Category: Research

Zhanping You (CEGE) was quoted by WLUC TV6 in a story about an upcoming road paving project in Dickinson County that will use recycled glass and tires from across the Upper Peninsula.

The Dickinson County Road Commission will use recycled glass and tires from across the U.P., compared to standard asphalt, to redo two sections south of Vulcan going toward the Menominee County line.

“The rubber from tires is actually a really good material to work with asphalt. They like each other because they are both from petroleum oil,” said Zhanping You.

Read more at WLUC TV6, by Clint McLeod.

Zhanping You (CEGE/MTTI) is the principal investigator (PI) on a project that has received a $100,000 research and development grant from the Dickinson County Road Commission.

The project is titled “Tire Rubber Asphalt and Recycled Glass for County Road Paving.”

Qingli Dai (CEGE/MTTI) is a co-PI on this potential 22-month project.

Related

Zhanping You Appointed to EGLE Scrap Tire Advisory Committee

Michigan Tech: Where Global Changemaking Engineers are Made

Daisuke Minakata (CEGE) has been selected as a recipient of the 2023 Professional Excellence-Individual Award by the Michigan Section of the American Water Works Association. The award recognizes Minakata for his contributions to and impact on the water in the state of Michigan.

Through this distinguished award, the Michigan Section aims to pay tribute to individuals, organizations, companies and project teams who have made remarkable contributions to the water industry. This award acknowledges outstanding endeavors in safeguarding public health, advocating for safe drinking water, fostering innovative and creative ideas and demonstrating exceptional leadership qualities.

Minakata will receive formal recognition for his achievements at the Michigan Section’s Annual Conference & Exhibits (Ml-ACE), planned September 12–15, 2023, at the Blue Water Convention Center in Port Huron, Michigan.

By Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering.

Zhanping You (CEGE/MTTI) has been appointed to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) Scrap Tire Advisory Committee.

Section 16911(3) of Part 169, Scrap Tires, of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, 1994 PA 451, as amended, states:

“The director of the department shall appoint a scrap tire advisory committee of individuals interested in the management of scrap tires to advise the department on the implementation of this part. In addition to such other issues as the department may request the committee to consider, the committee shall advise the department on the report required by subsection (2) and the relevance of a national standard or specification under section 16901(1)(f).”

By Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering.

Daniel Dowden (CEGE) was credited by DBusiness in a story about the benefits and potential of mass timber in the construction industry. Dowden provided info on mass timber buildings’ ability to withstand earthquakes.

Cited by National Geographic as the sustainable material with which future cities could be built, mass timber is an engineered wood that architects and builders increasingly see as a structural alternative to steel and concrete.

According to Dowden, steel and mass timber buildings can be built to respond in an equivalent manner to an earthquake of the same magnitude, but a mass timber structure built with cross-laminated timber walls that are designed to resist lateral forces must also be designed to withstand larger forces because wood is a brittle material compared to steel.

Read more at DBusiness, by Tom Beaman.

Organic molecules dissolved in rivers, lakes, seas and oceans are essential to plant and animal life. Some of these molecules are also degraded and enter a complex cycle of carbon, nitrogen and sulphur containing compounds. Surprisingly, scientists currently have a limited understanding of the fate of these molecules. Dr. Daisuke Minakata and his colleagues from Michigan Technological University are involved in an ambitious programme to overcome this critical knowledge gap.

Minakata was prompted to develop a theory to explain the loss of critical amino acids from water. He assumed that other organic molecules absorb the energy carried by the rays of sunshine and those reactive intermediates transform amino acids into small pieces. According to his theory, such light-activated compounds could act as catalysts, inducing the indirect breakdown of critical amino acids.

https://doi.org/10.33548/SCIENTIA882

Read more and listen to the podcast at SciPod.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

The Department of Biological Sciences recently acquired a new liquid scintillation counter through a collaboration with the Vice President for Research Office; College of Sciences and Arts; Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering; Ecosystem Science Center; and Great Lakes Research Center.

This counter replaces an older, obsolete unit and is an essential piece of equipment for researchers working with or planning to work with radioisotopes. Researchers interested in using the new counter, or simply learning more about the about it, should contact David Dixon, director of biological laboratory operations, at dcdixon@mtu.edu.

By the Associate Vice President for Research Development.

Several of Michigan Tech’s ongoing rail transportation research projects were highlighted in Washington, DC, in early January, either as part of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) Annual Meeting, or as separate workshops and demonstrations.

Thomas Oommen (GMES) presented in a TRB workshop titled “International Perspectives on Strategies to Reduce Track-Caused Derailments,” and in a Track Support and Substructure Research Review organized by the Federal Railroad Administration.

Department of Cognitive and Learning Sciences PhD student Tauseef Ibne Mamun (applied cognitive science and human factors) presented our early work, titled “Multi-Site Simulation to Examine Driver Behavior Impact of Integrated Rail Crossing Violation Warning and In-Vehicle Auditory/Visual Alert System,” to the TRB AR080 Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Committee.

Richard Dobson (MTRI) gave an update on the Crossing-i drone technology development for improving grade crossing safety.

Pasi Lautala and John Velat (CEGE/MTTI), in collaboration with Battelle, hosted a booth in the TRB Exhibition and organized a daylong event outside the U.S. Department of Transportation headquarters to demonstrate the rail crossing violation warning (RCVW) technology.

For an RCVW technology introduction, visit our Rail Transportation Program website.

By Pasi Lautala, Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering.