Graduate School Newsblog

Four Michigan Tech Graduate Programs Rank in Top 50 Nationwide

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Graduate school rankings released by US News and World Report today rank four of Michigan Tech graduate engineering programs in the top 50 nationwide. The annual rankings evaluated graduate programs in 192 schools of engineering.

Michigan Tech’s ranked engineering programs included:
• Environmental engineering–28th
• Mechanical engineering–48th
• Materials science and engineering–48th
• Civil engineering–49th

Tech’s College of Engineering overall ranked in the top 100, at 86th.

For the first time this year, US News and World Report also ranked biological sciences, chemistry, computer science, earth sciences, mathematics and physics. Earth sciences at Michigan Tech ranked in the top 100, at 81st. Physics ranked 122nd, and biological sciences, 207th.

“This year’s rankings really show that competition for the ‘top 50′ is increasing. We are neck-and-neck with some very strong programs” said Jackie Huntoon, dean of the Graduate School.

Each year, US News and World Report ranks graduate schools of engineering, business, the sciences, the humanities and social sciences, medicine and other health specialties, law and education. They base these rankings on two types of data: expert opinions by the programs’ peers and statistical indicators of program quality. The data come from surveys conducted in the fall of 2009 of more than 12,400 academics and professionals and more than 1,200 graduate programs.

Engineering specialties are ranked solely on the basis of assessments by department chairs in each specialty. The American Society for Engineering Education recommends the department chairs to be surveyed.

The rankings will be featured in the May 2010 issue of US News and World Report, scheduled to be on the newsstands on April 27. A guidebook called “America’s Best Graduate Schools” will be available for purchase on April 20.

Information is also available online at www.usnews.com/grad .

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Online Power Engineering MS Marks 10th Anniversary

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A decade ago, Cooper Power asked Michigan Tech to provide its engineers with additional distance-learning training in power engineering. Since then, the electrical and computer engineering faculty have developed a full-fledged online MS in Electrical Engineering that focuses on power systems, as well as two certificate programs.

Dozens of students, both on and off campus, are now enrolled, and many more have graduated. The program’s strength reflects a renewed awareness of the importance of electrical power, says Professor Bruce Mork, director of Michigan Tech’s Power and Energy Research Center.

“Energy has become a national security issue,” he says. “It’s more important than ever to have infrastructure that is robust and reliable.”

The full release is available at the Michigan Tech News site.

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Graduate Students Showcase Their Research in Lansing

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capitolFour graduate students from Michigan Tech have gone to Lansing to talk with legislators about their graduate studies and future plans. Participating in an observance of Graduate Education Week in Michigan, they are joining more than 70 others from universities across the state, meeting with their hometown legislators and displaying posters in the Capitol.

Michigan Tech students include Michael Brodeur-Campbell of Lake Linden, who is working on his PhD in chemical engineering; Megan Killian from LaSalle, an interdicisplinary PhD student in biomedical and mechanical engineering; Melanie Kueber, a PhD student in civil engineering from Munising; and Christopher Morgan of Jenison, who is working toward a PhD in mechanical engineering-engineering mechanics.

Brodeur-Campbell, who is originally from Port Huron, earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering and business administration at Michigan Tech. His research focuses on improving the enzymatic breakdown of cellulose to glucose, a vital step in the production of ethanol from plants. This step has proved a major hurdle to commercial production of this kind of ethanol, which does not compete with the food supply, due to the high cost of the enzymes and the length of time they take to work.

Killian’s research focuses on how mechanical loads applied to the meniscus–cartilage in the knee–affect the behavior of this tissue at the microscopic and cellular levels, with the aim of eventually improving tissue engineering of replacements. She is also studying osteoarthritis produced by injuries to the knee, in hopes of developing better treatments and rehabilitation strategies.

Kueber, who also earned a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering at Michigan Tech, went on to earn her master’s in project management at Northwestern University. Back at Tech for her doctoral studies, she is working to modify specifications and test methods for coal fly ash used in highway concrete, to make coal ash more useful as a supplementary material in concrete.

Morgan, a member of the Advanced Internal Combustion Engines research group at Michigan Tech, has been using gasoline direct- injection studies to compare ethanol to pump-grade gasoline in a combustion vessel. Now he is working on building a mobile hybrid electric vehicle learning laboratory funded by the US Department of Energy and helping undergraduate senior design students build a hybrid electric vehicle for educational use.

Graduate education is a key to a prosperous future for Michigan, said Jacqueline Huntoon, dean of Michigan Tech’s Graduate School. Michigan ranks ninth in the US for the number of research-based doctorates awarded, with 2,720 awarded in 2008-09. Of those, 47 were awarded at Michigan Tech.

all-attendees

Photos courtesy of Randy Mascharka and Eastern Michigan University

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Two Tech Students Awarded Scholarships

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Two Michigan Tech students have been awarded scholarships from the Women in Transportation Seminar (WTS) Michigan chapter.

Erin Bertocchi, an undergraduate civil engineering student from Gwinn, MI, received the Sharon D. Banks Memorial Scholarship awarded specifically for women pursuing an undergraduate degree related to the field of transportation. Erin discovered her interest in the design and construction of roads through two previous summer internships with MDOT’s Technical Service Centers in Newberry and Escanaba.

Mary Christiansen, a graduate student from Shelby, MI, pursuing her PhD in Civil Engineering, was selected to receive the Helene M. Overly Memorial Scholarship awarded annually to a graduate student pursuing a degree related to the field of transportation. Mary is a scholar in the University Transportation Center for Materials in Sustainable Transportation Infrastructure (UTC-MiSTI), working on the development of geopolymer cement concrete with Larry Sutter and Karl Peterson.

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Award Recipients Announced for NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program

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The results of the 2010 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) competition have been announced. Michigan Tech applauds six of its student applicants who received Fellow Awards this year:

  • Kaitlyn (Reed) Bunker (Electrical Engineering)
  • Nicole Colasacco-Thumm (Geosciences/Climate Dynamics)
  • Jared Cregg (Biomedical Engineering)
  • Ashley Thode (Civil Engineering)
  • Eli Vlaisavljevich (Bioengineering)
  • Samantha Wojda (Biomedical Engineering)

Fellows benefit from a three-year annual stipend of $30,000 along with a $10,500 cost of education allowance for tuition and fees, a one-time $1,000 international travel allowance and the freedom to conduct their own research at any accredited US or foreign institution of graduate education they choose.

Six Michigan Tech students were recognized with honorable mention:

  • Sarah Gray (Biomedical)
  • Katherine Becker (Materials Science)
  • Brian Devree (Biology)
  • Katelyn FitzGerald (Geological Engineering, graduate student)
  • Joseph Licavoli (Engineering – Metallurgical, graduate student)
  • Peter Radecki (Mechanical Engineering)

As the oldest graduate fellowship of its kind, the GRFP has a history and reputation of selecting recipients who achieve high levels of success in their future academic and professional careers. To be eligible for the NSF GRFP, students must:

  • be a US citizen, US national or permanent resident alien
  • be in a research-focused Master’s or PhD program in an NSF-supported field
  • be in the final year of an undergraduate program, first year graduate student or first semester of second year in graduate school (no more than 12 months of graduate courses).

An informative session on applying to the 2011 NSF GRFP will be held at 6 p.m., Wednesday, April 14, in Fisher 130. Contact Jodi Lehman for more information.

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Call for 2010 Rath Award Nominations

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The Vice President for Research is accepting nominations for the Bhakta Rath Research Award, which was made possible by an endowment from Bhakta B. Rath and his wife, Sushama Rath. The award offers an opportunity to promote and reward excellence in scientific and engineering research in the field of physical and natural sciences and engineering. View Tech’s research website for complete submission guidelines. Nominations will be accepted until 4 p.m., Friday, April 30.

Posted in Tech Today

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Alumnus Endows Bhakta Rath Research Award

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When Bhakta B. Rath was earning his master’s degree in metallurgical and materials engineering at Michigan Tech in 1958, the US was an undisputed world leader in science and technology. Now he’s the associate director of research and head of the Materials Science and Component Technology Directorate at the US Naval Research Laboratory, and Rath worries about a declining interest in this country in studying science and technology.

So he and his wife, Sushama Rath, have endowed the Bhakta Rath Research Award to motivate Michigan Tech faculty and doctoral students to conduct the kind of research that will meet the nation’s needs and the challenges of emerging technologies. The annual award will be $2,000, split between a graduate student and his or her faculty advisor.

Rath’s gift supports the strategic direction of Michigan Tech: to grow and strengthen its research enterprise and graduate program.

Published in Tech Today

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Grad Student Takes a Silver in MRS Science as Art Contest

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Chee Huei Lee, a physics graduate student and research assistant, took a second place award in the Materials Research Society’s popular Science as Art competition, held at the 2009 MRS Fall Meeting in Boston.

Lee produces boron nitride nanotubes in a variety of shapes and sizes using catalytic chemical vapor deposition on a silicon substrate. He created “Dandelion Parachute Ball in the Nano World” using image processing software such as Photoshop to combine multiple scanning electron microscope images of the nanotubes.

“It is like playing a jigsaw puzzle game with no absolute rules,” says Lee. “And the final solution or result is only limited by imagination and creativity.”

Lee’s dandelion was chosen as one of the 50 finalists from among nearly 200 artistic entries. From the finalists, three first place and three second place winners were selected, including Lee’s entry.

From Tech Today

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Award Recipients Announced for Graduate Research Forum

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The Ecosystem Science Center and the Biotechnology Research Center have
announced award recipients for the Sixth Annual ESC/BRC Graduate Research Forum, held on March 26. Two grand prize awards, five merit awards and four honorable mention awards were presented.

The recipients were selected from among the 43 posters and abstracts submitted by students conducting research related to ecology, the environment and biotechnology at Michigan Tech.

$500 Grand Prizes

Ecosystem Science Center

Meagan L. Harless (Biological Sciences) for “Effects of Road Salt (NaCl) Pollution on the Survival and Growth of Larval Wood Frogs (Lithobates sylvatica).” Her advisor is Casey Huckins.

Biotechnology Research Center

Eli Vlaisavljevich (Biomedical Engineering) for “Magnetoelastic Materials as Novel Bioactive Coatings for Control of Cell Adhesion to Prevent Implantable Biomaterial Associated Fibrous Overgrowth.” His advisor is Rupak Rajachar.

$100 Merit Awards

Ecosystem Science Center

Rita Koch (SFRES) for “Insect and Disease Response to Prescribed Burning and Wildfire in Pine Forests in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan.” Her advisors are Linda Nagel and Andrew Storer.

Mickey Jarvi (SFRES) for “Temperature acclimation of fine roots to soil warming in a sugar maple dominated northern hardwood forest.” His advisor is Andrew Burton.

Kayla Griffith (SFRES) for “H2O18 as an Analyzer of Phragmites australis Invasion from Wet to Dry Sites” Her advisor is Catherine Tarasoff.

Biotechnology Research Center

Christopher Rivet (Biomedical Engineering) for “Development of a Composite Hydrogel Containing Electrospun Fibers for Spinal Cord Injury.” His advisor is Ryan Gilbert.

Jonathan Zuidema (Biomedical Engineering) for “Incorporation of Chitosan and Dextran into Hydrogel Blends Improves Neuronal Adhesion.” His advisor is Ryan Gilbert.

$50 Honorable Mention Awards

Ecosystem Science Center

Emmanuel Ebanyenle (SFRES) for “Impact of Shoot Borer (Hypsipyla robusta) on the Wood Anatomical Properties of Plantation Grown African Mahogany Species (Khaya ivorensis A. Chev).” His advisors are Andrew Burton and Andrew Storer.

Biotechnology Research Center

Yiru Chen (SFRES) for “Overexpression of auxin efflux carrier PIN9 gene alters secondary xylem development, gravitropic response and apical dominance in Populus.” Victor Busov is the advisor.

Natalie Hartman (Biomedical Engineering) for “Vaporized Bioglass Polymer Composites for Interfacial Tissue Regeneration.” Her advisor is Rupak Rajachar.

Sarah Kiemle (Biological Sciences) for “Land Plant Polymer Homologs in Primitive Taxa of the Charophycean Green Algae, Chlorokybus atmophyticus and Klebsormidium flaccidum.” Her advisor is Michael Gretz.

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