Contest Judges

Ed Gisske

  • BSEE UW-Madison 1970
  • BSME UW-Madison 1973
  • Thirteen postgraduate credits in Thermoscience and Fluid Dynamics at UW-Madison
  • Registered professional engineer in Wisconsin since 1979
  • 15 US and foreign patents issued, 8 applications pending. More than 50 US Patent citations
  • Owns Gisske Engineering, Mt. Horeb, WI
    • Sole-practice that designs and develops electrical and mechanical products for forensic analysis and testing
    • Participated in bringing more than 150 products to market since 1978
  • Served as a Lecturer/Specialist in the UW-Madison Mechanical Engineering department teaching Manufacturing Processes, Welding Engineering, Instrumentation and various short courses
  • Taught ME349 (Mechanical Engineering Senior Design) as an adjunct lecturer in 1997
  • Interests
    • Amateur radio: First licensed in 1961, Amateur Extra class license
    • Aviation: Commercial, Instrument, and Multi-engine ratings
    • Precision metalworking and machine tool renovation
    • Home brewing beer

Dustin Kaap


  • BSME UW-Madison 1995
  • MSME UW-Madison 1997
  • MBA Rockford College expected May 2010
  • Registered professional engineer in Wisconsin
  • Employed by Hamilton Sundstrand in Rockford, Illinois since 1997
    • Currently Project Engineer for Airbus A350 Ram Air Turbine Emergency Power System
    • Vice President of Hamilton Sundstrand Rockford Leadership Club 2007-2009
  • Chairman of Rockford Airfest Set-up Committee 2008 & 2009
  • Wrote business plan and consult for Flexi Snake&trade Distributing
  • Awarded 40 Leaders Under 40 by Rockford Chamber of Commerce in 2008
  • Past UW-Madison activities:
    • Teaching Assistant for ME340 Dynamic Systems
    • President of Pi Tau Sigma
    • Engineering Expo 1995 - 1st Place
    • Hoofers Sailing Club
  • Interests:
    • Golf, basketball, and football
    • Supporting Badger Athletics
    • Business merger history

Mike Kolden


  • BSEMA UW-Madison 2008
  • Employed by Milwaukee Electric Tool Corporation, Brookfield, WI: Design Engineer, Advanced Motor Development Team
  • 4 patent applications pending
  • Engineering Leadership Development Program member
  • Previously held internships:
    • UW-Madison Ice Coring and Drilling Services - Student Engineer
    • GE Consumer and Industrial - Systems Engineer
    • GE Lighting - Systems Engineer
    • Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company - Noise, Vibration, and Harshness computational intern
    • Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company - Heavy Vehicle Tire Dynamics intern
  • Technical Experience:
    • CFD airflow and heat transfer
    • Fan design
    • Electronics heat sink design
    • Electronic motor design
    • Plastic injection molding
    • International engineering team leadership
    • Manufacturing engineering
    • Metal fabrication
  • Past UW-Madison activities:
    • Sea Squad-Luxury Submersible: Designed a luxury submersible to an operating depth of 100 meters (EMA 569)
    • Bug Whapper: Designed a farm implement to organically control and dispose of crop destroying potato beetles (EMA 469)
    • House fellow- Tripp Hall (2007-2008)
    • Intramural Flag Football
University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Engineering Physics
Madison, Wisconsin
Revised: 12/8/2009