Category: News

Science is Spelled Excitement during STEM Awareness Month

Children running around with huge smiles on their faces, the sound of laughter and tons of exclaimed “whoas” is typically a scene from an amusement park. Or in Michigan Technological University’s case, a Science and Engineering Festival.

October is STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Awareness month in Michigan. All month long, events have been held across the state, and right here in the Copper Country, to help youth become more interested in STEM subjects.
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Smile! Better Dental Implants are on the Horizon

A brighter, better, longer-lasting dental implant may soon be on its way to your dentist’s office. Dental implants are posts, usually made of titanium, that are surgically placed into the jawbone and topped with artificial teeth. More than dentures or bridges, implants mimic the look and feel of natural teeth. While most dental implants are successful, a small percentage fail and either fall out or must be removed. A scientist at Michigan Technological University wants to lower that rate to zero using nanotechnology.

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Ong Named Director of Biotechnology Research Center

The Biotechnology Research Center (BRC) has announced that Keat Ghee Ong, associate professor (Bio Med), has been elected as director. He began his term Monday.

Professor Michael R. Gretz (Biology), who has served as the BRC director since January 2010, stepped down from the position at the beginning of the new academic year. The BRC members thank Gretz for his leadership and service to the BRC, and they welcome Ong as the new director.

The BRC is currently housing approximately 35 projects. Most are funded through major federal agencies, including the Department of Energy, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the Department of Agriculture. BRC’s research expenditures average more than $2.3 million annually. For more information on the BRC, visit Biotech

Research Experience for Undergraduates Summer 2013

Students in the Research Experience for Undergraduates REU summer 2013 programpresented posters on research projects they have worked on over the summer. The project topics include: measurement of diesel emission particulate matter, experimental hybrid vehicle fuel system, lithium ion battery characterization and SOC measurement, hybrid vehicle dynamometer test stand development, heavy duty truck driving simulation, and measuring temperature variations in combustion vessels.

Student Engineers’ Skin Patch Warns When It’s Time to Get Out of the Sun

The news story Student Engineers’ Skin Patch Warns When It’s Time to Get Out of the Sun has received more than 104,000 views and numerous comments since it was posted April 30. Many people are asking when it will come on the market and be availablke in stores. The surge in views began after the story appeared on Reddit, an internet site where registered users share content.

Here is Expo on-the-spot interview video clip about Skin Patch Warns When It’s Time to Get Out of the Sun

More recently AOL News made a video clip New Skin Patch Could Help Prevent Sunburn

A RISEing Star: Biomedical Engineering Student Awarded International Research Internship

When Leslie LaLonde first heard about the RISE internship program, she thought, “I’m all over this.”
She wasted no time in applying to the competitive Research Internships in Science and Engineering (RISE) program and recently received word of her acceptance for summer 2013. The program offers undergraduate students from the United States, Canada, and Europe the chance to work with researchers at Germany’s top research universities and institutions
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Undergraduate Expo Michigan Tech Awards

The 13th annual Undergraduate Expo was held on Thursday, April 18, 2013 in the J. Robert Van Pelt and John and Ruanne Opie Library.

The winners of the Michigan Tech Undergraduate Expo Awards have been posted. Congratulations to all the winners.

The Undergraduate Expo highlights hands-on, discovery-based learning at Michigan Tech. Nearly one thousand students in Enterprise and Senior Design teams showcase their work and compete for awards. A panel of judges, made up of corporate representatives and Michigan Tech staff and faculty members, critique the projects. Many of them are sponsored by industry, which allows students to gain valuable experience through competition at the Expo, as well as direct exposure to real industrial problems. The Expo is a combined effort of the College of Engineering and the Institute for Leadership and Innovation.

Two Students win Biotechnology Research Center Awards

Biotechnology Research Center Student Research Forum Winners Announced
The Ecosystem Science Center and the Biotechnology Research Center announced award recipients of the Ninth Annual ESC/BRC Student Research Forum, held March 27. Posters will continue to be on display in the atrium of the Forestry building through April 12.

Undergraduate Research:
$150 Grand Prizes Award: Biotechnology Research Center: Morgan Owen-Cruise (BE) for, “Synthesis and Characterization of Dopamine and Nitrodopamine Modified Poly(ethylene glycol),” Advisor: Bruce Lee
Undergrad Merit Award: Keegan Yates (BE) for, ” Divalent Ion Removal Improves Stability and Mechanical Properties of Gelatin Hydrogel,” Advisors: Megan Frost and Feng Zhao