Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering News

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Michigan Tech Alumnus, WSU Professor Hussein Zbib Dies

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Hussein M. Zbib
Hussein M. Zbib

Michigan Tech alumnus Hussein M. Zbib passed away Feb. 10 at his home in Pullman, Washington, apparently as a result of injuries he sustained in a September traffic accident. He was 61 years old.

Zbib earned his bachelor’s, master’s and PhD in mechanical engineering from Michigan Tech. He was a member of the ME-EM External Advisory Board and a ME-EM Academy inductee. He joined the faculty of Washington State University in 1987 as a professor in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering. He also served as director of WSU’s School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering for 11 years

William Predebon, chair of Michigan Tech’s Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics said “Hussein was personally a dear friend and colleague. His death is a loss to all of us and to the engineering community.”

Funeral services will be held at a later date and a full obituary will be available at the website of the Kimball Funeral Home in Pullman.

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Divya Pandya Among Student Campus Leads Selected by Embassy of India

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Divya Pandya
Divya Pandya

The Indian Student Association at Michigan Tech announces that Divya Pandya from ME-EM and Lavanya Rajesh Kumar from CLS have been selected as student campus leads for the first India Student Hub Campus Lead Program of the India Student Hub.

The selection process was competitive and was comprised of a written application followed by several rounds of interviews. The India Student Hub Campus Lead initiative is a collaborative pilot program with the Embassy of India education team and Indian students studying in the U.S. to help shape the future of the planet and co-create #NewIndia.

The India Student Hub is an official initiative of the Embassy of India to connect with, support, and identify opportunities for the 200,000 Indian Students in the United States, the Indian diaspora, and interested U.S. persons or other international students in U.S. institutions. Bios of the student campus leads can be found online.

The student campus leads at Michigan Tech are working with the Indian Students’ Association for their upcoming pilot project/s. Their goal is to build bridges between countries and communities through service-related activities.

By the Indian Student Association.

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Michigan Tech SAE Collegiate Chapter Receives 2019 Honeywell Award

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Michigan Tech SAE Chapter Members 2017-2018

The Michigan Tech Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) Collegiate Branch has been selected as the Class 2 recipient of the 2019 SAE Honeywell Outstanding Collegiate Chapter Award.

This award recognizes SAE Collegiate Chapters for exemplary performance in the areas of technical meetings, networking opportunities, SAE Collegiate Design Series teams, membership and recruitment, and community service programs. A Class 2 designation is for 50 to 74 student members.

The group advisor is Jason Blough. Department Chair Bill Predebon notes that the recognition is significant, as most universities have an SAE chapter. He wishes to extend his congratulations to the students and their advisor for a well deserved recognition.

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Rachel Store Earns Staff Rookie Award

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Rachel Store
Rachel Store

At an awards program Wednesday, January 8, 2020, in the Memorial Union Ballroom, staff members were honored with the Staff Council Making a Difference Awards.

Among the award recipients is Research Engineer Scientist I Rachel Store. She was nominated for the Rookie Award.

Her nominator states “In the 15 months that she has worked for the ME-EM Department, Rachel has made a huge difference in all areas of her job and activities that she has influenced. Her knowledge and drive rival that of someone with many more years of experience.”

A letter of support states that Store is “well-liked and respected by her colleagues and is always willing to help others. In the past one-and-a-half years, I have had the privilege of knowing her, she has proven both through her work and her relationships with others that she is a person of honesty and integrity.”

The Rookie Award recognizes a staff member who:

  • Has been at Michigan Tech for less than two years
  • Has made an impact in a short amount of time
  • Quickly became a valuable member of the team
  • Has a demonstrated understanding of the goals/mission of the department/area/division
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ME-EM Senior Recognition Banquet December 10, 2019

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Banquet and Program

MEEM Banquet 2019 showing attendees shaking hands.

The ME-EM Senior Recognition Banquet and Order of the Engineer Program was held on December 10, 2019.

VIEW THE PHOTO GALLERY

Keynote Speaker

Keynote Speaker Larry Staley
Keynote Speaker Larry Staley

Larry Staley

The speaker was Lawrence W. Staley, entrepreneur. Staley has a BS in mechanical engineering from Michigan Tech and an Executive MBE from the University of Toledo.

Fall 2019 Outstanding Student Awards

Dillon Babcock, FSAE Enterprise, Nominated by Dr. Jim De Clerck

I have been honored to observe Dillon Babcock evolve into an outstanding engineer. Dillon has intentionally applied concepts from nearly every engineering course to his Formula SAE projects. He developed habits to systematic to approach engineering problems. Dillon always demonstrates a positive, “can-do” attitude. He eagerly seeks help when he needs it. Dillon is always willing to anything to help the team and his teammates.

Nick Jensen, Senior Design, Nominated by Dr. Fei Long

SCD team 52 was assigned the ‘Thompson Surgical—Surgical Instrument Life Cycle Test System’ as the Senior Capstone Design project. In addition to the overall team success on this project, Nick stands out on his excellent team management, customer communication as well as project planning skills. He regularly applied himself on behalf of the team in these areas, the team also responding by delivering their best work towards satisfying the customer. In view of his performance, I recommend Nick Jensen for the Outstanding Student Performance Awards.

Andrew Boerman, Senior Design, Nominated by Dr. Bill Endres

Capstone Team 60 was engaged to develop a new standard process for making tensile test samples from bulk composite sheet.  Much of the challenge centered on understanding why tensile property results from previous sample manufacturing methods showed so much variation.  Identifying the numerous independent variables, designing the experiment and executing the subsequent data processing, was a major undertaking. This student demonstrated a highly competent understanding and ability to apply experimental design and data acquisition techniques.  He was fully committed, and supported by a strong set of teammates, delivered in an outstanding and much needed way. For this, Andrew Boerman is nominated for an Outstanding Student Performance Award.

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Victoria Quinde Serrano Addresses Fall 2019 Graduates

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Victoria Quinde Serrano
Victoria Quinde Serrano

HOUGHTON — Michigan Technological University’s Fall Commitment Ceremony took place Saturday morning. Over 500 graduates walked across the stage.

“I hope you will all look back on this day and all of the people who helped you along the way,” MTU President Richard Koubek said in his welcome address. Koubek also introduced the student speaker, Victoria Quinde Sorrano.

Sorrano graduated with a bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering. Originally from Ecuador, Sorrano was also a language coach and a tennis player while at MTU.

Read more at the Mining Gazette, by Jon Jaehnig.

Michigan Tech celebrates 2019 winter graduates

“Michigan Tech has been a really special. It’s unique. I don’t think there’s a place like this anywhere else so I’m really happy I made the decision of coming here,” said Student Commencement Speaker and Mechanical Engineering Major, Victoria Quinde.

Read more and watch the video at TV6 FOX UP, by Remi Murrey.

Related:

Michigan Tech To Celebrate Midyear Commencement

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ME-EM Earns Best of Houghton Award

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MEEM Student ProjectMichigan Tech’s Department of Mechanical Engineering – Engineering Mechanics (ME-EM) has earned 2019 Best of Houghton Awards. ME-EM received the award in the Colleges and Universities category.

Each year, the Houghton Award Program identifies those believed to have achieved exceptional marketing success in their local community and business category.

Various sources of information were gathered and analyzed to choose the winners in each category. The 2019 Houghton Award Program focuses on quality, not quantity. Winners are determined based on the information gathered both internally by the Houghton Award Program and data provided by third parties.

The Houghton Award Program is an annual awards program honoring the achievements and accomplishments of local businesses throughout the Houghton area. Recognition is given to those companies that have shown the ability to use their best practices and implemented programs to generate competitive advantages and long-term value.

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