Author: College of Engineering

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

A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum Encourages Students and Staff to Visit

A. E. Seaman Mineral MuseumA. E. Seaman Mineral Museum welcomes students, faculty and staff to visit and see why the museum is the No. one local destination on TripAdvisor. Admission is waived so you can visit on your lunch hour or any convenient time. Professional visitors accompanied by faculty or staff are also welcome.

The museum showcases the beauty and splendor of nature’s masterpieces, minerals. The museum exhibits the best mineral collection from the Great Lakes region as well as minerals from around the world. Enjoy fluorescent minerals in one of the best exhibits in the U.S. Visit the 17-ton native copper slab housed in the copper pavilion that holds the Guinness world record. Come visit before the pavillion closes in November for the winter.

The museum welcomes students and employees to visit the “gem” of Michigan Tech. Fall hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

From Tech Today, by the A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum.

New State Historical Marker for Douglass Houghton

Douglass Houghton Memorial
Douglass Houghton Memorial

A State of Michigan Historical Marker honoring Douglass Houghton was dedicated Saturday, Sept. 10, 2016, in a morning ceremony led by the Keweenaw County Historical Society in Eagle River. Among the approximately 70 attendees were several descendants of Douglass Houghton. The marker was proposed by the Michigan Basin Geological Society centered in Lansing. Ted Bornhorst, executive director of the A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum, and Larry Molloy, president of the Keweenaw County Historical Society, led a geological and historical field trip for the Michigan Basin Geological Society all day Friday and Saturday afternoon to the Keweenaw Peninsula for a group of 30 geologists and guests. As part the guided field trip, the group visited the museum on Friday evening where a life sized oil painting of Douglass Houghton is on exhibit. The painting was done in the 1870’s by Bradish and a duplicate was purchased by the Michigan House of Representatives in 1879. Mineral specimens collected by Douglass Houghton are on exhibit at the museum. These specimens are part of the University of Michigan mineral collection co-owned by the museum under the Michigan Mineral Alliance.

Read more at Tech Today, by the A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum.

Plaque Inscription
Plaque Inscription

Bornhorst Presents at Dallas Mineral Collecting Symposium

Ted Bornhorst
Ted Bornhorst

Ted Bornhorst, executive director and professor, A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum, attended and gave an invited presentation at the 6th annual Dallas mineral collecting symposium held Aug. 20, 2016. Bornhorst’s presentation was titled “Michigan’s Copper Country and the A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum.”

The full day symposium included a presentation by the Curator of the U. S. National Gem and Mineral Collection at the Smithsonian. One of the world’s foremost mineral dealers in fine mineral specimens, The Arkenstone, is the principal sponsor of the symposium. Robert Lavinsky, founder and owner of The Arkenstone, has donated several mineral specimens to the museum and played a role in another prominent donation.

From Tech Today.

New Publications for Snehamoy Chatterjee

CERD 2016
CERD 2016

Snehamoy Chatterjee (GMES) recently published two new papers:

Open-pit coal mine production sequencing incorporating grade blending and stockpiling options: An application from an Indian mine” in the Journal of Engineering Optimization, DOI: 10.1080/0305215X.2016.1210312

Influence of surface tension gradient on liquid circulation time in a draft tube airlift reactor” in the journal of Chemical Engineering Research and Design, 113 (2016) 241-249

From Tech Today.

Engineering Optimization 2016
Engineering Optimization 2016

Humanitarian Award to Geo Alumnus at Reunion Dinner

Alumni Reunion 2016

Outstanding alumni and friends will be recognized at the Alumni Reunion Awards Dinner on August 5, 2016.

The Humanitarian Award will be presented to James Tanis ’57, ’58 Geological Engineering / Geophysics and Janet Tanis, Sedona, Arizona.

The award is presented to those alumni and friends who, through their outstanding involvement and dedication, have made a significant contribution of volunteer leadership or service which has improved or enriched the lives of others and the welfare of humanity and whose accomplishments reflect admirably on or bring honor to their Alma Mater.

Their 2007 honeymoon in East Africa was a life-changer for Jim and Jan. It’s also been a life-changer for hundreds of vulnerable children helped through the Bwindi Community Program they founded to bring hope to vulnerable children through the power of education.

A chat with 13-year-old Brian, who sold them a gorilla carving, led him to the Tanises helping him attend secondary school.

Eventually, he asked the Tanises if they could help these young people in the same way they’d helped him. The non-profit program sent the first 21 kids to school in 2010. BCP continues to grow—to 140 students in 2015—thanks to donors in six countries who sponsor individual students. In 2016 a sister charity was formed to focus on primary-grade students, while BCP focuses on secondary school and beyond. Jim serves as board president, Jan as treasurer.

Read more at Tech Today, by Brenda Rudiger.

Updates from Tech Today.

Tarshizi Nominated by the SME as a Henry Krumb Lecturer

Ebrahim Karimi Tarshizi
Ebrahim Karimi Tarshizi

Ebrahim Tarshizi, an assistant professor of mining engineering, has been nominated by the Society of Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration (SME) as a Henry Krumb Lecturer for the 2016-2017 series.

Tarshizi presentation for this year’s series is “Simulation and Animation of Marigold Mine with Dynamic Pit Operation.” SME Henry Krumb Lectures will be scheduled from October 2016 to May 2017.

Read more at Tech Today, by Kelly McLean.

Eagle Mine Collaborates with Michigan Tech’s Mining Engineering Program

Eagle Mine is collaborating with Michigan Tech’s Mining Engineering Program on creating a custom-made simulation program with dynamic visualization to model and analyze the effectiveness of emergency evacuation plans and equipment in the operation.

“It’s just a start. We look forward to developing our relationship with the Lundin’s Eagle Mine and conducting various simulation studies, while looking for mutual benefits,” stated Ebrahim Tarshizi, the principal investigator of this research investigation.

Eagle Mine, a subsidiary of Lundin Mining, is a high-grade nickel and copper underground mine located in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

From Tech Today, by Ebrahim Tarshizi.

Mi-START Participants Contribute to Geoscience Monograph

Research associate and curriculum development director Stephanie Tubman (Michigan Tech Mi-STAR) was lead author on two contributions appearing in the recently published monograph titled, “Geoscience for the Public Good and Global Development: Toward a Sustainable Future” (edited by Gregory R. Wessel and Jeffrey K. Greenberg, Geological Society of America Special Papers 520).

Postdoctoral research fellow Rudiger Escobar Wolf co-authored the Tubman paper titled, “The geoscientist as international community development practitioner: On the importance of looking and listening.”

Former project coordinator Essa Paterson and John Gierke (GMES) were co-authors on Tubman’s paper titled, “A Peace Corps Master’s International program in mitigation of natural geological hazards: Student outcomes and lessons learned.”

Curriculum development assistant Luke Bowman (Mi-STAR) was lead author on a paper in the same monograph titled, “University contributions to risk reduction following a disaster: A case study of reorienting natural hazards research efforts at San Vicente volcano.”

His paper was co-authored by Gierke and Agronomy Engineering Professor J. Fredy Cruz Centeno from the Universidad de El Salvador Facultad Multidisciplinario Paracentral.

From Tech Today.

Public Discussion on Keweenaw Geoheritage

Today, June 22, 2016, several geoscientists will host a public discussion about the Keweenaw Geoheritage Project. The event begins with a wine and cheese reception at 6:30 p.m. followed by the presentation at 7 p.m. at the Quincy Mine Hoist.

Two special guests will speak to options available for increasing awareness and economic and educational opportunities for the Keweenaw.

They are: Thomas Casadevall, the United State Geological Services chair of the U.S. National Committee for Geoparks, and Cecile Olive, project manager for the Puys de Dome and the Limagne Fault World Heritage Project in France.

The project is led by Bill Rose (GMES) and Erika Vye.

Read more at Tech Today, by Allison Mills.