Tag: MEEM

Stories about Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics.

Deans’ Teaching Showcase: Aneet Narendranath

Aneet Narendranath
Aneet Narendranath

Janet Callahan, dean of the College of Engineering, has selected our fifth Deans’ Teaching Showcase member—Aneet Narendranath, senior lecturer in the Mechanical Engineering – Engineering Mechanics department.

Narendranath received his PhD in mechanical engineering from Michigan Tech in 2013. Prior to starting as a lecturer at Michigan Tech in 2015, he worked on a research problem as part of a one-year professional development opportunity through a collaboration with the French Nuclear Commission as an Engineer-II.

Since his return to Tech, Narendranath has built a reputation as a creative and inspiring teacher. He is passionate about exposing his students to the latest advances in research in the courses he teaches. His efforts have resonated with the students, as evidenced by his selection as a finalist for the ME Teacher of the Year award for the past two years.

This selection is especially notable considering that he’s been asked to teach a wide variety of courses from sophomore to graduate-level. Narendranath has taught statics, thermodynamics, mechanics of materials, heat transfer, ME Practice 2 and 3, finite element methods, computational fluids engineering, advanced fluid mechanics, and has served as a senior design project advisor.

Callahan selected Narendranath, however, for his “work on integrating big data into the mechanical engineering curriculum and his eagerness to share his teaching innovations by regularly publishing at conferences.” In the fall of 2018, the ME-EM department started a curriculum innovation to determine the knowledge and critical skills for the ME undergraduate and graduate curriculum of big data, machine learning, and artificial intelligence for our students to use in the solution of engineering design problems. This 3-year effort includes choosing topics and determining courses, and Narendranath immediately took the challenge.

As he implements these curricular innovations, Aneet has begun publishing and presenting them in premier engineering education journals and conferences. He made presentations at the national ASEE conferences in 2016 and 2017 with another pending review in 2020, and has publications pending in 2020 with IEEE and the International Journal of Mechanical Engineering Education.

Narendranath has also innovated and published in his long standing role as the coordinator of the ME-EM Engineering Learning Center (ELC). Here, he designed, wrote the source code, and implemented a Raspberry Pi-based Learning Center usage tracking system for optimal resource allocation. The system uses data gathered from the operation of the ELC to show trends in usage, which can be used to indicate which courses are using the centermost frequently, enabling the ELC to arrange for cost effective staffing. This work was published in IEEE Frontiers in Education in 2018.

William Predebon, Narendranath’s chair, summarizes by saying “Narendranath has a passion for learning, and that passion comes through in his teaching. He is a thoughtful and dynamic instructor with groundbreaking and inspirational ideas that serve to enhance the educational experience of the students in his classes.”

Narendranath will be recognized at an end-of-term luncheon with other showcase members, and is also a candidate for the CTL Instructional Award Series (to be determined this summer) recognizing introductory or large-class teaching, innovative or outside the classroom teaching methods, or work in curriculum and assessment.

Mechanical Engineer turned Fine Artist: Gary Johnson ’66

In his guest blog, Gary Johnson ’66, a Michigan Tech alumnus in Fayetteville Arkansas, tells the story of his second career: “We engineers can go from practicing engineering to being artists of all things mechanical and beyond.”

Superior Storm, 2017, Gary Johnson
Superior Storm, 2017, Gary Johnson

Having grown up in Rock, Michigan⁠ (Yeah, I know, where the heck is Rock? Well, it’s smack dab in the middle of the UP. Yup, I’m a Yooper!!) I decided the best place for me to go to college was in the UP, at the Michigan College of Mining and Technology, now Michigan Technological University. Why Tech? I was influenced by a couple of neighbors, older than me, who had both started and graduated from Tech. I was pretty fair at math and science, so I did go to Tech—and would do it all over again if I had that same choice to make again today.

I got lucky and graduated in four years, then started work at General Electric Co. as a design engineer. GE was a great place to start my career. I had several promotions while at GE and the company helped finance my MBA, which I received in 1975 from Loyola University in Chicago. I left GE in 1977 when I learned they intended to sell the division I was in, and that no one would be allowed to transfer within GE after the sale. So I moved to Arizona and took my first management position.

Blue Heron, 2016, Gary Johnson
Blue Heron, 2016, Gary Johnson

From that point I guess you could say I was blessed or cursed, depending on which side of the equation your homebody instincts are on. I started in New Jersey, moved to Illinois, then on to Arizona after receiving my master’s degree. From there I moved to California and back again to Arizona after accepting a position as General Manager for a U.S. company in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. From Arizona we traversed the U.S., from Georgia to Washington state to South Carolina, where I ended my career as a Director of Engineering at Hubbell Lighting. Those 40-plus years of my working career were absolutely fantastic, interesting and challenging. The only thing I’d change is the loss of jobs occasionally due to downsizing, bankruptcies or the sale of a company. But with the skill set I developed as a result of my education and experience, I always bounced back—and for that I can thank Michigan Tech.

Alegha, 2009, Gary Johnson
Alegha, 2009, Gary Johnson

At Tech, I learned perseverance. Or, maybe it was my Finnish background, where the word sisu comes into play. Perseverance is a quality we all must possess in today’s working environment. I think I started developing that in my little old hometown of Rock, or maybe at Michigan Tech. It takes a certain strong-charactered individual to put up with the winters and the great curriculum of MTU to get a degree in four years. I wasn’t blessed with the great minds of some of my fellow graduates, but nevertheless, I made it through in fine shape.

Okay, now on to the real reason I wrote this blog. I was asked to write it —because in my retirement I found a new career as an artist.

Shadows of a Bygone Era, 2016, Gary Johnson
Shadows of a Bygone Era, 2016, Gary Johnson

Moving to art was something of a challenge my wife, Jackie, had often presented to me. It was also something I pretty much always wanted to do, especially watercolor art. While traveling with my job, I was blessed to occasionally have Jackie travel with me. While together, mostly on the weekends, we’d visit local art galleries to admire the artistic talents of many different artists. We especially loved the watercolor artists and the work they produced. My wife often would say, “Honey, can we purchase that piece, or get a print of it, at least?” My reply was often, “Hey, I could paint that for you, so why purchase something I could do myself?” Well, that didn’t fly very far, and we’d end up getting something to remember our trip.

That went on for about 20 years until all of a sudden, I found myself between positions while living up near the Canadian border of British Columbia in Bellingham, Washington. I spent countless hours scouring country looking for a new position, becoming really bored with the whole process. So, what was I going to do to overcome that boredom? The answer fell into my lap one Sunday afternoon while reading the newspaper. I spotted an ad for a watercolor workshop for beginners, offered by the local park district. Can you imagine—six classes, every Friday morning for six weeks, for only $30. Was I excited? Hell, yes, I was. It addressed two issues; the first was the challenge to prove to my wife I could do this to her satisfaction and that she’d love my work, and second, to rid myself of the boredom involved in seeking new employment and further, it would address any questions by any HR person about what was I doing during my days off.

Meet my friend, Danny, 2015, Gary Johnson
Meet my friend, Danny, 2015, Gary Johnson

I’ve always had a love of the arts, from the time I grew up. First, I became interested in music and ended up becoming an accordionist. I loved music and played the accordion for many years on into high school. Soon, however, sports and girls entered the equation, so I abandoned the accordion and concentrated on academics, sports and girls, though maybe not in that particular order………LOL. I also always liked to draw and doodle, but not necessarily paint, as good ole Rock, Michigan wasn’t the center of the visual arts back in the day. As I’ve said earlier, travel during my working years led me to loving art even further. Jackie was a very good interior designer. Together we’d pick out pieces of art we both liked for our home—mostly watercolor paintings. That’s when I knew that someday I’d like to give it a go. So, backing up to the workshop classes in Bellingham: I soon became hooked on the process of creating art with watercolor. It was not easy, and I worked very hard at it day in and day out until I felt I could actually show someone outside of our home what I’d been up to.

I went to an art gallery in Bellingham and asked the owner to evaluate what I had done to that point. He agreed to look over my body of work. What a great experience that turned out to be. The first painting he looked at he told me, “Burn It.” Can you imagine what that would do to someone? Well, before we finished looking at all of my work, he managed to find a couple of pieces he thought were just “OK”. Well, just OK isn’t good enough as we all know, so I started to study watercolor art though art journals and “How- to” books related to watercolor art. I took some additional workshops and painted with an art group to learn from others who were better than me. That helped tremendously as I learned from those who knew what they were doing and willing to share their knowledge.

Soon after I found a new position in South Carolina, and we relocated to Spartanburg in the “Upstate” as it is known. I joined an art guild and continued to paint but only sporadically on weekends. My new position of responsibility took precedence over my desire to become that world- class painter.

I joined a second art organization, the South Carolina Watermedia Society (SCWS), whose membership consisted mostly of watercolorists. Through this organization I really became a solid weekend painter. I still wasn’t where I wanted to be from an artistic perspective, but I took the gamble and started to enter juried competitions, to see if I could get into their exhibitions. Well, guess what? I didn’t get picked the first three times I entered a competition. This bruised my ego, because I thought I had done some pretty darned good work. Then I finally had a breakthrough, and made it into my first exhibition. I was thrilled! And it gave me even more inspiration to continue developing my craft. I was selected for three consecutive years and received my Signature Membership in the society—a huge resume enhancer when seeking gallery representation. Since then, I’ve added the “Member in Excellence” moniker to my membership, which means I’ve been in at least five juried competitions.

Stormy Seas, 2016, Gary Johnson
Stormy Seas, 2016, Gary Johnson

People often ask how many years I’ve been painting, and how many paintings I’ve produced. Well, the span of time covers 18 years since those first watercolor workshop days in Bellingham. Needless to say, I didn’t paint during many of those years due to work obligations. Further, after I retired, I chose to do some consulting for a while, 18 months, flying back and forth from Spartanburg, Minneapolis and Osceola, Wisconsin to work with a company who was looking to relocate some of their manufacturing to Mexico. Because I had done similar work in the past, they asked me to develop a strategic plan for the movement of their manufacturing facilities through the startup phase of their operation. Yes, I was one of those guys who helped facilitate that kind of movement. Anyway, after about a year and a half of that gig, I told the company they no longer needed me to help support their strategic plan. We parted ways in July 2011.

Now fully retired, Jackie and I decided we’d love to relocate from South Carolina to our current home in Fayetteville, Arkansas, near my daughter and her family. It turned out to be a really great choice. Not only do we get to see my daughter and her husband, but also our two grandchildren. It also turns out that Fayetteville has a thriving arts community, which has proven to be both challenging and wonderful at the same time.

Jackie and Gary Johnson
Jackie and Gary Johnson

It took us fully two years to get our house built and landscaped to our specs, although one is never really done tinkering with both. Our new home was designed with an art studio so I could continue painting. It took a little bit of time to get back into the saddle and get back to producing good work again, but painting is a little like riding a bike. Once you know how, it doesn’t take long to work through the cobwebs and get back to where you were before. I’ve now joined two Arkansas-based arts organizations: Artists of NW Arkansas where I have served as Chairman of the Board the past two years; and Mid-Southern Watercolorists (MSW), out of Little Rock. Both are great organizations that put on juried art exhibitions. I’ve been blessed with having my work in each of their exhibitions over the past six years. I won the MSWBronze award, and earned my Signature membership there, as well.

As for how many paintings I have produced, it’s in the order of hundreds. I probably consistently produce between 30 – 50 per year. Many are very small sketches that I use to teach. Yes, I am now doing workshops based on the abstract process I use. I also teach art to people ages 60 and up once a month at the Schmieding Foundation in Springdale, Arkansas, a place where they can come and paint for a couple of hours for free. I supply all materials and teach them the basics of watercolor. It’s really a fun experience for me, and hopefully for them, too.

Mr. Bees Pumpkins, Gary Johnson
Mr. Bees Pumpkins, Gary Johnson

I’m asked occasionally if being a Mechanical Engineer has any influence on the type of art I produce. Well, yes it does occasionally. One painting I did was of an old steam- driven device that I discovered in Eureka Springs, Arkansas at an old railroad yard. I photographed it from many different angles and selected one in which the sun had cast a great many shadows onto it, and turned that into a piece of art. It’s titled “Shadows from a Bygone Era”. After winning the Bronze award with this painting at the MSW exhibition in Little Rock this past spring, I was recently invited to an International show in Barcelona, Spain this coming April and May.

So, we engineers can go from practicing engineering to being artists of all things mechanical and beyond.

People wonder where I find my inspiration. My wife will tell you that everywhere I go, I find something that fascinates me. In California once, I slammed on the brakes after seeing an old Chevy pickup truck sitting on the side of the road, exclaiming “There’s a painting waiting to happen!” It turned into one of my best old rusty truck paintings yet, titled “Mr. Bees Pumpkins”.

I found an old tractor near that same railroad yard in Eureka Springs and did a painting titled “Retired in Eureka Springs”. I loved the way the vines and other plant life had engulfed this old tractor left out to return to the earth.

Retired in Eureka Springs, Gary Johnson
Retired in Eureka Springs, Gary Johnson

I’ve painted a lot of old rusty cars abandoned or left to return to the Earth. I enjoy that challenge, of being able to capture their beauty after their useful time as machines, be they tractors, cars, steam engines, etc. However, I also love painting in the abstract, landscapes, and portraits, so I don’t limit myself to one genre. It keeps me motivated to explore new territory in my art. Doing so teaches me more new techniques that I can pass on to those taking my workshops.

I hope you enjoyed reading my story as much as I’ve enjoyed putting it in writing. Feel free to contact me at garyj357@yahoo.com.

Gary

In part 2 of his guest blog post, Gary shares more about what his life is like as an artist. Do you want to embark on a similar adventure? Here’s that link. Want to see more of Gary’s paintings? Find them at garyjohnsonfineart.com

Engineering Participates in the 2020 Bob Mark Business Pitch

Four minute timer display.

Husky Innovate’s 2020 Bob Mark Business Model Competition was held Wednesday (Jan. 29).  A total of 18 students making up 13 teams pitched business models to advance their innovation.

Community members and judges from across campus and the community selected the winners and provided the teams with feedback.

The Winners of the 2020 Bob Mark Business Model Competition were:

  • First Prize, $2,000—Kyra Pratley, POWERPENDANTS
  • Second Prize, $1,000—Jake Soter, SwimSmart Technologies
  • Third Prize, $500—J. Harrison Shields, Shields Technologies
  • Honorable Mention, $250—Samerender Hanumantharao & Stephanie Bule, Bio-Synt
  • Honorable Mention, $250—Allysa Meinburg, Haley Papineau, Sadat Yang, AAA Prosthetic Ankle
  • Audience Favorite, $250— Allysa Meinburg, Haley Papineau, Sadat Yang, AAA Prosthetic Ankle
  • MTEC SmartZone Breakout Innovation Award, ($1,000 Reimbursable expenses toward business development)—Ranit Karmakar

A special thanks to all those who lent their time and resources to make the evening a success including our contestants for their hard work and great presentations and our judges:

  • Dean Janet Callahan, College of Engineering
  • Brett Hamlin, Associate Department Chair, Engineering Fundamentals;
  • Nate Yenor, MTRSC Commercial Program Director
  • Patrick Visser, Chief Commercial Officer, MTEC-SmartZone;
  • Elham Asgari, Assistant Professor, College of Business
  • Josh Jay, Materials Science Engineering Student, University Innovation Fellow and Innovation House RA

A special thanks goes out to emcee Cameron Philo, Electrical Engineering and PHC New Venture Pathway Student, University Innovation Fellow and E-Club President; Lexi Steve, Mechanical Engineering and Pavlis Honors College Student, University Innovation Fellow and Husky Innovate Intern; and the College of Forest Resources and Environmental Sciences for operations support and space and SLS & IT for production support.

This event is a tribute to the late Bob Mark, Professor of Practice within the College of Business who started the Elevator Pitch Competition at Michigan Tech. The competition recognizes his entrepreneurial spirit and its continuation at Michigan Tech.

The 2020 Bob Mark Business Model Competition was hosted by Husky Innovate, a collaboration between Pavlis Honors College, the College of Business and the Office of Innovation and Commercialization.

Husky Innovate is Michigan Tech’s resource hub for innovation & entrepreneurship and offers workshops, competitions, NSF I-Corps training, a Speaker Series, and cohosts the Silicon Valley Experience.

Making their pitch: MTU students take part in Bob Mark Pitch competition

HOUGHTON — In four minutes Wednesday, students had to summarize their product, the need for it, and how they would bring it to market. For two more minutes, they had to field whatever questions a panel of judges could throw at them.

The gauntlet is part of Michigan Technological University’s annual Bob Mark Pitch Competition, named for the late Tech professor who founded the event. It was put on by Husky Innovate, which offers a series of extracurricular workshops and competitions for students to develop ideas.

Read more at the Mining Gazette, by Garrett Neese.

Michigan Tech holds annual Bob Mark Business Model Competition

HOUGHTON, Mich. (WLUC) – Michigan Tech held their annual Bob Mark Business Model Competition Wednesday night.

The competition gives Michigan Tech students a chance to pitch their ideas to a group of judges who decide on the best pitch and give feedback after each presentation.

Read more at TV6 FOX UP.

New Engineering Faculty Fall 2020

Chemical Engineering

Kurt Rickard, PhD

Kurt Rickard joins the faculty of Chemical Engineering as an instructor. Rickard earned a PhD from Purdue and a bachelor’s degree from Michigan Tech, both in chemical engineering.

He has experience as a control engineer with a strong theoretical background. He has experience with LyondellBasell Industries, ARCO Chemical Company, Quantum Chemical Company and Shell Chemical Company.

Civil and Environmental Engineering

Jeffery Pereira Hollingsworth
Jeffery Pereira Hollingsworth

Jeffrey Hollingsworth

Jeffrey Hollingsworth joins the faculty of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering as a professor of practice. He holds a Master’s of Science in civil engineering (GIS specialty) and a post-bac certificate in GIS from the University of Colorado Denver. In addition, he earned a BS in surveying from Ferris State University.

Prior to coming to Michigan Tech, Hollingsworth was an associate professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage and an instructor at the Pennsylvania College of Technology.

Xinyu Ye
Xinyu Ye

Xinyu Ye, PhD

Xinu Ye Joins the faculty of Civil and Environmental Engineering as a research assistant professor. She earned a PhD in environmental engineering from Michigan Tech, a master’s in civil engineering from Michigan State and a bachelor of resource environment and urban and rural planning from Harbin Normal University in China.

She is a recipient of a Dean’s Award for Outstanding Scholarship at Michigan Tech and has received graduate student awards at Michigan State. As an undergraduate, she was named an Excellent Student Leader at Harbin Normal.

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Trever Hassell
Trever Hassell

Trever Hassell

Trever Hassell joins the faculty of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering as a senior lecturer. His areas of interest include power electronics systems, Electric Drives and Machinery, Hybrid and Electric Vehicle Systems, and Microgrids.

Hassell earned both a bachelor’s and master’s in electrical engineering from Michigan Tech. For the past five years, he has been serving as an academic advisor/instructor in the ECE department at Michigan Tech. He is a registered professional engineer with experience in industry including time with ABB Inc., Cummins, Inc., Entergy/Vermont Yankee and Reinker Controls Inc.

Nagesh Hatti
Nagesh Hatti

Nagesh Hatti

Nagesh Hatti joined the faculty of Electrical and Computer Engineering as a professor of practice. He holds an MBA from Texas Christian University, a master’s in software engineering from Birla Institute of Technology and Science in India and a BE in telecommunication engineering from Bangalore University, India

Prior to coming to Michigan Tech, Hatti served as technical program manager for Schneider in Green Bay, manager of supply chain operations support from American Airlines in Fort Worth, Texas and various other positions in industry.

Geological Mining and Engineering Sciences

Luke Bowman, PhD

Luke Bowman has joined the faculty in Geological Mining and Engineering Sciences as a research assistant professor. Bowman has both a PhD and a master’s in geology from Michigan Tech and a bachelor’s degree from Hanover College.

Prior to joining the faculty, he was a curriculum development specialist with Mi-STAR and an adjunct assistant professor in GMES at Michigan Tech.

Xin Xi
Xin Xi

Xin Xi, PhD

Xin XI has joined the faculty of the Department of Geological Mining and Engineering Sciences as an assistant professor. Xi earned a PhD in atmospheric sciences from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a B Sc in Geoinformatics from Beijing Normal University, China.

Prior to his current position, Xi served as a research assistant professor at Michigan Tech. From 2016 to 2018 he was a research associate at the NOAA Center for Satellite Applications and Research (Maryland).

Mechanical Engineering – Engineering Mechanics

Jung Yun Bae
Jung Yun Bae

Jung Yun Bae

Jung Yun Bae joins the faculty of Mechanical Engineering – Engineering Mechanics and the College of Computing as an assistant professor. She earned a PhD from Texas A&M, and master’s and bachelor’s degrees in mechanical engineering from Hongik University in Seoul, Korea.

Prior to this appointment, she was a research professor in the Intelligent Systems and Robotics Laboratory at Korea University in Seoul. Her research interests include; robotics, multi-robot systems, coordination of heterogeneous robot systems and unmanned vehicles.

Susanta Ghosh
Susanta Ghosh

Susanta Ghosh, PhD

Susanta Ghosh has joined the Michigan Tech Faculty as an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering – Engineering Mechanics and as a faculty member of the Center for Data Sciences at the Institute of Computing and Cybersystems (ICC).

He earned a PhD and MSc in civil engineering from the Indian Institute of Science in Bangalore and a BSE in civil engineering from the Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology in Shibpur, India.

For the past three years, he has served as a research assistant professor and instructor in ME-EM. Prior to coming to Michigan Tech in 2016, Ghosh was a visiting research investigator at the University of Michigan and a research collaborator at Duke.

Paul van Susante
Paul van Susante

Paul van Susante, PhD

Paul van Susante, who had been serving as a senior lecturer in the Department of Mechanical Engineering – Engineering Mechanics, started the fall semester as an assistant professor within that department.

He earned both a PhD and a master’s in engineering systems from the Colorado School of Mines. He also holds BS and MS degrees in civil engineering with an emphasis on building engineering from the Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands.

His research interests include advances in engineering education, engineering design process, extreme environment technologies and planetary science and exploration, among others.

Vijaya V. N. Sriram Malladi
Vijaya V. N. Sriram Malladi

Vijaya Sriram Malladi, PhD

Vijaya V.N. Sriram Malladi has joined the faculty of the Department of Mechanical Engineering – Engineering Mechanics as an assistant professor. He holds MS and PhD degrees from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and a BTech from the Indian Institute of Technology.

Prior to coming to Michigan Tech, Malladi was a research scientist at Vibrations, Adaptive Structures and Testing (VAST) lab at Virginia Tech. Prior to that, he served as chief research scientist (CEO) of GAiTE LLC.

Myoungkuk Park
Myoungkuk Park

Myoungkuk Park, PhD

Myoungkuk Park joins the faculty of the Department of Mechanical Engineering – Engineering Mechanics as a research assistant professor. He earned a PhD from Texas A&M, MS from Korea University and BS from Kyungkhee University, each in mechanical engineering.

Prior to coming to Michigan Tech, Park was a principal engineer/senior engineer with Samsung Electronics in Asan, Korea and a research assistant at Texas A&M.

His research interests include multi-robot system control, control of large-scale stochastic process and design of automated material handling.

Yongchao Yang
Yongchao Yang

Yongchao Yang, PhD

Yongchao Yang has joined Michigan Tech’s faculty in the Department of Mechanical Engineering – Engineering Mechanics as an assistant professor. Yang holds a PhD in structural engineering from Rice University and a B.E. in structural engineering from Harbin Institute of Technology, China.

Before coming to Michigan Tech he was a technical staff member at Argonne National Laboratory and a postdoctoral fellow at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Engineering Staff Recognized for 2019 Making a Difference Awards

Michigan Tech campus from Portage Canale.A total of 48 nominations have been submitted for the 2019 Making a Difference Awards. Everyone is invited to a reception honoring the nominees. The reception is scheduled for 2:00pm to 3:30 pm, Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2019 in the Memorial Union Ballroom. The recipients for each category will be announced at the reception.

In the College of Engineering, the following staff have been nominated:

Above and Beyond

Carol Asiala – Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences

Behind the Scenes

Taana Blom – Chemical Engineering
Cindy Wadaga – Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics

Legacy Award

Owen Mills – Materials Science and Engineering
Alexis Snell – Chemical Engineering

Rookie Award

Rachel Griffin – Materials Science and Engineering
Rachel Store – Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
Laura Wiinikka – Chemical Engineering

Serving Others

Pam Hannon – Civil and Environmental Engineering
Katie Torrey – Chemical Engineering

Unsung Hero

Brian Eggart – Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
Paul Fraley – Materials Science and Engineering
Shelle Sandell – Civil and Environmental Engineering
Mark Sloat – Electrical and Computer Engineering
Stefan Wisniewski – Chemical Engineering

Engineering Supports SnowBots at Yeti Cup

First Tech Challenge logoThe SnowBots Middle School Robotics teams competed in Kingsford last weekend for the Yeti Cup U.P. FIRST Tech Challenge robotic qualifier competition. All three teams were in the finals and brought home awards from the competition. SnowBots teams are open to area sixth-eighth grade students, and meet at Houghton Middle School.

SnowBots teams are sponsored by: Michigan Department of Education, GS Engineering, Destination Unstoppable, Boundary Labs, ThermoAnalytics, IR Telemetrics, Michigan Tech Civil and Environmental Engineering Department, Michigan Tech Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics Department, Monte Consulting, and Houghton Portage Township Schools. The Kingsford event was sponsored in part by Michigan Technological University College of Computing. The Copper Country was also well represented with 18 community volunteers supporting the event.

Read more at the Mining Gazette.

States bound: SnowBots qualify for state championship

The SnowBots Middle School Robotics teams reached a first-ever milestone at the Pellston regional FIRST Tech Challenge qualifier on Nov 23rd. All three teams, identified by the colors Blue, Red, and Silver, have now qualified to compete at the state championship Dec. 13-14 in Battle Creek. SnowBots Blue and Silver qualified on Nov. 9 and the Red team will be joining them after their great performance in Pellston.

Read more at the Mining Gazette.

Engineering Students Attend WE19

Romana Carden
Romana Carden

Mackenzie Brunet
Mackenzie Brunet

Ten members of the Michigan Tech chapter of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) went to the 2019 national conference, WE19, November 7-9, in Anaheim, California. Advisor Gretchen Hein (EF) accompanied the delegation of eight undergraduates and two graduate students.

The WE19 conference was attended by more than 16,000 SWE members, both collegiate and professional, from across the nation, who enjoyed professional development breakout sessions, inspirational keynotes, a career fair, and multiple opportunities for networking.

Romana Carden, a 5th year student in engineering management, participated in the SWE Future Leaders (SWEFL) program. Along with Mackenzie Brunet, Carden went to the SWE Collegiate Leadership Institute (CLI), a day-long leadership development event. Both programs, led by female engineers working in industry and academia, help college students gain leadership skills.

Full list of students who attended:

Engineering Students Comment on Volunteer Work

Students make a difference by pulling weeds.Instead of sleeping in on a rainy Saturday, more than 500 Michigan Technological University students planted flowers, helped out at the Lake Superior Performance Rally and joined in on other projects as part of Tech’s 13th annual Make a Difference Day.

“I love having a day where I can give back with all of my fellow students,” said Amanda Moya, a fifth-year mechanical engineering student.

“I like to take advantage of the opportunity to give back and make a difference in the world,” said Blue Key member Jacob Allen, a third-year electrical engineering major.

Read more at the Mining Gazette, by Garrett Neese.

William Predebon Inducted into the Pan American Academy of Engineering

William Predebon is the JS Endowed Chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics at Michigan Technological University. “I am honored to be inducted into the Pan American Academy of Engineering and humbled to be included with other leaders from the Americas and Mexico,” he says.

William Predebon, chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics at Michigan Technological University, traveled to Washington, D.C. last week to be inducted into the Pan American Academy of Engineering.

The Pan American Academy of Engineering was started in 2000 in Panama City, the first of its kind. It brings together engineers from across the continent of North America, South America and Mexico—a total of 18 countries. The Pan American Federation of Engineering Societies and the National Federations North America, South America, Mexico established the Academy to publicly honor the exceptional engineers, who, prestige of their profession, have contributed decisively to the progress of their country and continent.

He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame in 1965 and his master’s and doctorate from Iowa State University in 1968 and 1970, respectively. He joined Michigan Tech’s ME-EM department in 1975. He was associate chair from 1993-1997. He has been chair of the department since 1997, and has transformed the program.

Under his watch, the ME-EM department has made great strides in conducting interdisciplinary research, growing the doctoral program, expanding research funding, and updating the curriculum and laboratories.

“The world is changing, and we need to respond to its challenges and opportunities,” says Predebon. “Most recently, we have witnessed the rise of big data as the fourth industrial revolution gets underway, leading to the digital mechanical engineering space. To produce leaders during this change, our Department is rapidly evolving our educational methods and our methods of research. We are leading the effort to infuse into our undergraduate and graduate curriculum the knowledge and critical skills to use big data, machine learning and artificial intelligence in the solution of engineering design problems.”

Predebon has been involved with the Pan American Academy of Engineering for just about two years—attending meetings, giving talks, and advising on mechanical engineering education and research—and will continue to do so in the future. “I am honored to be inducted into the Pan American Academy of Engineering and humbled to be included with other leaders from the Americas and Mexico,” he says.