Associate Professor Yue Li (CEE) and colleagues have received $39,450 from the National Science Foundation for a project, “US-Vietnam Workshop on Multiple Natural Hazards Assessment and Mitigation Under the Impact of Climate Change.”
Joan Chadde (CEE) traveled to Detroit last week as part of the Urban Forest Stewardship Program that involves eight public schools.
Michigan Tech coordinates the event at Belle Isle that showcases student work in three programs, Adopt-a-Beach, Invasive Species Removal and the Creation of an Interpretive Trail.
The initiative, funded by the USDA Forest Service, is intended to integrate forestry into curricula.
In offering the program, Tech partners with the Michigan Alliance for Environmental and Outdoor Education and Belle Isle Nature Zoo.
Pasi Lautala, director of the Rail Transportation Program (RTP), a part of the Michigan Tech Transportation Institute (MTTI), PhD student Hamed Pouryousef (CEE), and undergraduate David Sutton (CEE) recently attended and presented at the 2012 Joint Rail Conference, “Technology to Advance the Future of Rail Transport,” in Philadelphia, April 17-19.
Lautala presented “Tuning Transatlantic Collaboration in Rail Higher Education (TUNRail)–Final Outcomes,” based on his project that is supported by the Fund for Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), US Department of Education.
Lautala also chaired two sessions in the conference. Pouryousef presented a paper, “The Role of Railroad in Multimodal Woody Biomass Transportation in Michigan,” and Sutton presented a paper, “Industry-Student Collaboration to Develop Sustainability Metric for Concrete Tie Production.”
Retirement Gathering for Neil Hutzler
The civil and environmental engineering department invited the campus community to a retirement reception for Professor Neil Hutzler on Wednesday, May 16, in the Great Lakes Research Center. Hutzler has retired after 35 years of service.
As Professor Neil Hutzler was looking to retirement, he was ensuring that a new generation would become inspired to consider engineering as a career. Hutzler is co-author of the recently published Family Engineering Activity & Event Planning Guide (2011) and co-director of the Family Engineering Program. Hutzler, and collaborator Joan Chadde, have been busy conducting training workshops and promoting the program nationwide.
Find out more in this university news story about Dr. Hutzler’s recent work in Family Engineering
Family Engineering Inspires Students (and Mom and Dad)
Staff from the Center for Technology and Training (CTT), a part of the Michigan Tech Transportation Institute (MTTI), joined several other construction industry professionals from across Michigan to coordinate the fifth annual Michigan Construction Career Days event in Howell last week.
CTT staff who assisted were Training Coordinator John Ryynanen, Research Engineer Christopher Gilbertson and Technical Writers Shaughn Kern and Trevor Kuehl.
Construction Career Days attracted more than 1,500 students and teachers from across Lower Michigan. The event is designed to show young people the wide variety of careers available in the construction industry–at all levels of education and experience.
Ryynanen serves on the Construction Career Days Advisory Committee.
For more information about Career Days, see Construction.
John Ryynanen, training coordinator with the Center for Technology and Training in the Michigan Tech Transportation Institute, is quoted in the Livingston Daily article “Event Gives Students Some Experience in Construction,” about the fifth annual Michigan Construction Career Days, held May 9 in Howell Township. The event introduces secondary school students to education and employment opportunities in construction and the skilled trades.
Faculty and staff from the Michigan Tech Transportation Institute (MTTI), the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE) and the Michigan Tech Research Institute (MTRI) traveled to Lansing to participate in the Michigan Department of Transportation’s (MDOT) biennial research summit on May 10.
Michigan Tech joined researchers from other Michigan research universities, consultants and MDOT personnel to discuss MDOT’s research needs and contribute to the scope of future research projects.
John Velat, director of Michigan Tech’s Tribal Technical Assistance Program, has just returned from Washington, DC, Dallas, Seattle, and New York, where he traveled the high road to help Native American communities attain safe, efficient, and environmentally sound transportation.
Staff and faculty from four programs participated in the National Transportation Workforce Summit in Washington, DC, April 24 to 26.
Pasi Lautala (CEE/MTTI) spoke on rail transportation education and training. Tech’s HEV Mobile Lab, represented by Marlene Lappeus (ME-EM) and undergraduate student Meghan Schiber (CEE), and the Center for Science and Environmental Outreach, represented by Joan Chadde (CEE), were both featured as showcase exhibits. Elizabeth Hoy (CEE/UTC) supported Michigan Tech’s involvement.
Long before the age of freeways and parking lots, Babylonians used a naturally occurring asphalt to reinforce their roads. You can still see patches of the old pavement in the ancient city, even though it was installed in about 600 B.C.
Governor Appoints Technology Professor to Two State Boards
Gov. Rick Snyder has appointed Mike Drewyor, a professor of practice in the School of Technology, 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 teaches construction management and survey engineering. Previously, he worked for engineering and surveying firms in the UP. He earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in civil engineering from Michigan Tech.