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

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

Assistant 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

Scientist
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