Archive for November 2007

On November 8, around 20,000 Metro-Detroit students wandered the concourse of Ford Field in Detroit to learn more about science and engineering at the YES! Expo.

Two students from Tech Initiatives, a student-run start-up company, attended the event with their CPR Mattress, including senior business major Phil Franzo.

Franzo and four other students have been working with the Smart Trac program at MTU to take the project, which started out as a Senior Design project in Biomedical Engineering, and bring it to commercialization. They have already applied for a patent on the product.

The mattress features a deflating top half to allow better chest compressions during a cardiac arrest situation. A prototype has been created which includes a small motor at the foot of the bed.

Three of the team members include engineering students, Kyle Marsh, Kristin Cauley, Tim Dewey, and scientific and technical communications major Richard Goodell.

The students have already made a formal presentation to Stryker Corporation in Kalamazoo to Stryker’s research and development department. They have recently received a grant to build additional prototypes which will be the next step of getting the mattress out to the market.

The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference announced its 2007 all-league football teams Wednesday, Nov. 14. Michigan Tech seniors Pete Moyryla (Social Sciences) and DaVaughn Dixon (Civil and Environmental Engineering) were both named to the All-GLIAC First Team, while senior Cheyne Nelson (SBE) garnered all-league Second Team laurels.

In addition to Moyryla, Dixon and Nelson, six other Michigan Tech players gained All-GLIAC Honorable Mention. The six were senior center Pat Flannery (Civil and Environmental Engineering), senior tight end Ben James (SFRES), senior nose guard Lee Keys (SBE), senior linebacker Chris Nowak (SBE), junior wide receiver Keith White (MEEM) and senior wide receiver Kirk Williams (SBE).

Moyryla, a right tackle, anchored Tech’s offensive line by starting all 11 games. The now two-time All-GLIAC First Team pick helped the Huskies average 414.5 total yards and 200.5 rushing yards per game.

Dixon gained his first All-GLIAC honor by finishing 2007 with 26 tackles and a team-high 10 pass breakups. The cornerback started all 41 games of his collegiate career and registered 119 tackles during those four seasons.

Nelson gained his second straight All-GLIAC Second Team selection after leading the Huskies in tackles for the second straight season. The strong safety tallied 89 tackles including team highs of 12.5 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks. Nelson finished his career with 244 tackles, 37.5 tackles for loss and 12 sacks.

Michigan Tech finished its 2007 campaign with a 6-5 overall record. The Huskies placed fifth in the GLIAC with a 6-4 record in league games.

Dr. James Conley, Professor of Technology at the Kellogg School of Management, in Evanston, Illinois, was a guest presenter in the School of Business and Economics on November 2, 2007. Dr. Conley was an advisor to one the SBE’s new business law faculty, Assistant Professor David Orozco.

While on campus he visited with faculty, talked with students in the classroom, and gave a campus presentation. His presentation was titled “Innovation & Invention: the emerging role of engineers and technologists in wealth creation.” His talk described how the US intellectual property system is designed to reward the innovator engineer, scientist, artist and inventor. He described why knowledge of property rights is critical to obtaining a competitive advantage in the marketplace and why ignorance ensures that the commercial benefits of innovation will be enjoyed by others.

Dr. Conley serves on the faculty of both the Kellogg School of Management and the McCormick School of Engineering at Northwestern University. He is a faculty contributor in the Kellogg Center for Research in Technology & Innovation and the Institute for Design Engineering and Application (IDEA).

Before joining Northwestern in 1994, he spent seven years at the Ryobi Limited Group in Japan. At Ryobi, he co-invented the first hand-held 26.2 cc, OHV 4-cycle engine for the lawn care markets with MTU Alum Ronald Hoffman.

Three Michigan Tech volleyball players have been honored by the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. Juniors Veronica Armstrong (SBE) and Jennifer Jung (Humanities) were each named to the All-GLIAC Second Team, and junior Kelsey Skoog (SBE) was named an All-GLIAC Honorable Mention Selection.

Armstrong, a native of Battle Creek, led the team in both kills with 260 (2.71 kpg) and 34 service aces (0.35 sapg). She also recorded 253 digs (2.64 dpg), third most on the team, and 46 blocks (0.48 bpg) on the season.

“Veronica was a leader by example for us this season, and she always gave 100 percent. She is the type of player who can take over a match, and she started to dominate near the end of the season,” said Head Coach Krista Mikesch.

Jung, a native of Andover, Minn., led the GLIAC in blocks with 129 (1.37 bpg). A first-team selection the previous two seasons, Jung recorded 217 kills (2.31 kpg), second most on the team.

“Jenn had a good year, and she led the league in blocking. She has taken steps to improve her hitting. Next year she should be one of the best middles in the league,” said Mikesch.

Skoog, a native of Long Lake, Minn., recorded 490 assists (5.10 apg) after she moved to the setting position prior to this season. She also recorded 242 digs (2.52 dpg) and 19 service aces (0.20 sapg).

“Kelsey had a huge impact on the program this season. She moved to the setter position, and by the end of the year, she earned the position full time. She was also looked to for her leadership this season,” said Mikesch.

The Huskies finished the season 9-17 overall and 7-11 in the GLIAC.

Joel Tuoriniemi, Assistant Professor of Business Law, was ranked 16th in RateMyProfessor.com’s first ever rating of all US college teachers. Millions of college students grade their professors on RateMyProfessors every semester for their easiness, helpfulness, and clarity on a scale of 1 (poor quality) to 5 (good quality). Tuoriniemi’s average scores for helpfulness and clarity were 5.0 despite a lower (3.9) average for easiness.

Tuoriniemi, who was recently appointed as an assistant professor of business law, joined the SBE faculty in 2002 as a lecturer. He holds a J.D. from the Detroit College of Law at Michigan State University and received the University’s Distinguished Teaching Award in 2003 and the School of Business and Economics Teaching Award in 2006, and was nominated for the University’s Innovative Teaching Award in 2006.

Sample comments from his students on RateMyProfessor.com include: