College of Engineering Blog

Category: Research

Budget News on H-STEM Engineering and Health Technologies Complex

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H-STEMGovernor Snyder mentioned the project during his Budget Proposal Speech on February 8, 2017.

The $39.6M complex would contribute to Human-centered research, development and education for its students by developing therapeutic devices, sensors, instruments, preventive strategies and a health technologies-related workforce.

Read more at WLUC TV6, by Alyssa Barker.

Michigan Tech Board of Trustees Approves 5-year Capital Outlay Plan

The complex will support Michigan Tech’s integrated educational programs that apply engineering and science to problems related to the human condition. The University’s unique technological niche places Tech in an ideal position to contribute to human-centered research, development and education for its students by developing therapeutic devices, sensors, instruments, preventive strategies and a health technologies-related workforce. The complex will permit teams of researchers and students from Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Biology, Chemistry, Cognitive and Learning Sciences, Computer Science, and Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology to work together in flexible lab spaces with shared equipment.

Read more at Michigan Tech News, by Jennifer Donovan.

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Consumer Products Day 2017 Awards

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Consumer Products Day

The second annual Consumer Products Day Finals at Michigan Tech were held Saturday. Nineteen teams of Tech students were given 20 hours and a box of materials provided by Kimberly-Clark, Amway, DOW or 3M to create, design and pitch a new consumer product. Two teams representing each company advanced to the finals, resulting in eight final products being pitched to the company reps, judges, technical review panel and audience.

A total of $7,000 was awarded to the top three teams.

1st Place: $3,300. Jade Scientific — Kimberly-Clark
Team Members: Abbey Senczyszyn, Emil Johnson, Sarah Lorenz, Josh Leon, Dominic Oldani

2nd Place: $2,400. Student Athlete Engineers — The DOW Chemical Company
Team Members: Josh Rzeppa, Keith Lemely, Quinn Kaspriak, Corey Zetizus, Sophia Farquhar

3rd Place: $1,300. Engineering World Health — 3M
Team Members: Paul Shelcusky, Anna Isaacson, Michael Gazdecki, Brett Opel

The Crowd Pleaser Award — Amway
Team Members: Nick Minarich, Ayla Vaughn, Vincent Padget

Company reps included Tech Alumni Aaron Schroeder ’12, Katie Rohlfs ’16 and Joe Gallo ’12 from The DOW Chemical Company; Kevin Madson and Ryan McInnis ’15 from 3M; Chris Heiting ’14 and Nicole Barna ’09 from Kimberly-Clark; and Sam Soyka ’12 and Andy Davies ’03 from Amway. Tony Rogers, Glen Archer, Joe Thompson, David Shonnard and Tim Eisele made up the technical review panel with Mike Morley, Brian Lagalo and Komar Kawatra serving as judges.

The event was hosted by Career Services. Student teams received additional support from the Consumer Products Manufacturing Enterprise, Makerspace, Brad Turner, Magann Dykema, Mary Raber, Ethan Beavers and Michael Norman.

By Career Services.

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Michigan Tech Selected as One of Seventeen Beyond Traffic Innovation Centers in the Nation

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Beyond Traffic 2045Michigan Tech was selected by the US Department of Transportation as one of the seventeen Beyond Traffic Innovation Centers (BTIC) in the nation.  According to the DOT, “These Centers will be recognized by the DOT as forward-thinking and influential institutions that are capable of driving solutions to the challenges and trends identified in Beyond Traffic 2045, the US DOT’s report on current and future issues in transportation. The centers will contribute by “convening decision-makers in their megaregion and coordinating related research, curriculum, outreach, and other activities.” The Michigan Tech Center was selected as one of the three universities to serve the rural areas of the United States.

The proposal, led by the Michigan Tech Transportation Institute (MTTI), collaborated with multiple centers and institutes on campus, including: Advanced Power Systems Research Center (APSRC), Center for Technology & Training (CTT), Keweenaw Research Center (KRC), Michigan Tech Research Institute (MTRI), Rail Transportation Program (RTP), Sustainable Futures Institute (SFI) and the Tribal Technical Assistance Program (TTAP).  Additionally, numerous individual campus researchers provided information for the submission.

MTTI Director Pasi Lautala (CEE) will serve as the Beyond Traffic Coordinator, participating in future events related to regional development with the USDOT. MTTI is also planning to use the Center as encouragement for faculty, staff and students interested in transportation issues to get involved in working toward solving our nation’s transportation issues.

Further information on Beyond Traffic, including a map of the selected centers, is located here.  https://www.transportation.gov/beyondtraffic. For faculty, staff and students interested in getting involved with the center, please contact Pam Hannon (prhannon@mtu.edu), or 906-487-3065.  For more information on MTTI, please visit our website.

By MTTI.

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Design Expo 2017 Registration Now Open

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Design Expo 2017Design Expo 2017 will be held Thursday, April 13, 2017, in the MUB Ballroom.

Design Expo highlights hands-on, discovery-based learning at Michigan Tech. More than 600 students on Enterprise and Senior Design teams showcase their work and compete for awards. A panel of judges, made up of distinguished corporate representatives and Michigan Tech staff and faculty members, critique the projects. Many team projects are sponsored by industry, which allows students to gain valuable experience through competition, as well as direct exposure to real industrial problems. Design Expo is co-hosted by the College of Engineering and the Pavlis Honors College.

Registration is now open for Senior Design and Enterprise teams. Students should visit the Design Expo website to register before the deadline, Monday, Feb. 6.

By Pavlis Honors College.

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Zhao Group Reviews Natural Extracellular Matrix Approaches

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Zhao Natural ECM

Feng Zhao and her research group were invited to review the current biomanufacturing approaches that utilize either native tissue or cell-derived natural extracellular matrix in the field of cellular and tissue engineering.

The paper discusses the existing challenges for translational application of extracellular matrix-based products and the potential resolutions.

Natural extracellular matrix for cellular and tissue biomanufacturing. Qi Xing, Zichen Qian, Wenkai Jia, Avik Ghosh, Mitchell Tahtinen, Feng Zhao F. ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering.

DOI: 10.1021/acsbiomaterials.6b00235

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Engineering Researchers Participate in TechTalks 2016

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Kazuya Tajiri Tweet
Kazuya Tajiri Tweet

TechTalks 2016

Michigan Tech Research Forum
Faculty Research on Speed Dial

VIEW THE PHOTO ALBUM

The Michigan Tech Research Forum is a new University presentation series showcasing the work of Michigan Tech faculty, postdocs, and researchers.

On Thursday, November 10, 2016, several researchers gave two minute presentations for the inaugural TechTalks session of the Michigan Tech Research Forum. Five of the 13 researchers presented work from engineering disciplines:

  • Andrew Barnard– Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics: “Solid State Sound—A Hot Topic”
  • Paul Sanders– Materials Science and Engineering: “Rapid Metal Design”
  • Kazuya Tajiri– Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics: “Two-Phase Transport in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells”
  • Hector Moncada-Hernandez- Biomedical Engineering: “Point-of-Care Microfluidic Device for Blood Typing”
  • Ye Sarah Sun– Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics: “Wearable Electronics, Human-Centered Monitoring”

Michigan Tech Research Forum events are presented by the Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs in coordination with the Office of the Vice President of Research.

Additional TechTalks sessions are coming up in Spring 2017. Interested in nominating yourself or others? Use this online form.

Browse the Twitter conversations in “TechTalks 2016: Take One,” by Allison Mills.

On Thursday, December 1, 2016, the second set of presentations included the following from engineering research faculty:

Jeff Naber
Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
APS LABS (Advanced Power Systems Research Center)

Michael Mullins
Department of Chemical Engineering
Electrospun Nanofibers as Neural Guidance Scaffolds

Feng Zhao
Department of Biomedical Engineering
Stem Cell and Tissue Engineering Research

Chad Deering
Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences
Ignimbrites to Batholiths

Darrell Robinette
Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
Gearing for Future Connectivity

Trisha Sain
Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
Mechanics of Soft Polymers

Browse the Twitter conversations in “TechTalks 2016: Take Two,” by Allison Mills.

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Wayne Pennington Honored for Turning Point Definition

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Wayne Pennington
Wayne Pennington

Wayne Pennington’s (GMES/CoE) work was honored during a Geophysical Society of Houston luncheon on Nov. 15, 2016, in Houston.

The presentation, made by Vaughn Ball (Hess Corporation) and co-authored by Michelle Thomas, JP Blangy and Mark Kittridge, acknowledge that seismic petrophysics is “coming up on the twentieth anniversary of Wayne Pennington’s turning point definition of seismic petrophysics in the 1997 edition of The Leading Edge.”

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Design Expo 2017 Registration Now Open

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Design Expo 2016

Design Expo 2017 will be held in the MUB Ballroom on Thursday, April 13th. Save the date.

Design Expo highlights hands-on, discovery-based learning at Michigan Tech. More than 600 students on Enterprise and Senior Design teams showcase their work and compete for awards.

A panel of judges, made up of distinguished corporate representatives and Michigan Tech staff and faculty members, critique the projects. Many team projects are sponsored by industry, which allows students to gain valuable experience through competition, as well as direct exposure to real industrial problems. Design Expo is co-hosted by the College of Engineering and the Pavlis Honors College.

Registration is now open for Senior Design and Enterprise teams. Visit the Design Expo website to register before the deadline, Monday, Feb. 6.

We need faculty, staff, and professionals to serve as distinguished Design Expo judges. Interested? Register to be a judge or RSVP to let us know you’re coming.

By the College of Engineering and Pavlis Honors College.

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