Innovation on display as UW-Eau Claire hosts WiSys SPARK Symposium

UW-Eau Claire will represent the majority of the 240 participants, with 76 students, and a number of Blugolds will deliver key remarks. On Thursday morning, Chancellor Edwin Martini will welcome attendees. Alumnus and HeartWorks co-founder and CEO Dr. Tim Nelson will follow with a keynote speech on fixing broken hearts, and biomedical engineering student Olivia Hallstrom will finish with a talk on her research on the impact of cost-effective copolymer designs on tissue engineering. Later in the day, alumni Zach Halmstad and Ryan Yohnk will offer career insights to students during a breakout session.

On Friday, Dr. Nic Wheeler, assistant professor of biology, will present on the artificial intelligence tutor he recently developed for higher education courses called Lectio, while Dr. Tyler Doyon, assistant professor of chemistry and biochemistry, will talk about his research on the upcycling of compounds in chemical waste to produce valuable molecules. Dr. Mary Hoffman, interim provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, will present student awards and closing remarks.

Additionally, UW-Eau Claire students will present at a poster and innovation showcase and second-year student Paxton Nygaard, from McFarland, will compete in the WiSys Quick Pitch State Final.

Access the full symposium agenda.

Valuable opportunities to interact, showcase

Dr. Doug Dunham, interim director of strategic partnerships and program development, and the event’s organizer, is excited about the strong lineup of speakers and engagement opportunities. However, he says the true value lies in opportunities to interact with peers.

“I always look forward to meeting up with people across the entire system, talking about progress on research and things they’re up to,” Dunham says. “It’s a great way to, as the title says, spark collaboration.”

Dunham says an emphasis will be providing more time for students to interact so they can learn about research being conducted across the Universities of Wisconsin. That resonates well with Hallstrom, who is excited to learn about advancements in all fields at peer institutions, but particularly in engineering.

“Getting to see how they can keep making advances in something like electrical engineering, I never think about electrical engineering,” says Hallstrom, who will be attending her first symposium. “To see people who are doing stuff I’ve never even thought of is going to be fun.”

Hallstrom is excited to present her ongoing work about a specific copolymer design, a topic that currently does not have any published research papers. Though it will be challenging to refine her thoughts for a talk limited to six minutes, she is excited to show off the progress she and peers are making at UW-Eau Claire.

“We don’t have the same facilities as Madison, which is definitely an engineering school, but look at what we’re still doing,” Hallstrom says.

Wheeler has worked with WiSys for nearly a year on commercializing Lectio, the AI tutor product he developed at UW-Eau Claire and piloted in two upper-level biology courses last year. Symposium leaders felt the project would be a great fit for a requested session on AI on campus and Wheeler is excited to speak as part of his first symposium.

“Students and faculty colleagues at UWEC are excited about Lectio, and it’s being rolled out to other classes this upcoming fall, but I’m excited to be able to introduce the project to students and faculty from across the Universities of Wisconsin,” Wheeler says.

What UW-Eau Claire faculty and staff should expect this week

Symposium attendees will park in the Water Street Lot and students 18 years or older have the option to stay in residence hall housing. All events Thursday and Friday will take place in Davies Center.

While the WiSys SPARK Symposium has many similarities to UW-Eau Claire’s annual Celebration of Excellence in Research and Creative Activity, Dunham says this week’s event is more informal and will provide attendees opportunities for longer conversations with students showcasing research.