Michigan Tech Students Take Top Honors at SME

Michigan Tech undergraduates and graduate students studying chemical engineering took first and second place in the Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration’s (SME) Mineral and Metallurgical Processing Division 2013 student poster contest at the SME annual meeting in Denver.

Undergraduate winners:
First place: Katrina Swanson
Second place: Paul Hagadone II

Graduate student winners:
First place: Brett Spigarelli
Second place: Howard Haselhuhn

Paul Hagadone II, Brett Spigarelli, Howard Haselhuhn, Katrina Swanson

First Place in Innovation Corps

Another I-Corps Team Claims First: Michigan Tech’s latest I-Corps team placed first among 21 teams in New York last week, after a final presentation of their market analyses for new technologies. The team was led by Chemical Engineering Associate Professor Adrienne Minerick, with post-doc Kaela Leonard serving as entrepreneurial lead and team mentor Mary Raber, associate director of the Institute for Leadership and Innovation.

A National Science Foundation program, I-Corps stands for Innovation Corps. Its goal is to help researchers learn how to do customer and market analysis, to enable them to fine-tune their technologies to meet an actual market need.

The technology they are looking to develop is a rapid, portable blood-typing device.

Minerick’s team is the third one from Michigan Tech chosen to participate in the I-Corps program.

Chemical Engineering Department Awards Convocation

The Annual Chemical Engineering Department Awards Convocation was held in the Rozsa Center on April 11, 2013. This is an opportunity to thank the faculty, staff and students for their hard work and dedication. The department recognized the support of Mrs. Karen Hubbard, Kimberly-Clark, Dow Chemical, Dow Corning and UOP for their donations and services, which made this year’s Awards Convocation possible.

2012-2013 Awards Convocation

The Department of Chemical Engineering 2012-2013 Awards Convocation will be on April 10, 2013
Rosza Center, 2:00-4:00 P.M.
The Keynote eakers will be Michigan Tech chemical engineering alumnus James A. Mack ‘59 and his wife, Lorna, donated $2 million to establish an endowed chair in cellular and molecular bioengineering. Mr. Mack retired as President and Chief Executive Officer of Cambrex Corporation, a developer and marketer of specialty chemicals. His company has successfully combined biology with engineering—especially in the rapidly emerging field of tissue engineering and cell therapy, and the development of small molecule therapeutics. Poster
James and Lorna Mack are dedicated to helping Michigan Tech achieve its vision—to grow as a premier research university of international stature, delivering education, new knowledge, and innovation.

ESC/BRC Student Research Forum Winners Announced

ESC/BRC Student Research Forum Winners Announced
The Ecosystem Science Center and the Biotechnology Research Center announced award recipients of the Ninth Annual ESC/BRC Student Research Forum, held March 27.
For the graduate students, two Grand Prize Awards and six Merit Awards were presented. They were selected from among the 59 posters and abstracts submitted by graduate students conducting research related to ecology, the environment and biotechnology at Michigan Tech.
Maria Tafur of the Chemical Engineering depaertment won a Merit Award for, “Reduction of Porcine Parvovirus Infectivity in the Presence of Protecting Osmolytes, ” Advisor: Caryn Heldt

Chemical Engineering Sweeps Poster Competition at SME Annual Meeting

Four Michigan Tech Chemical Engineering students placed in the annual Minerals Processing division undergraduate and graduate poster competition during the Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME) Annual meeting in Denver on February 27. This annual poster competition showcases research from the top mining and mineral processing programs across the nation and is judged by some of the top engineers and scientists in industry and academia. It involved a five-minute oral presentation in a special session as well as a public poster display at a large SME gathering.