The students of SIS and SAAM alumni participated in several STEM activities just like their parents did at Tech! Joan Chadde facilitated several Family Engineering activities for the students who ranged in age from 3-17 years. A favorite activity is the “Hot Chocolate Machine where students stack 10-15 cups to let gravity do its thing and mix the milk power and cocoa powder—and Voila! Hot chocolate!
Thirty middle-school students, plus two science teachers, and two chaperones from Brimley Area Schools visited Michigan Tech and the Keweenaw Peninsula from Sept. 28-30, hosted by Ted Bornhorst, executive director, A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum and Joan Chadde, Director of the Center for Science & Environmental Outreach. The Brimley Area Schools student population is 54% Native American and 51% low income. Students participated in a half-day of STEM activities on campus with Brian Barkdoll and “Kiko” de Melo e Silva, faculty and research scientist, respectively, in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Dr. Sarah Sun in Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics.
“We were pleased to provide this unique opportunity for the Brimley students that may spark their interest to pursue a STEM degree at Michigan Tech,” explained Bornhorst.
“This was a great group of students,” observed Chadde. “We plan to work with them to make this an annual visit.”
Michael T. Drewyor, PE & PS was recently elected Chairman of the Board of Professional Surveyors in Michigan for the 2016 -2017 year.
For two weeks in August, eleven students (8 CEE, 2 GMES, 1 ME) traveled to Panama as part of the CEE International Senior Design (“iDesign”) program. After a day at the City of Knowledge in Panama City, they divided into three teams and traveled to rural, indigenous communities in the Comarca Ngäbe-Bugle in western Panama. Hosted by Peace Corps Volunteers at these sites, they collected data for their fall semester senior design projects – two water supply systems and a river crossing, respectively. Other trip highlights included visits to the Panama Canal and the Biomuseo (Biodiversity Museum), a rest day at the beach, and a close encounter with a sloth family.
The trip was led by Professor David Watkins and Research Associate Henrique “Kiko” de Melo e Silva. Professor of Practice Mike Drewyor is assisting with mentoring the design teams in the fall term.
Stanley Vitton, an associate professor of civil engineering, was recently selected as a 2016-2017 Henry Krumb Lecturer by the National Society of Mining Engineers (SME).
The Henry Krumb Lecture Series aims to provide local SME sections with prominent mineral professionals to speak on subjects of their expertise and is partially funded by a grant from the Seely W. Mudd Memorial Fund. Lecturers are selected from those who present papers at the Annual Conference & Expo (ACE).
Dr. Vitton’s lecture will be on “High Strain Mechanics and Its Importance in Crushing and Grinding Technology“
Environmental Engineering PhD candidate, Xinyu Ye, was awarded the Best Student Poster Presentation at the 20th Conference on Air-Sea Interaction in Madison held August 15-19, 2016. The conference was hosted by the American Meteorological Society (AMS).
’92 Civil Engineering alumnus Lance Malburg was the recipient of the Asphalt Recycling & Reclaiming Association’s 2016 Award for Excellence in Hot In-Place Recycling (HIR) category. Malburg is an engineer for the Dickinson County Road Commission. For the full article, visit: http://www.ironmountaindailynews.com/page/content.detail/id/576343/Malburg-receives-award.html
Cladophora is a filamentous, green alga that grows to nuisance levels in areas of the Great Lakes receiving phosphorus enrichment. Anika Kuczynski, a Ph.D. candidate in environmental engineering working under Dr. Marty Auer, recently received an Editor’s Choice Award for her paper entitled, “The Cladophora resurgence in Lake Ontario: Characterization and implications for management” published in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. Anika is back on Lake Ontario this summer seeking engineering solutions to this problem plaguing the Great Toronto waterfront. Anika was accompanied by environmental engineering undergrads Hayden Henderson and Michelle Nitz on her most recent trip to Lake Ontario in July. Results from the field and laboratory studies performed there will be input to a 3D model developed by Anika, Chenfu Huang (also a Ph.D. student in environmental engineering) and CEE’s Dr. Pengfei Xue to test management strategies to reduce nuisance growth of the alga.
The Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering will host a ‘Beer & Brat’ Social during the Alumni Reunion on Friday, August 5th from 1:30-3:00 PM in the Courtyard in front of the Dow Building.
RSVP appreciated – rdsandel@mtu.edu
Students from grades first through sixth are taking part in two summer science camps being offered this week at Michigan Tech. The camps are being put on by the Western Upper Peninsula Center for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education. To see the TV6 News story on the camp, visit: http://www.uppermichiganssource.com/content/news/Students-take-part-in-science-camp-during-summer-break-383007411.html