Michigan Tech students Handy Chandra (ECE), Spencer Allen (ECE), Shane Oberloier (ECE), Nupur Bihari (MSE/ECE) and alumnus Jephias Gwamuri (MSE) co-authored a paper with Joshua Pearce (MSE/ECE), “Open-Source Automated Mapping Four-Point Probe” in the journal “Materials.”
Stories about Materials Science and Engineering.
Lawrence Sutter (MSE/IMP) is the principal investigator on a project that has received a $55,120 research and development contract with the Michigan Department of Transportation.
Zhanping You (CEE) is the Co-PI on the project, “2017 Transportation Materials Research Center.”
This is a 10-month project.
By Sponsored Programs.
TechTalks 2016
Michigan Tech Research Forum
Faculty Research on Speed Dial
VIEW THE PHOTO ALBUM
The Michigan Tech Research Forum is a new University presentation series showcasing the work of Michigan Tech faculty, postdocs, and researchers.
On Thursday, November 10, 2016, several researchers gave two minute presentations for the inaugural TechTalks session of the Michigan Tech Research Forum. Five of the 13 researchers presented work from engineering disciplines:
- Andrew Barnard– Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics: “Solid State Sound—A Hot Topic”
- Paul Sanders– Materials Science and Engineering: “Rapid Metal Design”
- Kazuya Tajiri– Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics: “Two-Phase Transport in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells”
- Hector Moncada-Hernandez- Biomedical Engineering: “Point-of-Care Microfluidic Device for Blood Typing”
- Ye Sarah Sun– Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics: “Wearable Electronics, Human-Centered Monitoring”
Michigan Tech Research Forum events are presented by the Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs in coordination with the Office of the Vice President of Research.
Additional TechTalks sessions are coming up in Spring 2017. Interested in nominating yourself or others? Use this online form.
Browse the Twitter conversations in “TechTalks 2016: Take One,” by Allison Mills.
On Thursday, December 1, 2016, the second set of presentations included the following from engineering research faculty:
Jeff Naber
Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
APS LABS (Advanced Power Systems Research Center)
Michael Mullins
Department of Chemical Engineering
Electrospun Nanofibers as Neural Guidance Scaffolds
Feng Zhao
Department of Biomedical Engineering
Stem Cell and Tissue Engineering Research
Chad Deering
Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences
Ignimbrites to Batholiths
Darrell Robinette
Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
Gearing for Future Connectivity
Trisha Sain
Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
Mechanics of Soft Polymers
Browse the Twitter conversations in “TechTalks 2016: Take Two,” by Allison Mills.
WE16 is the world’s largest conference and career fair for women in engineering and technology, with more than 9,000 women at all stages of their engineering careers.
Participants
Michigan Tech’s Society of Women Engineers Collegiate Section has historically been very active at the National Conference. At this year’s WE16, it was no different. The students who traveled with us were:
- Leah Bectel, Environmental Engineering
- Mackenzie Brunet, SWE Section First-Year Student Travel Grant Recipient, Mechanical Engineering
- Romana Carden, Environmental Engineering
- Erica Coscarelli, Environmental Engineering
- Hannah Cunningham, Biomedical Engineering
- Jocelyne Denhof, Mechanical Engineering
- Jessica Geroux, Mechanical Engineering
- Carly Gloudemans, Environmental Engineering
- Akhila Reddy Gorantla, Materials Engineering
- Madison Mroczynski, Civil Engineering
- Stephanie Peterson, Environmental Engineering
- Laura Schimmel, Mechanical Engineering
- Lauren Sandy, Biomedical Engineering
- Karsyn Van Laanen, Chemical Engineering
- Lily Williams, Mechanical Engineering
- Baileigh Zimmerman, Chemical Engineering
Collegiate Section
Advisers Gretchen Hein and Beth Hoy also travelled with the group. The section received the Silver Collegiate Section Award, which is based on the section’s involvement in SWE.
Team Tech Competition
Michigan Tech and Caterpillar Inc. were both rookies in the SWE Team Tech competition, a design contest sponsored by Boeing which was launched in 1992 as a way to emphasize the key role of teamwork and industry interface in the engineering educational process. An innovative approach to an interesting engineering problem proved to be a successful partnership when the team won first place at WE16, the world’s largest conference for women in engineering and technology. The winning project is entitled “Wheel Tractor Scraper Bowl Optimization System.”
Team Tech calls for collegiate teams of 4-12 members from at least three different engineering disciplines to work with an industry partner in order to solve an engineering design problem. The team submitted progress reports and design documents to Boeing, ultimately qualifying them to present at the SWE annual conference held on Friday, October 28, 2016, in Philadelphia.
Michigan Tech’s team partnered with Caterpillar Inc. to create a solution to the issue of inefficient filling on Caterpillar’s wheel tractor scraper (WTS) machines. To solve this engineering challenge, the team conceived, designed, prototyped, and tested an ultrasonic sensing system that can accurately determine the height of dirt within the WTS bowl. The team also conceived a method to relay that information to the operator, along with a video feed looking into the bowl. Perhaps most importantly, the team designed and developed a scale-model test rig that provides proof of concept of the system without costly on-machine testing.
During the competition, 11 teams presented their design ideas to the judges, and results were announced at Celebrate SWE, a dinner event on Saturday night of the conference. Third place was awarded to University of Wisconsin- Madison working with Xymox Technologies, Inc., and second place was awarded to California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo working with St. Jude Medical.
The Team Tech team was composed of members from two different Enterprise programs within the Pavlis Honors College—Blue Marble Security and Consumer Product Manufacturing. The advisors were Dr. Archer (Electrical & Computer Engineering) & Dr. Rogers (Chemical Engineering). The student team members submitting the final proposal were: Team leader Ester Buhl, Electrical Engineering, Brianne Anderson, Mechanical Engineering, Derek Chopp, Electrical & Computer Engineering, Sandra Cvetanovic, Electrical Engineering, Alexis Dani, Computer Engineering, Jennifer Dzurka, Mechanical Engineering, Anna Marchesano, Chemical Engineering, and Jonathan Quinn, Mechanical Engineering.
Buhl, Marchesano, and Chopp represented the team at the competition. Caterpillar engineers and Michigan Tech alums Brent Woodard (’11 BSME) and Britta Jost (’02 BS Mathematics, ’04 MSME) mentored the team and provided technical advice.
Collegiate Leadership Institute
Three students, Stephanie Peterson, Romana Carden, and Jocelyne Denhof participated in the Collegiate Leadership Institute (CLI). The program’s overall goal is to prepare women engineering and technology students to gain employment within the engineering sector and become leaders in their field. CLI attendees are provided resources to jumpstart their professional development, broaden their networking opportunities, and help facilitate their eventual transition into the workforce. Stephanie found that:
I really liked the variety of topics that were covered which ranged from networking to managing money. As somebody who is looking for a full-time job, I feel like I was able to obtain a lot of great advice that will help me to both land a job and build meaningful professional relationships.
Academic Leadership for Women in Engineering
Renee Oats, PhD student in Civil Engineering, and Tayloria Adams, PhD in Chemical Engineering, Michigan Tech, 2014, participated in Academic Leadership for Women in Engineering (ALWE) Program. This NSF funded program is designed to provide best practices to advance in academia while creating opportunities and mechanisms to network across institutions.
Graduate Student Poster Competition
Renee Oats and Patricia Thompson, Michigan Tech Civil Engineering alumna, were selected to participate in the WE16 annual graduate student poster competition. The poster competition was organized by Kaitlyn Bunker, PhD Electrical Engineering 2014 from Michigan Tech.
eCYBERMISSION Presentations
Gretchen Hein, Engineering Fundamentals, presented on two topics: “eCYBERMISSION: A Great Way to Explore Science and Engineering”, and “How do Faculty Ensure Student Competency at Course Completion?”. The first presentation was done with Erin Lester, eCYBERMISSION Volunteer Manager, and Siona Beaudoin, Lake Linden-Hubbell eighth grader and eCYBERMISSION participant. The second presentation was on work completed in the first-year engineering program with Mary Fraley, Amber Kemppainen, and AJ Hamlin. Gretchen is currently the Women in Academia Chair for SWE.
Invent It. Build It.
Invent It. Build It. is an annual SWE conference activity for middle and high school girls. The purpose is to introduce girls and their families to the field of engineering. This year a record number of more than 1200 girls participated, including Siona. Hannah Cunningham volunteered at the day-long event.
Outstanding Collegiate Member
Tech alumna Liz Dreyer (BS Electrical Engineering, Michigan Tech, 2012) was awarded the Outstanding Collegiate Member award by the Society of Women Engineers on Saturday, October 29. Each year, the Society honors ten collegiate members who have made an outstanding contribution to SWE, the engineering community, and their campus. Dreyer was cited specifically
For leadership and innovative efforts to grow SWE’s presence on campus, particularly among graduate students, and for advancing the overall interests of women in STEM fields across the globe.
This acknowledges Dreyer’s role as Graduate Member Coordinator for SWE as well as her outreach efforts for women engineers in Liberia. She is currently pursuing her PhD in Electrical Engineering at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, MI.
In newly released US News & World Report global university rankings, Michigan Technological University ranked 136th out of 1,000 universities around the world in international collaboration.
Tech’s College of Engineering and Department of Materials Science & Engineering also ranked well. MSE placed in the top one-third at 273rd and engineering overall was 356th of the 1,000 universities ranked.
ME-EM to Host Advisory Board Meeting
NSF I/UCRC Industrial Advisory Board Meeting for the Center for Novel High Voltage/Temperature Material and Structures begins today.
Today and tomorrow, ME-EM is hosting the semi-annual NSF I/UCRC Industrial Advisory Board meeting for the Center for Novel High Voltage/Temperature Materials and Structures (HVT) at the Great Lakes Research Center. The meeting is organized by Site Director Greg Odegard (ME-EM) and Co-Directors Julie King (CHE) and Paul Sanders (MSE).
Expected at the meeting are 40 faculty, graduate students and Industrial Advisory Board members from Michigan Tech’s ME-EM, Chem Eng and MSE departments; University of Denver, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne; Bonneville Power Administration, CTC Global, General Cable, Lockheed Martin Space Systems and Tri-State Generation and Transmission.
The mission of the HVT Center is to develop and evaluate new materials and structures for a range of HVT technological applications, particularly for the power transmission and aerospace industries.
The HVT Center has entered its third year of operation; this meeting is focused on the review of the current projects, proposals for future research and discussions on directions for Center growth. The Center is jointly funded by NSF and the Industrial Advisory Board member companies.
By ME-EM.
Gregory Odegard (ME-EM/MuSTI), is the principal investigator on a project that has received a $40,000 research and development contract from Colorado Seminary-University of Denver.
Paul Sanders (MSE) and Julie King (ChE) are Co-PIs on the project “I/UCRC: Novel High Voltage/Temperature Materials and Structures.”
IndiaWest, a newspaper for and about Indian Americans, reported that Bhakta Rath, a 1958 Michigan Tech alumnus and supporter who established the Bhakta Rath Research Award, is one of three Indian Americans honored by ASM International.
TAPPI Informational Meeting Monday
Michigan Tech now has a chapter of the Technical Association of the Paper Products Industry (TAPPI), and it’s looking for members.
The first 15 students to sign up, will receive a waiver of the membership fee to the TAPPI national organization.
Aside from technology-based meetings, the chapter will organize critical thinking and leadership development activities with fun.
If you want to learn more, come to the next and final informational meeting 5:30 p.m. Monday (Sept. 12) in Chem Sci. 201. Some cookies and drinks will be provided.
For more information, contact Gerard T. Caneba (ChE), the TAPPI-MTU advisor.
From Tech Today, by TAPPI-MTU Chapter.
Tech Forms TAPPI Chapter
Michigan Tech now has a chapter of the Technical Association of the Paper Products Industry (TAPPI), and they’re looking for members.
The first 15 students to sign up will be provided with a waiver of the membership fee to the TAPPI national organization.
Aside from technology-based meetings, the chapter will organize critical thinking and leadership development activities with fun.
If you want to learn more, come with your lunch to the first informational meeting from 12:15 to 1 p.m. Tuesday (Sept. 6) in Chem Sci 201.
We might be able to provide some dessert and drinks. For more information, contact Gerard T. Caneba (ChE) the TAPPIMTU advisor.
Tech Century, an engineering and technology news website published by the Engineering Society of Detroit, ran a lengthy article on editor Matt Roush’s Tech Tour interviews with Michigan Tech researchers and students. Michigan Tech sponsored this year’s Tech Tour.
Among the many people he talked to were: Adrienne Minerick, associate dean for research and innovation at MTU’s College of Engineering, Jodi Lehman, assistant director of research development, and Jason Carter, professor and chair of the department of kinesiology and integrative physiology, Feng Zhou, assistant professor in biomedical engineering, Guy Meadows, Great Lakes Research Center, Andrew Barnard, assistant professor of mechanical engineering, and Zhaohui Wang, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, Dave House — Michigan native, Michigan Tech alumnus, Yun Hang Hu, Materials Science Engineering, Caryn Heldt, associate professor of chemical engineering, and Mary Raber, assistant dean of MTU’s new Paavlis Honors College.
New Chapter of Engineering Society of Detroit
The formation of a student chapter of the Engineering Society of Detroit (ESD) was reported on Tech Century, an engineering and technology news website published by the ESD. Undergraduates and graduate students in the College of Engineering were invited to join. For more information, visit the ESD website.
All Tech engineering students, undergrad and graduate, are invited to join ESD and gain the benefits of student chapter membership. The opportunity to network with professional engineers, successful alumni and other student chapters are among those benefits. Student ESD chapters also get an inside look at trends in engineering and a chance to participate in leadership and career-building events and programs.
