When we think of what energy research looks like, we might imagine scientists debating measurements on the physical nature of energy systems, or engineers in a lab designing a new kind of solar panel.

For James Steele, moving from the small fermenters where microbes make cheese, wine and beer to the multimillion-gallon tanks where corn is converted to ethanol was a natural progression.

This year’s Wisconsin Energy and Sustainability Challenge (WESC) proved that University of Wisconsin–Madison students promise to be at the forefront of sustainable innovations for years to come.

Sporting a broad smile and stepping lively, Bruce Beihoff seems far from his demise ­– and yet he’s already planning his epitaph. “Once I’m in the ground,” says Beihoff, “just make sure the rock reads ‘He fought the good fight!’”

Electric vehicles (EV) and other next generation transportation technologies have an important role to play in transitioning the U.S. to a clean energy economy.

University of Wisconsin–Madison chemical engineers have developed a new way to create inexpensive chemical sensors for detecting explosives, industrial pollutants or even the chemical markers of disease in a patient’s breath.

In the childhood home of Emily Blase, when the toaster refused to toast or the blender refused to blend, a shiny new replacement did not suddenly appear on the kitchen counter. Instead, Emily’s dad would round up her and her brother, grab a toolbox, and everyone got to work.