Research

The future of research is interdisciplinary. To address the biggest problems facing the world, researchers need to build connections across disciplines, cultivate skills that enable collaboration, and look to unconventional partnerships for new ideas. By convening experts at the intersections of disciplines, the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery creates an environment ripe for interdisciplinary experimentation.

WID’s research is focused in four areas that need interdisciplinary approaches to solve big problems. Explore WID’s expertise:


WID’s research strength is in its innovative collaborative environment, but each WID faculty member maintains a robust research program. Explore individual labs at WID:

May Lab See all WID labs Elebeoba E. May (PI) Developing integrated empirical and theoretical models of biological systems. Using these models we aim to discover and design mechanistic-based engineering solutions to address challenges in the areas of chronic infection and disease, biodefense, and the growing field of bio-manufacturing. Continue Reading Wisconsin Institute for Discovery INTEGRATE See all WID labs Bilge Mutlu (PI) INTEGRATE, short for “Integrating Robots into the Future of Work,” is a National Science Foundation Research Traineeship (NRT) program developed to provide a unique academic environment to enrich the training of graduate students in STEM disciplines, including computer science, engineering, psychology, and economics, to address fundamental research... Continue Reading Wisconsin Institute for Discovery Virtual Environments Group See all WID labs Karen Schloss (PI), Kevin Ponto (PI) The Virtual Environments Group is a space and a place where scholars explore the connections among environment, technology, human action, experience, and visualization, with expertise in virtual and augmented reality. Continue Reading Wisconsin Institute for Discovery Pimentel-Alarcón Research Group See all WID labs Continue Reading Wisconsin Institute for Discovery Baum Lab See all WID labs David Baum (PI) Understanding the origins and evolution of life on Earth Continue Reading Wisconsin Institute for Discovery Solís-Lemus Research Group See all WID labs Claudia Solís-Lemus (PI) My research involves the development of statistical models to answer biological questions. Continue Reading Wisconsin Institute for Discovery Schloss Visual Reasoning Lab See all WID labs Karen Schloss (PI) Investigating how observers make predictions about objects and entities based on their cognitive and emotional responses to perceptual information; focusing on how people’s associations with colors influence cognitive processing in aesthetic response, judgment and decision making, and interpretation of information visualizations. Continue Reading Wisconsin Institute for Discovery May Lab INTEGRATE Virtual Environments Group Pimentel-Alarcón Research Group Baum Lab Solís-Lemus Research Group Schloss Visual Reasoning Lab