Pengfei Xue (CEE) is the principal investigator on a project that has received a $104,168 research and development grant from NASA. Mark Kulie (GMES/GLRC) is the Co-PI on the project, ” Evaluation and Advancing the Representation of Lake-Atmosphere Interactions and Resulting Heavy Lake-Effect Snowstorms across the Laurentian Great Lakes Basin Within the NASA-Unified Weather Research and Forecasting Model.”
This is the first year of a potential four-year project totaling $327,927.
Once emitted into the atmosphere, many air pollutants are transported long distances, going through a series of chemical reactions before falling back to the Earth’s surface. This makes air pollution not just a local problem, but a regional and a global one.
“If you’d been living in London in December 1952, you’d probably remember what air pollution can do—in just a couple of weeks, a smog event killed thousands of people,” says Michigan Tech researcher Shilliang Wu.
“Today, photos of air pollution in China and India flood the Internet,” he adds. “Air pollution remains a significant challenge for the sustainability of our society, with detrimental effects on humans, animals, crops, and the ecosystem as a whole.”
An assistant professor with a dual appointment in Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences, and Civil and Environmental Engineering, Wu examines the impacts of human activities on air quality, along with the complicated interactions between air quality, climate, land use, and land cover. Using well-established global models, he investigates a wide variety of pollutants including ozone, nitrogen oxides, volatile organic compounds, aerosols, mercury, and arsenic.
Wu’s research team recently developed the first global model to simulate the sources, transport, and deposition of atmospheric arsenic including source-receptor relationships between various regions. They were motivated by a 2012 Consumer Reports magazine study, which tested more than 200 samples of rice products in the US and found that many of them, including some organic products and infant rice cereals, contained highly toxic arsenic at worrisome levels.
“Our results indicate that reducing anthropogenic arsenic emissions in Asia and South America can significantly reduce arsenic pollution not only locally, but globally.”
“Our model simulates arsenic concentrations in ambient air over many sites around the world,” says Wu. “We have shown that arsenic emissions from Asia and South America are the dominant sources of atmospheric arsenic in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, respectively. Asian emissions are found to contribute nearly 40 percent of the total arsenic deposition over the Arctic and North America. Our results indicate that reducing anthropogenic arsenic emissions in Asia and South America can significantly reduce arsenic pollution not only locally, but globally.”
Wu’s model simulation is not confined to any region or time period. “We can go back to the past or forward to the future; we can look at any place on Earth. As a matter of fact, some of my colleagues have applied the same models to Mars,” he says, adding: “In any case, the atmosphere is our lab, and we are interested in everything in the air.”
Tuesday (May 9, 2017), faculty and staff members, along with their guests, gathered at the Memorial Union Ballroom for an awards dinner recognizing 25, 30, 35 and 40 years of service to Michigan Tech. Within the College of Engineering, the following employees were recognized:
25 Years
30 Years
35 Years
This year’s Staff Service Recognition luncheon will be held on Wednesday, June 14. Congratulations to all the honorees.
The Vice President for Research Office announced the 2017 REF awards and thanked the volunteer review committees, as well as the deans and department chairs, for their time spent on this important internal research award process.
Infrastructure Enhancement (IE) Grants
Dan Seguin (MSE/IMP)
Research Seed (RS) Grants
Daisuke Minakata (CEE)
Radwin Askari (GMES/EPSSI)
Portage Health Foundation (PHF) Mid-Career (MC)
CK Choi (MEEM)
Megan Frost (Bio Med)
Jeremy Goldman (Bio Med)
Original article by VPR.
The College of Engineering inducted nineteen students into the Michigan Tech Michigan Beta chapter of The College of Engineering inducted nineteen students into the Michigan Tech Michigan Beta chapter of Tau Beta Pi this past last week.
Tau Beta Pi is a nationally recognized engineering honor society, and is the only one that recognizes the engineering profession. Students who join are the top 1/8th of their junior class or top 1/5th of their senior class. The society celebrates those who have distinguished scholarship and exemplary character and members strive to maintain integrity and excellence in engineering.
David Adamovicz – Mechanical Engineering
Adam Augustyniak – Mechanical Engineering
Ryan Beering – Geological Engineering
Kristen Bull – Materials Science and Engineering
Raymond Coyle – Mechanical Engineering
Zachary Garavet – Computer Engineering
Phoebe Glazko – Civil Engineering
Hunter Gulbranson – Chemical Engineering
Benjamin Hubbard – Mechanical Engineering
Rebecca Phipps – Chemical Engineering
Jacob Richards – Mechanical Engineering
Chelsey Rock – Materials Science and Engineering
Lucas Simonson – Electrical Engineering
Riley Stroven – Mechanical Engineering
Victoria Swanson – Civil Engineering
Michael vonKronenberger – Electrical Engineering
Sarah Wade – Computer Engineering
Kayla Wielgus – Civil Engineering
Tyler Wittmann – Environmental Engineering
The Michigan Tech Research Forum was developed to showcase and celebrate the work of Michigan Tech researchers and to strengthen discussions in our community.
It is a privilege and honor to announce Associate Professor Simon Carn (GMES) was selected from nominees across campus as the 2017 Distinguished Lecturer.
Carn will give his lecture at 4 p.m. Thursday (April 6, 2017) in the MUB Ballroom. He will present “Volcanology — Multidisciplinary Science for a Versatile Campus.” The session will feature ample time for mingling over snacks and refreshments before and after the lecture. All are welcome. In addition, on-site, low-cost childcare at the MUB is available for those who need it during the Distinguished Lecture. Learn more online.
John Gierke, chair of the Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences nominated Carn for the award.
According to Gierke, Carn, “was a leading scientist in the application of sensors on the satellites forming what is called the Afternoon Constellation or ‘A-Train’ to Earth observations and specifically to volcanology.
“Simon possesses a unique knack for compiling and presenting information on satellite sensors and volcanic processes in visually appealing ways and for making compelling arguments in support of scientific observations of volcanoes.”
Quoting from the NASA website that features the A-Train, “This coordinated group of satellites … are in a polar orbit, crossing the equator … within seconds to minutes of each other. This allows near-simultaneous observations of a wide variety of parameters to aid the scientific community in advancing our knowledge of Earth-system science and applying this knowledge for the benefit of society.“
Carn joined the faculty of the Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences as an assistant professor in 2008. He came to Michigan Tech from the Joint Center for Earth Systems Technology of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He holds a PhD in volcanology from the University of Cambridge, UK, a DEA in volcanology and magmatic processes from the Université Blaise Pascal in Clermont-Ferrant, France and a BA in geology from the University of Oxford, UK.
He has received multiple research grants totaling more than $2.8 million from NASA, the National Science Foundation, the National Geographic Society Committee for Research and Exploration, the Royal Society and the European Union.
He has taught, lectured and supervised students since 1994 at Michigan Tech and across the world at the International Volcanological Field School in Russia, Cambridge University, the Philippines Institute of Volcanology and Seismology and at international workshops in France, Italy, Iceland, Indonesia, Singapore and Costa Rica.
Carn has been a member of the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth’s Interior and the American Geophysical Union since 1994. He recently served on a National Academy of Sciences Committee on Improving Understanding of Volcanic Eruptions.
His current research focus is the application of remote sensing data to studies of volcanic degassing, volcanic eruption clouds and anthropogenic pollution. His main focus: SO2, a precursor of sulfate aerosol, which plays an important role in the atmosphere through negative climate forcing and impacts on cloud microphysics.
Q: When was the moment you knew volcanology was for you?
A: The first active volcano I encountered was Arenal in Costa Rica during my travels after finishing high school. However, I think the point that I first seriously considered volcanology as a career was during my MS degree in Clermont-Ferrand, France. The first field trip of that course was to Italy to see the spectacular active volcanoes Etna, Stromboli and Vesuvius.
Q: What do you like most about volcanology?
A: Studying volcanoes is undeniably exciting and exotic, and we are lucky to visit some spectacular locations for fieldwork and conferences. New eruptions can occur at any time, so there’s always something new and exciting to study. We are also fortunate in that it is relatively easy to justify studying volcanoes (e.g., to funding agencies), given their potentially significant impacts on climate, the environment and society.
Q: What is the biggest challenge in this field?
A: Accurate prediction of volcanic eruptions is a significant challenge, and will remain so until we can increase the number of global volcanoes that are intensively monitored.
Q: What has changed the most in volcanology over the past decade (or two)?
A: The amount of geophysical data collected from the ground and space has increased exponentially, along with the computational capacity to process the data and construct numerical models of volcanic processes. This has significantly advanced our understanding of the potential impacts of volcanoes.
Q: How do your two specialties—volcanology and teaching—complement each other?
A: I think volcanoes are a very effective tool for recruiting and engaging students, e.g., by using some dramatic eruption footage to pique their interest in the underlying physical processes. There are many different aspects of volcanic activity, ranging from the geological origins of volcanoes to their impacts on the atmosphere, so effective teaching of volcanology requires some expertise in multiple fields of science. Gathering the relevant information is personally very rewarding and frequently opens up new avenues for research.
Q: You studied and worked in England, France and Europe. How did you come to Michigan Tech, and how does it work as a home base?
A: After finishing my PhD in the UK, I worked on the island of Montserrat (West Indies) for several months monitoring the active Soufriere Hills volcano. This got me interested in the use of remote sensing techniques for monitoring volcanic gas emissions. I then moved to the US for a postdoc at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, using satellite data to measure volcanic emissions, and whilst there I started collaborating with the Michigan Tech volcanology group. Michigan Tech has been highly regarded for its volcanology program, and in particular for remote sensing of volcanoes, for many years and so it was an ideal fit for me when I was looking for a faculty position.
Q: I noticed the photo your grandfather took of a smoking Mt. Vesuvius during WWII (at the very bottom on your website. Was he a volcanologist, as well? How did you come across that photo?
A: He wasn’t a volcanologist, though he was a high school science teacher and a conservationist. The photo of Vesuvius was always one of his favorites, from a time when photographs were quite rare, and he often showed it to me in my youth.
The Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program will fund 20 students from across the University with funds from the office of the Vice President for Research. Previous SURF award recipients have included Goldwater Scholarship and NSF Graduate Research Fellowship recipients. Since 2002, SURF students have co-authored 71 peer-reviewed publications. This year’s recipients, project titles and advisors are listed on the SURF webpage.
Kaylie Butts, Rachel Schlicker and Quelyn Bekkering received Honorable Mention.
By Will Cantrell.
| Student Name | Student’s Major | Advisor/Department | Project Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jessica Benson | Biomedical Engineering | Jeremy Goldman / Biomedical Eng. | Evaluating Biodegradeable Zinc Stent Materials |
| James Gooding | Chemical Engineering | Shiyue Fang / Chemistry | Digital History of Historic Mineralogical Instruments at the A.E. Seaman Museum |
| Amanda Kautzer | Biomedical Engineering/Eng. Management | Rupak Rajachar / Biomedical Eng. | Multi-arm PEG-based Hydrogels for Tendon and Ligament Repair |
| Darian Reed | Civil Engineering | Pasi Latula / Civil & Environmental Eng. | Evaluation of Methods to Record Head Orientation in Driving Simulator and In-Vehicle Study Environments |
| Marissa Schorr | Geology | Chad Deering / Geological & Mining Eng. | Filling in the Gaps: Finding the Missing Detrital Zircon Puzzle Pieces to the Magmatic Evolution of the Mt. Princeton Batholith, Colorado |
| Luke Weidner | Geological Engineering | Thomas Oommen / Geological and Mining Eng. | Validation of a Landslide Susceptibility Model Using Ground Movement Image Correlation in Parwan Province, Afghanistan |
| Travis Wigstrom | Chemical Engineering | Shiyue Fang / Chemistry | A Novel Carboxylic Acid Protecting Group Deprotectable Under Mild Neural Conditions |
| Aubrey Woern | Mechanical Engineering | Joshua Pearce / Materials Science | Techno-Economic Analysis of Flexible Filaments Used in 3D Printing vs. Traditional Manufacturing |
Brian Flanagan
Computer Engineering
The Effects of Uncertain Labels on Damage Assessment in Remotely Sensed Images
SECOND PLACE WINNER
Drew Hanover
Mechanical Engineering
Building-to-Grid Predictive Power Flow Control for Demand Response and Demand Flexibility Programs
THIRD PLACE WINNER
Trevyn Payne
Chemical Engineering
Separation of Individual Components from Lithium-Ion Batteries
HONORABLE MENTION
Hannah Marti
Biomedical Engineering
Psychophysiological Effects of Acute Mindfulness Meditation
HONORABLE MENTION
Several undergraduate students in engineering disciplines participated in Michigan Tech’s Undergraduate Research Symposium (URS) on March 17, 2017, in the Rozsa Lobby. Hosted by the Pavlis Honors College, the URS highlights the amazing cutting-edge research being conducted on Michigan Tech’s campus by some of our best and brightest undergraduate students.
Participating engineering students included:
Dakota Anderson
Biomedical Engineering, Electrical Engineering
Improving Upper-Body Muscle Conditioning While Training at Low Intensities
Alicia Ball
Chemical Engineering
Effect of pH & Mineral Chemistry on Settling of Mineral Particles
Erica Coscarelli
Environmental Engineering
Impact of Dissolved Organic Matter & Its Transformation to Ultraviolet Photolysis Process in Engineered Water & Wastewater Treatment Systems
Aaron Dean
Mechanical Engineering
Effectiveness of Using SHRP2 Naturalistic Driving Study Data to Analyze Driver Behavior at Highway-Rail Grade Crossings
Mary Elizabeth Galbraith
Chemical Engineering
Unconventional Rare Earth Element Resources
Rebekka Guyon
Geological Engineering
Production of Biocementation from the Stimulation of Iron-Oxidizing Bacteria to Mitigate Dust Susceptibility
William Hughes
Mechanical Engineering
Investigation of Fuel Injection Systems- Fundamental Nozzle Cavitation Studies
Emily Hunt
Materials Science and Engineering
3D Printed Super-Bainitic Steel
Michelle Kelly
Environmental Engineering
Within-Reach Variation in Nitrification and Denitrification Rates in Lake Superior Tributaries
Ami Kling
Biomedical Engineering
Determination of the Effects of Hyperthermic Ablation on the Microstructure of Type I Collagen
Allysa Meinburg
Biomedical Engineering
Sensorized Suture Anchor for Real Time Monitoring of Tensile Loads
Alex Miltenberger
Applied Geophysics
Multiple-Point Geostatistical Simulation of Fracture Networks Using Secondary Ground Penetrating Radar Information
Zachary Oldenburg
Chemical Engineering
A Preliminary Economic Feasibility Study for the Recycling of Lithium-Ion Batteries
Emily Petersen
Materials Science and Engineering
Emergence of Home Manufacturing in the Developed World: Return on Investment for Open-Source 3-D Printers
Denada Planaj
Geological Engineering
Modeling Shallow and Deep Seated Landslides in Wayanad District, Kerala, India
Violet Thole
Materials Science and Engineering
Structure Property Relationships in Next Generation Ballistic Fibers
Ben Updike
Chemical Engineering
Preliminary Quantum Chemical Investigations on the Designing of Effective Catalysts for the Haber Process
Travis Wigstrom
Chemical Engineering
A Better Approach to Tritylation of Alcohols
Erica Anderson
Geological Engineering
Modeling the Potential Travel Paths of Post-Wildfire Debris Flows
Yani Beeker
Materials Science and Engineering
Open-Source Parametric 3-D Printed Slot Die System for Thin Film Semiconductor Processing
Katie Bristol
Applied Geophysics
Rock Magnetic Investigation of Carbonaceous Chondrules from the Allende Meteorite
Jeffrey Brookins
Materials Science and Engineering
Prototyping & Characterization of Zinc-Based Bioabsorbable Vascular Ligating Clips
Andrew Bruning
Mechanical Engineering
Generating Monodisperse Oxidized Methacrylated Alginate Microbeads with Specific Encapsulation Factors
Derek Burrell
Electrical Engineering
Performance Analysis of Stationary Hadamard Matrix Diffusers in Free-Space Optical Communication Links
Elisha Earley
Biomedical Engineering
Evaluating Novel Biodegradable Stent Materials
Simon Eddy
Materials Science and Engineering
Tungsten Disulfide as a Counter Electrode in Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells
Meghan Friske
Biomedical and Electrical Engineering
Characterization of Electrospun Nanofiber Scaffold for Wound Healing Applications
Samuel Gaines
Civil Engineering
Structural Health Monitoring Using UAV’s & Kinect Sensors
Jackie Harris
Chemical Engineering
Investigation into the Free Radical Scavenging Activity of Novel Nitroxide Derivatives
Carly Joseph
Biomedical Engineering
Development of a Novel Injectable Nitric Oxide Releasing Fibrin Microgel Composite Hydrogel for Tendon Repair
Ryan Kibler
Environmental Engineering
Understanding Lake Superior Warming Through Observational Data & Model Results
Jeremy Luebke
Environmental Engineering
Changes in Tropospheric Ozone Formation With a Reduction in PM Over China
Mary Kate Mitchell
Chemical Engineering
Predicting the Rejection Efficiencies of Toxicologically Relevant Organics in Reverse Osmosis of Wastewater Reclamation Processes
Charles Newlin
Materials Science and Engineering
The Effects of Nano-Sized Particles in Ultrahigh Carbon Steels
Thomas Page
Mechanical Engineering
Linear Traverse Design Project for Research Applications in the Cloud Chamber
Emily Praznik
Environmental Engineering
Macroinvertebrates in Hammel Creek
Hao Qin
Materials Science and Engineering
Synergistic Effect of Graphene-Oxide-Doping and Microwave-Curing on Mechanical Strength of Cement
David Ross
Biomedical Engineering
Covalently Bonded Collagen Coating on PDMS Improved Human Mesenchymal Stem Cell Sheet
Philip Staublin
Materials Science and Engineering
Modeling Biocorrosion of Zinc Alloys in Endovascular Environment
Valeria Suarez
Geological Engineering
Risk Assessment and Slope Stability Modelling of a Transportation Corridor in Hindu Kush Range
Brendan Treanore
Materials Science and Engineering
Substrate Active Cooling for Weld Based 3D Printing
Michigan Tech Research Forum
Faculty Research on Speed Dial
The Michigan Tech Research Forum is a new University presentation series showcasing the work of Michigan Tech faculty, postdocs, and researchers.
On Thursday, November 10, 2016, several researchers gave two minute presentations for the inaugural TechTalks session of the Michigan Tech Research Forum. Five of the 13 researchers presented work from engineering disciplines:
Michigan Tech Research Forum events are presented by the Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs in coordination with the Office of the Vice President of Research.
Additional TechTalks sessions are coming up in Spring 2017. Interested in nominating yourself or others? Use this online form.
Browse the Twitter conversations in “TechTalks 2016: Take One,” by Allison Mills.
On Thursday, December 1, 2016, the second set of presentations included the following from engineering research faculty:
Jeff Naber
Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
APS LABS (Advanced Power Systems Research Center)
Michael Mullins
Department of Chemical Engineering
Electrospun Nanofibers as Neural Guidance Scaffolds
Feng Zhao
Department of Biomedical Engineering
Stem Cell and Tissue Engineering Research
Chad Deering
Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences
Ignimbrites to Batholiths
Darrell Robinette
Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
Gearing for Future Connectivity
Trisha Sain
Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
Mechanics of Soft Polymers
Browse the Twitter conversations in “TechTalks 2016: Take Two,” by Allison Mills.
Wayne Pennington’s (GMES/CoE) work was honored during a Geophysical Society of Houston luncheon on Nov. 15, 2016, in Houston.
The presentation, made by Vaughn Ball (Hess Corporation) and co-authored by Michelle Thomas, JP Blangy and Mark Kittridge, acknowledge that seismic petrophysics is “coming up on the twentieth anniversary of Wayne Pennington’s turning point definition of seismic petrophysics in the 1997 edition of The Leading Edge.”