The University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Engineering will be outfitted with a new research institute focused on tackling technological challenges across disciplines, thanks to a $25 million gift from The Grainger Foundation.
The institute, to be named the Grainger Institute for Engineering, will promote collaboration and trans-disciplinary research among engineers and scientists and “will enable the university to educate engineers and scientists for the modern world,” said UW-Madison Provost Paul DeLuca in a statement.
Through the Grainger Foundation’s donation and support from UW-Madison, the UW-Madison Vilas Trust and the College of Engineering, an endowment for professorships, faculty scholar awards and postdoctoral fellowships will be established.
The College of Engineering plans to hire 25 new faculty members to work within the institute, according to the university.
Institute researchers will first concentrate on subjects related to materials and manufacturing, the university said.
“These areas transcend disciplines across the College of Engineering and the UW-Madison campus and bring together disparate groups to solve common problems,” said UW-Madison College of Engineering Dean Ian Robertson. “Innovations in these areas will impact areas ranging from energy and consumer goods to health care solutions and will allow U.S. companies to bring new products to market more quickly and economically.”
The institute will also enable the college to flesh out and produce new research concepts.
Innovations honed within the institute will benefit companies across both the state and country, according to UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank.
“The positive and transformative effects of this investment within the College of Engineering will resonate throughout the state and our nation far into the future,” Blank said. “Through innovation in advanced manufacturing technologies and education of the workforce, the institute will accelerate the renaissance of the U.S. manufacturing industry and enhance the nation’s economy.”
