College of Engineering Blog

Category: News

Michigan Tech Celebrates National Engineers Week

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HELP US CELEBRATE EWEEK 2017! 

     National Engineers Week celebrates the positive contributions engineers make to society and is a catalyst for outreach across the country to kids and adults alike. For the past 60 years, National Engineers Week has been celebrated each February around the time of George Washington’s birthday, February 22, because Washington is considered by many to be the first US engineer.

     Tech’s events during Engineers Week, (Feb. 18-25), are again sponsored by Tau Beta Pi, the local chapter of the Engineering Honor Society.

     National Engineers Week, also known as Eweek, begins on a sweet note at Michigan Tech with an ice cream social from 5 to 6 p.m. Saturday (Feb. 18) in the Wadsworth Dining Hall.

     Things get rolling at noon Monday, (Feb. 20) with the pep band in front of the Husky statue. The iconic statue will be dressed in a lab coat and bow tie all week. The Green Campus Enterprise will have a rocket stove demo from 12:45 to 3 p.m. outside of Fisher Hall. The Mind Trekkers will be in the Dow Atrium from 1 to 3 p.m. with hands-on demonstrations. From 6 to 7 p.m. the Blue Marble Security enterprise will present a heart rate circuit board.

     Questions? Contact Morgan Herzog, Tau Beta Pi public relations officer, and/or Julia Zayan, president.

 

2017 Engineers Week_2
National Engineers Week 2017

 

Upcoming E-week events at Michigan Tech:

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18

5:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Tau Beta Pi
Ice cream social
Wadsworth Dining Hall

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 20

12:00 PM – 12:15 PM
Pep Band
Husky Statue

12:45 PM – 3:00 PM
Green Campus Enterprise
Rocket stove demo
outside Fisher Hall

1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Mind Trekkers
Dow Atrium

6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Blue Marble Security
Heart rate circuit board
EERC 722

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 21

11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Railroad Engineering & Activities Club
Fisher Lobby

1:00 PM – 3:00 PM
Advanced Metalworks Enterprise
Foundry demo
Husky Statue

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 23

12:00 PM – 3:00 PM
AIChE, Chem E Car stop reaction demo
Fisher Lobby

5:00 PM – 6:00 PM
American Society of Engineering Management
Company panel
Chem Sci 101

7:00 PM – 8:00 PM
Engineers Without Borders
Presentation & meeting
Fisher 328

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 24

11:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Formula SAE
Chassis demo
MEEM Lobby

11:00 AM – 3:00 PM
Engineering Fundamentals,
E-week cake, stop by for a piece!
Dillman 112

12:45 PM – 3:00 PM
Green Campus Enterprise,
Winterization demo
Dow A
trium

8:30 PM – 11:00 PM
Film Board, Apollo 13
Fisher 135

 

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Zhao Group Provides Chapter on Tissue Engineered Skeletal Muscles

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Tissue Engineering and Nano TheranosticsCaleb Vogt, Mitchell Tahtinen, and Feng Zhao have provided the first chapter to a book entitled “Tissue Engineering and Nano Theranostics” (ISBN: 978-981-3149-18-2). World Scientific Publisher. 2017. The book provides a comprehensive overview of current achievements in biomedical applications of nanotechnology, including stem cell based regenerative medicine, medical imaging, cell targeting, drug delivery, and photothermal/photodynamic cancer therapy.

The chapter is “Engineering Approaches for Creating Skeletal Muscle,” and it highlights the significant impact of stem cells in skeletal muscle engineering and regeneration.

About the authors:

  • Feng Zhao is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering.
  • Caleb Vogt and Mitchell Tahtinen were undergraduate researchers in the Zhao lab.
  • Caleb is currently in the graduate program of the University of Minnesota.
  • Mitchell is currently a master’s student in the Department of Mathematical Sciences at Michigan Tech. He still conducts research in the Zhao lab.
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Budget News on H-STEM Engineering and Health Technologies Complex

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H-STEMGovernor Snyder mentioned the project during his Budget Proposal Speech on February 8, 2017.

The $39.6M complex would contribute to Human-centered research, development and education for its students by developing therapeutic devices, sensors, instruments, preventive strategies and a health technologies-related workforce.

Read more at WLUC TV6, by Alyssa Barker.

Michigan Tech Board of Trustees Approves 5-year Capital Outlay Plan

The complex will support Michigan Tech’s integrated educational programs that apply engineering and science to problems related to the human condition. The University’s unique technological niche places Tech in an ideal position to contribute to human-centered research, development and education for its students by developing therapeutic devices, sensors, instruments, preventive strategies and a health technologies-related workforce. The complex will permit teams of researchers and students from Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Materials Science and Engineering, Biology, Chemistry, Cognitive and Learning Sciences, Computer Science, and Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology to work together in flexible lab spaces with shared equipment.

Read more at Michigan Tech News, by Jennifer Donovan.

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Iver Anderson Inducted into 2017 Inventors Hall of Fame

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Iver Anderson
Iver Anderson

Iver Anderson ’75, a Tech alumnus (Metallurgical and Materials Engineering) whose lead-free solder is used in virtually all cell phones, has been inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame. He is the son of the late Jean Anderson, a retired Michigan Tech mechanical engineering faculty member.

The National Inventors Hall of Fame, partnering with the US Patent and Trademark Office, honors the individuals whose inventions have made the world a better place and works to ensure American ingenuity continues to thrive in the hands of coming generations. Their mission is to recognize inventors and inventions, celebrate the country’s rich, innovative history, inspire creativity and advance the spirit of innovation and entrepreneurship.

By Jenn Donovan.

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Consumer Products Day 2017 Awards

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Consumer Products Day

The second annual Consumer Products Day Finals at Michigan Tech were held Saturday. Nineteen teams of Tech students were given 20 hours and a box of materials provided by Kimberly-Clark, Amway, DOW or 3M to create, design and pitch a new consumer product. Two teams representing each company advanced to the finals, resulting in eight final products being pitched to the company reps, judges, technical review panel and audience.

A total of $7,000 was awarded to the top three teams.

1st Place: $3,300. Jade Scientific — Kimberly-Clark
Team Members: Abbey Senczyszyn, Emil Johnson, Sarah Lorenz, Josh Leon, Dominic Oldani

2nd Place: $2,400. Student Athlete Engineers — The DOW Chemical Company
Team Members: Josh Rzeppa, Keith Lemely, Quinn Kaspriak, Corey Zetizus, Sophia Farquhar

3rd Place: $1,300. Engineering World Health — 3M
Team Members: Paul Shelcusky, Anna Isaacson, Michael Gazdecki, Brett Opel

The Crowd Pleaser Award — Amway
Team Members: Nick Minarich, Ayla Vaughn, Vincent Padget

Company reps included Tech Alumni Aaron Schroeder ’12, Katie Rohlfs ’16 and Joe Gallo ’12 from The DOW Chemical Company; Kevin Madson and Ryan McInnis ’15 from 3M; Chris Heiting ’14 and Nicole Barna ’09 from Kimberly-Clark; and Sam Soyka ’12 and Andy Davies ’03 from Amway. Tony Rogers, Glen Archer, Joe Thompson, David Shonnard and Tim Eisele made up the technical review panel with Mike Morley, Brian Lagalo and Komar Kawatra serving as judges.

The event was hosted by Career Services. Student teams received additional support from the Consumer Products Manufacturing Enterprise, Makerspace, Brad Turner, Magann Dykema, Mary Raber, Ethan Beavers and Michael Norman.

By Career Services.

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Judges Needed for Design Expo 2017

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Design Expo JudgingDesign Expo 2017 will be held Thursday, April 13 in the Memorial Union Ballroom. Save the date.

Design Expo highlights hands-on, discovery-based learning at Michigan Tech. More than 600 students on Enterprise and Senior Design teams showcase their work and compete for awards. A panel of judges, made up of distinguished corporate representatives and Michigan Tech staff and faculty members, critique the projects. Many team projects are sponsored by industry, which allows students to gain valuable experience through competition, as well as direct exposure to real industrial problems. Design Expo is co-hosted by the College of Engineering and the Pavlis Honors College.

If you would like to serve as a judge at this year’s Design Expo, register as soon as possible to let us know you’re coming. Thank you for your continued support.

By Pavlis Honors College.

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Six Engineering Programs Ranked Top Picks for Vets

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Campus and Husky Outdoor SceneCollege Factual, a website that provides ranking, academics and outcomes information on colleges and universities, has ranked six Michigan Tech degree programs top picks for veterans.

The website ranked Tech’s mechanical engineering and environmental engineering in the top 10 nationwide, listing chemical engineering, civil engineering and computer engineering in the top 20. Electrical engineering was ranked in the top 40 in the nation.

By Jenn Donovan.

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Michigan Tech Selected as One of Seventeen Beyond Traffic Innovation Centers in the Nation

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Beyond Traffic 2045Michigan Tech was selected by the US Department of Transportation as one of the seventeen Beyond Traffic Innovation Centers (BTIC) in the nation.  According to the DOT, “These Centers will be recognized by the DOT as forward-thinking and influential institutions that are capable of driving solutions to the challenges and trends identified in Beyond Traffic 2045, the US DOT’s report on current and future issues in transportation. The centers will contribute by “convening decision-makers in their megaregion and coordinating related research, curriculum, outreach, and other activities.” The Michigan Tech Center was selected as one of the three universities to serve the rural areas of the United States.

The proposal, led by the Michigan Tech Transportation Institute (MTTI), collaborated with multiple centers and institutes on campus, including: Advanced Power Systems Research Center (APSRC), Center for Technology & Training (CTT), Keweenaw Research Center (KRC), Michigan Tech Research Institute (MTRI), Rail Transportation Program (RTP), Sustainable Futures Institute (SFI) and the Tribal Technical Assistance Program (TTAP).  Additionally, numerous individual campus researchers provided information for the submission.

MTTI Director Pasi Lautala (CEE) will serve as the Beyond Traffic Coordinator, participating in future events related to regional development with the USDOT. MTTI is also planning to use the Center as encouragement for faculty, staff and students interested in transportation issues to get involved in working toward solving our nation’s transportation issues.

Further information on Beyond Traffic, including a map of the selected centers, is located here.  https://www.transportation.gov/beyondtraffic. For faculty, staff and students interested in getting involved with the center, please contact Pam Hannon (prhannon@mtu.edu), or 906-487-3065.  For more information on MTTI, please visit our website.

By MTTI.

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After School Science and Engineering Classes for Grades 1-8

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GLRC After SchoolThere will be six sessions of after school science and engineering classes for grades 1-8 from Jan. 23 to March 3, 2017. The sessions will be held from 4 to 5:30 p.m. in Room 104 of the Great Lakes Research Center.

These sessions offer hands-on explorations taught by Michigan Tech science and engineering students. 

Class Offerings:

Gr. 1-2 Transportation and Engineering: Mondays

Students will design candy cars, a bridge to hold the most weight, a boat that floats, a brain helmet that survives a crash, planes, trains and more.

Gr. 3-5 Geology Playgrounds: Wednesdays

Beaches, waterfalls, lakes, sledding hills — discover how some of these favorite places to play were formed. Each week, we will explore different geologic activities which have created cool features and shaped our home — the Keweenaw Peninsula.

Gr. 6-8 Fascinating Plants:  Thursday

Explore the amazing world of plants — visit a research greenhouse, conduct experiments on effects of road salt and acid rain, design a water treatment system using plants, try to make sugar like a plant, meet a botanist and find out how forest plant materials can replace plastics and provide medicine and food.

Cost is $75 per student. Register by Friday, Jan. 20. Pay by credit card by calling the Michigan Tech Cashier at 7-2247. Your space is not reserved until payment has been received.

Click on 2017 Winter MTU After School Classes January 23 – March 2  or wupcenter to register online.

Questions? Call 7-3341 or email Joan Chadde.

Note: Houghton school bus will drop off students at Michigan Tech by 3:50 p.m.

Coordinated by Michigan Tech Center for Science and Environmental Outreach.

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