Engines for synergy
Industry sabbaticals are just the beginning. Get to know other key ways the college and industry benefit from partnering together.
EXPERT PARTNERSHIPS RESEARCH PARTNERSHIPS
THE KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE: Seminars where faculty and industry share expertise. As an assistant professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering, Dr. Patrick McNamara spends a sizable chunk of his time researching solutions to challenges such as the role common antibacterial agents play in promoting antibiotic-resistant bacteria. But every year, McNamara takes a break to lead a two-day course for 40–50 wastewater experts, in which he shares insights from his work and learns about the other cutting-edge activities of his audience members. His faculty colleague Dr. Daniel Zitomer, director of the college’s Water Quality Center, also hosts a twoday short course for about 100 industry representatives, engineers and academics on anaerobic biotechnology for industrial wastewater treatment and renewable energy generation. Faculty colleague Dr. Brooke Mayer hosts a session each year too. McNamara, Mayer and Zitomer are three examples of the faculty members engaging industry experts, community residents and researchers as part of the college’s offerings of faculty-led discussions. Another exchange came about when Rexnord Corp. created a half-day seminar — to keep employees current on research outside their own areas of expertise — and turned to Dr. Raymond Fournelle and Dr. James Rice, professor and associate professor of mechanical engineering respectively, to discuss metallurgical and tribological principles. Involved faculty say this expertise sharing helps make “relationships among the university, the city and industries in the region very synergistic.” Says McNamara, “Industries learn about cutting-edge technologies. Marquette stays abreast of real-world needs. And students hone their abilities to communicate about technology to a broad audience.”
ADVISORY PARTNERSHIPS
ALWAYS-ON CONNECTIONS: Advisory boards link college to real-world engineering.
TOGETHER ON THE CUTTING EDGE: College’s research partnerships with industry are growing. To improve patient outcomes, medical imaging specialists seek two things: higher-quality images and reduced radiation exposure. Thanks to collaboration between GE Healthcare and Dr. Taly Gilat-Schmidt, associate professor of biomedical engineering, groundbreaking research in this area is moving from lab to clinic. In an era in which federal funding for university research has stagnated, the college’s committed industry partners — including GE Healthcare and Astronautics Corporation of America — have grown in number, supporting advances in areas such as health care, water technology, systems and sustainability. Marquette’s industry partners directly fund research. They sign licensing agreements for new technologies, as Badger Meter did with electrical and computer engineering professor Dr. Shrinivas Joshi’s
ultrasonic flow meter design. And they help fund industry-university research ventures: For example, through the Water Equipment and Policy Research Center, the Milwaukee Sewerage District and Veolia and other industries have funded research by Drs. Daniel Zitomer, Brooke Mayer and Patrick McNamara in exchange for first rights to resulting solutions. These partnerships with industry contribute to a larger trend as the university seeks to double research funding between 2015 and 2020. “Industry is in touch with what’s important today. They are a built-in path to translate our work into patient care,” says Gilat-Schmidt. Read more on page 20 about the diagnostic tool brought to market through Gilat-Schmidt’s partnership with GE Healthcare.
Marquette engineering students graduate workforce-ready in part thanks to volunteers from the engineering community. Industry advisory boards — composed of dozens of individuals working at high levels in various disciplines — provide strategic advice to the college’s four engineering departments. “They are indispensable sounding boards that ensure our curriculums and student experiences parallel changing workforce needs and trends,” says Dr. Kristina Ropella, Opus Dean of the Opus College of Engineering. Most recently, advisory board members in biomedical engineering helped steer the creation of a joint biomedical engineering department with the Medical College of Wisconsin. The advisory boards typically meet once a year and submit an annual summary to the college on their opinion of the state of the department.
Learn about Marquette’s world-class co-op program, internships, events and other valuable partnerships with industry at go.mu.edu/industry-relations.
Text by Carolyn Bucior
marquette university opus college of engineering
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