Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering News

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Jung Yun Bae, collaborators develop smart agriculture for small farms

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Jung Yun Bae leads a team of investigators funded by a $423,300 Farm Innovation Grant from the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD). The grants are designed to develop and support innovative solutions to real, immediate, and future farm challenges facing Michigan’s food and agricultural industry. Bae and team members are working on the project with The Lucky Clover Farm in Gaylord, MI.

Dr. Jung Yun Bae.

The two-year project, titled “Improving Climate Resiliency and Economic Return of Michigan’s Labor-Intensive Produce Using Low-Cost, Modular Robotic Fleets”, seeks to develop an automated floriculture harvesting system to support small farms. As stated in the team’s proposal, “The project aims to develop a robotic platform by integrating advanced technologies, including mechanical design, artificial intelligence, modern control algorithms, and autonomous navigation, to address the labor shortage and offer cost-effective solutions to farmers.”

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Greg Odegard named a University Professor at Michigan Tech

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The Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering proudly celebrates the distinguished achievement of Dr. Greg Odegard, who has been named one of three University Professors for 2024. This prestigious title, conferred by the Office of the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, honors faculty members with a remarkable record of scholarly contributions to their discipline and the University.

Professor Greg Odegard on the Michigan Tech campus in Houghton, MI.

Odegard, a professor and the John O. Hallquist Endowed Chair in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, stands as a leader in aerospace and computational multiscale mechanics modeling and materials science. His work in materials science is innovative and has earned him numerous accolades — including the NASA Outstanding Public Leadership Medal, which recognizes his significant impact on the NASA mission. Dr. Odegard is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) and has been honored with the Ralph R. Teetor Educational Award from the Society of Automotive Engineers.

As an educator and mentor, Odegard has successfully chaired and guided 18 Ph.D. and 40 M.S. students to graduation — and he’s served on over 70 additional graduate committees. His dedication to teaching has been acknowledged with multiple graduate mentoring and teaching awards from Michigan Tech.

Odegard’s success in securing research funding is evidenced by nearly $43 million in research grants, spanning approximately 25 proposals where he served as the Principal Investigator. Notably, he led a $17 million multi-university NASA Space Technologies Research Institute (STRI) involving MIT, Georgia Tech, and others. His prolific research output includes 126 refereed journal papers, eight book chapters, and nine NASA technical reports, with many of these publications co-authored with students. His work has garnered nearly 12,000 citations, reflected in an h-index of 49.

Committed to service, Odegard has served his professional societies as an editorial board member, committee chair and peer reviewer. Within Michigan Tech, he has played a key role on various curricular and search committees, further advancing both the University and department’s missions.

Dr. Greg Odegard’s recognition as a University Professor underscores his exceptional impact on both the scientific community and the next generation of engineers and scientists.

This article has been edited from a previous publication appearing in Tech Today, 4/29/2024 issue.

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Bhisham Sharma Hosts Plenary Session at Noise-Con 2024

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Bhisham Sharma

Associate Professor Bhisham Sharma hosted a plenary session on “Enabling Multifunctionality Acoustical Materials Through Additive Manufacturing” at Noise-Con 2024 in New Orleans, Louisiana. The session involved a summary of current additive methods and exploring the development of novel structures for multifunctional acoustical applications.

Sharma’s research involves acoustic and elastic metamaterials, advanced and additive manufacturing, vibration and modal analysis, and other interests related to making engineering structures safer, quieter, and more efficient.

Noise-Con is specifically focused on all aspects of noise control and acoustics. The theme of Noise-Con 2024 was “Trumpeting Noise Control.” It took place on June 10–12.

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PSTDL Researchers at 2024 Space Resources Roundtable

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Space Resources Roundtable

Michigan Tech’s Planetary Surface Technology Development Lab (PSTDL), led by Assistant Professor Paul van Susante (ME-EM), was represented at the 24th meeting of the Space Resources Roundtable (SRR), held in Golden, Colorado, on June 3–7.

Van Susante presented a poster and chaired a session at the event, and Research Engineer Chuck Carey (ME-EM) and four students presented. The presentations and posters were well received, and Michigan Tech was well represented by the team.

Van Susante chaired the session “Regolith Excavation and Conveyance.” His poster topic was “Lunar and Mars ISRU, Excavation and Construction Test Capabilities and Project Progress at the MTU-PSTDL.”

Carey presented a talk on “Testing a Novel Lunar Regolith Compaction Device for Site Preparation.”

Ph.D. candidate Travis Wavrunek (mechanical engineering) presented a talk on “Development of the TEthered Mechanism for Persistent Energy Storage and Transmission (TEMPEST) System for the Watts on the Moon Challenge.”

Recent graduate Ellie Zimmermann ’24 (B.S. Mechanical Engineering) presented a talk on “Cryogenic Vacuum Testing of a Heated Cone Penetrometer for Thermal Detection and Quantification of Water in Icy Lunar Regolith Simulant.” Zimmermann is an incoming PSTDL Ph.D. student.

Undergraduate student Robin Austerberry (mechanical engineering) presented a poster on “Durability Testing of a Lunar Surface Excavation Rover.”

Recent graduate Christi LeCaptain ’24 (B.S. Mechanical Engineering), the outgoing team lead for MTU Lunabotics, participated with the rest of Michigan Tech’s representatives in a site visit with Lunar Outpost, one of our research project partners. LeCaptain is also an incoming PSTDL Ph.D. student.

The SRR promotes knowledge, advances education, and provides information on availability, applicability and status of development of the resources of space beyond the atmosphere of the Earth.

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Michigan Tech’s PSTDL Competing in Break the Ice Challenge Finals

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Rover at the challenge.

Paul van Susante (ME-EM) and 16 student researchers from Michigan Tech’s Planetary Surface Technology Development Lab (PSTDL) are in Huntsville, Alabama, this week competing in the final round of NASA’s Break the Ice Lunar Challenge, being held June 8–15, 2024, at Alabama A&M University.

Begun in 2020, the Break the Ice Lunar Challenge asked competitors to propose robotic systems that can use resources found on the lunar surface in regolith (icy moon dust) to aid astronauts living on the moon. The PSTDL is one of six teams competing in the finals—three led by universities and three led by industry companies.

Yesterday and today (June 11–12), the PSTDL is participating in Phase 2, Level 3 of the challenge—its final round, and the culmination of more than three years of work and four rounds of the competition. The finals are being livestreamed on NASA’s Break the Ice Lunar Challenge website.

The PSTDL took part in the excavation portion of the challenge yesterday. If the schedule remains accurate, the team will compete in the transportation portion today (June 12) at 4 p.m. ET.

Watch for the results to be announced by NASA on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and Break the Ice’s news page and main page.

How We Got Here

  • December 2022: The PSTDL is one of 15 teams selected to advance to the semifinals after competing in the Phase 2 qualifying round.
  • December 2023: NASA narrows the field to six finalists — including the PSTDL.
  • February 2024: Alabama A&M is selected to host the challenge’s final round.

Update

NASA mentioned Michigan Tech’s Planetary Surface Technology Development Lab as one of three teams that “performed exceptionally well” in the excavation portion of the final round of the Break the Ice Lunar Challenge. Along with the two prize-winning teams, NASA invited the PSTDL to use the thermal vacuum chambers at its Marshall Space Flight Center to continue testing and development.

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Ana Dyreson Presents at 2024 Power Systems and Photovoltaic Events

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Group of five people standing outside near a solar panel array.
Graduate Students: Ayush Chutani, Jonathan Aurand, Shelbie Wickett, Adnan Hilal, Jacob Chizek, David Wallis, Keith Holliday. Some of the students are shown, with Ana Dyreson on the right.

Ana Dyreson (ME-EM) attended the Power Systems Engineering Consortium (PSERC) Industry Advisory Board meeting at Cornell University, held May 29–30.

Dyreson presented on the PSERC project “Incorporating climate impacts into electricity system planning models: review and case study.”

She also attended and presented at the Photovoltaic Performance Modeling Consortium (PVPMC) Workshop in Salt Lake City, Utah, held May 7–9.

Dyreson presented on the panel “Modeling Snow Effects on PV Systems.” The presentation topic was “Snow shedding from single-axis tracking PV systems: observations from the Michigan Regional Test Center and implications for modeling widespread snow events.” The presentation was co-authored by Ph.D. students Shelbie Wickett and Ayush Chutani (both mechanical engineering-engineering mechanics).

Ana Dyreson is an assistant professor in ME-EM. She leads the Great Lakes Energy Group, where she uses energy analysis and grid-scale modeling to study the performance of renewable technologies and the operation of future electric power systems, with a focus on the impacts of climate change on those systems in the U.S. Great Lakes region.

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Blough and DeClerck at the 2024 Society for Experimental Mechanics Conference

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2024 SEM Annual Conference

Jason Blough and James DeClerck (both ME-EM) attended the 2024 Society for Experimental Mechanics Conference in Vancouver, Washington, from June 3–6.

According to the Society for Experimental Mechanics’ mission statement: the society is “composed of international members from academia, government, and industry who are committed to interdisciplinary application, research and development, education, and active promotion of experimental methods.” The society aims to increase the knowledge of physical phenomena; further the understanding of the behavior of materials, structures and systems; and provide the necessary physical basis and verification for analytical and computational approaches to the development of engineering solutions.

Bough and De Clerck are profiled on the society’s Executive Board page. Blough is the current president-elect for the 2023–24 year and acted as the vice president for 2022–23, while De Clerck held the positions of president, president-elect and vice president from 2022–23, 2021–22 and 2020–21, respectively.

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Paul van Susante Receives ASCE Outstanding Technical Contribution Award

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Paul van Susante in his lab.

Paul van Susante (ME-EM), assistant professor and Lou and Herbert Wacker Professor of Mechanical Engineering, is the recipient of the 2023 American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)’s Outstanding Technical Contribution Award.

According to ASCE Aerospace’s website, “The Outstanding Technical Contribution Award and the Outstanding Professional Service Award are the highest awards offered by the Aerospace Division. These are awarded based on nominations from division committees, and selection by the Executive Committee.” The technical contribution award is “given to an individual who has contributed substantially to advancing the state of the art in aerospace engineering, sciences and technology, and space exploration and construction with application to civil engineering.”

Van Susante’s award for 2023 was announced at the ASCE Aerospace Division’s Biennial International Conference on Engineering, Science, Construction and Operations in Challenging Environment. The 19th meeting of the conference, known as ASCE Earth & Space, was held in Miami, Florida, on April 15-18 hosted by Florida International University. Van Susante and other award winners are highlighted on page 19 of the conference program.

Van Susante advises two prize-winning NASA challenge teams and the Multiplanetary Innovation Enterprise (MINE) team at Michigan Tech. He heads the Planetary Surface Technology Development Lab (PSTDL, or Huskyworks).

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Professor L. Brad King, Orbion Space Technology Team Named to Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Companies 2024” List

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Turning dreams into reality is all in a day’s work for Lyon (Brad) King and his entire team at Orbion Space Technology. Case in point: Orbion Space Technology has been named to Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies of 2024 list. Companies that send satellites into space on a rocket can use Orbion’s thrusters to maneuver them precisely to their final destination.

Dr. King is an experimentalist interested in studying electric space propulsion systems, including Hall-effect thrusters, ion engines, and arcjets. King is the Richard and Elizabeth Henes Endowed Professor (Space Systems) with MTU’s Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics. As faculty advisor for the Aerospace Enterprise, King works with undergraduate students to provide hands-on aerospace education and experience. Aerospace Enterprise places an emphasis on space mission design and analysis, vehicle integration, systems engineering, and comprehensive ground testing and qualification. The idea for launching Orbion began taking shape here: King and co-founder Jason Sommerville realized they had not only the core technology, but an incredible network of talent in the form of aerospace and Isp Lab alumni to meet an urgent need in the new space economy. King (CEO of Orbion Space Technology) and Makela started the company in 2016.

Products under construction at Orbion Space Technology. The company is based in Houghton, Michigan and several members of the leadership team are graduates of Michigan Technological University’s doctoral program in mechanical engineering. (Image Credit: Orbion Space Technology)

In a previous article, author Cyndi Perkins tells us that “Orbion now employs more than 40 full-time engineers in its Houghton facility, with seven holding PhD degrees. You’ll find Huskies at the helm in several key positions—CTO Sommerville is a 2009 PhD graduate—but the company is more than just an outgrowth of Michigan Tech.”

Other MTU ME-EM alums holding positions with Orbion:

Michigan Tech alums from other programs include Kanwal Rekhi, PhD (MS, Electrical Engineering) and John Rockwell (BS, Business Administration).

The Michigan Tech-Orbion connection brings a wealth of opportunities for students to connect theory with practice. Michigan Tech’s Aerospace Enterprise teams have already launched three satellites into space.

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Jeff Allen Presenting at CBPSS Spring Meeting

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Jeffrey Allen
Jeffrey Allen

Jeffrey S. Allen, John F. and Joan M. Calder Professor of Mechanical Engineering, associate chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics (ME-EM) and ME-EM’s director of undergraduate studies, was invited to present and participate in a panel session at the spring meeting of the Committee on Biological and Physical Sciences in Space (CBPSS), held March 19–21, 2024, hosted by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in Washington, D.C.

Allen’s panel session started at 1:15 p.m. ET. on March 20. It was livestreamed via Vimeo at the 3 h 21 m mark.

The CBPSS committee was eager to hear Allen’s insights on the key science questions surrounding the theme “Probing Phenomena Hidden by Gravity or Terrestrial Limitations,” with a particular emphasis on thermal physics in microgravity and its wide-ranging implications for space exploration. Allen contributed to a panel addressing unique scientific inquiries pertinent to space exploration.

The meeting is part of the 2024 Space Science Week, a joint meeting of the discipline committees of the Space Studies Board of the U.S. National Academies, in collaboration with the Board on Physics and Astronomy and the Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board. These groups will convene at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C., to discuss advances and challenges in space and Earth science and exploration.

By Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics.

Jeffrey Allen seated in a wired room with other participants.
Jeff Allen preparing to deliver his panel presentation “Perspectives on Thermal-Fluid Physics in Microgravity and Its Broader Applications to Space Exploration.”
Presentation slide with inset speaker view and Venn diagram described in the caption.
A presentation slide from Jeffrey Allen entitled “Thermal-Fluid Physics in Microgravity.” A Venn diagram shows a complex picture of needs and opportunities. Overlapping areas of NASA missions, design guides and engineering tools, CFD and submodels, technology development and deployment, science, and microgravity platforms lead to enabled science, enabling science for model development and computational design, and enabling science for engineering and design.
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