Tag: senior design

MTU Students Win 1st Place at 2025 ASM Materials Education Foundation Competition

We are excited to announce that a talented team from MTU has secured 1st place at the prestigious 2025 ASM Materials Education Foundation G.B. Olson Undergraduate Design Competition with their project “The Effect of Cerium on Sensitization and Weld Strength in 5xxx Series Aluminum Alloys.”

The team included: Molly Wrobleski – Team Lead & Modelling, Brooke Ziolkowski – Welding & Stats, Leo Sauter – Foundry, Catherine Huston – Mechanical Testing, Dr. Paul Sanders – MTU MSE Advisor, Carson Williams – Hobart Filler Metals – Industry Contact

The ASM Materials Education Foundation Competition focuses on the submission of design-centered projects that showcase work completed during a capstone course or as a team project by undergraduate engineering students. The competition embraces a broad interpretation of design.

“What the students learn preparing for this competition distinguishes them in the workplace, as they have the tools to do graduate-level materials optimization with their MTU BS.” – Dr. Paul Sanders, Professor, Materials Science and Engineering

Since 2012, MTU has consistently excelled, earning first place in 7 of the last 8 years. As first-place winners, the team will receive $2,000 and up to $500 for travel expenses to attend the 2025 IMAT event in Detroit. Additionally, Materials Science and Engineering will receive $500 to support future design teams.

The award was presented at the ASM Leadership Awards Luncheon on October 20, 2025. Congratulations to our outstanding students and faculty for this remarkable accomplishment! We look forward to their future successes.

MSE Team wins Michigan Tech Design Expo

The “Aluminum Corrosion Study—Automotive Electrical Systems” team placed first for Senior Design in the annual Michigan Tech Design Expo.

Aluminum Corrosion Study Team Members: Annie LeSage, Jacob Gerdt, Kyle Myszka,and Alexandra Glover, Materials Science and Engineering
Advisor: Steve Kampe, Materials Science and Engineering
Sponsor: Yazaki North America

Aluminum Corrosion Study Team Members: Annie LeSage, Jacob Gerdt, Kyle Myszka,and Alexandra Glover, Materials Science and Engineering
Aluminum Corrosion Study Team Members: Annie LeSage, Jacob Gerdt, Kyle Myszka,and Alexandra Glover, Materials Science and Engineering

Project Overview:
The switch from copper to aluminum in automotive electrical systems is advantageous to U.S automakers and automotive component suppliers because it has the potential to decrease vehicle weight and raw materials costs. This switch also poses several challenges. This senior design project characterizes the galvanic corrosion rate of an aluminum substrate with a metallic plating when exposed to an electrolytic solution. This mimics the exposure of electrical components to a fluid containing salts or automotive chemicals. The results of this testing are critical to the success of the copper-to-aluminum substitution in automotive electrical systems. This is because they inform automotive component designers about the expected lifetime of such systems when exposed to a corrosive environment.

Video Clip about the Aluminum Corrosion Study

Aluminum Corrosion Study Team at Design Expo
Aluminum Corrosion Study Team at Design Expo


2015 Design Expo Image Contest Entries

Congratulations to MSE senior design team members Jordan Pontoni, Calvin Nitz, Shane Anderson and Austin DePottey for their first place image of a team member at work in the foundry. The image illustrates the team’s project, Casting 357 Aluminum, sponsored by Eck Industries. The team’s advisor is MSE engineer/scientist Thomas Wood.
Team 150, Title: “E357 Alloying to Increase Elongation and Maintain Mechanical Properties”, the foundry shot.

MSE senior design team members Jordan Pontoni, Calvin Nitz, Shane Anderson and Austin DePottey for their first place image of a team member at work in the foundry.
MSE senior design team members Jordan Pontoni, Calvin Nitz, Shane Anderson and Austin DePottey for their first place image of a team member at work in the foundry.

2015 Design Expo Summary Report