Category: Outreach

HOUGHTON — As high rain or flood events become more prevalent, many areas are putting a renewed focus on natural methods to mitigate flooding.

Michigan Technological University researchers spoke to a standing-room-only crowd at the Carnegie Museum Thursday on the changing climate patterns and extreme weather conditions which contributed to the severity of the June 17 flood.

As air gets warmer, it holds more water vapor, said David Watkins, a Tech civil and environmental engineering professor. At the same time, accelerated warming in the Arctic has shifted the jet stream that circulates air globally, turning it from a direct path to a “lazy river,” Watkins said.

By 2030, extreme weather events will be more likely, and urbanization will have accelerated, said Alex Mayer, professor of geological and mining engineering sciences and civil and environmental engineering at Tech. In 2030, a projected 60 percent of all urban areas will have been built in the past 30 years.

The talk is the first in a series of Father’s Day Flood presentations held by the Keweenaw Land Trust and Carnegie Museum.

Read more at the Mining Gazette, by Garrett Neese.

STANTON TOWNSHIP — In the June 17 storm that caused flash flooding in many areas, the steel dam at Redridge suffered accelerated and aggravated damage and distress.

Stan Vitton, of the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Michigan Technological University, is now the principal investigator for stabilization project to be funded by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

Vitton and his team have worked to monitor the dam’s condition, needed repairs, and other stabilization procedures, Vrana said, and their work has been instrumental in keeping the project on the front burner since the study and restoration programs started in 2008.

Read more at the Mining Gazette, by Graham Jaehnig.

For Middle and High School Teachers and Students ~ We hope that you and your students will attend this special event!

FILM TITLE: SCIENCE FAIR (90 min) is the opening film for Michigan Tech’s 41N Film Festival Nov. 1st-4th!

DATE: Thursday, Nov. 1st, 2018

TIME: 7:00-9:00 PM

LOCATION: Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts

DESCRIPTION: This special free screening of the new National Geographic documentary SCIENCE FAIR follows nine high school students from around the world as they prepare for and attend the International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF). Already hard at work on problems such as the Zika virus and nerve tissue regeneration, these students (and their teachers) offer us an inspiring story about the passion and intelligence of our next generation of STEM researchers. A flyer for the Science Fair film is attached.

PANEL DISCUSSION follows the screening:

Dan Pertile, 5th grade Science Teacher & Science Fair Coordinator, Barkell Elementary,

David Flaspohler, Professor & Director of Undergraduate Studies, School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, Michigan Technological University.

Emily Gochis, Director MiSTEM Network Western UP Region

Joan Chadde, Director, Center for Science & Environmental Outreach and STEM Festival coordinator, Michigan Technological University

Prize drawings for both teachers and students!

For more information about the 2018 41N Film Festival, visit http://41northfilmfest.org.

Science Fair follows nine high school students from around the globe as they navigate rivalries, setbacks and, of course, hormones, on their journey to compete at The International Science and Engineering Fair. As 1,700 of the smartest, quirkiest teens from 78 different countries face off, only one will be named Best in Fair.

HOUGHTON — Even students growing up with Michigan Technological University in their backyard might not realize what options are available for science courses.

More than 100 Houghton Middle School seventh-graders got a look at ongoing projects at Tech Wednesday as part of the sixth annual Day of Science and Engineering.

Brian Barkdoll, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Tech, showed students a simulated river he is using to study erosion. A pier sits in the middle, representing a bridge support.

Read more at the Mining Gazette, by Garrett Neese.

HOUGHTON — Construction of a replica World War I firing trench began Friday morning on the southeast corner of U.S. 41 and MacInnes Drive on the Michigan Technological University.

The replica trench is part of the centenary WW1&CC commemoration of the U.S. in the Great War, and particularly the Copper Country’s contribution to the war effort, and will be the feature of an exhibit designed to offer the public a glimpse of what life might have been like for the soldiers who lived in them.

Chris Mattila [sic], a civil and civil engineer at Michigan Tech is overseeing construction of the trench, and said he became involved with the project a couple of months ago.

Read more at the Mining Gazette, by Graham Jaehnig.

Related:

Michigan Tech Digs Deep Into World War I History

Michigan Tech’s Summer Youth Program was featured in the story “Transportation and Logistics Research Center hosts Rail and Intermodal Summer Youth Program,” released by the University of Wisconsin-Superior. The story looks at a visit to the Duluth/Superior area by SYP’s Rail and Intermodal program.

The 9th annual SYP was hosted by the Michigan Tech’s Rail Transportation Program and UW-Superior. The 16 high school participants coming from as far away as New York, Florida and Colorado began the event at Michigan Tech before arriving in the Superior-Duluth region for two days of industry tours.

Scheduled field visits took place July 8-14, 2018.

• BNSF Superior, WI Railyard Facilities
• CN Superior, WI Inter-Modal Railyard Facilities
• Halvor Trucking Lines, Superior, WI
• North Shore Scenic Railroad & Lake Superior Railroad Museum, Duluth, MN

COPPER HARBOR, Mich. (WLUC) – Kermit’s Keweenaw Kids explored Copper Harbor Friday. The program has provided activities for Keweenaw County youth since 1975.

Friday they partnered with Michigan Tech’s Center for Science and Environmental Outreach. Through the Ride the Waves program and a ride on the Agassiz, children saw Copper Harbor from a new perspective.

“About an hour and a half exploration into the harbor of Lake Superior. They are also going out on an hour and a half walk on Hunter’s Point as part of the Ride the Waves program, which is a way to teach students about how scientists study the great lakes,” said Lloyd Wescoat of the Center for Science an Environmental Outreach.

Read more and watch the video at WLUC TV6, by Mariah Powell.

COPPER HARBOR — The sixth annual Lake Superior Day was celebrated at Copper Harbor, with kids’ games, free hotdogs and goodies and rides on Michigan Technological University’s research vessel Agassiz.

The Agassiz, with a capacity of 18, took people into Copper Harbor on 45-minute excursions, where a Michigan Tech professor spoke to the passengers on the types of research the boat is used for, including studying the overall health of Lake Superior, and the many methods used in doing so. He then showed the passengers collections of algae taken during each trip, allowing people to see how the samples are collected.

Read more at the Mining Gazette, by Graham Jaehnig.