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ME-EM
Alumni NewsBrief
March 2007
ME-EM NewsBrief, Vol. 3, No. 1,
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
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 Department will co-host our annual alumni reception along with GM and Ford at the SAE International Conference in Detroit, MI. The reception is Tuesday, April 17, 2007 from 5:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. in the Skyline Room, Cobo Hall, Level 2. Current MTU students will be available to discuss their designs entered in national vehicle competitions. Dr. William Predebon, Department Chair, will give an update on progress in the Department and Michigan Tech. If you will be attending please RSVP to Kathy at kagoulet@mtu.edu or (906) 487-2551. Appetizers and refreshments will be provided.
The ME-EM Department will again host a boat cruise on the Portage Canal during the MTU Annual Alumni Reunion. If you are making plans to attend the Reunion on August 2-4, 2007, please set aside Thursday August 2nd 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 10th, MTU versus Denver. This exciting Winter Carnival game ended in a 4-4 tie. 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. No tickets are needed for the game if you are attending the Social.
The ME-EM Department co-hosted an alumni reception in Orlando FL at the SEM-IMAC Conference with the University of Cincinnati. Dr. William Shapton, Professor Emeritus from MTU/ME-EM Department was honored along with Dr. David Brown from the University of Cincinnati.
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 contact the Department at (906) 487-2551 if you would be available for a visit when he is in your area.
Week of April 15, 2007 - The SAE World Congress in Detroit, MI. The ME-EM Department will again be holding our annual alumni reception. See Upcoming Events for more details.
Week of June 24, 2007 - ASEE Conference in Honolulu, Hawaii
Alumni Accomplishments & Awards
Michelle L. Boven (Stevens), (BSME '99), has received the 2006 Distinguished New Engineer Award from the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), Detroit Section. The award is presented to members who have shown great leadership through SWE and the industry. This highly selective award recognizes past accomplishments as well as future potential in the field of engineering. Michelle was also featured as a 2006 "New Faces of Engineering" winner in the SWE magazine. She is a Dow Automotive Development Specialist, a multifunctional global team leader for the development and commercialization of IMPAXX[TM] Structural Foam Insert release process.
ME-EM alumni John F. Calder (BSME '67), Martha N. Sullivan (BSME '80), and Dr. Terry J. Woychowski (BSME '78) have been elected into the MTU ME-EM Department's Academy of Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Mechanics. Academy members are MTU/ME-EM graduates who have achieved excellence in engineering and have influenced society in a positive manner. A formal induction ceremony will take place in Houghton on April 21st.
John O. Hallquist (PhD '72), President, Livermore Software Technology Corp., Livermore, CA was elected to the National Academy of Engineering for the development of explicit nonlinear finite element methods and their worldwide dissemination in the DYNA family of programs. He is also a member of the ME-EM Academy.
Kyriaki (Kiki) Kalaitzidou (MSME 2002) has been awarded third place in the Quadrant Award 2007 competition. Quandrand is a global leader in the manufacture of high-performance thermoplastics and composites. Kiki's thesis was titled "Exfoliated Graphite nanoplatelets as Reinforcement for Multifunctional Polypropylene Nanocomposites". The academic jury who awarded the prizes comes from internationally acclaimed universities or institutions. They appreciated "the innovative use of graphite platelets and the progress made towards carbon fibre or carbon nanotube substitutes in polymer composites" of her thesis.
University News/Awards
General Motors and the United Negro College Fund have selected Michigan Tech to participate in the GM Sullivan Fellowship Program. The program includes a $5,000 grant to develop a Sullivan Principles program on campus. In addition, a $5,000 scholarship will be provided to the Sullivan Fellow based upon the successful completion of a GM summer internship and the completion of a written and oral presentation on the Sullivan Principles. More about the principles can be seen at http://www.thesullivanfoundation.org/gsp/principles/gsp/default.asp.
Jamie Russell, in his fourth year as MTU head hockey coach, has been recognized as the Western Collegiate Hockey Association Co-Coach of the Year. The Hockey Huskies finished the year with an 18-16-5 overall record and a sixth-place finish in the 2006-07 WCHA standings, marking its best conference showing since 1992-93. Tech ranked among the nation's top five in shots allowed (24.6), penalty killing (87.6) and scoring defense (2.13). The Huskies also broke a 1974-75 program record by compiling five shutouts this season.
On January 12, 2007, the Baltimore Sun ran a story by Tim Jones of the Chicago Tribune that recounted how the lack of snow in the Keweenaw was affecting the area. Houghton had only had about 50 inches or so, and nearly all of it had been washed away by rain or warm temperatures. Normally by that time the area would have had close to 200 inches. The City of Houghton rationed its snow and canceled a downtown inner tube race - the Yooper Luge - to save snow for the annual MTU Winter Carnival, the biggest tourist attraction of the year. The whole story can be read at http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/nationworld/bal-te.nosnow12jan12,0,506175.story?coll=bal-nationworld-headlines
Michigan Tech Youth Programs is offering the following opportunities for youth this summer: American Indian Workshop for ages 12-15 on June 17-23, Explorations in Engineering for grades 9-11 on June 24- 30, Women in Engineering for grades 9-11 on July 8-14, and Summer Youth for grades 6-11 is being offered in four one week sessions July 8 - August 4. For more information on any of these programs, please email yp@mtu.edu link to the website at youthprograms.mtu.edu, or call Educational Opportunity at 888-773-2655.
Department Accomplishments
President Mroz and Provost Reed have approved the proposal to establish the Advanced Power Systems Research Center (APSRC). The Center Director is Dr. Carl L. Anderson (ME-EM). The Associate Director is Dr. Jeff Naber (ME-EM) and the Associate Director of Education and Outreach is Dr. Donna J. Michalek (ME-EM). Eighteen faculty from ME-EM, Chemical Engineering, Biological Sciences, and Mathematical Sciences have expressed interest. The establishment of the Advanced Power Systems Research Center is part of the Department's effort to facilitate the growth of research and graduate education and our new research caucus structure.
New Staff
Nancy Barr has joined the Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics as an office assistant. She was previously a news editor at the Daily Mining Gazette and had worked for two years as a legal secretary. She has an associate of arts degree from Bay College and a BS in Business Administration from Lake Superior State University. She will be providing support for the Undergraduate Program.
JoAnne Stimac has returned to the Department as an Administrative Aide. JoAnne, who received her BA degree from Michigan Tech, will provide support for the Graduate Program.
Books Authored by Faculty
Beginning with this calendar year, we will be including books that have been authored by ME-EM faculty members.
Intermediate Mechanics of Materials, Madhukar Vable, Oxford Press, 2007.
Current Contracts and Grants
Starting this calendar year, we will now include new contracts and grants awarded to faculty in the ME-EM Department.
Jeffrey S. Allen (Co-PI, ME-EM), John Diebel (PI, Tech and Econ. Dev.), "Fuel Cell Water control System Prototype - Alternative Energy", Sponsor - Michigan Universities Commercialization Initiative, Total project amount -$60,979.
Jeffrey S. Allen (Co-PI, ME-EM), Satish Kandikar (PI, RIT), "Visualization of Fuel Cell Water Transport and Performance Characterization", Sponsor - Department of Energy, the award is part of a $2.7 million collaborative project with Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), General Motors, and Michigan Tech, Total Michigan Tech project amount - $991,930.
Jaime A. Camelio (PI, ME-EM), John W. Sutherland (Co-PI, ME-EM), "Application of Control Theory Principles to Improve the Performance of a Dynamic Trucking Network", Sponsor - Schneider National, Total project amount - $41,000.00.
L. Brad King (PI, ME-EM), "Self-Regenerating Nanotips: Indestructible Field-Emission Cathodes for Low-Power Electric Propulsion", Sponsor -U.S. Department of Defense - Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Total project amount - $324,487.00.
Edward Lumsdaine (PI, ME-EM), "2007 Staffing for the C3P ISD", Sponsor - Ford Motor Company, Total project amount - $240,284.00.
Michele H. Miller (PI -ME-EM), Gordon G. Parker (Co-PI, ME-EM), Henry A. Sodano (Co-PI, ME-EM), H. Liu and Sarah A. Green, (Co-PIs, Chemistry), Paul L. Bergstrom (Co-PI, EE), "Optimizing Chemo-Mechanical Structure for MEMS Chemical Vapor Sensor Arrays", Sponsor - Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Total project amount - $1,362,334.00.
Jeffery D. Naber (PI, ME-EM), John E. Beard (Co-PI, ME-EM), Donna J. Michalek (Co-PI, ME-EM), "Direct Injection Ethanol Flex-Fuel Vehicle Optimization and HC Cold-Start Emissions reductions for Hybrid Applications", Sponsor - General Motors, Total project amount - $272,146.00.
Jeffery D. Naber (PI, ME-EM), John E. Beard (Co-PI, ME-EM), Donna J. Michalek (Co-PI, ME-EM), "GDI Ethanol Flex-Fuel Engine Optimization and HC Cold-Start Emissions Reduction for Hybrid Applications", Sponsor - General Motors, Total project amount - $52,052.00.
Gordon G. Parker (PI, ME-EM), Jill Blecke, (Co-PI, PhD major, ME-EM), "Switch Bounce Modeling and Control", Sponsor - Sandia National Laboratories, Total project amount - $20,000.00.
Henry A. Sodano (PI, ME-EM), "Biologically Inspired Autonomic Structural Materials with Controlled Toughening and Healing", Sponsor - NSF, Total project amount $281,160.
Charles D. Van Karsen (PI, ME-EM), "AVS Engine Noise Identification", Sponsor - Briggs & Stratton Corporation, Total project amount - $60,800.00.
Student Competitions and Team Awards
The Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics and the Keweenaw Research Center at Michigan Technological University hosted the 2007 SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge (CSC) on March 19-24, 2007 and has hosted it for the last four years. Pictures and movie clips from this year's event can be seen at http://www.me.mtu.edu/snowmobile_challenge/index.html. The University of Idaho took first place honors. Michigan Tech placed sixth overall, ranking second in the design paper competition and third in rider comfort. Other overall rankings are: tied for second - The University of Maine and Kettering University, fourth - The University of Wisconsin at Madison, and fifth - University of Minnesota at Duluth. Other universities who participated include: Clarkson, McGill, Minnesota State-Mankato, SUNY-Buffalo, SD School of Mines and Technology, Univ. of WI-Platteville, and Utah State Univ. Michigan Tech's Clean Snowmobile Enterprise Program is advised by Dr. Jason Blough.
The MTU SAE Aero Student Team earned 3rd place at the 2007 SAE Aero West National Competition. They had a lift of 20.04 pounds. They were only 0.66 pounds shy of the high lift first place winner at 20.7 pounds. They also plan to go to the SAE East Competition. The team advisors are Steve Stackhouse and Dr. Donna Michalek.
Michigan Tech held its annual Winter Baja Competition on February 16-17 at the Lake Linden Park. As the host, Tech was not ranked. Out of 22 vehicles from 13 universities, Tech had the most laps with 87, the fourth fastest lap at 1:50 and the fourth longest distance at 33'10". Each vehicle has a standard four- stroke engine but the rest is engineered and built by its team. Michigan Tech was one of the few teams to have a female driver, Vanessa Ortis (Jr.- ME-EM). The event began in 1981 as a way to test off-road vehicles in winter conditions, was discontinued during most of the '90's, and was resurrected about five years ago. Photos and video may be seen at http://www.baja.mtu.edu/photos.html.
The Michigan Tech Nordic skiing team ranked fifth among 27 teams in the College Cup competition at the 2007 U.S. Cross Country Championships at the Michigan Tech Nordic Training Center on January 2-9, 2007. The Huskies finished with 613 points and trailed only Northern Michigan (790), Dartmouth (757), Alaska Fairbanks (702) and Alaska Anchorage (619) in the final points race. College skiers earned points for their institutions through their finishes in the two distance races during the week-long competition. Complete results are available at http://www.seniornationals.org
Student Accomplishments/Awards
The Graduate School has announced the recipients of the Finishing Awards for spring, summer and fall 2007 and the Recruiting Awards for fall 2007 and spring 2008. The following ME-EM Ph.D. students received $2,000 awards: Brian Eggart ME-EM) and Kiran Khadke (ME-EM).
Kristina Owen (Sr., ME-EM) turned in a time of 15:49.3 to capture the third-best time among Central Collegiate Ski Association (CCSA) participants in the women's 10k category. The USSA National Championship competition was held at the MTU Nordic Training Center in Houghton on January 2-9, 2007. Owen finished 14th overall in the category, top for the MTU Nordic Team. She also was the top MTU women skier in the 5k category finishing 7th overall.
Kristina Owen (Sr., ME-EM), Women's Cross Country Ski Team, has earned All-American status for the third straight year. She finished eighth in the 15-kilometer classic race in day three of the NCAA National Collegiate Skiing Championships at Jackson, N.H. on March 9, 2007 with a time of 50:20.
Every year the vice president for research sponsors an internal competition for Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURF). The fellowship provides up to $2,800 to support the recipient's research work with a faculty mentor. Fifty undergraduates applied, and the university was able to fund 23 proposals, four of them ME-EM students. This year's ME-EM recipients are:
* Jennifer Diaz Tavarez, "Product and Process Platform Development," with Associate Professor John Gershenson
* Zachary Edel, "Study of the Growth of a Single Vapor Bubble inside a Microchannel," with Assistant Professor Abhijit Mukherjee
* Jeffrey Katalenich, "Analysis of the Use of Magnetic Torque in the 3-Axis Stabilization of a Nanosatellite in Low-Earth Orbit," with Associate Professor L. Brad King
* Tara Swanson, "Recovery of Meniscal Tissue Following a Period of Disuse," with Associate Professor Tammy Haut Donahue
Colin Brandt (Jr., ME-EM) and Dan Gossens (Jr.-Computer Network and Systems Adm.) won a lighting instrument worth several hundred dollars at the Theatre Tech Olympics held during this year's Kennedy Center/American College Theatre Festival for Region III in Milwaukee by defeating teams from the five-state region, including Purdue, University of Michigan, University of Illinois-Urbana, and University of Evansville. The margin of victory was 61 seconds, ten times the average for the event. The Tech Olympics consists of five timed problems prepared by faculty members to test backstage skills and ingenuity. Teams confront lights which need to be repaired, hung and focused, non-functioning sound systems and challenges involving carpentry, rigging, even costume changes, as they race against the clock. The contest favors strong across-the-board skills, something Michigan Tech students excel in, says Roger Held, chair of Visual and Performing Arts.
Please e-mail me at wwpredeb@mtu.edu with your feedback and suggestions on the NewsBrief.
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 |
