Electrical and Computer Engineering Newsblog

Category: Electronics Hub

From Michigan Tech to Taipei: A Journey of Firsts

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Global Electronics Association Board of Directors Meeting
Global Electronics Association Board of Directors Meeting

Growing up in Byron, Michigan, watching her father as an electrician, Emily Daley knew someday she would study electronics. “In elementary school, I began to dream of building my own robot. I could see the mechanical side of things, but electronics held some sort of magic behind them that I wanted to understand.”

During a high-school tour of Michigan Tech, Daley fell for the rugged charm of the Upper Peninsula and went all-in on electrical engineering. Now, just months away from graduation, she’s reflecting on the defining chapter of her college career: serving as a Student Member Liaison for the Global Electronics Association Board of Directors.

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Michigan Tech Team Shines at 2025 Bright Manufacturing Challenge

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A group photo of three students
L to R: Congrats to Emily, Peter, Rishin and Katelyn!

Michigan Tech undergraduates Emily Daley, Peter Kocour, and Katelyn Spolnicki, and graduate student Rishin Patra secured 3rd place at the recent 2025 Bright Manufacturing Challenge.

The 8-week, national competition is sponsored by EMAC, the Electronics Manufacturing and Assembly Collaborative. It’s an immersive, hands-on experience for student teams who design, fabricate, and test a custom printed circuit board (PCB) to serve as the control center for a robot. The multidisciplinary competition is open to any team of 2–5 members (current college students or recent grads). This year over a dozen teams from around the country took part, including Michigan Tech.

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MTU Engineering Students Travel to Chicago for the Bright Manufacturing Challenge

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Students standing in front of blue letters that spell out "#SMTA"
ECE Professor Chris Middlebrook with MTU students and others at SMTAI 2025.

This week Michigan Tech ECE Professor Chris Middlebrook and four MTU students traveled to Rosemont, Illinois near Chicago this week to take part in the Bright Manufacturing Challenge and attend the SMTA International 2025 Conference and Expedition.

Group picture of the Michigan Tech Bright Manufacturing Challenge team
The Michigan Tech Bright Manufacturing Challenge team, L to R: Katelyn Spolnicki, Emily Daley, Peter Kocour, and Rishin Patra.

The Bright Manufacturing Challenge is an immersive, hands-on experience where student teams design, fabricate, and test a custom printed circuit board to serve as the control center for a robot. The challenge is hosted by the Electronics Manufacturing & Assembly Collaborative (EMAC). Any teams of 2-5 members can take part in the multidisciplinary, team-based competition, which simulates a real-world engineering product development cycle.

Michigan Tech ECE undergraduates Emily Daley, Peter Kocour, Katelyn Spolnicki, and ECE graduate student Rishin Patra took part in Round 1 (PCB Design) of the challenge back in July 2025. They earned a team prize of $1,000 and placed among the top 8 teams, securing their spot in Round 2 of the challenge (Fabrication DFM Review).

Next up will be Round 3, focusing on assembly, including planning and preparing for the circuit board population. The last phase is Round 4, which involves final integration–and features the grand finale of the competition: a robot challenge

Students at a table working on circuit boards
Hard at work during the Bright Manufacturing Challenge, Round 2

Daley, Kocour, Spolnickiu and Patra are all members of the Michigan Tech’s IPC and Electronics student chapter, advised by Prof. Middlebrook. The chapter focuses on industry connections, plant tours, conference attendances, and all other things to do with the printed circuit board (PCB) or electronics industries.

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