The Rockwell Automation Fair is one of the world’s premier events in industrial automation, digital manufacturing, and AI-enabled production systems. Hosted by Rockwell Automation—one of Wisconsin’s leading technology companies—the conference convenes global manufacturers, automation experts, and innovative technology providers to showcase advancements in smart materials processing, industrial control, predictive analytics, robotics, and industrial AI.
UW–Madison College of Engineering stands at the forefront of these transformative technologies. Faculty such as Harsh Apurva Sharma and Dan Negrut lead research in physics-informed AI and high-fidelity simulation for digital twins and robotics. Xiangru Xu advances control theory and autonomy for cyber-physical systems, while Robert Nowak and colleagues in Electrical and Computer Engineering pioneer AI innovations for edge computing and intelligent networks. In Industrial and Systems Engineering, Yang Lu specializes in smart biomarker development and personalized medicine, and Kaibo Liu drives data-driven quality control and predictive analytics for automated systems. Together, these strengths position UW–Madison as a hub for next-generation intelligent automation and digital transformation—and an excellent partner for Rockwell Automation and its ecosystem.
Automation and digital twin technologies are reshaping advanced manufacturing and life sciences faster than ever. At the 2025 Rockwell Automation Fair in Chicago’s McCormick Place, core themes included automation, materials engineering, process optimization, industrial software, and AI—highly relevant to the research underway at UW–Madison. Xiujuan Jane Zhang and Chelsy Cegielski attended the event, connecting with Rockwell Automation and strategic partners such as Zeta, Eosys, DataHow, and leading pharmaceutical innovators like Pfizer and AstraZeneca. These conversations expanded our corporate engagement and identified automation solutions to modernize university biolabs for advanced stem cell biomanufacturing—while preparing future talent with the data science and engineering control skills needed to thrive in this evolving landscape.
At the Women’s Leadership Luncheon, inspiring executives shared authentic journeys and strategies for advancing confident, capable women leaders—energizing us to bring these ideas back to the UW–Madison College of Engineering community. Overall, this was a highly rewarding engagement experience, and we look forward to deepening partnerships with the industrial leaders we met #ROKEVENTS.