CEE Students Present Senior Design Projects

All civil and environmental engineering students participate in a major design experience in engineering. Students enrolled in Senior Design work as teams on client-based engineering projects, using skills acquired in earlier engineering course work. The department’s Senior Design experience prepares students for by asking them to solve problems under many of the constraints and considerations that a civil or environmental engineer would encounter on the job. These considerations include economics, environmental, sustainability, constructability, ethical, social, political, health, and safety. In June, CEE students presented their Senior Design Projects for three Kiewit Construction sponsored projects: Lower Mattagami River, Ontario Power Hydroelectric Generating Station Upgrade.

Interactive Teaching Tool

An animation illustrating the concept of permeability, part of a Tech Alive teaching module developed by Professor Marty Auer (CEE) and colleagues, will be used in an interactive teaching tool that is being developed by Shell Global Solutions (US) Inc. for use by the US Environmental Protection Agency, state and local agencies, universities and companies with underground storage tank issues.

Steel Bridge Team Earns 2 Firsts, Fourth Overall in National Competition

Michigan Tech’s Steel Bridge team brought home two first places and placed fourth overall in the National Student Steel Bridge Competition competition at Clemson University May 25-26. The Tech team earned first places for lightness and construction efficiency.

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http://mininggazette.com/page/content.detail/id/525981/Tech-takes-first-in-steel-bridge-competition.html?nav=5006

Urban Forest Stewardship Program

Joan Chadde (CEE) traveled to Detroit last week as part of the Urban Forest Stewardship Program that involves eight public schools.
Michigan Tech coordinates the event at Belle Isle that showcases student work in three programs, Adopt-a-Beach, Invasive Species Removal and the Creation of an Interpretive Trail.
The initiative, funded by the USDA Forest Service, is intended to integrate forestry into curricula.
In offering the program, Tech partners with the Michigan Alliance for Environmental and Outdoor Education and Belle Isle Nature Zoo.

RTP Attends 2012 Joint Rail Conference

Pasi Lautala, director of the Rail Transportation Program (RTP), a part of the Michigan Tech Transportation Institute (MTTI), PhD student Hamed Pouryousef (CEE), and undergraduate David Sutton (CEE) recently attended and presented at the 2012 Joint Rail Conference, “Technology to Advance the Future of Rail Transport,” in Philadelphia, April 17-19.

Lautala presented “Tuning Transatlantic Collaboration in Rail Higher Education (TUNRail)–Final Outcomes,” based on his project that is supported by the Fund for Improvement of Postsecondary Education (FIPSE), US Department of Education.

Lautala also chaired two sessions in the conference. Pouryousef presented a paper, “The Role of Railroad in Multimodal Woody Biomass Transportation in Michigan,” and Sutton presented a paper, “Industry-Student Collaboration to Develop Sustainability Metric for Concrete Tie Production.”

Retirement Gathering for Neil Hutzler

Retirement Gathering for Neil Hutzler
The civil and environmental engineering department invited the campus community to a retirement reception for Professor Neil Hutzler on Wednesday, May 16, in the Great Lakes Research Center. Hutzler has retired after 35 years of service.
As Professor Neil Hutzler was looking to retirement, he was ensuring that a new generation would become inspired to consider engineering as a career. Hutzler is co-author of the recently published Family Engineering Activity & Event Planning Guide (2011) and co-director of the Family Engineering Program. Hutzler, and collaborator Joan Chadde, have been busy conducting training workshops and promoting the program nationwide.
Find out more in this university news story about Dr. Hutzler’s recent work in Family Engineering
Family Engineering Inspires Students (and Mom and Dad)

Finding Engineering in Everyday Activities