Grand Challenges require new approaches.
WID sets its sights on the biggest challenges facing humanity.
Powerful new tools from data science and biology enable WID scientists, engineers, and mathematicians to seek fundamental discoveries and applications that will improve the quality of human life, fairness in society, and the health of the planet.

Our Grand Challenges, modeled after the White House's 2013 initiatives, are lofty aspirations that inspire us to push the limits of possiblity, unite us in common causes, and guide our approach to science for a better world.

Our Grand Challenges Based on WID's research strengths, our faculty and fellows have come together to address four Grand Challenges. Our Challenges are ambitious enough to inspire us, but practical enough for us to strive for truly impactful discoveries and applications. Keep the human brain healthy Learn more trending_flat Mitigate soil loss and climate change Learn more trending_flat Ensure equity in the impact of data science Learn more trending_flat Bring science to people and people to science Learn more trending_flat Explore the research groups rising to meet these challenges:

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 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 Baum Lab See all WID labs David Baum (PI) Understanding the origins and evolution of life on Earth Continue Reading Wisconsin Institute for Discovery Pimentel-Alarcón Research Group See all WID labs 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 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 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