Students Archives

Students Needed for AutoDrive Design Job

Published June 28, 2017

The Electrical, Computer Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Mechanics Departments will hold a community forum at 5 p.m. this Thursday (June 29, 2017) in EERC 100 concerning the AutoDrive Autonomous Vehicle competition.

Michigan Tech is one of eight schools selected to participate in this three year competition. In this forum, we will discuss the high level details concerning the first year of the competition and ways the greater campus community can get involved.

The competition team is also currently looking for motivated students with engineering and software design experience to assist the team on critical design activities during the month of July. Several paid positions are available to exceptionally well-qualified students.

By Jeremy Bos.

Nineteen Inducted into Tau Beta Pi Honor Society

Published April 24, 2017

Tau Beta Pi 2017 — Spring 2017 Michigan Beta – Tau Beta Pi Initiates

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.

Spring 2017 Michigan Beta – Tau Beta Pi Initiates:

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

Michigan Tech Biomedical Engineers take 2nd place at Stryker Engineering Challenge

Published April 18, 2017

BME Team Robot — Congratulations to Zac, Peter, Ana-Lisia, and Sterling: the first all-BME team from Michigan Tech to compete at the 7th Annual Stryker Engineering Challenge; and the first Michigan Tech team ever to take 2nd place.

A team of biomedical engineering undergraduates from Michigan Technological University earned 2nd place at the 7th Annual Stryker Engineering Challenge competition in Kalamazoo, Michigan on March 30th and 31st.

Each year Stryker invites engineering student teams to its global headquarters to show off their engineering prowess while competing against 6 rival schools. During an overnight competition, they spent 14 hours planning, designing, prototyping and testing to prepare for a challenge created by Stryker engineers. This year’s challenge consisted of a superhero theme where each team had to design and construct a “semi-autonomous super-vehicle” using a robotics kit and other miscellaneous components.

Ana-Lisia Powdhar, Zachary Vanderstelt, Peter Beach, and Sterling Korstadt made up the Michigan Tech team. Associate Professor Keat Ghee Ong traveled with them and served as mentor. They competed against teams of mechanical and electrical engineering students from Purdue University, Notre Dame, University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Western Michigan University, and the Michigan Engineering Alliance (a combined team from Andrews University and Hope College). The team from Purdue took first place.

“It was the first time that biomedical engineering students from Michigan Tech have competed in the Stryker challenge,” says BME department chair, Sean Kirkpatrick. “Students have competed in the past, but this is the first time a Michigan Tech team has earned 2nd place. It demonstrates the way we approach biomedical engineering education at Michigan Tech—we focus first and foremost on rigorous engineering skills.”

The competition was comprised of three parts: Tech Challenges, a series of rapid-fire Jeopardy-style questions, with points going to the fastest correct answer among the teams. Then came “homework” given to the teams to do on their own time—various word problems pertaining to engineering, computer science, and design team dynamics. And finally, the main challenge: to design, build and test a robot able to complete a variety of specific tasks on Stryker’s challenge course. These tasks— all aimed towards collecting LEGO action figures to earn points in the competition—ranged from activating a magnetic sensor at a specific frequency to completing a circuit using components on the robot.

The teams were given 12 hours to construct their robots. “We worked hard from 8 pm to 2 am, and again the next day from 6 am to noon,” says BME student Peter Beach.

“We had a list of tasks that needed to be accomplished and no base to start from,” adds Ana-Lisia Powdhar. “Everything was built from scratch. Due to time constraints, we built our thoughts instead of writing it out first. The Stryker engineers helped us find flaws and we kept improving what we were doing.

“Sterling was constantly messing with the drive train design. Zac seemed to be downloading a new code every 10 minutes. And Peter and I never stopped working on the robot arm. Even after the challenge, we were all talking about what we would have done differently if we’d had the time.”

“The best part was having a functioning robot at the end of two stressful days,” adds Zac Vanderstelt. “We managed not only to effectively compete, but to also place second ahead of all of the Universities I grew up hearing about like Western Michigan, U of M, Michigan State, Notre Dame, and Michigan College Alliances.”

Simplicity was the key to their success. “We learned it was better to think of a viable solution and go for it instead of debating every step of the way,” says Vandersteldt.

Sterling Korstadt agrees. “The most challenging part of the experience was trying to make sure to keep the design simple and not overthink the situation.”

Korstadt says he would consider Stryker as a possible career choice. “They are on the cutting edge of medical device development, and truly care about helping other people. Stryker also emphasizes team work and collaboration, something I believe is essential to developing a successful product.”

Powdhar’s take away from the experience: “I learned to just try it. If it fails, figure out why, fix it or try something else. Ask ALL the questions no matter how dumb they sound. And don’t give up, as cliche as that sounds. We were vigilant and determined,” she says.

“And I’d like to add that Dr. Ong was great. We were very happy that he was with us and we would do it again with him if we could.”

Stryker Corporation, active in over 100 countries, is one of the world’s leading medical technology companies, offering products and services to help improve patient and hospital outcomes.

BME Robot — Michigan Tech’s 2nd place robot at the 7th Annual Stryker Engineering Challenge

BME Team — L to R: Michigan Tech’s all-BME team: Sterling Korstad, Peter Beach, Ana-Lisia Powdhar, advisor Keat Ghee Ong, and Zachary Vanderstelt

BME Stryker Second Place — The points board at the 7th Annual Stryker Engineering Challenge. Michigan Tech was proud to earn 2nd place.

BME Stryker Engineering Challenge — Testing the robot at the 7th Annual Stryker Engineering Challenge

Styker Engineering Challenge 2017 — Teams competing at the 7th Annual Stryker Engineering Challenge

Three Engineering Students Awarded NSF Graduate Research Fellows

Published April 12, 2017

Three students from Michigan Tech have received fellowships from the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF-GRFP), one of the oldest and most competitive programs in the nation. In addition, three students received Honorable Mention, in the prestigious program.

Rebekka Guyon, Mary Kate Mitchell and Roger Guillory II were named GRFP Fellows. Violet Thole, materials research, Kelci Mohrman, physics, and Breeanne Spalding, biomedical engineering, received honorable mention.

Mitchell is an undergraduate chemical engineering major from Plymouth, Michigan who will graduate this spring. Her research focuses on the water-energy nexus, specifically developing more energy efficient methods to remove boron during seawater desalination.

“Current reverse osmosis methods are energy intensive so it is valuable to explore alternative options,” says Mitchell who is appreciative of the prestigious distinction. “I am very grateful to receive this fellowship and want to thank my many mentors I’ve had, throughout my career in industry as well as Michigan Tech.” She says the GRFP will be an invaluable asset to her graduate school career.

Guillory is a biomedical engineering major from Houston, Texas, whose research focuses on evaluating degradable metals (zinc based) for cardiovascular-stent applications. He says the GRFP award is a validation of sorts for the research conducted at Michigan Tech.

“This fellowship proves to me that the work we do here in our labs, and at Michigan Tech have a considerable impact outside of our University and respective disciplines.”

Guyon is a geological engineering major from Detroit. Her research is focused on reducing dust emissions from mine tailings by utilizing bacteria already present within the tailings. Dust emissions impact human health, especially among the Native population where research indicates these dustings have doubled the risk of lung cancer and cause higher incidences of respiratory disease.

“I feel fortunate to receive this prestigious honor,” Guyon says. “Additionally, this is a significant recognition of the mentors, faculty and students that I have worked with over the past few years. Michigan Tech has a very strong intellectual community, so I’m fortunate to conduct my research here.”

Pushpalatha Murthy, dean of Michigan Tech’s Graduate School says, “Being a recipient of the Graduate Research Fellowship or Honorable Mention status in this very prestigious competition speaks to the high caliber of our students and the dedication they have for both intellectual pursuits and serving society. The NSF-GRFP is unique in that it emphasizes commitment to both intellectual inquiry and service to society and are looking to support individuals who have the potential to be high achieving scientists and engineers as well as have a broader impact on society. These awards are a well-deserved recognition of the superior accomplishments of our students and the quality and dedication of Michigan Tech faculty, staff and programs. Crafting a winning proposal is a lot of effort and I want to congratulate the students for their accomplishments and thank the dedication and passion of the faculty and staff who helped them. I look forward to great contributions for our students.”

THE NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students in NSF-supported science, technology, engineering and mathematics disciplines who are pursing research-based master’s and doctoral degrees at accredited US institutions.

By Mark Wilcox.

Tech Enterprise Wins ASME Award for Advances in Mechanical Engineering Education

Published April 5, 2017

The Michigan Tech Enterprise Program has been selected to receive the Donald N. Zweip Innovation in Education Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).

The award recognizes mechanical engineering/engineering technology and closely related programs/departments for exceptional and innovative engagement in and fostering advances in mechanical engineering education, particularly those who have demonstrated exemplary contributions to the advancement of mechanical and multi-disciplinary project-based engineering education.

Donald N. Zwiep, a pioneer and champion of project based learning in mechanical engineering, showed the value of real-world projects and collaborative learning as an exceptional pedagogy. A long-serving mechanical engineering department head at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and a dedicated ASME member and past president, he was uniquely positioned to strengthen the bonds between the Society and the engineering departments through outcomes based accreditation, project based learning, and engagement of both students and faculty in their professional society.

Michigan Tech’s Enterprise Program will receive their award during the Awards Luncheon on Wednesday, April 19, 2017. The ceremonies are part of the ASME Mechanical Engineering Education Leadership Summit, April 18-19 in Washington, DC.

The award includes a $2,000 Honorarium and Certificate to the program and travel support to the conference.

The Enterprise Program will give a 10-15 minute presentation during the awards luncheon.

Engineering Graduate Students Excel at ACS 2017 Student Research Symposium

Published March 29, 2017

Ameya Narkar received first prize for his poster presentation at the 2017 Upper Peninsula American Chemical Society Student Research Symposium, which was held Saturday, March 25, 2017, in Marquette.

The title of the poster was “Effect of Addition of Acrylic Acid (AAc) on the Wet Adhesion Properties of Mussel-inspired Hydrogels at Multiple pH Values.” Narkar is a PhD student working in the research lab of Bruce Lee.

Muxue Zhang, a graduate student in environmental engineering, was awarded third place at the symposium.

Zhang, a second-year master’s student, presented on her thesis work about predicting the reverse osmosis (RO) rejection of toxicologically relevant organics for direct potable reuse application in wastewater reclamation processes.

She works with Daisuke Minakata (CEE). Her work is part of a funded water reuse project looking at the intrinsic interactions between a wide variety of organics and RO membrane using computational chemistry tools.

The purpose of the event is to provide a venue for students to present their research in chemistry, chemical engineering and related fields. This symposium is an excellent opportunity for students, faculty and the community at large to learn about the interesting research being conducted in the UP. It was hosted by the ACS Upper Peninsula Local Section on the campus of Northern Michigan University.

Gerdau Steel Tour 2017

Published March 29, 2017

Steel Twenty-two Michigan Tech students returned from a three-day, all-expense-paid tour of Gerdau’s Long Steel North America facility in St. Paul, Minnesota yesterday. The trip was hosted by Career Services and made possible through a grant from the Association for Iron and Steel and Gerdau, a Michigan Tech corporate partner.

Gerdau is a leading supplier of long steel worldwide and the world’s largest automotive industry supplier. From process engineers to quality managers, Gerdau has a strong tradition of hiring Michigan Tech students for internships and full-time employment.

During the tour, students took a firsthand look at the steelmaking process and networked with Gerdau plant leadership and Michigan Tech alumni. Stacey Donnelly, experiential education and career development assistant in Career Services, accompanied the students on their trip.

Jessica Geroux, a mechanical engineering student, said,

The St. Paul Gerdau Mill graciously hosted us, sharing professional and personal insight from a panel of esteemed Tech alumni, while granting us an inside glimpse into the steel industry through an intensive, educational tour of the mill.

Story by Career Services.

2017 SURF Awards to Eight Engineering Undergraduates

Published March 28, 2017

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.

2017 Award Recipients in Engineering Programs

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

Engineering Students Participate in URS 2017

Published March 21, 2017

Winners Announced!

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.

READ THE ABSTRACTS

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

Engineering Students Perform Well at 2017 Graduate Research Colloquium

Published February 22, 2017

The 2017 Graduate Research Colloquium (GRC) was held on February 15-16 in the Memorial Union Ballroom. There were oral and poster presentation. The banquet was held on the evening of February 16.

VIEW THE PHOTO GALLERY

Following is a complete list of winners:

Oral Presentation Competition

1st Place: Kevin Sunderland, Department of Biomedical Engineering
2nd Place: Teresa Wilson, Department of Physics
3rd Place: Andrew Chapp, Department of Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology
Most Attended: Muraleekrishnan Menon, Department of Mechanical Engineering – Engineering Mechanics
Most Attended: Niranjan Miganakallu, Department of Mechanical Engineering – Engineering Mechanics

Poster Presentation Competition

1st Place: Matthew Kilgas, Department of Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology
2nd Place: Brian Page, Department of Mechanical Engineering – Engineering Mechanics
3rd Place: Zichen Qian, Department of Biomedical Engineering
People’s Choice: Mugdha Priyadarshini, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Graduate Student Service Awards

Gorkem Asilioglu, Department of Computer Science
Hossein Tavakoli, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering
Kate Glodowski, Department of Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology
Erin Pischke, Department of Social Sciences

The GRC is held each year by the Graduate Student Government at Michigan Tech.

New ideas, cutting edge research and innovative solutions coming from U.P.

HOUGHTON — New ideas, cutting edge research, innovative solutions. ABC 10’s Keweenaw Bureau Reporter Rick Allen has more on the latest research projects by Michigan Tech graduate students.

Underwater researchers will be interested in a less costly, more maneuverable glider that can be used in Lake Superior.

MTU Mechanical Engineering PhD Student Donna Fard said,

They are shallow–water gliders, meaning that we can use them in the lake. What we have so far, they’re all ocean–going gliders.

Category: Students