The UW Tech Exploration Lab’s Spring Open House at the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery was nothing short of inspiring.
The event showcased the bold spirit of innovation alive at UW–Madison — where students, industry partners, and emerging technologies collide to create real-world solutions.
Throughout the night, visitors experienced student-led projects that stretched the boundaries of possibility — from AI applications in healthcare and retail to groundbreaking uses of VR in mental health.
The energy, creativity, and collaboration in the room was electric.
Celebrating Student Achievements
Congratulations to our award-winning teams whose projects exemplified innovation and real-world impact:
Most Impactful:
MadAnalytics – delivering deep AI-driven insights to optimize retail promotional strategies.
DermaVision – pioneering AI dermatology scans with remarkable potential for healthcare advancement.
Most Innovative:
DataBender – creatively integrating VR technology into entirely new use cases.
Unload – designing novel AI agents to support mental health.
A huge thank you to our judges — Luke Anderson from Cub Foods, Christopher Mende from Google, Kaiser Pister from All3D, Michael Grall from Fulcrum Solutions, and Mike Zhang from WisAI — for lending their expertise to the challenging task of selecting winners from such an impressive field.
Honoring Our Partners
This night would not have been possible without the vital support of our strategic and industry partners.
We extend a special thank you to our strategic partner, Google, and team members Kristin Storhoff and Kendra Ramick, whose engagement with students — and best-in-class swag! — made a lasting impact.
We also recognize our industry collaborators, including Cub Foods, Crystal Farms, ArbreTech, Holos, and others who continue to inspire the next generation of innovators by connecting real-world problems to student experimentation.
Additional thanks to the Wisconsin AI Safety Initiative, UW–Madison Data Science Institute, Society of Women Engineers at UW–Madison, WACM UW–Madison, Transcend, and UPL for enriching our community and broadening students’ perspectives.
The Open House reflected what the UW Tech Exploration Lab is all about:
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Bold ideas
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Hands-on experimentation with emerging technologies
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Industry-grounded innovation
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Preparing students to drive the future
We’re proud to help build an innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem where exploration, collaboration, and meaningful impact thrive.
Onward — to even greater discoveries!