Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering News

Category: Outreach

Western U.P. STEM Fair and Festival 2023

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Students engage in activities.

The STEM Fair and Festival was held on Thursday, March 16, 2023, at the Memorial Union Ballroom on Michigan Technological University campus in Houghton, Michigan. More than 50 students presented their projects highlighting the results of weeks of work on a science or engineering investigations.

Students from Houghton, Baraga, Keweenaw, Ontonagon, and Gogebic Counties in grades 4–8 were invited to participate in the STEM Project Fair. Students prepared and presented on a science investigation or an engineering design project.

The 2023 participants and winners are posted on the MiSTEM Network.

Tom Oliver, director of Michigan Tech’s Center for Science and Environmental Outreach, coordinated the fair. For the first year after the pandemic, he’s thrilled with the number of kids and parents who came in and checked things out.

“You can see kids everywhere are having fun, which is entirely what we want to do,” he said. “We want them to have fun doing science, technology, engineering and mathematics, because those are things that lead them to what they want to do with their careers.”

Read more at the Daily Mining Gazette, by Garrett Neese.

Kinley Lyons is a 4th-year chemical engineering student at MTU now, but she participated in the STEM Fair years ago as a grade schooler. Lyons and her partner constructed a hovercraft as their project, using an old street sign, a tarp, and a leaf blower.

“It didn’t work that well, but it did work,” she said with a laugh. “It is one of the things that got me into engineering, and here I am now.”

Read more at the Copper Beacon, by Joshua Vissers.

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STEM Outreach Partnership Delivers Programs to Detroit schools

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By Joan Chadde, co-PI/co-author/coordinator Family Engineering Program, retired

students conducting experiments

Squeals of delight could be heard from students and adults alike, as they tackled one engineering challenge after another. Students worked in family “engineering teams” to design and construct the tallest tower using only spaghetti and marshmallows that could withstand hurricane-force winds (fans at top speeds!). Students worked as civil engineers to design a bridge using a single sheet of copy paper that could span two books six inches apart. One team’s bridge held more than 100+ pennies between the books!  In yet another engineering challenge, parents and their kids became marine engineers and designed a boat from clay that could hold the most cargo (pennies) before sinking. Another activity was a biomedical engineering challenge of designing a prosthetic hand in 20 minutes that could be used to write with a pencil and pick up a cup of water.

These events were made possible by a partnership between the Michigan Tech Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering and OHM Advisors (Livonia office).  Family engineering events were held after school at Neinas Dual Language Learning Academy (Detroit), Blackwell Institute (Detroit), and Livonia Elementary Schools. OHM’s support provided the program at no cost to the schools, including two event facilitators from Michigan Tech, all of the activity supplies, a free pizza dinner for participants, and a copy of the Family Engineering Activity & Event Planning Guide for each school. In addition, a half dozen OHM staff volunteered to assist with each event—setting up activities, interacting with families, encouraging students, and serving as role models.

Host Schools for Family Engineering Events Attendance
Neinas Dual Language Learning Academy 6021 McMillan St., Detroit 90 Total39 Adults51 K-6 Students
Blackwell Institute1981 McKinstry St, Detroit 35 Total15 Adults 20 K-8 Students
Livonia Elementary Schools8900 Newburgh Rd., Livonia 90 Total39 Adults51 K-6 Students

Parents had lots of positive comments after attending one of the three Family Engineering events held in early December in SE Michigan:

  • Thanks for a great event!
  • My daughter was engaged and had a lot of fun.
  • My sons and I had a wonderful time
  • This was an excellent event! It gave my kids lots of ideas!

When asked what their family learned about engineering, responses included:

  • There are many different types of engineering
  • Engineering helps in everyday life
  • How engineers design inventions
  • Nature inspires engineers to invent new things
  • Engineering is an important part of the world
Students conducting experiments

OHM Advisors, with offices in five states and eleven locations in Michigan, works across multiple service areas, including architecture, engineering, planning, urban design and landscape architecture, surveying, and construction engineering, to create better places for people. An important initiative is increasing the diversity of the STEM pipeline and that means reaching down into elementary schools to introduce engineering to students and their parents. Parents play an important role in guiding and supporting their child’s learning and future career path.
The Family Engineering Program was created by Michigan Tech with partners The Foundation for Family Science & Engineering and the American Society of Engineering Education. A Family Engineering Activity & Event Planning Guide was published in 2011. The activity guide, with thirteen 30-40 minute engineering challenges and 21 short 3-5 minute engineering opener activities, is designed for K-6 educators and for engineers who work with elementary-aged students. It’s ideal for engineering professionals, informal STEM education programs, and STEM college students who want to do outreach in their communities and increase the diversity of the STEM pipeline. To learn more about the Family Engineering program, attend a training workshop, or purchase an activity guide, visit: https://www.mtu.edu/family-engineering/  or email Tom Oliver teoliver@mtu.edu

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Rail Transportation Program Offers Tracks to the Future During Summer Youth Program

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Students working at a bench under supervision in a classroom.
Photo – Peter LaMantia, Michigan Technological University

Michigan Tech’s Rail Transportation Program was mentioned by Progressive Railroading in a story about the Federal Railroad Administration-sponsored Tracks to the Future rail transportation and engineering summer youth program. The weeklong summer sessions, which began at Michigan Tech, have expanded to five other universities across the U.S.

As part of the Summer Youth Program at Michigan Tech, the Pathways Programs offer deep dives into particular fields of interest.

Tracks to the Future: Railroad Transportation & Engineering

For: All students grades 8-11

Dates: June 18-23, 2023 (Hybrid Program)

Railroads, the high tech and environmentally sensitive transportation mode! Don’t believe us? Come and learn why railroads remain the most energy-efficient transportation mode and what forms modern railroad track, equipment, and communications/control systems might take.

There will be six host sites this year: Michigan Tech University; Penn State University; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; University of South Carolina; University of New Mexico; and Fresno State University.

Read more and apply at Pathways Progams.

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Sustainability Film Series Spring 2023

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Films shown on the third Thursday of each month.

Location

G002 Hesterberg Hall, U. J. Noblet Forestry Building

Schedule

Hometown Habitat showing a flowering shrub.

Hometown Habitat (2016) January 19

Come watch Catherine Zimmerman’s journey traveling around the U.S. visiting hometown habitat heroes and filming their stories of community commitment to conservation landscaping. (90 min.) Facilitated discussion led by Catherine Zimmerman and Marcia Goodrich.

Sacred Cow with image of a cow in a field.

Sacred Cow (2020) February 16

“The case for (better) meat.” Sacred Cow probes the fundamental moral, environmental and nutritional quandaries we face in raising and eating animals, with a lens focused on the cow. (80 min.) Facilitated by Alan Turnquist, Director of Sustainability and Resilience at MTU.

Dark Waters with four people and a parking garage.

Dark Waters (2019) March 16

This drama/thriller film follows the story of a corporate defense attorney who takes on an environmental lawsuit against a chemical company, exposing a lengthy history of pollution. (120 min.) Facilitated by MTU PhD student, Rose Turner.

The Plastic Program showing trash.

The Plastic Problem (2019) April 20

“By 2050 the oceans will hold more plastic than fish.” PBS NewsHour takes a closer look at this now ubiquitous material, how it’s impacting the world and ways we can break our plastic addiction. (54 min.) Facilitated discussion by Dave Shonnard and Brianna Tucker, owner of sustainable refillery Refill the UP.

Gather showing native Americans in the field.

Gather (2020) May 18

Native Americans on the front lines of a growing movement reconnect with spiritual and cultural identities that were devastated by genocide. (75 min.) Facilitated by Valoree Gagnon and Evelyn Ravindran (invited).

Cost

FREE. $5 suggested donation per film to support the Sustainability Film Series is appreciated. Make donation online or in-person at the film showing

Cosponsored By

Michigan Tech Office of Sustainability and Resilience, Keweenaw Land Trust, Keweenaw Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative, Friends of the Land of Keweenaw, MTU College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, MTU Department of Social Sciences Sustainability Science Program, MTU Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering, Michigan Tech Center for Science and Environmental Outreach, Sustainability Demonstration House, MI Tech Great Lakes Research Center, Students for Sustainability, and Refill UP.

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MTU students help provide fresh vegetables for needy families

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Students taking part in "Making a Difference Day"

As part of 2022 Make A Difference Day, ten enthusiastic Michigan Tech students from Delta Zeta Sorority and Beta Sigma Theta Fraternity helped dig more than 400 pounds of carrots, rutabagas, and beets from a local farm for distribution to needy families through the Western UP Food Bank and Salvation Army in Houghton and Hancock.

Students taking part in "Making a Difference Day"


Students came from the following departments:
Sam Griswold and Dominic Sobcinski, Electrical & Computer Engineering;*Corbin Sullivan, Civil Engineering; Samantha Ludwick, Chemistry; Emma Quinn, Materials Science; Hunter Malinowski Computer Science and Psychology;  Emily Kughn, College of Business; Lauren Kiss, Biomedical Engineering; Emaly Jadin and Zoe Kumm, Chemical Engineering. Samantha Ludwick, VP for Philanthropy with Delta Zeta National Sorority, was enthusiastic about their experience. “We had a blast harvesting veggies to be donated. We’d be happy to
help out again!”


Corbin Sullivan, a 3rd year Civil Engineering student, observed, “I participated in the Fall harvest yesterday because I wanted to learn more about agriculture and what it takes to grow one’s own food. As a Civil Engineering student, it is our job to design a world that serves humanity. Sometimes we forget what it took our ancestors to get to where we are now. I think that learning about the natural world around us is a must so that we know how to preserve it– not just for the future of the human species but for all species– and to prevent or mitigate any damage we might cause in the world.” 

Students taking part in "Making a Difference Day"


The Western UP Food Bank serves more than 400 families and 500 seniors in Houghton, Baraga, and Keweenaw counties, and delivers food to 40 organizations in six counties. They are the only food bank in operation in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. They rely nearly 100% on local donations from businesses and individuals. To support their work, send your contributions to: P.O. Box 420, Hancock, MI 49830.


This community service event was organized by Joan Chadde, with the Michigan Tech Center
for Science & Environmental Outreach.
Way to go students!

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CEGE Seeking Corporate Sponsors for Mobile Interactive Displays

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Mobile display image

The Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering is seeking corporate sponsors for three Mobile Displays. The purpose of the Mobile Displays is to provide opportunities for prospective students, K-12 students, families, friends, and visitors to campus to experience civil, environmental, and geospatial engineering. 

The Mobile Displays will be in prominent locations throughout Dillman Hall and Dow Engineering and Experimental Sciences Building so that prospective students on a campus tour can learn about our programs through hands-on activities and connections to real-world engineering. Being mobile, the displays will be used during K-12 Outreach events, Career Fairs at area schools, and travel with our Geospatial Engineering Trailer, which supports K-12 outreach to students in Michigan and beyond. Of course, the Mobile Displays will be deployed in our own classrooms as demonstrations faculty use to emphasize key principles to future engineers. Each Mobile Display is based on a key principle essential to the discipline and the degree program. 

The key principle demonstrated in the Civil Engineering Mobile display is stress. Stress is the result of when a force like tension or compression acts on a material or body. Stress is measured as a ratio of force over area (e.g., lb/in2, N/m2).  The higher the force, the higher the stress—or the smaller the area the higher the stress.  All materials have a “stress limit” that, if reached, will fail said material or body.  Stress on a bridge beam being “loaded” by moving traffic can be controlled by changing the area moment of inertia, I, which is defined by the geometrical cross-section of the beam. The higher the moment of inertia the less stress a beam will experience. The beauty of the engineering design process in this simple case is best explained by considering that a pipe (which is hollow) will have a bigger area moment of inertia than a rod (which is solid) using the same amount of material. This Engineering Mobile Display demonstrates how a specific load (or a specific deflection) can affect the stress on a beam based on its cross-sectional shape.  The many “mini beams” represent real-world structural sections currently used by industry. Students and visitors can see the interaction of loads, deflections, stresses, materials, shapes, and even failures with hands-on “interplay” and real-time calculations. The almost seemingly rudimentary principles of the ancient tried-and-true engineering process is easily explained and is sure to capture the interest, and spark curiosity, in all folks that stop by to play with us. 

Concentration is the key principle demonstrated through the Environmental Engineering Mobile Display. Using their own breath, students can see the impact of the amount of CO2 they release when they breathe in their environment. Those CO2 concentrations are then connected to current and past atmospheric CO2 concentration data. Concentration is a fundamental way in which we express the amount of substances in our water, air and soil environments. Helping our students experience firsthand the concept of concentration can draw them into the field. 

Location is the fundamental principle demonstration in the Geospatial Engineering Mobile Display. Location is the basis of positioning, where a person, place or thing is identified in three-dimensional space. We all occupy space and location is where we are at any given point in time. This location can be quantified by measurements that ultimately identify position. Geospatial Engineers use a multitude of tools that include electronic total stations, 3D scanners, UAV’s, and GPS to precisely and accurately measure position to determine location. Look around you. There is literally nothing that has been constructed, placed, erected, or removed without first knowing its location.  Location is where we are and will always be. Designed with sustainability and accessibility for all in mind, the Mobile Displays are easily transportable and easy for children of all ages to explore. Sponsorships are available for each Mobile Display. To become a CEGE Mobile Display sponsor, please contact Audra Morse at anmorse@mtu.edu or 906-487-3240.

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Michigan Tech’s Student Chapter of Engineers Without Borders-USA Implements Two Projects

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gravity fed water supply system

The student chapter of Engineers Without Borders-USA at Michigan Tech successfully completed two implementation projects in the spring and summer of 2022. First, in April, they coordinated with the EWB country office in Guatemala to construct a gravity-fed water supply system for the community of Cantón Libertad in northwestern Guatemala. Due to COVID-related travel restrictions, this was a “remote” implementation project coordinated by EWB-Guatemala staff engineers. Although members of the Michigan Tech chapter did not travel to assist with construction, they were responsible for system design, construction planning, and fundraising for the project that is providing safe drinking water to more than 400 people. The students are currently working to improve water supply wells for a neighboring community that could not be reached with the gravity-fed system, and they will continue to monitor and evaluate the system and provide technical support to both communities as needed.

installation of drainage facilities

A second project was implemented in Bolivia in August. Six students and a professional engineering mentor traveled to the community of Santa Barbara, Bolivia for the first stage of a road improvement project involving resurfacing and installation of drainage facilities. During this trip, the team worked with their local partner organization, Etta Projects, to install a new culvert and reduce erosion on steep areas along a section of the road. Future stages of the project will continue to upgrade critical sections of the road and improve access to schools, clinics, and shopping areas for over 200 community members.

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Five High School Students Participate in One-week Summer STEM Internship at Michigan Tech ~ July 18-22

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STEM Interns

Five high school students from Detroit and Houghton participated in a 5-day science and engineering summer internship program at Michigan Technological University (MTU) from July 18-22, 2022. The students were paired with faculty with a variety of expertise and research interests.

Students worked in the lab and/or in the field (outside), toured campus, lived in a dorm, ate in the dining hall, and met students from around Michigan and beyond.

STEM interns Michelle Simpkins and Eural Johnson

Dr. Daisuke Minikata, Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering, hosted two interns in his lab that were supervised by graduate students, Rose Daily, Benjamin Cerda Barrios, and Ben Morhardt. High school students, Michelle Simpkins and Eural Johnson learned about PFAS contamination by sampling local bodies of water and using the Orbitrap for qualitative identification, built PFAS molecules in ChemDraw 3D, toured the wastewater treatment plant and MTU Sustainability Demonstration House, became familiar with careers in environmental engineering. Michelle attends UPrep Academy for Math & Science and Eural Johnson attends Cass Tech.

STEM interns Omaree Ishmael.

Dr. Kuilin Zhang, Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering, hosted high school student Omaree Ishmael. Omaree used a Traffic Counter App to collect traffic data at Sharon Avenue and M-26 intersection. He then used the data to create a signalized intersection model using PTV VISSIM, a multi-modal traffic flow simulation software package. He also performed the CAV (Connected and Automated Vehicles) cooperative driving automation simulation.

STEM interns Nora Sullivan and Bryson Taylor

Lastly, Dr. Evan Kane at the USDA and post-doc Julia Stuart, hosted two interns—Nora Sullivan and Bryson Taylor. Nora attends Houghton High School and Bryson attends Davis Aerospace Academy in Detroit. They learned how to conduct an N2 fixation in the field, performed a glucose assay in the lab, and visited the Nastoria bog field research site.

On the last day of their internship, students summarized the skills and knowledge that they had gained throughout the week in a presentation to fellow interns, hosts, and to their parents who joined virtually.

Students received a $900 scholarship to cover their meals, lodging, and roundtrip transportation on a Michigan Tech coach bus. In addition, the students went mountain biking at Tech Trails which was a brand new experience for four of the five interns. Some experienced being in a forest for the first time.

Students had this to say about their internship experience:

“I learned how wastewater will change how the water is used in the world.“

“Our visit to the bog was very interesting.“

“Learning and experiencing new things!“

“Faculty and graduate students were always willing to answer my questions.”    

One student’s comment wraps it up, “Everything was great!”

Three of the five say they are now more seriously considering Michigan Tech after their internship experience.

The high school STEM internship program is coordinated by Michigan Tech Center for Science & Environmental Outreach, with funding from the National Science Foundation, Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering, USDA Forest Research Lab, Raytheon, and the Shannon Foundation.

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Michigan Tech brings STEM to Metro Detroit Youth Day on Belle Isle

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MTU Booth
Ashley Curie and Joan Chadde setting up the booth

On July 13, the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering (CEGE) teamed up with the Center for Diversity and Inclusion (CDI) to offer science & engineering activities and information about Michigan Technological University at the 38th annual Metro Detroit Youth Day on Belle Isle in Detroit.

Typically, 20,000 students ages 8 to 15 years descend on Belle Isle for a fun and educational day. In the aftermath of COVID, the numbers were smaller. It was the first-time experiencing Metro Detroit Youth Day for Michigan Tech representatives Dr. Wayne Gersie, V.P. for Diversity & Inclusion; Jeff Littmann, chair of the MTU Board of Trustees; Chris Sanders and Ashley Curie, CDI staff; and Joan Chadde, Director, MTU Center for Science & Environmental Outreach.

“It was a fun-filled day with tons of smiling faces. I was amazed to see so many young minds that were already thinking about their future. I’m so happy that Michigan Tech was able to be a part of their excitement,” observed Ashley Curie.

Ashley Curie at booth

“Our team was glad to be part of this initiative that channeled the students’ curiosity in learning in a manner that helped develop their educational and career aspirations. Through science activities and exploration, we were able to offer a small glimpse of the Michigan Tech experience,” shared Dr. Wayne Gersie, VP for Diversity & Inclusion.

Youth participants designed electrical circuits, created launchers to see which could project a cotton ball the furthest, identified Michigan owls, and compared tree growth rates.

“This STEM outreach event was funded by OHM–Advisors to increase awareness of STEM careers and the diversity of the STEM career pipeline,” explained Joan Chadde. “We would like to participate next year!”

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Bill Sproule Presents on Transit Systems

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Old photo of a monorail with city architecture in the background.
World’s Fair monorail, 1962
Item 73122, World’s Fair Slides (Record Series 9955-01), Seattle Municipal Archives.

Professor Emeritus Bill Sproule (CEGE) attended the American Society of Civil Engineers’ 18th International Conference on Automated People Movers and Automated Transit Systems in Seattle, Washington, held June 1–3, 2022

Sproule gave the keynote presentation, titled “Back to the Future,” on the history and future of automated people movers and automated transit systems. In addition, he gave a presentation titled “Seattle Monorail and the 1962 Seattle World’s Fair.”

Sproule was also the proceedings editor for the conference.

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