Completed NSF Project for Minakata & Rouleau

Dr. Daisuke Minakata (CEE)
Dr. Mark Rouleau (SS)

Daisuke Minakata (CEE) and Mark Rouleau (SS) completed the NSF project: “Coupling Experimental and Theoretical Molecular-Level Investigations to Visualize the Fate of Degradation of Organic Compounds in Aqueous Phase Advanced Oxidation Systems“. The final report has been accepted by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The four-year project, that began in 2014, investigated the fate of trace organic compounds degradation in the aqueous phase advanced oxidation process using experimental measurements and theoretical modeling. The project generated 6 paper publications in peer-reviewed journals, 9 invited talks at the international symposiums, workshops and seminars, 13 conference talks at the international conferences, and 6 poster presentations. In addition, it provided a total of 10 sessions through K12 outreach activities to high school students and teachers. Three graduate students were trained under this project.

 

Daisuke Minakata Publishes on Potable Water Reuse

Daisuke Minakata
Daisuke Minakata

Daisuke Minakata (CEE), is one of the authors of the paper “Boron Can Be Used to Predict Trace Organic Rejection through Reverse Osmosis Membranes for Potable Reuse,” published in Environmental Science and Technology.

Environ. Sci. Technol., Article ASAP
DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.8b03390
Publication Date (Web): November 16, 2018
Copyright © 2018 American Chemical Society

Extract

Potable water reuse is a viable option for communities with extreme water scarcity. Improvements in measurement capabilities and greater occurrence of contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) have made the investigation of the removal of CECs through advanced treatment facilities essential for further reuse considerations.

The experimental results were used to develop a correlation between the removal of organics and boron.

Read more at ACS Publications with subscriber access provided by Van Pelt and Opie Library.

Highway Project Funding for Melanie Kueber Watkins

Melanie Kueber Watkins
Melanie Kueber Watkins

Melanie Kueber Watkins (CEE/MTTI) is the principal investigator on a project that has received a $45,000 research and development contract from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The title of the project is “Letter of Intent for NCHRP Synthesis 20-05/Topic 50-02: Highway Hydraulic Engineering State of Practice.”

This is an 18-month project.

C2E2 Funding for Noel Urban

Noel Urban
Noel Urban

The Vice President for Research Office has awarded Century II Campaign Endowed Equipment Funds (C2E2) at the recommendation of the C2E2 Committee. Noel Urban (GLRC/CEE) received funding for his project GLRC Submission: Water Purification System in Support of GLRC Research and Education.

C2E2 is a program aimed at providing equipment money to improve the lives of faculty, students, and staff campus-wide.

Senior Design Project on Aquaponics at the Sustainable Development House

SDH Aquaponics showing a fish in a tankHOUGHTON — Students at Michigan Technological University’s (MTU) Sustainable Development House (SDH) have combined fish and plants into a sustainable farming system called aquaponics. The arrangement of pipes and tanks uses plants and bacteria in an inorganic substrate as the filter for fish tank water, creating an organic system that feeds the plants and keeps the fish healthy.

“We just added a ton of new fish Wednesday,” said SDH resident and project manager Rose Turner.

The aquaponic setup is part of Turner’s senior design project at MTU. It’s a combination of aquaculture and hydroponics, and has some of the strengths and weaknesses of each.

Read more at the Mining Gazette, by Joshua Vissers.

Rose is a senior environmental engineering student from Berkley, Michigan. This is her final semester at Tech and her last semester as the coordinator of the SDH.

Read more at the Michigan Tech Sustainability Demonstration House Facebook page.

Watkins and Mayer Discuss Father’s Day Flooding

Father's Day Flood showing a destroyed streetHOUGHTON — 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.

CIGLR Funding for Pengfei Xue

Pengfei Xue
Pengfei Xue

Pengfei Xue (CEE/GLRC) is the principal investigator on a project that has received a $130,118 research and development contract from the University of Michigan-Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research (CIGLR).

The title of the project is “The Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research: Long-Term Data Assimilative, Temperature and Currents Database for Lake Erie.”

This is a one-year project.

By Sponsored Programs.

Stan Vitton Works to Stabilize Redridge Dam

Redridge Dam
Redridge Dam

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.

7th Annual Lake Superior Water Festival was Held Oct. 17th for Gr. 4-8 at Great Lakes Research Center

More than 700 students in grades 4-12 in thirty classes from ten schools in Houghton, Baraga, and Gogebic Counties descended upon Michigan Tech’s Great Lakes Research Center on Wednesday, October 17, from 9am to 3 pm, for the 7th Annual Lake Superior Water Festival. Students from the following schools participated :  Baraga High School, Barkell Elementary, CLK Elementary, EB Holman School, Houghton Middle School, Ironwood High School, Jeffers Middle School, Lake Linden-Hubbell Middle School, South Range Elementary, and Washington Middle School.

Twenty-four different sessions were presented throughout the day, presented by Michigan Tech scientists (including Dr. Audra Morse and Daisuke Minakata’s graduate Student, Ryan Kibler) and graduate students, along with U.S. Coast Guard, Ottawa National Forest, Isle Royale National Park, Keweenaw Bay Indian Community, BHK AmeriCorps and Copper Harbor Trails Club. See attached list of presenters/locations.

The Water Festival provides an opportunity for students to learn about and celebrate our most precious natural resource – the Great Lakes! A wide variety of topics from science and engineering to creative writing will be presented.  Students attend four 35-minute activities. Some of the topics to be presented include Remotely-Operated- Vehicles, Leave No Trace Outdoors, cleaning wastewater, Careers with the U.S. Coast Guard, the Chemistry of Corrosion, Design a Fog Harvester, and more.

The 2018 Water Festival is coordinated by the Michigan Tech Center for Science & Environmental Outreach, with funding from the Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative and Michigan Tech’s Great Lakes Research Center.

“Thank you so much for the opportunity to present at Water Festival. It was a blast to teach all of the students. Thanks for all your hard work in organizing such a wonderful event. It’s so exciting to see kids getting hands-on experience in labs and introduced to science at a young age.”  – Ryan Kibler, ENVE MS Student