Pasi Lautala (CEE/MTTI) spoke on rail transportation education and training. Tech’s HEV Mobile Lab, represented by Marlene Lappeus (ME-EM) and undergraduate student Meghan Schiber (CEE), and the Center for Science and Environmental Outreach, represented by Joan Chadde (CEE), were both featured as showcase exhibits. Elizabeth Hoy (CEE/UTC) supported Michigan Tech’s involvement.

Michigan Tech offers courses in hybrid-electric technology, funded, in part, by General Motors. Daavettila and his classmates showed off their “configurable hybrid vehicle” on Capitol Hill on Tuesday.

The HEV mobile laboratory has traveled across Michigan. On this, its first trip outside the state, Sen. Levin stopped by to give the students and their work a stamp of approval. “It may be located the Upper Peninsula, but all of Michigan has been impacted by it. Tens of thousands of engineers have come out of Michigan Tech,” said Sen. Levin.

Session and presentation topics included the role of universities in educating and training transportation professionals; funding mechanisms for K-12 outreach and post- secondary training; emerging technologies in transportation and skills sets; and opportunities to engage underrepresented populations and displaced workers in the transportation field.

The event, sponsored by the Council of University Transportation Centers, included representatives from the Departments of Labor, Education and Transportation; the National Science Foundation; the American Society of Civil Engineers; and industry associations in transit, roads and rail.

Link to WJRT ABC12 News Video from Washington, D.C.

Pictures from MEEM Facebook

Read more details

The Union filled up early as crowds, judges, media and local school children checked out the inventive creativity on display.

Photos and a list of winners can be viewed at the www.expo.mtu.edu website

Videos of Award Winning Teams

Senior Design Taking first place was Bioabsorbable Polymer-Coated Metal Stent Degradation Simulation Design. The students devised a better way to check for the degrading of stents, which are inserted into arteries, both in vitro (in the lab) and in vivo (in the living subject). Team members were Kristina Price, Brendan Daun, Thomas Faulkner, Erin Larson, Derek Yesmunt and David Strobel (Biomedical Engineering); and Kelsey Waugh and Matt Gardeski (MSE). The team was sponsored by Boston Scientific and advised by Associate Professor Jeremy Goldman (Biomedical Engineering) and Associate Professor Jaroslaw Drelich (MSE).

Second place went to the Economic Recovery of Alloying Elements from Grinding Swarf. The students speculated that they could help metal-grinding operations reclaim cobalt and nickel, in addition to other metals, from the waste or “swarf.” It could produce as much as $1.75 million in a year. The team consisted of Alicia Steele (MSE/ME); and Daniel Hein, Michael Wyzlic and Nicholas Kraft (MSE). They worked with the Casting Services Group of ThyssenKrupp. Jaroslaw Drelich was their advisor, too.

Third place was Portage Health Noise Monitoring Device, an ingenious invention to warn of unacceptable noise levels in a hospital setting. The team was J. Ethan Lynch, Shaubhik Bhattacharjee, Trent Jansen and J. Nathan Willemstein (Biomedical Engineering); and Lynn Giesler (Biomedical Engineering/ME). Advisors were Professor Michael Neuman (Biomedical Engineering) and Associate Professor Keat Ghee Ong (Biomedical Engineering).

Enterprise First place went to IT Oxygen, with team leader Garrett Lord (Computer Engineering/CNSA) and advisor Bob Maatta, professor of practice in the School of Technology.

Second place was Blizzard Baja, with team leaders Joseph DeHaan, Andrew Glaeser, Brett Schulte and Matt Rebandt (ME). Their advisor was Senior Lecturer Brett Hamlin (Engineering Fundamentals).

Finally, Aqua Terra Tech won third place, with team leaders Zach Guerrero (Environmental Engineering) and Neil Baltes (GMES). Advisor was Professor John Gierke (GMES).

Patents and Future Innovators In a new twist, teams were invited to apply for patents, and a couple of awards were given out.

The Best Technical Specification Award went to Magnetically Damped Suspended Isolation System, submitted by ME majors Oskar Strojny, Jake Simula and Brian Turner.

The Best Prior Art Review and Competitive Analysis Award went to Scanning Tunneling Microscope Tip Actuator System, submitted by Ryan James, Kyle Smith, Scott Schmitt, Patrick McGraw and Lee Anderson (EE) and Chris Cerovec (Computer Engineering).

Organizers of the event were especially excited about the patent competition and look forward to growing this new component of the Expo in the future.

The school children also had a hand in awards. The Future Innovator Awards, voted on by Hancock and Chassell middle-school students, went to the Pet-Friendly Motorcycle Sidecar Senior Design team with members Brad Lynn, Joseph Supinsky and Jan Zlebek (MET), advised by Associate Professor John Irwin (SOT); and Robotic Systems Enterprise team with leaders Colin Putters (School of Business and Economics) and Megan Crowley (SFRES), advised by Assistant Professor Aleksandr Sergeyev (SOT).

Photos at the www.expo.mtu.edu website

Michigan Tech American Indian Science & Engineering Chapter of the national AISES hosted  the Region V conference on April 12-14th, 2012 on the university campus.

On Friday April 13, Featured Speaker was Dr. Anton Treuer is Professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji State University. He has a B.A. from Princeton University, M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. He is Editor of the Oshkaabewis (pronounced o-shkaah-bay-wis) Native Journal, the only academic journal of the Ojibwe language and author of 9 books: Everything You Wanted to Know About Indians But Were Afraid to Ask, Ojibwe in Minnesota (“Minnesota’s Best Read for 2010” by The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress), The Assassination of Hole in the Day, Ezhichigeyang: Ojibwe Word List, Indian Nations of North America, Awesiinyensag: Dibaajimowinan Ji-gikinoo’amaageng (“Minnesota’s Best Read for 2011” by The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress), Living Our Language: Ojibwe Tales & Oral Histories, Aaniin Ekidong: Ojibwe Vocabulary Project, and Omaa Akiing. Dr. Treuer has sat on many organizational boards, including the White Earth Land Recovery Project, Sanford/MeritCare Health System, and the Minnesota State Arts Board. Dr. Treuer has received more than 40 prestigious awards and fellowships from many organizations, including the American Philosophical Society, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Science Foundation, the MacArthur Foundation, the Bush Foundation, and the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation.

Region V encompasses the states of Iowa, Illinois, Upper Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin and the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario.

The conference theme was ”A Traditional Path Into The Future” and is geared towards making native students aware of the benefits of pursuing education in the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and math), while maintaining their traditional values.

There were presentations and panel discussions including, Beth Earl‐Jones Moody and Bob Jones‐Moody and Dr. Treuer, and Music by Joseph FireCrow.

On Saturday April 14, at the SDC Wood Gym building #24 From Noon to 5:00pm there was a POWWOW. Fry bread/Indian Taco’s/Wild Rice soup for sale at the Powwow.

More Details and Pictures of the Regional AISES Conference and Powwow at Michigan Tech

Agenda

Grossman was César Chávez’s press secretary, speechwriter and personal aide and directed international media coverage of Chávez’s 1993 funeral in Delano, Calif. He still serves as a spokesman for the United Farm Workers of America and is communications director for the Cesar Chavez Foundation.

Mendez, a Tech undergraduate pursuing a bachelor’s degree in biomedical engineering, will speak about his own experience as a migrant worker. He is president of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers Chapter at Michigan Tech

The Memorial Union Ballroom menu featured nopales salad, stuffed poblano chile (chicken and vegetarian), traditional “flan” and “tres leches” cake.

The event is sponsored by the Center for Diversity and Inclusion and its Hispanic Heritage Committee, Housing and Residential Life, Student Affairs, the President’s Office, Institutional Diversity, Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, the Alumni Association, Student Activities and the Parents Fund of the Michigan Tech Fund.

César Chávez Banquet at Michigan Tech Page of pictures and video

For more information, contact Madeline Mercado Voelker, assistant director, Center for Diversity and Inclusion, at 487-2920 or at mmercado@mtu.edu .

The 14^th Annual Western Upper Peninsula Science Fair AND Science & Engineering Festival was held Tuesday, March 27, 2012  at the Memorial Union Building on Michigan Tech’s campus. Three hundred fifty students in grades 4-8 have entered projects into the Western UP Science Fair.

The Science & Engineering Festival showcased more than two dozen fun, hands-on activities conducted by more than one hundred Michigan Tech and Finlandia University students and local organizations, in the MUB Commons area.  The Festival is open to ALL elementary students, accompanied by an adult.

 See  the results of the  judging of projects at the Western U.P. Center Science Fair Website

Some of the festival activities include:

• Bubble-making
• Squeeze an Egg
• Design A Launcher
• Build a Water Tower
• Geodesic Dome Challenge
•  Glow Germ
• Healthy or NOT?
• Hybrid Vehicle Mobile Lab!
• Remotely-Operated Underwater Vehicles

Students from sixteen schools in Houghton, Baraga, Ontonagon and Gogebic Counties participated: CJ Sullivan Elementary, P. Latendresse Elementary, Chassell Elementary, CLK Elementary, E.B. Holman School, Houghton Elementary, Barkell Elementary, Lake Linden-Hubbell Elementary, South Range Elementary, Dollar Bay-Tamarack City Schools, Arvon Township School, Houghton Middle School, Lake Linden-Hubbell Middle School, LL Wright Middle School, and Watersmeet School.  Students submit projects on experiments they conducted using the scientific method. They are judged on the scientific content of their written report, a display and an oral interview with two judges.    

 Nearly 200 Michigan Tech faculty, staff and students, Finlandia students, area teachers, and community members assist with this exciting event.

The Western UP Science Fair and the Science & Engineering Festival is sponsored by the Western Upper Peninsula Center for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education, Michigan Tech Chapter of American Society for Engineering Education, Michigan Technological University, and the Carnegie Museum.

For more information about the Western UP Science Fair, please visit Western U.P. Center. Results and pictures from this year’s Science Fair will be posted on this website.

The public can view the Award-winning projects from April 10- May 11 at the Carnegie Museum in Houghton. A grand opening and Family Science & Engineering Evening are planned for 6:30-8 pm, Tuesday, April 10, at the Carnegie Museum. Open to all.

Lana Pollack, U.S. delegate  of the International Joint Commission delivered the World Water Day Lecture: “Critical Issues for the Great Lakes.” The program is Co-sponsored by CWS and the Visiting Women & Minority Lecture Series. Lana Pollack, chair of the US Section of the International Joint Commission, discussed threats to the health of the Great Lakes and how research data-based policy-making can protect these unique natural resources. The International Joint Commission is an independent, binational organization that works to prevent and resolve boundary waters disputes for the common good of the US and Canada. Lana Pollack – bio

Before the lecture, the Michigan Tech Center for Water and Society (CWS) sponsored a graduate poster session and competition to highlight the ongoing interdisciplinary research on water at Michigan Tech, looking toward the opening of the Great Lakes Research Center this summer. The poster session was held in the front atrium of the Dow Building. Cash prizes were awarded in 2 Poster categories:
Original Research (presentation of thesis or project research)
Coursework/Informational (presentation of coursework or literature based research)

View the Photos of the Posters and Presenters on World Water Day at Michigan Tech Report