Tag: Civil Engineering

New theses available in the Library

The Graduate School is pleased to announce new theses are now available in the J.R. van Pelt and Opie Library from the following programs:

  • Biological Sciences
  • Chemical Engineering
  • Chemistry
  • Civil Engineering
  • Computer Engineering
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Environmental Engineering
  • Environmental Policy
  • Geology
  • Industrial Archaeology
  • Mathematical Sciences
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Rhetoric and Technical Communication

New theses available in the Library

The Graduate School is pleased to announce new theses are now available in the J.R. van Pelt and Opie Library from the following programs:

  • Biological Sciences
  • Chemical Engineering
  • Chemistry
  • Civil Engineering
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Environmental Engineering Science
  • Forestry
  • Geological Engineering
  • Geology
  • Geophysics
  • Industrial Archaeology
  • Materials Science and Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Physics

NASA Aeronautics Scholarship Program

Recipients of the graduate scholarship will be awarded up to two years with a third year option based on academic standing and programmatic requirements.

Five graduate scholarships will be awarded annually.

Students awarded scholarships will be provided the opportunity for two 10 week internships performing aeronautical research at a NASA center during the first two years they are enrolled in the program.  List of Supported Fields

The scholarship award includes:

  • $35,000 annual stipend
  • Up to $11,000 awarded for each school year, to be used for tuition and other education related expenses
  • Two (2) $10,000 Summer internship at a NASA Research Center

Eligibility:

  • Graduate Students must have received or be on track to receive their bachelor’s degrees by Fall 2013, or they may be currently enrolled in a master’s or doctoral program but will not receive their degree until Spring 2015 or after.
  • All applicants must have at least two (2) years of full time study left to be eligible for the Program

To apply, https://nasa.asee.org/apply

Application deadline is January 15, 2013

Steel Bridge Team Earns Two Firsts, Fourth Overall in National Competition

The Steel Bridge team brought home two first places and placed fourth overall in the National Student Steel Bridge Competition at Clemson University May 25-26. The Tech team earned first places for lightness and construction efficiency.

Teams from 47 universities in the US, Canada, Mexico and China competed in the national event, sponsored by the American Institute of Steel Construction and the American Society of Civil Engineers. Participants had to design a bridge strong enough to hold 2,500 pounds and span an imaginary river, while minimizing both the amount of steel used and the construction time.

Teams were scored on how long it took them to assemble their bridges compared to the number of team members working on them; how much their bridges weighed; how little their bridges deflected when weight was added; and whether their structures could hold 2,500 pounds. The aesthetics of the bridges also affected the final score.

Tech’s team spent two months designing their 22-foot bridge, another three months fabricating each part and a month practicing assembling the bridge in the shortest possible time.

Then they participated in a regional practice run in the spring, and the top two teams advanced to the national competition.

“The team did an absolutely terrific job,” said Adam Newton, a graduate student in civil engineering and team captain. “Everyone was responsible for achieving the spectacular results.” He noted that during practice the day of the competition, the assembly team had its fastest run ever, and at the competition itself, the assembly team scored its second-fastest build time. “I am very proud of the team and their accomplishments,” Newton said.

Faculty advisor Devin Harris (CEE) agreed. “Overall, they did a great job and proved that Michigan Tech is always going to be a major player in this competition,” he said.

Team members, in addition to Newton, were Patrick Grodecki, Matt Schwalen, Alex Seidl, Keven Rey, Nate Schultz, Brandon Abel, Andrew Erickson, Ellen Englund, Wes Karras and Joel Ortman.

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

Summer 2012 Finishing Fellowships Announced

The Graduate School is pleased to announce the recipients of the summer 2012 finishing fellowships. The fellowships are made available by the support of the Graduate School.

The recipients are:

  • Sigridur O. Bjarnadottir, PhD candidate in Civil Engineering
  • Baron W. Colbert, PhD candidate in Civil Engineering
  • Azad Henareh Khalyani, PhD candidate in Forest Science
  • Subhasish Mandal, PhD candidate in Engineering Physics
  • Sunand Santhanagopalan, PhD candidate in Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics

Finishing fellowship applications for fall 2012 are due no later than 4pm on Wednesday, June 13th.  Application procedures and photographs of recent recipients can be found online.

2012 MSGC Awards Announced

Michigan Tech faculty, staff members and students received awards tallying $101,875 through the Michigan Space Grant Consortium (MSGC), sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which includes 11 university members.

Michigan Tech received 18 percent of the available research seed grant funding, 24 percent of the undergraduate fellowship funding, 33 percent of the graduate fellowship funding and 41 percent of the precollege, public outreach, teacher training and augmentation proposal funding.

  • Six undergraduates received $2,500 for research fellowships.
  • Five graduate students received $5,000 for research fellowships.
    • Brenda Bergman (Forest Science): “Mercury movement through the earth systems: better understanding biotic controls over inter-system contaminant transfer while enhancing students’ motivation to engage in STEM and reduce atmospheric pollution”
    • Patrick Bowen (Materials Science and Engineering): “Exploring the effect of group IV elements on the mechanical and corrosion performance of magnesium”
    • Baron Colbert (Civil Engineering): “Using Nonmetals Separated From E-Waste in Improving the Mechanical Properties of Asphalt Materials”
    • Colin Gurganus (Atmospheric Sciences): “Exploring Cloud Microphysics in the Laboratory: Heterogeneous Nucleation Pathways”
    • Lauren Schaefer (Geology): “Multidisciplinary approach to volcanic hazard monitoring at Pacaya Volcano, Guatemala”
  • Two faculty received $5,000 in seed grants.
  • Seven faculty and staff received $5,000 or more for precollege, public outreach, teacher training or augmentation.

Tech’s representative for the program is Chris Anderson, special assistant to the president, Institutional Diversity. She says, “This recognition and support help keep Michigan Tech students, faculty and staff on the cutting edge of inquiry and research. The number of awards we receive annually in this competitive process is impressive and underscores the quality of our proposals.”

For a list of all the awards and award winners, see Space Grants.

NASA implemented the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program in 1989 to provide funding for research, education and public outreach in space-related science and technology. The program has 52 university-based consortia in the United States and Puerto Rico. As an affiliate of the Michigan Consortium, Michigan Tech has participated in MSGC for over fifteen years.

For more information, contact Anderson at 487-2474 or at csanders@mtu.edu , or visit the MSGC website at MSGC.

submitted by Lisa Wallace, Institutional Diversity
Published in Tech Today

New theses and dissertations available in the Library

The Graduate School is pleased to announce new theses and dissertations are now available in the J.R. van Pelt and Opie Library from the following programs:

  • Biological Sciences
  • Chemical Engineering
  • Chemistry
  • Civil Engineering
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Forest Ecology and Management
  • Geophysics
  • Materials Science and Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering
  • Rhetoric and Technical Communication

New theses and dissertations available in the Library

The Graduate School is pleased to announce new theses and dissertations are now available in the J.R. van Pelt and Opie Library from the following programs:

  • Applied Ecology
  • Biological Sciences
  • Chemistry
  • Civil Engineering
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Environmental Engineering
  • Forest Ecology and Management
  • Forest Molecular Genetics and Biotechnology
  • Geology
  • Mathematical Sciences
  • Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics