Author: College of Engineering

Sue Hill is the Digital Content Manager for the College of Engineering.

Alumni Present at MITA 2020

Taylor (Garbe) Rudlaff and Michael Prast
Taylor (Garbe) Rudlaff and Michael Prast

Recent civil engineering graduates Michael Prast and Taylor (Garbe) Rudlaff presented the work of the Senior Design groups who developed the original concept of a utility tunnel under the Mackinac Straits at the MITA 2020 Annual Conference meeting on January 21-24 in Mt. Pleasant, MI. Mike Nystrom, Executive Director of MITA, the Michigan Infrastructure and Transportation Association, participated in the presentation by giving an update of the utility tunnel project and the current political climate impacting the project. Prast and Rudlaff spoke to a packed room of industry representatives who were impressed with the quality of the senior design experience provided by Michigan Tech. Audra Morse encouraged industry members to build partnerships with higher education and use real world projects, just like the utility tunnel under the Mackinac Straits, to bridge the gap between education and industry so that we recruit and retain the best and brightest in our profession.

Bruce Lowing, (80’) received the MITA Honorary Member Designation for his contribution to the construction industry and his service to MITA. To all of our alumni that attend MITA, it was good to see you and thanks for supporting Michigan Tech.

MITA 2020
MITA 2020

Sustainable Highway Construction Guidebook

A guidebook on best practices for selecting sustainable practices for the design phase of highway construction projects has been published by Amlan Mukherjee (CEE) and PhD Candidate Chaitanya Bhat (CEE) as well as Co-PIs Steve Muench, Giovanni Migliaccio, Jessica Kaminsky, Milad Zokaei Ashtiani, and Jeralee Anderson.

Description

Sustainability is often an element that informs decisions made during the planning, programming, and design phases of highway construction projects. However, the construction phase of a highway project is also an opportunity to advance sustainability.

The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program’s NCHRP Research Report 916: Sustainable Highway Construction Guidebook provides clear and practical information on what constitutes sustainability in the context of highway construction and how to evaluate any proposed construction practice for its sustainability potential.

Suggested Citation

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2019. Sustainable Highway Construction Guidebook. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/25698.

Jake Hiller Elected President of the International Society for Concrete Pavements

Jacob Hiller
Jacob Hiller

Associate Professor Jake Hiller was elected as president of ISCP, the International Society for Concrete Pavements. The two-year term runs February 1, 2020, to January 31, 2022.

Hiller’s research interests focus on the interaction between materials, mechanics, and performance in concrete pavements. Dr. Hiller also teaches courses in pavements, construction materials, and transportation-related topics

The mission of the International Society for Concrete Pavements (ISCP) is to facilitate the advancement of knowledge and technology related to concrete pavements through education, technology transfer and research at an international level.

Highway Vehicle Platooning Project Funding for Kuilin Zhang

Kuilin Zhang
Kuilin Zhang

Kuilin Zhang (CEE/MTTI) is the principal investigator on a project that has received a $58,556 research and development contract from the University of Illinois Urbana Champaign.

The project is entitled, “Leveraging Connected Highway Vehicle Platooning Technology to Improve the Efficiency and Effectiveness of Train Fleeting.”

This is a one-year project.

By Sponsored Programs.

Chaitanya Bhat on Pavement Life-Cycle Assessment

Chaitanya Bhat
Chaitanya Bhat

PhD Candidate, Chaitanya Bhat, was featured in the National Asphalt Pavement Association’s (NAPA) Action News. Chait was a NAPA intern in 2018 and was featured in NAPA’s Action News for presenting at the 2020 Transportation Research Board (TRB) 99th Annual Meeting held January 12–16, 2020, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, in Washington, D.C.

The meeting program covered all transportation modes, with more than 5,000 presentations in nearly 800 sessions and workshops, addressing topics of interest to policy makers, administrators, practitioners, researchers, and representatives of government, industry, and academic institutions. A number of sessions and workshops focused on the spotlight theme for the 2020 meeting: A Century of Progress: Foundation for the Future.

Bhat’s attendance at last year’s annual meeting involved a notable 3-Minute Thesis (3MT) presentation.

Structural Engineering Institute at L’Anse Area Schools

SEI Graduate Students teach kids in the classroom
From the L’Anse Area Schools Facebook page:

As 5th grade wrapped up their engineering unit with a visit from leaders of the MTU Structural Engineering Institute, Graduate Student Chapter. Our students reviewed the engineering design process while observing and suggesting improvements to structures being tested on an earthquake table. Students learned about competitive bridge building and previewed up coming concepts including plate tectonics and material properties.

Chadde Named Informal Science Educator of the Year

Joan Chadde-Schumaker
Joan Chadde-Schumaker

The Board of the Michigan Science Teachers Association (MSTA) has announced that Joan Schumaker Chadde, director of the Michigan Tech Center for Science and Environmental Outreach, has been selected as the 2020 Informal Science Educator of the Year.

Chadde was chosen for her unique and extraordinary accomplishments, active leadership, scholarly contributions, and direct and substantial contributions to the improvement of non-school based science education over a significant period of time.

She will be honored at an Awards Ceremony at the 2020 MSTA Conference.

By Angela Keranen.