Timothy Colling (CEE/MTTI) is the principal investigator on a project that has received $447,807 from the Michigan Department of Transportation. Christine Codere (CEE) and John Kiefer (CEE) are Co-PI’s on the project titled “2017 Michigan Local Technical Assistance Program.”
This is a one year project.
The Michigan Tech Rail Transportation Program (RTP) and the Railroad Engineering and Activities Club (REAC) will once again host their annual Railroad Night on Thursday (Sept. 22), at the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts. The event is open to Michigan Tech faculty, staff and anyone interested in railroads.
Following a social hour from 6 to 7 p.m., a program will feature keynote speaker Brian Lindamood from Alaska Railroad, the outgoing president of the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA).
Read more at Tech Today, by the Rail Transportation Program.
Faculty, students and staff involved in the Rail Transportation Program (RTP) had a busy summer in both presenting at and organizing conferences and events.
In late May, Pasi Lautala, director of the program, had a poster presentation on paper by Hamed Pouryousef and Lautala at the 11th World Congress in Railway Research, in Milan, Italy. Lautala also participated in the 2nd Railway Talent workshop as part of the conference.
In early June, Lautala made two presentations at the Global Level Crossing Safety & Trespass Prevention Symposium 2016, in Helsinki, Finland. Both presentations were authored by Myounghoon Jeon, Steven Landry, David Nelson and Lautala. The titles of the presentations were “Design and Evaluation of In-Vehicle Auditory Alerts for Railroad Crossings” and “Driver Behavior at Level Crossings Using Naturalistic Driving Study Data.”
Qingli Dai (CEE/MTTI) is the principal investigator on a project that has received a $287,518 research and development grant from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.
Zhanping You (CEE) is Co-Pi on the project “Fiber-reinforced High Performance Rubber Concrete for Concrete Structure Construction and Repair.”
Dave Watkins is the principal investigator on a research and development project that has received a $1,477,068 grant from the National Science Foundation. Buyung Agusdinata, Chelsea Schelly, Rachael Shwom and Jenni-Louise Evans are co-PIs on the project, “Reducing Household Food, Energy and Water Consumption: A Quantitative Analysis of Interventions and Impacts of Conservation.”
This project starts on Oct. 1 and is scheduled to finish in 2021.
From Tech Today.
Pasi Lautala (CEE), director of Michigan Tech’s Rail Transportation Program, was interviewed on Michigan Radio. He talked about the upcoming Michigan Rail Transportation Conference in Marquette Aug. 17-18. Listen to the interview.
WLUC TV6 (NBC), WBUP Channel 10 (ABC) and WJMN Channel 3 (CBS) all reported on the Michigan Rail Conference held this week in Marquette and organized by Michigan Tech’s Rail Transportation program. A radio station in Marinette, Wisconsin, also reported on the conference.
From Tech Today.
Michigan rail leaders get on track at annual conference
“We are a little bit remote from the rest of the market,” explained Pasi Lautala, assistant professor at Michigan Technological University in the department of environmental engineering and director of the rail transportation program. “We need to have very efficient and cost effective transportation modes, especially when you consider that a lot of the Upper Peninsula depends on natural resources and other commodities that are heavy weight and sometimes fairly low values.”
Read more and watch the video at WLUC TV6, by Blair Caldwell.
Water and the City of Flint have garnered plenty of headlines this year. This week, 13 teachers from the Flint area are on the campus of Michigan Tech for a four-day teacher institute focused on water and water issues.
The special interdisciplinary teacher institute will focus on three specific areas: Flint River Watershed; Drinking Water Treatment; Wastewater Treatment. The event is coordinated by the Ride the Waves program, Martin Auer (CEE) principal investigator and the Center for Science and Environmental Outreach.
Read more at Tech Today, by Joan Chadde.
Flint Teachers visit U.P. to learn about good water quality
Flint’s population continues to try and recover from their water crisis and these lessons will help deal with those lingering issues. Hamaday Middle School Science Teacher Arleatha Bryant said, “I’ve had at least seven children tell me they were tested positive for lead, and so we’ve been doing a lot of research on different foods you can eat and things you can do to try and alleviate some of the issues that may occur with this situation.”
And most importantly to educate people so such a situation doesn’t happen again. MTU Civil & Environmental Engineering Professor Martin Auer said, “These are the people that are going to change the lives that need to get this work done over the next several decades. If we can reach these teachers, then we can stimulate a process that’s going to engage the young people and that’s where the future is.”
Read more and watch the video at ABC 10 UP.
Staff from the Center for Technology and Training (CTT) and the Tribal Technical Assistance Program (TTAP) both, part of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, attended the 2016 National Local and Tribal Technical Assistance Programs (LTAP/TTAP) Conference held in Madison, Wisconsin, July 18-21 hosted by the Great Lakes Region LTAP and TTAP centers.
Read more at Tech Today, by the Center for Technology and Training.
KBJR-TV Channel 6 (NBC) in Duluth broadcast a story about students from Michigan Tech’s Summer Youth Program Rail and Intermodal Transportation Institute visiting rail yards in Superior, Wisconsin.
From Tech Today.
Michigan Tech students get an up close look at trains in Superior
Today, students from throughout the country enrolled in Michigan Tech’s Summer Youth Program’s Rail and Intermodel Transportation program were in Superior to get an up close look at Railroad Transportation.
Read more and watch the video at KBJR-TV Channel 6, by Anthony Matt.
David Hand, chair of the department of civil and environmental engineering, was quoted in the article “Flint Water: Where Science Took a Backseat to the Money.”
The article, by Seth Augenstein, was printed in Laboratory Equipment.
Flint Water: Where Science Took a Backseat to the Money
General Motors had a problem. The engine blocks in their Flint, Mich. plant were corroding as fast as they came off the production line. In the few months since the city had switched from Detroit water to the supply of the nearby Flint River, everything the factory produced was rusting over.
Tests quickly revealed the cause: elevated levels of chlorides were allowing the water to more-easily oxidize the metal.
The city switched to the river water in April 2014. GM reported its problems within months. After more months of inaction from the city leaders, the company alone switched back to Detroit water in December 2014.
“GM did inform the city,” said David Hand, chair of the civil and environmental engineering department at Michigan Technological University, in an interview with Laboratory Equipment. “No doubt (the city) should have realized they should evaluate the water.”