UWMRF Announces $180,000 in Catalyst Grants

Advancements in electric vehicle battery packs, cancer treatment, antibody purification, and lithium extraction methods were all among the projects funded through this year’s UWM Research Foundation Catalyst Grant program.   A total of $180,000 is being awarded thanks to the support of the Lynde and Harry Bradley...

AquaMetals has eco-friendly way to prevent toxic discharge into waterways

From WisBusiness.com — AquaMetals is bringing continuous, real-time data to the metal waste prevention industry. The Wisconsin-based advanced manufacturing company has made it possible for businesses to control chemical treatment of toxic metals in real time, while monitoring the risk for pollution. President Bruce Bathurst and partner Tom Dougherty created the company in 2016 to help control and measure the concentration of heavy metals in flowing water.

Entrepreneur and UWM researcher invent a virus ‘super-sensor’

Mail delivery to the wrong office in Milwaukee’s Global Water Center sparked a research partnership resulting in a super-sensor that is a finalist in the NASA iTech Challenge competition. Designed by David Rice of Rice Technology LLC and tested with UWM environmental engineer Marcia Silva, the sensor can quickly and inexpensively measure multiple contaminants in water, including viruses, which are so small they pass through bacterial filters. 

The $1 Water Sensor

Dr. Woo Jin Chang, Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering, has developed a menu of miniature electrochemical sensors that can detect—at low-cost and instantaneously—heavy metals, water acidity, and nutrients in drinking water and other fluids. Three Wisconsin companies have licensed the sensor and now Chang and his co-inventor are collaborating with a California-based company to commercialize it.

Grant funds UWM research to mass-produce water sensors

A graphene-based water sensor developed at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee outperforms current technologies for sensing speed, accuracy and sensitivity – exactly what’s needed to continuously monitor drinking water for miniscule traces of contaminants like lead. But the cost of mass-producing these tiny sensors using traditional methods is high.