Category: Alumni

Drewyor Re-appointed to Pair of State Boards

Gov. Rick Snyder has re-appointed Mike Drewyor (SoT), to the State Board of Professional Surveyors and the State Board of Professional Engineers. The boards regulate the practices of professional surveyors and engineers.

Drewyor is a professor of practice in the School of Technology and teaches in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering as well. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from Michigan Tech.

Read more at Tech Today, by UMC.

Civil Engineering Alumnus Elected President of the County Road Association of MI

James M. Iwanicki, 1989 graduate of Civil Engineering
James M. Iwanicki, 1989 graduate of Civil Engineering

James Iwanicki ‘1989 – BS, Civil Engineering has been elected President of the County Road Association (CRA) of MI.  James has been with Marquette County Road Commission for 17 years and recognized in 2014 as CRA Rural Engineer of the Year.

http://uppermichiganssource.com/news/local/county-road-association-of-michigan-president-elected

Delta Phi Epsilon Awards “Most Engaging Professor”


Civil and Environmental Engineering’s newest instructor, Michelle Jarvie-Eggart was awarded “Most Engaging Professor” by Delta Phi Epsilon this semester. She is teaching ENVE 4506, Sustainable Engineering Design.  Michelle earned her PhD in Environmental Engineering in 2007. Since then she has worked on sustainability and compliance issues for mining and other heavy industries in Marquette, MI. She and her family moved back to Houghton in November.

Environmental Engineering Alumnus selected as Bay Delta Office Manager for Bureau of Reclamation’s Mid-Pacific Region

Michelle Banonis, an Environmental Engineering alumnus and PCA member
Michelle Banonis, an Environmental Engineering alumnus and PCA member

Michigan Technological University alumnus, Michelle Banonis, has been selected as the Bay Delta Office Manager for the Bureau of Reclamation’s Mid-Pacific Region effective March 21, 2016.  Banonis has most recently been serving as the Mid-Pacific Region’s Special Assistant to the Regional Director as well as leading efforts on California Water Fix.

Banonis obtained her Bachelor of Science in environmental engineering from Michigan Tech where she is also a member of the Presidential Council of Alumnae (PCA).  She also holds a Juris Doctor from Humphreys College Laurence Drivon School of Law and is a licensed attorney in California.

Michigan Tech/TUFTS Team Wins Prestigious ASCE Award

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) has announced that Steven C. Chapra, Rasika K. Gawde, Martin T. Auer, Rakesh K. Gelda and Noel R. Urban will receive the Society’s 2016 Horner Award for their paper entitled, Sed2K: Modeling lake sediment diagenesis in a management context, published in the
Journal of Environmental Engineering in 2015. The Horner Award is made annually, recognizing the paper, published in an ASCE journal making the most valuable contribution to the environmental engineering profession. The award-winning paper is based on a mathematical model (Sed2K) developed by Dr. Chapra, the Louis Berger Chair in Civil and Environmental Engineering at Tufts University. Application and testing of the model was led by Rasika K. Gawde who recently received the Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering from Michigan Tech and is now a post-doctoral fellow at the Horn Point Laboratory of the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. Rakesh Gelda, also received the doctorate in Environmental Engineering from Michigan Tech and is presently a Research Scientist with the Bureau of Water Supply, Water Quality Science & Research at the New York City Department of Environmental Protection. Drs. Auer and Urban are faculty in the Michigan Tech Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Environmental Engineering Alumnus Named one of the “New Faces of Civil Engineering”

'07 Environmental Engineering alumnus
Kyle Bareither is a ’07 Michigan Tech Environmental Engineering alumnus

Michigan Tech alumnus Kyle Bareither has been named one of 10 “New Faces of Civil Engineering” by the American Society of Civil Engineering (ASCE).  Each year the ASCE recognizes 10 young, diverse and talented engineers that highlight the next generation of civil engineering leaders.

Bareither currently works at Natural Resources Technology (NRT), an environmental consulting firm headquartered in Milwaukee, WI.  He also serves as president of ASCE’s Wisconsin section Southeast Branch Younger Member Group (YMG) and is a member for the YMG’s STEM Expo, a program that provides hands-on STEM activities for local K-12 students.

After a successful battle with Stage IV Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in 2010, Bareither decided that he wanted to give as much of his time helping others.  He volunteers his time with Imerman Angels – An organization created to provide one-on-one support for those facing cancer – and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.

The ASCE will officially recognize Bareither and the other nine nominees at the Outstanding Projects and Leaders (OPAL) Gala on March 17, 2016.

 

YouTube video

Milwaukee-Based Engineer Turns Cancer into Call to Help Others

Joint Environmental/Civil Engineering Seminar

Kaye LaFond, a Michigan Tech Environmental Engineering BS & MS alumnus
Kaye LaFond, a BS & MS alumni of Michigan Tech Environmental Engineering

Monday, February 8, 2016 from 3 to 4 pm in Dillman 214.

Kaye LaFond will present “Communicating Science and Data: Thoughts of a (Somewhat) Reformed Engineer.”

 

As the world squares off against challenges that require an informed public and science-savvy leadership, doing the research is only half the battle. Kaye will share her post-graduation experiences with science journalism, data visualization and ‘social media for academia’.

 

 

Civil Engineering Alumnus Named An Associate Of ROWE Professional Services Company

Michael Royalty is a 2005 graduate of Civil Engineering
Michael Royalty is a 2005 graduate of Civil Engineering

Michael A. Royalty, a Michigan Tech Civil Engineering alumnus, has recently been named an associate of ROWE Professional Services Co.  ROWE is a leading consulting firm headquartered in Flint, MI.  Royalty has been employed by ROWE since 2005 as a project manager, overseeing the operations of various road and infrastructure projects.

Civil Engineering Alumnus, Kathryn Lynnes, Is Doing her Part to Cleanup the Environment

Kathryn Lynnes is a 1979 graduate of Civil Engineering at Michigan Tech.
Kathryn Lynnes is a 1979 graduate of Civil Engineering at Michigan Tech.

Inspired to get involved in environmental cleanup following a eye-opening experience in her youth, Michigan Tech alumnus Kathryn Lynnes has spent her career doing just that.  After years of working as an environmental consultant for private industry and municipal government, Lynnes is now the new senior program manager for the Kirtland Air Force Base fuel spill cleanup.  To read more about Kathryn Lynnes, her career, efforts and her baseball memorabilia, visit: http://www.abqjournal.com/699538/news/kafb-gets-major-league-help-on-spill.html