Outreach Archives

The Power of Hands-On Learning: MTU EE Students Share Their Passion for Electronics at Superior Makerfest

Published March 19, 2026

Katelyn Spolnicki and Alex Ossenheimer with a student in a gymnasium using electrical equipment — Katelyn Spolnicki and Alex Ossenheimer spent the Pi Day at Superior Makersfest.

This past Pi Day, a group of students from the Michigan Tech IPC & Electronics Student Chapter headed to Houghton High School. Senior Katelyn Spolnicki, second year-student Alex Ossenheimer, and third-year Sam Freye spent the day at Superior Makerfest, hosted by Superior Fab Lab. They taught attendees of all ages—some as young as five—the essential skill of soldering.

The three electrical engineering students taught attendees how to solder a mini flashlight. The flashlight kits–—boards, components, and a ruler – multifunctional PCB engineering scale printed circuit board ruler measuring tool—were donated by the Electronics Foundation.

Logo for Superior Fab Lab’s MakerFest 3.14.26, Pi(e) Day Edition — a circular pie chart styled as a pie crust, with six slices depicting different maker materials: LEGO bricks (yellow), wood grain (brown), woven fabric (blue), diamond-plate metal (gray), circuit board (green), and the Superior Fab Lab logo on red. The text “MakerFest 3.14.26” arcs across the top and “Pi(e) Day Edition” along the bottom, with π symbols on both sides.

“It was amazing to see people of all ages get excited about learning to solder,” says Katelyn Spolnicki.

“Being part of the IPC student chapter has been one of the best parts of my college experience. It’s given me hands-on experience, industry connections, and a community of people who share the same interests,” she adds.

Her advice to anyone interested in electronics or electrical engineering? “Get involved early, try new things, and take advantage of opportunities like IPC.”

Spolnicki will graduate from Michigan Tech in just a few weeks. In the short term, she hopes to keep encouraging more students to explore electronics on campus. “Long term I want to work in the electronics industry on meaningful projects, and eventually mentor others entering the field.”

“I’m grateful I had the chance to help at Makerfest,” adds Spolnicki. “Events like this really show how fun and welcoming the electronics community can be.”

I really enjoyed meeting all the kids who stopped by our table to learn about electronics assembly and hand soldering,” adds Ossenheimer.

“I’m a relatively new member of the IPC & Electronics student chapter. It’s been a fulfilling and refreshing experience to be a part of this group, to have the chance to experience the different facets of electronics and semiconductor engineering and manufacturing firsthand,” he says. “It’s something I plan to keep doing throughout my time at Michigan Tech.”

Alex Ossenheimer helping a student build a mini flashlight — Alex Ossenheimer teaches a student to solder a mini flashlight at the Superior Makerfest.

Ossenheimer is majoring in electrical engineering with a concentration in photonics. Similar to electronics, which involves the control of electrons, photonics deals with the control of photons in terms of generating and harnessing light and other forms of radiant energy.

His advice to a younger person interested in electronics: “Start by experimenting with the plethora of free tools out there—websites like Circuit Lab and Multisim Live for simulating circuits, and CAD software like KiCad for designing PCBs and schematics. YouTube is a good resource, too. A lot of people are making amazing videos on a wide variety of topics related to electronics.”

Whether you’re a student, job-seeker, veteran, or a professional, there’s a place for you in the electronics community. Feel free to reach out to ECE Professor Christopher Middlebrook for more information at the Michigan Tech Electronics Hub for ongoing workforce development opportunities in Michigan and beyond.

Oberloier and Forney Celebrate Maker Fest 2024

Published March 26, 2024

Shane Oberloier (ECE), Ian Raymond (HU) and undergraduate student William Forney (robotics engineering) were quoted by the Daily Mining Gazette in a story about the 2024 Maker Fest, held March 23 at Houghton High School. This was the second year for the event, put on by Superior Fab Lab.

“It’s the chance to show off the tools we use in the enterprise, show how they can be used and generate interest in it that way.”
William Forney, robotics engineering undergraduate

The event celebrated the process of making and offered nearly 30 hands-on activities. Raymond let visitors engage in stop-motion filmmaking. Forney, an Open Source Hardware Enterprise member, offered 360-degree 3D scans of people’s heads. Also mentioned was the Society of Women Engineers, which ran a booth on building paper circuits.

Group of people in an auditorium engaging in activities. — Students and families attend Maker Fest 2024.

Presenter in front of screen with large group in the background. — Dr. Shane Oberloier gives a presentation on YouTube methods.

Elementary Students Build Circuits

Published February 5, 2020

Last Friday (Jan. 31, 2020), students from Michigan Tech, along with the Lake Linden-Hubbell eighth grade eCYBERMISSION team, visited the fifth-grade classes at Calumet-Laurium-Keweenaw Elementary. Students in each fifth-grade class learned about electrical engineering by making circuits from Play-Doh, creating a paper circuit, and building a small wiggling “BouncyBOT.”

The fifth graders were very curious about Michigan Tech and what it means to be a college student in engineering. They asked the Tech representatives about projects they had worked on during their time on campus, as well as what they did in high school to get ready for college.

These students—coming together from the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Mind Trekkers—represent the great characteristics of the Tech community: they stepped up to give back through hands-on engagement with engineering and science.

The Nine Oh Six Podcast

Published January 13, 2020

Michigan Tech alumna Archita (Sivakumar) Fritz ’06, recently launched and co-founded the Nine Oh Six podcast. The Nine-Oh-Six is a global podcast co-hosted by lifelong friends Meha (Pandey) Chiraya (Houghton High School ’06) and Fritz.

The name of this podcast is the area code (906) of the Upper Peninsula, which is where Meha and Archita’s friendship began, and is an ode to the sense of community they both experienced as young adults in Houghton. This podcast originated from a desire to share the stories of the extraordinary women in their lives, within their networks and communities, who are forging a path forward.

Too often podcasts and interviews are focused on women at the top of the proverbial ‘success ladder’. Yet, they were constantly amazed by women in their lives who are doing extraordinary things as they define success on their own terms. The podcast provides a platform to share and inspire others with these stories.

On the most recent episode they interview a fellow Michigan Tech Alumna, Andrea (Taglione) Bouman ’11 and MBA ’12 who is an ER Physician at UP Health System – Portage in Hancock. She shares how her time at Michigan Tech helped shape her journey towards becoming a physician wanting to serve the community while building a family.

You can tune into the episode. For more inspiring stories about women who are defining success on their own terms, one can subscribe to The Nine Oh Six on any podcast platform such as iTunes, Spotify, Stitchr and others. or you can listen to the episodes at www.thenineohsix. You can follow us on Facebook at The Nine Oh Six Podcast or on instagram @thenineohsix.

ECE Texting Campaign a Success

Published March 27, 2019

Students at computers — Photo by Glen Archer.

The first Electrical and Computer Engineering department texting campaign was held on March 26, 2019. The texting campaign is similar to the calling campaign the department put on earlier in the semester; however, students were able to send in questions via text.

Five current Tech students held conversations with approximately thirty students who had been accepted to Michigan Tech, answering questions all across the board.

The event was a success, and our students had a great time answering questions and discussing their experiences as a Husky—which can clearly be seen by the smiles.

By Kelsey Robinson, EE senior.

Heart Rate Monitor for Engineers Week 2019

Published March 5, 2019

Heart Rate Monitor group — Students working on soldering, with Blue Marble Security members assisting with questions.

Engineers’ Week this year took place February 17 – 23, 2019. Michigan Technological University’s nationally recognized engineering honor society, Tau Beta Pi (TBP), partnered with Blue Marble Security Enterprise to participate in a Heart Rate Monitor (HRM) Event. The event was held on Friday, February 22, where approximately 15 TBP members learned the basics of soldering.

The TBP members had various levels of soldering knowledge, some being beginners and others having plenty of experience. They represented various majors while participating. The Blue Marble Security outreach team supervised for those with little experience and answered questions.

The HRM is a basic circuit used to teach students how to read color bands on resistors. The colors correspond to the resistor ohm value and polarity regarding the device LEDs. Besides basic component knowledge, the students learned the correct and safe process of through hole soldering. Upon the completion of populating and soldering the components in place, students were given an integrated circuit and nine volt battery to check the operation of the board. The TBP members took their completed heart rate monitor boards home as souvenirs of their soldering experiences and of Engineers’ Week 2019.

Society of Women Engineers Learn to Solder Heart Rate Monitors

Boy Scouts Learn to Solder Heart Rate Monitors

Published December 12, 2018

BMS Tyler Arthur — Blue Marble Security member Tyler Arthur is showing the Boy Scouts a soldering demonstration

Blue Marble Security Enterprise assisted the local Boy Scouts on Tuesday November 27th, 2018, as they participated in a heart rate monitor soldering event. The event is used to teach the basics of electrical engineering components in an interactive and effective manner. The heart rate monitor, once soldered with correct connections, will cause the LEDs to light and with the use of the sensor the LEDs will blink with the operator’s heart rate. Around seventeen boy scouts ranging in the middle school age participated in the event with seven Blue Marble Security members as well as their advisor who monitored and assisted in the lab.

The focus of the heart rate monitor lab is to introduce the basic concepts of electric engineering to those with little experience. Some of the concepts learned are how the color bands on resistors correspond to the resistor’s value, the polarity of diodes, and why it is important to place them correctly. However, the focus of the lab was to make effective through hole soldering connections. Scouts who were unsure about the process got a quick demo from an Outreach team member. All the members got portions of their boards populated with components within the time limit, with a few getting the boards completed and tested. All the boy scouts will get to take a heart rate monitor board home after the Outreach members troubleshoot and finish up some of the boards. The boy scouts had a wonderful time, and learned a new valuable skill.

BMS with Boy Scouts — Michael, John, and Shawn BMS members answering various questions the scouts have.

BMS Soldering Lab — Overview of the lab with the scouts working on their heart rate monitor soldering boards.

Society of Women Engineers Learn to Solder Heart Rate Monitors

Published December 7, 2018

Heart Monitor Device — The completed heart rate monitor board SWE members took as a souvenir.

On Friday November 9th, 2018 Blue Marble Security hosted a heart rate monitor soldering lab for the Society of Women Engineers (SWE). The heart rate monitor, once fully soldered with correct connections, would allow the LEDs around the edge to blink with the operator’s heart rate. Sixteen SWE members were present along with six Blue Marble Security members to monitor and assist in the lab.

SWE Students Lab — Students working on the heart rate monitor boards with BMS members supervising.

The focus of the heart rate monitor lab is to introduce basic concepts of electrical engineering to those with little or no knowledge. The SWE members specifically learned how the color bands on resistors correspond to the resistor’s value, as well as the polarity of a diode and why it is present. The main focus of the lab was to teach the SWE members to through hole solder appropriately so that there would be strong connections on the board for current to flow. All of the SWE members completed the lab within the time allowed. Each took a heart rate monitor board as a souvenir to remember their new skill.

SYP Students Visit MFF

Published July 20, 2017

Michigan Tech’s Microfabrication Core Facility (MFF) was host to 15 students, ages 12-14, from the Summer Youth Program (SYP) Tuesday (July 18, 2017).

The students learned about the fabrication of silicon-based devices and how silicon wafers are produced. Additionally, they had hands-on experience in the cleanroom and used the photolithography process to transfer a pattern on a photomask to a silicon wafer. The pattern had a scale on it from 100 um (diameter of a human hair) to 1 um (diameter of bacteria) to allow the students to understand the scale that MFF users work at.

The students also hand cleaved silicon wafers to produce dies of gold Michigan Tech logos as a keepsake for their time in the MFF. A similar event is planned for another SYP group this Tuesday (July 25).

By Electrical and Computer Engineering. Read more at the Microfabrication Core Facility, by Chito Kendrick.

Students experience day in Microfabrication Facility

HOUGHTON — Michigan Tech’s Microfabrication Core Facility provided students with a glimpse of the microfabrication process.

The students suited up and worked in the cleanroom to learn about fabricating silicon-based products. At the end, silicon wafers were transformed into dies of gold Michigan Tech logos through the process of photolithography.

Summer Youth at Microfabrication Facility

Senator Stabenow Learns About Robotics and Autonomous Vehicles

Published April 26, 2017

HOUGHTON — U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan) heard from Michigan Tech faculty and students about projects related to the Great Lakes during her April 1, 2017, visit to the university’s Great Lakes Research Center (GLRC) in Houghton.

Cameron Burke, Michigan Tech student in computer engineering, said he was excited to be working with the robotics program and autonomous vehicles and would probably focus on these in graduate school in the future. For example, he noted some of the experiments include sending the vehicles out into the snow or rain to determine how they could be safer than a regular car.

Category: Outreach

Students experience day in Microfabrication Facility