Category: Chemical Engineering

New I/UCRC Funding on Novel Materials

Greg Odegard
Greg Odegard

Gregory Odegard (ME-EM/MuSTI), is the principal investigator on a project that has received a $40,000 research and development contract from Colorado Seminary-University of Denver.

Paul Sanders (MSE) and Julie King (ChE) are Co-PIs on the project “I/UCRC: Novel High Voltage/Temperature Materials and Structures.”

From Tech Today, by Sponsored Programs.

Tech Forms TAPPI Chapter

TAPPI Informational Meeting Monday

Michigan Tech now has a chapter of the Technical Association of the Paper Products Industry (TAPPI), and it’s looking for members.

The first 15 students to sign up, will receive a waiver of the membership fee to the TAPPI national organization.

Aside from technology-based meetings, the chapter will organize critical thinking and leadership development activities with fun.

If you want to learn more, come to the next and final informational meeting 5:30 p.m. Monday (Sept. 12) in Chem Sci. 201. Some cookies and drinks will be provided.

For more information, contact Gerard T. Caneba (ChE), the TAPPI-MTU advisor.

From Tech Today, by TAPPI-MTU Chapter.

Tech Forms TAPPI Chapter

Michigan Tech now has a chapter of the Technical Association of the Paper Products Industry (TAPPI), and they’re looking for members.

The first 15 students to sign up will be provided with a waiver of the membership fee to the TAPPI national organization.

Aside from technology-­based meetings, the chapter will organize critical thinking and leadership development activities with fun.

If you want to learn more, come with your lunch to the first informational meeting  from 12:15 to 1 p.m. Tuesday (Sept. 6) in Chem Sci 201.

We might be able to provide some dessert and drinks. For more information, contact Gerard T. Caneba (ChE) the TAPPI­MTU advisor.

From Tech Today, by Chemical Engineering.

Faith Morrison Appointed Associate Dean of Graduate School

Faith MorrisonFaith Morrison (ChE) will serve Michigan Tech in the capacity of associate dean of the Graduate School beginning this semester. The position is half time, with Morrison continuing in her faculty role for the balance of her time.

Morrison will be involved in a number of projects in the Graduate School. A major project will be the development and implementation of university-level assessment of graduate student learning and graduate program review. She will also work to develop, implement and support efforts to attract and retain a diverse graduate student body and on other projects aimed at improving the graduate student experience at Michigan Tech.

Read more at Tech Today, by the Graduate School.

Presentations by NSF-funded Teachers Mentored by Engineering Grad Students

NSFSix Michigan teachers mentored by Michigan Tech grad students during a 6-week Summer Institute on Computational Tools and the Environment will present their research in a poster session from 1 to 3 p.m. tomorrow (Aug. 18) in the atrium of the Great Lakes Research Center.

The institute was sponsored by the National Science Foundation’s Research Experiences for Teachers program.

The poster session is the culmination of a six-week, intensive Summer Institute on Computational Tools and the Environment, sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF).

The teachers were mentored by environmental engineering, chemical engineering, geological engineering and forestry graduate students as they conducted research on water quality, forestry management and life cycle assessment.

The graduate students also worked with the teachers to translate the results of their research into curriculum materials to be used in the teachers’ science and mathematics classes.

For more information, contact Alex Mayer, asmayer@mtu.edu.

From Tech Today, by Jenn Donovan.

Michigan Tech Wins Awards for Diversity Efforts in Engineering Education

wepan-logoMichigan Tech’s efforts to increase the numbers and diversity of women in engineering have been recognized by Women in Engineering ProActive Network (WEPAN), a national network of women engineers, engineering educators, universities, corporations and non-profits who are working together to develop a diverse and innovative engineering workforce.

Michigan Tech’s Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics received the WEPAN President’s Award for what the organization described as “outstanding accomplishments” in the National Science Foundation-funded engineering diversity initiative, TECAID (Transforming Engineering Culture to Advance Inclusion and Diversity).

In addition, WEPAN recognized the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE), which won the WEPAN Strategic Partner Award. ASEE was honored for its “Year of Action on Diversity,” a project conceived and designed by the ASEE Diversity Committee, led by Adrienne Minerick and Teri Reed. Minerick is associate dean for research and innovation in the College of Engineering and a professor of chemical engineering at Michigan Tech. Reed is assistant vice president for research at the University of Cincinnati.

“These awards are a testament to the dedication, heart and trailblazing work our faculty and staff are doing to increase knowledge and awareness of the value of diversity and to cultivate environments that are inclusive of all individuals,” said Minerick. “These activities expand and strengthen the perspectives and education of all of our students such that they can engineer to present and future world demands and lead in a complex and changing society.”

President Glenn Mroz called the awards “a real honor for Mechanical Engineering and the entire university. We’ve been clear that it’s the responsibility of everyone at Michigan Tech to serve all students, regardless of gender or race, to have an impact on our world. This national recognition serves as evidence that people are taking that seriously, and it’s being noticed at the highest levels of our professions. The leadership that this team of people has shown is truly inspiring.”

Engineering Society of Detroit at Michigan Tech

IMG_4900 (1280x853)Tech Century, an engineering and technology news website published by the Engineering Society of Detroit, ran a lengthy article on editor Matt Roush’s Tech Tour interviews with Michigan Tech researchers and students. Michigan Tech sponsored this year’s Tech Tour.

Among the many people he talked to were: Adrienne Minerick, associate dean for research and innovation at MTU’s College of Engineering, Jodi Lehman, assistant director of research development, and Jason Carter, professor and chair of the department of kinesiology and integrative physiology, Feng Zhou, assistant professor in biomedical engineering, Guy Meadows, Great Lakes Research Center, Andrew Barnard, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, and Zhaohui Wang, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, Dave House — Michigan native, Michigan Tech alumnus, Yun Hang Hu, Materials Science Engineering, Caryn Heldt, associate professor of chemical engineering, and Mary Raber, assistant dean of MTU’s new Paavlis Honors College.

See the whole article here.

Matt Roush with Michigan Tech's Jim Baker
Matt Roush with Michigan Tech’s Jim Baker

New Chapter of Engineering Society of Detroit

The formation of a student chapter of the Engineering Society of Detroit (ESD) was reported on Tech Century, an engineering and technology news website published by the ESD. Undergraduates and graduate students in the College of Engineering were invited to join. For more information, visit the ESD website.

All Tech engineering students, undergrad and graduate, are invited to join ESD and gain the benefits of student chapter membership. The opportunity to network with professional engineers, successful alumni and other student chapters are among those benefits. Student ESD chapters also get an inside look at trends in engineering and a chance to participate in leadership and career-building events and programs.

Leonard Bohmann, associate dean of engineering,  Wayne D. Pennington, Dean of the MTU College of Engineering, ESD Executive Director Robert Magee, ESD Director of Membership Heather Lilley, and ESD Director of Communications and Public Relations Matt Roush
Leonard Bohmann, associate dean of engineering, Wayne D. Pennington, Dean of the MTU College of Engineering, ESD Executive Director Robert Magee, ESD Director of Membership Heather Lilley, and ESD Director of Communications and Public Relations Matt Roush

Life Science and Technology Institute (LSTI) Research Forum

IMG_3557aLSTI first Annual Research Forum
by Department of Biomedical Engineering

The Michigan Tech community viewed the first Annual Life Science and Technology Institute (LSTI) Research Forum that was held Friday September 25. Posters were in the Memorial Union Ballroom A1. Student awards were presented. Undergraduate and graduate students working in life science-related fields showed their research posters in separate competitions.

Sanaz Habibi (Adrienne Minerick’s M.D.-ERL Lab), PhD student in the Chemical Engineering department, won the grand prize for the best poster for her work on “Do Faradaic Reactions Cause Hemolysis in Non-Uniform Alternating Current Electric Fields?.”

Sanaz Habibi : Do Faradaic Reactions Cause Hemolysis in Non-Uniform Alternating Current Electric Fields?
Sanaz Habibi : Do Faradaic Reactions Cause Hemolysis in Non-Uniform Alternating Current Electric Fields?

Graduate Merit Awards winners for the Life Science and Technology Institute (LSTI) Research Forum indlude: Graduate students:

Ramkumar Mohan (Biology)—”MicroRNA-483, A Differentially Expressed MicroRNA Between Pancreatic Beta Cells and Alpha Cells,” Advisor: Zhang/Tang
Ni Fan (Chem)—”Glycan-Dependent Mutual and Reversible Sequestration,” Advisor: Dam
Robert Larson (KIP)—”High Salt Intake Augments Excitability of Pre-sympathetic PVN Neurons,” Advisor: Chen

The Undergraduate Student award winners included: Grand Prize: Jared Pecore (Biology)—”The Mechanisms Underlying α-Amanitin Resistance in Drosophila melanogaster: A Microarray Analysis,” Advisor: Werner
Undergraduate Merit Award: Dakota Anderson (KIP)—”Upper-Extremity Eccentric Exercise: Increases in Muscle Strength and Power at Moderate Training Intensities”

Jared Pecore- Grand Prize, Undergrad
Jared Pecore- Grand Prize, Undergrad


View Photo gallery of Life Science and Technology Institute (LSTI) Research Forum

Presentation: Dr. James H. Comfort, General Manager, Cloud Services, IBM Cloud Division

Mar31

The Chemical Engineering department presented a talk by Dr. James H. Comfort,  General Manager, Cloud Services, IBM Cloud Division. The title was “Crafting a Career in Uncharted Waters: A Journey from Chemical Engineering to Cloud Computing and Back.” The presentation was in Fisher 135 at 5:00 p.m. Tuesday March 31st. The university was invited to attend.