The WEI building is state-of-the-art and promises to be part inspiration, part collaboration magnet. Within its walls, individual labs are focused on growing sustainable feedstocks, producing next generation fuels and harnessing renewable sources of energy as part of an integrated energy systems concept of energy storage and flexible delivery technologies. Though UW–Madison is already a prolific source of clean energy research and development, WEI is amplifying these efforts with its activities.

As engineers, agronomists, biochemists and modeling experts set up shop to tackle a wide variety of questions surrounding our grand energy challenge, I am hopeful that new avenues of discovery and new collaborations will emerge.

Kick-starting a new mode of collaboration for federally-funded basic research, the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center has been an excellent example of the success that is possible when a a diverse team is assembled around a central mission and given resources to innovate. During their first Department of Energy grant cycle, the Center contributed more than 400 research publications to the literature on bioenergy and generated nearly 60 patent applications — all while training a new generation of energy professionals to work in the lab, field, office and classroom.

In 2012, UW-Madison leadership, led by the Provost and the Deans of CALS and Engineering, united campus energy research under one banner. By welcoming the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center as a member, the Wisconsin Energy Institute will continue to spur research collaborations in support of multidisciplinary energy discovery.

We are thrilled to have such strong campus support for uniting life sciences researchers, physical sciences engineers and social sciences experts on energy.

As we launch this new endeavor in support of research and technology development, we invite you to work with us. This grand challenge is larger than all of us, and we are eager to be part of a comprehensive approach to research, scholarly debate and public engagement on the issue of energy.

We invite you to join us for our building grand opening on April 5th and 6th. With a student career fair, facility tours and technology demonstrations on the event docket, we hope to provide a little something for everyone.