Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering News

Category: News

Bill Predebon Elected to ASME Office

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image57877-persBill Predebon, chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, has been elected vice president for education of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). The election took place on Nov. 14 at the ASME World Congress in Montreal.

Predebon joined the Michigan Tech faculty in 1976, after serving as a mechanical engineer at the US Army Ballistic Research Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland. He has won Tech’s Distinguished Teaching Award, the W. R. Shapton Outstanding Service Award and the first annual Martin Luther King Award.

He designed and implemented a major curriculum revision for mechanical engineering-engineering mechanics, including the signature Senior Design program.

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Seven students represent Michigan Tech at Women’s Construction Leadership Seminar

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IMG_3704640Seven Michigan Tech students attended the Kiewitt Women’s Construction Leadership Seminar held in Omaha, Nebraska at the Kiewitt Corporate Headquarters November 6-8, 2014. Candidates were chosen from a pool of sophomores and juniors who have demonstrated leadership skills, a drive for success, and a passion for the construction and/or engineering professions. Kiewitt selected 50 collegiate female leaders to participate in the event designed to challenge and develop their leadership skills. Attending were civil engineering majors Emily Blaney, Lauren Krueger, Natalie Parker, Autumn Storteboom, and Rachelle Wiegand, along with mechanical engineering majors Erika Harris and Erin Richie.

UPDATE
Seven Tech Women Chosen for National Construction Leadership Seminar

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Michigan Tech Receives $100,000 from General Motors Foundation

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The General Motors Foundation has given Michigan Technological University a $100,000 grant through its University/Organization Partner Program. The gift will support a variety of student activities, including the Advanced Hybrid Electric Vehicle and Advanced Motorsports Enterprises, Environmental Engineering senior design programs, student groups and diversity initiatives.
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Michigan Tech students join in international PACE contest

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PAMDMichigan Tech students participated with other university students in an multi-year international competition to design a Portable Assisted Mobility Device (PAMD) through the Partners for the Advancement of Collaborative Engineering Education (PACE) program. There were 7 international teams and 45 universities from around the world involved, showing the “collaborative engineering” purpose of the PACE program. At the 2014 PACE Global Annual Forum in Turin (Italy) the projects were evaluated by an international team of judges including GM/Opel, Siemens, PLM Software, Autodesk, Oracle, and HP.
The winning PAMD team included RWTH Aachen University, TU Darmstadt (both in Germany), Michigan Technological University, the University of Cincinnati and the ITESM Estado de Mexico.  

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ME-EM Research Shown

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IMG_1686dSeveral examples of the diverse research at Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics department were shown at the R.L. Smith Building on Tuesday, Sept. 30. MEEM faculty and graduate students presented posters describing on-going and future research activities.

Some of the examples of projects included nonlinear and autonomous vehicles research, agile ankle-foot prosthesis, an award winning portable assisted mobility device, ultra low sulfur and green diesel fuel comparison, and interdisciplinary research in geology and mechanical engineering on shock waves generated during explosive volcanic eruptions.

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Stressed Out: Research Sheds New Light on Why Rechargeable Batteries Fail

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Pity the poor lithium ion. Drawn relentlessly by its electrical charge, it surges from anode to cathode and back again, shouldering its way through an elaborate molecular obstacle course. This journey is essential to powering everything from cell phones to cordless power tools. Yet, no one really understands what goes on at the atomic scale as lithium ion batteries are used and recharged, over and over again.
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Better than Perfect: Defects in Materials Could be Key to Better Batteries

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Reza2Michigan Technological University researcher Reza Shahbazian-Yassar has discovered that perfection may not be all it’s cracked up to be, at least when it comes to designing materials for the next generation of lithium ion batteries. Shahbazian-Yassar investigates exotic new battery materials, which offer exotic new problems along with exciting possibilities. He hopes to turn one of those problems into an asset, with help from a $446,000 grant from the Division of Materials Research at the National Science Foundation.
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Advanced Power Systems Research Center (APS LABS) Social Event

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thumbThe Michigan Tech Advanced Power Systems Research Center (APS LABS) hosted an open house and tours of their new facilities along with the Michigan Tech First Friday Social for October 2014.

Laboratory tours and presentations were given by faculty, staff and graduate student researchers.
The guests saw research, outreach and educational initiatives in mobility, sustainable transportation, and energy.

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Blackout? Robots to the Rescue

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image113559-fshorizBig disasters almost always result in big power failures. Not only do they take down the TV and fridge, they also wreak havoc with key infrastructure like cell towers. That can delay search and rescue operations at a time when minutes count. Now, a team led by Nina Mahmoudian of Michigan Technological University has developed a tabletop model of a robot team that can bring power to places that need it the most.
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