Industry and Environment

Schools and Colleges

The College of Engineering, home to a number of departments operating at the interface between engineering and the biosciences, including the Biomedical Engineering Center, an interdepartmental research center that combines the talents of researchers in engineering and medical disciplines working for the advancement and enhancement of health care.

The Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies focuses on understanding the relationships between people and the planet, and on seeking solutions to environmental problems at all scales.

The College of Agricultural and Life Sciences, with a distinguished history of research and advances in the biosciences, including leading researchers in biochemistry, genetics, and food and animal sciences.

The College of Letters and Science, the largest academic unit on campus, made up of five professional schools and 39 departments, including the natural and biological sciences and computer sciences.

Research Centers and Facilities

Biotron
2115 Observatory Drive
Biotron is a controlled environment facility for biological research.

Molecular and Environmental Toxicology Center
777 Highland Ave., Suite 2233, Rennebohm Hall
The center promotes research that addresses fundamental mechanisms through which toxicants produce adverse effects; provides ways to assess or predict the impact of these agents on humans and other species; and develops biological and physicochemical processes that can control releases or deplete the environment of these harmful agents.

Biomedical Engineering Center for Translational Research
1550 Engineering Drive
Research topics include bioinstrumentation, biomaterials, bioMEMS and micro fabrication, biomedical imaging (e.g. magnetic resonance, optical, molecular, radiological), biometrics, cardiovascular mechanics, cellular engineering, orthopedic biomechanics, ergonomics, rehabilitation and disabilities, neural engineering and tissue engineering. This fall, the Biomedical Engineering Center won a $580,000 per year Wallace H. Coulter Award to further “translational research,” the development of practical solutions to address particular clinical problems or unmet clinical needs.

The Synchrotron Radiation Center
3731 Schneider Drive, Stoughton, WI
This National Science Foundation-funded national research laboratory uses an electron storage ring (nicknamed Aladdin) to produce the light that is used to conduct a diverse range of experiments.

Materials Research Science and Engineering Center
Room 4631, 1415 Engineering Drive
Established by the National Science Foundation to carry out research in the formation, characterization and exploitation of materials at the nanoscale (the scale of individual atoms). The research extends the center’s work to investigations at the crossroads of advanced inorganic materials, polymers and biological systems, which are areas of rapidly increasing technological significance. NSF recently awarded this center a six-year, $14.8 million grant to continue its leading-edge research on the interfaces of materials at the nanoscale.

Nanoscale Science and Engineering Center
1415 Engineering Drive
The center was established by the National Science Foundation to address the self-assembly of complex materials and building blocks at the nanoscale with an exquisite level of detail. The center assembles a diverse group comprised of established, world-renowned senior faculty and promising junior faculty from more than 10 fields. The research program is organized into four interdisciplinary areas that explore the concept of self-assembly at the nanoscale from four different angles.

Plant Biology and Plant Sciences
When it comes to research in plant biology and plant sciences, few schools can match the capabilities and diversity of UW-Madison. The university is home to more than 14 departments and programs,a as wellas more than 140 faculty dedicated to research on plants.

Polymer Engineering Center
1513 University Ave.
Polymer engineering activities at UW-Madison date back to 1946. Currently, the group has 10 faculty members with a wide variety of expertise and research interests, ranging from traditional plastics and polymeric/metal composites to biobased polymers, composites and smart materials; from conventional to emerging and innovative processes; from geometric modeling and prototyping to process control and automation; from nanofilm and nanocomposites to microcellular plastics; and from advanced modeling and simulation to Internet and Web- based tools for design and manufacturing.

Rheology Research Center
1513 University Ave.
Rheology, the study of the flow and deformation of matter, is an old discipline undergoing a renaissance. In its widest sense, it includes classical fluid mechanics and elasticity that treat the flow of Newtonian liquids, such as water, and small deformations of hard solids, such as wood and steel. In practice, the word “rheology” normally refers to the flow and deformation of “nonclassical” materials such as rubber, molten plastics, polymer solutions, slurries and pastes, electrorheological fluids, blood, muscle, composites, soils and paints. These materials can exhibit varied and striking rheological properties that classical fluid mechanics and elasticity cannot describe. The current value of all open rheological research projects exceeds $4 million. These funds support 35 graduate and postdoctoral students and their rheology research projects.

UW Biotechnology Center
425 Henry Mall
The Biotechnology Center is Wisconsin’s catalyst to advance biotechnology research, education and industry for the benefit of society and the environment. It provides a variety of services to university scientists, ranging from DNA sequencing to peptide synthesis.

Genome Center of Wisconsin
425 Henry Mall
The research center exists within the Biotechnology Center. The Genome Center’s 30 faculty members represent more than 17 departments and six schools within UW-Madison. The center fosters integrative and highly collaborative research that bridges multiple diverse disciplines.

Biology New Media Center
425 Henry Mall
The center provides resources to assist the entire campus community in integrating multimedia technology into teaching and research.

Unique Educational Opportunities

Master of Science in Biotechnology Program
510 Charmany Drive, Suite 171
Drawing on the resources of a world-class university, the master of science in biotechnology is intended for practicing scientists, technical professionals, attorneys and business strategists seeking a cross-functional understanding of biotechnology without having to interrupt their careers to pursue studies full time.

Strategic Management in the Life and Engineering Sciences MBA program
School of Business, 2296 Grainger Hall, 975 University Ave.
This program produces the founders, leaders and advisers of organizations seeking to bring new technologies to market in ways that improve the quality of life for the world's peoples. The program’s aim is to solidify UW-Madison’s global leadership role in fusing leading-edge science, strategy and policy-making. Under the program’s umbrella, students specialize in agribusiness, engineering or science.

Tech-transfer Resources

Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation
614 Walnut St., 13th Floor
Since its founding in 1925, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) has served the UW- Madison scientific community by patenting the discoveries of UW-Madison researchers and licensing these technologies to leading companies in Wisconsin, the United States and worldwide. In this way, WARF also facilitates the use of UW-Madison research for the maximum benefit of society. WARF distributes the income from commercial licenses to the UW-Madison, the inventors and their departments. Each year, WARF contributes more than $45 million to fund additional UW-Madison research. In 2005, WARF was the recipient of the National Medal of Technology, which is the nation’s highest award for technological achievement.

New Business Startup Initiative
Office of Corporate Relations, 455 Science Drive, Suite 230
In collaboration with other entrepreneurial services on campus, this program provides multidimensional support for faculty, staff and students who want to start companies based on their work at UW-Madison.

Fluno Center for Executive Education
601 University Ave.
The Fluno Center connects the university’s vast resources to the professional community. Every year, thousands of professionals from industry, government and nonprofit organizations participate in continuing education programs taught by the university’s faculty.

Small Business Development Center
975 University Ave.
Partially funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration, the UW-Madison Small Business Development Center is a leader in offering seminars and other programs specially designed for researchers interested in taking their ideas to market. Through its Technology Business Development Institute, the center offers seminars and counseling for those interested in starting a technology business.

Initiative for Studies in Technology Entrepreneurship
School of Business, 2020J Grainger Hall, 975 University Ave.
The initiative facilitates, creates and transmits fundamental research related to technology entrepreneurship. It includes new-venture creation, new-venture financing, strategic management of technology, legal and regulatory influences on innovation and venture creation, and related policy issues.

University Research Park
510 Charmany Drive, Suite 250
University Research Park’s mission is to encourage partnerships between businesses and university researchers. Located three miles west of UW-Madison, the park is the home of 110 companies employing more than 5,300 people.

New research facilities under development at UW-Madison

Microbial Sciences Building
UW-Madison’s three core microbiology departments — bacteriology, food microbiology and toxicology, and medical microbiology and immunology — have joined to create an international center of excellence in the microbial sciences. The Microbial Sciences Building, a 330,000-square-foot, $120.5 million complex now under construction, will house the three departments.

Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery
The institutes will occupy the 1200 and 1300 blocks of University Avenue, serving as massive interdisciplinary research center that combines biology, bioinformatics, computer science, engineering, nanotechnology and other fields in one setting.

Articles and Reports

The Biotech Express
How an innovative, interdisciplinary program at UW-Madison is preparing people for success in the still-evolving new world of the biotech industry.

Bioscience Boulevard
From the Fluno Center in the east to the Biotechnology Center in the central campus to the Clinical Sciences Center in the west, it really is all here.

From Molecules to Manufacturing
Profiles of UW-Madison expertise in the biosciences and the business of transferring the results of research into the marketplace by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF).

UW-Madison, WARF rank third in 2004 license income
Driven by the discovery of promising new drugs, agricultural products and biotechnologies, UW-Madison and its technology transfer arm, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation, generated more than $47.5 million in licensing revenues in 2004.

A Conversation with Gabriela Cezar: A Scientist Who Grew Up in Brazil Brings International Connections to UW-Madison’s Stem Cell Work
Published by WisBusiness.com
Madison biotech officials are hoping that Cezar’s industry contacts in this country and abroad — as well as her business savvy — can help attract investors’ capital for local start-up companies or perhaps even lure a major drug firm here.

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