Chemical Engineering Archives | College of Engineering Blog

Consumer Product Manufacturing Team Shares Enterprise Success Story

Published November 14, 2024

Three students from the CPM Enterprise Team. — From left, Zoe Kumm, Madeline Johnson, and Jacqui Foreman in their Consumer Product Manufacturing Enterprise OneTumbler team photo in spring 2024. (Photo courtesy CPM Enterprise)

Michigan Tech Enterprise Teams lead to industry partnerships and the kind of experience that employers are looking for. In the case of a Consumer Product Manufacturing Enterprise (CPM) team, the research they conducted led to publication and fewer single-use beverage containers on campus.

CPM enterprise works on multiple projects for multiple years, with the group breaking out into subteams. For their project, the CPM OneTumbler team partnered with campus housing to give all first-year Huskies in 2023’s incoming class a Michigan Tech OneTumbler, as a way to promote sustainability on campus.

Interdisciplinary Health Research Engineered to Benefit Communities

Published November 13, 2024

By Cyndi Perkins

Caryn Heldt in front of the Husky Statue. — Caryn Heldt and other researchers at Tech are working on cross-disciplinary approaches to achieve impactful breakthroughs for improved public health. This photo was taken before completion of the new H-STEM Complex on campus, which has further accelerated opportunities for collaboration.

Chemical Engineering Professor Caryn Heldt exemplifies how research at Michigan Tech crosses disciplines—and crosses the globe. The James and Lorna Mack Chair in Continuous Processing, Heldt is also an affiliate professor in biological sciences at Michigan Tech, and directs the University’s Health Research Institute.

Aside from the benefit to communities, internships and similar collaborations benefit Michigan Tech researchers, said Heldt. “International partnerships are really key to expanding your research network, research ideas, and to be able to have your research out into industry and be applied.”

College of Engineering Welcomes New Faculty Members

Published November 7, 2024

By Coby-Dillon English

Dean Michelle Scherer in a group with the sixteen new faculty. — Earlier this semester, Dean Michelle Scherer welcomed 16 new faculty members to the College of Engineering.

The Michigan Tech College of Engineering is pleased to welcome 16 new faculty members across eight departments this year. These new faculty members bring a wide range of specializations in robotics, geomechanics, cancer tissue engineering, snow hydrology, and more. These brilliant educators and researchers join us from all over the world, including five Michigan Tech College of Engineering alumni. Welcome Huskies!

Chemical Engineering Dedicates CITGO Senior Design Studio

Published October 23, 2024

By Cyndi Perkins

Michigan Tech’s Department of Chemical Engineering, along with representatives of CITGO Petroleum Corporation, dedicated a new space for students in the Chemical Sciences and Engineering Building on Friday, September 27. The CITGO Senior Design Studio will give students a facility with state-of-the-art computing technology to collaborate and work on projects.

The CITGO-Michigan Tech partnership came about through Carlos Jordá, CEO and president of CITGO, who is a 1971 chemical engineering graduate of Michigan Tech.

CITGO representatives Phil Pribnow, Lemont GM of Engineering and Business Services, and Brett Wiltshire, Lemont Manager of Human Resources, were present for the ribbon cutting of the new facility. Also present was Professor Emeritus Bruce Barna ’70, who was a long-time instructor and mentor for students in senior design.

From Michigan Tech to Mars: First-Year Engineering Lecture Speaker Ready to Inspire Huskies

Published August 15, 2024

By Cyndi Perkins

Jessica Elwell in front of the Mars Curiosity Rover mockup at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The rover is in the same class as the Mars Perseverance Rover, which carried the experimental device MOXIE aboard to successfully convert carbon dioxide to oxygen.
(All images courtesy Jessica Elwell)

A chemical engineer who almost chose music as a major and went on to work on a project that was named one of Time Magazine’s Best Inventions of 2023 has been selected as speaker for the First Year Engineering Lecture Series.

Her talk takes place at 6 p.m. Monday, Aug. 26, in Michigan Tech’s Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts.

Multidisciplinary Team Publishes on Self-Disinfecting Coating

Published June 10, 2024

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ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces cover.

Professors Bruce Lee (BioMed) and Caryn Heldt (ChE/HRI) are co-authors of a new paper published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces.

The paper is titled “Utilizing Rapid Hydrogen Peroxide Generation from 6-Hydroxycatechol to Design Moisture-Activated, Self-Disinfecting Coating.”

The paper describes the use of a novel biomimetic coating that could be activated to generate disinfectant when wetted, such as by moisture found in respiratory droplets. This moisture-activated coating was demonstrated to disinfect various strains of bacteria and viruses and can potentially be used as a self-disinfecting coating to limit the spread of various types of infections.

Ph.D. student Fatemeh Razaviamri (biomedical engineering) is the lead author of this paper. Additional co-authors are Sneha Singh ’23 (M.S. Chemical Engineering), postdoctoral researcher James Manuel (BioMed), Ph.D. student Zhongtian Zhang (biomedical engineering) and laboratory technician Lynn M. Manchester (ChE).

Fatemeh Razaviamri, Sneha Singh, James Manuel, Zhongtian Zhang, Lynn M. Manchester, Caryn L. Heldt, and Bruce P. Lee
ACS Appl. Mater. Interfaces 2024, 16, 21, 26998–27010
Publication Date: May 15, 2024
https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.4c00213

Spring 2024 REF Awards Announced

Published May 23, 2024

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The Vice President for Research Office (VPR) announces the Spring 2024 Research Excellence Fund (REF) award recipients. Congratulations to each of the awardees.

The REF team also wishes to thank the individual REF reviewers and review panelists, as well as the deans and department chairs, for their time spent on this important internal research award process.

The principal investigators of the awarded projects include:

Research Seed Grants:

Dylan Gaines (CS)
Jiehong Guo (CEGE)
Yixin Liu (ChE)
Erich Petushek (CLS)
Bhisham Sharma (ME-EM)
Richard Canevez (HU)

Joint ROTC Commissioning Ceremony April 26, 2024

Published April 22, 2024

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Cadets and officers on stage for the ceremony.

The Air Force and Army ROTC invite you to the Spring 2024 Commissioning Ceremony on Friday (April 26) at 7 p.m. at the Rozsa Center.

This semester, we have 10 Air Force cadets and four Army cadets commissioning. Those commissioning are from the following programs:

By Air Force and Army ROTC.

2024 World Water Day: GLRC Student Poster Award Winners

Published April 4, 2024

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22 March World Water Day 2024 Water for Peace banner.

Congratulations to the Great Lakes Research Center (GLRC) Student Poster Award winners, in recognition of World Water Day 2024.

The GLRC winner for the Undergraduate Research and Scholarship Symposium coordinated by the Pavlis Honors College on March 22 was:

Cailin Bishop — Environmental Engineering, advised by Noel Urban

A big thank-you to our graduate student judges: master’s students Hunter Roose and Ryan Heines (both Biological Sciences) and Cassandra Reed-VanDam (Applied Ecology).

The GLRC winners at the Graduate Student Government (GSG) Graduate Research Colloquium on March 26 placed as follows:

First Place: Cassandra Reed-VanDam — Applied Ecology, advised by Valoree Gagnon
Second Place: Hunter Stoddard — Chemical Engineering, advised by Rebecca Ong
Third Place: Ayush Chutani — Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, advised by Ana Dyreson

Thank you to all the student participants and their GLRC-affiliated advisors.

By the Great Lakes Research Center.

Sustainability Awards for Claire Christen and Robert Handler

Published March 12, 2024

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View of Michigan Tech, Portage Canal, and Portage Lift Bridge in summer.

It takes many hands, hearts and minds to create a sustainable campus. As a part of Earth Month programming, join the Office of Sustainability and Resilience in celebrating four individuals who go the extra mile, dedicating their time and energy to supporting a more sustainable Michigan Tech.

This year’s Campus Sustainability Leadership Awardees are:

Undergraduate: Claire Christen (environmental engineering). Christen is a team member of Green Campus Enterprise.
Graduate: Aritra Chakrabarty (Ph.D. in Environment and Energy Policy candidate)
Staff: Robert Handler (ChE)
Faculty: Chelsea Schelly (SS)

Please join us on April 17 for a celebration of the award winners and their accomplishments, a brief update on sustainability work at Michigan Tech and some time to enjoy snacks and interact with your peers. Feel free to bring lunch.

Celebration Details:

What: Sustainability Awards Gathering
When: Wednesday, April 17, from noon to 12:45 p.m.
Where: MUB Ballroom B1

By Alan Turnquist, Office of Sustainability and Resilience.

Category: Chemical Engineering