Mechanical Engineering

Purchases under $5000

Guidelines

Purchases under $5,000 are either ordered through ShopUW+ or an external vendor. ShopUW+ is a campus purchasing system in which the university has a number of contracted vendors that have agreed to provide their products to us at a potentially lesser cost without shipping expenses. Per policy, you must check ShopUW+ for purchases first before you decide to purchase from an external vendor. Provided you have verified the item(s) you want is not available or is too expensive on ShopUW+, you can purchase from an external vendor. We do ask that you view the current lists of Ineligible Vendors and Frequently Questioned Purchases so that you ensure your desired items can be purchased.

Getting Started 

Once you have nailed down the items and your desired vendor, you will either submit this Under $5,000 Purchase Request Form (ShopUW+ or external) or directly submit your order in Workday (ShopUW+ only). 

Here’s a demo video for submitting a ShopUW+ order in Workday. For any questions or concerns, please email us at purchasing@me.engr.wisc.edu.

Additional Purchasing Information 

Purchasing for the Senior Design classes (ME 351 or 352) has separate rules that are outlined in our information document. Please review the information and contact us if you have additional questions. 

Purchases over $5000

Purchases over $5000 are ordered through the non-catalog requisition process in Workday. The ME finance team will work with you to gather the required information and will submit the requisition in Workday on your behalf. Once the requisition has completed the approval process, a campus purchasing agent will create an official Purchase Order (also in Workday) and email it to the vendor.

For those that need help getting started, we have created an over $5000 Google Form. Based on your responses,this form will assist you in determining the type of requisition needed to complete the order & its necessary paperwork. For those that are familiar & comfortable with the over $5000 ordering procedures, it is also acceptable to send all the paperwork & order info (shipping address, funding, business purpose, etc) through email (purchasing@me.engr.wisc.edu)

Please email purchasing@me.engr.wisc.edu for any questions.

Helpful Links

• Over $5000 Purchase Request Form
• What paperwork do you need for over $5,000 orders? 
• Portal to search for UW Contracts. Requisitions with UW Contracted vendors require less paperwork to process
• Simplified Bid Form needed for requisitions between $5,000-$49,999 with multiple vendors in the market
• Non-Competitive Purchase Form needed for transactions with one vendor in the market, typically only orders at/under $25,000.

On Campus Purchases

Guidelines

These purchases may or may not involve the Mechanical Engineering purchasing team. You are more than welcome to reach out to purchasing@me.engr.wisc.edu with any questions.

Business Cards

UW students, faculty, and staff can order business cards through UW Digital Publishing and Printing Services. Check with your supervisor to verify which funding to use before placing your order. Business cards are generally not allowed to be purchased on 133 or 144 funds.

Poster Printing

Wide-format poster printing is available to UW-Madison students, faculty, and staff at three locations in the libraries. Options are slightly different at the three library locations, so review those options on the printing website.

DoIT Purchasing

Software, IT supplies, and advice on what would satisfy your digital needs can be found at DoIT. These purchases may involve Mechanical Engineering purchasing staff, so don’t hesitate to reach out to us with questions. 

SWAP Purchasing 

SWAP is a department within the University of Wisconsin-Madison focused on re-purposing surplus property generated by the University and area state agencies. This can be a very good way to get office furniture or lab equipment cheaper than buying new! This purchasing may involve Mechanical Engineering purchasing staff, so don’t hesitate to reach out to us with questions.

Travel

Travel can be complicated–please review the UW travel policies before traveling to prevent any issues with your travel reimbursement after the travel has concluded. For any travel or reimbursement questions, please contact us at travel@me.engr.wisc.edu or feel free to stop by our office in ME 2107.

Travel Overview

• Travel policy summary document: provides an overview of the UW travel policies and how to book travel
• Frequently Made Mistakes in the Travel & Reimbursement Process
• Travel Home Page at UW-Business Services
• E-Reimbursement PI Approval Form. Non-PI’s fill out this form and have their PI sign it to approve funding (signed form attached with expense reimbursement)
• Fleet Reservation Requests: If you need a fleet reservation, this form will capture all the information necessary for us to reserve a car for you.

While not capturing all policy information, the following includes a broad overview of major types of travel expenses & helpful links. Please review the linked policies for a full breakdown of the various policies.

Airfare 

• Airfare must be booked through Concur (online portal) or through Fox World Travel, the UW contracted travel agency.
• Please note that flight tickets that are not a standard business flight (flights with extra stops, flying out of an airport that is not Madison/Milwaukee/Chicago, etc) need a cost comparison. Please see the cost comparison policy listed for more details.

Lodging 

• Lodging can be booked through Concur, directly with the hotel, or through Airbnb. Third party booking such as through Booking.com is non-reimbursable.

• Travelers are limited to the daily room rate based on hotel location. Calculator for the maximum nightly rate

Vehicle

• All students & employees operating a vehicle on UW business (fleet, rental, personal car) must be authorized drivers. No vehicle-related expenses will be paid or reimbursed for unauthorized drivers. Become an authorized driver. 
• Authorized drivers can drive on UW business via fleet vehicle, rental car, or personal vehicle.
• Fleet Reservation Requests: If you need a fleet reservation, this form will capture all the information necessary for us to reserve a car for you.

• Car Rental: must be booked through Concur
• Personal Vehicle: reimbursed at federal government mileage rate.
• Round trips over 1000 miles need a cost comparison.

Meals

• Travelers are reimbursed for meals at a daily per diem rate. A per diem is a set dollar amount per day, based on hotel location city. Rates are determined by the federal government.
  • Any meals provided (breakfast, lunch, dinner) must be deducted from each daily meal per diem
  • Receipts do not need to be saved
• Meal per diem calculator (calculator also lists nightly lodging rate)

Reimbursement

Reimbursements are processed via an expense report submitted through the Create Expense Report task in Workday.

Expenses must be submitted with the required supporting documentation within 90 days from the date of purchase, for most types of expenses. Please see link for more details.

Prepaid travel expenses such as conference registrations and airfare are reimbursable as soon as the traveler is billed. All other travel expenses are reimbursable after the travel has concluded.

For business meals, reimbursements are limited to the per person meal rate found here. All meals will need the following attachments: itemized receipts, an agenda or other documentation of the event & a participant list. Alcoholic beverages are not reimbursable on university funding. 

Helpful Links

• Overview on how to create an expense report
• Step by step instructions on how to create an expense report
• Expense reports in Workday Overview
• Business Services Reimbursement Page lists receipt requirements and other information

Request an updated office or lab name plate

Complete this form to request an updated office or lab name plate.

Request keys to an office or lab

Office and lab keys can be requested through Keylime. Here are instructions for submitting a request in Keylime.

Request a conference room reservation

Conference room reservations can be requested through EMS. 

• Reservations less than 24 hours in advance need to be submitted here.

Request a classroom reservation (ME faculty, instructional, and administrative staff only)

ME faculty and instructional staff can request a general assignment classroom using the appropriate form below:

• Request a classroom for an exam or review session.
• Request a classroom for an event, meeting, or speaker.

Requests from students and non-ME staff to the above forms will not be processed. Registered student organizations may request a general assignment classroom through the Wisconsin Union.

Request a Lot 17 visitor parking permit (ME faculty, instructional, and administrative staff only)

Visitor permits that guarantee entry to Lot 17 can be requested here. Note that Transportation Services requires two weeks advance notice for this type of request.

Requests from students and non-ME staff will not be processed.

Submit a work order request

Requests for maintenance in an ME lab, office, or classroom can be submitted here.

General Resources

• CoE Intranet Webpage for Faculty, Staff, and PI’s
• FDM Mapping Tool
  • Enter in your WISER project number to find the new Workday worktag
    

HR Resources

• Editing Profile in Workday: 
  • Editing personal information 

• • Changing preferred name 

• • Editing emergency contacts 

• • Editing home contact information 
• Payroll: 
  • Setting up direct deposit 

• • Editing/removing direct deposit elections 

• • Viewing pay slips 

• • Federal tax withholding elections 

• • State and local tax withholding elections 

• • Approving Time 

• • Requesting Flexible Work Arrangements (i.e., Remote Work Agreements) 

Benefits: 

• Reviewing absence balances, requesting time off, and entering no leave taken 
• Navigating the Benefits and Pay Hub 

• Navigating MyBenefits

Additional guides can be found here.

Research Administration Resources

• Viewing Budget and Transaction Detail at the Award Level and Grant Level
• View Personnel Who Have Been Paid on an Award, Grant, or All Sponsored Funding
• Principal Investigator Dashboard
• High Level Grant Detail
• Award Search
• SFS to Workday Values Tool

Finance Resources 

• • Please check Purchasing & Travel/Reimbursement tabs

• The pooled email account for HR/Payroll and Benefits. ensures there are no delays in responding. Alissa, Megan, and Elizabeth will all see messages coming into this address:
  payroll_and_benefits@me.wisc.edu

Alissa Girdler
agirdler@wisc.edu
Assistant Department Administrator and Supervisor of Payroll and Benefits Team

Megan Dorn
mcfuller@wisc.edu
Payroll & Benefits Specialist

Elizabeth Tucker
etucker4@wisc.edu
Payroll & Benefits Specialist

Kassi Akers, Academic Program Specialist
kakers2@wisc.edu

• Student-centered outreach and communications
• Scholarships and fellowships
• Graduate student recruiting
• Equity Inclusion and Diversity for ME students
• Student events (design showcase, scholarship night, recruiting weekend)
• Staff liaison for Women in Mechanical Engineering (Undergrad and Grad) and ME Graduate Student Association 
• AEFIS course evaluations
• Faustin Prinz ME Undergraduate Fellowships

Caitlin Scott, External Communications Specialist
cscott8@wisc.edu 

• External outreach and communications (Website, Blog, Social Media)
• Advancement and stewardship (working with ME Development Team)
• External department events (Engineer’s day, investitures, IAB)
• Department branded materials
• Promotion of ME research activities
• Alumni relations and events

Yonu Cha, Administrative Assistant
hycha2@wisc.edu

Jun Meng, Financial Specialist
jmeng62@wisc.edu

Sooyun Siemens, Financial Specialist
ssiemens@wisc.edu

Kathryn “Kat” Rasmussen, Accountant II
knrasmussen3@wisc.edu 

• Purchases over $5000
• Custodian Funds
• Work Orders
• Assist with Capital Equipment
• Workday Finance Lead

Yan Xu, Senior Accountant
xu364@wisc.edu

• Non-research, startup and revenue accounting
• Capital Equipment  
• Purchases over $5,000
• Fabrications
• Procard Site Manager
• Foundation accounts and gifts in kind

Darryl Thelen, Department Chair
dgthelen@wisc.edu

Ricardo Bonazza, Associate Chair of Engineering Mechanics
bonazza@engr.wisc.edu

Krishnan Suresh, Associate Chair of Graduate Studies
ksuresh@wisc.edu

Mark Anderson, Associate Chair of Research
manderson@engr.wisc.edu

Greg Nellis, Associate Chair of Undergraduate Studies
gfnellis@engr.wisc.edu

Catherine Carter, Academic Department Manager
clcarter2@wisc.edu

Zach Smith, Research Admin Supervisor
rsmith48@wisc.edu

Alissa Girdler
agirdler@wisc.edu
Assistant Department Administrator and Supervisor of Payroll and Benefits Team

Lauren Biggs
lbiggs@wisc.edu
Executive Assistant to the Chair

Undergraduate Advising

Undergrad advising-related questions (i.e., accessing resources, selecting classes, graduation planning, etc.) should be directed to student’s assigned advisor. Students can find their advisor and their email address in MyUW > Academic Navigator.

Undergraduate Enrollment

Undergrad enrollment-related questions (i.e., waitlists, getting instructor permission to override requisites, etc.) should be directed to the following email address based on respective program:

• Mechanical Engineering: me-enroll@engr.wisc.edu
• Engineering Mechanics: ema-enrollment@engr.wisc.edu

Graduate Advising & Enrollment

Graduate student advising and enrollment questions can be directed to Sara Hladilek, Graduate Student Services Coordinator, shladilek@wisc.edu.

Computer-Aided Engineering (CAE)

helpdesk@cae.wisc.edu; 608-262-5349

CAE focuses on hardware, software, and network troubleshooting.

Engineering Media Services 

ems@engr.wisc.edu; 608-890-3325

Engineering Media Services maintains the media equipment in many of the College of Engineering conference rooms, classrooms, and labs.