Category: Alumni

Katie Amar-Fox ’19 on Career Fair at Michigan Tech

Jenna Lane (Career Services) was quoted by WLUC TV6 in a story about Michigan Tech’s fall 2023 Career Fair, held Tuesday (Sept. 19) with 376 employers in attendance. MTU undergraduate Nathaniel Vogler (marketing) and alumna Katie Amar-Fox ’19 (B.S. Materials Science and Engineering) were also quoted in the story.

Nucor Melt Shop Metallurgist Katie Amar-Fox said she was able to kickstart her future because of the career fair.

“I was able to speak with Nucor when I was a second year here at Tech,” Amar-Fox said. “Then, I did a few different internships with them down in Alabama and over in Illinois, then landed a full-time spot down in Arkansas. Since then, I’ve moved up to New York with them. I’ve been really enjoying it.”

Read more and watch the video at WLUC TV6, by Caden Meines.

2021 Alpha Sigma Mu inductees

The logo of Alpha Sigma Mu.

Five students were inducted into Alpha Sigma Mu, at the MSE Senior Banquet on April 23rd, 2021. Inducted were MSE seniors Signey Feige and Maria Rochow, and MSE juniors Megan Huggett, Sophie Mehl, and Haley Papineau.

Congratulations MSEers!

Alpha Sigma Mu is the international academic honor organization of the materials discipline. It was established in 1933 at the Michigan College of Mining and Technology; Michigan Tech holds the distinction of being the alpha chapter of this widely recognized and highly respected organization!

MSE Alum Megan Kreiger receives 2021 Michigan Tech Alumni Association Outstanding Young Alumna Award

Megan Kreiger
Megan Kreiger

Outstanding students, staff, and a special alumni were honored Friday (April 16) during Michigan Tech’s 27th Annual Student Leadership Awards Virtual Ceremony.

Outstanding students, staff, and special alumni were honored on Friday, April 16th at Michigan Tech’s 27th Annual Student Leadership Awards Virtual Ceremony.   At that event, Michigan Tech alums Kaitlin Bunker (BS EE ’10, MS EE ‘12, PhD EE ’14) and Megan Kreiger (BS Math ’09, MS MSE ’12) were introduced as the Alumni Association Outstanding Young Alumni for 2021.  Dr. Brunker is currently a manager at the Rocky Mountain Institute, and Megan works for the Construction Engineering Research Laboratory at the University of Illinois.  Dr. Brunker delivered the keynote address at the awards ceremony.

By Student Leadership and Involvement.

MSE Alumna Dr. Kathy Hayrynen Earns American Foundry Society Award

Kathy L. Hayrynen
Dr. Kathy L. Hayrynen

The American Foundry Society (AFS) award-winners have been announced by the AFS Board of Awards.

Kathy L. Hayrynen, vice president of R&D, Applied Process Inc. (Livonia, Michigan) will be awarded the John H. Whiting Gold Medal for her exemplary work in cast iron research and standards, chairing the AFS Technical Council, leadership in streamlining the AFS Cast Iron Division, as well as for advocacy and mentorship of students and women in metalcasting.

Hayrynen graduated with BS, MS, and PhD in Metallurgical Engineering from Michigan Tech in 1986, 1989, and 1993, respectively. She was inducted to the Department of Materials Science and Engineering Academy in 2006.

The award will be presented virtually at the Metalcasting Congress 2021 this April. An in-person ceremony for the Gold Medal is also planned for the 2021 Foundry Leadership Summit in September.

Pearce Group on 3D Printing

Additive ManufacturingJoshua Pearce (MSE/ECE) and Michigan Tech alumnus Apoorv Kulkarni ’18, coauthored “Polymer-derived SiOC Replica of Material Extrusion-based 3D Printed Plastics“, which was published in Additive Manufacturing.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addma.2019.100988

The results of this experimental study open up a completely new avenue in low-cost 3-D printing of ceramic structures with fused filament fabrication (FFF) based methods.

In Print

Chelsea Schelly (SS) and Joshua Pearce (MSE/ECE) have published: Schelly, C. and Pearce, J.M. (2020). Bridging the Social and Environmental Dimensions of Global Sustainability in STEM Education with Additive Manufacturing. Chapter 8 (Pages 155-172) In Ali, N., & Khine, M.S. (Eds). Integrating 3D printing into teaching and learning: Practitioners’ perspectives. Leiden, the Netherlands: Brill Publishing.

https://doi.org/10.1163/9789004415133

Alum Ben Savonen (ME) and visiting scholar Jennifer Bow (MSE) coauthored a paper with John Gershenson (ME) and Joshua Pearce (MSE/ECE) titled “Open-Source Three-Dimensional Printable Infant Clubfoot Brace” published in the Journal of Prosthetics and Orthotics.

doi: 10.1097/JPO.0000000000000257

In the News

Pearce’s research was also covered in”Ystruder: New Syringe System Offers Feature Rich, Open-Source Multifunction Extrusion” published in 3DPrint.

Research by Joshua Pearce (MSE/ECE) on the sustainability of 3-D printing was highlighted in Spain’s leading Industry publication Interempresas.

Alumnus Ned Johnson ‘47, Passes Away

Edwin B. Johnson
Edwin B. Johnson

Edwin B. (Ned) Johnson passed away October 6, 2019. Prior to enrolling at Michigan Tech, he served in the U.S. Army and during World War II was captured by the German Army. He spent 7 months in a prisoner of war camp and later received the Purple Heart Medal.

Johnson graduated from Michigan Tech in 1947 with a bachelors in metallurgical engineering. After graduation, he went to work for Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. where he spent his entire career. He held numerous positions throughout the years and was named President in 1983. He served in this role until his retirement in 1986.

Johnson was recognized by Michigan Tech on several occasions. In 1971, he was awarded the Board of Control Silver Medal and in 1987, received the Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumnus award. He was inducted into the Materials Science & Engineering Academy in 1996. He was an extremely good friend of the University lending both his time and energy to numerous initiatives. He served on the Alumni Association Board of Directors and was a member of the Century II Campaign Task Force. In addition, he served as President of the Michigan Tech Fund Board of Trustees and attained Life Trustee status after serving three consecutive terms on the Board.

Johnson along with his wife Lois (who passed away in 2003), were very generous and supported numerous University programs over the years. These include the Annual Fund, the Huskies Club, the Materials Science & Engineering Department, the Rozsa Center, and several other campus initiatives. In 2008, he established the Edwin B. & Lois M. Johnson Endowed Scholarship to assist Michigan Tech students majoring in Materials Science & Engineering. Ned was recognized as a member of the Hotchkiss Society for his philanthropic support.

View the full obituary.

Ben Almquist ’04 Speaks for Five Under 35

Ben Almquist
Ben Almquist ’04

HOUGHTON — Five accomplished alumni of Michigan Technological University (MTU), who all have graduated from the institution in the last 15 years, returned to the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts on Wednesday afternoon to tell students about their paths to success. MTU’s inaugural Five Under 35 event has been more than two years in the making, according to moderator and MTU vice president of student affairs Les Cook.

Ben Almquist was the first speaker of the evening. Almquist graduated from MTU’s Materials Science and Engineering program in 2004.

“Michigan Tech made me a baby,” he said.

He continued to say that he didn’t cry a lot, but his work at MTU made him curious again.

Read more at the Mining Gazette, by Joshua Vissers.

CGS GradImpact Story on Jeffrey Brookins ’17

Jeffery Brookins
Jeffery Brookins ’17

The Graduate School, with the help of Dr. Jaroslaw Drelich and Jeffery Brookins, submitted a GradImpact story on one of our Michigan Tech alums and veterans, Jeffrey Brookins.

GradImpact is published by the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS).

GradImpact: Finding a Path from Afghanistan to Materials Science

One of the challenges facing many graduate students is to find a project that will have practical application. Even more difficult, is to find a project that will help people on days that are painful and frightening. Jeffrey Brookins, a Master of Science graduate in Materials Science and Engineering from Michigan Tech University, is the rare student with a project that does both. Brookins worked on developing improved surgical clips for use during laparoscopic surgeries – minimally invasive procedures designed to minimize external scarring, often within the abdominal or pelvic cavities.

Read more at GradImpact.

Amberlee Haselhuhn ’11 on STEM Education

Amberlee Haselhuhn
Amberlee Haselhuhn ’11

Michigan Tech alumna Amberlee Haselhuhn, who received her bachelor’s of science in Materials Science and Engineering in 2011 and her PhD in ’16, appears in “Industry Faces,” a feature of Modern Casting.

Haselhuhn earned her PhD under the advisement of Joshua Pearce (MSE/ECE) and Paul Sanders (MSE).

Haselhuhn showing value of STEM education

Haselhuhn has worked with an all-girls First Robotics team and volunteers with AFS Foundry in a Box demonstrations through the Saginaw Valley chapter.

By doing what she has professionally, Haselhuhn is also a role model for young girls and women considering a career in STEM. That’s not something she takes lightly.

“I’ve been surrounded by incredibly talented, smart and innovative people at General Motors and when I was at Michigan Tech. There are so many intelligent people in the world,” she said. “You’re always hoping to improve your skills, innovate and to continue to be the best that you can be.”

Read more at Modern Casting.

Related:

Amberlee Haselhuhn ’11 is a Future Leader of Manufacturing