Energy Experts

From biofuels to batteries, UW–Madison has a wealth of expertise in energy. The researchers working in energy at UW–Madison are generating the knowledge and clean technologies that will accelerate a transition to sustainable, resilient, and affordable energy systems. This resource connects you to UW–Madison faculty conducting research in all areas of energy. If you are a UW–Madison faculty member working in energy and would like to be added to this list, please email communications@energy.wisc.edu

For specific media requests, please contact Mary Blanchard.

Name/Email Title/Department Research Interests

Joy Altwies

altwies@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Faculty Associate/Program Director of Engineering Professional Development
College of Engineering

  • Green and High-Performance Buildings
  • Sustainable Construction
  • Building Commissioning, Commissioning Process
  • HVAC & R Systems
  • Technology Innovation and Adoption

Daniel Amador-Noguez

amadornoguez@wisc.edu

Affiliate

Associate Professor of Bacteriology
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

  • Metabolomics and metabolic regulation in biofuel producing bacteria
  • Bacterial biofilms
  • Human gut microbiome

Richard Amasino

amasino@biochem.wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Professor of Biochemistry
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

  • Plant genetics
  • Plant flowering
  • Vernalization 
  • Arabidopsis thaliana
  • Brachypodium distachyon

Dan Anderson

danderson@bus.wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Professor Emeritus of Risk Management and Insurance
School of Business

  • Sustainability risks facing businesses and organizations
  • Sustainability risk management strategies

Mark H. Anderson

manderson@engr.wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Consolidated Papers Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Salts, liquid metals, supercritical water (SCW), supercritical CO2 (SCO2) 
  • Supercritical fluids
  • Brayton cycle for nuclear, solar and fossil advanced power generation
  • Fluoride-cooled nuclear reactors
  • Salt chemistry, purification, and materials compatibility. 

Jean-Michel Ané

jeanmichel.ane@wisc.edu

Affiliate

Kellet Professor of Bacteriology & Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

  • Plant–microbe symbioses
  • Signaling pathways
  • Plant symbiotic genes
  • Techniques to characterize the metabolome, proteome and phosphoproteome
  • Development of tools for metabolite and peptide imaging in plant cells 

Rob Anex

anex@wisc.edu

Investigator

Professor of Biological Systems Engineering
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

  • Carbon Direct Removal and Decarbonization
  • Biological systems analysis and assessment
  • Life cycle assessment
  • Techno-economic analysis

Michael Arnold

msarnold@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Professor of Materials Science & Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Carbon nanotubes
  • Atomically thin sheets of graphene
  • Two-dimensional materials
  • Semiconducting molecules and polymers
  • Heterostructures that integrate these components with conventional, macroscopic materials

 

Josh Arnold

josh.arnold@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Campus Energy Advisor
Office of Sustainability

  • Energy analysis and policy
  • Energy conservation
  • Energy efficiency
  • Renewable energy projects
  • Stakeholder engagement and market development

Styliani Avraamidou

avraamidou@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Duane H. and Dorothy M. Bluemke Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Circular economy systems engineering
  • Computational modeling and optimization
  • Energy infrastructure planning and operational scheduling
  • Energy systems engineering
  • Food-energy-water nexus

William Banholzer

wbanholzer@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Research Professor, Honorary Fellow of Chemical & Biological Engineering; Senior Advisor, Wisconsin Energy Institute
College of Engineering

  • Commercialization of technology
  • Materials and process development with emphasis on the intersection with business opportunities

Sebastian Bednarek

sybednar@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Professor of Biochemistry
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

  • Plant cell biology
  • Intracellular protein trafficking
  • Membrane biogenesis
  • Plant cell cytokinesis

John F. Berry

berry@chem.wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Professor of Chemistry
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

  • Coordination chemistry
  • Catalysis 
  • Electronic structure
  • Metal-metal bonding

Arganthael Berson

berson2@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Lecturer of Mechanical Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Multiphase flow and flow at interfaces
  • Flow boiling and condensation
  • Evaporation-driven self-assembly
  • Advanced flow diagnostic techniques (PIV, hot-wire anemometry, high-speed microscopy, thermoreflectance)
  • Energy systems  

Vicki Bier

vicki.bier@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Professor Emeritus of Industrial & Systems Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Critical infrastructure protection
  • Security
  • Technology hazards
  • Risk analysis
  • Decision analysis
  • Operations research

Mary Blanchard

mary.blanchard@wisc.edu

Investigator

WEI Associate Director
Wisconsin Energy Institute

  • Energy policy and regulation
  • Energy research collaboration
  • Energy stakeholder networks

Paul Block

paul.block@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Associate Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Methods, models, and tools for managing climate variability and change
  • Hydrologic forecasting and integration into decision models
  • Addressing water quality and quantity extremes
  • Hydro-economics and policy mechanisms
  • Risk, reliability, and uncertainty
  • Sustainable approaches

John Booske

jhbooske@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Duane H. and Dorothy M. Bluemke & Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Plasmas, metamaterials, metasurfaces and media that have a strong interaction with electromagnetic radiation
  • Electromagnetic field effects
  • Microwave vacuum electronics
  • Innovative teaching and learning methods and instructional space design

Eric Booth

egbooth@wisc.edu

Investigator

Associate Scientist
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

Water quality

Impacts of climate and land-use change

Urban stormwater management

Wetland/stream restoration

Michael Botts

botts@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

High-throughput BioDesign Facility Leader

  • Lab automation
  • Microbial genetics
  • Metabolomics
  • Bioenergy

Michael Botts

botts@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

High-throughput BioDesign Facility Leader

  • Lab automation
  • Microbial genetics
  • Metabolomics
  • Bioenergy

Dominique Brossard

dbrossard@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Professor & Chair of Life Sciences Communication
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

  • Public opinion, new media, and the perception of risks and benefits surrounding controversial science and technology
  • The role of values in shaping public attitudes
  • Cross-cultural analysis

Grace Bulltail

bulltail@wisc.edu

Investigator

Assistant Professor
Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies

  • water resource engineering
  • natural resource management
  • nexus of water, energy, and land use
  • environmental justice in Indigenous communities

Alan Carroll

carroll@geology.wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Professor of Geoscience
College of Letters & Sciences

  • Continental tectonics
  • Basin evolution
  • Ancient lakes
  • Petroleum geology
  • Paleoclimatology
  • China geology

Peter Carstensen

peter.carstensen@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Professor Emeritus of Law
University of Wisconsin Law School

  • Relation of competition policy and law to regulated industries
  • Relationship between antitrust law and regulation
  • Buyer power issues
  • The operation and regulation of markets for agricultural commodities

Michael Casler

mdcasler@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Research Geneticist, U.S. Department of Agriculture
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

  • Genetics and breeding of perennial forage, biofuel, and turf grasses
  • Genetics of plant traits related to nutritional value, cell-wall structure, cell-wall degradation, and bioenergy conversion; pest resistances; stress tolerances
  • Quantitative and molecular genetics
  • Evolution and domestication of perennial grasses

Kaiping Chen

kchen67@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Assistant Professor of Life Sciences Communication
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

  • Civic engagement in sustainability policymaking
  • Climate justice
  • Computational social science
  • Discourse on controversial and emerging technologies
  • Science communication

Kyoung-Shin Choi

kschoi@chem.wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Professor of Chemistry
College of Letters & Sciences

  • Synthesis of semiconductor electrodes for solar energy conversion
  • Catalyst development for solar fuel production
  • Electrochemical and photo-electrochemical biomass conversion
  • Development of materials for electrochemical water desalination

Joshua Coon

jcoon@chem.wisc.edu

Affiliate

Professor of Biomolecular Chemistry & Chemistry
College of Letters & Sciences

  • Chemical instrumentation including ETD, dissociation, ion/ion reactions. PRM, and theory
  • Informatics including molecular identification, quantitation, and data visualization
  • Proteomic and metabolomic technologies

Michael Corradini

corradini@engr.wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Wisconsin Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Nuclear Engineering & Engineering Physics, Former Director of the Wisconsin Energy Institute
College of Engineering

  • Multi-phase fluid mechanics and heat transfer
  • Fission and fusion reactors
  • Nuclear reactor safety
  • Severe accident phenomena
  • Power plant operation and design
  • Energy policy
  • Nuclear fuel cycle

Adrien Couet

couet@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Associate Chair for Undergraduate Studies, Associate Professor of Nuclear Engineering & Engineering Physics
College of Engineering

  • Nuclear Materials
  • Irradiation Damage
  • Corrosion of Metals and Alloys
  • Oxidation Model
  • Electrochemistry
  • Molten salt corrosion
  • Defect Transport in Oxides

Ian Coxhead

ian.coxhead@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Professor and Department Chair of Agriculture & Applied Economics
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

  • Economics of development
  • Effects of globalization and global market shocks on production, employment, wages and household income, and welfare
  • Impacts and incidence of domestic policies on growth, trade and environment
  • Economies of East and Southeast Asia

Cameron Currie

currie@bact.wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Ira L. Baldwin Professor of Bacteriology
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

  • Symbiotic associations between animals and microbes
  • Symbiosis in fungus-growing ants
  • Microbe and microbial community deconstruction of plant biomass in nature
  • Identification, characterization, and systems biology analysis of cellulolytic microbes and microbial communities

Natalia DeLeon

ndeleongatti@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Professor of Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

  • Plant breeding and quantitative genetics
  • Population enhancement for biomass increase and cell wall composition
  • Interface of plant breeding and quantitative and molecular genetics
  • Phenotypic, genotypic and expression data
  • Genetic analysis of developmental traits in maize

Ankur Desai

desai@aos.wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Professor of Atmospheric & Oceanic Sciences
College of Letters & Sciences, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies

  • The influence of spatiotemporal scale, ecology, and micrometeorology on ecosystem-atmosphere interactions
  • Micrometeorological, ecological, and biogeochemical interactions at regional to global scales
  • Carbon and water cycling
  • Climate variability and carbon cycles
  • Terrestrial-aquatic linkages of carbon, water, and energy

Stephanie Diem

sjdiem@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Assistant Professor of Nuclear Engineering & Engineering Physics
College of Engineering

  • fusion energy
  • experimental plasma physics
  • microwave heating of plasmas
  • magnetically confined plasmas
  • electron Bernstein wave heating

Timothy Donohue

tdonohue@bact.wisc.edu

Investigator

WEI & GLBRC Director, Ira L. Baldwin Professor of Bacteriology
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

  • The pathways and networks that microbes use to grow, generate biomass or produce alternative fuels from sunlight or other renewable sources of energy
  • Microbial networks and metabolic and regulatory pathways
  • Genome sequencing, microarrays, proteomics and molecular techniques

Sheldon (Xiaodong) Du

xdu23@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Associate Professor of Agriculture & Applied Economics
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

  • Economics of energy
  • Commodity markets
  • Economics of agriculture
  • Applied econometrics

Juliana Pacheco Duarte

pachecoduarte@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Assistant Professor of Nuclear Engineering & Engineering Physics
College of Engineering

Nuclear energy
Safety analysis 
Multi-phase flow and heat transfer
Nuclear policy and regulation

James Dumesic

jdumesic@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Ernest Micek Distinguished Chair and Michel Boudart Professor of Chemical & Biological Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Kinetics and catalysis
  • Surface and solid-state chemistry
  • In situ catalyst studies

Morgan Edwards

morgan.edwards@wisc.edu

Affiliate

Assistant Professor of Public Affairs
La Follette School of Public Affairs

  • Just transitions, fossil fuels, and stranded assets
  • Leaks in natural gas distribution systems
  • Measuring impacts of local climate action
  • Negative emissions technologies
  • Valuing impacts of non-CO2 emissions

Tom Eggert

tleggert@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Senior Lecturer
Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies

  • Role of Microfinance in the developing world
  • Greening of business, including brand and reputation building
  • Social responsibility of business
  • Environmental leadership programs, including state and federal programs
  • Socially responsible investing

Paul Evans

pgevans@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Professor of Materials Science & Engineering
College of Engineering

  • X-ray diffraction
  • Microscopy
  • Optics
  • X-ray probes for ultrafast dynamics
  • Micro-and-nanoscale properties of magnetic materials
  • Magnetism
  • Domains and switching in ferroelectric materials
  • Surfaces and interfaces of organic and inorganic materials
  • Epitaxial crystallization processes in oxide thin films and nanostructures

Kurt Feigl

feigl@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Professor of Geoscience
College of Letters & Sciences

  • Tectonic applications of geodesy
  • Measuring and modeling crustal deformation from earthquake faults, volcano activity, glacier loads, and fluid extraction.
  • Geodetic measurement techniques
  • Numerical modeling approaches

Michael Ferris

ferris@cs.wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Jacques-Louis Lions Chair and Stephen C. Kleene Professor of Computer Sciences
College of Letters & Sciences

  • Development of modeling tools and software
  • Problem analysis routines, data manipulations, and solution visualization procedures
  • Theory and applications of optimization
     

Mark Finster

mark.finster@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Professor Emeritus
School of Business

  • Sustainable strategy, design, and improvement of complex systems in a wide variety of industries and sectors, including for profit, government, education, not-for-profit, large and small organizations

Cary Forest

cbforest@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Professor of Physics
College of Letters & Sciences

  • Liquid metal dynamos and MHD turbulence
  • MHD instabilities in line-tied plasmas and their stabilization by moving metal walls
  • Heat, current transport, and non-inductive currents in tokamaks and RFPs
  • Flow-dominated plasmas

Dave Foster

defoster@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Phil and Jean Myers Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Thermodynamics
  • Heat transfer
  • Fluid mechanics
  • Internal combustion engines
  • Combustion kinetics
  • Emission formation

Brian Fox

bgfox@biochem.wisc.edu

Affiliate

Chair, Department of Biochemistry, Marvin J. Johnson Professor in Fermentation Biochemistry
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

  • Biochemical, catalytic, and spectroscopic studies of redox active enzymes
  • Protein engineering
  • The structure and reactivity of carbohydrate active enzymes

Jennifer Franck

jafranck@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Affiliate Appointment in Nuclear Engineering and Engineering Physics & Civil and Environmental Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Computational fluid dynamics
  • Unsteady fluid mechanics
  • Turbulent flows
  • Wind and tidal energy
  • Aerodynamics
  • Flow control
  • Propulsion
  • Fluid-structure interaction

Dante Fratta

fratta@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Associate Professor of Geological Engineering, Civil & Environmental Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Fundamental physical behavior of soils and rocks
  • Assessment of the near-surface underground using non-invasive tomographic studies (geotomography)
  • On-shore and off-shore near surface geophysics
  • Evaluation of electrowetting phenomenon for surface tension changes in quaternary oil recovery
  • Instrumenting and monitoring wind turbine foundation responses under cyclic loading
  • Use of distributed fiber optic sensor arrays for imaging and characterizing low and high-temperature geothermal fields

Zachary Freedman

zfreedman@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Assistant Professor of Soil Microbiology
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

  • Microbial communities and their ecosystem functions
  • Microbiome
  • Plant-soil-microbial interactions
  • Quantitative, trait-based microbial ecology

Audrey Gasch

agasch@wisc.edu

Affiliate

Professor of Genetics
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

  • Elucidating the role, regulation, and evolution of eukaryotic stress responses
  • Computational systems and synthetic biology
  • Evolutionary and population genetics
  • Gene expression, genomics, and proteomics

Jaal Ghandhi

jaal.ghandhi@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

John Bollinger Chair of Mechanical Engineering & Grainger Professor of Sustainable Energy
College of Engineering

  • Combustion and fluid mechanics or internal combustion engines 
  • Laser-based diagnostics

Holly Gibbs

hkgibbs@wisc.edu

Affiliate

Associate Professor of Geography and Environmental Studies
Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies

  • Agricultural expansion in U.S., Brazil, and globally
  • Tropical deforestation
  • Conservation, agriculture, and energy policy
  • Impact evaluation
  • Environmental sustainability

Linda Graham

lkgraham@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Professor of Botany
College of Letters & Sciences

  • Algal/plant-microbe symbioses
  • Metagenomics & genomics
  • Wastewater remediation

Corbett Grainger

corbett.grainger@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Associate Professor of Agriculture & Applied Economics
College of Letters & Sciences

  • Environmental and natural resource economics
  • Distributional effects of environmental policies
  • Rights-based management
  • Air pollution
  • Economics of climate change
  • Electricity and economic development

Claudio Gratton

cgratton@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Professor of Entomology
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

  • Landscape ecology of arthropods
  • Sustainable management of bioenergy landscapes
  • Examining the ecological links between lakes and land

Dominic Gross

dominic.gross@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Control of microgrids and power systems dominated by power electronics
  • Grid-forming control of converter-interfaced renewable generation and energy storage devices
  • Grid-forming control of power converters subject to constraints
  • Distributed control and optimization of complex networked systems

Chirag Gupta

cgupta9@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Semiconductor devices (WBG and UWBG)
  • Group III-nitrides (GaN) and oxides (GaOx)
  • RF and power electronics: HEMTs and MOSFETs
  • Optoelectronics (LEDs, LASERs)
  • Lattice engineering
  • Quantum applications

Robert J. Hamers

rjhamers@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Wisconsin Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, Steenbock Professor of Physical Science
College of Letters & Sciences

  • Chemistry, photochemistry, electronic properties, and atomic-level structure of semiconductor surfaces and interfaces
  • Chemical transformations and environmental impact of nanomaterials
  • Development and implementation of novel analytical probes and characterization tools for in situ chemical analysis at surfaces and interfaces
  • Electrochemical energy storage

Chris Hegna

cchegna@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Harvey D. Spangler Professor of Nuclear Engineering & Engineering Physics
College of Engineering

  • Theoretical plasma physics
  • Fusion science
  • Magnetic confinement of plasmas
  • Magnetohydrodynamics

Ive Hermans

hermans@chem.wisc.edu

Investigator

John and Dorothy Vozza Professor of Chemistry
College of Engineering, College of Letters & Sciences

  • Synthesis of heterogeneous catalysts
  • Immobilization of homogeneous catalysts
  • Catalytic and kinetic studies
  • Unravelling of reaction mechanisms
  • (In situ) spectroscopy (Infrared, Raman, UV-Vis)
  • Reactions in supercritical fluids and expanded liquid phases
  • Use of renewable resources
  • Quantum-chemical and theoretical kinetic calculations
  • Reaction engineering
  • High-pressure reaction technology

Andrea Hicks

hicks5@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Assistant Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Sustainability
  • Environmental systems analysis and optimization
  • Life cycle assessment
  • Agent-based modeling
  • Rebound effect
  • Environmental implications of technology

Chris Todd Hittinger

cthittinger@wisc.edu

Investigator

Professor of Genetics for the J.F. Crow Institute for the Study of Evolution
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

  • Yeast genetics, biodiversity, and synthetic biology
  • Evolutionary genomics
  • Carbon metabolism
  • Brewing
  • Isobutanol
  • Fermentation

Tracey Holloway

taholloway@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Jeff Rudd and Jeanne Bissell Professor of Energy Analysis and Policy
Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies

  • Air quality research
  • Atmospheric dynamics
  • Climate change and public health
  • Regional air quality

Leah Horowitz

LHorowitz@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Associate professor of environmental studies and American Indian and Indigenous studies
College of Letters & Sciences, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies

  • Grassroots engagements with industrial expansion
  • Indigenous rights and ecosystem conservation
  • Just transitions away from fossil fuels

George Huber

gwhuber@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Professor of Chemical & Biological Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Renewable energy
  • Biofuels and biochemicals
  • Heterogeneous catalysis
  • Pyrolysis
  • Zeolites
  • Conceptual process design

Randy Jackson

rdjackson@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Campbell-Bascom Professor of Grassland Ecology
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

  • Structure and function of managed, semi-natural, and natural grassland ecosystems
  • Landscape-level nutrient exchange
  • Ecosystem-level carbon and nutrient cycling
  • Plant community responses to disturbances

Tom Jahns

jahns@engr.wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Grainger Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Power electronics
  • Microgrids
  • Electric machines and actuators
  • Adjustable-speed drives
  • Brushless motor drives and generators
  • Automotive and aerospace electric systems

Hongrui Jiang

hongrui@engr.wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering
College of Engineering

  • MicroElectroMechanical System
  • Microsensors and microactuators
  • BioMEMS and micro-optics
  • Microfluidics
  • Lab on chips
  • Biomimetics and bioinspiration

Song Jin

jin@chem.wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Professor of Chemistry
College of Letters & Sciences

  • Solar energy conversion 
  • Energy storage
  • Nanomaterials
  • Renewable Energy applications

Sarah Johnston

sarah.johnston@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Assistant Professor of Agriculture and Applied Economics
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

  • Industrial organization
  • Energy and environmental economics
  • Renewable energy subsidies

Shawn Kaeppler

smkaeppl@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Professor of Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

  • Seed development and composition
  • genetic and genomic analysis
  • Lignocellulosic biofuel
  • Abiotic stress tolerance
  • Epigenetics

Heidi Kaeppler

hfkaeppl@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Associate Professor of Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

  • Genetic engineering and gene-editing of crops for genomics/epigenomics research and genetic improvement
  • Enhancement of bioenergy-related traits

Steve Karlen

skarlen@wisc.edu

Investigator

Scientist
Wisconsin Energy Institute

  • Lignin biosynthesis, structure, chemistry, and reactions
  • Lignocellulosic bioprocessing
  • Development of synthetic methodology
  • Analytical instrumentation, including NMR, MS, HPLC, GC, XRD, and many other types
  • Exotic materials
  • Nano-technology

Mikhail Kats

mkats@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Associate Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Dugald. C. Jackson Faculty Scholar
College of Engineering

  • Optics and photonics
  • Nanoscience and nanotechnology
  • Optical materials
  • Thermal radiation
  • Metasurfaces
  • Thin-film optics
  • Device physics
  • Human vision

Jason Kawasaki

jkawasaki@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Harvey D. Spangler Assistant Professor of Materials Science & Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Heteroepitaxy of Heusler and intermetallic thin films
  • Thermoelectrics
  • Topological insulators
  • Engineering electronic and magnetic properties via strain and quantum confinement
  • Molecular beam epitaxy
  • Scanning tunneling microscopy
  • Photoemission spectroscopy

Eric Kazyak

kazyak@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Wisconsin Energy Institute

  • Beyond Lithium Batteries
  • Advanced Characterization and Imaging of Batteries
  • Electrolysis and Catalysis
  • Solid-state Batteries
  • Metal Electrodes
  • Interfacial Coatings
  • Battery Safety and Abuse

Paul Kelleher

paul.kelleher@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Associate Professor of Medical History and Bioethics, Philosophy
School of Medicine & Public Health

  • Ethical and philosophical aspects of climate change policy
  • Ethics and economics of pricing carbon dioxide emissions
  • Health and environmental policy

Tricia Kiley

pjkiley@wisc.edu

Affiliate

Professor and Department Chair of Biomolecular Chemistry
School of Medicine & Public Health

  • Biomolecular folding and interactions
  • Gene expression
  • Metals in biology
  • E. coli

Hoon Kim

hoonkim@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Research Chemist at USDA Forest Products Laboratory

  • Lignin/plant cell wall chemistry
  • Lignin models/natural compounds synthesis
  • Artificial lignin (dehydrogenation polymer or DHP) synthesis
  • Plant cell wall structural analysis
  • Solution-state 2D NMR
  • Plant cell wall polymerization and lignification

Younghyun Kim

younghyun.kim@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Assistant Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Secure and reliable CPS
  • Powering the loT
  • Lower-power embedded systems
  • Energy harvesting and storage

Dan Klingenberg

dan.klingenberg@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Colloid science
  • Suspension rheology
  • Electromagnetic phenomena in materials
  • multiphase flow
  • Experimental rheology of fiber suspensions
  • Simulation of Brownian electro- and magnetorheological suspensions
  • Simulation of fiber suspensions

Sage Kokjohn

kokjohn@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering
College of Engineering

  • High efficiency energy conversion
  • Thermodynamics and fluid mechanics
  • Turbulent combustion modelling

Siddarth Krishna

krishna3@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Assistant Professor of Chemical & Biological Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Renewable fuels and chemicals
  • Metabolic engineering/synthetic biology
  • Sustainable catalytic technologies
  • Kinetics and mechanisms

Ananth Krishnamurthy

ananth.krishnamurthy@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Professor of Industrial & Systems Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Production inventory systems
  • Assembly operations
  • Product variety and customization
  • Warehouse systems
  • Quick response manufacturing

Chris Kucharik

kucharik@wisc.edu

Investigator

Professor of Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies

  • Sustainable Biofuels
  • Agroecosystem modeling
  • Sustainable agriculture
  • Terrestrial carbon sequestration
  • Urban heat islands

Gerald Kulcinski

glkulcin@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Grainger Professor of Nuclear Engineering-Emeritus; Director Emeritus, Fusion Technology Institute
College of Engineering

  • Magnetic/inertial fusion reactor systems studies
  • Radiation damage and nuclear materials
  • Near term applications of fusion energy
  • Lunar mining of helium-3
     

James LaGro

jalagro@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Professor of Planning & Landscape Architecture
College of Letters & Sciences

  • Sustainable cities
  • Water resources
  • Infrastructure siting
  • Land use and landscape ecology
  • Green infrastructure

Robert Landick

landick@bact.wisc.edu

Investigator

Dr. Laurens Anderson Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry, Faculty Affiliate for Bacteriology
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

  • Regulation of transcript elongation in bacteria and humans
  • Genetic analysis of RNA polymerase
  • RNA polymerase structure and function
  • Regulation of Bacterial RNAP
  • Transcriptional Regulation in vivo

Tyler Lark

lark@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Scientist
Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies

Rebecca Larson

rebecca.larson@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Associate Professor of Environmental Studies
Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies

  • Biological waste
  • Manure management
  • Handling and treatment of agricultural and food processing waste
  • Land application of various waste streams
  • Waste-to-energy technologies

Robert Lasseter

rhlasseter@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Professor Emeritus of Electrical & Computer Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Distributed resources
  • Restructuring of electrical power system
  • Application of power electronics to utility systems
  • Simulation methods
  • Power electronic circuits and control
  • HVDC, SVC, FACTS and custom power applications

Bernard Lesieutre

lesieutre@engr.wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering & Associate Chair of Undergraduate Studies
College of Engineering

  • grid security
  • grid reliability

Benjamin Lindley

lindley2@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Assistant Professor of Nuclear Engineering & Engineering Physics
College of Engineering

  • Design and analysis of advanced nuclear reactors
  • Design and analysis of nuclear-renewable hybrid energy systems
  • Development of net-zero emissions energy systems

Richard Lindroth

richard.lindroth@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Vilas Distinguished Achievement and Douglas D. Sorenson Professor of Entomology
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

  • Genetic and environmental factors influencing poplar production
  • Plant chemistry
  • Sustainable forestry

Fang Liu

fang.liu3@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Assistant Professor in Materials Science and Engineering
College of Engineering

• Energy storage technology
• Batteries for transportation and power grid
• High-throughput experimentation
• Ion intercalation and separation
• CO2 capture and conversion

Steven Loheide

loheide@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Hydroecology/ ecohydrology
  • Hydrogeology
  • River restoration
  • Food-water-energy nexus
  • Remote sensing
  • Hydrologic consequences of climate change
  • Vegetative water use / vegetation patterning
  • Sustainable land-use practices
  • Stream-aquifer interactions
  • Ecosystem function / services
  • Human interaction with aquatic ecosystems

Whitney Loo

wloo@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Assistant Professor of Chemical & Biological Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Energy Storage Technology
  • Batteries
  • Polymer Electrolytes
  • Fuel Cell Membranes
  • Membrane-Based Separations

Dan Ludois

ludois@wisc.edu

Investigator

Jean van Bladel Associate Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Power electronics
  • Electric machines
  • Wireless power transfer
  • Sustainable engineering technologies and practices

Jim Luedtke

jrluedt1@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Harvey D. Spangler Faculty Scholar of Industrial and Systems Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Stochastic optimization, especially optimization with risk constraints
  • Mixed integer optimization, linear and nonlinear
  • Applications of optimization

Zhenqiang Ma

mazq@engr.wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Lynn H. Matthias Professor & Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering
College of Engineering

  • High-speed RF devices and circuits, optoelectronic devices and nanophotonics
  • Semiconductor materials processing and heterogeneous integration
  • Flexible electronics, flexible optoelectronics and flexible photonics
  • Energy conversion semiconductor devices
  • Bioelectronics and biomimetics
  • Semiconductor device physics
  • Power electronics

Erica L-W Majumder

emajumder@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Assistant Professor of Bacteriology
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

  • Anaerobic metabolism
  • Electron transfer
  • Microbe-metal interactions
  • Waste stream bioconversion to inorganic or polymer products
  • Microbe-plastic interactions
  • Contaminant biodegradation
  • Metabolomics
  • Activity of microbial chemistries

John Markley

markley@biochem.wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Steenbock Professor of Biomolecular Structure & Biochemistry
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

  • Metabolomics
  • Macromolecular structure
  • Redox active proteins

Luca Mastropasqua

luca.mastropasqua@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Energy storage technology
  • Fuel cells
  • Hydrogen production
  • Decarbonization of heavy industries
  • Electrochemically-derived fuels and products

Manos Mavrikakis

emavrikakis@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Paul A. Elfers Professor, James A. Dumesic Professor, & Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor of Chemical & Biological Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Thermodynamics
  • Kinetics and catalysis
  • Surface science
  • Computational chemistry
  • Electronic materials
  • Fuel cells applications
  • Environmental chemical engineering

Luke Mawst

ljmawst@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Semiconductor lasers
  • Metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) growth of semiconductors
  • III/V compound semiconductor materials and devices

Katherine (Trina) McMahon

trina.mcmahon@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Vilas Distinguished Achievement Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Water quality
  • Freshwater sciences
  • Wastewater treatment
  • Microbiology
  • Nutrient removal
  • Water quality modeling
  • Limnology

Franklin Miller

fkmiller@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Cryogenics
  • Thermodynamics of Superfluid 3He-4He mixtures
  • Sub-Kelvin cooling for space science
  • Energy systems

Dane Morgan

ddmorgan@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Harvey D. Spangler Professor of Materials Science & Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Computational materials science for materials design
  • Ab initio electronic structure methods and multiscale techniques for large time/length scales and thermokinetics
  • Ab initio based modeling of electrochemical systems and processes
  • Nuclear materials
  • Battery and fuel cell electrodes
  • Earth mantle materials
  • Electronic materials

Gregory Moses

gregory.moses@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Spangler Professor Emeritus of Nuclear Engineering & Engineering Physics
College of Engineering

  • Nuclear reactor physics
  • Computational engr.
  • Radiation hydrodynamics
  • Technology enhanced learning
  • Fusion reactor design

Kevin Myers

kmyers2@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Assistant Scientist
Wisconsin Energy Institute

  • RNA-seq, ChIP-seq, Tn-seq, TSS-seq data
  • Metagenomic and metatranscriptomic data
  • Bioinformatics
  • Development of computational pipelines and tools

Greg Nellis

gfnellis@engr.wisc.edu

Energy Expert

William A. and Irene Ouweneel-Bascom Professor of Mechanical Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Thermodynamics
  • Heat Transfer
  • Heat Exchangers
  • Refrigeration and Power Cycles

John Nelson

jsnelson4@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Adjunct Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Production, conversion, and consumption of energy and fuels
  • Lean facility delivery
  • Sustainable system analysis & deployment
  • Organizational value clarity

Gregory Nemet

nemet@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Professor of Public Affairs
La Follette School of Public Affairs

  • Energy, climate, and science & technology policy
  • Innovation
  • Low-carbon energy systems
  • Negative emissions
  • Research & development
  • Learning by doing

Todd Newman

tpnewman@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Assistant Professor of Life Sciences Communication
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

  • strategic science communication
  • science communication training, marketing, and branding
  • Public opinion and media coverage of climate and energy issues

Dan Noguera

noguera@engr.wisc.edu

Investigator

Wisconsin Distinguished Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Environmental engineering
  • Bioenergy
  • Biotechnology
  • Microbial ecology
  • Biological nutrient removal
  • Bioinformatics
  • Biodegradation pathways
  • Anaerobic digestion

Fnu Nuoendagula

nuoendagula@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Assistant Scientist
Wisconsin Energy Institute

  • Lignin/ Plant cell wall biosynthesis
  • Development of synthetic methods for biofuels and bioproducts
  • Lignocellulosics bioprocessing

Marisa Otegui

otegui@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Professor of Botany and Genetics
College of Letters & Sciences

  • Cell biology
  • Intracellular membrane traffic
  • Cytokinesis
  • Endosperm development

Mutlu Özdogan

ozdogan@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Associate Professor of Forest & Wildlife Ecology
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences, Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies

  • Remote sensing
  • Land-use and land-cover change
  • Hydrology
  • Climate change

Darcy Padilla

darcy.padilla@wisc.edu

Affiliate

Associate Professor of Art
School of Education

Xuejun Pan

xpan@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Professor of Biological Systems Engineering
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

  • Biomass pretreatment for bioconversion
  • Lignocellulose saccharification to fermentable sugars
  • Conversion of lignocellulose to chemicals and liquid fuels
  • Production of value-added products from cellulose, lignin, and hemicellulose
  • Plant cell wall changes during biorefining

Wenxiao Pan

wpan9@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Multiscale modeling
  • Numerical methods
  • Scientific computing
  • High performance computing
  • Fluid-solid interactions
  • Complex fluids
  • Multiphase flows
  • Soft matter
  • Energy storage materials
  • Manufacturing

Sara Patterson

spatters@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Professor Emerita of Horticulture
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

  • Developmental and genetic characterization of the abscission process and senescence in plants
  • Role and value of school and community gardens

Jonathan Patz

patz@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Director, Global Health Institute
Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies

  • Health effects of climate change
  • Global health

Jason Peters

jason.peters@wisc.edu

Affiliate

Assistant Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences
School of Pharmacy

  • CRISPR technology in bacteria
  • CRISPR interference (CRISPRi)

Brian Pfleger

brian.pfleger@wisc.edu

Affiliate

Karen and William Monfre Professor of Chemical & Biological Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Metabolic engineering
  • Biotechnology
  • Synthetic biology
  • Natural products
  • Protein engineering
  • Cyanobacteria
  • Sustainability

John Pfotenhauer

pfot@engr.wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Professor of Mechanical Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Low temperature refrigeration
  • Cryogenics
  • Applied superconductivity

R. William Provencher

bill.provencher@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Professor of Agricultural & Applied Economics
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

  • Environmental and resource economics
  • Demand-side management of energy
  • Valuation of ecosystem services
  • Socio-ecological interactions
  • Dynamic allocation of resources

John Ralph

jralph@wisc.edu

Investigator

Professor of Biochemistry, Faculty Affiliate for Biological Systems Engineering
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

  • Lignin biosynthesis, structure, chemistry, and reactions
  • Lignocellulosics bioprocessing
  • Development of synthetic methods for biosynthetic products
  • Solution-state NMR

Vatsan Raman

sraman4@wisc.edu

Affiliate

Professor of Biochemistry, Bacteriology, and Chemical and Biological Engineering
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

  • Systems and synthetic biology
  • Computational protein design combined with high-throughput phenotyping
  • Allosteric transcription factor design
  • Directed evolution of microbial biosynthetic pathways

Douglas Reindl

dreindl@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Professor of Mechanical Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Industrial refrigeration systems and technology
  • Refrigeration optimization and process improvement
  • Building energy systems
  • Thermal energy storage systems
  • Renewable energy systems

Doug Reinemann

doug.reinemann@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Professor of Biological Systems Engineering
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

  • Renewable energy technology and policy
  • Sustainable development of bioenergy systems
  • Rural energy issues
  • Effects of the electrical environment on farm animals

Rolf Reitz

reitz@engr.wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Combustion, gas dynamics
  • Spray motion and formation
  • Hydrocarbon kinetics
  • Engine fluid dynamics
  • Computer modeling

Christy Remucal

remucal@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Associate Professor of Civil & Environmental Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Formation of reactive oxygen species in water
  • Polar organic contaminants in natural and engineered aquatic systems
  • Molecular composition and reactivity of dissolved organic matter

Line Roald

roald@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Associate Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Modeling, optimization and control of energy systems
  • Integration of renewable energy and resilience to uncertain events
  • Stochastic optimization

Joel Rogers

jrogers@cows.org

Energy Expert

Sewell-Bascom Professor of Law, Political Science, Public Affairs, and Sociology
University of Wisconsin Law School

  • Public policy
  • Administrative law
  • Cities and development

Philip Romero

promero2@wisc.edu

Affiliate

Assistant Professor of Biochemistry
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

  • Protein engineering
  • Computational modeling and machine learning
  • Automated and high-throughput technologies

Thatcher Root

twroot@wisc.edu

Affiliate

Professor of Chemical & Biological Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Surface chemistry
  • Catalysis
  • Diffusion in porous media
  • Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy
  • Mediated fuel cells
  • Selective oxidation catalysts

David Rothamer

rothamer@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Laser based diagnostics
  • Internal combustion engines
  • Soot formation
  • Influence of fuel properties on combustion

Troy Runge

trunge@wisc.edu

Investigator

Patrick Walsh and Noreen Warren Endowed Professor and Chair, Biological Systems Engineering
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

  • Bioenergy: biomass composition impact on bioprocessing systems, including anaerobic digestion, combustion, gasification, and catalysis
  • Biomaterials: pulp, paper, bio-based chemicals, cellulose composites and nonwoven structures

Chris Rutland

rutland@engr.wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Phil and Jean Myers Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Emeritus
College of Engineering

  • Computational fluid dynamics
  • Turbulence, combustion, and spray modeling for internal combustion (IC) engines
  • Turbulent reacting flows
  • Large eddy simulation
  • IC engine aftertreatment modeling

Lori Sakk

sakk@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Director, Wisconsin Public Utility Institute

Gregg Sanford

gsanford@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Associate Scientist, Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

  • Sustainable intensification in agriculture
  • Ecosystem services
  • Perennial systems
  • Organic and conventional cropping systems

Bulent Sarlioglu

sarlioglu@wisc.edu

Investigator

Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Electric machines, drives, motors, and new topologies
  • Electrification of vehicles
  • Power electronics using wide band-gap devices
  • Electric actuation systems
  • Automotive, aerospace, naval and renewable energy applications
  • Complex and interdisciplinary power system architecture

Trey Sato

tksato@glbrc.wisc.edu

Investigator

Senior Scientist
Wisconsin Energy Institute

  • Metabolic engineering of yeast for biofuel synthesis from plant feedstocks
  • Stress tolerance in microbes

Dietram A. Scheufele

scheufele@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Taylor-Bascom Chair & Director of Undergraduate Studies, Life Sciences Communication
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

  • Social media
  • Media
  • Public opinion
  • Science communication
  • Science policy

Jordan R. Schmidt

schmidt@chem.wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Professor of Chemistry
College of Letters & Sciences

  • Next Generation Ab Initio Force Field Development
  • Microkinetic Modeling
  • Metal Organic Framework Nucleation and Crystallization
  • Nano-porous materials for flue gas separation

Marcel Schreier

mschreier2@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Richard H. Soit Assistant Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Electrified interfaces
  • Electrochemical energy storage
  • Electrocatalysis
  • Interfacial charge transfer

Canan Sener

csener@wisc.edu

Investigator

Scientist
Wisconsin Energy Institute

  • Kinetics and catalysis 
  • Design and controlled synthesis of heterogeneous catalysts 
  • Process and reaction engineering 
  • Catalyst development for selective chemical transformation 

Rebecca Smith

rasmith29@wisc.edu

Investigator

Assistant Professor of Plant and Agroecosystem Sciences
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences, Wisconsin Energy Institute

  • Lignin biosynthesis, structure, chemistry, and reactions
  • Lignocellulosics bioprocessing
  • Development of synthetic methods for biosynthetic products

Carl Sovinec

csovinec@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Associate Chair for Graduate Studies in the Department of Nuclear Engineering & Engineering Physics
College of Engineering

  • Computational plasma physics
  • Magnetohydrodynamics
  • Numerical methods for partial differential equations

Kumar Sridharan

kumar@engr.wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Grainger Professor of Nuclear Engineering & Engineering Physics
College of Engineering

  • Nuclear reactor materials research and development
  • Emerging and commercial surface engineering technologies
  • Conventional and advanced materials characterization and analysis techniques
  • Materials applications, challenges, and solutions for a broad spectrum of industrial applications

Shannon Stahl

stahl@chem.wisc.edu

Investigator

Professor of Chemistry, Steenbock Professor of Chemical Sciences
College of Letters & Sciences

  • Catalysis (homogeneous, heterogeneous, and electrochemical)
  • Fuel cells and flow batteries
  • Hydrocarbon and biomass conversion and upgrading
  • Selective oxidation
  • Electrochemical energy storage and conversion
  • Green chemistry

Andrea Strzelec

strzelec@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Program Director, Masters of Engineering in Engine Systems, Polymer Engineering, and Power Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Heterogeneous reaction kinetics and characterization
  • Automotive emissions aftertreatment
  • Low temperature catalysis
  • Particulate filtration
  • Pyrolysis
  • Remediation of hydrocarbon contamination

Garret Suen

gsuen@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Associate Professor of Bacteriology
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

  • Herbivore-associated Microbial Ecology
  • Rumen Microbiology
  • Metagenomics
  • Biofuels

Izabela Szlufarska

szlufarska@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Harvey D. Spangler Professor of Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Computational materials science
  • Mechanical behavior at the nanoscale
  • Defect behavior in semiconductors and insulators under irradiation
  • Solid/liquid interfaces
  • Nucleation and kinetics of medium range order in bulk metallic glasses

Steph Tai

tai2@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Professor of Law
University of Wisconsin Law School

  • Judicial decision-making about environmental and energy regulation
  • Development of private systems for environmental governance

Eric Tervo

tervo@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Assistant Professor of Electrical & Computer Engineering and of Mechanical Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Semiconductor materials
  • Thermal energy conversion
  • Heat transfer in nanoengineered materials

Michael G. Thomas

michael.thomas@wisc.edu

Affiliate

Professor of Bacteriology, Alfred Toepfer Faculty Fellow
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

  • Antibiotic discovery and development
  • Metabolic engineering

James Tinjum

jmtinjum@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Environmental geotechnics including waste containment systems
  • Energy geotechnics including heat transfer in geothermal systems and buried power cables
  • Thermal and transportation geotechnics
  • Characterization of geosynthetic materials
  • Containment, stabilization, and remediation of contaminated waste
  • Beneficial reuse of industrial byproducts
  • Siting and environmental constraints with offshore wind

Mario F. Trujillo

mtrujillo@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Liquid sprays in a crossflow
  • Liquid breakup and particle advection dynamics
  • Multiple droplet impingement heat transfer
  • Two-phase flow heat transfer numerics
  • Computational characterization of plunging of liquid jets on a quiescent pool
  • Interface capturing methods 

Victor Ujor

ujor@wisc.edu

Affiliate

Assistant Professor of Food Science
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

  • Renewable fuels and chemicals
  • Metabolic engineering/synthetic biology
  • Bio-based waste-to-energy technologies
  • Bioprocess design

Reid Van Lehn

vanlehn@wisc.edu

Affiliate

Hunt-Hougen Associate Professor
College of Engineering

  • Molecular simulation
  • Machine learning
  • Solvent effects
  • Nano-bio interactions
  • Engineering nanomaterials and soft materials
  • Multiscale modeling

Giri Venkataramanan

giri@engr.wisc.edu

Investigator

Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Applications of power electronics in building lighting, climate conditioning, industrial motor control, electric generation, transmission and distribution and transportation systems
  • Renewable power generation systems such as wind power, solar power and geothermal power
  • Operation and control of microgrids and smart grids in distributed generation, energy storage, combined heat and power, electric, hybrid electric and plug-in hybrid electric vehicle

Ophelia Venturelli

venturelli@wisc.edu

Affiliate

Assistant Professor of Biochemistry, Bacteriology, and Chemical and Biological Engineering
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

  • Microbe-microbe interactions
  • Microbial engineering
  • Microbial metabolism

Daniel J. Vimont

dvimont@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Professor of Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences
College of Letters & Sciences

  • Climate science
  • Climate variations
  • Climate change impacts in Wisconsin

Michael J. Wagner

mike.wagner@wisc.edu

Investigator

Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Coupled energy systems modeling and simulation
  • Renewable electricity generation technology performance characterization and software tool development
  • Energy storage dispatch optimization 
  • High-temperature power generation technology design
  • Concentrating optics

Bu Wang

bu.wang@wisc.edu

Affiliate

Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Direct air capture and utiliization of CO2 using industrial alkaline wastes
  • Making cement green by low-temperature manufacturing of calcium hydroxide
  • Utilizing CO2 and industrial waste to produce precipitated calcium carbonate
  • Fundamental behaviors of glassy materials

Xudong Wang

xudong@engr.wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Professor of Materials Science and Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Oxide nanomaterials growth and characterization
  • Piezoelectric nanostructures and nanodevices for mechanical energy harvesting
  • Semiconductor nanomaterials and devices for solar energy harvesting and energy storage
  • Nanoscale piezoelectric effect and piezotronics
  • Piezocatalysis and interface between piezoelectricity and electrochemistry

David L. Weimer

weimer@lafollette.wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Edwin E. Witte Professor of Political Economy, Political Science, and Public Affairs
College of Letters & Sciences

  • Energy Policy
  • Strategic Petroleum Reserves
  • Cost-Benefit Analysis

Thea Whitman

twhitman@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Associate Professor of Soil Science
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

  • Soil biogeochemistry
  • Microbial ecology
  • Global environmental change
  • Soil organic carbon
  • Climate change

Scott Williams

spwilliams@wisc.edu

Investigator

Research and Education Coordinator
Wisconsin Energy Institute

  • Collegiate energy education
  • Energy career opportunities
  • Energy policy and regulation
  • Wind energy training

Paul P.H. Wilson

paul.wilson@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Grainger Professor of Nuclear Engineering and Chair of Nuclear Engineering & Engineering Physics
College of Engineering

  • Monte Carlo methods
  • Nuclear fuel cycles
  • Energy policy
  • Proliferation analysis
  • Transmutation/depletion/activation

Elizabeth Wright

erwright2@wisc.edu

Affiliate

Henry Lardy Professor of Biochemistry and Morgridge Institute for Research
College of Letters & Sciences

  • Cryo-EM
  • Development of antimicrobials, therapeutics, and vaccines
  • Advanced light and electron microscopy imaging

Daniel Wright

danielb.wright@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Assistant Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Satellite and ground-based rainfall remote sensing
  • Rainfall and flood processes at urban and regional scales
  • Computationally-intensive simulation for probabilistic natural hazards risk assessment
  • Statistical and stochastic hydrology
  • Modernization of stormwater and flood management theory and practice
  • Climate, weather, land use, and other impacts on floods and other hydrologic phenomena

John C. Wright

wright@chem.wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Andreas C. Albrecht Professor of Chemistry
College of Letters & Sciences

  • Analysis of nanomaterials using imaging and photoluminescence
  • Analysis of ultrafast quantum dot dynamics
  • Femtosecond and picosecond laser systems
  • Spectroelectrochemistry
  • Spectroscopy of biologically relevant metal centers

Yiying Xiong

yiying.xiong@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

GLBRC Associate Director
Wisconsin Energy Institute

  • Hydropower Engineering
  • Biofuel
  • Climate Change
  • Food-Energy-Water Nexus
  • Dam Safety
  • Dam Removal
  • Fish Passage

Yiying Xiong

yiying.xiong@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

GLBRC Associate Director
Wisconsin Energy Institute

  • Hydropower Engineering
  • Biofuel
  • Climate Change
  • Food-Energy-Water Nexus
  • Dam Safety
  • Dam Removal
  • Fish Passage

Christopher Zahasky

czahasky@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Assistant Professor of Geoscience
College of Letters & Sciences

  • Contaminant hydrogeology - the study of how fluids and contaminants enter and travel through the subsurface
  • Carbon capture and storage - a technology for mitigating emissions from fossil fuel power plants and large industrial point sources
  • Conventional and unconventional energy resources - hydraulic fracturing processes for extracting shale gas and oil, geothermal energy production, and nuclear waste storage

Martin Zanni

zanni@chem.wisc.edu

Energy Expert

V. W. Meloche-Bascom Professor of Chemistry
College of Letters & Sciences

  • Two-dimensional infrared (2D-IR) spectroscopy
  • Two-dimensional white-light (2D-WL) spectroscopy and microscopy
  • Two-dimensional sum-frequency generation (2D-SFG) spectroscopy
  • Amyloid formation
  • Ion channels and membrane proteins
  • Energy transfer of solar cell materials
  • Aggregation of crystallin proteins
  • Wide-field femtosecond infrared imaging

Victor M. Zavala

victor.zavala@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Baldovin-DaPra Professor of Chemical & Biological Engineering
College of Engineering

  • Computational optimization and statistics
  • High-performance computing
  • Energy systems
  • Agricultural systems
  • Materials

Zhou Zhang

zzhang347@wisc.edu

Energy Expert

Assistant Professor of Biological Systems Engineering
College of Agricultural & Life Sciences

  • ​Crop growth monitoring and yield prediction
  • High-throughput image based plant phenotyping
  • Hyperspectral/multispectral imagery, RGB imagery and LiDAR
  • Machine learning for high dimensional data analysis
  • Multi-source remote sensing data fusion
  • Sustainable agriculture
  • UAV-based imaging platform developments for precision agriculture