51ÁÔĆć

Naval dignitary visits Cuzner’s lab for Navy Week in Milwaukee

Three men, one in Naval uniform on left, tour an electrical engineering lab and examine a computer program on a large screen

As part of Navy Week in Milwaukee, U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Matthew Pottenburgh,Ěýmade a stop on Wednesday to the college’s Center for Sustainable Electrical Energy Systems to highlight the Navy’s partnership with 51ÁÔĆć on research to advance all-electric ships.

The Navy has funded a large portion of 51ÁÔĆć research on electric ships – work that will contribute to a more reliable U.S. electrical grid for everyone, said Rob Cuzner, professor of electrical engineering and center director.

He hosted a tour of the center for Pottenburgh,Ěýcommander of the U.S. Naval Service Training Command, 51ÁÔĆć Provost Andrew Daire, 51ÁÔĆć Vice Provost for Research Ali Abedi and Andy Graettinger, associate dean for research at the College of Engineering & Applied Science.

“There’s really not a naval ship that doesn’t have some kind of equipment on them that are specifically related to shipboard electrification,” Pottenburgh said. “And that research begins right here at the University of Wisconsin in Milwaukee.”

Devices for electric ships could curb outages on land and sea

The U.S. Navy wants to move to smaller, all-electric ships because they are more efficient, pollute less and require less maintenance than traditional ships. Shipboard energy systems, when they are out of port, must provide their own power generation. Battery energy storage and unique power and energy conversion and delivery equipment mitigate the possibility of power outages to critical parts of the ship.

Cuzner specializes in devices and components that make up the unique power energy conversion and delivery equipment on ship. The technology that enables all of this is power electronics. Advances in power semiconductors and their application to circuits and devices make it possible to install equipment into electric ships having a smaller footprint.

“What makes 51ÁÔĆć unique is our connection to local industry partners who manufacture this equipment and our ability to develop and test this equipment,” Cuzner said. “We can literally scale up systems in size and scope to the level needed to power a ship or any installation.”

As a result, the researchers are gaining insights that not only aid engineers in the design and integration of equipment for ships but also how to help industry partners apply the same technologies needed to modernize the aging on-land electrical grid in the face of rising demand.

Cuzner has been involved in the Navy’s quest for next-generation, all-electric ships for the last decade through 51ÁÔĆć’s Center for Sustainable Electrical Energy Systems. His lab’s current funding from the Office of Naval Research and Naval Sea Command stands at $3 million.

What are power electronics?

Electrical systems involve more than power plants generating the current. Energy needs to be stored for use later and distributed to where it’s needed. The current also must be controlled and managed. The voltage must be stepped up or down or modified to be compatible with the existing grid.

The power electronics-based systems that Cuzner is researching and testing accomplish these tasks. They are needed to make the on-land grid “smart,” where all parts of the system communicate in real time, and to integrate renewables sources into the grid.

The lab works with nearly 20 companies, such as Leonardo DRS, Eaton, Rehlko and Watt-EV, to bring these devices to the market for a wide range of applications. Many of those companies hire 51ÁÔĆć graduates.

51ÁÔĆć is Wisconsin’s top destination campus for student veterans and the goal of Navy Week activities is to celebrate the military branch’s 250th birthday.

Teens get a taste of college – and more – in Design & Build Camp

two male teens working with craft materials

This summer, a group of high school students from Milwaukee Public Schools got a sneak peek at college life – and had a blast doing it – thanks to the “51ÁÔĆć Design & Build Camp” for two weeks in June.

Open to MPS juniors and seniors, the two-week camp gave 19 students a chance to explore engineering and architecture by redesigning Kilbourn Reservoir Park (near 2230 N. Bremen St.). Their mission? Make the park more fun and inviting, especially as Milwaukee gets ready to open its first permanent chess park.

Two young men using CAD on a computer
Participants got experience using CAD programs to design the outdoor furniture they need for the park.
one young man teahing another young man on a power saw.
Campers learn to use a variety of power tools to build furniture.
aerial view of a group of teens handling wood planks
Painting and cutting the materials for the furniture building activity.
Two teen girls working with power tools.
Team work brought everything together. Campers came from eight different MPS schools.
A group of teens use maps and tracing paper
Campers convened at the architecture and engineering firm EUA to work on the site plan.
A group of people inspect wooden tables that they made.
A group proudly displays their finished product.
A group of teens giving an outdoor presentation against blue sunny skies.
Groups of campers presented what they learned to park stakeholders.
A wide shot of a city park with new tables and few trees.
Phase I of the city’s first permanent chess park is completed.

Campers met with neighbors, brainstormed ideas, and even built outdoor furniture, said Christine Beimborn, STEM-outreach coordinator in the college. They visited the architecture and engineering firm EUA to sketch out plans before pitching their ideas to city leaders. Their designs included such features as:

  • Shade structures and new trails
  • Statues that teach people how to play chess
  • A way for park visitors to check out chess sets
  • Which trees to plant for beauty and shade

Not just skill-building

But it wasn’t just about sawdust and sketches – it was also a head start on college. Sarah Blackowski, assistant professor, civil & environmental engineering, structured the camp so that the skills taught satisfied the requirements of 51ÁÔĆć’s civil engineering 150 course. So, the campers earned college credit for free through the M3 general dual enrollment pathway.

Students were also paid a stipend for attending the camp, thanks to the nonprofit Employ Milwaukee. It was a way to make it easier for students who often have to choose between participating in career and college exploration and working a summer job, Beimborn said.

“This camp is just one way that high school students can build their skills, explore the professions and even complete college credit before they actually begin their college freshman years,” she said. “We’ve always had restrictive prerequisites for our courses. Now, many of those have been lifted.”

Additional support for the camp came from the MPS Foundation and the Nadella Scholars Program at 51ÁÔĆć, funded by Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella (MS ’90) and his wife, Anupama Nadella.

Want to start your college journey early? Check out other programs here. Check out this and this report on .

Qu discovers a way to turn used EV batteries into fertilizer

Two men working at a lab bench. The one of the left is wearing a dark shirt and the one on the right is wearing a white lab coat.

As electric vehicle (EV) batteries age out – typically after about 10 years – the world is bracing for a wave of expired lithium-ion batteries with no affordable way to recycle them. The problem is especially pressing with lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries, the kind most commonly used in EVs, E-delivery vans and E-buses.

Traditional disposal of these batteries requires special handling which is costly. So is recovering material from LFP batteries which offer little value beyond lithium.

Professor Deyang Qu, mechanical engineering, has developed a strategy to transform a looming EV waste crisis into an environmental and economic opportunity: Turn retired LFP batteries into something the U.S. desperately needs – domestically produced fertilizer that removes reliance on foreign imports.

Using a well-established ion-exchange process, Qu and his team were the first to recover lithium from the LFP materials by replacing it with potassium. The remaining elements include phosphorus, potassium and nitrogen, which are key ingredients in fertilizer.

“Right now, it costs more to recycle the batteries than the value of what we recover,” Qu said. “But if we can turn those elements into fertilizer, we not only reduce waste but also support agriculture in Wisconsin and beyond.”

The proof of concept has been demonstrated with funding from a 51ÁÔĆć internal Discovery and Innovation Grant and research partner, the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service.

Why fertilizer?

“There are only two options to deal with this kind of waste,” said Qu, a global leader in energy storage research. “Either the manufacturers or the government will have to pay to dispose of the waste. That’s what inspired us to look for an economically sustainable way.”

Fertilizers are a high-value product essential for increasing crop yields and maintaining food security.

Most of the mineral deposits needed to make fertilizers currently are imported, he said. Recycling these batteries would create a ready domestic supply of those ingredients. And the fertilizer could be produced with less energy because the raw materials don’t have to be mined or transported.

Taking the next step

The next steps are to manufacture the fertilizer at a larger scale in order to conduct comparative field tests against conventional fertilizers.

“Once we obtain support for the recycling-separation portion of the project,” Qu said, “We will continue collaborating with the USDA to produce enough material for a one-acre tomato crop trial. Those results will help us market this idea to major fertilizer companies.”

Wisconsin is well-positioned to lead this innovative, self-sustaining battery recycling effort, leveraging its strong manufacturing and agricultural base. The project promises to create high-tech jobs and provide workforce training in emerging green technologies.

BioRobotics Lab takes its rehab robots on the road

a woman and a man, each in a wheelchair talking to each other

Members of BioRobotics Lab, led by Professor Habib Rahman, mechanical & biomedical engineering, demonstrated robotic assistive technologies they have developed at the annual Abilities Expo Chicago in June. The event showcases technologies and services for people with disabilities.

The students demonstrated two projects from the lab: a wheelchair-mounted assistive robot and a desktop therapy robot device. They also hosted a table promoting robotics learning opportunities at 51ÁÔĆć.

This is the second year members of the lab have participated in the expo. Part of the booth is funded by Rahman’s research grant from ACL’s National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research.

The following CEAS students took part:

  • Md Samiul Haque Sunny
  • Nayan Banik
  • Md Mahbubur Rahman
  • Md Tanzil Shahria
  • Motakabbir Hossain
  • Mahfuzur Rahman Khan
  • Md Enamul Haque
  • Gabriela Albor
  • Asif Al Zubayer Swapnil
  • Mitchell Fox (undergrad)
  • David Loeza (undergrad)

If you’d like more information about this lab, email Professor Rahman at rahmanmh@uwm.edu.

Slavens provided keynote at donor luncheon in June

Two women talking to each other

Brooke Slavens, professor, mechanical and biomedical engineering, spoke about her research at the June 12 Chapman Society Luncheon, which drew a crowd of donors and deans, including Dean Brett Peters. Chancellor Mark Mone provided introductions.

In her keynote, Slavens described her nationally recognized research into helping pediatric manual wheelchair users live without shoulder pain. In January, Slavens was honored with the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, the U.S. government’s highest award for young scientists and engineers.

The Chapman Society is a group of donors who have included the 51ÁÔĆć Foundation in their estate plans. It is named for Alice G. Chapman (1853-1935) who attended Milwaukee Female College, served on Milwaukee-Downer College’s Board of Trustees, and was a generous supporter.

Microsoft hosts the grand opening of its AI Co-Innovation Lab on 51ÁÔĆć campus

group cutting ribbon

The Milwaukee community celebrated the grand opening of the Microsoft AI Co-Innovation Lab, housed within the 51ÁÔĆć Connected Systems Institute, on June 25. The lab is Microsoft’s first AI Co-Innovation Lab with a dedicated focus on helping manufacturing advance their competitive edge through AI. It’s also the first such lab based at a university.

The Connected Systems Institute aims to expand Wisconsin’s talent pipeline for Industry 4.0 manufacturing, which allows small and medium manufacturers to integrate new technologies, such as the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence and robotics into their production processes. It promotes learning experiences for engineering and computer science students, including a Connected Systems Engineering master’s degree, offered through the College of Engineering & Applied Science.

The lab’s opening event marks one year since Microsoft’s investment to build AI infrastructure in Wisconsin. That effort is unfolding through a partnership among Microsoft Corp., the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, TitletownTech and 51ÁÔĆć.

See the 51ÁÔĆć REPORT story and all the photos from the celebration here. See . See . See .

Pillai uses advanced engineering math to help INL simulate next-gen nuclear reactors 

man looking at the camera

Krishna Pillai, professor of mechanical engineering, has received funding from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Idaho National Laboratory (INL) to advance the modeling of oxidation and degradation in porous graphite—an essential material used in certain nuclear reactor components.

As the demand for energy-intensive data centers grows, especially with the rise of artificial intelligence companies, there is renewed interest in nuclear power as a reliable, large-scale energy source.

INL is at the forefront of developing these advanced reactors which are being designed smaller than their predecessors. The compact size of these next-gen reactors (called high temperature gas-cooled reactors) aims to improve safety, cooling efficiency, and cost-effectiveness.

Core components of the reactors are made of graphite which sustains atomic fission in a controlled manner, reflects heat, and protects the reactor’s internal structure.

However, graphite is susceptible to oxidation which reduces its benefits.

So, being able to predict the potential for oxidation is also what INL researchers are focused on. 

Pillai’s contribution

Before accurate simulations can be created, INL has enlisted Pillai to complete the first step. His role is to develop mathematical models that will help scientists run simulations to estimate how fast the graphite will wear out, how much weaker it gets, and how long it will last in a reactor.

By applying advanced engineering mathematics – specifically, the volume averaging method – Pillai will be able to predict what happens to the tiny pores inside the graphite when it’s exposed to the heat and conditions inside a reactor. These small-scale changes are hard to see directly, so he’s using advanced math to describe the overall behavior of the material with a few equations instead of trying to track every tiny detail.

“My work with INL scientists will result in accurate mathematical models that can be used for predictive simulations,” he said, “helping them better understand and have advance warning of graphite degradation in high-temperature reactors.” 

Pillai’s equations also will help INL scientists as they develop a graphite degradation modeling tool. The tool will help engineers assess the reliability of graphite components using industry-standard design codes.

These insights will enable researchers and engineers to optimize reactor designs, improve maintenance, and ensure that nuclear energy can offer a safe option for powering the data-driven future. 

New Bachelor of Science in Engineering degree offers unique interdisciplinary pathway to increase engineering workforce

a blonde female working on a piece of equipment - closeup of her face.

The College of Engineering & Applied Science at 51ÁÔĆć has launched a new program that will offer students a more interdisciplinary path to an engineering bachelor’s degree. Now enrolling for Fall 2025, the program is the first-of-its-kind in Wisconsin.

Students can choose specialized tracks based on their educational interests and career goals, including embedded systems, engineering management, manufacturing, software engineering, construction engineering, power engineering, and engineering operations and systems.

“The purpose of the program is not only to prepare students for future engineering jobs but to also provide opportunities for newer groups of students who will take advantage of flexible and customizable pathways to earning an engineering degree,” said Professor Prasenjit Guptasarma, associate dean for academic affairs. “I thank Todd Johnson and Professor Jaejin Jang who have worked with us to help get this program off the ground.”

The new Bachelor of Science in Engineering program is ideal for transfer students, especially for students with Associate of Applied Science degrees, returning college students, and individuals already working in a technical field who need a bachelor’s degree in engineering to enhance their skills and further their career.

The college is also preparing for a program that would offer students in partner technical colleges in Wisconsin the opportunity to concurrently enroll in courses at both institutions. Additionally, the program is preparing multiple online courses to be available by 2026.

The interdisciplinary nature of the program helps maximize the transfer of students’ existing credits which can apply to this engineering degree, assuring the most efficient time-to-completion.

Graduates will have diverse career opportunities in industries where interdisciplinary skills are highly valued. Occupational employment projections indicate continued demand for engineers. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the growth rate for engineers as being much faster than the average growth rate for all occupations. More information can be found here.

51ÁÔĆć offers new engineering master’s degree in artificial intelligence and machine learning

a graphic showing a robot finger and a human finger touching

51ÁÔĆć’s College of Engineering & Applied Science is currently enrolling for a Master of Science in Engineering degree in artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) for Fall 2025.

The new flexible master’s degree concentration, which is unique in Wisconsin, is designed to meet the needs of a wide variety of students and employers, offering professional advancement across many industries as they continue to adopt and apply AI techniques to engineering.

Unlike many other programs which offer AI/ML instruction in the context of computer science, this new program is unique in that it is focused on both engineering and computer science.

“AI and ML are rapidly evolving fields that are becoming an integral part of every aspect of science and engineering,” said Professor Prasenjit Guptasarma, associate dean for academic affairs. “Fluency with the fundamental methods and practices of AI and ML will soon become a minimum requirement for anyone entering the advanced workforce.”

The degree is open to students with a broad range of undergraduate degrees beyond engineering and computer science, including the natural sciences (physics, chemistry, bioscience, geosciences, or health sciences), information technology, mathematics, data science, and some social sciences (e.g., psychology, or geography). Applicants with other undergraduate degrees will also be considered with a review of their academic record and professional experience.

Generous financial support is available for students enrolling in this program through Fall 2026:

  • GRE waived
  • $75 application fee waived
  • $2,000 guaranteed scholarship to all students who enroll in the program full-time with 12 or more credits, in-person or online (available starting in Spring 2026),Ěýearned from the College of Engineering & Applied Science each year.
  • Up to $4,000 in additional merit-based scholarships per two-year master’s degree,Ěýto students enrolled in the program with 16 or more credits,Ěýin-person or online (available starting in Spring 2026),Ěýfrom the College of Engineering & Applied Science each year.

The flexible program enables students to customize their degree to fit their background and interests, with electives that include AI techniques, image processing, natural language processing, robotics, cyber security, data analytics, connected systems, and other multidisciplinary master’s level courses. Several courses are being converted to online course offerings. More information can be found .

Graduate student awarded prestigious AIME scholarship

Swaroop Kumar Behera, a PhD dissertator in the Department of Materials Science & Engineering, has been selected as one of only two recipients nationwide of the highly competitive AIME Henry DeWitt Smith Scholarship, awarded by The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS) and the TMS Foundation.

The award recognizes Behera’s academic excellence and potential for future contributions to the field of materials science.

The $2,000 scholarship honors Henry DeWitt Smith, an influential figure in the mining and metallurgical industries, and is given to students who demonstrate exceptional promise in metallurgy or materials engineering.

Behera’s research focuses on high temperature aluminum alloys, metal matrix composites and sustainable manufacturing, and he plans to pursue a career that bridges academic research with industrial innovation.

Since 2022 he has served as the 51ÁÔĆć Foundry lab manager under the supervision of Professor Pradeep Rohatgi. His dedication to the field includes special recognition from the  (FEF), for providing outreach activities to recruit students to and inform the public about the metalcasting industry. He has introduced hundreds of students to the fundamentals of foundry engineering and materials science through engaging, hands-on tabletop demonstrations.

Behera also received complimentary registration for the TMS 2026 Annual Meeting & Exhibition in San Diego, California, and a ticket to the TMS-AIME Awards Ceremony Reception, for the formal presentation on Wednesday, March 18, 2026.