 2419 E. Kenwood Blvd., runs 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday, May 11, and 8:30 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. on Friday, May 12, with tours of five UWM labs from 1:45 to 3 p.m. Friday.

Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin will give the keynote address on Friday at 12:15 p.m. Other speakers and their topics include:

May 11

Clay Nesler
Johnson Controls Inc.
“Key Trends driving SMARTER Buildings and Cities”
9:30 a.m.

Sean Palecek
Milton J. and A. Maude Shoemaker Professor, UW-Madison
“Manufacturing Therapeutic Cells – Intersections among Biology, Medicine, and Engineering”
10:45 a.m.

Lee Swindall
Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation
“The Prosperity Problem: Falling Productivity”
11:45 a.m.

Deyang Qu
Johnson Controls Endowed Professor in Energy Storage Research, UWM
“Beyond Li-ion Research at UWM: Reaction Mechanism for Lithium-Sulfur Batteries”
1:30 p.m.

Dan J. Thoma
Grainger Institute for Engineering, UW-Madison
“Focus on Industrial Outreach and Advanced Manufacturing”
2:30 p.m.

Michael R. Keller
Rockwell Automation
“Applying Scalable Analytics to Industrial Automation”
4:15 p.m.

May 12

Sudhi Sinha
Johnson Controls Inc.
“Research Challenges for IoT Businesses”
9 a.m.

Matt Stillings
Rexnord Corp.
“Water Industry Trends and Technological Challenges”
11:45 a.m.

For more information, go to the conference web page.

About UWM
Recognized as one of the nation’s 115 top research universities, UW-Milwaukee provides a world-class education to 26,000 students from 89 countries on a budget of $667 million. Its 14 schools and colleges include Wisconsin’s only schools of architecture, freshwater sciences and public health, and it is a leading educator of nurses and teachers. UW-Milwaukee partners with leading companies to conduct joint research, offer student internships and serve as an economic engine for southeastern Wisconsin. The Princeton Review named UW-Milwaukee a 2017 “Best Midwestern” university based on overall academic excellence and student reviews, as well as a top “Green College.”