Graduate School Newsblog

Day: October 17, 2013

AREMA 2013 Annual Conference scholarship winners

Published
By

Seventeen students from the Michigan Tech Rail Transportation Program (RTP) traveled to Indianapolis to attend the 2013 Railway Interchange Exhibition and American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA) 2013 Annual Conference.  Students attended technical sessions and committee meetings. The students also provided support for the National University Rail Center (NURail) booth at the Exhibition. Michigan Tech is a member of the seven university NURail consortium.

Michigan Tech students, Antonio Passariello and Tanja Mattonen, were invited to be two of the four student interns of the Conference Operating Committee.  Seven Michigan Tech RTP students were identified as AREMA scholarship winners, pulling in over $7,000 in scholarships and 20 percent of the winners nationwide.  Congratulations to:  Dylan Anderson, Chris Blessing, Antonio Passariello, Sean Pengelly, Hamed Pouryousef, Irfan Rasul, and Nicholas Lanoue.  Click here for a complete description of the scholarships.

Pasi Lautala, 2007 PhD graduate, received the second prize in the AREMA Member-Get-A-Member Campaign, awarded at the annual conference.

Published in Tech Today.

Continue Reading →

Michigan Space Grant Consortium Funding Opportunities

Published
By

The Michigan Space Grant Consortium announces funding opportunities in the following categories: Undergraduate Fellowship, Graduate Fellowship, Pre-College Education, Public Outreach, Teacher Training, and Research Seed Grant.

The deadline for proposal packages is no later than Wednesday, Nov. 20, at 5 p.m.

The internal Michigan Tech deadline is noon on Wednesday, Nov. 13.

To read announcements, submission requirements, and to submit a proposal, please visit the MSGC website and click the Fellowship Program tab, the Program tab, or the Research Seed Grant tab.  Note–Proposals that exceed the page limits specified will not be considered.

Specific information regarding Michigan Tech requirements and submission procedures can be found at funding. For more information contact Paige Hackney (phackney@mtu.eduor 487-4371).

Women, underrepresented minorities, and persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply to all MSGC funding opportunities.

Published in Tech Today

Continue Reading →

Stepping Out in Style: Toward an Artificial Leg with a Natural Gait

Published
By

Humans rarely walk the straight and narrow; something’s always in the way. So Michigan Tech scientists are developing a computer-controlled prosthesis to make it much easier for amputees to turn as they walk.

In cooperation with a Mayo Clinic scientist, researchers at Michigan Tech are taking a giant step toward solving the problem. They are making a bionic foot that could make an amputee’s walk in the park feel, well, like a walk in the park.

Assistant Professor Mo Rastgaar and PhD student Evandro Ficanha
The secret lies in the ankle. Mo Rastgaar, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering–engineering mechanics, and PhD student Evandro Ficanha are working on a microprocessor-controlled ankle-foot prosthesis that comes close to achieving the innate range of motion of this highly complex joint.

These computerized artificial legs have pressure-sensitive sensors on the bottom of the foot that detect how the amputee is walking. The sensors instantaneously send signals to a microprocessor, which in turn adjusts the prosthesis to make walking more natural.

For the full story see Michigan Tech News

Published in Tech Today by Marcia Goodrich, magazine editor

Continue Reading →

Cyber Citizens article published in UP news website

Published
By

Upper Peninsula Second Wave, a UP news website, published article about Michigan Tech’s Cyber Citizens and their development of a citizen scientist smartphone application called EthnoApp.

The Cyber Citizens project goal is to build smartphone apps and websites that connect average citizens with scientists to help acquire valuable environmental information across the world.

A team of graduate and undergrad students at Tech led by Alex Mayer, a professor of civil and environmental engineering, and Robert Pastel, a professor of computer science, have worked to develop four different apps so far.

For more on the article, click here

Published in Tech Today

Continue Reading →