University of Wisconsin–Madison

College of Engineering visits Neenah for Forum for Manufacturers

UW-Madison’s College of Engineering Dean Ian Robertson led a diverse group of engineering researchers from the college to Neenah last week for a Forum for Manufacturers in the Fox Valley. Local business leaders and legislators were able to learn more about the numerous collaborations and opportunities for partnerships between the Grainger Institute for Engineering and Wisconsin industries. Presentations covered everything from advanced manufacturing to smart & connected healthcare systems to driverless technologies and sustainable energy sources. Representatives Mike Rohrkaste (R-Neenah), Rep. Amanda Stuck (D-Appleton), and Rep. Dave Murphy (R-Greenville) also heard about the high demand for UW-Madison’s engineering students, new labs and innovative classrooms spaces, and important student projects that provide research experience and industry connections for our undergraduate students. Dean Robertson also outlined the creative ways the UW-Madison College of Engineering is helping Wisconsin residents advance their careers while meeting the workforce needs of Wisconsin businesses by creating 11 new accelerated master’s programs.

Dean Robertson tells Fox Valley business owners and state representatives about the new faculty starting at the UW-Madison College of Engineering this year who are ready to train the next generation of Wisconsin engineers and collaborate on more public-private partnerships and industry research.

 

Todd Kelsey, CEO of Plexus and UW-Madison College of Engineering alum, introduces Dean Robertson at the Forum for Manufacturers event in Neenah.

Dan Thoma, Director of the UW-Madison Grainger Institute for Engineering, talks with Representatives Mike Rohrkaste and Dave Murphy and Bill Kloiber staff for Senator Roger Roth about ways his team can leverage the resources of UW-Madison to build industry collaborations that provide competitive advantages for Wisconsin companies and how the UW-Madison student pipeline can provide the talent they need.

David Noyce, Chair of UW-Madison Civil & Environmental Engineering Department and Director of the Traffic Operations and Safety (TOPS) Laboratory, talks about the work his team does with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation to improve traffic safety in Wisconsin.

Oguz Alagoz, Co-Director of the Wisconsin Institute for Healthcare Systems Engineering, discusses the work of his team to reduce patient deaths and healthcare costs with design changes that reduce surgical site infections, improve transitions to nursing homes, and lower patient wait times for healthcare systems.

 

Bill Murphy, Thrust leader for Biomanufacturing Professor at UW-Madison, speaks about his research on advanced manufacturing of medical devices that helps keep Wisconsin a national leader in biomanufacturing. Wisconsin is home to more than 1600 biomanufacturing companies and over 36,000 Wisconsin residents are now employed in this $27 billion industry. Research done on the UW-Madison campus helps keep Wisconsin companies on the leading edge of discoveries and sparks startups all over Wisconsin.

UW-Madison Director of State Relations gets ready to enjoy Scooptopia ice cream from the newly renovated ice cream truck making the rounds this summer. Scooptopia, vanilla ice cream with peanut butter, caramel and fudge, is the flavor created for the tour this summer as the 1957 International Harvester truck travels across Wisconsin to see just how much Wisconsinites know about UW-Madison. You can find out where the truck is going to get word out about the Working for Wisconsin campaign at the Get the Scoop webpage.