Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation

Discover cutting-edge discoveries that impact our world from one of the top 10 research universities in the nation.

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Focus Areas

Health Care | Clean Tech | Food & Ag | Engineering & Computer Science

Health Care

Nanoparticle to Render Tumors More Susceptible to Treatment
This interdisciplinary team is bridging medicine and nanotechnology to confront cancer. The combination of their novel nanoparticle, radiation therapy and a checkpoint inhibitor could render more tumors more treatable by immunotherapy…watch a video

Polyplex Delivery System for Proteins, Nucleic Acids and Protein/Nucleic Acid Complexes
A UW team developed an improved biocompatible polyplex that can successfully deliver large biomolecular payloads (e.g., S1mplex, RNP with a single-stranded oligonucleotide DNA donor template) into cells…read more

Airflow Monitor
Death and injury to patients under conscious sedation can be prevented. This novel respiratory monitoring device – developed by two physicians – can detect airway compromise early, quantitatively and in real time…read more and watch a video

WARF T Cell and Immunotherapy Portfolio
UW-Madison is an international leader in T cell innovations. From expanding and activating T cells to quality control and manufacturing, we bring solutions to industry…read more

Optimizing the Use of Contrast Agents During Medical Imaging
A medical physicist has developed an automatable solution to quantify contrast enhancement, which allows contrast prescriptions to be customized so sites can provide patients with the appropriate minimum volume while minimizing waste…read more

Wearable Tendon Force Measurement
This wearable device for in-field, mobile analysis of tendon strength helps with sports injury recovery and prevention by using tendon tensiometry to detect changes in tendon tension and correlating that data to gait and limb strength to detect abnormalities…watch a video

Neurosetta Brain and Spinal Cord Models
Neurosetta’s high-throughput human brain and spinal cord modeling platform is transforming developmental neurotoxicity (DNT) testing and drug development for neurodevelopmental disorders…watch a video

Molecular Sleep Test
Meet UW researchers developing a first-of-its-kind molecular sleep test based on an epigenetic discovery…watch a video

Clean Tech

Breakthrough Physics for Clean Energy Generation
The Wisconsin High-field Axisymmetric Mirror (WHAM) project is leveraging major advances in superconducting magnets and plasma heating to pursue commercially viable nuclear fusion power…watch a video

Sustainable Production of Oleochemicals from Renewable Feedstock
UW-Madison researchers have developed metabolic engineering strategies to boost production of oleochemicals from renewable feedstocks. This work could help producers lessen reliance on oil crops and petroleum…read more

Desalination Battery
Startup ChloBis Water is developing a rechargeable desalination cell to help the world transform seawater into fresh water and also efficiently remove salt from wastewater at treatment centers…watch a video

Green Synthesis of Bio-Based Polyurethanes and Polyesters
Discover chemical engineers working to unlock bio building blocks and help farmers in the process. Their new biomass-derived compound could serve as a green substitute for important platform chemicals used in everything from consumer goods to medical devices…watch a video

Transient Biodegradable Battery
A team of materials scientists developed a battery with a filament structure that limits the speed of the reaction, allowing for a longer battery lifetime with controlled output…read more

One-Step Process to Generate Lignin-Derived Aromatics from Raw Biomass
While some methods treat a very tough component of biomass called lignin as waste, this team’s process turns it into valuable compounds…watch a video

Recombinant Microbe for Bioproduct & Biofuel Production
By combining genetic and bioreactor engineering, this team developed strains of the robust industrial bacterium R. sphaeroides capable of producing and secreting lipids at high levels…read more

Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center
GLBRC technologies have the potential to offer new competitive advantages and products for biorefiners, farmers and a number of multibillion dollar industries…read more

Food and Ag

Beyond CBD: Optimized Hemp Cultivars
Leveraging their knowledge of crop genomics, this team of crop scientists have developed a patented gene editing method that allows them to create optimized hemp varieties with high-value traits…watch a video

Enhanced Genome Editing in Plants
This innovative nanoparticle-based delivery system for CRISPR genome editing machinery enables robust, efficient, precise, genotype-independent and DNA-free genome editing and engineering in plants, particularly crops…read more

The Beet Goes On: Badger Flame
UW-Madison’s “Vicar of Vegetables” talks harvest, hubris and a beet born to be raw. Badger Flame is a charismatic vegetable with pyrotechnic color and breakthrough flavor that took UW-Madison breeders 15 seasons to create…r​​ead more

Cost-Saving Dairy Protein Separation
Geladen’s charged ultrafiltration membranes enable 5X faster filtration, less wasted proteins and lower energy and water usage with no required changes to existing manufacturing infrastructure, equipment or workflow…read more

Canine Genetic Testing
UW veterinary researchers identified a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) that could serve as the basis for a diagnostic test to predict whether a dog will develop acquired peripheral neuropathy…read more

Probiotics to Treat Intestinal Disorder
A School of Pharmacy team is charting a new strategy for delivering probiotics. Their novel double-layer coating strategy better withstands the gauntlet of the human body to treat inflammatory bowel disease and other intestinal indications…watch a video

Wireless Remote Sensing
A team of electrical and computer engineers has reconciled a longstanding tradeoff in wireless communications systems. Their technique balances long communication range with low-power consumption and could help plant the seeds of a new agricultural revolution…read more

Plant Hemoglobin for Meat Substitutes
A team of animal scientists developed a recombinant plant hemoglobin that retains its color when exposed to light, making it a potentially valuable coloring ingredient for meat substitutes…watch a video

Engineering and Computer Science

New, Lightweight Material to Protect Against Bullets and Other High-Speed Impacts
A UW engineering physics team is using carbon nanotubes to make armor that’s stronger than Kevlar…read more

Making Telecommunications More Affordable
These material scientists are using graphene to deliver fiber optics to hard-to-reach communities…watch a video

Testing the Strength of Soft Materials
This team of mechanical engineers is measuring cheese and other soft materials with acoustic waves…read more

Control and Disrupt: Next-Generation Semiconductors Outperform Silicon
Go behind-the-scenes with the team pitching a tiny but powerful material that can outgun silicon to enable next-gen electronics…watch a video

Vanadium Dioxide Design Solution for Ultrafast Switches
These engineers have developed vanadium dioxide-based switches capable of metal-insulator transition near room temperature in practical thin films…read more

Improved Terahertz Imaging for Global Security
A team of materials scientists narrow in on a new system to safely and stealthily detect explosives and other dangers in public places, from subway stations to stadiums…read more

Control and Disrupt: Next-Generation Semiconductors
Go behind-the-scenes with the team pitching a tiny but powerful material that could outgun silicon and drive the next electronics revolution…read more

Indoor Sound Shaping Based on Broadband Metamaterial Reflector
Meet an engineer whose sound-shaping materials could change how we hear – or don’t hear – the world around us. Her work has implications for noise control from construction sites to conference rooms…read more

Planck Spectrometer Reduces Complex Components
Analyzing light is critical across all areas of science but optical instruments can cost tens of thousands of dollars. Inspired by a law of physics, engineers look to ‘democratize’ spectroscopy using three simple components: a heater, a thermometer and an infrared detector…read more

Inverter Design for Motor Drives
UW-Madison’s latest innovation in motor drives looks to unlock the potential of wide bandgap devices, eliminate common mode voltage problems and enable next-generation power electronics…read more

PointSpace: More Realistic and Interactive 3D Models
Meet a computer engineer bridging science and art to redesign the interface between the real and virtual worlds. Lost treasures, hidden tombs, videos games – your imagination is the limit…watch a video

Integrated LC Filter For Cost-Effective Power Electronics
Learn more about streamlined filter tech that combines the inductor and capacitor to slash cost and ease manufacturing…read more

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