Month: March 2013

NSBE & Rail Presentations in Detroit Schools

The National Society of Black Engineers Student Chapter (10 students) conducted classroom presentations at seven elementary, middle and high schools and Family Engineering Nights at three schools in Detroit during spring break week, reaching more than 2,000 students to promote college attendance and careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).

Joan Chadde conducted a Michigan Environmental Education Curriculum Support (MEECS) Water Quality workshop on Belle Isle for middle and high school teachers from Detroit and metro area schools participating in the U.S. Forest Service funded project “Developing Middle and High School Students to Become Urban Forest Stewards.”

Pasi Lautala and Joan Chadde presented an Intermodal and Rail Transportation Workshop for 22 Detroit Public School teachers. The workshop is funded in part by University of Wisconsin Center for Freight Infrastructure Research and Education and included a tour of the Norfolk Southern railyards in Detroit.

See previous article
Read More from the Tech Today article by by Travis Gendron, student intern

Girls “Get WISE” at annual Tech STEM Outreach Event


More than 230 girls from across the western Upper Peninsula attended the annual Get Women in Science and Engineering (Get WISE) event on Tuesday, held each year on Michigan Tech’s campus.
“Get WISE is a way to get girls to unite in ways that they normally can’t in their everyday classrooms,” said Jen Martin, coordinator for Youth Programs. “It’s another different way to get girls interested in STEM [science, technology, engineering and mathematics].”

READ MORE from Tech Today Girls “Get WISE” at annual Tech STEM Outreach Event

Or an article from the Daily Mining Gazette Girls get WISE

Lecture: Constructal Law of Design and Evolution in Nature


Michigan Tech College of Engineering Distinguished Speakers Series presents: “Constructal Law of Design and Evolution in Nature” lecture by Adrian Bejan, PhD. He is the J. A. Jones Distinguished Professor at Duke University.

About the Lecture: The reoccurring patterns of nature have long puzzled even the most devoted proponents of chance and Darwin’s theory of evolution. But the Constructal Law changes the terms of this debate, and shows that a single law of physics governs the “design” behind everything that moves, whether animate or inanimate. According to the Constructal law, shapes and structures arise because they facilitate movement, in animal design, river basin design, traffic patterns, social dynamics, and technology and sports evolution

More details

Video of Adrian Bejan Lecture “Constructal Law of Design and Evolution in Nature” on Michigan Tech Engineering Channel on Vimeo

World Water Day Events at Michigan Tech

The Michigan Tech Center for Water and Society celebrated World Water Day on Thursday, March 21 with a student poster competition. The posters covered different topics in water research occurring at Michigan Technological University. Posters were displayed on the 1st floor of the Great Lakes Research Center; CWS Faculty presented a showcase of CWS research, followed by A dinner in the Atrium overlooking the lake.

2013 Michigan Tech Center for Water and Society Award Winners
Original Research Category:
1st – Miles Corcoran
2nd – Julie A. Padilla
3rd – Jade E. Ortiz and Martin Hobmeier (Tie)

Coursework/Informational:
1st – Nancy Auer’s BL4465 Biological Oceanography class:

Photos of the award winners and all other presenters