UWM, Marquette University: Milwaukee universities name industry-chosen water research projects

MILWAUKEE – Industry members of the National Science Foundation’s Industry/University Cooperative Research Center (I/UCRC) on water technology will announce the funding of several projects that industries will pursue with researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (UWM) and Marquette University at an event Friday, May 14.

The announcements will be made at Marquette University Alumni Memorial Union, 1442 W. Wisconsin Ave., room 227, beginning at 11:30 a.m.

The goal of the new center is to spur local economic growth by combining the engineering research expertise at UWM and Marquette with industry needs involving water equipment, policy and technology.

Speakers will include Richard A. Meeusen, chairman and chief executive officer, Badger Meter, Inc.; Paul W. Jones, chairman and chief executive officer, A.O. Smith Corporation; and Julia Taylor, president, Greater Milwaukee Committee. Faculty researchers will also attend.

In March, the National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded the two universities a total of $675,000 over five years to form the I/UCRC in Milwaukee. It is one of about 55 such NSF centers in the country and one of only two that focus on freshwater issues. Directors are UWM Engineering Professor Erik Christensen and Marquette Engineering Associate Dean Michael Switzenbaum.

The Milwaukee Water Council helped to recruit six local companies: A.O. Smith Corporation, Badger Meter Inc., Pentair Inc., Baker Manufacturing Company LLC, Wisconsin Water Research Corp., and the Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District. Each contributes $50,000 annually for membership.

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(EVENT CONTACTS: Laura L. Hunt, 414-229-6447, llhunt@uwm.edu; Brigid Miller, brigid.miller@marquette.edu, 414-288-7431.

ADDITIONAL CONTACTS: Erik Christensen, UWM professor of engineering, 414-229-4968, erc@uwm.edu; Dean Amhaus, executive director, Milwaukee Water Council, 414-828-3847, damhaus@mac.com.)