Author: College of Engineering

Sue Hill is the Digital Content Manager for the College of Engineering.

First and Second Year Business and Engineering Students Collaborate in Fall Class

UN Sustainable Development GoalsFor the past two years, students in “Introduction to Business” (BUS1100) and “Engineering Modeling and Design” (ENG1102) worked on project design teams to develop innovative solutions to a challenging problem. Mary Fraley (EF) and Jon Leinonen (CoB) developed this collaborative experience with design thinking guided by Mary Raber (PHC).

The students applied design thinking steps to empathize, define, ideate, prototype and test solutions centered on the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Engineering Grand Challenges.

Students focused on topics including alternative energy, transportation, better medicine and others. The teams worked through design thinking collaboratively as was the intention for the project in addition to managing individual business and engineering tasks such as marketing plans and advertising as well as 3D modeling and hazard analysis, respectively.

To celebrate the finale of the semester-long project, design teams presented their work in a design exposition to be evaluated by faculty and staff from across campus.

Based on the judging, numerous awards will be conveyed to the project teams after the fall break. Because the design exposition occurred on the same day as the Idea Hub Open House, some design boards that exemplified the range of projects were also displayed at the open house.

By Mary Fraley.

eCYBERMISSION Team Has Fun at Nationals

Yooper Lights 2019LAKE LINDEN — Lake Linden’s eCYBERMISSION team reported back to the district board Monday about its recent trip to Nationals.

“We didn’t win, but we had fun at the competition,” said Olivia Shank, who competed alongside Rebecca Lyons, Chloe Daniels and Jenna Beaudoin.

To aid students walking to or from school in the dark, the team, named Yooper Lights, designed LED reflectors for students to attach to their backpacks.

This year, the Yooper Lights are working with Tech’s chapter of Society of Women Engineers, (SWE), which got a grant to make electrical engineering kits for fifth- and sixth-graders.

“Michigan Tech is really excited about it too, because they will use it for their alumni,” said coach Gretchen Hein.

Read more at the Mining Gazette, by Garrett Neese.

SWE Members Take Professional Development Trip

Members of the Michigan Tech Chapter of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), Zoé Ketola, Zoe Wahr, Mackenzie Brunet, Eve Kaczkowski, Michaela Fung, Katy Ploch and Sophie Owen along with their adviser, Gretchen Hein (EF) travelled to Oshkosh, Wisconsin to participate in a professional day sponsored by SWE-WI. On Saturday (April 6, 2019), they toured Plexus Corporation and in the afternoon, attended sessions related to K-12 outreach, diversity, product management, transitioning from technical to management, global Engineering teams and SWE membership. The keynote speaker was Michigan Tech alumna Angela Johnston ’00, who works for Kimberly-Clark Corporation as a technical strategist. The group also visited with Andrea Falasco ’12, current SWE-WI president working for Oshkosh Defense. The students enjoyed the sessions, networking with the SWE-WI members and learning about Angela’s career path.

Angela Johnston '00
Angela Johnston ’00
Andrea Falasco '12
Andrea Falasco ’12

Engineering Students 3D Print Toys for Teaching

3D Printed Bath Toys
3D Printed Bath Toys

This week Mrs. Jarvis’ four-year-old preschool class had the opportunity to learn about the letter R. R stands for rain, which means the students had a lesson on the water system.

To help teach the lesson, first year Michigan Tech engineering students made 3D printed bath toys.

“Our criteria for design was they had to float and they had to be self-righting, and they had to have an ascetic appeal to preschoolers- that would be judged by a panel of experts,” said Michigan Tech Senior Lecturer, Michelle Jarvie – Eggart.

Read more and watch the video at WLUC TV6 News, by Megan O’Connor.

Related:

A (Tub) Toy Story

Gretchen Hein Goes to Washington

Gretchen Hein
Gretchen Hein

Gretchen Hein (EF), participated in the Society of Women Engineers’ 2019 Congressional Outreach Days in Washington, DC, March 27-28, 2019. She met with representatives from Sen. Gary Peters and Debbie Stabenow and Rep. Jack Bergman. The discussions focused on STEM and the inclusion of underrepresented groups.

Hein is a senior lecturer in Engineering Fundamentals and a faculty advisor for the Society of Women Engineers.

Stamp Sand Testing Continues for eCYBERMISSION Competition

Whiz KidsCALUMET — Members of the Whiz Kids and the Superior Remediators met Monday to complete the next step of their stamp sands experimentation, mixing cement with varying amounts of the gritty material left over from copper processing.

In June, the teams went to a competition in Washington, D.C. Afterward, they stayed a couple extra days, thanks to funding from the Lake Linden-Hubbell School Foundation, Lake Linden Lions Club and the American Legion Post 90 Auxiliary.

“The extra days were really important,” said Gretchen Hein, senior lecturer in the Department of Engineering Fundamentals at Michigan Technological University (MTU), who is advising the teams with help from MTU chemical engineering student Ryan Knoll.

Read more at the Mining Gazette, by Joshua Vissers.

A new use for Stamp Sand?

In recent months the Department of Natural Resources has made attempts at saving that fishing area from the drifting sand, but they have also asked for public input to offer solutions. Three kids have accepted that challenge and are currently testing their theories.

‘Their goal is to make concrete using stamp sand as part of the fine aggregate.’ Said, Gretchen Hein of Michigan Technological University.

Concrete is used worldwide for building just about anything and if the stamp sand can be used in the mix, there are plenty of things that can be made with it.

Read more at ABC 10 News, by Dane Wurmlinger.

Related:

Putting Stamp Sand to Good Use, and Then Some

Vote for the Whiz Kids tonight (Thurs. June 21) by 8:30 pm

Gretchen Hein Honored for Advising eCYBERMISSION National Winning Team

Fraley, Raber, and Hein Present on VentureWell Grants Program

2018 ASEE

Mary Raber (Pavlis Honors College) and Mary Fraley (EF) presented: “Incorporating Design Thinking into the First-Year Engineering Curriculum” at the 125th Annual American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Conference in Salt Lake City, Utah, June 24 – 27, 2018.

Fraley, Raber and Gretchen Hein (EF) presented: “Work-in-Progress: Entrepreneurial Mindset in First-Year Engineering Courses” at the 10th Annual First Year Engineering Experience (FYEE) Conference at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey, July 24-26 (FYEE 2018).

The work for both papers was supported by the VentureWell Faculty Grants Program, which funds projects to “pioneer new ways to engage students in STEM innovation and entrepreneurship.”

Related:

Jarvie-Eggart and Fiss present at FYEE 2018

Mary Fraley Among the 2018 VentureWell OPEN Conference Presenters

Jarvie-Eggart and Fiss present at FYEE 2018

Michelle Jarvie-Eggart (EF) and Laura Fiss (Pavlis Honors College) are presenting the paper “Work-in-Progress: Comparing First Year Student Math and Verbal ACT Scores and Performance in Introductory Engineering and Composition Courses,” at the American Society of Engineering Education’s First Year Engineering Experience conference at Rowan University, New Jersey, July 24-26 (FYEE 2018).

The conference is hosted by the Henry M. Rowan College of Engineering at Rowan University in Glassboro. FYEE is an opportunity for academic and industry representatives to discuss and share relevant topics in the first year engineering experience. Participants include college deans, department chairs, student service professionals, advisors, faculty in engineering and engineering technology, K-12 teachers, and industry leaders from throughout the country.

FYEE 2018 Banner

Norma Veurink Receives Funding for Spatial Skills Instruction Research

Norma Veurink
Senior Lecturer Norma Veurink

Norma Veurink (EF) is the principal investigator on a project that has received a $105,975 research and development grant from the University of Cincinnati.

The project is titled “Enhancing Middle School Mathematics Achievement Through Spatial Skills Instruction.”

This is the first year of a potential three-year project totaling $222,847.