Michigan Technological University, in collaboration with professionals from NASA, the Naval Research Laboratory, and the Space Solar Power Institute, hosted a Space Solar Power (SSP) workshop to clarify the challenges facing SSP implementation. The workshop was held in conjunction with the IEEE International Conference on Wireless for Space and Extreme Environments at Baltimore, MD, November 7 – 9, 2013. Researchers from Industry and Academia of many countries including India, Japan, UK and USA participated in this event.
Stories about Electrical and Computer Engineering.
The General Motors Foundation has given Michigan Tech a $100,000 grant through its University Partner Program. The gift will support a variety of student activities, including the Advanced Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) and Advanced Motorsports Enterprises, environmental engineering senior design projects, student groups and diversity programs.
Ford Motor Company has donated a 2012 Focus all-electric vehicle to the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. The department is supplying the vehicle to the Hybrid Electric Vehicle Enterprise, providing students the opportunity to experience and work on state-of-the-art electric vehicle technology.
Students in the Research Experience for Undergraduates REU summer 2013 programpresented posters on research projects they have worked on over the summer. The project topics include: measurement of diesel emission particulate matter, experimental hybrid vehicle fuel system, lithium ion battery characterization and SOC measurement, hybrid vehicle dynamometer test stand development, heavy duty truck driving simulation, and measuring temperature variations in combustion vessels.
Demonstrations of the new Immersive Visualization Studio in EERC 510 were held on Feb 1. The new facility is part of the of the Paul & Susan Williams Center for Computer Systems Research directed by Professor Saeid Nooshabadi (ECE/CS). Displays of two current research projects were shown. The social event was cosponsored by the Departments of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Computer Science at Michigan Technological University. The facility can be used to analyze tremendous amount of data, study the fluid dynamics of Lake Superior, simulate volcanic eruptions, and look at weather patterns. One student opportunity: developing applications within the Husky Games Enterprise. Professor Saeid Nooshabadi directs this computing center. He envisions interdisciplinary teams addressing new problems, sharing camaraderie and a purpose, and engaging in a “cross-pollination” of ideas. His focus: “make it practical and useful.”
Tech Today Article by Travis Gendron, student writer
Two members of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) section at Michigan Tech, Kaitlyn Bunker and Alicia Walby, have been elected to regional and national positions within the organization.
Bunker, an electrical engineering PhD student, is the new collegiate director of SWE and sits on its national board of directors. The collegiate director is the only student who sits on the board, and Bunker is responsible for giving the collegiate members a voice. “I’ll be the first graduate student in the position in quite a while. I also come from a smaller, but really active section, so I can bring a new perspective,” she said.
Michigan Tech held its inaugural celebration of Ada Lovelace Day, an annual event held to recognize the accomplishments and contributions of women to the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics and to encourage young women to pursue careers in STEM fields.
Tech’s celebration involved a two-day series of events beginning on Tuesday, Oct. 16, in Fisher 139 as Professor Martha Sloan (ECE) and guest speakers Mary Long and Michelle Eggart discuss their experiences as women working in STEM fields.
On Wednesday, Oct. 17, from 8 to 10 p.m., in Fisher 135 there was a film screening of “The Gender Chip Project” followed by a panel discussion featuring female faculty and graduate students from departments across campus, including Sarah Green, Nina Mahmoudian, Laura Brown, Patty Sotirin and Kaitlyn Bunker, who discussed their experiences as women in STEM disciplines of academia.
More than 50 Senior Design and two dozen Enterprise teams converged on the Memorial Union Thursday, and their projects were as impressive as they were varied.
The Union filled up early as crowds, judges, media and local school children checked out the inventive creativity on display.
Photos and a list of winners can be viewed at the www.expo.mtu.edu website