Tag: Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics

Graduate School Announces Award Recipients

The Graduate School is pleased to announce that the following students have earned:

Doctoral Finishing Fellowships:

Jun Ma, PhD candidate in Computer Science
Evgeniy Kulakov, PhD candidate in Geology
Colin Gurganus, PhD candidate in Atmospheric Sciences
Suntara Fueangfung, PhD candidate in Chemistry
Fang Chen, PhD candidate in Electrical Engineering
Xiaohui Wang, PhD candidate in Electrical Engineering
Jennifer Riehl, PhD candidate in Forest Molecular Genetics and Biotechnology
Stephanie Ogren, PhD candidate in Biological Sciences
Tayloria Adams, PhD candidate in Chemical Engineering

Dean’s Fellowships:

Bonnie Zwissler, PhD candidate in Civil Engineering
Matthew Brege, PhD candidate in Chemistry
Bryan Steinhoff, PhD candidate in Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics

DeVlieg Foundation Fellowships:

Howard Haselhuhn, PhD candidate in Chemical Engineering
John Henderson, PhD candidate in Forest Science

King-Ch`avez-Parks Future Faculty Fellowships:

Zoe Miller, MS candidate in Environmental Engineering
Darnishia Slade, PhD candidate in Applied Cognitive Science and Human Factors
Ronesha Strozier, MS candidate in Environmental Policy

Photographs and details of awards and fellowships coordinated by the Graduate School can be found online:

www.mtu.edu/gradschool/administration/academics/awards-fellowships/

Deisenroth Receives NSF Fellowship

David Deisenroth, a graduate student pursuing an MS in Mechanical Engineering, has received an National Science Foundation East Asia and Pacific Summer Institute Fellowship to travel to Korea this summer to conduct research.

Deisenroth will conduct an in-depth study on the collision of a falling drop of water and a resting drop of water. He will film the drops at high speeds and observe their characteristics. The results can be used to further the understanding of thermal management systems, aerosols and fuel injection.

An EAPSI award provides science, engineering and education research experiences in Australia, China, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Singapore, or Taiwan; an introduction to the science, science policy and scientific infrastructure of the respective location; and an orientation to the society, culture, and language. EAPSI awards help students initiate professional relationships to enable future collaboration with foreign counterparts.

Deisenroth’s award includes a stipend of $5,000 and travel expenses. His advisor is Jeff Allen, the John and Joan Calder Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics.

Published in Tech Today.

New Dissertations Available in the Library

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

  • Biological Sciences
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Chemical Engineering
  • Chemistry
  • Civil Engineering
  • Environmental Engineering
  • Forest Science
  • Geology
  • Materials Science and Engineering
  • Mathematical Sciences
  • Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
  • Rhetoric and Technical Communication

Research Universities Partner to Increase the Diversity in Future Faculty

Michigan Tech, the University of Michigan, Michigan State University, Western Michigan University and Wayne State University are partners on a 3.5-year $1.32 million project sponsored by the National Science Foundation.  Michigan Tech will partner with the other research universities in Michigan to test strategies designed to increase the number of domestic underrepresented minority graduate students pursuing careers in academia.  The project will involve an extensive research component that will test the effectiveness of mentoring and community-building events on graduate students’ persistence toward a degree and interest in continuing on to a career in academia.

“I am very excited about this project because it will result in hard data that can be used to test the importance of mentoring relationships and a sense of community on graduate students’ experiences,” said principal investigator Jacqueline Huntoon.  “I anticipate that by learning more about the graduate experience for students who are not members of the dominant racial/ethnic group, we will learn more about how to better meet the needs of all graduate students regardless of their race, ethnicity or gender.”

This research project is strengthened by the fact that five very different universities will participate in the project.  Their graduate deans recognize that the demographics of the US population are changing dramatically.  The goal of the project is to ultimately diversify the ranks of higher education faculty so that they are more representative of the US population at large and can better meet the needs of students and employers.  The project will ultimately help graduate schools across the country learn more about how to better serve students.

Craig Friedrich (MEEM), Shekhar Joshi (Bio Sci) and Chris Wojick (CEE) are co-principal investigators on the project.

2014 Lee Schipper Scholarship Call for Applications Announced

Applications are now open for the 2014 Lee Schipper Memorial Scholarship for Sustainable Transport and Energy Efficiency.  Provided jointly by the Schipper Family and EMBARQ, the sustainable transport and urban planning program of the World Resources Institute (WRI), the Scholarship will award two extraordinary candidates up to $10,000 each to advance transformative research in efficient and sustainable transport.

Biotechnology Research Center announces Fall 2013 Travel Awards

The Biotechnology Research Center announces its Fall 2013 Travel Grants. Recipients include:

Post doctoral Research Scientist Presentation:

  • Mimi Yang (SCH) 246th American Chemical Society National Meeting (poster)
  • Lijun Zhang (EBE) MSC 2013 Adult Stem Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine Meeting (poster)

Graduate Student Presentations:

  • Faten Dhawi Almuhanna (IBMB) International Plant and Animal Genome XXII Meeting (poster)
  • Ran An (ECM) SciX 2013 Conference (poster)
  • David Chadderdon (ECM) 2013 AIChE Annual Conference (podium)
  • Kristina Flesher (FAE) International Annual Meetings of ASA, CSSA, and SSSA (poster)
  • Azhang Hamlekhan (MEEM) TMS 2014 Annual Meeting & Exhibition (podium)
  • Sean Hopkins (EBE) ) 246th American Chemical Society National Meeting (poster)
  • Maryam Khaksari (ECM) SciX 2013 Conference (poster)
  • Connor McCarthy (EBE) 246th American Chemical Society National Meeting (poster)
  • Ramkumar Mohan (SBL) The Midwest Islet Club Meeting (poster)
  • Ji Qi (ECM) 2013 AIChE Annual Conference (podium)
  • Aparupa Sengupta (SBL) Society for Industrial Microbiology and Biotechnology (podium)
  • Emily Shearier (EBE) TERMIS-AM 2013 Conference and Exposition (poster)
  • Maria Tafur (ECM) 2013 AIChE Annual Conference (podium)
  • Le Xin (ECM) 2013 AIChE Annual Conference (podium and poster)

Published in Tech Today

Stepping Out in Style: Toward an Artificial Leg with a Natural Gait

Humans rarely walk the straight and narrow; something’s always in the way. So Michigan Tech scientists are developing a computer-controlled prosthesis to make it much easier for amputees to turn as they walk.

In cooperation with a Mayo Clinic scientist, researchers at Michigan Tech are taking a giant step toward solving the problem. They are making a bionic foot that could make an amputee’s walk in the park feel, well, like a walk in the park.

Assistant Professor Mo Rastgaar and PhD student Evandro Ficanha
The secret lies in the ankle. Mo Rastgaar, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering–engineering mechanics, and PhD student Evandro Ficanha are working on a microprocessor-controlled ankle-foot prosthesis that comes close to achieving the innate range of motion of this highly complex joint.

These computerized artificial legs have pressure-sensitive sensors on the bottom of the foot that detect how the amputee is walking. The sensors instantaneously send signals to a microprocessor, which in turn adjusts the prosthesis to make walking more natural.

For the full story see Michigan Tech News

Published in Tech Today by Marcia Goodrich, magazine editor

To the Moon: Michigan Tech Alumnus Contributes to Lunar Mission

Aboard a spacecraft orbiting the moon is a little bit of Brandon Dilworth.

His body is comfortably here on Earth. But for the last several years, Dilworth has poured all his professional skill and passion into a game-changing scientific project that is now hitching a ride on the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer. Launched by NASA Sept. 6. LADEE (dubbed “laddie”) left its Earth orbit Oct. 2 and entered a lunar orbit Oct. 6., Soon, the technical project that Dilworth has been working on at MIT Lincoln Laboratory for the last four years will spring into action.

“I’ve supported the Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration since my first day at Lincoln,” he said. “I got my PhD in August 2009, drove out to Massachusetts, and started work the next Monday.”

Since Dilworth earned his master’s and doctorate in mechanical engineering at Michigan Tech, he has been working on equipment that will revolutionize space communication.

The full release is posted on the Michigan Tech news site.

Published in Tech Today.

New Dissertations in the Library

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

  • Chemical Engineering
  • Biological Sciences
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Civil Engineering
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Engineering Physics
  • Forest Science
  • Geophysics
  • Industrial Heritage and Archaeology
  • Materials Science and Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
  • Rhetoric and Technical Communication