Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering News

Outstanding Member Award for Zhanping You from World Transport Convention

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Zhanping You
Zhanping You

Zhanping You (CEE) was recently awarded as the Outstanding Member as a section chair of highway materials in the 3rd World Transport Convention 2019. This award is the highest recognition for the contribution of WTC member. The World Transport Convention was held in Beijing, China, June 13 to 16. More than 7,000 representatives from over 60 countries attended this meeting.

You also gave a keynote speech on “Research on Rubber Based Pavement in Wet-Freeze Region” in The Second Durable Pavement Research Forum. Another invited speech You delivered was on “Development and Validation of Innovative Laboratory Chip-Seal Tests.”

During the conference, You also met with the former graduates and friends of Michigan Tech and discussed research and education activities with them. Shuaicheng Guo, a post-doc in CEE also attended this conference. Guo presented on behalf of Wenbo Ma, a former visiting scholar at Michigan Tech, for a speech on “Atomic Force Microscope Study of the Aging/Rejuvenating Effect on Asphalt Morphology and Adhesion Performance.”

By Shuaicheng Guo.

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MTU’s research vessel at Chassell Strawberry Festival on July 13

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Scientific excursions aboard MTU’s research vessel Agassiz to discover ‘How scientists investigate the health of the Great Lakes?’ at Strawberry Festival, 12:30-6 pm, Saturday, July 13 at Chassell Marina

‘How do scientists investigate the health of Lake Superior’ is the focus of FREE scientific excursions aboard Michigan Tech’s research vessel, Agassiz, that will be offered at the Strawberry Festival from 12:30-6 pm, Saturday, July 13, departing from the Chassell marina.

The public is invited to reserve a space by using this link or call the Center at: (906) 487-3341, or go to the Center’s webpage:https://blogs.mtu.edu/cseo/   The public is also welcome to come to the Chassell Marina dock on Saturday from 12:30 to 5 pm, to get on the list. Spaces go quickly. Each excursion has room for 18 participants. Half of the available spaces will be saved for onsite participants.

On each scientific excursion, Dr. Cory McDonald, a Michigan Tech scientist in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering at the Great Lakes Research Center, will show how data is collected on water clarity, temperature, and turbidity and explain what that tells us about the health of Lake Superior and Chassell Bay. Dr. McDonald will explain the link between land uses and the health of the Great Lakes.

Space is limited to 18 persons per excursion (children must be at least 7 years of age and accompanied by an adult). Life jackets are available for all passengers. All must wear closed toe shoes.

“Copper Country residents and visitors are encouraged to learn how scientists study the Great Lakes and which  measurements indicate a healthy lake,” explains Joan Chadde, director of the Center for Science & Environmental Outreach, who has coordinated this program as part of Strawberry Festival since 2006.

“These scientific excursions for the public have been extremely popular. Youth and adults enjoy the opportunity to interact with Great Lakes scientists and get their questions answered,” adds Chadde.

The event is funded by the GM Ride the Waves Program which puts 600 Copper Country youth and adults on the water each year to learn about the health of the Great Lakes and Lake Superior, and to promote STEM careers. Financial support for the Agassiz at the Strawberry Festival is also provided by the Chassell Lions Club.

For information on Lake Superior Day festivities and the Agassiz in Copper Harbor on Sunday, July 21st, contact Lloyd Wescoat at lwescoat@mtu.edu  or call the Center at: (906) 487-3341. Center for Science& Environmental Outreach

https://blogs.mtu.edu/cseo/ Michigan Tech’s Great Lakes Research Center       http://greatlakes.mtu.edu/   Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative      http://lakesuperiorstewardship.org/

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Concrete Canoe Team is Tenth Overall in 2019 National Finals

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Concrete Canoe Team 2019 with their canoe

The 2019 National Finals for the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Student Concrete Canoe Competition took place June 5-9 at the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne.

The students’ efforts to combine engineering excellence and hydrodynamic design to construct water-worthy canoes have culminated in an advanced form of concrete construction and racing technique known as the “America’s Cup of Civil Engineering.”

The Michigan Tech Concrete Canoe Team placed tenth overall at the National competition. In addition to their overall finish, they ranked seventh in the oral presentation, 13th in design paper, 11th in display, and eighth in racing. Great job team!

oncrete Canoe Driftwood 2019

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Rail and Intermodal Summer Youth Program Highlighted

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Rail and Intermodal Summer Youth ProgramThe Rail and Intermodal Summer Youth Program that has been running for ten consecutive years was highlighted in the May/June Intermodal Insights, a newsletter by the Intermodal Association North America. The Program is a collaboration between the Rail Transportation Program at Michigan Tech and the Transportation Logistics and Management Program at the University of Wisconsin-Superior.

Engaging IANA’s Next Generation

For 10 consecutive years, the Michigan Technological University and the University of Wisconsin-Superior have jointly hosted the week-long Rail and Intermodal Summer Youth Program for high school students. The camp attracts nearly 20 young men and women annually from as far away as California, Florida and New York.

After arriving on the Michigan Tech campus in Houghton, Michigan on Sunday, camp participants get their first look at railroad operations at the Lake Superior and Ishpeming Railroad on Monday. They tour the company’s car and locomotive shops, and climb into the cab of a locomotive.

Read more at Intermodal Operations, Safety & Maintenance Business Meeting 2019 Recap: The Future of Intermodal.
By Pasi Lautala, Michigan Technological University, Richard Stewart, University of Wisconsin-Superior, David Nelson, Michigan Technological University and Daniel Rust, University of Wisconsin-Superior.

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TAMC Culvert Project Selected as 2019 Project of the Year, Awarded to CTT

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APWA 2018 Award with five people including two recipients

Michigan Tech has experts in innovation making a statewide impact: Chris Gilbertson, PhD, PE, and Scott Bershing, both at the university’s Center for Technology & Training (CTT). Gilbertson, associate director, and Bershing, technical specialist, received a 2019 Project of the Year award from the Michigan Chapter of the American Public Works Association.

Gilbertson and Bershing were technical experts on the project team led by the Michigan Transportation Asset Management Council’s (TAMC) Bridge Committee. The Bridge Committee received a charge from the state and responded with the 2018 Michigan Local Agency Culvert Inventory Pilot Evaluation to learn about its county- and city-owned culvert assets.

In seven-months’ time, the project team developed a culvert data collection method and assessment system. They also made updates to Roadsoft, the asset management software developed by the CTT and used by Michigan’s local road-owning agencies. And, they recruited and deployed 49 local road-owning agencies in Michigan to test the data collection and assessment processes on nearly 50,000 culverts.

“The TAMC and Michigan Tech received the award, but the success of the pilot would not have been possible without the efforts of many others around the state,” commented Gilbertson.

Bershing said, “This was a good example of multiple agency cooperation, working together under a tight time frame and deadline to complete the project.” That collaboration helped the TAMC to estimate Michigan’s total number of culverts at 196,000 with a replacement value of $1.48 billion. It also found that Michigan’s local agencies own and maintain 7.3 to 9.2 million feet of culvert assets—or 1,798 miles (the distance from Houghton, Michigan to Miami, Florida)—with most being corrugated steel pipe. Another key finding from the pilot was that a majority—67.2 percent—of culverts held a condition rating of a 6 or better on a 10-point scale.

Participating agencies benefitted not only from the results but also from the processes developed by the project team. These processes gave the agencies useful strategies for managing their assets and guidance for developing proactive management strategies.

“It’s rewarding to be recognized for the hard work we put in on this project”, said Bershing. Gilbertson echoed his colleague, saying, “I’m honored that we were recognized by the APWA for the work that we put into the culvert pilot last year. We are truly thankful to all those individuals who made this possible.”

Gilbertson and Bershing share this recognition with the entire project team and the 49 participating agencies.  Without their support, this culvert project would not have been a success.

The final report for the pilot study is available on the TAMC website: https://www.michigan.gov/documents/tamc/TAMC_2018_Culvert_Pilot_Report_Complete_634795_7.pdf

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Michigan Tech Surveying Engineering Attends MiCareer Quest

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MiCareer Quest Expo Booth

Michigan Tech Surveying Engineering participated in MiCareer Quest Northwest 2019 in Traverse City on Thursday, May 22 at the Grand Traverse County Civic Center.  MiCareer Quest is a “multi-industry career exploration event” sponsored and supported by industry, employers, trades, and educators throughout Michigan.  The event, primarily put together by Michigan WORKS!, is an effort to expose students to a myriad of career opportunities.  The Michigan Society of Professional Surveyors Outreach and Education Committee, headed by Jason Juilleret, PS, a Land Surveyor with Gourdie-Fraser and Michigan Tech grad, secured a booth for the Society, inviting Michigan Tech to participate along with two Surveyors from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources.  Professor of Practice, Joe Foster, was able to bring a virtual sandbox and information about Michigan Tech, specifically the Surveying Engineering program to share with the 2000 9th grade students from 30 different school districts.  The event gave the students the opportunity to experience 60 employers representing 100 different occupations.  Michigan Tech was unique as it was one of the educators in attendance, giving the opportunity to spread the word of Michigan Tech, Surveying Engineering and the Surveying Profession as a whole.

For more information on the event, visit here.

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Steel Bridge Team Places in Top Fifth in 2019 National Finals

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Steel Bridge Team at the 2019 Nationals

The 2019 National Finals for the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) Student Steel Bridge Competition took place May 31 to June 1 at Southern Illinois University, Carbondale.

The student teams are challenged to develop a scale-model steel bridge. The team must determine how to fabricate their bridge and then plan for an efficient assembly under timed construction at the competition.

The Michigan Tech Steel Bridge Team placed eighth (out of 41) overall at the National competition. In addition to their overall finish, they ranked fifth in efficiency, sixth in stiffness, and eighth in construction speed. Great job team!

Steel Bridge Team 2019 with their scale model bridge

Related:

Concrete Canoe and Steel Bridge Teams Finish First at 2019 North Central Regional Competition

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EWB Travels to Bolivia to Address Roadway Flooding and Erosion.

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Michigan Tech Students with Young Community Members
Young community members receive a lesson on how to fly and take pictures with a drone. Pictured: Maria Carpita, Sarah Hirsch, and Travis Durgan.

The Engineers Without Borders-USA (EWB-USA) Chapter at Michigan Tech has been working with the communities of Santa Barbara and Buena Vista, Bolivia to address the major regional problem of roadway flooding and erosion during the rainy season. When the road becomes impassable, as it frequently does in these months, it can completely cut off community members from access to healthcare, agricultural work, education, and commerce. In May of 2019, five student members and one alumni advisor traveled to Bolivia to assess the situation and the needs of the communities. During their visit, the team utilized drones to topographically map the community and 8 km of road leading to and from Buena Vista. They also met with local government officials to discuss the problem and potential solutions and held an introductory meeting with community members.

 

Students setting up a drone landing.
Students on the May 2019 Assessment Trip stage the Mavic Pro Drone for data collection along an 8-km stretch of road.
Pictured: Sarah Hirsch, Joshua Langlois, Jake Aguado, and Travis Durgan.

In the coming year at Michigan Tech, the team will use the data they collected to design and eventually implement affordable and sustainable solutions, potentially including culverts, drainage ditches, and alternative materials and road resurfacing methods.  EWB-USA community partnerships last for a minimum of 5 years and work to address basic human needs through projects in water distribution, sanitation, energy, agriculture, and transportation infrastructure.

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Azad Heidari Publishes with the Journal of Hydrology

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Dr. Alex Mayer, Azad Heidari and Dr. David Watkins
Dr. Alex Mayer, Azad Heidari and Dr. David Watkins

PhD Candidate, Azad Heidari along with his advisors – David Watkins and Alex Mayer recently published “Hydrologic impacts and trade-offs associated with forest-based bioenergy development practices in a snow-dominated watershed, Wisconsin, USA“ in the Journal of Hydrology. The journal is a peer-reviewed academic publication that is currently ranked first in Google Scholar in the Hydrology and Water Resource category.

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