Author: College of Engineering

Sue Hill is the Digital Content Manager for the College of Engineering.

Simon Carn on the Eruption of La Cumbre Volcano

Aerial view of La Cumbre, the lava flow, and the edge of Fernandina.
Fernandina Island showing the active lava flow from La Cumbra on March 7, 2024. Visit NASA Earth Observatory for legend and labels.

Simon Carn (GMES) was quoted by NASA Earth Observatory in a story about an eruption of the La Cumbre volcano in the Galápagos islands. The eruption began March 2 on Fernandina Island, and the story included a March 7 aerial image showing continued active lava flow.

“This is typical of lava-producing effusive eruptions, which usually show peak emissions early on followed by a steady decline towards the end of the eruption.”

Simon Carn, professor in Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences

Carn’s research includes using satellite measurements to constrain global volcanic SO2 production and emissions from individual volcanoes.

Shiliang Wu on Air Quality in Detroit

Shiliang Wu
Shiliang Wu

Shiliang Wu (GMES/CEGE) was quoted by Planet Detroit in a story explaining how a winter atmospheric inversion lowered air quality January 7-8, 2024, in Detroit. Wu co-authored a 2016 study that found a 50% increase over the last 60 years in the frequency of winter atmospheric inversions and summer heatwaves, which can both increase air pollution. The story was picked up by Great Lakes Now.

“For the last at least 60 years we have data for, we can clearly see a trend of increasing temperature inversions in mid-latitude regions.”

Shiliang Wu, professor at Michigan Tech

Wu is a dual-appointment professor in Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences and Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering. His research involves impacts of global change on atmospheric chemistry and long-range transport of air pollution.

Simon Carn on the Eruption from a Fissure on the Reykjanes Peninsula

Pair of color maps of the peninsula, with a bright region in the right map.
Reykjanes Peninsula on December 18, 2023 (left) and December 19, 2023 (right). Visit NASA Earth Observatory for legend and labels.

Simon Carn (GMES) was quoted by NASA’s Earth Observatory in a story about the eruption of lava from a new fissure on Iceland’s Reykjanes Peninsula, which began late on Dec. 18. Carn interpreted a brightness temperature image comparison of the eruption area between Dec. 18 and 19, and commented on the reported risk to nearby infrastructure.

“If lava continues to flow north, it could eventually reach the key main road from Keflavík airport to Reykjavík.”

Simon Carn, professor in Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences

Carn’s current research focus is the application of remote sensing data to studies of volcanic degassing, volcanic eruption clouds, and anthropogenic pollution.

Braxton Murphy Receives Research Fund from the Institute on Lake Superior Geology

Each year the Institute on Lake Superior Geology (ILSG) offers competitive funding for student research projects that focus on the geology of the Lake Superior region. This year, Braxton Murphy, a senior in geological engineering, was awarded $500 to support his project titled “Determine the Relative Paleostress State and Tectonic Conditions That Resulted in Formation and Movement of Faults of the Keweenaw Fault System near Houghton, Michigan.”

Braxton’s research with Jim DeGraff involves measuring slip indicators along the Hancock fault where it is exposed in the Quincy Mine workings and at a rock quarry near the town of South Range. These data will be analyzed to infer the paleostress state that caused faults in the Keweenaw fault system to move, thus allowing different ideas about the Midcontinent Rift System to be evaluated. Research activities in fall 2023 focused on the Hancock fault, and next year will focus on the South Range quarry.

Research findings will be presented at the 70th annual ILSG meeting to be held at Michigan Tech in May 2024.

Gustavo Béjar-López Takes First at GSG 2023 3MT

Gustavo Béjar-López
Photo courtesy of GSG Instagram.

The GSG 2023 3MT (Three Minute Thesis) competition was held November 9 in the Forestry Atrium.

First Place went to Gustavo Béjar-López (PhD student in Geology), including a $300 cash prize.

Béjar-López will represent Michigan Tech at the regional competition and will compete for a spot at the national and international 3MT competitions.

According to the University of Queensland, founder of the event, the 3MT “cultivates students’ academic, presentation, and research communication skills”.

Nathan Manser on Mining History, Future, and Remaining Dangers

Nathan Manser (GMES) was interviewed by WJMN Local 3 for a story about the mining process and management of byproducts in the past and present, as well as what could lie ahead for the mining industry relative to future mineral exploration in the Upper Peninsula.

Manser noted people in the Upper Peninsula have had to deal with repercussions of what several legacy mines have left behind.

He says the problem and search for solutions to mine tailings is front-and-center for experts in the industry. “There has never been a bigger focus on just that particular topic than then the tailings storage systems have been, especially in the last five years. It’s really accelerated.”

Read more at WJMN Local 3, by Schyler Perkins.

Two GMES Students Receive DeCleene Scholarships from the Copper Country Rock and Mineral Club

Three people standing together, two holding letters.
Pictured left to right: Sean Miller, Lydia Lamey, and George Schriver, immediate past president of the Copper Country Rock and Mineral Club.

Lydia Lamey, a senior in Applied Geophysics and Sean Miller, a junior in Geological Engineering, were awarded the Copper Country Rock and Mineral Club (CCRMC) DeCleene Memorial scholarship for the 2023–2024 academic year. This scholarship is for students in the Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences at Michigan Tech who have demonstrated excellent academic performance, and best exemplify the blending of mineralogy and mineral collecting as both a hobby and an educational pursuit.

The scholarship was established in memory of Nathan DeCleene, a geological engineering student and an active member of the CCRMC.

Wickstroms Fund Scholarships in Their Father’s Memory

For some families, the impact of Michigan Tech can be felt generations later. That is the case with the Walter Wickstrom ’37 family.

Three of Walter’s children, Betty Wickstrom Kendrick, Jean Wickstrom Liles, and Phil Wickstrom—none of whom are Michigan Tech alumni or live anywhere close to Michigan Tech—all fund scholarships in memory of their father and to support Tech, which they credit with setting up their family for success.

Group of five people outside in the woods near a lake.
The Wickstroms hosted two of their scholarship recipients for lunch at their family summer home in Christmas, Michigan. Pictured (l-r): Carly Lindquist, Betty Wickstrom Kendrick, Phil Wickstrom, Jean Wickstrom Liles, and John Myaard.

Walter Wickstrom Sr. earned a mining engineering degree from Michigan Tech in 1937 (then called the Michigan College of Mining and Technology).

Read more at Michigan Tech Alumni News, by Wes Frahm.

Related

My story: John Myaard, MTUengineer

AIPG 2023 Outstanding Student Chapter Award

Historical photo of the Natural Wall geological feature on a hillside.
Natural Wall by J.T. Reeder. MS042 Reeder Photograph Collection, Michigan Tech University Archives and Copper Country Historical Collections.

AIPG, the American Institute of Professional Geologists, recognized the student chapter at Michigan Tech as one of the outstanding student chapters in the nation this past year. The chapter is highly deserving of this distinction and honor and was selected as the Second Place 2023 AIPG Student Chapter of the Year.

The award consists of a certificate to be presented to the student chapter, and a certificate to each of the standing chapter officers at the time of the student chapter report submittal.

Some of the recent activities of the chapter involve field trips to mining foundations as well as to the Natural Wall, a geological structure formed of Jacobsville Sandstone.

The students are encouraged to attend the annual AIPG conference and meetings, which will be held next in Covington, Kentucky on September 16–19, 2023. During the conference, students will have the opportunity to observe the organization and functions of AIPG, participate in the Student Career Workshop, and attend a networking event with professional AIPG members.

The Chapter Sponsor is David Adler, CPG-11377, a Mannik & Smith Group Certified Professional Geologist (BS Geology ‘82). David Adler, inducted into the GMES Academy in October, has been awarded the AIPG Presidential Certificate of Merit for excellent contributions to the AIPG Michigan Section as chairman of the Michigan Section CPG application process.

The Chapter’s Faculty Sponsor is Chad Deering, associate professor in the Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences.

Related

Michigan Tech wins 2022 AIPG Student Chapter of the Year Award

The 2020 AIPG Student Chapter of the Year Award goes to Michigan Tech

Beth Bartel: Women’s Perspectives on Evacuation at Fuego Volcano

Fuego contour representation in a map of Guatemala.
Fuego in Guatemala. NASA Earth Observatory.

Beth Bartel ’23 (Ph.D. Geology) is a co-author of a paper published in Frontiers in Earth Science.

The article is titled “Children first: women’s perspectives on evacuation at Fuego volcano and implications for disaster risk reduction.”

Ailsa Naismith of Bristol University is also a co-author.

The article was included as a part of a special research topic on “Women in Science: Volcanology” and is the first publication from Bartel’s dissertation work. The research was supported by committee members from both the Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences (GMES) and the Department of Social Sciences (SS).

https://doi.org/10.3389/feart.2023.1172867