Contest Judges

Kathryn Clouse


  • Education:
    • BSEM UW-Madison 2010
    • MBA UW-Oshkosh Currently In Progress
  • Employed by Pierce Manufacturing since 2010
    • Senior Design Engineer for Aerial New Product Development
    • Performs structural analysis on aerial device components for new product development and current product improvement
  • 2009 EMA Design Contest First Place Winner - the Litter Fitter
    • The Litter Fitter, a trash compactor that uses human power rather than electricity to compact garbage with a 3:2 mechanical advantage, can be manufactured at a cost significantly lower than existing trash compactors.
  • Active Member of:
    • Oshkosh Corporation's Leadership Academy
    • Oshkosh Corporation's UW-Madison College Relations Team
    • Pierce Manufacturing's Diversity Committee

Courtney McCool


  • Education:
    • BS-EMA UW-Madison 2011
  • Employed by Red Fusion Studios since 2013
    • Design Engineer for commercial and industrial goods
    • Complete structural analysis on a variety of components
    • Work with manufacturing facilities to ensure designs complement tooling needs
  • Previously employed as a Design Engineer for Power Tool Accessories at Milwaukee Electric Tool Corp.
  • 2011 NASA Space Tech Second Place Winner - TESLA
    • TESLA, a constellation of satellites, collects solar power and uses a laser to transmit it to a lunar base. This allows greater flexibility in the placement of bases on the moon, which are currently restricted by available power sources and the 14 day lunar night.
  • Previous UW-Madison Member of:
    • Engineers Without Borders - Haiti

Ross Borchardt - Second from right


  • Employed by Accuray Incorporated, Madison, WI
  • Previously held positions at Orbital Technologies and Boeing Company Satellite Development Center as a Flight and Control Engineer and as a Systems Engineer
  • Interned with Buffoli Transfer S.p.A. Brescia, Italy.
  • Technical experience includes mechanical design, analysis, fabrication, assembly, test, and verification. Past projects have involved aerospace power systems, controls technology and simulation, and life support systems.
  • Past UW-Madison Activities
    • Flying Badgers Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Project: Jet Turbine and landing gear team leader
    • Vice-chair of the Wisconsin Section of AIAA
    • Lace Master(2007-2008)
      • Schoofs Contest for Creativity- 4th Place
      • Tong Prototype Competition- 2nd Place
      • Patent Pending
    • Sea Squad-Luxury Submersible: Designed a luxury submersible to an operating depth of 100 meters.

Ed Gisske

  • Education
    • 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
  • Owner 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
    University of Wisconsin-Madison Department of Engineering Physics
    Madison, Wisconsin
    Revised: 12/13/2012