Materials Science and Engineering News

Cost Optimized Solar Water Pasteurizer

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Flow-Through Solar Water Pasteurizer with components labeled
Flow-Through Solar Water Pasteurizer

Joshua Pearce coauthored “Design Optimization of Polymer Heat Exchanger for Automated Household-Scale Solar Water Pasteurizer,” published in Designs.

doi:10.3390/designs2020011

The study offers a promising approach to reducing the >870,000 deaths/year globally from unsafe water through the use of flow-through solar water pasteurization systems (SWPs). The high cost of the heat exchanger (HX) is addressed with the introduction of of a polymer microchannel HX as a substitute for coiled copper. The polymer microchannel HX is designed for a 3-D printed collector. The paper focuses on SWP systems fabricated using fully open-source distributed manufacturing.

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Erik Herbert is an Outstanding Reviewer

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Erik G. Herbert
Erik G. Herbert

Erik Herbert (MSE) was listed among “Acta Journals’ Outstanding Reviewers in 2017,” published in Materials Today. Herbert is an assistant professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering. He was recognized with other reviewers of Acta Materialia and Scripta Materialia.

Peer review is a cornerstone of science, and Elsevier and Acta Materialia, Inc. are dedicated to supporting and recognizing the journals’ reviewers. The Acta Journals are delighted to announce the recipients of the 2018 Outstanding Reviewer awards for excellence in reviewing in 2017, as selected by the Editors of Acta Materialia, Scripta Materialia and Acta Biomaterialia. Each recipient receives a certificate and honorarium as thanks for their support of the titles, and for their help in ensuring the continued high quality of the journals.

 

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S-TEM Analysis Funding for Pinaki Mukherjee

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Pinaki Mukherjee
Pinaki Mukherjee

Pinaki Mukherjee (MSE/IMP) is the principal investigator on a project that has received a $25,000 research and development contract from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. The project is “S-TEM Analysis of Ni-Rich Positive Electrode Materials in Li-Ion Batteries.”

This is a five-month project.

By Sponsored Programs.

S-TEM refers to the FEI 200kV Titan Themis Scanning Transmission Electron Microscope operated by the Applied Chemical and Morphological Laboratory. The instrument is housed in the ATDC Building.

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3-D Printing and Solar Energy Updates

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3-D Printed Chemistry Ring
3-D Printed Chemistry Ring

In the News

An article by Joshua Pearce (MSE/ECE), “3D Printing the Next Five Years” was reprinted in Microfabricator. The article is a guest blog looking at the future of 3D printing that was originally posted in 3D Printing Industry in March, 2017.

The new applications of low-cost metal 3D printing developed by ECE alumnus Yuenyong (Ake) Nilsiam along with Paul Sanders (MSE) and Joshua Pearce (MSE/ECE) was covered widely by the technical press and popular media including in America, Russia and China.

The article “Make Solar Power, Not Tobacco” featuring Joshua Pearce (MSE/ECE), was published in the news section of the peer-reviewed Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment. The story was also covered widely in Europe and Asia including in the WallStreet Online in Germany and Tobacco China.

On the Road

Joshua Pearce (MSE/ECE) chaired a panel in the Fulbright Forum: “Education, Innovation, Science and Art,” March 15–16 at the University of Helsinki and Aalto University, Finland on “Technologies to Keep Coal in the Ground.” He also presented “Power to the People: Solar Photovoltaic Technology.

In Print

MSE PhD student Adam Pringle and Joshua Pearce (MSE/ECE) coauthored a feature paper “Micromorphology analysis of sputtered indium tin oxide fabricated with variable ambient combinations” published in Materials Letters.

ECE alumnus Yuenyong (Ake) Nilsiam coauthored a paper with Paul Sanders (MSE) and Joshua Pearce (MSE/ECE). “Applications of Open Source GMAW-Based Metal 3-D Printing” was published in the Journal of Manufacturing and Materials Processing.

Joshua Pearce (MSE/ECE) co-authored “Effects of silver catalyst concentration in metal assisted chemical etching of silicon” published in Materials Express.

Pearce co-authored “Properties of Al-Doped Zinc Oxide and In-Doped Zinc Oxide Bilayer Transparent Conducting Oxides for Solar Cell Applications,” published in Materials Express.

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Pearce Co-authors on Net Metering Policy

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Renewable Energy FocusExamining Interconnection and Net Metering Policy for Distributed Generation in the United States

Chelsea Schelly, Joshua Pearce, and Edward P. Louie (who completed an MS in Environmental and Energy Policy at Michigan Tech) published a new article, “Examining interconnection and net metering policy for distributed generation in the United States,” which was published in Renewable Energy Focus.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ref.2017.09.002

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Josh Jay is a University Innovation Fellow

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UIFTwo Michigan Tech undergraduates are among 229 students from 62 universities in 10 countries who have been named University Innovation Fellows (UIF). They are Robert Lambert and Josh Jay.

Run by Stanford University’s Hasso Plattner Institute of Design, the University Innovation Fellows program empowers students to become agents of change at their schools. Fellows work to ensure their peers gain the knowledge, skills and attitudes required to compete in the economy of the future and make a positive impact on the world.

Lambert is a second year management major. “I wanted to join UIF to have a more active part in the community, as well as to become an agent of change on Michigan Tech’s campus,” he said.

Jay is a second year student majoring in materials science and engineering. He is currently doing a co-op in Minneapolis. “I want to be a part of UIF because they aren’t just talking and thinking about creating change, but they are actually making it happen,” he said. “It is also a great community of people to help you figure out how to turn your ideas into reality.”

University Innovation Fellows advocate for lasting institutional change and create opportunities for students to engage with innovation, entrepreneurship, design thinking and creativity at their schools. Fellows design innovation spaces, start entrepreneurship organizations, host experiential learning events and work with faculty to develop new courses.

Since it began under the auspices of the National Science Foundation, the UIF program has trained more than 1,200 students.

Michigan Tech has had 14 University Innovation Fellows since the program started in 2014. They work as part of the Pavlis Honors College to promote entrepreneurship, innovation, design thinking and creativity. Among other projects, they developed the makerspace called The Alley in the former bowling alley in the basement of the Memorial Union Building.

“Stanford’s University Innovation Fellows program helps students develop the skills needed to be agents for positive change on their campus,” said Mary Raber, co-director of the Pavlis Honors College Innovation Center for Entrepreneurship. “After participating in an intensive six week online training program, our UIFs have been a force for helping to create a culture of innovation and entrepreneurship at Michigan Tech and have been instrumental in bringing many initiatives to life, like the orientation week’s #uifresh activity, the student-hosted Innovation Fest and the Alley Makerspace.”

By Jenn Donovan.

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Brenda Ryan ’76 Keynote Speaker for Student Development Days

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Brenda Ryan
Brenda Ryan

About 1,800 female Michigan Tech students were invited to Student Development Days with the Presidential Council of Alumnae (PCA). More than 200 students reserved their seats for the event on September 21-22, 2017. The theme of the two-day event was “HerStory,” emphasizing the inspiration, value and wisdom communicated through individual stories that focus on the female perspective.

The event on the first day included lunch and Lightning Talks, 10-15 minute presentations by members of the PCA. Topics for the talks included: Negotiating salaries, dealing with conflict or disrespect in the workplace, making the most of your summer internship, socializing in the workplace, and professional communication at work. Lunch was sponsored by Ford Motor Company.

Keynote speaker Brenda Ryan kicked off the second day’s events at breakfast, sponsored by Kimberly-Clark. Ryan graduated from Michigan Tech with a BS in metallurgical and materials engineering in 1976. She is the president and owner of Ryan Industries Inc., Ryan Properties LLC in Wixom, Michigan and Alliance Industries LLC, in Springfield, Missouri. She also serves as the current vice chair of Michigan Tech’s Board of Trustees.

Following Ryan’s address, students engaged in round-table discussions with members of the PCA. Round-table discussions allowed students to ask questions, express their concerns about the future, and receive personal advice from the women of PCA.

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