Tag: cseo

Five High School Students Participate in One-week Summer STEM Internship at Michigan Tech ~ July 18-22

Five high school students from Detroit and Houghton participated in a 5-day science and engineering summer internship program at Michigan Technological University (MTU) from July 18-22, 2022. The students were paired with faculty with a variety of expertise and research interests.

Students worked in the lab and/or in the field (outside), toured campus, lived in a dorm, ate in the dining hall, and met students from around Michigan and beyond.

Dr. Daisuke Minikata, Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering, hosted two interns in his lab that were supervised by graduate students, Rose Daily, Benjamin Cerda Barrios, and Ben Morhardt. High school students, Michelle Simpkins and Eural Johnson learned about PFAS contamination by sampling local bodies of water and using the Orbitrap for qualitative identification, built PFAS molecules in ChemDraw 3D, toured the wastewater treatment plant and MTU Sustainability Demonstration House, became familiar with careers in environmental engineering. Michelle attends UPrep Academy for Math & Science and Eural Johnson attends Cass Tech.

Dr. Kuilin Zhang, Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering, hosted high school student Omaree Ishmael. Omaree used a Traffic Counter App to collect traffic data at Sharon Avenue and M-26 intersection. He then used the data to create a signalized intersection model using PTV VISSIM, a multi-modal traffic flow simulation software package. He also performed the CAV (Connected and Automated Vehicles) cooperative driving automation simulation.

Lastly, Dr. Evan Kane at the USDA and post-doc Julia Stuart, hosted two interns—Nora Sullivan and Bryson Taylor. Nora attends Houghton High School and Bryson attends Davis Aerospace Academy in Detroit. They learned how to conduct an N2 fixation in the field, performed a glucose assay in the lab, and visited the Nastoria bog field research site.

On the last day of their internship, students summarized the skills and knowledge that they had gained throughout the week in a presentation to fellow interns, hosts, and to their parents who joined virtually.

Students received a $900 scholarship to cover their meals, lodging, and roundtrip transportation on a Michigan Tech coach bus. In addition, the students went mountain biking at Tech Trails which was a brand new experience for four of the five interns. Some experienced being in a forest for the first time.

Students had this to say about their internship experience:

I learned how wastewater will change how the water is used in the world.

Our visit to the bog was very interesting.

Learning and experiencing new things!

Faculty and graduate students were always willing to answer my questions.”    

One student’s comment wraps it up, “Everything was great!”

Three of the five say they are now more seriously considering Michigan Tech after their internship experience.

The high school STEM internship program is coordinated by Michigan Tech Center for Science & Environmental Outreach, with funding from the National Science FoundationDepartment of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering, USDA Forest Research Lab, Raytheon, and the Shannon Foundation.

STEM Career Exploration for Detroit High School Students

Joan Chadde-Schumaker

The national need for STEM-trained employees is growing. African-Americans, Hispanics and American Indians’ percentage of degrees in science and engineering is low compared to the general population. The Detroit school system, which is >90% under-represented students, is a good place to start. This project aims to increase the interest of Detroit high school students in STEM college majors and future careers and maintain their interest through their high school years. The Michigan Space Grant Consortium has awarded a $10,000 grant to the Center for Science & Environmental Outreach to bring 20 Detroit area students to participate in a 6-day STEM Career Exploration at Michigan Tech and in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, including visits to state and federal agencies that employ STEM professionals. Students who participate in the 6-day exploration are encouraged to apply for a one-week STEM summer internship at MTU and/or attend a summer youth STEM program to further their STEM interests the following summers. The program will take place next summer.

Shipping Transportation Film “Freightened!” Draws a Crowd

Feb. 15 - FREIGHTENED: The Real Price of Shipping Goods 90% of goods consumed in the West are manufactured in far-off lands and brought to us by ship. The industry is a key player in world economy forming the basis of our modern civiliza-tion—without shipping, it would be impossible to fulfil the ever-increasing demands of our societies. The film reveals an invisible industry that supplies 7 billion humans and holds the key to our economy, our environment and our civilization.

Pasi Lautala

Dr. Pasi Lautala, Associate Professor, MTU Dept. of Civil & Environmental Engineering, and Director, Rail Transportation Program and Michigan Tech Transportation Institute, was the discussion facilitator for FREIGHTENED: The Real Price of Shipping Goods (2016) on February 15. The film was part of the 8th annual Green Film Series coordinated by the Center for Science & Environmental Outreach in the Dept. of CEE. In addition, the refreshments for the evening were provided by the Michigan Tech Transportation Institute.

 

The 90-minute film describes how 90% of the goods we consume in the West are manufactured in far-off lands and brought to us by ship. The cargo shipping industry is a key player in the world economy and forms the basis of our modern civilization. Yet the functioning of this global business remain largely obscure to many, and its hidden costs affect us all.  Taking us on a journey overseas and around the world, FREIGHTENED reveals an audacious investigation into world-wide freight shipping and its consequences.

 

About sixty faculty, staff, students and community members attended.

  • The film definitely expanded my interest of environmental engineering practices…
  • The discussion facilitator was very knowledgeable.
  • The movie was so captivating and inspiring!
  • The discussion was excellent!

 

The Green Film Series is cosponsored by Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative, Michigan Tech Great Lakes Research Center, Keweenaw Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Keweenaw Land Trust,  MTU Dept. of Social Sciences, MTU Sustainable Futures Institute, and Michigan Tech Transportation institute.

 

The schedule of monthly green films will be posted online:   cseo.mtu.edu