Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics News

Author: College of Engineering

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

Jason Blough Receives SAE International Lifetime Achievement Award

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Jason Blough
Jason Blough

Jason Blough, chair and distinguished professor of the Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics (ME-EM), received SAE International’s Ralph K. Hillquist NVH Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2023 Noise and Vibration Conference.

Established by the Noise & Vibration Conference Committee, this award recognizes those individuals who have shown a continued contribution to ground vehicle noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) over a period of 15 years or more.

According to the award notification, Blough has “been instrumental in shaping the sound package material industry over the last 30 years, alongside unmatched dedication and commitment to industry and SAE.” He was nominated for the award by Darrell Robinette (ME-EM), associate professor.

Blough’s research includes dynamic measurement problems, developing new digital signal processing algorithms to understand NVH-type problems and ways to improve the NVH characteristics of virtually any machine. He routinely teaches many experimental NVH techniques in both classroom settings and industry short courses, and serves as the SAE Clean Snowmobile Team faculty advisor under Tech’s Advanced Motorsports Enterprise.

Congratulations to Dr. Blough on this significant achievement.

By Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics.

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Mattey and Sharma Place in 2022 3MT Competition

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3MT Three Minute Thesis Founded by the University of Queensland.

This year’s Three Minute Thesis (3MT®) competition, organized by the Graduate Student Government (GSG) of Michigan Tech, wrapped up with great success. Seventeen participants competed at the MUB Ballroom for a place at the finals, held at the East Reading Room of the Van Pelt and Opie Library.

Each presentation was scored by a panel of judges from diverse academic backgrounds. The judges for the finals were Will Cantrell (Grad School/Physics), Andrew Storer (Provost/CFRES) and Mark Rhodes (SS).

Congratulations to the winners:

  • First Place: Xiaoqing Gao
  • Second Place: Katy Matson
  • Third Place: Udit Sharma
  • People’s Choice: Revanth Mattey

If you missed the competition, do not worry — you will be able to watch the finals on the GSG YouTube channel soon. Stay tuned!

GSG would like to thank all the volunteers, participants and judges for making this event possible.

By Graduate Student Government.

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Aneet Narendranath Selected as IAALDE VISTAS International Scholar

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Aneet Narendranath
Aneet Narendranath

Associate Teaching Professor Aneet Narendranath (ME-EM) has been selected as one of nine international scholars for the International Alliance to Advance Learning in the Digital Era (IAALDE) VISTAS Colloquium Series.

In a first phase, IAALDE has called for ambitious midcareer researchers, pre-tenured or recently tenured, who are developing and implementing a long-range research vision (think: 5-10 years ahead) and are therefore interested in discussing their research vision with peers from multiple societies and different disciplinary backgrounds.

The goal of the VISTAS (Vision, Inspiration, Synergy, and Transformation Across Societies) Colloquium Series on Learning and Technologies Research is to create a discussion space where researchers can connect with one another to explore ideas across multiple disciplinary and society perspectives. It is envisioned to inspire transformative research and to improve our societies by better connecting researchers to one another and to cross-disciplinary ideas.

A graduate of Michigan Technological University, Narendranath’s teaching interests include classical mechanics, numerical methods for differential equations and symbolic solution packages. His research interests focus on numerical solutions and applications to engineering of nonlinear partial differential equations and low Reynolds Number fluid physics.

Congratulations to Narendranath on achieving this honor.

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PhD Funded Student Position Available in Kai Zhou Lab

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One PhD student position with full assistantship is available in the Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics (MEEM) at Michigan Technological University. The student will work under Dr. Kai Zhou’s supervision.

The position will start in Spring 2023. It is available immediately and open until filled. The applicants must have a BS or MS degree in Mechanical Engineering with a particular emphasis on Structural Dynamics and Vibrations. The qualified applicant is expected to:

  1. Have the extensive experiences and strong skills in testbed set-up, experimental instrumentation and data acquisition.
  2. Demonstrate the capability in using FE simulation to perform both the linear and nonlinear structural dynamic analysis. It is a plus if the student has the experiences conducting other multi-physics FE simulations, e.g., electromechanical FE, fluid-structure coupled FE, thermal-structural coupled FE. The preferred software include: Abaqus, Ansys and COMSOL.
  3. Have the in-depth knowledge in signal processing, machine learning (especially deep learning), data analytics and optimization. Have the strong programing skill using MATLAB, Python to support the implementation. The knowledge of Fortran and LabVIEW is a plus.

Interested applicants are encouraged to contact Dr. Kai Zhou (kzhou@mtu.edu) with your CV, transcripts.

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PhD Funded Student Position Available in Automation in Smart Manufacturing

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Michigan Technological University
Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics

Opportunity Summary

Dr. Vinh Nguyen is seeking applications for 2 PhD students in automation for smart manufacturing. The students will receive full tuition coverage and stipend support. Students will be investigating technologies to facilitate human-automation systems in the context of Industry 4.0 and develop machine learning solutions to address real-world manufacturing problems. Students will have hands-on experience working on a variety of manufacturing processes including robotic assembly, machining, and additive manufacturing. Furthermore, students will also have the opportunity to work with advanced robotic tools including AR/VR and motion capture systems.

Dr. Nguyen is an Assistant Professor under the Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics at Michigan Technological University. Dr. Nguyen’s collaborators include industry, federal government agencies, and other academic universities.

Required Background

  • Master’s in Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, or other related fields.
  • Experience in programming industrial automation (industrial robots, embedded hardware, PLC’s, etc.) and familiarity with manufacturing processes including machining and additive manufacturing.
  • Hands-on experience with wearables technologies, machine learning, and human-robot interaction is a plus but not required.
  • Strong communication and technical writing skills for presentation of work to collaborators and sponsors.

Desired Background

Candidates should demonstrate at least one of the following strengths:

  • Experience with robotics and controls
  • Experience with manufacturing processes
  • Experience with machine learning models

How to Apply

Interested candidates should send their CV (1–2 pages) to vinhn@mtu.edu.

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PSTDL Advances in NASA Watts on the Moon Challenge

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NASA's Watts on the Moon Challenge

Assistant Professor Paul van Susante (ME-EM/MARC) and the Planetary Surface Technology Development (PSTDL) Lab, aka HuskyWorks, are one of seven teams advancing to Phase 2, Level 2 of NASA’s Watts on the Moon Challenge.

The advancement comes with a $200,000 award, building on the team’s previous Phase 2, Level 1 award of $100,000, and supports NASA’s Artemis I mission, the first in a series designed to enable sustainable human exploration of the moon and Mars.

Winners of the first stage of the challenge were eligible to compete for the second phase’s design competition, submitting technical documentation for their solutions. The seven winning teams will move on to compete for additional funding in Phase 2, Level 2.

“It’s really exciting because we’re developing new technology that will enable continuous human presence on the lunar surface,” noted Rob Button, deputy chief of the Power Division at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. “Specifically, we’re addressing long distance power transmission and energy storage in very cold conditions.” 

Van Susante designed and leads HuskyWorks’ research facilities, one of eight academic facilities listed on NASA’s ARES Dust Testing Facilities webpage. The central piece of the PSTDL is a custom-built rectangular Dusty Thermal Vacuum chamber (DTVAC) that can be cooled as low as minus 196°C and heated as high as 150°C, reach a vacuum of 10-6 Torr (10-4 Torr with simulant) and contain a box with up to 3,000 pounds of regolith simulant. For more details on the lab’s capabilities, visit the PSTDL’s Facilities page.

By Donna Jeno-Amici, Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics.

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PhD Funded Student Position Available in Marine Renewable Energy

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Michigan Technological University
Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics

Opportunity Summary

Seeking applications for 2 PhDs student in the area of marine renewable energy (e.g., offshore wind, wave) and control (or machine learning). The students will receive full financial support including a stipend and tuition coverage. The candidate will be working with the research group lead by Dr. Shangyan Zou investigating the modeling, control, networking, and swarm behavior of marine renewable energy systems to improve the economic index of marine renewables. In addition to the theoretical and numerical development, the candidate will also have opportunities to gain hands-on experience by working with the wave tank at Michigan Technological University. Furthermore, the candidate also will have the opportunity to work in Lake Superior and conduct experiments in the lake with the Research Vessel. You can expect a very productive working environment as well as a very effective personal mentorship from the PI in addition to academic support.

In general, the candidate will be responsible for supporting the initiative and contributing to the research projects through literature review, mathematical modeling, experimental testing, data organization, data collection, data analysis, preparing for research presentations, preparing manuscripts for journal submission, and other research-related duties as assigned.

Dr. Zou’s lab is in the Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics at Michigan Tech. We have an interdisciplinary collaboration with universities (e.g., Oregon State University), national labs (e.g., National Renewable Energy Laboratory), and industries (e.g., OscillaPower) which will be a great opportunity for the candidate to work with people from a diverse background.

Why Should You Apply

Dr. Zou’s lab seeks highly motivated, honest, self-driven individuals from a variety of backgrounds in our investigations. The research questions that we are trying to address including:

  • How to develop/apply new controls (as well as machine learning techniques) to improve the performance (optimality and robustness) of ocean renewable energy systems?
  • What is a good model to describe the behavior of Wave Energy Converters (both rigid body or deformable body) which is computationally efficient and has a good agreement with the experiments?
  • Can we use wave power for small non-grid applications (e.g., water desalination, UUV charging, oceanographic measurements)?
  • How can we introduce multi-agent system techniques to optimize the performance of a swarm of ocean renewable energy systems (as well as other devices like UUVs)?

If any of the research questions excite you, please reach out!

Required Background

  • MS (preferred) or BS in Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Electrical Engineering or other related fields
  • Solid programming skills and some hands-on experience (e.g., 3-D printing, hardware communications). Hands-on experience with robotics or wave tank will be a plus but not necessary.
  • Introductory background in dynamic systems and control, fluid mechanics. Deep background of Fluid Mechanics will be a plus but not necessary.
  • Strong communication skills and used to a teamwork environment
  • Solid writing skills and experience with presentation or article writing

Desired Background

Candidates should demonstrate at least one of the following strengths:

  • Experience with modeling and control of ocean renewable energy systems (e.g., ocean wave, offshore wind)
  • Experience with wave tank testing, hardware communication, or sensor measurements
  • Experience with fluid-structure interaction
  • Experience with control theory, state estimation, or multi-agent systems
  • Experience with robotics (both numerical and experimental)

How to Apply

Send your CV and a brief statement of interest (1–2 pages) to shangyan@mtu.edu. In your statement of interest, please clearly highlight your strengths as one (or more) of the listed items. In addition, please send your application with the subject line: “Applying for PhD student position on marine renewables”.

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Stephen Morse Selected as ME Teacher of the Year

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Stephen Morse

Congratulations to Assistant Professor Stephen Morse for winning the 2022 Mechanical Engineering (ME) Teacher of the Year Award! Morse taught a double section of MEEM 2150 Mechanics of Materials for the 2021-22 academic year.

Morse has been with the Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics (ME-EM) since 2017, with a joint appointment in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering (CEGE). He earned his PhD from Texas Tech University in 2009, and he previously served as an assistant professor at Texas Tech in the civil, environmental and construction engineering department. Morse’s areas of research expertise include window glass strength and design, wind loads on structures, finite element modeling of brittle materials, large-scale data processing and data mining.

The ME Teacher of the Year Award is selected solely by mechanical engineering students and conducted by the Mechanical Engineering Student Advisory Committee (MESAC). It is a two-step process similar to the process employed by the University teaching award. The first stage is the selection of the top three, voted upon by ME students. In the second stage, MESAC students go into all the spring classes of the three finalists with a questionnaire, which contains several questions about the finalists’ teaching, including why students believe they should be the ME Teacher of the Year.

Morse received a certificate and his name on the ME Teacher of the Year plaque with past winners in the lobby of the R.L. Smith Building (MEEM).

The award was announced during ME-EM’s 2022 Order of the Engineer ceremony, which was held in the Memorial Union Ballroom on April 19. This year’s runners-up were ME-EM Senior Lecturer Jaclyn Johnson and ME-EM Lecturer Mary Zadeh.

By Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics.

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Cindy Wadaga and Karen Bess are Exceptional Staff Members

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This year’s awardees for the Graduate Student Government (GSG) Merit Awards have been decided. A total of 37 nominations were received from departments all across campus. The decision process was not an easy one, as there was a very strong pool of nominations this year. We are very grateful to all of our nominees for all of the work they put in to improve and enrich the life of our graduate students.

Among the award winners in the Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics are Cindy Wadaga, coordinator of graduate programs, and Karen Bess, executive assistant.

Congratulations to the winners and thank you for all you have done for our graduate students.

By Graduate Student Government.

Cindy Wadaga
Cindy Wadaga
Karen Bess
Karen Bess
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Seeking PhD Student Interested in Climate Change Impacts on Electrical Power Systems

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PhD Funded Student Position—CLOSED

Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics

Seeking a motivated student interested in the impacts of climate change on electrical power systems (bulk electricity grid). Research may be related to the impacts of climate change on renewable and conventional energy, electricity transmission infrastructure, and electricity use and how those impacts interact with energy transitions to wind, solar, and electric vehicles on the grid. This work is primarily computational and may include using optimization software to model bulk electric power systems, modeling the performance of conventional and renewable power plants, managing large data sets, and visualizing spatial information.

Dr. Dyreson’s lab is in the Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics at Michigan Technological University. We collaborate with the Great Lakes Research Center, Keweenaw Energy Transitions Laboratory, Advanced Power Systems Laboratory, and departments across campus including civil, environmental, and geospatial engineering, electrical and computer engineering, and social sciences.

Applicants should therefore bring a strong fundamental engineering background along with interest in energy systems and interdisciplinary work.

Required Background

  • MS in Mechanical Engineering or related field
  • Solid programming skills
  • Introductory coursework in thermodynamics
  • TOEFL > 90 iBT or IELTS > 7.0 overall band score (international students)

Desired Background

Candidates should demonstrate at least one of the following strengths (academic
research or industry experience are accepted):

  • Wind or solar power modeling, resource estimation, or forecasting
  • Electrical transmission or distribution systems modeling, operating, or planning
  • Thermoelectric, renewable, or hydroelectric power plant analysis or operation
  • Energy efficiency, demand side management, or building HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning)
  • Energy-water nexus
  • Accessing and using climate data (general circulation models)

Michigan Technological University is located in Houghton, Michigan. This is a small rural town with abundant, year-round outdoor activities, access to National Parks and historic sites, and cultural activities centered on campus.

We seek students that want to be part of and promote an inclusive workplace. For more information on research activities in Dr. Dyreson’s lab see the faculty directory and faculty website.

To Apply

Send an email to adyreson at mtu.edu as follows:

  1. Use the subject line “Interest in climate impacts on power systems”,
  2. describe your interests and confirm one or more of the items listed under “Desired Background” above, and
  3. attach a C.V.

Note that applications to this position are separate from applications to the graduate program.

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