ME-EM Alumni NewsBrief

October 2005

Greetings from William (Bill) W. Predebon, Chair, Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics. This is our second NewsBrief, which contains the latest news and accomplishments from the Department. It will be sent electronically to all alumni for whom we have an email address. Our plan is to send it out quarterly. For the latest news and information about our faculty, students, staff, and alumni please visit our web site Department News or the Alumni News Page or the Alumni Page

Upcoming Events, all alumni are welcome to participate.

MEEM Alumni Reception, November 7, 2005 in Orlando, FL. MEEM alumni and their guest are invited to a reception on November 7th from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. at the Buena Vista Palace, Walt Disney World Resort, Windsor Room. 1900 Buena Vista Drive, Lake Buena Vista, FL 32830. RSVPs are requested to Kathy at kagoulet@mtu.edu or 906-487-2911.

Mechanical Engineering Senior Design Day, December 1, 2005, at Michigan Tech. The results of the year-long industry-supported senior design projects will be on display together with the students who completed them standing by to answer questions.

6th Annual ME-EM Alumni Winter Carnival Hockey Social on Saturday, February 11th, MTU versus Minnesota (Winter Carnival), 5:07 PM start time in the MacInnes Room of the Student Development Complex (SDC). RSVPs are requested to Kathy at kagoulet@mtu.edu or 906-487-2911.

The Keweenaw Research Center and the Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics at Michigan Technological University will host the 2006 SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge (CSC) on *March 13-18* and has hosted it for the last 3 years.

Past Events

MEEM Alumni Annual Keweenaw Waterway Boat Cruise aboard the Keweenaw Star ­ August 4, 2005. Over 120 alumni, their family, and friends participated in the annual MEEM cruise in conjunction with the Michigan Tech Alumni Reunion.

Alumni Awards/Accomplishments:

It is my intent to highlight alumni accomplishments on a regular basis. I would like to hear from you and about your accomplishments and those of other MTU ME-EM alumni. Please email me this information at wwpredeb@mtu.edu.

Glen Barna, 1989 BSME, 1990 MSME, was one of only two in the state to earn a University Commercialization Excellence Awards presented by Governor Jennifer Granholm. The award was created to celebrate the successful commercialization of technology developed at Michigan's public universities. Barna is president of IR Telemetrics in Houghton, MI. While he was earning his MSME degree under faculty advisor Dr. Carl L. Anderson, they developed the technology that is the basis for IR Telemetrics. Entrepreneurship is alive and well at Michigan Tech. Story

Joe Berger, 2005 BSME, a former tackle on Michigan Tech's Cinderella football team and 2004-2005 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Mens Scholar Athlete of the Year (3.8 GPA), is currently a guard with the Miami Dolphins.

Dr. Sheryl Sorby, 1986 MSEM and 1991 PhD MEEM, Chair of Engineering Fundamentals and Associate Dean of Engineering at MTU, has been selected to receive the Betty Vetter Research Award. The award, given by the Women in Engineering Programs and Advocates Network (WEPAN), recognizes achievement in research related to women in engineering. Dr. Sorby has conducted significant research in gender differences in 3-D spatial skills. She has developed and assessed materials and strategies for improving spatial skills, thereby enhancing the success of women engineering students. Her research has resulted in a textbook, a workbook, and multimedia software. Story

University News:

Michigan Technological University is one of the nation's best institutions for undergraduate education, according to The Princeton Review. The New York-based education services company features MTU in 'The Best 361 Colleges,'the new 2006 edition of its annual 'best colleges' guide. Only about 15 percent of the four-year colleges in America and two Canadian colleges are in the book. Calling the university a 'small, tech powerhouse,'the book states that 'Michigan Tech will definitely prepare you for your future.' You will get a great education, and employers, especially in the Midwest, recognize Michigan Tech as a premier engineering school.

Michigan Tech has been listed among the top 500 universities in the world by Shanghai Jiaotong University. Shanghai Jiaotong University, in China, bases its Annual Ranking of World Universities on a number of research-related criteria, such as articles published in the leading journals in science and nature, the number of Nobel Prizes awarded to faculty and alumni, and the number of highly cited researchers and articles. The Top 500 schools include institutions such as Harvard, Oxford and MIT. Three other Michigan universities also made the list, the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor, Michigan State University and Wayne State University.

Michigan Technological University hosted the second YES Expo at Ford Field in Detroit on October 26, 2005. The YES! Expo brings together universities and companies throughout Michigan to inspire middle and high school students to pursue education careers in science and engineering.
Department Accomplishments:

Our undergraduate Program was ranked 25th (top 16%) nationally and 2nd in Michigan among 148 doctoral granting Mechanical Engineering Departments in the U.S. by the 2005 U.S. News & World Report: America's Best Colleges.

Our Graduate Program is ranked 52nd (top 32%) nationally and 3rd in Michigan among 164 doctoral granting Mechanical Engineering Departments in the U.S. by the 2006 U.S. News & World Report: America's Best Graduate Schools.

Our Undergraduate Program is currently 3rd in the U.S. and 1st in Michigan in BSME degrees granted. We have been in the top 5 in this category for the past 22 consecutive years.

Our fall 2005 undergraduate enrollment is 1133 and our graduate enrollment is 182, 81 of which are Ph.D.s.

NSF ranked the Department 26th in Research Expenditures in FY2002 among all Mechanical Engineering Departments in the U.S.

In recognition of the emerging importance of sustainability, Michigan Tech founded the Sustainable Futures Institute (SFI) in January 2004 with Dr. John W. Sutherland, Henes Chair Professor in Mechanical Engineering as co-director, (http://www.sfi.mtu.edu). SFI's mission is to help create and disseminate new methods and processes that generate scientific knowledge and engineering products in support of sustainability decisions and education. After just one year of existence, SFI's research portfolio now exceeds 7 million dollars.
The Clare Booth Luce Foundation proposal has been funded at $149,941 to support four undergraduate scholarships for women in Mechanical Engineering. This effort was a collaborative effort between Chris Anderson, Director, Department of Educational Opportunity and the ME-EM Department with Chris leading the effort.

New Faculty Hires in Fall 2005:

Dr. Jaime Camelio, PhD, University of Michigan, 1 year A.T. Kearny, and 3 years post-doc experience at the University of Michigan. Research Areas: Assembly systems, manufacturing process modeling, design optimization, systems diagnosis, manufacturing complexity management.

Dr. Spandan Maiti, PhD, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2.5 years post-doc experience at the University of Illinois. Research Areas: Modeling and simulation of failure and deformation of multifunctional materials, biomimetics, multiscale analysis, dynamic fracture.

Dr. Henry Sodano, PhD, Virginia Polytech Institute and State University, Research Areas: Power harvesting, vibration control, smart structures, structural health monitoring, non-contact damping.

Dr. Byeng Dong Youn, PhD, University of Iowa, 8 months at the University of Detroit Mercy as an assistant professor and 3 years experience at the University of Iowa as a post-doc, Research engineer, and Adjunct Professor. Research Areas: Engineering design, reliability and quality engineering, durability (fatigue) analysis, statistical information technology, design sensitivity analysis.

Faculty and Staff Awards/Accomplishments:

Dr. John K. Gershenson was awarded a 2005 SAE Ralph R. Teetor Education Award

Dr. Ghatu Subhash is the recipient of Michigan Tech's 2005 Research Award, which is Michigan Tech's premier research award. Only one is awarded each year. He was also elected Fellow of the Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) in 2004.

Dr. John W. Sutherland, Henes Chair Professor, was elected Fellow of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers. The 2005 Fellows installation ceremony is scheduled for November 5, 2005 at the Society's fall meeting.

Dr. Donna J. Michalek has accepted the position of Director of Faculty Success and Diversity in the College of Engineering. The appointment is part time and she will retain her full time position in the department.

Dr. L. Brad King received the 2004 prestigious Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) and the prestigious 2004 National Science Foundation (NSF) CAREER Award, total value at over $1.1 million.

Dr. Craig R. Friedrich was promoted to Professor and Dr. L. Brad King was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure.

Student Competition and Team Awards:

The MTU Aerospace Enterprise student team (HuskySat) earned 3rd place at the NASA Nanosatellite Design Competition, Nanostat 3, among 13 top universities in the U.S. and was only one of 3 deemed 'flyable'. They are now pursuing a launch opportunity. Faculty advisor: Dr. L. Brad King.

At the 2005 ASME Human Powered Vehicle (HPV) East Coast National Student Competition, Single Rider Event, held in Alabama, out of 20 teams competing our student team placed: 1st in Design Overall, 1st in Design and Innovation, 1st in Analysis, 1st in Aesthetics, 2nd in Testing, 3rd in Safety and earned National Engineering Champs honors. Faculty advisors: Dr. John K. Gershenson and Dr. Ibrahim Miskioglu.

Our student team placed 6th at the 2005 SAE Clean snowmobile Challenge National Student Competition held at Michigan Tech. They also placed 2nd in Emissions and 3rd in the Design Papers out of 13 teams. Faculty advisor: Dr. Bernhard P. Bettig.

In the 2005 SAE Aero East National Student Competition, our student team placed 11th out of 30 teams. Faculty advisor: Dr. Donna J. Michalek.

Our student team placed 21st in the 2005 SAE Mini Baja West National Student Competition. Faculty advisor: Dr. Brett H. Hamlin.

Student Awards/Accomplishments:

Jason Gillespie, 2005 BSME, earned the 2005 Michigan Tech Fund Merit Award.
Kiran Khadhe and Xiaoxia Lai, MEEM PhD students and Nikhil Sanyal and Drew Vettel, MSME students won the 2005 NSF/ASME Design Essay competition, which earns them a paid trip to the top conference in the design field. Faculty advisor: Dr. John K. Gershenson.
Jason Dreyer and Ashish Jangale earned the Second Place Award at the SAE Noise and Vibration Conference in Traverse City, MI, in May 2005 for their paper titled 'Analysis and Design of a Hemi-Anechoic Chamber Facility at Michigan Tech University. Faculty Advisor: Dr. Mohan D. Rao.

Undergraduate ME student, Laura A. Koning, has earned the 2005 SAE Long Term Member Sponsored Scholarship.

Undergraduate ME student, Kelly L. Willet, earned the 2005 Department Scholar Award.

Undergraduate ME student, Brian Sikkema, was awarded a $9,000 grant through NASA's Institute for Advanced Concepts (NIAC) to investigate revolutionary ideas for space exploration in the next 10 to 40 years. He was one of five undergraduates in the United States to receive the award. Faculty advisor: Dr. L. Brad King.

Undergraduate ME student, Kelly Willett, and ME-EM PhD graduate student Melissa A. Marszalek were named Presidential Council of Alumnae (PCA) Women of Promise from the MEEM Department.

Undergraduate ME student, Sam Barros, was featured on NBC's Fear Factor, Monday, Jan. 31, 2005.

MTU's KRC was awarded The Rise to the Future Award from the U.S. Forest Service for its improvement of Trout Unlimited's Streamsweeper. The award honors extraordinary cooperative efforts that result in equally extraordinary ecological benefits for national forests. With funding from the Ford Motor Company, three senior design teams of MTU students worked two years to improve the design.