Author: College of Engineering

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

Seawater Intrusion-Impacted Aquifer Project Funding for Alex Mayer

Alex Mayer
Alex Mayer

Alex Mayer (Civil-Environ Eng / GLRC) is Principal Investigator on a project that has received a $319,950 research and development grant from the National Science Foundation. The project is titled “CBET-EPSRC Efficient Surrogate Modeling for Sustainable Management of Complex Seawater Intrusion-Impacted Aquifers.” This is a potential three-year project.

By Sponsored Programs.

Extract

Water management in densely populated coastal regions is one of the most pressing sustainability challenges worldwide. Coastal groundwater is especially vulnerable to climate change and sea level rise due to the potential for seawater intrusion into groundwater aquifers. Seawater intrusion has reduced water supply in all coastal regions of the US. This has resulted in high costs to society.

We propose to address this challenge by developing models that are orders of magnitude faster than current models.

These modeling advances will be made in collaboration with water supply agencies, with the goal of increasing the utility of groundwater modeling for coastal communities. Successful development and adoption of these approaches will help agencies tasked with the protection of coastal aquifers devise sustainable management strategies to protect scarce water resources.

Read more at the National Science Foundation.

Civil Engineering Experiences for Students

Civil Engineering Lift Bridge

HOUGHTON, Mich. (WLUC) – Michigan Tech is hosting a group of over 20 high school students from all around the country this week as a part of their summer educational programs. The students are there on a competitive scholarship, and each student had to apply for a position in the program.

“I don’t know how many people applied, but the kids that are here we’re selected because of the qualities they possess. Every single kid seems to be interested in STEM things and the questions they ask have been pretty impressive to me,” said Tim Barron, the Instructor for the program.

The program focuses primarily on civil engineering with a focus in transportation. The group is scheduled to take field trips all over the U.P to many different spots, including the Soo Locks and the Mackinaw Bridge. Wednesday they got an inside look at Houghton County’s own Portage Canal Lift Bridge.

Read more and watch the video at TV6 News FOX UP, by Jake Swope.

The Michigan Tech story begins at 01:34 in the video.

MIRE Upgrades in Roadsoft

Roadsoft

Tim Colling (Civil and Environment Eng/CTT) is Principal Investigator on a project that has received a $30,504 other sponsored activities contract with the Michigan Department of Transportation. The project is titled, “MIRE Upgrades in Roadsoft.” Gary Schlaff (Civil and Environmental Eng) and Nick Kozykowski (Civil and Environmental Eng) are Co-PI’s on this approximate three-month project.

By Sponsored Programs.

MIRE refers to Model Inventory Roadway Elements fields.

William Sproule on Houghton’s Historic Hockey Reputation

Hockey Front CoverHOUGHTON — When Dr. William Sproule, a recently retired professor of civil and environmental engineering from Michigan Tech University, set out to discover what it meant for Houghton to claim it was the birthplace of professional hockey, he knew that he had his work cut out.

“Anyone who is going to claim that they are the first in something better be ready to back it up,” he said, “because there is going to be someone out there who is going to dispute it.”

His research into the topic of local hockey history began more than 15 years ago and has been compiled into a new self-published book entitled “Houghton, the Birthplace of Professional Hockey.”

Read more at the Mining Gazette, by Eddie O’Neill.

Ko and Lautala Publish on Multimodal Biomass Transportation

Sangpil Ko and Pasi Lautala (CEE) have published four journal articles related to multimodal biomass transportation logistics. The articles also provided the foundation for Sangpil Ko’s dissertation Woody Biomass Transportation and Logistics: Modeling Studies for the Great Lakes Region.

Cleaner Production coverSangpil Ko, Pasi Lautala (CEE), and Robert Handler (ChemEng/SFI), published the article, “Securing the feedstock procurement for bioenergy products: a literature review on the biomass transportation and logistics” in the Journal of Cleaner Production. The journal is a peer-reviewed academic publication that is currently ranked first in Google Scholar in the Sustainable Development category.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2018.07.241

BBB coverSangpil Ko, Pasi Lautala (CEE), Jiqing Fan (California EPA), and David Shonnard (ChemEng/SFI), published the article “Economic, Social, and Environmental Cost Optimization of Biomass Transportation: A Regional Model for Transportation Analysis in Plant Location Process” in the Biofuels, Bioproducts & Biorefining. The journal is a peer-reviewed academic publication of the Energy and Fuel category.
https://doi.org/10.1002/bbb.1967

TRR coverSangpil Ko and Pasi Lautala (CEE), published the article, “Advanced Woody Biomass Logistics for Co-Firing in Existing Coal Power Plant: Case Study of the Great Lakes States” in the Transportation Research Record. The journal is a peer-reviewed academic publication of Transportation Science and Technology category.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0361198118797806

Agriculture coverSangpil Ko and Pasi Lautala (CEE), published the article “Optimal Level of Woody Biomass Co-Firing with Coal Power Plant Considering Advanced Feedstock Logistics System” in Agriculture. The journal is a peer-reviewed academic publication of Agricultural Technology and Crop Production category.
DOI: 10.3390/agriculture8060074

Joan Chadde Presents at 2019 IAGLR

IAGLR 2019 logoJoan Chadde, Director of the Michigan Tech Center for Science and Environmental Outreach, gave three presentations at the International Association of Great Lakes Research (IAGLR) annual conference, June 10-14, at The College at Brockport, State University of New York. Her presentations included the following titles:

  • Creating Great Lakes Stewards and Promoting Healthy Urban Watersheds in Detroit
  • Lake Superior Youth Symposium 1995-2019: Inspiring Stewardship
  • Teacher-Created Innovative Invasive Species Lessons to Achieve State Standards.

Outstanding Member Award for Zhanping You from World Transport Convention

Zhanping You
Zhanping You

Zhanping You (CEE) was recently awarded as the Outstanding Member as a section chair of highway materials in the 3rd World Transport Convention 2019. This award is the highest recognition for the contribution of WTC member. The World Transport Convention was held in Beijing, China, June 13 to 16. More than 7,000 representatives from over 60 countries attended this meeting.

You also gave a keynote speech on “Research on Rubber Based Pavement in Wet-Freeze Region” in The Second Durable Pavement Research Forum. Another invited speech You delivered was on “Development and Validation of Innovative Laboratory Chip-Seal Tests.”

During the conference, You also met with the former graduates and friends of Michigan Tech and discussed research and education activities with them. Shuaicheng Guo, a post-doc in CEE also attended this conference. Guo presented on behalf of Wenbo Ma, a former visiting scholar at Michigan Tech, for a speech on “Atomic Force Microscope Study of the Aging/Rejuvenating Effect on Asphalt Morphology and Adhesion Performance.”

By Shuaicheng Guo.

Concrete Canoe Team is Tenth Overall in 2019 National Finals

Concrete Canoe Team 2019 with their canoe

The 2019 National Finals for the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Student Concrete Canoe Competition took place June 5-9 at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne.

The students’ efforts to combine engineering excellence and hydrodynamic design to construct water-worthy canoes have culminated in an advanced form of concrete construction and racing technique known as the “America’s Cup of Civil Engineering.”

The Michigan Tech Concrete Canoe Team placed tenth overall at the National competition. In addition to their overall finish, they ranked seventh in the oral presentation, 13th in design paper, 11th in display, and eighth in racing. Great job team!

oncrete Canoe Driftwood 2019

Rail and Intermodal Summer Youth Program Highlighted

Rail and Intermodal Summer Youth ProgramThe Rail and Intermodal Summer Youth Program that has been running for ten consecutive years was highlighted in the May/June Intermodal Insights, a newsletter by the Intermodal Association North America. The Program is a collaboration between the Rail Transportation Program at Michigan Tech and the Transportation Logistics and Management Program at the University of Wisconsin-Superior.

Engaging IANA’s Next Generation

For 10 consecutive years, the Michigan Technological University and the University of Wisconsin-Superior have jointly hosted the week-long Rail and Intermodal Summer Youth Program for high school students. The camp attracts nearly 20 young men and women annually from as far away as California, Florida and New York.

After arriving on the Michigan Tech campus in Houghton, Michigan on Sunday, camp participants get their first look at railroad operations at the Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad on Monday. They tour the company’s car and locomotive shops, and climb into the cab of a locomotive.

Read more at Intermodal Operations, Safety & Maintenance Business Meeting 2019 Recap: The Future of Intermodal.
By Pasi Lautala, Michigan Technological University, Richard Stewart, University of Wisconsin-Superior, David Nelson, Michigan Technological University and Daniel Rust, University of Wisconsin-Superior.