Category: Research

Zhanping You (CEE) was quoted in the story “Is Nanotech the New Pothole Killer?” on public radio station WHYY in Philadelphia.

Is nanotech the new pothole killer?

There are many culprits for the frequent potholes on U.S. roadways. Potholes can be the result of normal wear and tear, utility work, or volatile temperature swings that disrupt the chemical properties that keep pavement stuck together.

Asphalt is a critical component in road surfaces — but maybe not what most people think it is.

“Basically, the asphalt really looks like a glue, a glue that holds all the stones together,” says civil engineer Zhanping You, a professor and researcher at Michigan Tech University.

You and his team are studying ways to curtail the temperature volatility of asphalt by adding nano-particles.

Read more at WHYY, by Malcolm Burnley.

Michigan Tech will host the International Association for Great Lakes Research (IAGLR) 2018 State of Lake Superior (SOLS) conference Oct. 9-12. IAGLR is an international and multi-disciplinary scientific organization made up of researchers studying the Laurentian Great Lakes, other large lakes of the world and their watersheds. The State of the Lake conference series rotates annually throughout the Great Lakes region to facilitate interactions between researchers and managers on diverse topics related to issues relevant for a specific lake.

A local planning committee comprised of researchers and resource managers from Michigan Tech and the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Natural Resources Department (KBIC NRD) will work with IAGLR staff and volunteers to coordinate the event. A call for sessions will be issued early spring, followed by a call for abstracts. The conference will include associated workshops, meetings and field trips.

The local planning committee includes Michigan Tech professors Gord Paterson and Nancy Auer (Bio Sci); Hugh Gorman (SS); Pengfei Xue and Cory McDonald (CEE); with logistical support provided by Elizabeth Hoy (GLRC). Local planning committee members from KBIC NRD include Lori Ann Sherman, Shannon Desrochers and Timothy Dombrowski.

Save the dates, Oct. 9-12. More information will be posted on the conference website as event details are finalized.

By Great Lakes Research Center.

Pasi Lautala (CEE/MTTI) is the principal investigator on a project that has received a $17,500 research and development contract with Alger County. Kuilin Zhang (CEE) is Co-PI on the project “Log Movement in the Superior Region – Rate and Capacity Based Analysis of Modal Shares.” TThis is a two-year project totaling $17,500.

Updated March 28, 2018.

By Sponsored Programs.

Tim Colling (CEE/MTTI) is the principal investigator on a project that has received a $117,483 contract from the Michigan Department of Transportation. Nick Koszykowski (CEE) is the Co-PI on the project, “2018 MERL Development and Support.”

This is a one-year project.

By Sponsored Programs.

Tim Colling (CEE/MTTI) is the principal investigator on a project that has received a $234,534 contract from the Michigan Department of Transportation.

Peter Torola (CEE) and Chris Gilbertson (CEE) are Co-PIs on the project “2018 Transportation Asset Management Council Education Program.” This is a one-year project.

By Sponsored Programs.

Joan Schumaker-Chadde (CEE/GLRC) is the principal investigator on a project that has received a $91,000 grant from the US Environmental Protection Agency.

Amy Schrank (SFRES/GLRC) is the Co-PI on the project, “Creating Great Lakes Stewards to Promote Clean Water and Healthy Urban Watershed in Detroit.”

This is a two-year project.

By Sponsored Programs.

The Center for Technology & Training (CTT) hosted its second annual Roadsoft User Conference of the United States (RUCUS) Nov. 1, 2017, in Lansing. RUCUS was attended by 80 individuals representing 50 Michigan and Indiana road agencies.

Conference attendees looked at a variety of topics including roadway asset inventory, inspection, maintenance and traffic counts; using the Roadsoft Culvert Module, safety, pavement management strategies and project planning. The event also provided attendees with networking opportunities with other agencies and with the CTT staff.

CTT staff attending the conference were Research Engineers John Kiefer, PE and Dale Lighthizer, PhD, PE; Training & Operations Senior Project Manager Christine Codere, CRM Administrator & Software Support Analyst Carole Reynolds, Customer Service & Data Support Specialist Allison Berryman, Principal Programmers Nick Koszykowski and Luke Peterson; Software Engineers Mary Crane, Byrel Mitchell, Mike Pionke, and Sean Thorpe.

A one-day “Introduction to Roadsoft” training was conducted at the conference venue on Oct. 31, 2017.

Also that day, CTT staff provided on-site Roadsoft training and technical assistance for the Van Buren County Road Commission in Lawrence, Michigan; and in Bristol, Indiana for several Indiana road agencies, including the cities of Elkhart, LaPorte, Mishawaka, Goshen and Middlebury; as well as Lake, Laporte, and Elkhart Counties and the Lochmueller Group, Inc..

On Nov. 2, training and technical sessions were held at the Kalkaska County Road Commission and with engineers at Anderson, Eckstein and Westrick, Inc. in Shelby Township, Michigan.

Roadsoft is a roadway asset management system for collecting, storing and analyzing data associated with transportation infrastructure. Roadsoft is developed and supported by the CTT with principal funding from the Michigan Department of Transportation.

By the Center for Technology & Training.