Category: Awards

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.

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.

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).

Paul van Susante (ME-EM) recently accepted an endowed appointment as the Lou and Herbert Wacker Professor in Mechanical Engineering. Van Susante joined Michigan Tech in 2012 as a lecturer (a role now called assistant teaching professor) before accepting an appointment as an assistant professor. Not only does Dr. van Susante meet or exceed all the criteria for this professorship, he also has a vested interest in teaching.

This endowed position was established to retain and attract high-quality faculty who are at the top of their profession, can excite students to think beyond classroom material, and who can effectively integrate their research into the classroom.

Involving students in his research is vital to van Susante. He’s been recognized in the Dean’s Teaching Showcase and as one of the Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics’ (ME-EM’s) Teacher of the Year finalists four times. Paul is also the faculty advisor for the Multiplanetary Innovation Enterprise (MINE) team, solving challenges in the mining industry.

In addition to obtaining over $3 million in funding as a principal investigator, Dr. van Susante leads Michigan Tech’s Planetary Surface Technology Development Lab (PSTDL) team. The lab, also known as HuskyWorks, includes several students who advanced to the final round of NASA’s Watts on the Moon Challenge in both 2022 and 2023. As part of these competitions, researchers from NASA and other robotics companies travel to Michigan Tech to meet with van Susante and his team.

Other projects include:

• NASA Lunar Surface Technology Research (LuSTR 2020)
• NASA Breakthrough Innovative and Game-changing (BIG) Idea Challenge 2020: “Tethered permanently shaded Region Explorer (T-REX)” –power and communication delivery into PSR
• NASA Break the Ice Challenge – the latest centennial challenge from NASA designed to develop technologies aiding in the sustained presence on the Moon
• NASA ESI (Early Stage Innovation) to excavate rock gypsum for water production on Mars
• NASA GCD MRE – Molten Regolith Electrolysis, or MRE, uses an electric current in a reactor to separate oxygen from lunar dust, also known as regolith. The scope of the project is to provide a regolith feeder and transportation system for the MRE reactor. Research into regolith properties, here on Earth, and in extreme environments like lunar gravity and vacuum are being conducted. Results from these experiments will be vital in choosing and developing these feeder and transportation technologies.
• HOPLITE (Heavy Onboard Platform for Lunar ISRU and Terrain Excavation) is a modular robotic system built at Michigan Tech that enables the field testing of IDSRU technologies. Many payloads are currently being designed and implemented for lunar applications and there is a need for accurate, reliable, and safe mobility of these payloads during filed testing. Using a large sensor array, fine tuned control and autonomy, HOPLITE is designed to provide a solution to this need.

The success in his research has translated to van Susante publishing 82 papers while at Michigan Tech and giving 37 invited talks. He is currently an associate editor for In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Journal of Aerospace Engineering.

(reprinted from October 25, 2023 Tech Today.)

Jeffrey D. Naber is the 2023 recipient of the prestigious Internal Combustion Engine (ICE) Award, presented annually by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME).

Naber is the Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics’ (ME-EM’s) Richard and Elizabeth Henes Professor in Energy Systems and director of the Advanced Power Systems Research Center (APSRC/APS Labs) at Michigan Technological University. He was honored with the award at the ASME’s 2023 ICE Forward Conference, held Oct. 8-11 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The ASME ICE Award recognizes eminent achievement or distinguished contribution over a substantial period of time, which may result from research, innovation or education in advancing the art of engineering in the field of internal combustion engines; or in directing the efforts and accomplishments of those engaged in engineering practice in the design, development, application and operation of internal combustion engines.

Naber, the recipient of Michigan Tech’s 2022 Research Award, was nominated for ASME ICE Award recognition by Seong-Young Lee (ME-EM).

By Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics.

Professor Greg Odegard (ME-EM) is the director of the Ultra-Strong Composites by Computational Design (US-COMP) NASA Space Technology Research Institute (STRI), one of the inaugural STRIs funded by the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. And now he has received a NASA Outstanding Public Leadership Medal, awarded to nongovernment employees for “notable leadership accomplishments that have significantly influenced the NASA Mission.”

The five-year US-COMP collaboration brings together 22 professors from 11 universities and two industry partners with a range of expertise in molecular modeling, manufacturing, material synthesis and testing.

Odegard’s nomination letter outlines how he harnessed the group’s talents to successfully overcome challenges and make significant progress:

“Dr. Odegard leads by example, exhibiting the NASA core values for safety, integrity, teamwork, excellence and inclusion. He respected the constraints imposed by safety measures taken to protect students during COVID, while finding ways to continue making progress. He embraced the challenges of working with industry, where open sharing of information is tempered by the need to maintain their competitive edge. He walked the fine balance of demonstrating investment payoff for the funder through publications, while respecting intellectual property concerns by the industry members. Dr. Odegard’s openness to change to more effectively serve NASA’s mission needs is exceptional. He led with the courage and humility of leaders who leave an indelible legacy because they are different. His service to the Agency and to the nation deserves recognition.”

Jenn Gustetic, director of NASA Early Stage Innovations and Partnerships, told Odegard the medal is well deserved. “Leading extensive and complex transdisciplinary research across numerous partners is no small feat — and you did so to great effect,” Gustetic said. “I am delighted that the Agency is recognizing your individual leadership contribution in this way, as institutes do not come together well without exceptional leadership.”

Odegard received the medal at a ceremony held in Washington, D.C., on April 26, 2023. The US-COMP team was also recognized by the agency as a whole for their contributions.

Please join us in congratulating Professor Odegard on this important recognition and achievement.

The Tech Forward Initiative on Sustainability and Resilience (ISR) is excited to announce its awardees for spring 2023! The ISR supports advancements in curriculum development and research through a series of three awards programs: Curriculum Innovation Awards, Early Career and New Directions Award, and:

Sustainable and Resilient Communities Faculty Research Fellowship

Hassan Masoud (ME-EM/AIM) has been awarded a Sustainable and Resilient Communities Faculty Research Fellowship (typical award range: $12,000-$17,000) that will support a one-course buyout for spring 2024 to provide time to develop research collaborations and proposals on wave energy and other forms of renewable energy, in partnership with internal and external collaborators and the Center for Innovation in Sustainability and Resilience.

If you have questions or would like to ask about a potential future proposal, please reach out to ISR lead Chelsea Schelly at cschelly@mtu.edu.