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ME-EM
Alumni NewsBrief
March 2008
Vol. 4, No. 1
Greetings from William (Bill) W. Predebon, Chair, Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics. For the latest news and information about our faculty, students, and staff please visit our web site at http://www.me.mtu.edu/.
Upcoming Events
The ME-EM Annual Alumni/SAE Reception will be held at the 2008 SAE World Congress in Detroit, MI in Room W1-52, Cobo Hall, Ground Floor on Wednesday, April 16th at 5:00 p.m. See more information about the event or phone Kathy at (906) 487-2551 or email at kagoulet@mtu.edu.
The Department of Mechanical Engineering - Engineering Mechanics will again host a boat cruise on the Portage Canal during the Michigan Tech Annual Alumni Reunion. If you are making plans to attend the Reunion on August 6-8, 2008, please set aside Thursday August 7th from 1 - 4 p.m. for this fun event. We promise to have you back in time for the Pasty Picnic. This complimentary cruise is reserved for ME-EM alumni and their families. Refreshments will be served. Please contact us at (906) 487-2551 or kagoulet@mtu.edu to reserve room on the cruise.
Past Events
The Annual ME-EM Alumni Winter Carnival Hockey Social was held on Saturday, February 9th, MTU versus Wisconsin with the largest attendance ever. This exciting Winter Carnival game ended with a 4-1 Wisconsin win. The Department will host another Social next year the Saturday of Winter Carnival. If you plan to be here for Carnival please consider joining us. We will be sending out more information later this year.
ME-EM Department Chair Travel
When on travel for the Department, Dr. Predebon visits with alumni to get their feedback on our programs and their career and to give an update on the department and university. Please let the Department know if you would be available for a visit when he is in your area. Call (906) 487-2911 or email kagoulet@mtu.edu.
Dr. Predebon will be traveling to the following cities this coming spring:
April 4 - 9, Galveston TX for ASME Conference
April 13 - 16, Detroit, MI, SAE World Congress
April 17-19, Washington DC, ASME Global Summit on the Future of Mechanical Engineering (by invitation only)
May 7 - 11, Chicago IL, Michigan Tech Fund Board meeting
June 7 - 11, Orlando, FL, ASME Annual Meeting
June 22 -25, Pittsburgh, PA, American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE)
Alumni and Friends Accomplishments & Awards
Roy Erickson, BSME '53, was honored as the 16th annual "A Step Above" Senior Volunteer of the Year Award. The award was sponsored by the Sterling Heights, Utica, and Shelby Township Chamber of Commerce, the Source Newspaper, and DTE. Read more about the award
Russell Gronevelt, vice chair of Michigan Tech's Board of Control, has been appointed by Governor Jennifer Granholm to serve on a 19-member citizens' advisory committee that will address a variety of transportation issues. The committee will advise a nine-member task force charged with reviewing alternatives to the state motor fuel tax, surface transportation, aeronautics service and overall transportation finance in Michigan.
Colonel Merrily Madero, BSME '85, Vice Commander of the 17th Training Wing Goodfellow Air Force Base in Texas, was highlighted in the Winter 2007/2008 issue of Woman Engineer.
Michael Schiffer, BSME '79, is highlighted in the article "An old industry turns high-tech" in the Charlotte Observer on March 28th. The article centers on his family's aerial spraying business. Read more:
University News/Awards
Michigan Tech along with North Dakota State University and two universities in Brazil have begun a collaboration to exchange students, enhance engineering education, bridge cultures and highlight global sustainable energy. The program is called "The US-Brazil Engineering Education Consortium on Renewable Energy" and is under the auspices of the US Department of Education's Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education. As the program grows, students will earn a double diploma and a certificate in international engineering.
Michigan Tech, University of Michigan, and Michigan State tied for first place on Edmund's list of Top 10 Automotive Colleges and Universities in the U.S. - What You Do Outside of Class Is at Least as Important as Where the Class Is Held. According to the article "To come up with this list of the top 10 automotive colleges and universities, we interviewed representatives of several car companies, studied results from vehicle-building competitions and considered our own experience." Read the whole article
Michigan Tech participated in a project of the nonprofit Green House Network, Focus the Nation. The event took place on college and university campuses on Jan. 31. Professors at more than 1,100 colleges, including Michigan Tech, discussed issues relating to global warming in their classes or took part in panels throughout the day.
Michigan Tech has renewed its membership in the Association of Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education, a network of over 500 colleges and universities, businesses and nonprofits working to achieve a just, equitable and ecologically sound future.
Michigan Tech President Glenn D. Mroz testified before the State Senate Higher Education Subcommittee at a hearing at the University of Michigan-Dearborn on Monday, March 3 on a number of higher education issues including that Michigan Tech:
* Supports the governor's new higher education funding formula that
recognizes degree completion, science, technology, engineering and
math-related (STEM) degrees and research as drivers of the
knowledge economy. Eighty-two percent of Tech's graduates are in
STEM fields, the highest of any Michigan university. The funding
model increases the amount of support Michigan Tech will receive.
* Has a policy of offering in-state tuition to out-of-state students
who are the offspring or a spouse of a person on full-time active
US military duty - making Michigan Tech the first university in
the nation to offer this kind of financial aid to military families.
* Students graduate with one of the lowest average debts in the
state and in the nation.
* Ninety-seven percent of Michigan Tech grads were placed in jobs in
their fields within six months of graduation
* Has developed partnerships with industries in Michigan, including
Ford Motor Company and General Electric, and in Wisconsin with
Cargill Inc.
* Is an active partner in a Renewable Fuels Working Group-a
collaborative effort of Michigan.
As a result of a survey of 135 colleges and universities on the Reader's Digest's web site, Michigan Tech was ranked third in the nation among the 45 campuses that received an "A" rating for its readiness to handle on-campus threats to safety and security. The results of the survey were reported in the issue that was available on newsstands on Feb. 19th.
Michigan Tech's Winter Carnival has made the news in both the Detroit Free Press and the New York Times auto blog, http://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/07/under-icy-conditions/.
Department Accomplishments
The 2009 Graduate Program rankings by US News & World Report are out and the ME-EM Graduate Program is ranked 48th up from 54th (2008 ranking) among doctoral granting mechanical engineering departments in the U.S.
Michigan Tech, led by the ME-EM department is renovating a 4,000-square-foot building in west Hancock to meet the growing needs of alternative energy researchers from Michigan Tech. The project is being coordinated by Jeremy Worm, research engineer - ME-EM. A capstone senior design team from the ME-EM department designed the remodeled facilities to minimize operating energy and utilize environmentally friendly materials, while meeting or exceeding all appropriate safety codes. It is scheduled for completion this summer and will support various researchers from Michigan Tech's Advanced Power Systems Research Center (APSRC). See moreon the research of the APSRC The facility will also house a modern collaboration room with videoconferencing capabilities and office space for faculty, research staff and graduate students. Additional support is being sought to help bring the building to full functionality, and sponsors are being offered naming as well as research collaboration opportunities. Please contact either Jeremy Worm (906) 487-2686 or the ME-EM office at (906) 487-2551 if you would like more information. The renovation was highlighted on the MiLife MiTimes website.
The U.S. News and World Report has ranked Michigan Tech 19th in the nation for its offering of graduate engineering degrees online. The ME-EM department is one of the two departments at Michigan Tech to offer online engineering degrees. The MSME degree is offered with course work only and research options. The ME-EM PhD is research intensive and highly individualized.
Faculty/Staff Awards/Accomplishments
Dr. Jeffrey S. Allen, assistant professor ME-EM, has received an NSF CAREER Award, a multi-year grant valued at over $690,000. The NSF CAREER Award, which is the Faculty Early Career Development Program, is a very prestigious and highly competitive grant for junior faculty.
Dr. Jeffrey Allen, assistant professor ME-EM, had his research with fuel cells highlighted in the Michigan Tech Research magazine.
Dr. Jason R. Blough, assistant professor ME-EM, has been named an Associate Editor of the Journal of Experimental Techniques, which is a publication of the Society of Experimental Mechanics (SEM).
Dr. Jason R. Blough, assistant professor ME-EM, is a recipient of the 2007 Distinguished SAE Faculty Advisor Award. Quoting from the Selection Committee "This award recognizes your dedication and contributions to SAE and your Collegiate Chapter. Your students highly recommended you for this award and it is well deserved".
Dr. Roshan D'Souza, assistant professor ME-EM and Dr. KVC Rao, senior lecturer ME-EM, were highlighted in the PACE in Action, Partners for the Advancement of Collaborative Engineering Education quarterly report. The ME-EM faculty members are preparing the PACE SAE/UGS Cad Professional Certification Guide.
Dr. William Endres, associate professor ME-EM, had his company, Endres Machining Innovations Inc. highlighted in the 03/01/08 Daily Mining Gazette article "Doing It Right". The article interviewed Mark Clevey, Vice President of the Entrepreneurial Center of the Small Business Association of Michigan who stated that the area's concentration on entrepreneurship is the right approach and cited the strong links between Michigan Tech and local business as a benefit to the area. The Endres company is located in the Advanced Technology Development Complex at Michigan Tech, one of the incubators in the Michigan Tech Enterprise Corp. Smart Zone.
Dr. Tammy Haut Donahue, associate professor ME-EM, has been awarded first place for her presentation "Meniscal Tissue Degradation Following Periods of Disuse" at the 14th Bioengineering Conference, sponsored by the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland, January 25-26, 2008 in Sligo, Ireland. Dr. Haut Donahue is on sabbatical in Ireland.
John Holmen, senior major gifts officer working with the ME-EM Department, was inducted into the North Dakota Officials' Association Hall of Fame during the state Class B boys' basketball tournament March 13-15 in Fargo, ND.
Drs. Bo Chen and Fernado Ponta, assistant professors ME-EM, participated in the appraisal process of two of the high school seniors selected to participate in the Leading Scholar Program. The program offers scholarships to incoming students with exemplary leadership attributes and outstanding scholarly achievement. Candidates must be nominated by one or more of their teachers or advisors. These scholarships exemplify Michigan Tech's best, and those selected to participate were invited for a campus visit on December 7 and 8 for personal and professional appraisal. A minimum of twenty-five finalists were invited to participate in this prestigious event. Those participating receive an $8,000 per year scholarship should they elect to come to Michigan Tech. The three finalists receive full tuition scholarships for four years, room and board, and a $1,000 per year stipend. One of the finalists has selected mechanical engineering as her major should she decide to accept the award.
Dr. Gregory M. Odegard, assistant professor ME-EM, has been chosen to receive the 2008 Ferdinand P. Beer and E. Russell Johnston, Jr., Outstanding New Mechanics Educator Award. The award will be presented at the Mechanics Division's banquet at the ASEE Annual Conference in Pittsburgh on June 24, 2008.
Dr. William W. Predebon, professor and chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, has been elected a fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) for his contributions to education. The fellow grade recognizes exceptional engineering achievements and contributions to the engineering profession.
Dr. John Sutherland, professor ME-EM, is the North and South America regional editor of the International Journal of Sustainable Manufacturing.
Charles Van Karsen, associate professor, associate chair, and director of undergraduate studies in ME-EM, authored the editorial "The Commodity Engineering Market", published in the December 2007 issue of Sound & Vibration magazine.
Current Contracts and Grants
Allen, Jeffrey, (PI, ME-EM), "CAREER: Gas-Liquid Interface Dynamics and Dissipation Mechanisms in Capillary-Scale Two-Phase Flow", sponsor: National Science Foundation, total award amount: $694,433.
Blough, Jason R., (PI, ME-EM), Van Karsen, Chuck, (Co-PI, ME-EM), "Vibration Analysis of Chip Cracker", sponsor: Verso Paper, total award amount: $3,200.
Friedrich, Craig R., (PI, ME-EM), "IOFIS Phase I, Instrumented Intramedullary Nail and Smart Orthopedic Membrane", sponsor: Mott Community College, total award amount: $338,928.
Gershenson, John, (PI, ME-EM), "MTU, CAT Collaborative Project: Defining Modules for Assembly Testability", sponsor: Caterpillar, Inc., total award amount: $34,000.
Odegard, Gregory M., (PI, ME-EM), "Finite Element Modeling of Intraneural Ganglion Cysts", sponsor: Mayo Clinic, total award amount: $65,144.
Parker, Gordon G., (PI, ME-EM), Johnson, John H., (Co-PI, ME-EM), "System Level Modeling and Control for Diesel Engine PM and Nox Aftertreatment", sponsor: International Truck and Engine Corporation, total award amount: $48,980.
Rao, Mohan, (PI, ME-EM), "Development of a Hybrid Statistical Energy Analysis (SEA) Model of a Truck Cab Interior", sponsor: Caterpillar, Inc., total award amount: $35,006.
Faculty and Student Invention Disclosures
Dr. Ossama Abdelkhalik, assistant professor ME-EM, has filed an invention disclosure for "Autonomous Non-GPS Auto Navigation System".
Dr. Abhijit Mukherjee, assistant professor ME - EM, has filed an invention disclosure for "Water management in PEM fuel cells in the presence of powdered wax".
Student Competitions and Team Awards
The Michigan Tech Challenge X Team embarked on the Lake Michigan Road Rally from December 21, 2007 through January 13, 2008. The team traveled 2,000 miles and made visits to five sponsors and 15 team member's hometowns, giving up their holiday break to do so.
The MTU 2006 Clean Snowmobile Competition snowmobile was on display at the International Auto Show in Detroit (Cobo Center), Jan. 19 through Jan. 27, 2008 at the Denso booth. Dr. Jason Blough is the advisor for MTU's Clean Snowmobile, as well as MTU's SAE advisor.
Michigan Tech's Clean Snowmobile Challenge team is featured in this story on the Detroit Auto Show by Detroit Free Press writer Tina Lam. KRC director Jay Meldrum is quoted: .
The Michigan Tech Nordic ski teams tied for seventh place with Denver in the College Cup at the US Senior Nationals, hosted at the Michigan Tech Nordic Training Center the week of December 30th. The men's team tied for sixth place while the women's team finished 10th. The program also finished third among teams in the Central Collegiate Ski Association. The series of races over the week featured 28 of the 41 teams in the NCAA and featured every NCAA national champion except New Mexico. The event was covered by the Detroit Free Press.
The Michigan Tech SAE Collegiate Branch received an Award of Excellence in the Honeywell Outstanding Collegiate Branch Awards competition. They placed in the top 9 in the nation. The faculty advisor is Dr. Jason R. Blough (assistant professor ME-EM). This award is designed to encourage and reward exemplary performance in the areas of membership and recruitment, technical meetings, networking opportunities, SAE Collegiate Design Series teams, and community service programs.
The Michigan Tech Aerospace Enterprise is developing a self-piloting glider with a payload that can take wind measurements at various altitudes. The glider will utilize two weather balloons to reach altitudes of 20,000 feet. A test flight is scheduled for April 1. The project manager is Robert Piedmonte, senior, mechanical engineering and the team's advisor is Dr. L. Brad King, associate professor, ME-EM. The project is funded by the Michigan Space Grant Consortium, with donations from freewave radio and assistance from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Read more on this and other Aerospace Enterprise projects
The Michigan Tech Clean Snowmobile Enterprise team placed fourth overall and earned the ThermoAnalytics Award for Fourth Place in the internal combustion division, plus the Land and Sea Award for Best Performance at the SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge held at Michigan Tech March 11th through the 15th. For details follow the links at: http://www.me.mtu.edu/snowmobile_challenge/index.html.
The Keweenaw Research Center and the Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics will host 2009 SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge (CSC) Competition March 16-21, 2009 for the 7th consecutive year. Please mark your calendars and plan to attend.
ME-EM Senior Design Team 20 took first place in the Regional ASME Student Design Competition held in Columbia, MO with their window washing robot, Frank Jr. The team consists of ME-EM seniors Mark Chilar, Brad Howard, Nathan Kroodsma, and Andrew Timmons and is advised by Dr. William Endres, associate professor ME-EM. The win qualifies the team for the national competition being held at the ASME International Convention in Boston this fall. Read more Robotic window washer climbs to the top for title, Columbia Missourian March 30, 2008
Michigan Tech hosted the U.S. Senior Nationals Cross Country Ski championships the first week in January. Out of 263 entrants in the Men's 10k Freestyle race, Karl Walczak, assistant coach and ME-EM PhD student, finished 37th and Kevin Heglund, Sr -EME, finished 83rd. Out of 191 entrants in the Women's 5k Freestyle, Karen Jarvey, Sr. - EME, finished 129th. Kristina Owens, BSME '07, finished 20th in the Women's 5k.
Michigan Tech again hosted the Winter Baja competition held on February 16th at Lake Linden, MI. Twenty five entrants from thirteen universities competed. Tech's three entrants finished sixth, thirteenth, and fifteenth. Read more
Student Accomplishments/Awards
Emily Fossum, ME-EM PhD student, will receive one of five $2,000 Finishing Fellowships awarded for the spring semester. The fellowship sponsors are Whirlpool Endowed Fellowship, Neil V. Hakala Endowed Fellowship, and the Michigan Tech Student Foundation.
The Michigan Tech's record-breaking snowball fight was the answer on Tuesday, February 19's "Jeopardy!" as part of the winter sports category. The clue mentioned a 2006 Michigan Tech event involving several thousand participants.
The Huskies Pep Band was recently invited to serve for the third consecutive year as the official band of the 2008 WCHA Final Five college hockey tournament, held March 20-22 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn.
The Michigan Tech SAE Student Chapter is the World's largest student chapter in membership at 170 (second place has 154). The SAE Student Chapter president is Sarah Schneider and the faculty advisor is Dr. Jason R. Blough (assistant professor ME-EM).
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William W. Predebon, Ph.D.
Professor and Chair
Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
Michigan Technological University
1400 Townsend Drive
Houghton, MI 49931-1295
Phone No.: 906-487-2551
Fax No.: 906-487-2822
E-mail: wwpredeb@mtu.edu
For more news and information about our faculty, students,and staff - please visit our web site news pages:: Department News -- Research News -- Alumni News -- Student News |
