Graduate School Newsblog

Tag: Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics

Resources for ME-EM Graduate Students

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The library offers weekly workshops all semester on resources that lend an academic edge and save time. Workshops take place at 1 p.m. on alternate Tuesdays and Wednesdays in Library 244. Each workshop is offered twice to accommodate class schedules.

Margaret Phillips, reference and instruction librarian, will present a workshop, “Resources for ME-EM Graduate Students,” at 1 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 22; and Wednesday, March 2, in Library 244. The workshop will focus on strategies to help ME-EM graduate students navigate engineering databases and locate theses, dissertations and reports related to their field of research.

Philips will explore the Compendex and Proquest Engineering Collection databases. Participants will set up an account in Compendex, be able to save searches and be notified of new literature additions in their particular areas of interest.

This spring’s workshops will focus on resume building, material science resources, managing citations and many more. The library welcomes feedback and ideas for future workshops. Email them at library@mtu.edu.

Published in Tech Today.

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National Institutes of Health (NIH) Ruth Kirschstein National Research Service Award (NRSA) F31 Predoctoral Fellowships

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Deadline: 2011 deadlines: 4/8, 8/8, and 12/8

The objective of National Institutes of Health (NIH) Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards programs is to help ensure that a diverse pool of highly trained scientists are available in adequate numbers and in appropriate research areas to address the Nation’s biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research needs.

The purpose of the predoctoral fellowship (F31) award is to provide support for promising doctoral candidates who will be performing dissertation research and training in scientific health-related fields relevant to the missions of the participating NIH Institutes during the tenure of the award. The Kirschstein-NRSA for Individual Predoctoral Fellows will provide up to five years of support for research training which leads to the PhD or equivalent research degree, the combined MD/PhD degree, or another formally combined professional degree and research doctoral degree in the biomedical, behavioral, or clinical sciences.

Applicants for the Kirschstein-NRSA F31 award must propose a dissertation research project and training program that fall in a research area within the scientific mission of the participating Institutes. The proposed predoctoral research training must offer an opportunity to enhance the fellow’s understanding of the health-related sciences and extend his/her potential for a productive, independent research career. The training should provide the applicant with the opportunity to interact with members of the scientific community at appropriate scientific meetings and workshops (including NIH-sponsored meetings, where available). The application should document the need for the proposed research training and the expected value of the proposed fellowship experience as it relates to the individual’s goals for a career as an independent researcher.

Each NIH Institute and Center (IC) has a unique scientific purview and different program goals and initiatives that evolve over time. Prospective Fellowship Applicants are encouraged to contact the relevant NIH staff for IC-specific programmatic information: Table of Institute and Center Contacts.

Citizenship: By the time of award, the individual applicant must be a citizen or a non-citizen national of the United States or have been lawfully admitted for permanent residence.

Degree Requirements: A Fellowship Applicant must have a baccalaureate degree and be currently enrolled in a PhD or equivalent research degree program (e.g., EngD, DNSc, Dr PH, DSW, PharmD, PsyD, ScD), a formally combined MD/PhD program, or other combined professional/clinical and research doctoral (e.g., DDS/PhD) in the biomedical, behavioral, or clinical sciences at an accredited domestic or foreign institution. With the exception of the combined degree programs described above, the Kirschstein-NRSA F31 may not be used to support studies leading to the MD, DDS, or other clinical, health-professional training (e.g., DC, DMD, DNP, DO, DPM, DVM, ND, OD, AuD). Neither may these awards be used to support the clinical years of residency training.

Students seeking support for pursuit of a combined degree program (e.g. MD/PhD, or DO/PhD, or DDS/PhD) may be eligible to apply for the Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Awards for Individual Predoctoral MD/PhD Fellows (F30) (PA-09-207).

Duration of Support: Individuals may typically receive up to 5 years of aggregate Kirschstein-NRSA support at the predoctoral level.

Participating Institutes & Centers:

National Institute on Aging (NIA), http://www.nia.nih.gov/
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), http://www.niaaa.nih.gov
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD), http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/
National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research (NIDCR) http://www.nidcr.nih.gov/
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), http://www.nida.nih.gov/
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), http://www.nimh.nih.gov
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), http://www.ninds.nih.gov
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), http://www.nccam.nih.gov
Office of Dietary Supplements (ODS), http://ods.od.nih.gov/

Estimated Stipend: $21,180.  (Note: The sponsoring institution is allowed to provide funds to the fellow in addition to the stipends paid by the NIH in accordance with its own formally established policies governing stipend support.)

Application Procedure: To submit an application, applicants should access the FOA via http://www.grants.gov/applicants/apply_for_grants.jsp and follow Steps 1-4.  Applications must be submitted electronically.

Application Guidelines: SF424 (R&R) Individual Fellowship Application Guide

Contact Information: Applicants should refer to the Table of Institute and Center Contacts to obtain participating NIH Institute scientific/research contact information.

Url: http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PA-09-208.html


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Spring 2011 Finishing Fellowship Recipients Announced

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The Graduate School is pleased to announce the following students have earned Finishing Fellowships to help complete their doctoral studies:

  • Amalia L. Anderson, Physics
  • Ning Chen, Chemistry
  • Linsheng Feng, Chemistry
  • Heather L. Jordan, Rhetoric and Technical Communication
  • Partha P. Pal, Physics
  • Radheshyam Tewari, Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
  • Helen E. Thomas, Geology
  • Wenjie Xu, Electrical Engineering

The fellowships are made possible by the support of the Graduate School.

Details on the summer 2011 competition may be found online, as well as photographs of our recipients.

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New Theses and Dissertations Available in the Library

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The Graduate School is pleased to announce the following programs have new theses and dissertations available in the J.R. Van Pelt and Opie Library:

  • Biological Sciences
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Civil Engineering
  • Environmental Engineering
  • Industrial Archaeology
  • Materials Science and Engineering
  • Mathematical Sciences
  • Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
  • Rhetoric and Technical Communication
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Why Teach? The Importance of K-12 Engineering Education

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The American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) invites you to join us in this exciting dialogue entitled: Why Teach? The Importance of K-12 Engineering Education. The event will take place on Monday, January 24, 2011 at 6pm in Fisher 133. Dr. Charles Margraves from the Mechanical Engineering department will provide insight into the importance of staying connected to our youth through teaching, and Dr. Shari Stockero from the Mathematical Sciences department will discuss the NOYCE program. Refreshments provided. For more information contact KL Jordan (kari@mtu.edu).

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NASA NSPIRES Research Opportunities

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Supporting research in science and technology is an important part of NASA’s overall mission. NASA solicits this research through the release of various research announcements in a wide range of science and technology disciplines. Please bookmark and visit often  http://nspires.nasaprs.com/external to search for NASA research opportunities that may fit with your graduate research focus.

Current Opening:  NASA Space Technology Research Fellowships (NSTRF)

This Fall 2011 Fellowship opportunity is open to US citizens and permanent residents who are pursuing Master’s or Doctoral degrees in relevant space technology disciplines in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.   Selected fellows will perform research on their respective campus and at NASA Centers and US Research and Development laboratories.

The maximum amount of an NSTRF award is $60,000 per year for a Master’s candidate and $66,000 per year for a Doctoral candidate – this includes a faculty advisor allowance of $9,000.

If interested, please contact Jodi Lehman (jglehman@mtu.edu).

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Andrew Willemsen to represent Michigan Tech in MAGS competition

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Andrew Willemsen
Andrew Willemsen, Michigan Tech’s representative for the 2011 MAGS Distinguished Thesis Award
The Graduate School is pleased to announce that Andrew Willemsen is Michigan Tech’s nominee for the 2011 Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools Distinguished Thesis Award.  Mr. Willemsen was nominated by his advisor, Dr. M. Rao of the Department of Mechanical Engineering – Engineering Mechanics.

His thesis, “Objective Metric for Assessing the Perceived Annoyance of Impulsive Sounds” developed a new method to objectively quantify the overall sound quality of electro-mechanical devices.  This method could improve the design process for these devices by replacing current subjective sound evaluation methods, which are typically expensive, time-consuming, and difficult to quantify.

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Professor, Alumni Receive High Honors at International Army Conference

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Tech Alumnus Mark Griep, Mechanical Engineering PhD
2008 Tech Alumnus Mark Griep, Mechanical Engineering PhD
A Michigan Tech professor, two alumni and a research colleague have received the US Army’s highest award for research at the Army Science Conference in Orlando, Fla., last week.

The four won the best paper in the nanotechnology division, one of 18 categories, and the prestigious Paul A. Siple Award for the overall outstanding technical paper presented at the conference.

The lead author on the paper is Tech alumnus Mark Griep, who earned a PhD in mechanical engineering in 2008. Griep now works at the Army Research Laboratory at the Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland. The paper was based on research he did at Tech for his PhD and during summer research for the Army.

Griep’s advisor, Professor Craig Friedrich, who holds the Robbins Chair in Sustainable Design and Manufacturing, is a coauthor of the paper. Friedrich is also associate chair and director of graduate studies in the Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics.

Other coauthors include Shashi Karna, a senior scientist at the Army Research Laboratory and a member of the ME-EM External Advisory Board; and alumnus Eric Winder, who earned a PhD in biological sciences in 2010 and is now a postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Energy’s Pacific Northwest Laboratory near Seattle. Winder was advised by Friedrich and retired professor John Adler.

The paper, which was singled out among more than 800 abstracts submitted, is titled “Nanoscale Bioelectronics for Real-Time Target Sensing.” It describes the integration of biological materials with electronics to create a sensor that could be up to three times more optically sensitive than current technology.  Such systems are envisioned for sensors small enough to be carried by a small projectile fired by a soldier or dropped from an unmanned aerial vehicle to determine the possible presence of chemical or biological materials.  Because protein can activate individual transistors, a small electronic chip containing thousands of transistors could sense multiple toxins.   A real-time, electronics-based biosensor will have a wide array of military and civilian applications, potentially leading to extremely sensitive, small, low-power, stand-alone, sensing arrays.

One potential application: They may also be useful for bio-solar cells.

These award-winning papers were selected for originality of subject matter, relevance to the scientific discipline and the Army, potential impact on current and future soldiers, soundness of scientific methodology, and clarity of the presentation.  The Siple Award recognizes the accomplishments of Army scientists and engineers. It is named after Paul A. Siple, a scientist, intellectual and scientific attaché.  The ASC conference attracted more than 1,500 representatives of government, academia and industry from the US and 25 countries.

For more information about the conference, visit: http://armyscienceconference.com/.

Published in Tech Today.

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Research Associateship Programs

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The mission of the NRC Research Associateship Programs (RAP) is to promote excellence in scientific and technological research conducted by the U. S. government through the administration of programs offering graduate, postdoctoral, and senior level research opportunities at sponsoring federal laboratories and affiliated institutions.

In these programs, prospective applicants select a research project or projects from among the large group of opportunities listed on this website.  Prior to completing an application, prospective applicants should contact the proposed Research Adviser to assure that funding will be available if their application is recommended by NRC panels.  Once mutual interest is established between a prospective applicant and a Research Adviser, an application is submitted through the NRC WebRap system.  Reviews are conducted four times each year and review results are available approximately 6-8 weeks following the application deadline.

There are four review cycles annually. Deadlines for 2011 are:

February 1

May 1

August 1

November 1

Click here for more information: http://sites.nationalacademies.org/pga/rap/

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