College of Engineering Blog

The Society of Automotive Engineers International has honored Rick Berkey, industry projects manager for the Institute for Leadership and Innovation, with the 2014 Faculty Advisor Award. Berkey is the faculty advisor for the Supermileage Systems Enterprise.

“This is a significant honor for Rick, which recognizes his success as an advisor for the SAE Supermileage team and as a mentor for our students,” said ME-EM Department Chair Bill Predebon. “Rick utilizes his strong industry experience in teaching and mentoring his students.”  

Students from the Michigan Tech National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) visited seven middle and high schools in Detroit over their Spring Break, March 11-14, 2014, to promote college and engineering to K-12 students. In the evenings, they conducted Family Engineering Night events at three K-8 schools. NSBE’s Alternative Spring Break is conducted in collaboration with the Detroit Public Schools Office of Science and the Detroit Math & Science Center, and funded in part, with a grant from John Deere.  

The Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics Department is
a partner with the Keweenaw Research Center for the SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge held at Michigan Tech.  

Railroad Night offered a relaxed dine-with-industry setting for faculty, students, industry, administration and community to meet each other and to learn more about railroads and the railroad industry. The event included hors d’oeuvres , cash bar, door prizes, and more. This event continues to draw in record numbers of participants with each year with over 165 this year. The Keynote Speaker was Lisa Stabler, President of the Transportation Technology Center Inc., Pueblo, Colorado.  

The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) section at Michigan Tech hosted the 2014 Region H SWE Conference on Michigan Tech’s campus Feb. 14 to 16. There were approximately 700 in attendance.
The conference drew members from nine Midwestern states. Three quarters of registered attendees are collegiate section members, with the rest coming from professional sections.
The c onference activities included: A networking lunch with industry professionals, a Career Fair with companies looking to recruit female employees, and a keynote speech by Patricia K Poppe, the vice president of customer experience and operations for Consumers Energy and a banquet speech by Martha Sullivan, the president and CEO of Sensata Technologies.

Photo Gallery of Events at the Society of Women Engineers Conference at Michigan Tech

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 (Eweek) 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 engineer in the US. Each year the national celebration grows, and this year Michigan Tech will jump head first into Eweek with a dozen different engineering events on campus for all to enjoy.