Director
Dr. Lei Zhou, Assistant Professor
Department of Mechanical Engineering
Department of Electrical & Computer Engineering
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Director-at-Large, American Society of Precision Engineering
Associate Editor, Precision Engineering
Associate Editor, IFAC Mechatronics
Email: lei.zhou [AT] wisc.edu
Office: 2246 ME Bldg., 1513 University Ave, Madison, WI 53706
Faculty Directory Page | Curriculum Vitae
Dr. Lei Zhou is an Assistant Professor with the ME and ECE department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is an Associate Director of WEMPEC. Dr. Zhou received her Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 2019. Dr. Zhou also holds an MS (2014) in Mechanical Engineering from MIT and a BE in Control and Instrumentation Engineering from Tsinghua University.
At PMCL@UW-Madison, Dr. Zhou’s research focuses on developing novel and high-performance mechatronic solutions through exploiting the synergy between machine design, electric machines and drives, and control algorithms. Her current research projects include the control co-design of over-actuated lightweight nanopositioning systems for high-throughput chip manufacturing, high-strength and transparent actuation and proprioceptive sensing for interactive robots, and design and control for bearingless motors and high-performance electric machines.
Graduate Research Assistants
Laura Homiller
Email: laura.homiller [AT] wisc.edu
Laura is a Ph.D. student at UW-Madison. Laura received her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Texas A&M University in 2020, and her M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from UT-Austin in 2022. While at A&M, she did undergraduate research in biomechanics and bio-inspired power grid design, and interned at MathWorks. In her free time, Laura enjoys reading, being outside, and playing piano. She is currently working on the modeling and control of self-sensing bearingless motors.
Jingjie Wu
Email: jingjie.wu [AT] wisc.edu
Jingjie is a Ph.D. student at UW-Madison. He received his M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), during which he did research in bipedal locomotion using CPG to achieve orbital stability. He is currently working on hardware-control co-design towards lightweight and high-acceleration magnetically-suspended linear stages for semiconductor manufacturing applications. In his spare time, Jingjie enjoys staying at home and listening to music.
Junnan Gao
Email: junnan.gao[AT] wisc.edu
Junnan is a Ph.D. student at UW-Madison in the Mechanical Engineering department. He received his M.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Northeastern University (China) in 2019, where his research focused on vibration reduction and reduced order modeling. Then Junnan worked as a mechanical engineer for three years, and his work mainly involved finite element modeling, structure optimization, and vibration testing. In his free time, Junnan enjoys hiking and camping.
YiZhou Han
Email: han259[AT] wisc.edu
YiZhou is a Ph.D. student at UW-Madison in the Electrical & Computer Engineering department. YiZhou received his B.S in Electrical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin Madison. He is currently working on designing the integrated motor/drive for vernier permanent magnet (VPM) motor. As an undergraduate, He worked on projects related to CMP(Chemical Mechanical Polishing) for the SCAM and high voltage/current sensor board design. In his spare time, he enjoys running, playing squash, and skiing.
Mohammad ErfaniMatin
Email: erfanimatin[at]wisc.edu
Mohammad is currently pursuing his Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He earned his B.S. in 2019 and his M.S. in 2022, both in Mechanical Engineering, from the University of Tehran. His research during his undergraduate and master’s studies was centered on the design, manufacturing, and development of a device for evaluating patient pain thresholds, as well as the design and implementation of predictive field-oriented control for permanent magnet linear synchronous actuators. In his leisure time, Mohammad enjoys listening to podcasts, reading books, engaging in workouts, and bouldering.
Anson Chan
Email: wchan29[AT]wisc.edu
Anson is a Ph.D. student in Electrical and Computer Engineering at UW-Madison. He earned his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering and M.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from UW-Madison in 2021 and 2024, respectively. During his master’s studies, his research centered on modeling high power density bearingless electric machines for electric turbochargers in aerial vehicles. Currently, his work focuses on the design and modeling of a novel over-actuated axial flux machine. Outside the lab, Anson enjoys hiking, photography, working out, and spending time with his beloved cat, Tofu.
Daniil Kirsannov
Daniil is a Fulbright Visiting Student at UT-Austin, where he is pursuing a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering. Daniil started his academic path at Saratov State Technical University pursuing a B.S. in Mechatronics and Robotics and working on the dynamics of various nonlinear systems. Danill then received M.S. in Robotics from Innopolis University in Russia, where he delved into modeling and control of twisted string actuators. His current research is devoted to the design of a novel linear soft electromagnetic actuator type. Except for work and study, Daniil’s great interests include politics, music, and cycling.
Shuaihu Wu
Shuaihu received his B.S. and M.Sc. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Tsinghua University, China, in 2020 and 2023, respectively. He also holds an engineering degree and a mathematics degree from the University Paris-Saclay, France. He is currently pursuing the Ph.D. degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, USA. His research interests include sensorless control, precision motion control, and driver and motor design. In his spare time, he enjoys watching movies and reading books. As for sports, he can play badminton and ski.
Undergraduate Research Assistants
Lab Alumni
Dr. Ian Heyman, Ph.D. Student (2020-2025)
Thesis: Design of a magnetically levitated long-stroke 6 DOF nanopositioning stage
Jixuan (Sean) Feng, Master Student (2021 – 2023)
Thesis: Small-Size Vernier Permanent Magnet Motors for High-Torque Direct-Drive Actuation
Ithza Lopez, Master Student (2022/9-2023/12)
Abdel-Rahman Fahmy, Master Student (2020/9-2022/8), Process Engineer at Intel.
Jack Daniel Ludwikoski, Undergraduate Research Assistant (2024/09-2025/06), Mechatronic engineer at KLA
Haoxuan Mu, Undergraduate Research Assistant (2022/6-2023/3), currently graduate student at TAMU
Yifeng Liao, Undergraduate Research Assistant (2022/6-2023/3), currently graduate student at UT Austin
Jaeyun Song, Undergraduate Research Assistant (2021/6-2021/9), currently senior undergraduate student at UT Austin
Kevin Yu, Undergraduate Research Assistant (2022/9-2023/6), currently undergrad student at UT-Austin
Jonathan Tao, Undergraduate Research Assistant (2021/6-2021/12), currently incoming graduate student at UC Berkeley
Malek Ibrahim, Undergraduate Research Assistant (2021/6-2022/6) currently incoming graduate student at MIT
Tanten Jones, Undergraduate Research Assistant (2021/9-2022/9)
Andrew Burch, Undergraduate Research Assistant (2021/9-2022/9)
Fionn Whelan Undergraduate Research Assistant (2022/6-2022/9)
Peter Mathew, Undergraduate Research Assistant (2022/1-2022/9)
Paavani Rai, Undergraduate Research Assistant (2022/1-2022/9)
Alexa Aguilar Izquierdo, Undergraduate Research Assistant (2023/1-2023/7)