Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering News

Category: Seminars

Sustainability Film Series Spring 2024

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Films shown on the third Thursday of each month.

Location

Fisher 135 or 138 (refreshments in the lobby)

Schedule

January to May at 7 p.m.

The Seeds of Vandana Shiva

The Seeds of Vandana Shiva (2021) February 15

“The Seeds of Vandana Shiva” explores the interconnectedness of seeds, food, environment and social justice through the remarkable life story of Gandhian eco-activist and agro-ecologist Vandana Shiva. Fisher 138

Going Circular

Going Circular (2021) March 21

Imagine a future where we mimic the genius of nature — to re-calibrate the way humankind lives, breathes, builds — respecting the limits of our resources and transforming the modern world. The film investigates the concept of circularity, an economic system that eliminates waste and saves the planet’s resources, and offers concrete solutions to move toward a more circular economy. Fisher 138

Climate Sisu

Climate Sisu (2022) April 18

Take a journey through Michigan in search of community knowledge about climate action, resilience, adaptation and education. Climate SISU offers an urgent, yet optimistic call for climate action. Fisher 135

The Engine Inside

The Engine Inside (2023) May 16

Follow the lives of six individuals from around the globe who have devoted themselves to a simple, age-old machine — the bicycle. Witness how bicycles have the potential to transform lives and contribute to a better world. Fisher 138

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’s Great Lakes Research Center, Department of Social Sciences, Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering, Center for Science and Environmental Outreach, College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, Sustainability Demonstration House and Keweenaw Youth for Climate Action, as well as the Keweenaw Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Keweenaw Land Trust, Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative, Friends of the Land of Keweenaw and WUP MiSTEM.

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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 Sierra Ayres, Walking the Path Together Program Coordinator, NMU, and Rachael Pressley, Regional Planner for the Western U.P. Planning & Development Region. (This will take place in 144 Noblet.)

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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It’s never been easier to attend the Sustainable Film Series hosted at Michigan Tech!!

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The True Cost

It’s that time of year…. No, not for Santa, but to kick off the 11th year of the Sustainable Film Series! The 2021 Sustainability Film Series (formerly Green Film Series) will allow you to participate, no matter where you hang your hat!! There are a few silver linings to the pandemic—you can pretend you’re back on campus with your friends! Once you pre-register on Eventbrite to view a particular month’s film (over the span of a week), you’ll receive a Zoom link to the discussion that will take place on the 3rd Thursday of each month from January to May 2021, led by a discussion facilitator or panel, knowledgeable about the film topic. You will participate in engaging dialogue from 7-8 pm.   See the film line-up below and save these dates in your calendar.

Date & Time: 7:00-8:00 pm, 3rd Thursdays of each month, Jan-May, 2021

Cost:  FREE, donations appreciated (Michigan Tech Fund 1368 EO)

Location: Online (register on Eventbrite and zoom link will be sent via email)

Jan. 21 – True Cost (92 min.)

This is a story about the clothes we wear, the people who make them, and the impact the industry is having on our world. The price of clothing has been decreasing for decades, while the human and environmental costs have grown dramatically. This documentary film pulls back the curtain on the untold story and asks us to consider, who really pays the price for our clothing? (2015)

Feb. 18– Minimalism (78 min.)

How might your life be better with less? The film examines the many flavors of minimalism by taking the audience inside the lives of minimalists from all walks of life — families, entrepreneurs, architects, artists, journalists, scientists, and even a former Wall Street broker — all of whom are striving to live a meaningful life with less. (2016)

March 18 – Brave Blue World (50 min.) Michigan Tech  World Water Day Event

From reuse to energy generation, new innovations across five continents are explored in this documentary about building a future for sustainable water. (2020)

April 15 – Plastic Ocean (102 min.)                                                  

In the center of the Pacific Ocean gyre, researchers found more plastic than plankton. Plastic Ocean documents the newest science, how plastics, once they enter the oceans, break up into small particulates that enter the food chain where thy attract toxins like a magnet. These toxins are stored in seafood’s fatty tissues, and eventually consumed by us. What can we do?

May 20 – 2040 (92 min.)

What would the world look like in 2040 if we actually implement the solutions for climate change that already exist in 2019? It’s a story that’s less often told than that of future catastrophe, and it’s the premise of a new documentary from Australian filmmaker Damon Gameau, who tells the story by introducing us to his 4-year-old daughter, then visualizing in detail how technology could change by the time she’s 25. “I’m calling it an exercise in fact-based dreaming,” he says in the film.

The films are selected by our cosponsors listed below, along with Jessica Daignault, a PhD student in Civil & Environmental Engineering, and Ande Myers, a PhD student in the College of Forest Resources & Environmental Science.

Cosponsors

Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative, Michigan Tech Great Lakes Research Center, Keweenaw Land Trust,

Keweenaw Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, MTU Sustainable Futures Institute, and MTU Dept. of Social Sciences,

Coordinated by the Michigan Tech Center for Science & Environmental Outreach

2021 schedule:  https://blogs.mtu.edu/cseo/  and  http://lakesuperiorstewardship.org/green_film.php

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Award for Best Overall PIC Paper to Watkins

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David Watkins
David Watkins

At the ASEE (American Society for Engineering Education) annual conference in Columbus, Ohio, June 25-28, 2017, the award for the Best Overall PIC (Professional Interest Councils) Paper, “Going is Not Knowing: Challenges in Creating Intercultural Engineers,” was presented to Michigan Tech’s David Watkins (CEE) and co-authors Kurt Paterson, James Madison University, and Chris Swan, Tufts University.

A lot of the data for the study came from surveys of students in our D80 Center programs, such as Peace Corps Master’s International, Engineers Without Borders, iDesign and other. The somewhat surprising results included recommendations for how we can provide students with more meaningful intercultural learning experiences. David Watkins

Engineers Without Borders
Michigan Tech Engineers Without Borders students help bring clean water to communities in Guatemala.

Going is Not Knowing: Challenges in Creating Intercultural Engineers

ABSTRACT

The last twenty years has witnessed a surge in the growth of community engagement programs for engineering students in the United States. Coupled to the enthusiasm of the Millennial Generation, many of these efforts have an international community development focus where engineering teams work with community members on small-scale infrastructure. One expressed motivation for such programs is the transformative experience and mindset-shift many participants report upon return from their time abroad. Industry has been quick to endorse such opportunities as necessary in creating the “global engineer”, a professional adept and effective in a dynamic interconnected work world. This paper explores these perceptions through an objective measure of intercultural awareness, the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI).

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2017 ASEE Conference

124th ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Where Engineering Education Takes Flight – From P-12 Through Life

June 25 – 28, 2017, Columbus, Ohio

The only conference dedicated to all disciplines of engineering education…

We are committed to fostering the exchange of ideas, enhancing teaching methods and curriculum, and providing prime networking opportunities for engineering and technology education stakeholders such as: deans, faculty members, and industry and government representatives.

The conference features more than 400 technical sessions, with peer-reviewed papers spanning all disciplines of engineering education.

The Best Overall PIC Paper was recognized at the Tuesday Plenary session on June 27 at the Columbus Convention Center.

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CTT Hosts First Annual Roadsoft User Conference

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RUCUS 2016

The Center for Technology & Training (CTT), a part of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, hosted its first annual Roadsoft User Conference of the United States (RUCUS). RUCUS was held Nov. 1, 2016, in Lansing and was attended by 96 individuals representing 64 Michigan road agencies, as well as participants from Indiana and Pennsylvania. 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.

Conference attendees engaged on a variety of topics including data integrity, using the Roadsoft mobile application, safety, pavement management strategies and Inventory Based Rating (IBR) for unpaved roads. The event also provided attendees with networking opportunities with other agencies and with the CTT staff.

CTT staff participating at the conference were research engineers John Kiefer, PE and Dale Lighthizer, PE; CRM administrator and software support analyst Carole Reynolds; data support and account specialist Joseph Snow; principal programmers Nick Koszykowski and Luke Peterson; and software engineers Mary Crane, Byrel Mitchell, Mike Pionke and Sean Thorpe.

Following the conference, on Nov. 2, the CTT staff visited the Allegan County Road Commission and the cities of Grand Rapids and St. Ignace to provide on-site Roadsoft training and technical assistance.

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CTT Staff Support TAMC 2016

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TAMC 2016
Staff from the Center for Technology and Training (CTT), a part of the department of civil and environmental engineering, provided training and technical assistance for the Michigan Transportation Asset Management Council’s (TAMC) 2016 fall conference, held in Marquette on Thursday (Oct. 13, 2016). The bi-annual conference brings together representatives from Michigan’s transportation agencies as well as agencies’ superintendents, managers and staff.

Colling is Awarded

The TAMC awarded CTT Director Timothy Colling with the Carmine Palumbo Individual Award for his asset management-related service in Michigan. Additionally, Colling delivered a presentation entitled “Inventory-based Rating and Roadsoft Enhancements” during the conference. Colling, in conjunction with Technical Writer Victoria Sage, represented the CTT and helped plan and facilitate the conference.

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International Activity for the Rail Transportation Group

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WCRR 2016Faculty, students and staff involved in the Rail Transportation Program (RTP) had a busy summer in both presenting at and organizing conferences and events.

In late May, Pasi Lautala, director of the program, had a poster presentation on paper by Hamed Pouryousef and Lautala at the 11th World Congress in Railway Research, in Milan, Italy. Lautala also participated in the 2nd Railway Talent workshop as part of the conference.

In early June, Lautala made two presentations at the Global Level Crossing Safety & Trespass Prevention Symposium 2016, in Helsinki, Finland. Both presentations were authored by Myounghoon Jeon, Steven Landry, David Nelson and Lautala. The titles of the presentations were “Design and Evaluation of In-Vehicle Auditory Alerts for Railroad Crossings” and “Driver Behavior at Level Crossings Using Naturalistic Driving Study Data.”

Read more at Tech Today.

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HU Colloquium Starring Two CEE Staff

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RTC_C4

Topic: Making the Case for Interdisciplinary Research and Practice to Improve Traditionally Technical Fields

Tim’s presentation title: “Getting Outside the Silos:  Why Transportation Research Needs the Humanities and Social Scientists”

John’s paper title: ” Human and Social Research Approaches to Engineering Problems”

Abstract:

It is no secret that engineering, science, and technology not only dominate the Michigan Tech campus but also increasingly pervade our daily lives. Humans seek technology to improve living standards, protect us from the natural environment and our own actions, and create opportunities for further development, with and without adverse effects for us and our planet. In this increasingly technophilic world, the humanities, arts, and social sciences are often struggling to grab attention and resources, which both seem to flow more readily towards researchers in the physical sciences in order for them to provide solutions to our natural and human-created problems. In addition, researchers in the humanities and social sciences may be apprehensive working in fields dominated by engineers.

The presenters argue that this divide between the physical sciences and everyone else doesn’t need to and shouldn’t be there. Because engineers and scientists are seeking solutions to human problems, many of which can’t be solved with science and technology alone, it is natural, if not imperative, for them to form partnerships with those studying humans and human behavior.

Dr. Tim  Colling, PE (Director, Center for Technology and Training in CEE/MTTI, PhD CEE) and John Velat (Director, Tribal Technical Assistance Program in CEE/MTTI, MS RTC) will examine problems in transportation and offer approaches for their investigation and solution, using knowledge, expertise, and understanding from outside engineering and physical science fields. They contend that the goal is not to separate engineering solutions from humanities, social, and arts-based solutions, but to recruit non-engineers in solving problems traditionally addressed by engineers as well as physical scientists. By demonstrating the wealth of problems in technical fields that the humanities, arts, and social sciences can contribute to solving, they hope to build cooperation and collaboration on campus and beyond by creating multidisciplinary teams that can effectively compete on what has been typically considered “hard science” research.

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Joint Environmental/Civil Engineering Seminar

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Kaye LaFond, a Michigan Tech Environmental Engineering BS & MS alumnus
Kaye LaFond, a BS & MS alumni of Michigan Tech Environmental Engineering

Monday, February 8, 2016 from 3 to 4 pm in Dillman 214.

Kaye LaFond will present “Communicating Science and Data: Thoughts of a (Somewhat) Reformed Engineer.”

 

As the world squares off against challenges that require an informed public and science-savvy leadership, doing the research is only half the battle. Kaye will share her post-graduation experiences with science journalism, data visualization and ‘social media for academia’.

 

 

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