Author: College of Engineering

Darian Reed: From Volunteer to New Career

Michigan Tech civil engineering student Darian Reed is Logistics Section Chief for Houghton and Keweenaw Counties, supplying PPE to hospitals, nursing homes and local organizations.

COVID-19 has changed the lives of so many. For one Michigan Tech civil engineering undergraduate student, COVID-19 shaped his life in a way never imagined. 

Originally from Monroe, Michigan, Darian Reed came to the UP to pursue a degree in civil engineering at Michigan Tech and a career in the construction industry. Feeling a strong connection to the local community, this year Reed began volunteering his time and talents near campus, with Superior Search and Rescue. His contributions gained the recognition of Chris VanArsdale, a civil engineering alumnus and current doctoral student, who serves as the emergency management coordinator for both Houghton and Keweenaw counties. 

Needing to staff emergency response activities for both counties, VanArsdale asked Reed to serve as Logistics Section Chief—and Reed jumped at the chance. In this new role he receives resource need requests from local organizations, including hospitals and nursing homes. He submits their resource requests to the State, who will approve or deny the requests for masks, thermometers and other essential resources in the fight against COVID-19. 

Day in, day out, Darian Reed says he feels highly motivated. “This work provides me with the fuel I need to keep going amid the uncertainty of this pandemic.”

Reed also handles regional donations, including the 3D printed face shields printed at Michigan Tech. “I get to be the Santa Claus of the area, distributing the resources to all the requesting organizations,” says Reed. “I am happy to share that the State of Michigan has been able to fulfill requests for many resources to date, with gowns and no-touch thermometers as some of the few exceptions. This is great news for our community.”

Reed is now on the last leg of a long (and sometimes slow) process of requesting supplies. A local health care provider or non-profit first requests resources from the emergency manager, the supplies they cannot find or obtain themselves. These requests are entered into the State of Michigan’s online portal called MICIMS (Michigan Critical Incident Management System). As resources become available, they are shipped to Marquette, which is the central receiving hub in the UP. From there, resources are sorted by county and shipped to a regional hub (Greenland in the case of five counties in the Western UP Health Department’s area of responsibility). The National Guard breaks down these shipments and transports them to each county. At that point, it becomes the county’s responsibility to distribute the requested resources. That’s where Reed comes in.

Best of all for Reed, the experience has illuminated an entirely new career path. Because of his experiences this summer, his career goals have changed—from construction to emergency management. He still plans to complete his degree in Civil Engineering.

“The civil engineering skills I learned from my classes at Tech and my co-op experience with Kiewit last fall served me well. Managing construction crews and working with a variety of government agencies both have helped me to develop an important skill set.”

Reed is already on his way, completing several FEMA emergency management courses in his spare time, and taking classes for his Professional Emergency Manager certification. “I’ve been doing the training real-time, by learning online and then implementing what I have learned almost immediately,” he says.

“Through this experience I value the connection I am making with my adopted home more than ever before,” he says. “I also value this opportunity for personal growth.” When asked how others could follow in his footprints, he suggests volunteering for any local community event or with your local first responders. “Volunteers are needed and the more you show up, the more you can do. Great opportunities will come your way!”

Tony Pinar: How Do Machines Learn?

Tony Pinar generously shared his knowledge on Husky Bites, a free, interactive Zoom webinar hosted by Dean Janet Callahan. Here’s the link to watch a recording of his session on YouTube. Get the full scoop, including a listing of all the (60+) sessions at mtu.edu/huskybites.

Can machines learn, for real? Just how intelligent are they? Will machines and robots someday take over the world?

“Machine learning has become a popular tool in the digital world,” says Tony Pinar. “For people outside the field it seems almost magical that a machine could learn.”

Machine-learning algorithms do indeed “learn”, though it probably is not as glamorous as many people think. And not only that, says Pinar, they can be fooled.

ECE faculty member Dr. Tony Pinar earned his BS, MS and PhD in electrical engineering, all at Michigan Tech.

A lecturer and researcher in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Michigan Tech, Pinar demystifies machine learning for students, and shows them how it’s done.

Pinar has even taught his own laptop a thing or two.

“Machine learning is actually a subfield of AI, or artificial intelligence,” says Pinar. “That’s a buzz word for simulating intelligence with a machine.”

Machine learning, he explains, is a collection of algorithms, biologically-inspired neural networks, that allow a computer to learn properties from observations, often with the goal of prediction.

“One pretty common misconception is that AI and machine learning are new. While the field has made leaps in the last few decades, some aspects of machine learning were developed in the 1800s, probably by Gauss,” says Pinar. Carl Friedrich Gauss, the German mathematician, is considered to be one of the greatest mathematicians of all time.

Pinar’s own research interests are in applied machine learning and data fusion. “It is exciting to me to watch the cutting edge move forward, see what sticks and what doesn’t, and observe how the directions of the field evolve,” he says. “It’s also rewarding to work on open-ended and novel problems that are in their infancy and at the cutting edge of today’s technology.”

Pinar is a member of the Institute of Computing and Cybersystems (ICC) at Michigan Tech. ICC provides a platform for innovative research and supports collaboration. The ICC’s 50 members represent 15 academic units at Michigan Tech.

It is exciting to me to watch the cutting edge move forward, see what sticks and what doesn’t, and observe how the directions of the field evolve.

Dr. Tony Pinar

“Often, the strongest solutions to be found are multidisciplinary, where people from many different fields work on the same problem,” notes Pinar.

As senior design coordinator for Michigan Tech’s ECE department, Pinar mentors students working on the final big design project of their senior year. Michigan Tech’s senior design program is more like a first job than a last class, and many projects are sponsored by industry.

What does working on senior design look like? It looks like testing, iterating, compiling, and teaming. This group of ME, EE, and CpE students is working on the SICK LiDAR challenge. They they ended up winning an Honorable Mention in the nationwide competition.

One senior design team that Pinar advised this past spring⁠—a multidisciplinary team comprised of students majoring in electrical engineering, mechanical engineering, and computer engineering⁠—competed in the TiM$10K Challenge, a national innovation and design competition. Student teams were invited to participate from 20 different universities by Sick USA. Sick AG, based in Waldkirch, Germany, is a global manufacturer of sensors and sensor solutions.

For the competition, teams were supplied with a 270-foot SICK LiDAR sensor, the TIM, and accessories, and challenged to solve a problem, create a solution or new application.

The Tech team members — Brian Parvin, Kurtis Alessi, Alex Kirchner, David Brushaber and Paul Allen — earned Honorable Mention (fourth place overall) for their project, Evaluating Road Markings (the Road Stripe Evaluator). The innovative product aims to help resolve issues caused by poor road markings.

“Road stripes around the world require frequent maintenance,” Pinar explains. “That’s because fading road stripes cause fatal car accidents and other safety concerns. The team’s software and device can be mounted on police cars in order to cover a wide region. And instead of repainting all road stripes, road crews can become discerning, learning which roads need repainting, and focus only on those, potentially saving a fortune each year on paint and maintenance.”

“Each year, fading road stripes cause fatal car accidents,” says Pinar. “This senior design team’s software and device the Road Stripe Evaluator, could potentially save lives.”

SICK asked each team in the competition to submit a video and paper for judging upon completion of its project. A panel of judges decided the winning submissions based on creativity and innovation, ability to solve a customer problem, commercial potential, entrepreneurship of the team, and reporting.

While the team’s prototype does not depend on machine learning, the project may continue in upcoming semester. That way, another senior design team will be able to build a machine learning solution into the prototype, notes Pinar.

In April, the team also won an Honorable Mention for the Road Stripe Evaluator project at Michigan Tech’s Design Expo, competing with 50+ other senior design teams.

How did you first get interested in engineering? What sparked your interest?

I was raised near the small town of Trout Creek, Michigan. I’ve always been obsessed with figuring out how things work. I was also interested in electricity from a young age, thanks to my dad, who had me help him to wire houses as an electrician. These led me to pursue electrical engineering at Michigan Tech, where I learned EE was so much more than power distribution.

You earned your BS, MS and PhD at Michigan Tech, all in electrical engineering. What kind of projects did you work on as a student?

I had the opportunity to work on many interesting projects as a student, both applied and research-based. As an undergrad I contributed to projects such as a solar-tracking solar panel, a Tesla coil, and an industry-sponsored project concerning wireless power transfer. In graduate school I worked on projects involving autonomous underwater gliders, 3D metal printers, and explosive hazard detection using ground penetrating radar; my dissertation was focused on the algorithms I developed and used for much of the explosive hazard detection problem.

What do you like most about teaching electrical engineering?

Teaching is like a puzzle where one may have to take a difficult concept, reduce it to digestible pieces, and deliver them to fresh minds in a way to maximize understanding and insight. That challenge is what drives me to be a better teacher. It keeps me on my toes, forces me to constantly identify holes in my knowledge, and drives me to continuously strive to learn new things.

Can you tell us about your life now? Any hobbies?

I live in Hancock with my wife, Noelle, and our two small boys, Malcolm and Dexter. If I’m not spending time outdoors in the Keweenaw with my family, you will probably find me playing guitar or tinkering with a side project.

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Play 232: Road Marking Reflectivity Evaluator video
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232: Road Marking Reflectivity Evaluator

Andrew Barnard: A Quieter Future

Andrew Barnard works on a noise control survey on the R/V Blue Heron in Lake Superior.

Andrew Barnard shares his knowledge on Husky Bites, a free, interactive webinar this Monday, June 15 at 6 pm. Learn something new in just 20 minutes, with time after for Q&A! Get the full scoop and register at mtu.edu/huskybites.

Let’s say you wanted to quiet the loud auxiliary power unit on a large Abrams tank or any other loud noisy contraption. Would carbon nanotubes, thinner than a human hair, immediately come to mind? Probably not—but that is exactly the solution that Andrew Barnard has developed.

Why a nanotube speaker instead of the usual kind? It’s flexible and stretchable, with no moving parts, and you can put it practically anywhere. Plus, it weighs next to nothing. Four ounces of the material will cover an acre.

“Carbon nanotubes can oscillate their surface temperature almost instantaneously to produce noise canceling sound waves,” he explains. His technology—a coaxial active exhaust noise control system—is based on using a thin film of carbon nanotubes as a thermophone, or loudspeaker.

Why else use carbon nanotubes? “The material is flexible and stretchable, with no moving parts, and you can put it practically anywhere,” he says. “Plus, it weighs next to nothing. Four ounces of the material will cover an acre.”

“Building with Lego sets as a kid is probably what sparked my design and engineering mindset,” says Andrew Barnard. Fast forward about 30 years. Barnard is now an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics at Michigan Tech, specializing in the field of acoustics, vibration, and noise control engineering. He is the Director of the Great Lakes Research Center. He is advisor of Michigan Tech’s Strategic Education through Naval Systems Experiences (SENSE) Enterprise team. Last year he earned the Michigan Tech Distinguished Teaching Award. And he knows what it’s like to be a Michigan Tech student; he earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in mechanical engineering at Tech before heading to Penn State for a PhD in acoustics.

Barnard is faculty advisor to Michigan Tech’s SENSE (Strategic Education through Naval Systems Experience) Enterprise. It’s a relatively new team. Students design, build, and test engineering systems with a focus on Navy applications in all domains: space, air, land, sea, and undersea. Like all of SENSE is open to students in any major.  The Nautical Emergency Rescue Device (NERD) is the team’s longest-running project. 

Q: What exactly is the NERD?

It’s like a mechanized life ring. If you’ve got someone 100 yards offshore, it takes away the danger of swimming out to them or the time it takes to get a boat. A life ring can only be thrown maybe 25 yards and if it’s windy it’s hard to get the life ring to the person. The NERD uses plastic PVC piping, low-cost remote vehicle propellers and the same controls used for remote-controlled planes and boats. The project is sponsored in part by the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community.

Students in the SENSE Enterprise designed and built a prototype of the NERD. “It’s sort of like a drone that can be used as a life raft, cheap and affordable enough that it can be kept at popular swimming beaches or in squad car trunks and used very quickly.”
The SENSE Enterprise logo, created by team members. Learn more about all 24 Enterprise teams at mtu.edu/enterprise

“I like to tell students on the SENSE team that I don’t do anything, they do everything, I’m just there to make sure they don’t go off the rails; to help them work through that design process, to watch them fail and help them pick themselves up and succeed.”

Andrew Barnard

Q: What is your research focus?

I do acoustics in general. What I’m interested in is making mechanical things quiet. I tend to work on any type of system with rotating equipment: ship propellers, hard drives, hydraulic systems. That is to say, anything moving that creates sound or is affected by sound.

“It’s a very customer-centered research field because everyone has a set of transducers built into their heads—ears.”We have lots of customers to talk to and lots of customer problems to fix because certain sounds drive people nuts.

We have the same problems under water. The overall background noise in the ocean has been rising steadily since WWII. How does that affect marine mammals and fish species? How does their behavior change based on ambient noise background? That’s what we’re trying to find out.


Andrew Barnard and his students work on developing flexible and stretchable nanotube speakers.

Q: How do you like to learn?

I had lots of great professors when I was a student here at Michigan Tech; Chuck Van Karsen is a good example. Chuck was a terrific professor, knew the material back and forth, but would take the time to teach it to you. He was always showing us how we could relate the pieces of an equation to things in real life that we touch every day. I thought those types of lessons were really helpful in learning the material, so I try to bring those kinds of things into my classes as well. I’ve had so many good professors it’s hard to single out just a few. 

“Everyone has a set of transducers built into their heads—ears.”

Andrew Barnard

Q: How did you know you wanted to be an acoustic engineer?

In college, I did several internships. Two of them taught me what I didn’t want to do, a very valuable lesson. The third one was working on noise control of tractors with John Deere. That sparked my interest in the field and propelled me on to graduate school to learn more. I’ve had mentors over the years that have been vital to keeping me pursuing the long and winding path to my current position. 

Q: Can you tell us more about your growing up? 

I was born and raised outside of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin, cradled between Lake Michigan and the bay of Green Bay.  I come from a long line of teachers. My mother was a kindergarten teacher and both my grandmothers were teachers. In my free time nowadays I enjoy hiking and waterfalling in the UP with my wife, Becky, entertaining our dog, and playing mediocre rounds of golf.

Andrew Barnard grew up in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. Pictured here is the Ship Canal Pierhead Lighthouse, located just off the coastline of Lake Michigan

Learn More

Sound Man

Q&A with Michigan Tech Teaching Award Winner Andrew Barnard

Q&A with Great Lakes Research Center’s Andrew Barnard

Play SENSE Enterprise at Michigan Tech video
Preview image for SENSE Enterprise at Michigan Tech video

SENSE Enterprise at Michigan Tech

Want to know more about Husky Bites? Read about it here.

Chad Deering: Predicting Volcanic Unrest Via Plant Life Stress

Vegetative stress at the foot of the Kīlauea Volcano in Hawaii

After a volcanic eruption, it can take years for vegetation to recover, and landscapes are often forever changed. But well before any eruption takes place, the assemblage of plant species on and around the volcano show signs of stress, or even die off. 

Chad Deering

Chad Deering, a volcanologist in the Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences at Michigan Technological University uses hyperspectral remote sensing data, acquired during an airborne campaign over Hawaii, to predict future volcanic eruptions on the Big Island. Deering and his team of graduate students from Michigan Tech are collaborating with scientists from the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), and the University of New Mexico. 

“The replenishment of a shallow magma reservoir can signal the onset of an eruption at a dormant volcanic system, such as at Mauna Loa. It can also indicate significant changes in eruptive behavior at an already active volcano, as in what occurred at Kīlauea,” Deering says. 

“Rising magma ultimately results in a flux of volatiles through the ground, including carbon dioxide and sulfur dioxide. Active vent plumes of those same gases include particulate matter, even thermal energy, and those often enter the atmosphere, as well. “

By detecting and characterizing those fluxes and their effects on the health and extent of local vegetation, Deering is able to recognize significant changes in a volcano’s behavior. The result: a new, cost-effective way to forecast volcanic hazards and events.

“Monitoring vegetative stress on a volcano can potentially provide a much-needed early warning system for those living near and around volcanoes,” adds Deering. An estimated 500 million people are living in danger zones around the world.

“Our preliminary results indicate a strong correlation between emissions of carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide gas from soil—as well as the thermal anomalies—and different aspects of vegetative stress.” 

Deering’s team uses highly sensitive hyperspectral analysis to distinguish between effects of different gas species and thermal anomalies on variations in vegetative stress. “This is important as CO2 and H2S have different solubilities in magma. That allows us a semi-quantitative measure of the depth of magma as it rises.

With the results of their study, the team developed a remote-sensing automated detection algorithm that can be used in satellite-based platforms to detect volcanic unrest at volcanoes worldwide. 

“In particular, this tool will allow the scientific community to monitor volcanoes that are otherwise inaccessible due to heavy vegetation and/or their remote locations,” adds Deering. “It will also remove technical barriers such as establishing extensive and expensive seismic arrays that are difficult to maintain.”

NASA gathered the hyperspectral data over the course of a year, starting in 2017. Deering and his team are now analyzing more recent data, collected last year. “We want to determine whether we could have predicted the recent volcanic fissure emergence and activity taking place in Hawaii.”

Guy Meadows: Shipwrecks and Underwater Robots

Guy Meadows: “I love being on the waters of the Great Lakes and the oceans⁠—and having an engineering career that allows me to do what I love.

Guy Meadows generously shared his knowledge at Husky Bites, a free, interactive Zoom webinar hosted by Dean Janet Callahan. Here’s the link to watch a recording of his session on YouTube. Get the full scoop, including a listing of all the (60+) sessions at mtu.edu/huskybites.

Guy Meadows uses an underwater robot to chart new territories in the field of underwater exploration. But not just any old robot—one of the world’s best.

Its name is Iver3, and it has two dual processor computers on board, Wifi, GPS, water flow and speed of sound sensors, and the latest in sonar technology. It can dive 330 feet and cover 20-plus miles of water on missions up to 8 hours. It also has a high definition camera, lights and a satellite phone. These combined features make Iver an impressive research tool.

The IVER3. Consider it a robotic Aquaman. “Iver performs like a superhero,” says Meadows.

With Iver, Meadows and his team are able to provide ultra-high resolution acoustic images underneath the waters of the Great Lakes. “Whether it’s tracking underwater features, looking at shipwrecks, or mapping trout spawning beds, we can do this all much more precisely and in much greater detail than was ever possible,” he says.

Meadows is director of the Marine Engineering Laboratory, and the Robbins Professor of Sustainable Marine Engineering at Michigan Tech. His work with Iver is cutting edge. “Iver can obtain a ‘survey quality’ map of a swath of the bottom of Lake Superior,” he explains. “The map size depends on the altitude of the robot above the lake floor, but at ten meters above the bottom you can map an entire football field.”

“What we’re doing is seeing with sound waves. Acoustic energy shines on the target and illuminates it for us. Navy research vessels use active remote sensing, too,” he adds. “But we can see a lot more clearly with Iver.”

A sepia-toned looking image of a shipwreck at the bottom of Lake Superior. Both the ship and its shadow are visible at a high resolution of detail.
Here is the John J. Audubon, which sank in Lake Huron in 1854 in 180 feet of water and now within the NOAA’s marine sanctuary boundaries. “We’re seeing with sound waves,” Guy Meadows explains. “Acoustic energy illuminates the target and allows a higher resolution image of the shipwreck and its acoustic shadow.”

Michigan Tech students learn how to program Iver as part of their many classes onboard Agassiz, the university’s research vessel. “If we set up the geometry just right, we can get the highest possible quality sonar image,” Meadows explains.

“When we go out to look at shipwrecks in Lake Superior, we program Iver to fly a prescribed distance from the bottom of the lake, and a prescribed distance from the vessel. We can see both the image of the target vessel, and its acoustic shadow,” says Meadows. “The images are fantastic, but the shadows also provide a great deal of valuable information and detail.”

Q: When did you first get into engineering? What sparked your interest?

“I was born and raised in the City of Detroit. I went to Detroit Public Schools, and when I went to college I had to work to make ends meet. I got a job as a cook in the dorm, and and eventually worked my way up to lead cook. I was cooking breakfast for 1,200 people each morning. One of my fellow classmates was studying engineering, too. He had a job working for a professor doing research on storm waves and beaches. I had no idea I could be hired by a professor and get paid money to work on the beach! I quit my job in the kitchen soon after, and went to work for that professor instead. I had been a competitive swimmer in high school, and the beach was where I really wanted to be. When I graduated with my degree, having grown up in Detroit, I went to work for Ford. I have to thank my first boss for assigning me to work on rear axle shafts. After about two months, I called my former professor, to see if I could come back to college.

My advice for students just starting out is to spend your first year exploring all your options. Find out what you really want to do. I had no idea I could turn a mechanical engineering degree into a job working on the beach. Turns out, I could⁠—and I’m still doing it today.

Q: What do you like to do when you’re not on the beach or out on the water?

Having grown up in Detroit, I have had the opportunity to live, work and grow in a very diverse community. While as a faculty member at the University of Michigan, I was part of a great team that started the M-STEM Academies and became its founding director. The M-STEM mission is “to strengthen and diversify the cohort of students who receive their baccalaureate degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), with the ultimate goal of increasing the number and diversity of students who are well prepared to seek career opportunities or to pursue graduate or professional training in the STEM disciplines in the new global economy.” This effort has been a very important part of my journey.

More about Guy Meadows

Throughout his career Guy Meadows has influenced policy and explored societal impacts of environmental forecasting for coastal management, recreational health and safety, and regional climate change.

Guy Meadows on the dock of the Great Lakes Research Center at Michigan Tech, in front of a large, bright yellow buoy (about the size of a very small compact car) that is used to collect data in Lake Superior.
Guy Meadows, Director of the Marine Engineering Laboratory, and Robbins Professor of Sustainable Marine Engineering at Michigan Tech.

After graduation from Purdue University with PhD in Marine Science in 1977, he joined the faculty of the University of Michigan College of Engineering, where he served as professor of physical oceanography for 35 years. During that time, Meadows served as director of the Ocean Engineering Laboratory, director of the Cooperative Institute for Limnology and Ecosystems Research (NOAA, Joint Institute), director of the Marine Hydrodynamics Laboratories.

Meadows joined Michigan Tech in June of 2012, to help establish the new Great Lakes Research Center. His primary goal is to blend scientific understanding and technological advancements into environmentally sound engineering solutions for the marine environment, through teaching, research and service.

His research focuses on geophysical fluid dynamics, with an emphasis on environmental forecasting, full-scale Great Lakes and coastal ocean experimental hydrodynamics.

His teaching reaches beyond the University to less formal settings and includes five nationally televised documentaries for the History and Discovery Channels.

Read & View More

Huskies Help Solve Sunken Minesweeper Mystery

Subsurface Vehicles at Michigan Tech’s Great Lakes Research Center

Be Brief: Shipwreck

Freshwater Flights Reveal What Lies Beneath

Play To Protect and Preserve video
Preview image for To Protect and Preserve video

To Protect and Preserve


Becky Ong: Color-Changing Potions and Magical Microbes

Miscanthus, otherwise known as Switchgrass, a perennial grass, can be used for making biofuels. “But plant materials are very complex,” says Dr. Rebecca Ong. “We’ve only scratched the surface of what is in there. We have much more to learn.”

Dr. Becky Ong generously shared her knowledge on Husky Bites, a free, interactive Zoom webinar hosted by Dean Janet Callahan. Here’s the link to watch a recording of her session on YouTube. Get the full scoop, including a listing of all the (60+) sessions at mtu.edu/huskybites.

Fungus Breath? It’s a good thing!

Enter the magical world of herbology and potions with Dr. Becky Ong. Learn how to make your own color-changing potion and use it to find the best conditions to generate and collect fungus breath. Discover the science behind the magic, what makes plants and microbes so cool. 

Dr. Becky Ong in her lab at Michigan Technological University. She is both a biologist and a chemical engineer.

Dr. Ong, an assistant professor of chemical engineering, runs the Biofuels & Bio-based Products Lab at Michigan Tech, where she and her team of student researchers put plants to good use.

“As engineers we aren’t just learning about the world, but we’re applying our knowledge of the world to make it a better place,” she says. “That is what I love. As a chemical engineer, I get to merge chemistry, biology, physics, and math to help solve such crazy huge problems as: how we’re going to have enough energy and food for everyone in the future; how we’re going to deal with all this waste that we’re creating; how to keep our environment clean, beautiful and safe for ourselves and the creatures who share our world.” 

For this session of Husky Bites, you’re going to want to gather some common household supplies. No time for supplies? Just watch it happen in Dr. Ong’s kitchen live via Zoom. Learn the details at mtu.edu/huskybites

Dr. Ong, a born Yooper,  is a Michigan Tech alumna. She graduated in 2005 with two degrees, one in Biological Sciences, and the other in Chemical Engineering. She went on to Michigan State University to earn a PhD in Chemical Engineering in 2011. Growing up, she was one of the youngest garden club enthusiasts in northern Michigan, a science-loving kid who accompanied her grandparents to club events like “growing great gardens” or “tulip time.” When she wasn’t tending the family garden, she was “mucking about in nature” learning from parents who had both trained as foresters.

“We conduct many small-scale experiments in the lab—on a variety of plant materials grown under different environmental conditions. We want to determine just how those conditions affect the production of biofuels.”

Q: When did you first get into engineering? What sparked your interest?

I first became interested in engineering in high school when I learned it was a way to combine math and science to solve problems. I loved math and science and thought that sounded brilliant. However, I didn’t understand at the time what that really meant. I thought “problems” meant the types of problems you solve in math class. Since then I’ve learned these problems are major issues that are faced by all of humanity, such as: How do we enable widespread access to clean energy? How do we produce sufficient amounts of safe vaccines and medicine, particularly in a crisis? How do we process food products, while maintaining safety and nutritional quality? As a chemical engineer I am able to combine my love of biology, chemistry, physics, and math to create novel solutions to society’s problems. One thing I love about MTU is that the university gives students tons of hands-on opportunities to solve real problems, not just problems out of a textbook (though we still do a fair number of those!). These are the types of problems our students will be solving when they go on to their future careers.

Q: Tell us about yourself. What do you like to do outside the lab?

I’m a born Yooper who grew up in the small-town northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan and came back to the UP for school.

I love the Copper Country and MTU students so much, I managed to persuade my husband to come back to Houghton 5 years ago. Now I live near campus with my husband, 4-year-old daughter, our Torbie cat and our curly-haired dog.

We read science fiction and fantasy stories; play board games; kayak on the canals and lakes while watching for signs of wildlife; make new things out of yarn, fabric, wood, and plastic (not all at the same time)—and practice herbology (plants and plant lore) and potions in the garden and kitchen. 

Huskies in the Biofuels & Bio-based Products Lab at Michigan Tech

Biofuels and Dry Spells: Switchgrass Changes During a Drought
Sustainable Foam: Coming Soon to a Cushion Near You

Want to know more about Husky Bites? 

Read about it here.

Husky Bites is BYOC: Bring Your Own Curiosity to this Family-Friendly Free Webinar, Mondays this Summer at 6 pm EST.

Biofuels and Dry Spells: Switchgrass Changes During a Drought

High yields. A deep root system that prevents soil erosion and allows for minimal irrigation. The ability to pull large amounts of carbon out of the air and sequester it in the soil. Beneficial effects on wildlife, pollination, and water quality. Perennial grasses, such as switchgrass and elephant grass, are wonderful in many ways and especially promising biofuel feedstocks. But that promise, a team of researchers discovered, may evaporate during a drought.

“The characteristics of any living organism are linked to their genetics and the environment they experience during growth,” says Rebecca Ong, an assistant professor of chemical engineering at Michigan Technological University. “Bioenergy production is no different. It’s a chain where every link, including the feedstock characteristics, influences the final product—the fuel.”

Ong is both a chemical engineer and a biologist. She holds a unique perspective on how the bioenergy system fits together, which comes in handy, especially now, in light of a recent puzzling discovery.

“Plants have lower biomass yields during a drought. You understand this when you don’t need to mow your lawn after a dry spell,” she explains. “The same is true with switchgrass. Besides the expected effect on crop yields, we were completely unable to produce fuel from switchgrass—using one of our standard biofuel microbes—grown during a major drought year.”

“At the lab scale this is an interesting result. But at the industrial scale, this could potentially be devastating to a biorefinery,” she says.

Ong, her research team, and colleagues within the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC), a cross-disciplinary research center led by the University of Wisconsin–Madison, are making efforts to understand, pulling in researchers from across the production chain to study the problem. 

Ong is the only Michigan Tech faculty member in the GLBRC. “Our team was able to identify some of the compounds formed in the plant in response to drought stress, contributing to the inhibition. But plant materials are very complex. We’ve only scratched the surface of what is in there. We have much more to learn.”

The first step, she says, is to understand what inhibits fuel production. “Once we know that, we can engineer solutions: new, tailor-made plants with improved characteristics, as well as modifications to processing, such as the use of different microbes, to overcome these issues.”

Ong points out that in the U.S., gasoline is largely supplemented with E10 ethanol, derived from sugars in corn grain. However renewable fuels can be produced from any source of sugars—including perennial grasses, which if planted on less productive land do not conflict with food production.

“Ultimately, if we are to replace fossil energy in the long term, we need a broad alternative energy portfolio,” says Ong. “We need industry to succeed. We are engaging in highly collaborative research to ensure that happens.”

Brad King: Space, Satellites and Students

Pictured: the Auris signal trace, soon to be explained by Dr. Lyon (Brad) King on Husky Bites.

Lyon (Brad) King shares his knowledge on Husky Bites, a free, interactive webinar this Monday, May 18 at 6 pm. Learn something new in just 20 minutes, with time after for Q&A! Get the full scoop and register at mtu.edu/huskybites.

Oculus deployed! In June 2019 Michigan Tech alumnus and Air Force Research Laboratory Space Systems Engineer Jesse Olson, left, celebrates with Aerospace Enterprise advisor Brad King. King’s son Jack was also on hand for the momentous occasion of the launch.

Turning dreams into reality is a powerful motivator for Lyon (Brad) King. He’s the Richard and Elizabeth Henes Professor of Space Systems in the Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, and leader of Michigan Tech Aerospace—a collection of research, development, and educational labs dedicated to advancing spacecraft technology.

King specializes in spacecraft propulsion — and the launching of student careers. He mentors a large team of graduate students in his research lab, the Ion Space Propulsion Lab, where teams develop next-generation plasma thrusters for spacecraft. Off campus, at the MTEC SmartZone, King is cofounder and CEO of the fast-growing company, Orbion Space Technology.

As the founder and faculty advisor of Michigan Tech’s Aerospace Enterprise, King empowers undergraduate students to design, build, and fly spacecraft, too. One of the team’s student-built satellites (Oculus) is now in orbit; their second small satellite (Stratus) is due to launch in March 2021, and a third (Auris) now in process.

“The desire to explore space is what drives me. Very early in my studies I realized that the biggest impediment to space exploration is propulsion. Space is just so big it’s hard to get anywhere. So I dedicated my professional life to developing new space propulsion technologies.”

Professor Lyon (Brad) King, Michigan Tech

King has served as the Enterprise advisor ever since a couple of students came to him with the idea to form a team nearly two decades ago. “My current role now is more that of an outside evaluator,” he says. “The team has taken on a life of its own.”

Like all Enterprise teams at Michigan Tech, Aerospace Enterprise is open to students in any major. “It’s important for students to learn how to work in an interdisciplinary group,” says King. “In the workplace, they will never be on a team where every member has the same expertise. To design, build, manage and operate a satellite requires mechanical, electrical, computer science, physics, materials, everything — it really crosses a lot of boundaries and prepares them for a career.”

Adds King: “Michigan Tech has a history and reputation for hands-on projects, particularly its Enterprise Program. Our students don’t just write papers and computer programs. They know how to turn wrenches and build things. That’s been deeply ingrained in the University culture for years.” 

Last, but not least: “Aerospace Enterprise has a leadership and management hierarchy that is self-sustaining,” says King. “Current leaders are constantly working to mentor their successors so we have continuity from year-to-year.” 

“Dr. King provides excellent mentoring and high-level direction, but does not give students all the answers. It’s up to the students to figure it out. We work in small teams, which forces us to take on more responsibility. We’re thrown off the deep end. It’s hard, but worth it.”

Sam Baxendale, spoken as a former student. He’s now an engineer at Orbion Space Technologies
The Aerospace Enterprise team at Michigan Tech enjoys some well-deserved downtime at McLain State Park on Lake Superior.

The New Space Era

Commercialization is driving aerospace expansion in Michigan and across the nation. “We were ahead of it,” says King. “We certainly were feeding it and played a part in causing it. MTU’s products — which are our graduates — are out there, making this happen.” Aerospace Enterprise alumni are engineers, managers, technology officers and research scientists in a diverse array of aerospace-related industries and institutions, from the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force and NASA to SpaceX, both startups and major manufacturers. King himself has hired several of his former students at Orbion Space Technology.

“The desire to explore space is what drives me,” says Lyon (Brad) King, Henes Professor of Space Systems at Michigan Technological University

Q: When did you first get into engineering? What sparked your interest?

A: I have always been interested in building things — long before I knew that was called “engineering.” I don’t recall when I became fascinated with space but it was at a very early age. I have embarrassing photos of me dressed as an astronaut for halloween and I may still even have an adult-sized astronaut costume somewhere in my closet — not saying. The desire to explore space is what drives me. Very early in my studies I realized that the biggest impediment to space exploration is propulsion. Space is just so big it’s hard to get anywhere. So I dedicated my professional life to developing new space propulsion technologies. There is other life in our solar system. That is a declarative statement. It’s time that we find it. The moons of Jupiter and Saturn hold great promise and I’m determined to see proof in my lifetime.

Q: Can you tell us more about your growing up? Any hobbies?

A: I was born and raised just north of Houghton (yes, there actually is some habitable environment north of Houghton). I received my BS, MS, and PhD from the University of Michigan. I spent time traveling around the country working at NASA in Houston, NIST in Boulder, and realized that all of my personal hobbies and proclivities were centered around the geography and climate of northern Michigan. I returned in 2000 and began my career as a professor at MTU. I enjoy fishing, boating, hockey, and spent more than 15 years running my dogsled team all over the Keweenaw Peninsula.


Michigan Tech’s Three Student-Built Satellites

OCULUS-ASR, a microsatellite now in orbit, provides new info to the Air Force. “It is the first satellite mission dedicated to helping telescope observatories understand what they are imaging using a cooperative target. “It’s a very capable little vehicle. There’s a lot packed into it.”

Aerospace Enterprise rendering of Stratus, a miniaturized satellite developed by the team. It will be launched from the International Space Station in March 2021.

Not hard to see how CubeSats get their name. Stratus is a 3U spacecraft, which means it’s composed of three units. This photo was taken in fall 2019.

STRATUS, a miniaturized satellite, will image atmospheric clouds to reconcile climate models. It’s funded by NASA’s Undergraduate Student Instrument Program and the CubeSat Launch Initiative. STRATUS will be carried to the International Space Station inside the SpaceX Dragon cargo capsule by a Falcon 9 rocket. The Dragon will dock to the ISS where STRATUS will be unloaded by the crew. STRATUS will then be placed in the Kibo Module’s airlock, where the Japanese Experiment Module Remote Manipulator System robotic arm will move the satellite into the correct position and deploy it into space. All this on March 21. Stay tuned!

Aerospace Enterprise rendering of its newest microsatellite, Auris, now in the works.

AURIS, a microsatellite, is designed to monitor and attribute telecommunications signals in a congested space environment. Funding comes from the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL)’s University Nanosatellite Program.

Huskies in Space

Michigan Tech’s Aerospace Enterprise team designed their own logo.

Learn more about the team and its missions on Instagram and Facebook.

Find out how to join.

Read more about Aerospace Enterprise in Michigan Tech News:

And Then There Were Two: MTU’s Next Student Satellite Set to Launch in 2021

Enterprise at MTU Launches Spacecraft—and Careers

Countdown. Ignition. Liftoff. Huskies in Space!

Mission(s) AccomplishedMichigan Tech’s Pipeline to Space

Winning Satellite to be Launched into Orbit

John Gierke: How the Rocks Connect Us

Pictured: Hungarian Falls in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Credit: Jessica Rich, a Michigan Tech graduate and member of the MTU Geology Club

John Gierke shares his knowledge on Husky Bites, a free, interactive webinar this Monday, May 11 at 6 pm. Learn something new in just 20 minutes, with time after for Q&A! Get the full scoop and register at mtu.edu/huskybites.

John Gierke stands with water behind him, on the shore of Portage Canal.
Water was John Gierke’s first love growing up. Now he is Professor and Chair of the Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences at Michigan Tech, specializing in hydrogeology. Here he stands at the shore of Portage Canal, on campus.

A self-professed “Yooper graduate of the school of hard rocks,” John Gierke chairs the Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences (GMES) at Michigan Technological University. He’s also an alumnus, earning a BS and MS in Civil Engineering, and a PhD in Environmental Engineering, all at Michigan Tech.

Q: How do the rocks connect us?

A: The geology of the Keweenaw and Western Upper Peninsula is quite unique and different than the Eastern Upper Peninsula and Lower Peninsula. The geology of the Keweenaw is more exposed and accessible. The experience of spending time in the Copper Country is enhanced if you understand more about the forces of nature that formed this beautiful place. While geologists are knowledgeable in identifying rocks, their truest natures are also wrapped in a yearning to be outdoors, exceptional observation skills, and insatiable curiosity to understand Earth processes. The processes that led to the geological formations that lie beneath us–and shaped our landscapes–are what dictated many of the natural resources that are found where each of us live.

Q: When did you first get into engineering? What sparked your interest?

A: I began studying engineering at Lake Superior State College (then, now University) in the fall of 1980, in my hometown of Sault Ste. Marie. In those days their engineering program was called: General Engineering Transfer, which was structured well to transfer from the old “Soo Tech” to “Houghton Tech,” terms that some old timers still used back then, nostalgically. I transferred to Michigan Tech for the fall of 1982 to study civil engineering with an emphasis in environmental engineering, which was aligned with my love of water (having grown up on the St. Mary’s River).

Despite my love of lakes, streams, and rivers, my technical interests evolved into an understanding of how groundwater moves in geological formations. I used my environmental engineering background to develop treatment systems to clean up polluted soils and aquifers. That became my area of research for the graduate degrees that followed, and the basis for my faculty position and career at Michigan Tech, in the Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences (those sciences are Geology and Geophysics). My area of specialty now is Hydrogeology.

Q: Can you tell us more about your growing up? Any hobbies?

A: Growing up I fished weekly, sometimes daily, on the St. Mary’s River throughout the year. Sault Ste. Marie is bordered by the St. Mary’s River on the north and east. In the spring-summer-fall, I fished from shore or a canoe or small boat. In the winter, I speared fish from a shack just a few minutes from my home or traveled to fish through the ice in some of the bays. I was a fervent bird hunter (grouse and woodcock) in the lowlands of the EUP, waterfowl in the abundant wetlands, and bear and deer (unsuccessfully until later in life). I now live on a blueberry farm that is open to the public in August for U-Pick. I used my technical expertise to design, install, and operate a drip irrigation system that draws water from the underlying Jacobsville Sandstone aquifer.

Want to know more about Husky Bites? Read about it here.

Husky Bites: Join Us for Supper This Summer (Mondays at 6)!

A real Husky Dog sitting at a table covered with a white tablecloth, with a plate and bowl full of dog biscuits in front of it The dog is wearing a red and black checked flannel shirt, and wearing black horn-rimmed glasses

Craving some brain food? Join Dean Janet Callahan and a special guest each Monday at 6 p.m. EST for a new, 20-minute interactive Zoom webinar from the College of Engineering at Michigan Technological University, followed by Q&A. Grab some supper, or just flop down on your couch. This family friendly event is BYOC (Bring Your Own Curiosity). All are welcome. Get the full scoop and register⁠—it’s free⁠—at mtu.edu/huskybites.

The special guests: A dozen engineering faculty have each volunteered to present a mini lecture for Husky Bites. They’ll weave in a bit of their own personal journey to engineering, too.

“We created Husky Bites for anyone who likes to learn, across the universe,” says Callahan. “We’re aiming to make it very interactive, with a “quiz” (in Zoom that’s a multiple choice poll), about every five minutes. “Everyone is welcome, and bound to learn something new. We are hoping entire families will enjoy it,” she adds. “We have prizes, too, for near perfect attendance!”

Topics include: Space, Satellites, and Students; Shipwrecks and Underwater Robots; A Quieter Future (Acoustics); Geospatial Wizardry; Color-Changing Potions and Magical Microbes; Scrubbing Water, There’s Materials Science and Engineering, in my Golf Bag, Biomedical Engineering the Future, How Do Machines Learn, Robotics, Math in Motion, and more. Get the full scoop and register (it’s free) at mtu.edu/huskybites

The series kicks off on Monday, May 11 with a session from GMES professor and chair John Gierke, a self-professed “Yooper graduate of the school of hard rocks.”

In his Husky Bites session, “How the Rocks Connect Us,” Gierke will talk about how the geology of the Keweenaw is more exposed and accessible. “The experience of spending time in the Copper Country is enhanced if you understand more about the forces of nature that formed this beautiful place,” he says. “The processes that led to the geological formations that lie beneath us and shaped our landscapes are what dictated many of the natural resources that are found where each of us live.” Gierke was born in the EUP (the Soo, aka Sault Sainte Marie) and graduated from Michigan Tech. He will provide practical explanations for why the mines are oriented as they are, where water is more prevalent—and the geological features that lead to waterfalls. You can read all about it here.

Other guests on Husky Bites include engineering faculty L. Brad King, Gordon Parker, Rebecca Ong, Guy Meadows, Andrew Barnard, Tony Pinar, Daisuke Minakata, Jeremy Bos, Joe Foster, Smitha Rao, and Steve Kampe.

Want to see the full schedule? Just go to mtu.edu/huskybites. You can register from there, too.