Graduate School Newsblog

Tag: Awards

Winners of Rath Award for Research Announced

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Chee Huei Lee

For groundbreaking work in nanotechnology, Yoke Khin Yap and Chee Huei Lee have received the University’s Bhakta Rath Research Award.

The award, endowed by 1958 alumnus Bhakta Rath and his wife, Shushama Rath, recognizes a Michigan Tech doctoral student and advisor for “exceptional research of particular value that anticipates the future needs of the nation while supporting advances in emerging technology.”

Yap, an associate professor of physics, and then-PhD student Lee (he graduated in 2010) invented a technique for synthesizing boron nitride nanotubes. Compared to their carbon-based cousins, boron nitride nanotubes have alluring qualities but, before Yap and Lee’s pioneering work, had been notoriously difficult to grow.

The researchers created veritable nano-carpets of boron nitride nanotubes and discovered they possessed a number of interesting properties: They are perfect insulators, which means they could be doped to form designer semiconductors for use in electronics that operate at high temperatures. They are among the strongest materials known and can be dispersed in organic solvents, properties that could be useful in making high-strength composites and ceramics. Plus, they shed water like a duck’s back. This quality, known as superhydrophobicity, holds at all pH levels, which means they could be used as protective coatings to shield against the strongest acids and bases.

Yap said Lee played an important role in their collaboration. “I enjoy working with Chee Huei, as he is willing to listen, think and work hard on an idea, and then he comes back to tell you much more than what you were expecting,” said Yap. “My initial ideas mature and flourish with his feedback.”

Lee has authored or coauthored 12 peer-reviewed journal papers on their nanotube research, as well as three chapters and review articles and three papers in peer-reviewed proceedings. As recipients of the Rath Award, Yap and Lee will share a $2,000 prize. Their research work is supported by the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy’s Office of Basic Energy Sciences.

To find out more, visit the Michigan Tech News Site .

by Marcia Goodrich, senior writer
Published in Tech Today

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MSGC Awards Announced

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Faculty and students have received awards totaling $72,500 through the Michigan Space Grant Consortium (MSGC), sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Michigan Tech submitted 30 proposals, 16 of which received funding.  See the Tech Today posting for all awardees.

Graduate students receiving $5,000 fellowships are:

  • Dulcinea Avouris (Geology, GMES): “Triggering of Volcanic Activity by Large Earthquakes”
  • Baron Colbert (Civil Engineering, CEE): “Using Nonmetals Separated From E-Waste in Improving the Mechanical Properties of Asphalt Materials”
  • Sarah Gray (Mechanical Engineering, ME): “Bear Parathyroid Hormone as a Treatment for Osteoporosis in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy”
  • John Moyer (Mechanical Engineering, ME): “Effect of Simulated Low Gravity on Compressive Material Properties of Porcine Meniscus”
  • Alicia Sawdon (Chemical Engineering, ChE): “Production of Astaxanthin by Haematococcus pluvialis for Astronauts”
  • Christina Ylitalo (Biomedical Engineering, BME): “Controlling Inflammation Following Traumatic Injury Will Help Prevent Osteoarthritis”
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Two Tech Researchers Win Professional Opportunity Awards

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John Durocher, a research assistant professor and postdoctoral fellow in Exercise Science, and Huan Yang, a PhD candidate in Exercise Science through the Biological Sciences graduate program, have received the 2011 Caroline tum Suden/Frances Hellebrandt Professional Opportunity Awards from the American Physiological Society.

More than 140 graduate students and postdoctoral fellows throughout the US and beyond applied for the award this year. Only 38 awardees were selected, based on abstracts of their research.

“It is remarkable that both received this abstract-based award, and it is a credit to their hard work, dedication and high caliber of research,” said Dean Bruce Seely (CSA). “Most of the recipients are trainees at medical colleges throughout the US, making this even more remarkable.”

Durocher and Yang will be honored at the 2011 Experimental Biology conference in Washington, DC, this April.

Published by Jennifer Donovan, director of public relations

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Engineering Physics Graduate Student Wins Competition

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Abhishek Prasad, a graduate student in physics, won an award at the 2010 Materials Research Society Fall Meeting, which drew 6,000 participants.

Prasad earned first place among 50 finalists in the sciences and arts competition at the meeting. His entry, titled “Stem of nanoflowers,” was artificially composed of multiple scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures.

Prasad also presented a paper, “(CdSe) ZnS Core Shell Quantum Dots Decorated Zinc Oxide Nanowires for Solar Energy Harvesting Applications,” which appeared in Symposium W: Nanowires–Growth and Device Assembly for Novel Applications.

The MRS meeting was held in Boston from Nov. 28 to Dec. 3. Prasad is a doctoral student who works in Professor Yoke Khin Yap’s (Physics) research group.

Published in Tech Today

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UTC‐MiSTI Announces 2010 Student of the Year

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The University Transportation Center for Materials in Sustainable Transportation Infrastructure (UTC‐MiSTI) has selected Darrell Cass as its 2010 “Student of the Year.”

Cass will receive a $1,000 award, travel and registration expenses to attend the 90th Transportation Research Board (TRB) Conference in Washington, DC, and a certificate from the US Department of Transportation.

The TRB conference annually attracts more than 10,000 participants, including university researchers and students, government officials and industry professionals.

Cass received his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Tech and will complete his master’s degree in May 2011.

His past research included sustainability applied to construction practices and transportation infrastructure. His current research involves quantifying greenhouse gas emissions associated with highway construction and rehabilitation for the Michigan Department of Transportation. This work will help develop tools to support transportation agencies in making more sustainable decisions in managing transportation infrastructure systems.

Cass, who is advised by Assistant Professor Amlan Mukherjee (CEE), has presented his research at the 89th Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting in 2010; the 2010 Construction Research Congress; the 2010 National Local Technical Assistance Program Association Annual Conference; and the International Conference on Sustainable Concrete Pavements. In February of 2011 he will present his work at the Louisiana State Engineering Conference.

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Fall 2010 Finishing Fellowships Awarded

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The Graduate School is proud to announce the following students are recipients of a one-time Fall 2010 Finishing Fellowship:

  • Alexandru Herescu, Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
  • Megan L Killian, Biomedical Engineering
  • Chee Huei Lee, Physics
  • Cho Hui Lim, Chemical Engineering
  • Yu Liu, Civil Engineering
  • Jiang Lu, Physics
  • Cory P. McDonald, Environmental Engineering
  • Louis R. Pignotti, Chemistry

The fellowships are made possible by the Charles L. Lawton Endowed Fellowship, Neil V. Hakala Endowed Fellowship, Doctoral Finishing Fellowship, and the Graduate School.

Pictures of our recent awardees are available online.

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Two Tech Authors Win Historical Society Awards

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Two Michigan Tech book authors won 2010 State History Awards from the Historical Society of Michigan. Larry Lankton, professor of social sciences, received an award in the University and Commercial Press category for “Hollowed Ground,” a history of the copper mining industry in the Upper Peninsula. Gary Kaunonen’s “Challenge Accepted: A Finnish Immigrant Response to Industrial America in Michigan’s Copper Country” won an award in the same category. Kaunonen is a PhD student in industrial archeology.

The society presented 15 awards at its 136th Annual Meeting and State History Conference Oct. 15-17 in Frankenmuth, including a Lifetime Achievement award, which honors men and women who have dedicated themselves to preserving Michigan’s history over a significant amount of time.

The Historical Society of Michigan, which administers the State History Awards, is the state’s oldest cultural organization. Founded in 1828 by Lewis Cass and Henry Schoolcraft, it is an independent nonprofit dedicated to the preservation and presentation of Michigan’s historical story. The State History Awards are the highest recognition presented by the state’s official historical society.

Published in Tech Today

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Summer 2010 Finishing Fellowships Awarded

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The Graduate School is proud to announce the following students are recipients of a one-time Summer 2010 Finishing Fellowship:

  • Atakan Altinkaynak, Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
  • Rachel M Bradford, Biomedical Engineering
  • Archana Pandey, Engineering Physics
  • Edwar Romero-Ramirez, Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
  • Eric M Winder, Biological Sciences

The fellowships are made possible by the Graduate School.

Application procedures for the Graduate School fellowship programs and photographs of recent recipients can be found online.  Nominations are currently open for Finishing Fellowships for fall semester.  Nominations are due no later than 4pm on July 29, 2010.

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Electrical Engineering Graduate Students Earn Silver Award

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Associate Professor Chunxiao Chigan, electrical and computer engineering, had two of her PhD students, Congyi Liu and Zhengming Li, win the 2010 ITS-Michigan (Intelligent Transportation Society) Student Paper Silver Award .

Liu’s paper is “Reliable Structure-less Message Aggregation and Robust Dissemination in VANETs,” and Li’s paper is “On Resource-Aware Message Verification and Privacy Issues in VANETs.” Liu and Li presented their papers at the ITS-MI Annual Program May 13 in Dearborn.

Published in Tech Today

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Jeff Allen, Ezequiel Medici Win First Bhakta Rath Research Award

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For their pioneering work to improve water management in low temperature fuel cells, Jeffrey Allen and his PhD student, Ezequiel Medici, have been named the first winners of the Bhakta Rath Research Award at Michigan Tech. Allen is an associate professor of mechanical engineering-engineering mechanics.

The award, endowed earlier this year by 1958 Michigan Tech alumnus Rath and his wife, Shushama Rath, recognizes a doctoral student at Michigan Tech and his or her faculty advisor for “exceptional research of particular value that anticipates the future needs of the nation while supporting advances in emerging technology.” Allen and Medici will share a $2,000 prize.

“We are delighted to recognize Professor Jeff Allen and his accomplished student, Ezequiel Medici, for their outstanding research contribution in the field of mechanical engineering and engineering mechanics,” said Rath, who is associate director of research and head of the Materials Science and Component Technology Directorate at the US Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC. “We have no doubt that their seminal contributions will advance the frontiers of our knowledge in the field and contribute to development of new technologies. My wife and I wish to join their family members, friends and colleagues in congratulating the recipients of this award.”

When he endowed the award in April, Rath said he hoped it would promote and reward research excellence in the physical and natural sciences and engineering, fields in which Michigan Tech is emerging as a world leader in research and education.

“I am honored and grateful to be one of the inaugural recipients of this prestigious award,” Allen said. “However, the credit for the success of this research belongs to Ezequiel.”

His graduate student added, “I feel really honored to have our research recognized because of its potential impact on the fuel-cell industry.”

Medici and Allen’s research focuses on improving the management of the water produced during the operation of a fuel cell, liquid that leads to performance loss and rapid degradation of the fuel cell, significantly reducing the life of the system. They developed a new technique for optimizing fuel cell electrodes and a simple, reliable computational tool that captures the nature of liquid water movement in fuel cell electrodes. Their work, sponsored by the US Department of Energy and conducted in collaboration with the Rochester Institute of Technology and General Motors, will reduce the research and development time and cost of improving fuel cell performance and durability.

Bill Predebon, chair of ME-EM, noted the potential importance of Allen and Medici’s work. “The research being conducted by Ezequiel Medici and his advisor Dr. Jeffrey Allen on the improvement of water management in low temperature fuel cells will have a significant impact in the fuel cell industry in the design of the porous materials used in fuel cells.”

by Jennifer Donovan, director of public relations
Published in Tech Today

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