Author: College of Engineering

Sue Hill is the Digital Content Manager for the College of Engineering.

Mo Rastgaar Receives NSF Funding for Robotic Ankle Prosthesis Study

Robotic AnkleMo Rastgaar (MEEM/MuSTI) is the principal investigator on a project that has recieved a $680,182 research and development grant from the National Science Foundation. The project is titled “NRI: INT: COLLAB: Anthropomorphic Robotic Ankle Prosthesis with Programmable Materials.” This is a four-year project.

Extract

There are currently 2 million Americans living with an amputation; the majority of those amputations are of the lower limbs. Leg amputation is a significant life-altering event that has an overwhelmingly negative effect on many aspects of life, even years after the injury. Leg amputation can cost in excess of $1.8 million per individual. Most available prostheses are designed to replicate some aspects of normal ankle function during level-ground walking. These prostheses allow many individuals with below-knee amputation to return to basic daily activities. However, these devices are best suited for level-ground walking and many users experience difficulties during other important tasks, such as walking on slopes, stairs, or different terrains. Therefore, the general aim of this project is to address this gap in the design of existing powered ankle-foot prostheses by enabling new prosthetics that adapt to different environmental conditions commonly found in daily life.

In addition to advancing research, undergraduate and graduate students will be involved in research activities and will receive interdisciplinary education/innovation/outreach experiences. Outreach activities will allow the project team to engage diverse middle and high school students, especially those from underrepresented groups and low-income families. The findings from this project will be disseminated through publications, software sharing, and technology commercialization.

Read more at the National Science Foundation.

Michigan Tech Mobile Lab Visits Grand Rapids Community College

Michigan Tech Mobile Lab
Michigan Tech Mobile Lab

The Michigan Tech Mobile Lab is visiting the campus of Grand Rapids Community College (GRCC) today, giving GRCC students the chance to gain exposure to an ongoing National Science Foundation (NSF) Project—”CAREER: An Ecologically Inspired Approach to Battery Lifetime Analysis and Testing.” The principal investigator on the project is Lucia Gauchia.

Participants range from all over the technical campus, with specialized tours for on-campus classrooms, as well as an open house for students and community members. Inside the Mobile Lab, there is further detail on the project and a real-world demonstration of a battery testing process.

Students in the Mobile Lab will be exposed to battery technology in today’s modern world. There will be discussions on battery types, chemistry and applications; including mobile devices, automotive, grid storage and more.

The Mobile Lab will be on the GRCC downtown campus, located in the student commons area. For more information on the Michigan Tech Mobile Lab, contact Chris Morgan.

By APS Labs.

NSF Funding for Mahdi Shahbakhti on Dual Fuel Project

Mahdi Shahbakhti
Mahdi Shahbakhti

Mahdi Shahbakhti (MEEM) is the principal investigator on a project that has received a $269,976 research and development grant from the National Science Foundation. Jeffery Naber (MEEM/APSRC) is the Co-PI on the project “Control-oriented Modeling and Predictive Control of Advanced Dual Fuel Natural Gas Engines.” This is a three-year project.

Extract

About 200 million internal combustion engines (ICEs) are produced in the world every year and used in energy, transport and service sectors. Furthermore, ICEs account for over 22% of the U.S. total energy consumption and produce the largest portion of CO2 greenhouse gas emissions in urban areas. Dual fuel natural gas (NG) engines in advanced low temperature combustion regimes represent the state-of-the-art ICE technology with some of the highest reported fuel conversion efficiencies and 25% lower CO2 emissions compared to conventional engines. However, achieving a robust and high-efficiency performance of these engines on a broad operational range using existing control technologies is not possible due to their highly nonlinear and uncertain dynamic behavior.

This project is a collaborative effort between Michigan Technological University, University of Georgia, and the industry partner, Cummins Inc.

Read more at the National Science Foundation.

ME-EM Students Excel at Global Forum

PACE Warren 2018 buildingMichigan Tech was well represented at the Partners for the Advancement of Collaborative Engineering Education (PACE) Global Annual Forum July 22-25, 2018, at the GM WarrentTech Center.

Five graduate students in mechanical engineering-engineering mechanics were a part of TEAM 3 which did well in competitions at the forum. The team took:

  • First place in Manufacturing Engineering
  • Second place in Product Engineering, and
  • Third place in Customer Insight.
  • The team also won the Siemens Award for Excellence in PLM.

The Michigan Tech grad students participating were; Manjo Balabadhruni, Karan Gundre, Aniket Jadhav, and Mayuresh Kange.

Noise-Canceling Project Funding for Andrew Barnard

Andrew Barnard
Andrew Barnard

Andrew Barnard (MEEM/GLRC) is the principal investigator on a project that has received a $200,000 research and development grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The project is titled “PFI-TT: Using nanotechnology to create a proof-of-concept prototype for noise-canceling in building ventilation systems.”

The is a one-and-a-half-year project.

By Sponsored Programs Office.

Extract

Ventilation noise in hospitals is detrimental to patient recovery, in schools is detrimental to student learning outcomes, and in communities is detrimental to restful sleep leading to increased stress.

The proposed project will develop a prototype for a coaxial active noise cancelation device in ventilation ducts using carbon nanotube (CNT) thermophones.

Nancy Barr Presents at IEEE ProComm

ProComm2018 logoNancy Barr, founding director of the ME-EM Engineering Communications Program, recently presented a paper titled, “‘Helpful,’ ‘Irritating,’ and ‘Smart,’: Student Perspectives on Teams in a Mechanical Engineering Program,” at the annual conference of the IEEE Professional Communication Society (IEEE ProComm2018) in Toronto, Ontario, on July 23-25, 2018.

The paper, co-authored by James P. DeClerck (ME-EM), highlighted three problems that commonly hinder undergraduate engineering teams and suggested possible solutions. Barr was also co-chair of the proceedings committee for the conference.

Brad King on Space Tech and Space Law

L. Brad King
L. Brad King

Reliable estimates indicate that within the next 5-7 years, the inhabitants of the Earth will launch more satellites into space than have been launched in the history of our planet up until now.

The current system in place involves getting permission from the FCC, which is strange because when you think “satellites” I highly doubt that the FCC comes to top-of-mind as the appropriate expert agency.

The problem is that the FCC now becomes the gatekeeper for all things related to satellites, extending to many checkboxes that have nothing to do with radio frequencies.

An interesting alternative exists: a company can try to export their satellite to another country and try their hand in that country’s space permitting process.

In any case, we are in dire need of a forward-thinking approach to space policy and regulation that includes and goes beyond just Earth-orbiting satellites.

Read the full story at TechCrunch, by L. Brad King.

Faraday Future Internship for Sai Rajeev Davaragudi

Sai Rajeev Devaragudi
Sai Rajeev Devaragudi

“Once I got the telephone interview, it was all on me. I had to rely on my own capabilities to convert this opportunity into an offer,” says Sai Rajeev Davaragudi after landing a summer internship at Faraday Future in Los Angeles, California.

Sai Rajeev Devaragudi is a tenacious graduate student at Michigan Technological University studying mechanical engineering-engineering mechanics.

Read more at the Career Services blog.

Nancy Barr on Reflective Essays by Undergraduates

Nancy Barr
Nancy Barr

Nancy Barr (MEEM) presented at the International Writing Across the Curriculum Conference 2018 on the campus of Auburn University in Alabama, June 4-6. Her presentation, “Connecting the Dots: Engineering Students Connect Concepts via Reflective Essays,” focused on an effort to incorporate reflective portfolios into the undergraduate degree program. Barr is the founding director of the Engineering Communications Program in the Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics.

The conference theme, “Making Connections,” emphasizes how writing across the curriculum fosters connections within and across institutions and programs, between people and positions, and among ideas and practices.