Graduate School Newsblog

Category: News

Interesting stories about and for our students.

SFI Event Recognizes Scholars and Students

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Published in Tech Today

The Sustainable Futures Institute (SFI) held its fifth annual poster session and banquet in the Rozsa Lobby last Friday.

“The event offered SFI students, staff and faculty an opportunity to review some of the many successes throughout the year,” reports Denise Heikinen.

Professor Alex Mayer (GMES) and Professor Michael Mullins (Chemical Engineering) were recognized as 2009 distinguished fellows for their long-term leadership, scholarship and support in areas central to sustainability and to SFI.

Mayer, director of SFI’s Center for Water and Society, was honored for his passion and commitment to sustainability and water issues. Mullins, director of SFI’s Center for Fundamental and Applied Research into Nanostructured and Lightweight Materials, was recognized for his contributions to energy and human health.

The keynote speaker was Charles Kerfoot, professor in Biological Sciences and director of Lake Superior Ecosystem Research Center, who spoke about the new Great Lakes Research facility and how it will facilitate research and education about pressing issues in the Upper Great Lakes.

Seventeen graduate students and postdocs were inducted into the SFI’s Scholar Program. They are: Zeyad Ahmed, Felix Adom, Brandon Ellefson, Akhilesh Reddy Endurthy, Rabi Gyawali, Jiqing Fan, Robert Handler, Christopher Hohnholt, Meral Jackson, Azad Henareh Khalyani, Jennifer Lind, Jifei Liu, Xuhong Liu, Jarod Maggio, Jacob Midkiff, Ali Mirchi, and Fengli Zhang.

The Graduate Student Council announced the People’s Choice First Place Poster Award of $150. Actually there was a tie and two awards were made. One went to four physics graduate students for a poster, “Miniature Energy Sources: Biofuel Cells Based on Carbon Nanotube Arrays,” designed by Archana Pandey, Abhishek Prasad, Jason Moscatello and Abhay P. Singh. Their advisor is Associate Professor Yoke Khin Yap. The other award went to Craig Gossen and Stefan Marek (mechanical engineering), Ashley Thode (civil engineering), and Kim Landick, Krissy Guzak, and Cara Hanson (environmental engineering), for “Improving Airflow in Ventilated Improved Pit Toilets.” Their advisors are Assistant Professor Kurt Paterson and Associate Professor David Watkins (both CEE) and Associate Professor and Assistant Provost Donna Michalek (ME-EM).

SFI’s operations manager, Richard Donovan, awarded the Inaugural Operations Manager Award of $200 to the Efficiency Through Engineering and Construction Enterprise. Members are: Ashley Brown, Dianna Cacko, Stephen Chartier, Patrick Green, Jordan Huffman, Eric Kinonen, Markus Manderfield, Andrew Manty, Michael D. Powers, and Tyler Sutkowi. The ETEC team submitted three posters: “Lake Superior & Ishpeming Railroad”; “Habitat for Humanity”; and “Generations of Energy.” For some of their work, these students collaborated with Melissa Davis, an SFI staff member and director of a local nonprofit called New Power Tour. Davis also was recognized as a scholar of SFI. The advisor for ETEC is Lynn Artman of the School of Technology.

In keeping with the spirit of the event, sustainability, Chef Eric Karvonen prepared a dinner of fresh roasted trout from Lake Superior, vegetables from Chip Ransom’s organic farm on the Houghton Canal, grass-fed bison from northern Wisconsin and wild blueberries from Gay. Pictures of the event are available at the following URLs: http://www.doe.mtu.edu/news/2009/sfi_october2009/index.html .

http://www.doe.mtu.edu/news/2009/sfi_october2009/posters.html .

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New theses and dissertations in the Library

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The Graduate School is pleased to announce the arrival of new theses and dissertations from our recent graduates in the J. R. Van Pelt Library and John and Ruanne Opie Library.  The names of our graduates, their degrees, advisors, and titles of their research are listed below.

R Adam Blankenbicker
Master of Science in Geology
Advisor: William I Rose
Thesis title: Video Analysis of Small Vulcanian Explosions at Santiaguito, Guatemala

Elizabeth Boisvert
Master of Science in Applied Ecology
Advisor: Thomas Grant Pypker
Thesis title: Initiation and Development of Three Lake Superior Coastal Peatlands

Daw Don Cheam
Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical Engineering
Advisor: Paul L Bergstrom
Dissertation title: Integration of Room Temperature Single Electron Transistor with CMOS Subsystem

Brandon Dilworth
Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
Advisor: Jason R Blough
Dissertation title: Identification of Ground and Environmental Effects to the Pass-by Noise Testing of Snowmobiles

Varun Gouthaman
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Reza  Shahbazian Yassar
Thesis title: Micro-Fabrication of a Bio-MEMS Based Force Sensor to Measure the Force Response of Living Cells

Erik Hayenga
Doctor of Philosophy in Rhetoric and Technical Communication
Advisor: Marilyn M Cooper
Dissertation title: Ethics in Illustruction: Safety Cartoons in John Deere Tractor and Combine Harvester Operator’s Manuals, 1945-2007

John Hribljan
Master of Science in Biological Sciences
Advisor: Janice M Glime
Thesis title: The Influence of Moss and Litter Chemical Traits on Bryophagy in a Northern Temperate Forest Invertebrate, Porcellio scaber LATR.

Nicholas Jensen
Master of Science in Forest Ecology and Management
Advisor: Christopher Raymond Webster
Thesis title: Ungulate Winter Habitat Selection as a Driver of Heterogeneity in Ground-Layer Plant Communities

Samuel Johnson
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Jeffrey Donald Naber
Thesis title: Premixed Lean Gas Combustion and HPCR Rate of Injection used with a Constant Volume Combustion Vessel

Eric Kalenauskas
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Jeffrey  Allen
Thesis title: Calibration Methods of an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler & Investigations of the Critical Wavenumber in Unstable Evaporating Thin Films

Keong Aik Lau
Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical Engineering
Advisor: Tony Neal Rogers
Dissertation title: Theoretical and Experimental Studies of the Temperature Dependence of the Henry’s Law Constant of Organic Solutes in Water

Shannon Lerner
Master of Science in Rhetoric and Technical Communication
Co-advisors: Marilyn M Cooper and Jnan Ananda Blau
Thesis title: Martin Buber and Luce Irigaray: Liminality and Historical Spiritual Moments

Kathryn Marlor
Master of Science in Forest Ecology and Management
Advisor: Rodney A Chimner
Thesis title: Determining the Role of Environmental Factors and Disturbance in the Distribution of Reed Canary Grass within Wetlands

Benjamin Melitz
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Charles D Van Karsen
Thesis title: Feasibility Assessment of Inverse Frequency Based Substructuring to Obtain Automotive Powertrain Mount Properties

Jonathan Mellor
Master of Science in Environmental Engineering
Advisor: David W Watkins
Thesis title: Water and Sanitation Accessibility and the Health of Rural Ugandans

Bode Morin
Doctor of Philosophy in Industrial Heritage and Archaeology
Advisor: Terry S Reynolds
Dissertation title: Reflection, Refraction, and Rejection: Copper Smelting Heritage and the Execution of Environmental Policy

James Nugent
Doctor of Philosophy in Rhetoric and Technical Communication
Advisor: Robert R Johnson
Dissertation title: United States Certificate Programs in Technical Communication: A Feminist-Sophistic Investigation

Paul Pawelzik
Master of Science in Civil Engineering
Advisor: Qiong  Zhang
Thesis title: A Life Cycle Analysis Methodology: Incorporating Technological Advances Over Time A Study of the Environmental Impact of Cellulosic Ethanol with Technological Advances over Time

Russell Stacy
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Jeffrey  Allen
Thesis title: Contact Angle Measurement Technique for Rough Surfaces

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Graduate Student to appear in National Geographic

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In Tech Today

Alex Guth, PhD student, online lecturer, and Kenyan geology researcher, served as an expert for a National Geographic television show airing next spring.

The focus of the TV special is the concept of Pangea, the super continent that once existed before the current continents parted ways. The region of Kenya where the film crew worked is an important, and famous, marker in the theory, as it was once connected to the island Madagascar. The proof is in the animals, lemurs to be exact, that exist in both spots.

“I couldn’t speak as a biologist,” Guth said. But she could discuss her areas of expertise:

  • mapping a visual history of the rift (her master’s research).
  • tracking the history of climate change, paleo-climatology, in the region (her PhD focus).

These are 10-million-year histories.

For more information, and a picture of Alex in action, see an extended article on the Michigan Tech news site.

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New theses and dissertations in the Library

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The Graduate School is pleased to announce the arrival of new theses and dissertations from our recent graduates in the J. R. Van Pelt Library and John and Ruanne Opie Library.  The names of our graduates, their degrees, advisors, and titles of their research are listed below.

Ganesh Kumar Arumugam
Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry
Advisor: Patricia A Heiden
Dissertation Title: Controlled Nanostructures for Optoelectronic and Other Advanced Applications

Xin Bai
Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry
Advisor: Richard E Brown
Dissertation Title: Ab Initio Studies for Solvated Electrons in Hydrogen Fluoride, Water and Ammonia, The Dipole-Electron Interaction and Hydrogen Bonding

Emily C Fossum
Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering – Engineering Mechanics
Advisor: Lyon B King
Dissertation Title: Electron Mobility in ExB Devices

Jennifer M Heglund
Master of Science in Environmental Engineering
Advisor: Brian D Barkdoll
Thesis Title: Effects of Climate Change Induced Heavy Precipitation Events on Sediment Transport in Lower Michigan Rivers

Laura E Hernandez
Master of Science in Civil Engineering
Advisor: Stanley J Vitton
Thesis Title: Integrating the American Society of Civil Engineer’s Body of Knowledge into Soil Mechanics Laboratory Curriculum

Xiukui Li
Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical Engineering
Advisor: Seyed A Zekavat
Dissertation Title: Cognitive Radio Based Dynamic Spectrum Sharing

Joseph Miller
Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering
Advisor: William M Bulleit
Dissertation Title: Design and Analysis of Mechanically Laminated Timber Beams Using Shear Keys

Sowmya S Moily
Master of Science in Electrical Engineering
Co-advisors: Jindong Tan and Byung K Choi
Thesis Title: PayOne: Incentive for Epidemic Protocol-based Anonymity System

Puspamitra Panigrahi
Doctor of Philosophy in Physics
Advisor: Ranjit Pati
Dissertation Title: Controlling Electronic and Magnetic Properties of Ultra Narrow Multilayered Nanowires

Raja S Payyavula
Doctor of Philosophy in Forest Molecular Genetics and Biotechnology
Co-advisors: Chung-Jui Tsai and Scott A Harding
Dissertation Title: An Investigation of Phenolic Glycoside and Condensed Tannin Homeostasis in Populus by Salicyl Alcohol Feeding to Cell Cultures and by Transgenic Manipulation of the Sucrose Transporter, PTSUT4, IN PLANTA

Tongquan Wei
Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical Engineering
Advisor: Piyush Mishra
Dissertation Title: Energy-Efficient Fault-Tolerance Schemes for Multi-Core Hard Real-Time Systems

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Michigan Tech EcoCAR Team Hits the Road

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For over a year, Michigan Technological University’s EcoCAR Enterprise team members have been brainstorming and building a next-generation hybrid vehicle on their computers. Now they are ready to roll.

The team has taken delivery on a 2009 Saturn Vue Hybrid, a cross-over vehicle. General Motors, a major sponsor of EcoCar, donated new Vues to Michigan Tech and the 16 other US and Canadian universities participating in the competition.

To read more about EcoCAR and the Tech team’s strategy, see this story on the Michigan Tech News site.

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Thanks–and Recruiting Begins Anew

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The Graduate School would like to thank everyone involved in achieving the strong fall enrollment numbers. With recruitment for fall 2010 underway, the school once again asks current graduate students and faculty to help in recruiting prospective students.

To view a list of recruitment events, visit the Graduate School Recruitment Calendar.

Events where we need someone to attend:

  • September 23–University of Wisconsin-Platteville
  • October 7-8–University of Illinois–Urbana and Chicago
  • October 13-14–University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

Contact Jacque Smith (jacque@mtu.edu or 487-1434) if you are willing to represent the University at any of the recruitment events. The Graduate School offers travel funding and logistical assistance.

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Enrollment Up Again

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Published in Tech Today

by Jennifer Donovan, director of public relations

Enrollment rose again this school year, topping last year’s number by 118 students. Fall enrollment figures tallied last night totaled 7,132.

A surge in Graduate School enrollment accounted for the increase, including increasing enrollment of international graduate students. The Graduate School reported 1,189 students, the most ever and a 21-percent increase over fall 2008. The number of international graduate students is up more than 17 percent.

“This is the highest headcount since 1983,” said President Glenn Mroz. “It shows that, increasingly, students see a Michigan Tech education as a high-return investment providing them with skills in great demand in our competitive world. Our strategic plan calls for increasing our graduate offerings while maintaining the size of undergraduate enrollment in high-demand science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. That is a critical way to provide the advanced training that will support the expansion of the entrepreneurial knowledge economy in Michigan.

“But to accomplish those goals,” Mroz continued, “something must be done about the issue of state funding. We are educating 40 percent more students than we did 40 years ago with the same level of state support.”

Jacqueline Huntoon, dean of the Graduate School, said she is extremely pleased to see such a large increase in graduate enrollment this year. “This shows that everyone at Michigan Tech is committed to increasing the size and quality of our graduate programs, in accordance with the University’s strategic plan,” she said. “It is because of our outstanding faculty, staff and current students that we are able to attract so many students from around the world.”

The record graduate student numbers include approximately 100 nondegree-seeking automotive engineers enrolled in a special advanced propulsion technology course offered in Detroit by Michigan Tech and the Engineering Society of Detroit.

Among undergraduates, the average ACT score of entering first-year students rose to 26.0 this year. The ACT score is one of Tech’s key indicators in achieving its strategic goal of attracting outstanding students, faculty and staff.

“We are attracting an academically more talented freshman class,” said John Lehman, assistant vice president for enrollment. “That indicates that our scholarship and financial aid programs are doing what they are supposed to do, enabling those who have need and are strong academically to attend Michigan Tech.”

The percentage of new female students at Tech also rose, from 23 percent last year to 26 percent this year. The University also saw a 9.8-percent increase in undergraduate transfer students, reflecting Michigan Tech’s enhanced efforts to reach out to community college students.

Undergraduate enrollment fell by 90 students this fall, to 5,943, although the number of transfer students rose by almost 10 percent. “The decrease is relatively minor and mostly related to the economy,” Lehman said. “Our undergraduate enrollment still stands well above totals from 2004 to 2007.”

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Young researcher and his mentor team up on lake inquiry

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by John Gagnon, promotional writer

Scientists at Tech are known for their expertise in lake restoration and management, much of it applied to pristine Lake Superior. Now two researchers, an old hand and a budding scholar, are working on a small UP lake that is nearly choked to death.

Iron Mountain’s Crystal Lake, once a place for swimming and fishing on the southwest side of the city, doesn’t live up to its name anymore. A beautiful little lake has become a blight.

“People didn’t know where to begin to address the situation,” says graduate researcher Jarron Hewitt, a master’s student in environmental engineering. As part of a Senior Design project when he was an undergraduate, he and his fellow students helped out.

This 50-acre lake is fed by groundwater and has no natural inlets or outlets; but it receives storm-water discharges, which have proved to be its nemesis.

Storm water often has high levels of coliform bacteria from fecal pollution originating from animal waste (dogs and geese) and, potentially, humans. Following storm-water discharges, coliform levels in the lake exceed public-health standards for swimming.

Storm water also carries phosphorous-rich lawn fertilizer that stimulates algae growth. In the winter, when the lake freezes over, algae die off, sink to the bottom, decompose and turn into muck. “The history of the lake is in the muck,” Hewitt says, and there’s a lot of it–11 feet and counting. Historically, the lake was 20 feet deep; now it is 9 feet deep. The difference is muck. Core samples show that almost all of it is dead algae and other plant material, which, in the process of decomposing, use up oxygen. Telltale, then: lots of dead fish–mostly perch, bullheads, and minnows–in the spring. “The lake can’t provide a healthy environment for fish in its current state,” Hewitt says.

The charge for him and his fellow Senior Design students was: assess the condition of the lake and propose ways to restore it to beauty and “beneficial uses”–like recreation. The students started their inquiry in January and came up with three recommendations:

* Divert storm water, the source of the coliforms and fertilizer, from the lake.

* Aerate the lake to make sure there’s more oxygen for fish.

* Dredge the lake to get rid of the muck that recyles phosphorous and consumes oxygen.

Hewitt, who works under the guidance of Professor Marty Auer, is now refining the project on his own and coming up with an engineering plan to restore the lake. The work will be the basis for what Auer calls “a shovel-ready” restoration plan. “You can’t look for money unless you have a plan,” Auer says. So Hewitt is addressing more design detail and estimating the cost of the three fixes.

Hewitt is getting a taste not only of research and engineering, but also the shaping of public policy. He outlines the issue for public discourse this way: how good do you want your lake to be? “What we would like them to do is a complete restoration of the lake,” Hewitt says.

However, he confronts a reality of all enterprise: money to do the job. The biggest job, dredging, would cost several million dollars. It’s not an all-or-nothing situation. One possibility is to dredge part of the lake to improve the beach area. Also, diverting storm water would start the fix.

Auer’s time in this effort is pro bono; Hewitt needs to find money. “He’s bootstrapping this,” Auer says. “He’s supporting himself by delivering pizzas.”

Tech got involved with this issue when a Tech alumnus, who is a consulting engineering working with the City of Iron Mountain, asked Auer for help. “They’re a neighbor,” Auer says. “They’re part of our regional community. So it’s appropriate that we help them.”

He likes the job of mentoring students like Hewitt. “It’s huge for me. It’s what keeps me in it. Bringing experience to bear in partnership with students is really exciting and rewarding. It’s a great part of my job.”

He deflects attention, though, and says Hewitt “is the face of this project” who has “carried a lot of the responsibility,” including working with the city council and other civic leaders.

For his part, Hewitt is excited to help the people of Iron Mountain perhaps improve their community. Back in his hometown of Gwinn, before he ever came to Tech, he never imagined such a “hands-on, real-world opportunity.”

“I feel like I’m giving something back,” he says.

In late August, Hewitt and Auer visited Fergus Falls, Minnesota, to assess another lake severely polluted by storm water.

Auer is energized by these opportunities—what he calls “the excitement of being in a chase and pursuing mysteries.” He likens them to Sherlock Holmes, who, on learning of a new mystery, said, “Come quickly, Watson, the game is afoot.”

These days, then, Auer is inclined to say, “Come quickly, Hewitt….”

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New theses and dissertations in the Library

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The Graduate School is pleased to announce the arrival of new theses and dissertations from our recent graduates in the J. R. Van Pelt Library and John and Ruanne Opie Library.  The names of our graduates, their degrees, advisors, and titles of their research are listed below.

Manoranjan Acharya
Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical Engineering
Advisor: Paul L Bergstrom
Dissertation title: Development of Room Temperature Operating Single Electron Transistor using FIB Etching and Deposition Technology

Susan H Balint
Master of Science in Environmental Policy
Advisor: Kathleen E Halvorsen
Thesis title: Federal and State Policy Influence on Woody Biomass Utilization

Genevieve M Borg
Master of Science in Environmental Policy
Advisor: Carol A MacLennan
Thesis title: EPA’s Council for Regulatory Environmental Modeling: A Case Study of Science Policy Implementation

Carmelo Davila
Master of Science in Industrial Archeology
Advisor: Samuel R Sweitz
Thesis title: A Space for Production and a Space for Communality: Socio-Historical Study of Central Aguirre and its Industrial Community, Salinas, Puerto Rico: 1949-1970

Seth C DePasqual
Master of Science in Industrial Archeology
Advisor: Patrick E Martin
Thesis title: Winning Coal at 78 Degrees North: Mining, Contingency and the Chaine Operatoire in Old Longyear City

Robert S Donofrio
Doctor of Philosophy in Biological Sciences
Advisor: Susan T Bagley
Dissertation title: Development and Validation of Selective and Differential Enumeration Methods for Brevundimonas diminuta

Jason T Dreyer
Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering – Engineering Mechanics
Co-advisors: Sudhakar M Pandit and Mohan D Rao
Dissertation title: Binaural Index for Speech Intelligibility via Bivariate Autoregressive Models

Ingrid D Fedde
Master of Science in Geology
Co-advisors: Jose Luis Palma Lizana and William I Rose
Thesis title: Application of Probabilistic Tools and Expert Elicitation for Hazard Assessment at Volcan de Colima, Mexico

Travis J Hansen
Master of Science in Chemical Engineering
Advisor: Daniel A Crowl
Thesis title: Estimation of the Flammability Zone Boundaries with Thermodynamic and Empirical Equations

Daniel E Haskell
Master of Science in Applied Ecology
Advisor: David J Flaspohler
Thesis title: `Restoration in Northern Wisconsin

Stacie A Holmes
Doctor of Philosophy in Forest Science
Advisor: Christopher R Webster
Dissertation title: The Influence of Concurrent Disturbances on Plant Community Dynamics in Northern Hemlock-Hardwood Forests

Ashwini S Kashelikar
Master of Science in Environmental Engineering
Advisor: Veronica W Griffis
Thesis title: Identification of Teleconnections and Improved Flood Risk Forecasts using Bulletin 17B

Justin D Keske
Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering – Engineering Mechanics
Advisor: Jason R Blough
Dissertation title: Investigation of a Semi-Active Muffler System with Implementation on a Snowmobile

Paul J Koll
Master of Science in Forest Ecology and Management
Advisor: Martin F Jurgensen
Thesis title: Effects of Conifer Sawdust, Hardwood Sawdust, and Peat on Soil Properties and Bareroot Conifer Seedling Development

Andrew T Kozich
Master of Science in Environmental Policy
Advisor: Kathleen E Halvorsen
Thesis title: Wetland Mitigation in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula: Compliance with Site Monitoring and Invasive Plant Species Standards

Kateryna Lapina
Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Engineering
Co-advisors: Richard E Honrath and Judith A Perlinger
Dissertation title: Boreal Forest Fire Impacts on Lower Troposphere CO and Ozone Levels at the Regional to Hemispheric Scales

Joseph W Lechnyr
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Jeffrey Allen
Thesis title: Imaging of Fuel Cell Diffusion Media Under Compressive Strain

Angela K Lucas
Master of Science in Biological Sciences
Advisor: Jason R Carter
Thesis title: Effects of Pediatric Adiposity on Heart Rate Variability

Lawrence J Mailloux
Master of Science in Chemistry
Advisor: Dallas K Bates
Thesis title: A 1,2,4-Triazole to Thiazole Transformation

Meghan E McGee-Lawrence
Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Engineering
Advisor: Seth W Donahue
Dissertation title: Skeletal Preservation by Hibernating Bears

Diane M Miller
Doctor of Philosophy in Rhetoric and Technical Communication
Advisor: Patricia J Sotirin
Dissertation title: Speaking (of) Community: An Ethnographic Study of the Relationships Among Communication, Community, and Everyday Experience at an Organic Foods Cooperative

Min Nie
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Desheng Meng
Thesis title: Fabrication of Nanoparticles by Short-Distance Sputter Deposition

Brian A Ott
Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical Engineering
Advisor: Gerard T Caneba
Dissertation title: Fluid Phase Equilibrium as Modeled by the Statistical Associated Fluid Theory (SAFT) Equation of State

Robert C Owen
Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Engineering
Advisor: Richard E Honrath
Dissertation title: Long-range Pollution Transport: Trans-Atlantic Mechanisms and Lagrangian Modeling Methods

Jeannie A Patrick
Doctor of Philosophy in Rhetoric and Technical Communication
Advisor: Diane L Shoos
Dissertation title: Not Your Mother’s Latinas: Film Representations for a New Millennium

David M Pauken
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: John W Sutherland
Thesis title: Statistical Modeling of the Ford Superduty Brake Pedal Feel Attribute

Melissa J Porter
Master of Science in Forest Ecology and Management
Advisor: Andrew J Storer
Thesis title: Detection and Landing Behavior of Emerald Ash Borer, Agrilus planipennis, at Low Population Density

Mark D Rowe
Master of Science in Environmental Engineering
Advisor: Judith A Perlinger
Thesis title: Modeling Contaminant Behavior in Lake Superior: A Comparison of PCBs, PBDEs, and Mercury

Ryan W Schweitzer
Master of Science in Environmental Engineering
Advisor: James R Mihelcic
Thesis title: Community Managed Rural Water Supply Systems in the Dominican Republic: Assessment of Sustainability of Systems Built by the National Institute of Potable Water and Peace

Xiaoning Shan
Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical Engineering
Advisor: Jeffrey B Burl
Dissertation title: Time-Varying System Identification in the Transform Domain

Sarah E Stehn
Master of Science in Forest Ecology and Management
Advisor: Christopher R Webster
Thesis title: Influence of Exogenous Disturbance on Bryophyte Community Assemblage and Tree Regeneration Dynamics in Southern Appalachian Spruce-Fir Forests

Xiang Sun
Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Science and Engineering
Advisor: Jiann-Yang Hwang
Dissertation title: Charge Induced Enhancement of Adsorption for Hydrogen Storage Materials

Iltesham Z Syed
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Abhijit Mukherjee
Thesis title: Experimental Study of Forced Convection Heat Transfer to Water Flowing through a Short Micro Duct at the Tip of a Cutting Tool at Turbulent Reynolds Number

Jacob T Vermillion
Master of Science in Civil Engineering
Advisor: Lawrence L Sutter
Thesis title: Absorption Correction for the Determination of the Water Content of Fresh Concrete Using the Microwave-Oven Drying Method

Dennis K Walikainen
Doctor of Philosophy in Rhetoric and Technical Communication
Advisor: Robert R Johnson
Dissertation title: What’s It Like There? Toward a Rhetoric of University Maps and Tours

Cheryl L Williams
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: John W Sutherland
Thesis title: Optimization of Conversion of North American Left Hand Drive Vehicles for Importation into Right Hand Markets

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