College of Engineering Blog

Volunteers Needed for KSEF

Published July 27, 2016

The second annual Keweenaw Science and Engineering Festival (KSEF) is Aug. 3-6, and we need your help to make it another success.

Volunteers are needed for various tasks over several days and all help is appreciated whether it is two hours or three days. Help us in our mission to spark a local interest in STEM by presenting the most compelling, exciting and educational festival in the Upper Peninsula.

Details for each event’s needs are listed below and lunch will be provided for volunteers. Visit us online for a complete schedule of events.

Thursday, August 4

A total of 20 volunteers are needed for Family Engineering Day, 10:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. The event runs from noon to 3 p.m., at Houghton’s Kestner Waterfront Park and lunch is provided.

Volunteers are asked to contact Joan Chadde at jchadde@mtu.edu if they want to assist (provide: Name, Major, Email, Cell number, and whether you’ve presented before).

Science360: To Purify a Virus

Published July 26, 2016

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NSF CAREER award winner Caryn Heldt studies technologies used to remove viruses as well as cleaning up vaccines. A Michigan Tech Unscripted story animation on the role of osmolytes in cells is featured in Science360. The Unscripted article, To Purify a Virus, features an interview with Heldt by story author Allison Mills and a captured live Twitter chat via Storify.

Learn more about Heldt’s research in Caryn Heldt Receives CAREER Award for Her Virus Removal Work, Michigan Tech News, by Allison Mills.

Minerick Gives Invited Keynote Address

Published July 20, 2016

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Adrienne Minerick gave an invited keynote address at Dielectrophoresis 2016 held on the MIT campus July 13-15. The talk featured work from PhD Candidate Sanaz Habibi, Hector Moncada-Hernandez and Ran An.

From Tech Today.

Lake Superior Day 2016

Published July 20, 2016

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Celebrate the beauty and bounty of Lake Superior from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, July 24, 2016. Copper Harbor community volunteers, along with the Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative, are organizing the fourth annual Lake Superior Day Festival with lots of special activities at the 6th Street Dock along the Copper Harbor Boardwalk (near Isle Royale Queen boat dock).

The Agassiz will depart every 45 minutes from the Isle Royale Queen dock beginning at noon. Space is limited to 17 persons per excursion. Participants must be at least seven years old and children must be accompanied by an adult. All participants should wear closed-toe shoes. Interested participants may pre-register by calling 7-3341 or email Lloyd Wescoat at lwescoat@mtu.edu. Space will be available for on-site participants. For more information about the event contact lead organizer, Don Kilpela, Captain of the Isle Royale Queen, at 289-4735.

Michigan Tech Wins Awards for Diversity Efforts in Engineering Education

Published July 14, 2016

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Michigan 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.”

Design a Sustainable Future Teacher Institute

Published July 14, 2016

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A total of eight elementary, middle and high school teachers from the UP, across Michigan and even one from Puerto Rico, are in Houghton this week to attend a five-day teacher institute on designing a sustainable future.

Topics range from building design, energy sources, transportation, vehicle design, food systems, product lifecycle and forest biomaterials.

Presenters include Michigan Tech faculty, community experts and educators. Teachers are participating in many hands-on activities including field trips to the Keweenaw Research Center, Low-impact development lab, sustainable buildings, examination of renewable energy systems including solar, wind and low-head Hydro and a community-supported agriculture farm near Greenland.

The Program is funded with a grant from Michigan Tech Sustainable Futures Institute and coordinated by the Michigan Tech Center for Science and Environmental Outreach at the Great Lakes Research Center.

For more information, contact Joan Chadde at 369-1121 or by email.

From Tech Today, by Joan Chadde.

Michigan Tech Student Builds Tiny House

Published July 13, 2016

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Michigan Tech student, Emma Hitch, cares about the environment.

Emma’s mother, Betsey Bradley states, “I know her big issue is sustainability, being an environmental engineering student, so she wants to have a small carbon footprint.”

The incoming junior is spending the summer building a tiny home.

Carnegie Museum to Host Guided Tours

Published July 12, 2016

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Four Michigan Tech Professors will act as guides during three upcoming guided tours highlighting the history of the Keweenaw.

The tours are sponsored by Houghton’s Carnegie Museum, and begin with a wine and cheese social at the museum at 5 p.m. Following the social, participants will board the Red Jacket Trolley Company’s bus for a two-hour trip through time.

The first guided tour “Torch Lake Mining Waste,” is tomorrow (July 13). Geologists Bill Rose (GMES) and Erika Vye are the guides through a tour along the industrial corridor associated with milling of Quincy and Calumet mines along Torch Lake’s western shore. The tour takes a look at areas from Mason to Tamarack City, Hubbell and Lake Linden, viewing mill sites and stampsand areas while discussing the modern implications and environmental mitigation efforts.

Upcoming tours will explore “Trials and Trails of Huron Creek,” with Alex Mayer (CEE) and Carol MacLennan (SS), Wednesday Aug. 3 and “Hockey Arenas of the Copper Country,” with Bill Sproule (CEE), Thursday Sept. 8.

All tours begin with the social at 5 p.m. with the tours to follow at 5:30 p.m. and are expected to last two hours. The cost is $25 ($20 for museum members). Reservations are recommended and your seat is not guaranteed until payment is made.

Check out the museum’s Facebook page.

From Tech Today.

Agassiz Excursions at Strawberry Festival

Published July 6, 2016

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“How do scientists assess the health of Lake Superior” is the focus of free scientific excursions that will be offered at the Strawberry Festival from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, July 9, 2016, departing from the Chassell marina.

The public is invited to sign up for free 30-minute scientific excursions aboard Michigan Tech’s research vessel Agassiz by calling the Michigan Tech Center for Science and Environmental Outreach at 7-3341 or coming to the Chassell Marina dock on Saturday from 12:30 to 4 p.m. Spaces go quickly. Half of available spaces will be saved for onsite participants.

On each scientific excursion, Marcel Dijkstra, a Michigan Tech Great Lakes scientist, will demonstrate the use of sampling equipment to collect data on water clarity, temperature and turbidity that tells us about the health of the lake—Chassell Bay. Participants will explore the link between land uses and the health of the Great Lakes.

Adrienne Minerick is the Assistant to the Provost for Faculty Development

Published June 28, 2016

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New Model Designed to Promote Collaboration and Communications

In recognition of the University-wide efforts that some of our academic administrators are undertaking, the Vice Presidents for Academic Affairs and Research are testing out a new model intended to promote improved collaboration and communication on campus.

For the 2016-17 academic year, Jason Carter (KIP) will continue to serve as Chair of the Department of Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology while also serving as assistant to the Vice President for Research for Research Development.

In addition, Adrienne Minerick will continue in her position as Associate Dean for Research and Innovation in the College of Engineering and will also serve as Assistant to the Provost for Faculty Development.