Category: Students

Pohlod Receives GLIAC Commissioner’s Award

Michigan Tech volleyball player Rachel Pohlod was one of six female recipients of the 2016 Fall GLIAC Commissioner’s Award the league announced Friday.

A total of 12 student athletes (six male and six female) that excel academically and on the fields of play are presented after the fall, winter, and spring athletic seasons with the award.

Pohlod is a senior setter from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She is one of only three players in Tech history to record more than 2,000 assists and 1,000 digs in her career.

Pohlod was a CoSIDA Academic All-America Second Team selection and All-GLIAC First Team pick in 2016 after career highs in assists (1,238), digs (361), blocks (27), assists in a match (68) and digs in a match (27).

Pohlod was a three-time member of the GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team, holding a 3.99 grade-point average in mechanical engineering. She was also a GLIAC Honorable Mention choice in 2015 and team Co-MVP in 2016.

To read the full story and find out more about Michigan Tech sports, visit michigantechhuskies.com.

By Krista Siler, Assistant Director of Athletic Communication.

Andrew Barnard’s Exhaust System Competing in Semifinals

GAMIC

Andrew Barnard’s (ME-EM) CNT active exhaust system was chosen to compete in the semifinals of the Global Automotive and Mobility Innovation Competition (GAMIC) Feb. 23, 2017, in Detroit. Graduate student Suraj Prabhu is also working on the project.

Presented by SAE International and the MI Innovation Alliance, GAMIC provides early‐stage start‐ups with an opportunity for competition‐prep coaching and targeted exposure to decision‐makers.

Energy Conversion Poster Symposium

Wind TurbinesStudents from ME-EM 4200/5290 and 4201 “Principles of Energy Conversion” and “Intermediate Thermodynamics” presented the results of their semester-long projects on energy conversion from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on December 9, 2016, in MUB Commons.

Some topics investigated included:

  • Replacing UPPCO with off-shore wind power
  • Renewable and alternative residential backup power
  • Can you run your car on wood in the UP?
  • Off-grid hot water

Summer Youth Program for Women in Automotive Engineering

AutomotiveGirlTalkHQ, a news web site focusing on women’s empowerment, published an article about Michigan Tech’s Summer Youth Program for women in automotive engineering, sponsored by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.

Michigan Tech University Encouraging Girls To Enter The Automotive Industry With New Program

While there are a number of universities and schools around the US which offer automotive engineering programs open to both boys and girls, Michigan Technological University is going one step further.

Earlier this summer they launched the inaugural Women in Automotive Engineering program, a week-long initiative that invited girls to get first-hand experience in the industry from female role models who are working in the field. The program was sponsored by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and was part of the University’s Summer Youth Program. The leadership team was headed up by Jennifer Shute and Jody Hand who are former MTU students who wanted to provide role models for the current students, something the two women did not have while they were attending college.

We are making a direct investment that will hopefully encourage promising young women to consider engineering as a field of study and a career in the automotive industry. —Stephen L. Williams, ’86

Read more at GirlTalkHQ.

Tech Century on Women in Automotive Engineering

Tech Century, an online news site published by the Engineering Society of Detroit, ran a story about Michigan Tech’s first Women in Automotive Engineering program. Funded by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. the program brought talented high school girls to Tech this summer to learn about careers in automotive engineering. It was part of the University’s Summer Youth Programs. Read the story here.

From Tech Today.

PACE 2016 Global Annual Forum

PACE, Partners for the Advancement of Collaborative Engineering Education, held the 2016 PACE Global Annual Forum:

Global Mobility Challenges and Solutions

July 25 – July 29, 2016
University of Cincinnati
Cincinnati, Ohio USA

Michigan Tech attended the forum as part of team-6 “Konnect,” which presented their project:

Reconfigurable Shared use Mobility System

in collaboration with other institutions:

  • PES Institute of Technology India
  • Wuhan University of Technology China
  • M S Ramaiah University of Applied science India
  • SJCE Mysore India

A total of 8 teams participated in the competition. Each team consisted of 5 or 6 institutions.

PACE 2016
System designed by Michigan Tech and other universities. Model built at Michigan Tech.

Nancy Barr Presents at ASEE Annual Conference

ASEE 2016Senior Design and Technical Communications Program Advisor Nancy Barr (MEEM) presented a paper titled “Extending Writing in the Disciplines to train mechanical engineering GTAs to evaluate student writing” at the ASEE Annual Conference in New Orleans June 27, 2016.

From Tech Today.

The ASEE (American Society for Engineering Education) Annual Conference and Exposition is the only conference dedicated to all disciplines of engineering education. It is committed to fostering the exchange of ideas, enhancing teaching methods and curriculum, and providing prime networking opportunities for engineering and technology education stakeholders such as deans, faculty members and industry and government representatives.

Mechanical Engineering MachineShop Staff Share Machining Skills with FIRST Robotics Team

A select team of teenage robotics enthusiasts will spend next week, June 13-17, 2016, at Michigan Tech, working with Mechanical Engineering machinists Marty Toth and Bill Langdon to learn how to operate several metalworking machines including grinders, band saws, belt sanders, drill presses, mills and lathes. The students will also learn blueprint reading, how to use measuring tools and the importance of shop safety.

For more information on the workshop, contact Marlene Lappeus at mmlappeu@mtu.edu or 7-4518.

Read more at Tech Today, by Jenn Donovan.

FIRST Robotics Team members get a leg up on competitors

“They were working in garages and often maybe not even as safe as they could and they didn’t know the safe practices and also maybe not creating a part that they put in that robot and then they’re not as competitive,” said department chairman, Dr. William Predebon.

Read more and watch the video at WLUC-TV 6.

FIRST Robotics TV6

FIRST Robotics TV6

Copper Country High School students attend robotics workshop at MTU

“We had to watch a lot of safety videos before this to prepare us for this and they would show us how to run the machines,” said Danielle Lund, Houghton High School student.

Read more and watch the video at UP Matters.

FIRSTRobotics UP Matters

Two Short Courses Offered in Engines

Two short courses (2.5 days in duration) are being offered this month.

Both courses include laboratory components with a format that mixes traditional lecture and group discussion with hands-on experiments conducted in powertrain test-cells and through driving vehicles on the road. The courses will be available to all faculty, staff, non degree seeking students, Michigan Tech graduate students and undergraduate seniors. Both courses are one credit.

Information about the courses can be found when searching courses on Banweb. MEEM 5990 Section 49 and MEEM 5990 Section 50.

Course descriptions are as follows:

Diesel Engines-Their Combustion and Operation (June 15-17)

Topics will be covered through a mix of lecture, hands-on experimentation, group discussions and group data analysis. Both courses will be delivered from the Michigan Tech Advanced Power Systems Research Center located near the Houghton County Airport. Transportation to and from campus will be provided each day. Lunch will be provided on Thursday and Friday.

SI Engines-Their Operation & Control (June 22-24)

Topics will be covered through a mix of lecture, hands-on experimentation, group discussions and group data analysis.

Registration is now open, search for MEEM 5990 Section 49 and MEEM 5990 Section 50. Students are welcome to register for both, or just one. There are no pre-requisites, but familiarity with thermodynamics and IC engine cycles will be helpful.

Contact cjmorgan@mtu.edu,  jjworm@mtu.edu,  jnaber@mtu.edu or cmsarazi@mtu.edu if you have any questions.

From Tech Today, by APS Labs.