Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering News

Category: News

Faculty Research Publications

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Graduate student Kenny Ng (CEE) and Assistant Professsor Qingli Dai (CEE) published a paper, “Tailored Extended Finite-Element Model for Predicting Crack Propagation and Fracture Properties within Idealized and Digital Cementitious Material Samples,” in the Journal of Engineering Mechanics, ASCE, 138 (1), 89-100.

Assistant Professor Qingli Dai (CEE), Associate Professor Theresa Ahlborn (CEE), a colleague, graduate student Kenny Ng (CEE) and graduate student Eric Kreiger (CEE) published a paper,”Damage Investigation of Single-Edge Notched Beam Tests with Normal Strength Concrete and Ultra High Performance Concrete Specimens Using Acoustic Emission Techniques,” in the journal of Construction and Building Materials, Elsevier, 31, 231-242.

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Tech People at Michigan County Engineer’s Workshop

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The Center for Technology and Training (CTT), a part of the Michigan Tech Transportation Institute (MTTI), hosted the 46th annual Michigan County Engineer’s Workshop in Mount Pleasant, February 13–16.

More than 130 engineers, managers and engineering technicians from Michigan county road commissions, the Michigan Department of Transportation, the Federal Highway Administration and municipal road agencies across Michigan attended the conference to learn about new technology and issues impacting the design, construction and maintenance of local agency-owned roads.

John Ryynanen, editor and technical writer for the CTT, and Melanie Kueber, research engineer for CTT, planned the event with a committee of engineers from the County Road Association of Michigan, including event cochair and Michigan Tech alumnus Lance Malburg (CEE ’92) from the Dickenson County Road Commission.

Associate Professor Stan Vitton (CEE) and Director Tim Colling (CTT) made presentations at the event. Also presenting were Michigan Tech alumni: Brenda O’Brien ’84, MDOT; Brian Gutowski ’88, Emmett County Road Commission; Gerald Fulcher ’80, DEQ; Doug Needham ’95, MITA; and Bruce Kadzban ’77, MDOT. Receiving an award for 23 years of service on the steering committee for the Michigan Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) was Ronald Young ’73, Alcona County Road Commission.

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Michigan Tech celebrates National Engineers Week 2012 February 19-25

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Michigan Tech celebrates National Engineers Week 2012 February 19-25.

National Engineers Week celebrates the positive contributions engineers make to society and is a catalyst for outreach across the country to kids and adults alike. For the past 60 years, National Engineers Week (E-Week) has been celebrated each February around the time of George Washington’s birthday, February 22, because Washington is considered by many to be the first US engineer. Each year the national celebration grows, and this year Michigan Tech will jump head first into E-Week with 30 different engineering events on campus for all to enjoy.

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Railroad Night 2012

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The Rail Transportation Program (RTP) and the Rail Engineering and Activities Club (REAC) held the 7th Annual Railroad Night, February 21, 2012 at the Shelden Grill in the Magnuson Hotel, Houghton. This year’s keynote speaker was Kevin Kesler, Chief of the Engineer and Operating Practice Division for the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). This was a great opportunirty to meet rail industry people, see photos at the Rail Transportation Program link: Railroad Night 2012 for more information.

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Green Film Festival: “Addicted to Plastic”

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Are you addicted to plastic? Find out about society’s plastic addiction and what can be done about it at the next film in the Green Film Festival series at 7 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 16, in Forestry G002.

Called “Addicted to Plastic,” the film focuses on the worldwide production, use and environmental effects of plastic. Associate Professor Judith Perlinger (CEE) will lead a discussion after the showing.

The film is free, but a $3 donation is requested. Sponsors are the Michigan Tech Center for Water and Society, the Keweenaw Unitarian Universalist Fellowship and the Keweenaw Land Trust.

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SFHI Transportation Candidate Visits, All Evaluations are Due

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The Strategic Faculty Hiring Initiative in Transportation presents a seminar by Jeffrey Lidicker, a PhD candidate at the University of California, Berkeley, at 10 a.m., today, in Rekhi G06. Lidicker will speak on “Pavement Resurfacing Policy for Minimization of Life-cycle Costs and Greenhouse Gas Emissions.”

The committee encourages faculty and staff to interact with the SFHI candidates and evaluate them.

The seminars are available for viewing on the SFHI website, where applications, abstracts and itineraries can also be reviewed.

Lidicker’s presentation completes the current set of SFHI Transportation interviews.

The SFHI Transportation Steering Committee requests that evaluations for this group of candidates be completed by Saturday, Feb. 18.

The committee will meet early in the week of Feb. 20 to select its recommendations for faculty hires. Evaluations by the campus community are an integral part of the the committee’s overall evaluation of the candidates.

For more information, contact Carol Asiala at 487-2033 or at
cjasiala@mtu.edu .

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Webinar on Railroad Networks

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The Rail Transportation Program (RTP), a part of the Michigan Tech Transportation Institute (MTTI), will host a webinar from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign on “Optimal Fueling Strategies for Locomotive Fleets in Railroad Networks.” The presentation by Seyed Mohammad Nourbakhsh will be from 1 to 2:30 p.m., today, February 17th, in Dillman 315.

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Railroad Engineering and Activities Club Meeting

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The Railroad Engineering and Activities Club (REAC) will hold a business meeting from 6 to 7 p.m., Tuesday Feb 28, in Dow 875.

This Tuesday’s Rail Transportation Seminar presentation will be by Phil Pasterak, Sr. Vice President/Central Region Manager Rail & Transit for PB. The presentation title is:

“High Speed Rail Development in the US and Midwest”

REAC is open to members of any discipline who have an interest in finding out more about REAC activities and the rail industry.

Pizza and pop will be provided.

For more information, contact Pam Hannon, coordinator, MTTI, at 487-3065 or at prhannon@mtu.edu .

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Scholarship Opportunities for Engineering Juniors, Seniors and Grad Applicants

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The Michigan Tech Sustained Support to Ensure Engineering Degrees (SSEED) program (funded by NSF S-STEM) is in its second year of four. In 2011-12, the program awarded 33 scholarships ranging from $1,000 to $5,000 to engineering juniors and seniors. The program awarded five fellowships of $8,000 each to first-year engineering graduate students.

The purpose of the undergraduate scholarships is to improve the retention of upper division engineering students who have financial need and other risk factors that make it difficult to complete their degrees. The purpose of the graduate fellowships is to improve the recruitment of women and minorities to graduate study in engineering.

In 2012-13, the program will again award up to 35 undergraduate scholarships and five graduate fellowships. The program also features mentoring and professional development opportunities. The application deadline is March 15 for undergraduate scholarships and May 1 for graduate fellowships. Share this information with qualified students.

For more information, see SSEED, or contact Michele Miller at 487-3025 or at mhmiller@mtu.edu .

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