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.
In the News
IEEE Guest Editorial Special Issue: Commemorating 40 Years of WEMPEC, 1981–2021
In the 1970s, a small community of pioneering researchers around the world in industry and academia were laying the groundwork for the discipline of solid-state power electronics as we know it today. Near the end of that formative period, the Wisconsin Electric Machines and Power Electronics Consortium (WEMPEC) was founded in 1981 by Profs. Donald W. Novotny and Thomas A. Lipo at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Prof. Robert D. Lorenz joined the embryonic WEMPEC program faculty in 1984, bringing his unique expertise and passion for motor drive controls.
An itsy bitsy solar-powered, phone-charging Little Free Library installed on Marquette Street
In this digital age, most have dealt with this problem: Your phone dies and you don’t have a phone charger. You ask around and no one else nearby has a phone charger. You can’t make that important phone call.
IEEE recognizes three College of Engineering faculty with prestigious honors
The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) recently recognized three faculty members of the University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Engineering with some of its highest honors. The professional organization elevated Daniel van der Weide, a …
National Academy of Inventors selects two College of Engineering researchers as fellows
The National Academy of Inventors has selected Bulent Sarlioglu, the Jean van Bladel associate professor in electrical and computer engineering at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, as part of its 2021 class of fellows. Bulent Sarlioglu The Academy also …
Hackathon Helps Incoming Freshmen Apply ECE Skills for a Great Cause
Electrical and Computer Engineering Professor Giri Venkataramanan decided to have his students shadow teams participating in the Solympics hackathon, an event held July 22-24, 2021, at the college’s makerspace. The event focused on simple solar-powered solutions for charging devices such as phones or tablets.
WEMPEC Co-Director Prof. Jahns Announces Retirement
Prof. Tom Jahns has announced that he will retire from his active faculty position at UW-Madison on June 30, 2021. Prof. Jahns joined the UW-Madison faculty in 1998 as the Grainger Professor of Power Electronics and Electric Machines.
Sarlioglu receives IEEE PES Electromechanical Energy Conversion Award
Bulent Sarlioglu, the Jean van Bladel Associate Professor in electrical and computer engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is the recipient of the 2021 Cyril Veinott Electromechanical Energy Conversion Award from the IEEE Power & Energy Society.
Madison’s tech sector booms, driven by UW innovation
In 2020, the country’s biggest tech migration increase took place in Madison, according to LinkedIn data published by Big Technology on December 17, 2020. The boom is fueled in part by UW–Madison, which provides cutting-edge research, entrepreneurial graduates and researchers, and a well-educated local workforce that motivates some employers to open offices in Madison.
Professor Emeritus Featured in “On Wisconsin”
Former students create a fund to carry on the work of electrical engineering professor Thomas Lipo PhD’68.