College of Engineering Blog

Tour of Sustainability House

Published April 24, 2019

This 5,000 square foot residence was home to former Michigan Tech University presidents. But now, students have turned it into a new sustainability demonstration house.

“You know we have to care about our environment, we have to care about our future and just like you plan to put money into a retirement account, you should plan to live sustainably so that you can account for the future,” said Meghan Schultz, the house’s residential advisor.

Sustainable Living: Tech students show ecological responsibility

House residents and members of the SDH enterprise team will be at the SDH to explain how to implement sustainable practices in any home and explain projects like the new plastic recycling project. Plastic refuse is going to be collected and reshaped into useful items. The first thing on the list is house numbers.

“Right now the house doesn’t have any,” Warren Krettek said.

Krettek is a graduating Michigan Tech student who has been leading the enterprise team as their project manager. The team designs and implements projects around the house like resource tracking, aquaponics and composting.

Meghan Schultz is a third-year geological engineering major.

Warren Krettek is a senior with a dual electrical and computer engineering major.

2019 Student Leadership Award Recipients

Published April 23, 2019

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Andrew Baker '11 '14 — Andrew Baker ’11 ’14

Outstanding students, staff, and a special alumni were honored April 19, 2019, for Michigan Tech’s 25th Annual Student Leadership Awards Ceremony.

Keynote speaker Andrew H. Baker ’11 ’14 (MS, PhD MSE), won the Outstanding Young Alumni Award. He is currently working for Boeing Company and active in his professional organization The Minerals, Metals, & Materials Society.

Congratulations to all of the 2019 winners:

President’s Award for Leadership: Jack Hendrick
Dean of Students Award for Service: Elise Cheney-Makens
Exceptional Leadership in Student Governance Award: Apurva Baruah
Exceptional Enthusiasm as Student Leader Award: Ben Metzger
Student Employee of the Year: Jessika Rogers
Rising Star of the Year: Logan Alger.
Outstanding Future Alumni: Magann Dykema
Exceptional Program of the Year: Economics Club’s 2018 KHOB Economic Outlook
Most Improved Student Organization: Alpha Psi Omega Theatre Honor Society
Exceptional Community Service Project: Elise Cheney-Makens, Science Fair Mentoring Program
Claire M. Donovan Award: Joel Isaacson
Student Organization of the Year: Inter-Residence Housing Council
Percy Julian Award: Ron Kyllonen
Student Organization Advisors of the Year: James DeClerck, Delta Upsilon and Jean DeClerck, Alpha Sigma Tau
The Provost’s Award for Scholarship: Tessa Steenwinkel, Biological Sciences
Exceptional Graduate Student Leader: Karina Eyre, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Exceptional Graduate Student Scholar: Miles Penhale, ME-EM
Exceptional Graduate Mentor: Melissa F. Baird, Social Sciences
Exceptional Staff Member: Brittany Buschell, Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences
Sorority Woman of the Year – Greta Colford, Alpha Gamma Delta
Fraternity Man of the Year – Trevor Peffley, Sigma Rho
Sorority of the Year – Alpha Gamma Delta
Fraternity of the Year – Phi Kappa Tau

By Student Activities.

View the Medallion Ceremony Photo Gallery

2019 Research Excellence Fund Recipients in Engineering

Published April 23, 2019

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Congratulations to the 2019 Research Excellence Fund recipients. Awards are given by the Vice President for Research Office in various categories, with the following recipients awarded in the College of Engineering.
Total Organic Carbon Analyzer

Infrastructure Enhancement (IE) Grant

Paul Fraley (MSE/IMP) – Induction Power Supply Replacement for Melt Spinner
Cory McDonald (CEE/GLRC) – Acquisition of a Shimadzu TOC-LCPH
Stephen Kampe (MSE) – Moisture and Oxygen Analyzers for Inert Atmosphere Glove Boxes

Research Seed (RS) Grants

Lei Pan (Chem Eng)

Portage Health Foundation (PHF) Research Seed (RS) Grants

Smitha Rao (Biomed)

Portage Health Foundation (PHF) Mid-Career (MC)

Jingfeng Jiang (Biomed)

A big thanks to the volunteer review committees, the deans, and department chairs for their time spent on this important internal research award process.

Deans’ Teaching Showcase: Tim Schulz

Published April 23, 2019

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College of Engineering Dean Janet Callahan has selected Tim Schulz (ECE) as the final member of the 2019 Deans’ Teaching Showcase. As a teacher he is widely acknowledged as one of the ECE departments best, with his friendly, humorous style and his devotion to his students’ learning. But Schulz’s selection here is, according to Associate Dean Leonard Bohmann for his “leadership in using technology to deliver technical material in electrical and computer engineering.”

Starting in 2012, Schulz created a series of 10 to 15 minute videos collectively titled “Electric Circuits” and posted them on YouTube. Though he created them with his EE2111 (Electric Circuits 1) class in mind, they are reaching a much wider audience. In fact, one titled “Introduction to Thevenin Equivalent Circuits” has gotten more than 152,000 views.

Since that time, Schulz has also developed a phone app of randomized electric circuit problems to use in this course. He develops these aids so students can develop a mastery of the course material. As one student noted, “The videos and the infinite practice problems were the most helpful. As much as I hate to say this, the quizzes were also helpful.”

In his courses, Schulz develops from scratch his own interactive web-based approach to homework sets and quizzes, taking full advantage of the capabilities of Canvas and writing his own scripts for generating homework problems with randomized parameters. His colleagues recognize this, and some have adopted Schulz’s materials when they teach the same classes.

Most recently, Schulz has taken the lead in developing new courses for the online MSEE program with a focus on communications and signal processing, in partnership with Keypath Education, Inc. He developed and is teaching for the second time, EE5300, Mathematical and Computational Methods in Engineering, which is the entry point into the program.

His course engages students through a series of interactive MATLAB computational exercises which meet modern standards for online course delivery and are breaking new ground for the ECE Department.

Students find this approach to be very helpful. One said, “The canvas structure paired with the lecture truly was a great combination. The prep work must have been substantial but was well worth it.”

Another provides even broader praise of both Schulz and the course by saying, “The course is excellent and engaging. Overall, I think this class is a must for any student wishing to have a solid starting foundation in graduate studies in engineering. Dr. Schulz is an outstanding professor with extensive research and professional experience and I would totally recommend students to take this class.”

Schulz is currently developing the third course for the online MSEE program, EE5500 Probability and Stochastic Processes, which will be taught for the first time this summer. He agrees that developing an online course is much more rigorous then teaching face-to-face, saying “You need to do more planning of how to approach a topic. You don’t have the ease of correcting an approach (or even an equation) in real time, so it is a much more deliberate process.”

However, this higher level of rigor is a challenge he enjoys; he’s already signed on to develop his next course, EE5521 Detection and Estimation Theory, which will be offered online for the first time sometime in 2020-2021 academic year.

Callahan emphasizes that it’s really about the technology enabling better learning. In her words, “Tim Schulz’s effective use of technology shows that student learning and satisfaction can both increase with the use of modern tools.”

Schulz will be recognized at an end-of-term luncheon with other showcase members and is now elgible for one of three new teaching awards to be given by the William G. Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning this summer recognizing introductory or large class teaching, innovative or outside the classroom teaching methods, or work in curriculum and assessment.

By Michael R. Meyer, Director William G. Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning.

Three Students Awarded NSF Graduate Research Fellowships

Published April 23, 2019

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

Rose Turner, Gabriela Shirkey and Helena Keller were named GRFP Fellows while Katelyn Kring received Honorable Mention.

Turner, from Berkley, Michigan, graduated from Michigan Tech in December with a bachelor’s in environmental engineering. She was the student speaker for Fall Commencement and is planning to pursue graduate studies in Environmental Engineering here at Michigan Tech

Kring graduated from Michigan Tech in December and is continuing as a first-year master’s student in Tech’s Department of Geological Sciences and Engineering.

Shirkey, from Manitou Beach, Michigan, graduated from Michigan Tech in the Fall of 2013 in scientific and technical communications and is currently studying geography at Michigan State University.

Keller, from Elk River Minnesota, graduated from Tech in Spring 2014 with a degree in Chemistry. She is currently studying macromolecular, supramolecular and nanochemistry at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

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

By the Graduate School.

Michigan Tech Design Expo Award Winners for 2019

Published April 23, 2019

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More than 1,000 students in Enterprise and Senior Design showcased their work last Thursday, April 18 at Design Expo and competed for awards. A panel of judges, made up of distinguished corporate representatives, community members and Michigan Tech staff and faculty, critiqued the projects. The College of Engineering and the Pavlis Honors College are pleased to announce the following winners:

Gypsum Water Extraction team members — Gypsum Water Extraction from the ME-EM department took first place for Senior Design in the 2019 Expo.

Senior Design Awards (based on poster/video)

1^st place: ME-EM – Gypsum Water Extraction

2^nd place: ME-EM – Assembly Cell Changeover

3^rd place: MSE – Gerdau Inclusion Solidification Prevention

Senior Design Honorable Mention

ME-EM – FCA Advanced Hood Architecture – Structural and Attachment Team

MSE – Cobalt Reduction in Tribaloy T-400

BME – Transcatheter Single Ventricle Device

Aerospace Enterprise team members — Aerospace placed first for Enterprise based on their poster and presentation scores.

Enterprise Awards (based on poster and presentation)

1^st place: Aerospace Enterprise

2^nd place: Alternative Energy Enterprise

3^rd place: General and Expedition Adventure Research (GEAR)

Enterprise Honorable Mention

Innovative Global Solutions

Consumer Product Manufacturing

Blue Marble Security

Innovation Center for Entrepreneurship Innovation Award

1st place: Alternative Energy Enterprise for Renewable Energy Mission Module (REMM)

2nd place: Universal Driver Gear Train (BME)

3rd place: Transcatheter Single Ventricle Device (BME)

Design Expo Image Contest Winners

1st place: Blizzard Baja

Blizzard Baja's Comp Car, "Hornet" jumps over dirt track on the Tech Trails — Meet our 2019 Comp Car “Hornet”

2nd place: Full Flexion Knee

3D scan of tibial insert on a computer screen, with the actual tibial insert set in front of the screen in a vise, while being scanned — 3D Scanning of Tibial Insert

Honorable Mention: Cin/Optic Communication and Media

Enterprise Award Winners

Student Awards:

Outstanding Leadership: Oliver Schihl, Advanced Metalworks Enterprise

Rookie Award: Troy Maust, Aerospace Enterprise

Innovative Solutions: Paul Kamps, Alternative Energy Enterprise

Industry/Sponsor Relations: Romana Carden, Aerospace Enterprise

Faculty/Staff/Sponsor Awards:

Outstanding Enterprise Advisor: Jay Meldrum, Alternative Energy Enterprise

Behind the Scenes: Dr. Jennifer Becker, Civil and Environmental Engineering

Congratulations and thanks to ALL teams for a very successful Design Expo 2019!

The Earth Needs You!

Published April 22, 2019

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News

Whales and birds — Partnering with NOAA, a Michigan Tech biomedical engineering senior design team advised by Dr. Rupak Rajachar developed a telemetry tag for tracking humpback whales in the Gulf of Maine. The tag enters only into a whale’s blubber layer and releases an adhesive hydrogel to help it stay in with less injury and infection.

Save Lives—and the Life of our Planet—as an Engineer
Today, on Earth Day 2019, I am keenly aware how much the Earth needs engineers. All around the world, people with a wide range of expertise are coming together to address pollution and climate change, to help mend the web of life. Engineers are essential members of those teams. The Earth needs engineers to help solve complex problems that ensure access to clean air and water, food, energy, shelter, health care, mobility, and protection from natural hazards.

Learn by doing at Michigan Tech
Through hands-on experiences in the classroom, the lab, in the field, and abroad, engineering students at Michigan Tech begin to contribute solutions to the world’s increasingly complex problems just as soon as they arrive on campus, in their first year.

Last week was Design Expo at Michigan Tech, an annual event here on campus where student inventors, innovators and entrepreneurs put their life-improving projects before judges and the public. More than 100 real-world undergraduate student projects were on display, presented by teams taking part in either Enterprise or Senior Design programs. As I toured around the event, talking with student teams, I was grateful for their efforts and all the heart and soul they invest in their work. Many of these students are preparing to graduate and are eager to share their ideas with the world.

Group of students — Green Campus Enterprise at Michigan Tech

Sustainability-oriented Engineering
There’s a lot of leading edge, ground-breaking, sustainability-oriented engineering going on at Michigan Tech. I’d like to share with you a small sample of what students are doing to make a difference in the life of our planet. If you are interested in sustainability, and are a creative problem solver, read on.

Students of the Alternative Energy Enterprise are working on a Renewable Energy Mission Module (REMM) donated by Oshkosh Corporation, converting it from military to civilian use. It’s a transportable source of renewable energy fitted with a folding blade wind turbine, a folding solar panel array, a rechargeable battery pack, an integrated generator, and even a microbial fuel cell that uses microbes to breakdown wastewater and release electrons.

Humane Interface Design Enterprise is developing an easy, do-it-yourself temperature and climate sensor that can be used to track microclimates around the world—along with a website to upload and log the data.

Consumer Products Manufacturing Enterprise is working with General Motors to investigate waste disposal of its auto paint sludge. CPM also works Kohler to research and develop resin recycling techniques, as well as new products that can be derived from resin waste streams.

Supermileage Systems Enterprise builds a single-seat, high-efficiency vehicle, and then competes in either the SAE Collegiate Design Series or the Shell Eco-marathon. Current fuel economy: 425 mpg. Goal: 1,000 mpg.

Green Campus Enterprise annually measures and works to reduce the carbon footprint of Michigan Tech. Right now the team is conducting feasibility studies and design work on tiny home communities for student housing, and wind turbines atop Mont Ripley, Michigan Tech’s downhill ski area.

Clean Snowmobile Enterprise works to reduce snowmobile emissions and noise, while increasing fuel economy and maintaining an enjoyable riding experience.

Students outside with their vehicle — Michigan Tech’s Supermileage Systems Enterprise, at SAE International’s Collegiate Design Supermileage Competition in Marshall, Michigan.

To help track endangered whales, one senior design team developed a blubber-only implantable tag for NOAA, to increase retention and minimize tissue damage for use in conservation efforts.

Working with sponsor Winsert, another senior design team discovered ways to reduce the use of cobalt in metal alloys used to produce combustion engine valve seats. Cobalt is an expensive element with a rapidly fluctuating price due to political instability in the primary supplier country, the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Yet another senior design team designed a fuel economy impact software tool for sponsor MacLean-Fogg. The software instantaneously evaluates how the mass of a vehicle will impact fuel economy and energy usage. While the initial project scope focused on the additional mass of lug nuts, the program calculates the effects of various additional masses, stationary or rotating.

DTE Energy needed a way to inspect electrostatic precipitators (ESPs), which remove ash particulates from flue gasses. One senior design team invented a camera-equipped crawling robot able to identify the broken electrodes that reduce ESP efficiency.

Micrograph with micron scale marker — Microstructure of arc melted Tribaloy T-400, a cobalt-based alloy.

A Bit More about Enterprise and Senior Design
Michigan Tech’s Enterprise Program is open to all majors. First year through graduate-level student teams develop products, processes, and services within their market space. Faculty advisors coach and guide, while industry sponsors serve both as clients and mentors. Students can choose among 24 existing Enterprise teams, or start up one of their own.

Senior Design at Michigan Tech challenges teams of highly dedicated senior-level engineering students to explore and address real-world design challenges in their final year. Teams work with an industry sponsor, following the complete design process from ideation to realization. It’s more like a first job than a last class.

Now, if sustainability is your passion, and you want to know more, please let me know—Callahan@mtu.edu

Janet Callahan, Dean
College of Engineering
Michigan Tech

Design Expo 2019 Photo Gallery

Support for MiSTEM Advisory Council

Published April 18, 2019

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MiSTEM Networks in the UP colored map — MiSTEM Networks in the UP, Michigan Department of Technology, Management and Budget

Jacqueline Huntoon, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, is the principal investigator on a project that has received a $385,136 grant from the State of Michigan, Department of Education.

Christopher Wojick (CEE), Stephanie Tubman (Provost Office), Douglas Oppliger (EF) and Amanda Gonczi (GLRC) are Co-PIs on the project “2018-19 MiSTEM Advisory Council Grant.”

This is a one-year project.

By Sponsored Programs.

Tau Beta Pi Honor Society initiates 20 new members

Published April 9, 2019

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Michigan Tech Tau Beta Pi Spring 2019 Initiates

Tau Beta Pi initiated eighteen students and two eminent engineers into the Michigan Tech Michigan Beta chapter this semester.

A nationally-recognized engineering honor society, Tau Beta Pi is the only one that recognizes all engineering professions. Members are selected from the top eighth of their junior class, top fifth of their senior class, or the top fifth of graduate students who have completed 50 percent of their coursework.

Tau Beta Pi celebrates those who have distinguished scholarship and exemplary character and members strive to maintain integrity and excellence in engineering. The honor is nationally recognized in both academic and professional settings. Alumni embody the principle of TBP: “Integrity and Excellence in Engineering.”

Spring 2019 Initiates:

Undergraduate Students

David Castelvetere: Mechanical Engineering

Laura De Marchi: Biomedical Engineering

Lucas Determan: Computer Engineering

Brooke Forseth: Civil Engineering

Dakota Frohriep: Electrical Engineering

Zachrey Gogulski: Environmental Engineering

Ben Johnson: Mechanical Engineering

Sean Luke: Mechanical Engineering

Nate Marus: Biomedical Engineering

Josh Poquette: Electrical Engineering

Cameron Reid: Chemical Engineering

Erican Santiago: Biomedical Engineering

Christian Walters: Mechanical Engineering

Jason Whitler: Mechanical Engineering

Derek Willis: Mechanical Engineering

Bronson Wood: Chemical Engineering

Graduate Students

Chaitanya Bhat: Civil and Environmental Engineering

Li Wei: Electrical Engineering

Eminent Engineers

Sean Kirkpatrick: Biomedical Engineering

Faith Morrison: Chemical Engineering

ASTM Award for Glass Strength Researcher Stephen Morse

Published April 9, 2019

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Stephen Morse ASTM Award 2019 — Stephen Morse (left) accepts the ASTM Award.

Stephen Morse was awarded an American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) International Committee Award of Appreciation for his outstanding contributions to the Standard Practice for Determining Load Resistance of Glass in Buildings (E1300) and the Subcommittee (E06.52) on Glass Use in Buildings.

He was recognized for his work on greatly improved design methodologies for architectural window glass.

Morse holds a joint appointment as an assistant professor in the Departments of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics and Civil and Environmental Engineering.