The Michigan Tech Mobile Lab was recently in southeast Michigan delivering hands-on short courses to professional engineers at Borg Warner. The course topics were in the area of Fundamentals of Hybrid Electric Vehicles. Two courses were taught during the week of May 16.
The ME-EM Senior Recognition Banquet and Order of the Engineer Program was held on April 19, 2016.
The keynote speaker was Seth Newlin, Chief Engineer, Oshkosh Airport Products, Oshkosh Corporation. Newlin is a 1994 alumnus with both a BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering.
Outstanding Student Performance Award
From time to time we observe exemplary and outstanding performance of an individual or group of individuals in Senior Capstone Design or Enterprise, and when that happens we recognize those students with an Outstanding Student Performance Award.
Alexandria Bonner and Nate Campbell
Nate and Alex led the team’s use of simulation and test to understand the root-cause of their design problem on Team 11 Driveline NVH Improvement for Ford Motor Company. Although Alex and Nate were responsible for different aspects of the driveline NVH, they worked together to learn how to use new simulation tools and used test data to validate models of the current driveline system. They used the models to gain insight to limitations of the current design and study the effect of design options rather than guessing or hoping for a successful prototype at the end of their project. Nate and Alex demonstrated that hard work and cooperation are key elements of a successful project.
Josh Dillon
Josh Dillon has demonstrated outstanding dedication to Formula SAE. Over the past three years, Josh held leadership positions in the FSAE Enterprise, the SAE Student Chapter, and Lambda Chi Alpha Fraternity. As the 2016 FSAE Chief Engineer, Josh was responsible for the concurrent design, build, and test of three successive competition vehicles. Through these experiences in leadership roles, Josh has developed a leadership style based on responsibility and cooperation. Preparing for the 2016 competition provided many learning opportunities for FSAE leadership. The initial attempt to make a one-piece body was an epic failure. Two aspects of the chassis did not meet rules criteria; one was noted by a design judge just last week. Josh worked with the sub-team leaders to correct the issues and focus on good engineering. With Josh’s leadership, Formula SAE is looking forward to improved success at competition in May.
Marissa Graziano
Marissa has performed outstanding from day 1 of the Team 19 Magna Seating Design Project. She is an excellent communicator and kept everything going smoothly between the client and MTU as well as the client and the team. She managed the team, asked for help when needed, communicated with faculty, staff, team and customer in an organized and effective manner and when the project changed scope organized the document scope rewrite and approval on the MTU and Magna Seating side. She was very effective in leading her team through a complex and challenging project and with her team tackled any challenges that occurred during the project.
Connor Kmiec
Connor Kmiec is the team lead this year for the Ferro Pedal project. Not only did Connor do a great job leading this team, he differentiated himself by doing the majority of the machining work on this project. He even sacrificed his Spring Break to perform machining work when outsourcing quotes came in much more expensive than forecasted. To save time and money, Connor allowed the team to use his personal 3D printer to create prototype parts to verify fit and size. Connor also led the team to raise additional funds for this project and placed first for both the best Marketing Plan and Most Unique Visitors in the Superior Ideas Rekhi Challenge. Connor’s strong engineering skills coupled with great hands-on know how and leadership skills is exactly the type of engineer we want to represent Michigan Tech and our Mechanical Engineering department.
Paul St. Louis
Dr. Endres has the following to say about Paul St. Louis, a member of Senior Design Team 4 Surgical Tool Attachment, sponsored by Stryker Instruments: Occasionally there is a student who exhibits outstanding organization and team leadership skills that keeps things well on track with great communication and scheduling. This team as a whole did very well with a great team effort, and with the great organization of this team member, things progressed incredibility smoothly. The technical results of this team are truly exciting in my opinion and I look forward to our customer taking it to the next level and ultimately a potential new product. This award goes to Paul St Louis of the Stryker Instruments Surgical Tool Hub Interface project.
View the MEEM Spring 2016 Ceremonies Photo Gallery
The keynote speaker for the ME-EM Senior Recognition Banquet and Order of the Engineer Program for Fall 2015 was Christopher Duke, 1995 BS in Mechanical Engineering, Design Responsible Manager – Closures, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.
View the Photo Gallery
Watch the Keynote Address
The mechanical engineering-engineering mechanics department held its semi-annual Senior Capstone Design Day Program on Tuesday April 21, 2015. Eighteen teams presented the fruits of their efforts over the past two semesters during presentations to industry reps, faculty, staff, students and MEEM External Advisory Board members. The teams displayed posters and, in some cases, their prototypes in the rear first-floor hallway of the MEEM building. This year’s project customers include American Axle & Manufacturing, Chrysler, John Deere, MacLean-Fogg, and others. Most presentations are open to the public.
Spring 2015 4911 final presentations
Michigan Tech Design Expo 2015
Team Leaders: Ian Connick, Mechanical Engineering and Kyle McGurk, Electrical Engineering
Advisor: Steve Lehmann and Paulus Van Susante, Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
Sponsors: Specialized, Thomson, Department of Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology
3rd Place Award – Velovations
Team Leaders: Ian Connick, Mechanical Engineering and Kyle McGurk, Electrical Engineering
Advisor: Steve Lehmann and Paulus Van Susante, Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
Sponsors: Specialized, Thomson, Department of Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology
Project Overview: Our team is dedicated to working on bicycle and bicycling industry related projects. For the 2014-2015 academic year, Velovations has more than twenty-five students from various majors divided into four projects. The projects are: a pedal that offers the ability to transition from clipped in to a platform and back at the push of a button; a system to allow tire pressure change on the fly;
an inexpensive winter commuting tire; and an innovative exercise system for wheelchair users that will allow further physical research. Velovations projects cover the complete product development
range, from idea conception, research, and development, to customer communication, testing, and ultimately manufacturing.
Honorable Mention – Chrysler 300 Split Tailgate
Team Members: Kelly Shanahan, Joshua Yagley, Alex Bancroft, Jerad Marble, and Parry Ragland, Mechanical
Engineering
Advisor: Kevin Johnson, Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
Sponsor: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles
Honorable Mention – Chrysler 300 Split Tailgate
Team Members: Kelly Shanahan, Joshua Yagley, Alex Bancroft, Jerad Marble, and Parry Ragland, Mechanical
Engineering
Advisor: Kevin Johnson, Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
Sponsor: Fiat Chrysler Automobiles
Project Overview: Our goal is to design, engineer, build, and test a split decklid adapted from the current Chrysler 300 architecture. This decklid system will provide the customer both the access required of typical decklids without the upswing of the lower waterfall area and the added feature of a tailgate style lower swing out panel which will provide a surface for tailgate functions. This feature is rare in the industry and provides an opportunity for segment differentiation creating a unique selling point.
Team Members: Kristopher Benaglio, Christopher DeGroot, Adam Deibler, Kenneth Smith, Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Paul van Susante, Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
Sponsor: John Deere
Honorable Mention – Dynamometer Calibration Device
Team Members: Kristopher Benaglio, Christopher DeGroot, Adam Deibler, Kenneth Smith, Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Paul van Susante, Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
Sponsor: John Deere
Project Overview: This design team is working with John Deere to develop a new dynamometer torque meter calibration device. A dynamometer, commonly referred to as a dyno, is a popular test instrument used to measure variables such as torque, speed, and power output. The current calibration method used by John Deere utilizes a static weight stack attached to a moment arm. This design must be replaced because it exceeds the dynamometer test cell envelope, is difficult to transport from test cell to test cell, requires considerable time and effort for two workers to assemble and disassemble, and requires the repetitive lifting of 40 to 45 pound weights.
See a complete recap summary of the 2015 Michigan Tech Design Expo
The mechanical engineering-engineering mechanics department held its semi-annual Senior Capstone Design Day Program. Eight teams presented the fruits of their efforts over the past two semesters during presentations to industry reps, faculty, staff, and students. The teams also displayed posters and, in some cases, their prototypes in the rear first-floor hallway of the MEEM building.
Keynote Speaker: Gerald E. McGlynn III, 1984 B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Michigan Tech, Intellectual Property Attorney, Howard and Howard; J.D., cum laude, from Detroit College of Law in 1988
The Michigan Tech Mechanical Engineering version of the Partners for the Advancement of Collaborative Engineering Education PACE Engineering Design Competition was held on November 20, 2014.
The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) honored Michigan Tech alumnae Britta Jost and Kaitlyn Bunker at its annual conference, WE14, in Los Angeles last week. Jost received the SWE Distinguished New Engineer award, and Bunker was recognized as 2014 Outstanding Collegiate Member.
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The Michigan Tech Space Trajectory Optimization Team was ranked 20 in the 7th Global Trajectory Optimization Competition. This Competition is an event that takes place every one-two years over roughly one month during which the best aerospace engineers and mathematicians worldwide challenge themselves to solve a “nearly-impossible” problem of interplanetary trajectory design.
The 7th edition of the competition was organized by Politecnico di Torino – Università di Roma “Sapienza”, Italy. There were 38 participating teams worldwide. The first place in the 7th edition of the competition is the Outer Planets Mission Analysis Group of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, USA.
David Deisenroth, a graduate student pursuing an MS in Mechanical Engineering, has received an National Science Foundation East Asia and Pacific Summer Institute Fellowship to travel to Korea this summer to conduct research.
Deisenroth will conduct an in-depth study on the collision of a falling drop of water and a resting drop of water. He will film the drops at high speeds and observe their characteristics. The results can be used to further the understanding of thermal management systems, aerosols and fuel injection.
Students from the Michigan Tech National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) visited seven middle and high schools in Detroit over their Spring Break, March 11-14, 2014, to promote college and engineering to K-12 students. Two ME-EM students were in the group, Anza Mitchel and Taylor Driscoll. In the evenings, they conducted Family Engineering Night events at three K-8 schools. NSBE’s Alternative Spring Break is conducted in collaboration with the Detroit Public Schools Office of Science and the Detroit Math & Science Center, and funded in part, with a grant from John Deere.