ECE faculty are integral to IARPA project to improve electrically small antennas

McFarland-Bascom Professor Nader Behdad and Jean van Bladel Associate Professor Daniel Ludois in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are part of a multi-year research effort to significantly boost the performance of electrically small antennas (ESAs) — or antennas that are much smaller than the wavelength of signals they send and receive. The project is funded by Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA), the research and development arm of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.

WEMPEC Researchers win Electric Aircraft Technologies Symposium best paper award

A team of University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty and students won the best paper award at the IEEE/AIAA Transportation Electrification Conference and Electric Aircraft Technologies Symposium (ITEC+EATS) in Anaheim, California, in June 2022.

The team includes Bulent Sarlioglu, the Jean van Bladel Associate Professor in electrical and computer engineering, Thomas Jahns, the Grainger Emeritus Professor of Power Electronics and Electric Machines and PhD students Hao Zeng and James Swanke.

Power up: Little Free Libraries add solar charging to boxes

A team of University of Wisconsin-Madison students is working to provide charging power to Wisconsin communities by developing high-tech Little Free Libraries. Powered by solar energy, eLittle Free Libraries (eLFL) are traditional Little Free Libraries with books, but combined with charging stations for phones and other portable smart devices.

Power to the people

Three ways our nation’s electrical grid must change for a brighter future – an article based on interviews with WEMPEC professor Giri Venkataramanan and WEMPEC affiliate professors Line Roald and Dominic Gross.

Solar Little Free Libraries provide power to people who need it most

For many people who are homeless or members of underserved populations, cell phones are a lifeline; a phone may be their only way to keep in touch with distant friends and relatives, schedule medical appointments and job interviews, and deal with emergencies. Prof. Giri Venkataraman and PhD student Maitreyee Sanjiv Marathe took on the challenge, even organizing a hackathon at the UW-Madison makerspace they dubbed the Solympics, to generate ideas for a solar-powered public charging station. The winning concept was the e-Little Free Library.

UW-Madison project turns Little Free Library into solar-powered phone charger

The Little Free Library in Madison’s Lisa Link Peace Park on State Street has gone solar. A group of UW-Madison students have outfitted the community book depository with a solar-powered battery with ports and cables to charge cellphones and other small electronic devices. The project is part of an effort to improve energy resilience and bring clean energy to underserved communities, especially those experiencing homelessness.