Author: College of Engineering

Sue Hill is the Digital Content Manager for the College of Engineering.

Office of Naval Research Funding for Paul Sanders

Paul G. Sanders
Paul Sanders

Paul Sanders (MSE/IMP) is the principal investigator on a project that has received a $170,042 research and development grant from the U.S. Department of Defense, Office of Naval Research.

Erik Herbert (MSE) and Stephen Hackney (MSE) are Co-PIs on the project “High Temperature Plasticity of Microalloyed Aluminum: Influence of Rapid Solidification and Wrought Processing on Precipitation Strengthening and Deformation Mechanisms.”

This is the first year of a potential three-year project totaling $502,467.

From Tech Today.

ASM Foundation’s Materials Camp for Teachers

Approximately 25 science teachers from across the state will be on the Michigan Tech campus today (June 20, 2016) to June 24 to participate in the ASM Foundation’s Materials Camp for Teachers. The Materials Science and Engineering Department at Tech will host the event on ASM’s behalf. ASM Teachers Camps are idea-generating workshops that show educators new ways to make teaching math and core science principles more exciting and accessible to students and provides a way to show students how science links to careers in engineering. ASM has found that teachers are effective mentors and counselors for students with interests in STEM-based careers.

Represented will be science teachers of all K-12 grades representing subjects including chemistry, physics, earth science, biology, environmental sciences and math. The curriculum includes hands-on modules in topics such as materials chemistry and physics, the science of metals, ceramics, polymers, and composites, materials processing strategies and applications of materials.

The ASM Foundation provides the instructors, curriculum and supplies for the camp and subsidizes most of the expenses for the teachers’ attendance, travel and lodging. Teachers are eligible to earn graduate level credits. The Michigan Tech camp is one of 43 workshops that are offered nationally each summer and one of nine residential experiences.

From Tech Today, by Materials Science and Engineering.

Photovoltaics and Solar-Hybrid Energy

Solar PanelA new study focused on solar-hybrid energy systems using cogeneration, photovoltaics and battery technology and its potential impact in the Upper Peninsula was picked up by several media outlets including Solar Thermal MagazinePhys.org and e! Science News.

The research was conducted by Abhilash Katamneni (CS), Richelle Winkler (SS), Joshua Pearce (ECE/MSE) and Lucia Gauchia (ECE/ME).

From Tech Today.

Net metering changes could drive people off grid, Michigan researchers say

“The results imply that economic circumstances could spur a positive feedback loop whereby grid electricity prices continue to rise and increasing numbers of customers choose alternatives,” the report says.

Read more at Midwest Energy News, by Andy Balaskovitz.

Research by Abhi Katamneni (CS), Richelle Winkler (SS), Joshua Pearce (MSE, ECE), and Lucia Gauchia (MEEM, ECE) about the economic feasibility of going off grid in the Upper Peninsula continues to get media coverage. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) News put the study’s Michigan case study into a national power grid context. See the article here.

Smart Grid News also covered the story.

From Tech Today.

In Print

Energy EconomicsMichigan Tech alumni Edward Louie and Joshua Pearce (MSE/ECE) co-authored “Retraining Investment for U.S. Transition from Coal to Solar Photovoltaic Employment,” published in Energy Economics.

doi:10.1016/j.eneco.2016.05.016

From Tech Today.

In the News

Joshua Pearce (MSE/ECE) was quoted in several articles in the latest Consumer Reports about purchasing solar photovoltaic systems including “Shedding Light on Solar Power” and “The Real Cost of Leasing vs. Buying Solar Panels.” He was also quoted in other news agencies on solar power issues including Yahoo News.

From Tech Today.

Pearce on Open-Sourcing and 3D Printing

Joshua Pearce (MSE/ECE) is quoted in an article “Can Open-Sourcing Transform Electronics Hardware?” in IEEE’s Electronics 360.

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3DPrint.com published an article covering the work of seven Michigan Tech students including Cedric Kennedy, Aubrey Woern, Josh Krugh, Amber Varacalli, Ryan Oshe, John Klotz and Natalie Pohlman supported by Andre Laplume (SBE) and Joshua Pearce (MSE/ECE). “There are an ever-increasing number of universities and other higher educational institutions that currently have the goal to enhance and educate students on the state of 3D printing, but only a select few have disrupted the industry as much as the Michigan Technological University.”

From Tech Today.

Joshua Pearce (MSE/ECE) is quoted in an article in Network World where Michigan Tech is highlighted as one of six colleges turning out open source talent.

Pearce’s article on how to calculate the ROI for open hardware made the Editor’s picks for must-read articles at OpenSource.

From Tech Today.

Joshua Pearce (MSE/ECE) and MSE PhD candidate Bas Wijnen are quoted in the story “Michigan Tech and America Makes Release Free Open Source 3D Printing Software” on 3D Print.

From Tech Today.

Joshua Pearce (MSE/ECE) has been named editor-in-chief of HardwareX a new Elsevier journal dedicated to open source scientific hardware development.

From Tech Today.

In Print

Advanced Manufacturing TechnologyAndre Laplume (SBE), Jerry Anzalone (MSE) and Joshua Pearce (MSE/ECE) co-authored “Open-source, self-replicating 3-D printer factory for small-business manufacturing” in The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology.

doi:10.1007/s00170-015-7970-9

From Tech Today.

In the News

Joshua Pearce (MSE/ECE) and Michigan Tech were highlighted for research innovations in Wohlers Report 2016: 3D Printing and Additive Manufacturing State of the Industry Annual Worldwide Progress Report.

PhD student Bas Wijnen (MSE) and Pearce (MSE/ECE) were covered in anarticle in Design News.

Materials Today ran an article on HardwareX, edited by Pearce  (MSE/ECE).

In Print

Joshua Pearce (MSE/ECE), Caryn Heldt (ChE) and undergraduate Nick Anzalone co-authored: “Open-source Wax RepRap 3-D Printer for Rapid Prototyping Paper-Based Microfluidics” for the Journal of Laboratory Automation 

Pearce co-authored a paper with PhD students Chenlong Zhang (MSE) and Bas Wijnen (MSE) titled “Open-source 3-D Platform for Low-cost Scientific Instrument Ecosystem” for the Journal of Laboratory Automation.

From Tech Today.

Drelich Presents at From Lab to Marketplace

How do discoveries in university labs turn into commercially available—and potentially lifesaving—products?

This Wednesday, May 25, 2016, teams of Michigan Tech scientists and engineers will present their innovative technologies to a state funding review committee. The reviewers, officially designated an Oversight Committee, will be making decisions on grants from the Michigan Translational Research and Commercialization (MTRAC) program, a $6 million state-funded program developed and managed by the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) to help commercialize university translational research.

An example of a team that will present on Wednesday afternoon is Professor Jarek Drelich (MSE) and Associate Professor Jeremy Goldman (BME). They are working on developing a metal alloy that would perform well as a biodegradable stent for heart surgery and other uses where a biodegradable material is desirable. They have been working for some time to find a material with all the necessary properties that will biodegrade harmlessly in the body over a set period of time.

Read more at Tech Today, by Jenn Donovan.

ACMAL is a Core Facility

The Vice President for Research Office has deemed the following facilities University Core Facilities:

*Applied Chemical and Morphological Analysis Laboratory (ACMAL)
* Animal Care Facility
* Microfabrication Facility
* Marine Assets Facility

From Tech Today.

Formerly operated at the departmental level, ACMAL will now have access to funding opportunities available to officially recognized Core Facilities. It should allow for more expensive equipment repairs, the purchase of small equipment, and the matching of funds for major instrumentation proposals.

Learn more about the Applied Chemical and Morphological Analysis Laboratory.