Month: March 2013

Pearce Publishes in Arctic

Arctic
Arctic

Joshua Pearce (MSE/ECE) co-authored an article “Community Voices: Perspectives on Renewable Energy in Nunavut” in Arctic 66(1), pp.94-104 (2013). Renewable.

From Tech Today.

COMMUNITY VOICES: PERSPECTIVES ON RENEWABLE ENERGY IN NUNAVUT

Nunavut communities currently depend on imported diesel fuel for virtually all of their energy needs. This dependency not only hinders the ability of communities to be self-sufficient, but also has negative impacts on their environment, health, and social well-being.

Read more in Arctic.

Kreiger and Pearce in MRS Online Proceedings

Megan Kreiger (graduate student MSE) and Joshua Pearce (MSE/ECE) co-authored and article “Environmental Impacts of Distributed Manufacturing from 3-D Printing of Polymer Components and Products” in the MRS Online Proceedings Library, 1492, mrsf12-1492-g01-02 Proceedings.

From Tech Today.

Megan Kreiger and Joshua M. Pearce (2013). Environmental Impacts of Distributed Manufacturing from 3-D Printing of Polymer Components and Products. MRS Online Proceedings Library, 1492, mrsf12-1492-g01-02 doi:10.1557/opl.2013.319.

Wittbrodt at MSTA 2013

Pure Michigan Science
MSTA Conference

Ben Wittbrodt (senior Materials Science and Engineering) represented the Michigan Tech Open Sustainability Technology Research Group at the annual Michigan Science Teachers Association conference at Eastern Michigan University. He demonstrated his own open-source 3-D printer, explained the technology and recruited enthusiastic teachers to attend Michigan Tech’s 3-D Printing Workshop.

From Tech Today.

Pearce on ICTs

Information Development
Information Development

Research by Joshua Pearce (MSE/ECE) is covered in a news brief from Engineering for Change about using the Internet and other ICTs as tools for sustainable development. Engineering for Change.

From Tech Today.

Research brief: The Internet and other ICTs as tools for sustainable development

“Not only does innovation through collaboration present a whole new paradigm shift for development, but in addition it requires establishment of a platform and tools necessary to facilitate such an enterprise. Luckily, both of these challenges are being broken down thanks to the Internet and in large part also to the success of the open source software movement,” the researchers write.

Read more at Engineering For Change.

The Internet and other ICTs as tools and catalysts for sustainable development: innovation for 21st century

Read more at Information Development.

Cogeneration on Pearce’s Solar Photovoltaic Research

 Joshua Pearce with PV Laminate
Joshua Pearce with PV Laminate

An article about the solar photovoltaic thermal hybrid systems research done by Joshua Pearce (MSE/ECE) and his group was discussed in detail in the magazine Cogeneration.

From Tech Today.

Efficiency breakthrough in solar thermal cells

Earlier this year, Dr. Joshua Pearce and collaborators published the results of their groundbreaking research that holds out the promise of hybrid PV/T systems with significantly enhanced electrical efficiencies.

Conclusion: use thicker than normal a-Si i-layers in a PV/T system and you can get higher electrical efficiency. Bake the a-Si layers once a day and degradation under Staebler–Wronski is reversed by annealing. It would take 15 minutes to explain the temperature controls needed to do this, according to Dr. Pearce.

‘We also know intuitively that the higher the temperature of the solar thermal absorber, the higher the efficiencies for the solar thermal system,’ he adds. ‘With the electrical and thermal efficiency gains, we’re making two better mousetraps for the price of one.’

Read more in Cogeneration & On-Site Power Production.

Solar Energy Volume 91
Solar Energy

Joshua Pearce (MSE/ECE) coauthored a paper on, “The Effect of Spectral Albedo on Amorphous Silicon and Crystalline Silicon Solar Photovoltaic Device Performance,” in Solar Energy.

From Tech Today.

Copper Nanoparticles in the News

CBS Detroit and its daily Technology Report published an article about Jaroslaw Drelich’s (MSE) research on using copper nanoparticles to protect food from food-borne bacteria such as e.Coli and salmonella. From Tech Today.

Food Production Daily, a European food production trade publication, published a news story featuring Professor Jaroslaw Drelich’s (MSE) research on the antibacterial properties of copper nanoparticles mixed with vermiculite. See FoodProduction daily.comFrom Tech Today.

Research by Jaroslaw Drelich (MSE) into using copper nanoparticles mixed with vermiculite for protection against food-borne bacteria was reported in the Packaging Digest and the Food Quality News. From Tech Today.

News of Polish Science, a publication of the Polish Press Association, interviewed Professor Jaroslaw Drelech (MSE) and published a news story about his work onantibacterial vermiculite with copper nanonparticles. From Tech Today.

Surface Innovations Research Group

Surface InnovationsThe research group Surface Innovations (SURFI), led by Dr. Jarek Drelich,  has launched a new website. The group research topics span a wide range, from mineral processing to antibacterial materials.

The group was recently honored for food safety innovation with the 2012 Great Lakes Entrepreneur’s Quest (GLEQ) Food Safety Innovation Award. The award is affiliated with an entrepreneurial spinoff of the research, Micro Techno Solutions.

The  GLEQ award is based on Drelich’s initial research on the copper-vermiculite materials is described in the article “Vermiculite Decorated with Copper Nanoparticles: Novel Antibacterial Hybrid Material,” published in 2011 in Applied Surface Science. The coauthors are Bowen Li, Patrick Bowen, Jiann-Yang Hwang, Owen Mills and Daniel Hoffman.

Dr. Drelich is also Editor-in-Chief of the affiliated journal, Surface Innovations. Surface Innovations is an interdisciplinary and international journal publishing articles on scientific and engineering advances made in the formulation and modification of surfaces
and coatings.

The group was also active in the recent TMS 2013 annual meeting, where they presented work on bioabsorbable stents. Recently they published in the journal Advanced Materials on the suitability of zinc in bioabsorbable stents.

Drelich Group on Zinc in Bioabsorbable Stents

Advanced Materials
Advanced Materials

Patrick K. Bowen, PhD candidate, and Professor Jaroslaw Drelich (MSE) and Associate Professor Jeremy Goldman (Bio Med) have written “Zinc Exhibits Ideal Physiological Corrosion Behavior for Bioabsorbable Stents” in Advanced Materials, published online in Early View, to appear in a future in-print issue.

From Tech Today.

New Funding

PI Patrick Bowen (MSE) and Co-Pi Jaroslaw Drelich (MSE) have received $52,000 for a two-year research grant on “Development of Novel Zinc-Based Bioabsorbable Stents for the Treatment of Vascular Stenoses,” from the American Heart Association.

From Tech Today.

Two Internships at Corning Glass

Corning Glass has two openings for materials science and engineering students with a focus in metals.

Metallurgical Engineering Internship with Corning Glass
Job #171438
Required Skills:
At least 3 years of materials engineering studies with a metals emphasis. (More specifically, physical or mechanical metallurgy). More than one metallurgy course must have been completed with a grade of ‘B’ or higher.
Experience/exposure to Platinum, high temperature alloys and/or super alloys is a plus
Technical curiosity
Hands on laboratory and mechanical abilities
Good documentation and analysis skills
Computer skills such as Excel, Word, PowerPoint Presentation, etc.
Corning is looking for a Junior level of BS or higher. MS or PhD level preferred. If interested, apply now.