Day: April 17, 2018

Michigan Tech at Earth and Space 2018

2018 ASCE Earth and Space banner

The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Earth and Space 2018 conference was held in Cleveland, Ohio, on April 9-12. Michigan Tech was well represented by several talks. Paul van Susante (MEEM) is the current chair of ASCE’s Aerospace Division that organized the conference and he gave two talks: “Minerals from Space: Terrestrial and Extra-terrestrial Perspectives” and “Robotic Mars and Lunar Landing Pad Construction Using In-Situ Rocks.” He also chaired two sessions, served as a student paper judge and handed out division awards as well as the Columbia medal to Paul Wooster from SpaceX on behalf of Elon Musk.

In addition, Gregory Odegard (MEEM) presented at the pre-conference shortcourse: “Design and Analysis of Composite Materials for Aerospace Structures.” Two of his students, Hashim Al Mahmud and Will Pisani, attended the shortcourse and each presented a paper. The papers titles were: “Multiscale Modeling of PEEK Using Reactive Molecular Dynamics Modeling and Micromechanics” and “Predicting the Effective Mechanical Properties of Graphene Nanoplatelet-Carbon Fiber-Epoxy Hybrid Composites Using ReaxFF: A Multiscale Modeling Approach”.

Wind Turbine Blade diagram with parts labeled.The 2017 best paper award for the Journal of Aerospace Engineering (published by ASCE by the Aerospace Division) was awarded to “Design and Simulation of Active External Trailing-Edge Flaps for Wind Turbine Blades on Load Reduction” by Xiao Sun, Qingli Dai, Muraleekrishnan Menon and Fernando Ponta in the September 2017 issue.

https://doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)AS.1943-5525.0000771

Kristina Swallow, ASCE President, attended the entire conference which concluded with a tour of NASA Glenn Research Center. For more information, visit the ASCE Earth and Space website.

Huntoon Selected for APLU’s Council on Academic Affairs Executive Committee

Jackie Huntoon
Jackie Huntoon

Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Jackie Huntoon has been selected to serve on the Council on Academic Affairs (CAA) executive committee for the Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities (APLU).

Huntoon will be a member of the executive committee’s five-person class of 2021. APLU is a research, policy and advocacy organization dedicated to strengthening and advancing the work of public universities in the United States, Canada and Mexico. APLU serves 237 public research universities, land-grant institutions, state university systems and affiliated organizations.

APLU’s agenda is built on three pillars: increasing degree completion and academic success, advancing scientific research and expanding engagement. The association’s advocacy arm works with Congress, the presidential administration and the media to advance policies that strengthen public universities and their students.

The CAA is composed of chief academic officers, typically provosts or senior vice presidents for academic affairs where they are a campus’s second-ranking officer.

The CAA provides a forum for discussing trends in higher education and the public mission; funding patterns and budget strategies; teaching and learning innovations; faculty roles and rewards; academic programs, planning and advising; research and publication; and service and engagement with other sectors. The CAA advises the Council of Presidents and the APLU Board of Directors regarding association priorities and agendas in these areas.

2018 Fraternity and Sorority Life Awards Recognize Faculty and Staff

Cameron Hadden
Cameron Hadden

More than 300 Michigan Tech students gathered for the 12th Annual Fraternity and Sorority Life Awards Ceremony Sunday in the Memorial Union Ballroom.

In addition to the many student awards presented, Order of Omega, the Greek Life Honor Society that coordinates the awards, took the time to recognize some exceptional faculty and staff members. There are more than 560 students in fraternities and sororities at Michigan Tech, and Order of Omega wanted to emphasize that these awards were coming directly from the students.

When writing a nomination for the Outstanding Faculty Award, students were asked to consider faculty who:

  • Are dedicated to supporting students and helping them succeed academically
  • Demonstrate a passion for teaching and/or research
  • Utilize innovative teaching methods and promote academic integrity among students

When writing a nomination for the Outstanding Staff Award, students were asked to consider staff who:

  • Are dedicated to supporting students and helping them succeed both inside and outside the classroom
  • Demonstrate a passion for working with students
  • Promote and inspire the Michigan Tech values of Community, Scholarship, Possibilities, Accountability and Tenacity.

When writing a nomination for the Outstanding Advisor Award, students were asked to consider staff/faculty who:

  • Are dedicated to promoting the Michigan Tech Greek community values and chapter values
  • Are dedicated to developing leaders within the chapter; are dedicated to promoting a values-based organization
  • Promotes and role models ethical leadership and promotes academic success among members and the chapter as a whole.

The following faculty and staff members were nominated by members of the Greek community and were recognized at the 2018 Fraternity and Sorority Life Awards Ceremony

Faculty—Sean Clancey (ChE), Cameron Hadden (MEEM). Staff—Joseph Cooper (Student Financial Services), Scott Wendt (ChE). Advisors—Laura Bunzendahl-Bulleit (Dean of Students Office), Bobbie Dalquist (Financial Information Systems), James DeClerck (MEEM), Alyssa Fredin (Financial Aid).

Scott Wendt
Scott Wendt

These nominations were written by individual students and were supported by an entire fraternity or sorority. In the end, the Outstanding Faculty Award was presented to Cameron Hadden and the Outstanding Staff Award went to Scott Wendt. Advisor of the Year was awarded to Bobbie Dalquist.

Congratulations to all of these faculty and staff members who were nominated and thank you for inspiring and motivating students.

The full list of award winners and nominees can be found on the student activities website.

By Student Activities.