The 1st Annual Graduate Research Forum for the Department of Chemical Engineering was held on January 24, 2013.
Judges for the Oral Presentations were:
Dr. Eric Seagren from Civil & Environmental Engineering will present “Biomediated Geomechanical Processes”
Friday-November 30, 2012 at 10:00 a.m. in Ballroom B of the MUB
Geoengineers have relatively recently become aware of the potential of biological applications for improving the mechanical properties of soils. The National Research Council (2006) report, “Geological and Geotechnical Engineering in the New Millennium,” recognized the great potential of microorganisms for modifying soil properties in field applications and improving the practice of geoengineering in the 21st Century through biomediated geomechanical processes. Biomediated processes can significantly impact the geomechanical behavior of earth materials. Examples of microbially-mediated processes that have been investigated for their influences on geomechanical properties, include mineral precipitation, biofilm formation and use of biopolymers, mineral transformation, and biogenic gas production. These activities and others can directly or indirectly alter the physical properties of soils, either permanently or temporarily. Potential impacts of these processes on soil behavior include reductions in hydraulic conductivity, and increases in the strength and stiffness of soils. This presentation will provide an overview of what is currently known with respect to the biomediation of geomechanical processes in soils and other construction materials.
Refreshments will be served
Topic: Developing Nitric Oxide Releasing Polymers and Test Platform to Understand Cellular Response to Nitric Oxide
Polymeric materials used to coat or construct biomedical devices universally inspire a foreign body response when in contact with a biological system (e.g., thrombus formation on the polymer surface when in contact with blood, inflammatory response in subcutaneous tissue, etc.). Nitric oxide (NO) is a highly reactive free radical gas that has been shown to have a number positive of physiological functions at appropriate levels, including serving as a potent inhibitor of platelet adhesion and activation and mediating the inflammatory response. An NO-releasing silicone rubber coating was developed that contains a photosensitive S-nitrosothiol NO-donors that utilizes light as an external on/off trigger to initiate NO release. This material shows dynamically controllable NO release based on the duration and intensity of light irradiating the material and offers precise control of the level and duration of NO delivered at the tissue/polymer interface. We have also developed a test platform that allows quantitative levels of NO to be delivered to cells in vitro to further understanding of cellular response to NO.
A team of six chemical engineering students will represent Michigan Tech in the 2012 National Chem-E Car Competition in Pittsburgh, Penn., on Oct. 28. They are one of 32 student teams competing in the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE) annual challenge.
Chem-E cars are small vehicles, about the size of a shoebox, powered by chemical reactions.
Co-leaders of Tech’s 2012 team are David Hutchison and Christian Dale, both second-year chemical engineering students. Other team members are Justin Levande and Benjamin Veenstra, both second-year chemical engineering students; Ross Koepke, a third-year chemical engineering student; and Ben Markel, a senior in chemical engineering. Interim faculty advisor is Tony Rogers (CEE).
The team took first place in the North Central Region Chem-E car regional competition last April to earn their place in the lineup at next weekend’s national event. The Tech team’s car also won an award for creativity in the regional competition at the University of Akron.
You are cordially invited to stop by the Michigan Tech Hospitality Suite at the AIChE meeting in Pittsburgh. We will be located in the David Lawrence Convention Center, Room 318, from 7 to 10 pm on Monday, October 29th. It would be great to visit with you personally and show you how Michigan Tech is helping create the future in chemical engineering. This year, we will feature the 23 books written by our faculty, and there will be a short presentation by Daniel Crowl, “Blowing up a House Safely.”
MORE —see the flyer
Chemical engineering faculty and students at Michigan Tech attended a forum of “Challenges and Opportunities in Chemical Engineering” at the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts Atrium where several chemical engineering alumni talked about their career experiences and then meet with students and enjoyed some pizza.
Kathleen Halvorsen (SS), David Shonnard (ChE), and Rodney Chimner (SFRES) have received $777,206 from the National Science Foundation as the first year of a five-year grant totaling $4,841,735 for the project, “OISE-PIRE Sustainability, Ecosystem Services, and Bioenergy Development Across the Americas.”
Caryn Heldt (Chem Engg) has been awarded a research grant of $81,821 from the National Science Foundation for “Precipitation and Self-Interaction of Viruses by Preferential Hydration.” This is the first year of a three-year project totaling $247,736.
New Funding: Professor Gerard Caneba (ChE/CEBFM) has received $14,711 from the Environmental Protection Agency for a project, “Environmentally Responsible Treatment and Generation of Useful Products from Aluminum Extraction Waste Materials.”
Professor David Shonnard (ChE/SFI) and CoPIs Associate Professor Andrew Burton and Assistant Professor Audrey Mayer (both SFRES) and Professor Ezra Bar-Ziv and Professor Jeffrey Naber (both ME-EM) have received $1.8 million from the National Science Foundation for a four-year project: “SEP: Sustainable Forest-Biofuel Pathways to Hydrocarbon Transportation Fuels; Biomass Production, Torrefaction, Pyrolysis, Catalytic Upgrading, and Combustion.”