GE commits $3M to develop imaging informatists in Wisconsin

GE Healthcare and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) have formed a collaboration aimed at building a pipeline of Wisconsin-based medical imaging software developers and researchers. As part of the collaboration, GE has pledged more than $3 million toward the GE Healthcare Center for Advanced Computational Imaging at UWM.

The joint effort will enable UWM to develop technology-specific, advanced-level coursework in software development and provide seed-funding for research and collaborative projects related to image and signal processing for medical technology. The collaboration also will provide continuing education opportunities for GE technologists.

UWM’s first academic offering will be a graduate-level certificate in the area of computational imaging that will begin in fall 2013, offered alongside professional development curricula for GE employees, according to Ethan V. Munson, PhD, chair of the UWM department of computer science and leader of the center.

Expertise in medical applications of computational imaging remains largely based in Silicon Valley, not the Midwest, according to GE. The partnership aims to help expand the talent pipeline in Wisconsin.

Funding for seed projects will be coordinated through the UWM Research Foundation using their Catalyst Grant model. Research projects awarded seed-funding will be expected to attract subsequent funding from other sources and become self-sustaining. Grant proposals can originate from engineering as well as a number of disciplines on campus, including math and physics in the College of Letters & Science and the College of Health Sciences.