Tag: Materials Science and Engineering

Michigan Space Grants Available

Michigan Space Grants Available
The Michigan Space Grant Consortium (MSGC) is inviting applications for 2010-11. The application and review processes are online at www.umich.edu/~msgc .

Funding is available for the following:

* Fellowship Program
* Research Seed Grant Program
* Precollege Education Program
* Public Outreach Program
* Teacher Training Program

Michigan Tech’s MSGC liaison is Chris Anderson, special assistant to the president for Institutional Diversity. For more information, contact Anderson at csanders@mtu.edu or Michigan Tech’s MSGC Assistant, Carol Argentati, at 487-2474 or caargent@mtu.edu .

Applications are due to Institutional Diversity no later than 3:30 p.m., Monday, Nov. 16.

The process for submission is as follows:

1) Create a budget be contacting Kellie Buss at Research and Sponsored Programs at 487-2226 or by email at kellie@mtu.edu .

2) Complete online forms at www.umich.edu/~msgc (but do not submit until after step 4).

3) Complete transmittal form by clicking here .

4) Print the materials and bring them to Institutional Diversity, which will provide a letter of approval to submit. Step 4 needs to be completed during the week of Nov. 16.

SMART Scholarship Program

The SMART scholarship Program is a highly-selective, prestigious, national program that fully supports graduate and undergraduate education.  Michigan Tech is recognized as one of the top schools in terms of SMART recipients.  Our goal, in collaboration with the Department of Defense is to “greatly increase” the number of Michigan Tech SMART recipients.

The Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation (SMART) scholarship-for-service Program fully funds graduate degrees in a wide range of technical areas, including all fields of engineering, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Brain and Cognitive Sciences, and Mathematics.  Recipients receive:

  • Full tuition to any accredited U.S. University
  • A very generous stipend
  • $36, 000 for masters candiates
  • 38,000- $41,000 for doctoral candidates
  • $1000 Book allowance
  • Health Insurance
  • All required student fees
  • Travel fees for internships

Deadline: December 15th

Please contact Jodi Lehman (jglehman@mtu.edu) if interested in applying.

New theses and dissertations in the Library

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

Three Michigan Tech Graduate Engineering Programs Ranked in Top 50

Tech Today

by Jennifer Donovan, public relations director

Graduate school rankings released today by US News & World Report rank three of Michigan Tech’s graduate engineering programs in the top 50 nationwide. The annual rankings evaluated 198 graduate schools of engineering.

Michigan Tech’s programs ranked as follows:
* environmental engineering: 33
* mechanical engineering: 48
* materials science and engineering: 49

Two other graduate programs at Michigan Tech ranked in the top 100 nationwide, as did the College of Engineering overall. Those rankings include:
* civil engineering: 58
* geological and mining engineering and sciences: 77
* College of Engineering: 82

“Our long-term goal is to advance the reputation of our graduate programs,” said President Glenn D. Mroz. “That is not a timid goal, but we know what we need to do; it is spelled out in our strategic plan. We are laying the groundwork now, and we know it won’t happen overnight. We are competing with the best universities in the US and the world for resources and talented graduate students. But Michigan Tech is becoming more and more competitive.”

Each year, US News & World Report ranks graduate schools of business, education, engineering, law and medicine. According to the magazine, the rankings are based on two kinds of data–the opinions of graduate school deans, program directors, senior faculty and employers of new graduates, and statistical measures such as student-to-faculty ratio, faculty research activity and doctoral degrees awarded.

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

The rankings will be featured in the May 2009 issue of US News & World Report. Information is also available at www.usnews.com/grad and www.usnews.com/aboutgrad .

Fulbright Scholar Dream Come True

Printed in the Daily Mining Gazette

By Michael Babcok, DMG Writer

For Michigan Technological University graduate student, Richard Basary, coming to America was a dream and a goal.  The University’s reputation in Materials Science and Engineering attracted the Fulbright Scholar from Indonesia.  “Indonesia needs people who know about technology,” Basary says, “but with a servant heart.” After graduation, he plans to return to his home in Papua and make a sustainable difference in how people take advantage of renewable sources.

Read full story online.