Michigan Tech College of Business Newsblog

Tag: engineering management

Student Chapter (Branch) of ASQ

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The American Society for Quality, an international organization promoting quality management and continuous improvement, has approved a Student Chapter (Branch) of the American Society for Quality at Michigan Tech.

We are the first chapter in Section 1014 representing northern lower Michigan and the Upper Peninsula. The founding membership has 17 student members. The major objectives of the chapter are to promote professional certification, foster a culture of lifelong learning and to connect students with chapters across the country as they transition from student life to their chosen careers.

We are especially thankful to Lisa (Gippert) Smith ’98 (ME) for her work in getting the chapter established. We are also thankful to Don Brecken and Nicole O’Reilly from American Society for Quality, Milwaukee. Three of the 17 members have completed the ASQ Six Sigma Yellow Belt Certification. There are several more who will take the exam in May 2018.

The founding officers are

Stephen Butina, President

  • Management major with a concentration in Supply Chain and Operations Management
  • Hometown: Painesdale, MI

Tim Bart, Vice President

  • Engineering management major
  • Hometown: Brighton, MI

Kelby Chrivia, Treasurer

  • Engineering management major
  • Hometown: Hale, MI

Gabriela Mayorga, Secretary

  • Engineering management major
  • Hometown: Grand Rapids, MI

Dana M. Johnson (SBE) is the advisor for the organization. She is a Senior Member of ASQ.

In the Fall semester, the organization will actively begin recruitment of students. The organization is open to all students including undergraduate and graduate students. Any interested students should contact Stephen Butina or Dana Johnson.

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Project Management Institute Competition

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Each year Michigan Tech’s OSM4200 Advanced Project Management course competes in the West Michigan Chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMI) competition in Grand Rapids Michigan.  This year, two Michigan Tech teams competed: “Lettuce Taco ’bout Food Waste” and “Squash the Waste”.

This year’s project plan was to design, create and package an educational program that draws current practical information from the national, state, and municipal levels to show what people can do to reduce food waste. Michigan Tech’s “Squash the Waste” placed 3rd out of 8 teams in THE Project 2018 project management plan competition on Monday, April 9.  The team’s mentors were Ginger Connin and Thomas Conquest.  Roger Woods, Senior Lecturer was the team’s Project Champion and Faculty Advisor. The team members were:

John Carey: undergraduate student – engineering management major

Shelbie Koenitzer: undergraduate student – management major with a concentration in entrepreneurship

Emma LeFleur: undergraduate student – engineer management major

Austin Riipli: undergraduate student – engineering management major

Nihar Brahmbhatt: graduate student in electrical engineering

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Shawn Badanjek, Engineering Management & MIS, Wins Big at Lear Open Innovation Challenge with other Michigan Tech Students

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By Jennifer Donovan
Original Link

Five Michigan Tech students competed in the Lear Open Innovation Challenge 2018, and four brought home awards.

Michigan Technological University students Shawn Badanjek, Mayank Bagaria, Anurag Kamal, Cameron Philo and Arvind Ravindran completed this year’s challenge, and Badanjek [student in the School of Business and Economics] was a member of the team that won the grand prize.

Lear Corporation, based in Detroit, is a leading automotive supplier that hosts the annual challenge to build connections with the state’s universities and tap new sources of innovative ideas.

“Detroit is the birthplace of the automobile, and, leveraging this proud legacy and manufacturing expertise, its industries are poised to be ground zero for the development of tomorrow’s mobility solutions,” the Lear Open Innovation Challenge website explains.

The challenge is conducted by the Innovatrium, a consulting firm founded to help organizations build the internal capacity to innovate and grow.

This year’s Lear Challenge had 57 participants from six universities: Michigan Tech, Michigan State University, Wayne State University, the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, the University of Michigan-Dearborn and the University of Detroit-Mercy.

The Lear Open Innovation Challenge presents a problem to interdisciplinary teams of university students. This year, the challenge involved increasing vehicle occupant safety. Two weeks later, the teams meet in Detroit to present their solutions.

The competition is designed to teach an innovative mindset, prepare students to create ideas for the future of mobility and vehicle connectivity, work with innovation coaches and Lear technology development experts and learn how to develop solutions that advance technology and manufacturing. While in Detroit, the student teams get a tour of Lear’s headquarters and a chance to network with top companies in the Detroit area and faculty from Michigan Tech, Michigan State, Wayne State, the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and University of Michigan-Dearborn.

Grand Prize Winner

Five Michigan Tech students completed the challenge and four received awards. One, Shawn Badanjek, was a member of the team that won the Grand Prize. A senior in engineering management [and management information systems], he will receive an internship with Lear for the summer, where he will work with his team to develop a prototype of their idea. He will also receive $250 cash prize, a Haworth Fern chair (customized personally for him) and a set of Detroit Tigers tickets.

Lear Open Innovation Challenge grand-prize-winning team

Lear Open Innovation Challenge grand-prize-winning team: (from left) Michigan Tech student Shawn Badanjek, Janelle Newman, Shivam Bajaj, Nicole Goldi and Adrian Maloy.

Badanjek has high praise for the competition mentors. “I believe the guidance and mentoring I received from these people was priceless,” he says. “I learned more about high-level team building and interaction in two weeks than in any semester-long class I have ever taken. This is something you learn that will be with you and help you navigate team interactions for life.”

Two other students, Cameron Philo—a Pavlis Honors College student—and Mayank Bagaria, were on a team that won an award for the most innovative idea. They will each receive a $250 cash prize.

“We approached the problem from a very different perspective, not as a conventional mechanical engineer would design, but as a biomedical engineer would design,” says Bagaria, a graduate student in mechanical engineering. “Working on the team was an awesome experience; diverse universities with people from different majors provided a very different perspective to the solution. The whole experience made me realize my strength and areas I need to work on. Michigan Tech helped us throughout the process. It would not have been possible to go and compete in Detroit without Michigan Tech.”

Michigan Technological University is a public research university, home to more than 7,000 students from 60 countries around the world. Founded in 1885, the University offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, and social sciences. Our beautiful campus in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula overlooks the Keweenaw Waterway and is just a few miles from Lake Superior.

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Ron and Linda Staley Establish New Engineering Management Scholarship

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The School of Business and Economics is pleased to announce that Ron & Linda Staley have established a new engineering management scholarship for incoming students. This endowed scholarship will recognize an outstanding first-year student in the engineering management major.

2017 has been a big year for Ron’s involvement with the School of Business and Economics. He was inducted into the Academy of Business which recognizes outstanding leaders in business and civic affairs, as well as those who have contributed significantly to the growth and development of the School of Business and Economics. He also joined our new Engineering and Supply Chain Management Industry Advisory Board.

Ronald Staley Final Crop -20170611Staley has been with The Christman Company for 33 years and is currently leading the reestablishment of a new construction management and general contracting office in the City of Detroit.   He founded Christman’s Historic Preservation Group in 1992 providing construction services for high profile national historic landmarks across the US and foreign countries.  Ron earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (Industrial Management) and Associate of Applied Science in Civil Engineering Technology from Michigan Technological University.  He is on the Board of Directors of The Christman Company and multiple non-profit boards and honored as a Fellow in the Association for Preservation Technology International and Honorary Affiliate of the Michigan Chapter American Institute of Architects.

Ron and Linda live in Brighton, Michigan and have two married children and two grandchildren.

“We are so fortunate to have alumni who are dedicated to giving back to the School of Business and Economics both financially and with gifts of time and expertise.” – Dr. Dean Johnson, Dean of the School of Business and Economics

 

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