Category: Publications

Cross-disciplinary Research Team and Carbon Nanotube Forests

Two carbon nanotube substrates with a nanotube zoom and a sterilization step.
Detail from a schematic illustration of the process from CNT forest growth to cell seeding.

A cross-disciplinary research team of MTU undergraduate students, graduate students and professors are co-authors of an article published in the Journal of Materials Research.

The article, titled “Conductive 3D nano-biohybrid systems based on densified carbon nanotube forests and living cells,” appears in the journal’s Early Career Scholars in Materials Science issue, 2024.

The research team worked with carbon nanotube (CNT) “forests,” groupings of carbon nanotubes on which conductive biohybrid (cell-material) systems can be developed. Working with fibroblasts or cardiomyocytes, the researchers integrated the cell cultures with the CNT forests coated with gelatin. The novelty of the work lies in the use of the 3D structure of CNT forests as the main part of the scaffold and the development of a conductive, porous, and 3D cardiac scaffold with high cytocompatibility. The results show that the scaffold could be used in applications ranging from organ-on-a-chip systems to muscle actuators.

Congratulations to the research team:

Bagheri, R., Ball, A.K., Kasraie, M. et al. Conductive 3D nano-biohybrid systems based on densified carbon nanotube forests and living cells. Journal of Materials Research (2023). https://doi.org/10.1557/s43578-023-01163-x

The original article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Senior Capstone Team Places in National Airport Design Competition

Glycol Collection Cart illustration.

A project designed by a Michigan Tech Senior Capstone team placed second in the Transportation Research Board’s Airport Cooperative Research Program (ACRP) student design competition. The team’s submission in the Airport Environmental Interactions Challenge design category was “Glycol Collection Cart: A Design for Small Airports.”

Undergraduate team members are Derek Cingel, Jared Langdon, Bryce Leaf, Ruth Maki, and Douglas Pedersen. Amanda Moya and Alec Mitteer also participated the first semester of the project.

They were advised by Paul van Susante and Michigan Tech Senior Capstone Design Program Director William Endres.

The selection was made from 63 entries by a panel of industry, FAA and academic experts. For its entry, the team will receive a $2,000 award.

The Transportation Research Board is a program unit of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine — private, nonprofit institutions that provide independent, objective analysis and advice to the nation to solve complex problems and inform public policy decisions related to science, technology, and medicine.

Jacob Franz Collaborates on 3D Printing Guide

Jacob Franz
Jacob Franz

The open-source book “Printing 3D Models for Chemistry – A Step-by-Step Open-Source Guide for Hobbyists, Corporate Professionals, and Educators and Students in K-12 and Higher Education“, by undergraduate students Elisabeth Grace Billman-Benveniste (Chemistry), Jacob Franz (Mechanical Engineering), and Associate Professor Loredana Valenzano-Slough (Chem) was recently featured in the news section of “3dprint.com – Voice of 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing.”

Jacob is a mechanical engineering student at Michigan Technological University.

After completing his BS degree in mechanical engineering (graduating in spring 2020), Jacob is planning to continue his education in the accelerated Master of Business Administration program at Michigan Tech (graduating in fall 2020) in hopes of taking on leadership and upper management roles in industry.

2017 Best Paper Award of ASCE Journal of Aerospace Engineering Goes to Michigan Tech Collaborators

Fernando Ponta
Fernando Ponta

Xiao Sun (CEE, research assistant), Qingli Dai (CEE), Muraleekrishnan Menon (MEEM, research assistant) and Fernando Ponta (MEEM) co-authored “Design and Simulation of Active External Trailing-edge Flaps for Wind Turbine Blades on Load Reduction.”

The paper received the 2017 Journal of Aerospace Engineering Best Paper Award. An award banquet will take place at the 2018 Earth and Space Conference on April 9-12 in Cleveland.

https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)AS.1943-5525.0000771

Robotic Ankle Research in Orthopedic Design & Technology

Robotic AnkleResearchers are developing an artificial vision system that can enable a robotic ankle to see where it is going to improve the wearer’s gait.

Mo Rastgaar, a Michigan Technological University mechanical engineer and his team have already developed a prototype of the prosthetic ankle that can provide a range of motion that rivals a natural gait. Next, they aim to give their robotic ankle something different: eyes.

The camera can identify the profile of the ground, while the computer knows where the next footstep will be, based on how the user is moving the leg. Mo Rastgaar

Read more at Orthopedic Design & Technology.

Related stories:

HIRoLab Featured in National Biomechanics Day Outreach

The Better to See You With: Prosthetic Leg Would Keep an Eye on the Path Ahead

Rastgaar Receives CAREER Award to Develop Ankle-Foot Prosthetic Robot

Future Transmission Development by Darrell Robinette

Triple ClutchUK Car Magazine, a European car enthusiast magazine and Lubrizol Additives 360, an online driveline news organization, have published articles featuring a new automatic transmission design developed by Darrell Robinette(ME-EM). The new transmission design was developed during his time at General Motors and was presented at CTI Ttransmission Symposium in Berlin, Germany last December. The articles can be found here and here.

Future engines will have more torque at low(er) engine speeds. It’s part of our job when designing transmissions to maximize that efficiency but, also, to ensure a pleasurable driving experience.Darrell Robinette