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ME-EM
Alumni NewsBrief
October 2007
ME-EM NewsBrief, Vol. 3, No. 3,
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 & Profiles
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
Michigan Tech is hosting the fourth YES! Expo on Thursday, Nov. 8, at Ford Field in Detroit. This unique career-awareness event targets middle and high school students, mostly from urban Detroit, to inspire them to pursue education and careers in engineering and science. Nearly 60 companies, 25 universities and colleges, and many other organizations will provide exhibits to show students the interesting careers available in engineering and technology fields and the educational pathways to those careers. To date over 16,000 students have registered to attend.
The ME-EM Department will host a reception for ME-EM alumni at the ASME World Congress in Seattle, WA on Monday, November 12, 2007 from 7:00 - 9:30 p.m. at the Seattle Sheraton Hotel in the Issaquah Room. Please call (906) 487-2551 or email kagoulet@mtu.edu for more information or to RSVP.
The MEEM Department along with the Keweenaw Research Center will again be hosting the SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge set for March 10-15, 2008. For more information on sponsorship of this event, please contact the department at 906-487-2551 or email me at wwpredeb@mtu.edu.
MEEM 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. (906) 487-2911.
Dr. Predebon will be traveling to the following cities this coming fall:
November 5-6, Traverse City, meetings with alumni
November 7 - 9, Detroit, MI, YES Expo
November 10-14, Seattle, WA, ASME International Conference
November 14-17, San Jose and San Diego, CA, meetings with alumni
Alumni and Friends Accomplishments & Awards
Kevin Herrera, BSE '00, MSME '07, was viewed in the Harley Davidson portion of the TV show National Geographic - Ultimate Factories. The clip can be viewed at Ultimate Factories
Greg Ives, BSME '03, is working as a race engineer for Hendrick Motorsports on the Jimmie Johnson team. He recently returned to Escanaba to speak at an event called "Youth on Track", talking to kids and racing fans about his education and career path
Sheryl Sorby (MEEM '91) past associate dean and chair of engineering fundamentals, received the Distinguished Service Award from the American Society for Engineering Education on June 26 during its annual conference in Honolulu, Hawaii. The award, the highest given by the society's Engineering Design Graphics Division, honored Sorby's contributions to the society as a member, officer, author and educational leader. Sorby is currently on leave in Washington, DC, serving as a program director for the National Science Foundation's Division of Undergraduate Education.
Kimberly (Passerello) Turner, BSME '94, was the recipient of the MTU 2007 Distinguished Young Alumni Award at the MTU Annual Reunion.
University News/Awards
Michigan Tech was named one of the best institutions of undergraduate education in the nation, according to the 2008 edition of Best 366 Colleges, a guidebook published annually by the Princeton Review. It also lists Michigan Tech among the top 161 Midwestern colleges. "Michigan Tech will definitely prepare you for your future," the book's profile of the university states. "You will get a great education and employers, especially in the Midwest, recognize Michigan Tech as a premier engineering school." The Princeton Review rankings are based on surveys of 120,000 college and university students. The goal, says the New York-based education services company that publishes Best Colleges, is to help students and parents decide: "Which is the best college for me?"
According to a report issued recently by the National Women's Law Center, Michigan Tech ranks fifth in the nation among NCAA Division II schools whose proportion of women athletes outstrips the proportion of women students
State Rep. Mike Lahti, who represents the western Upper Peninsula, and Rep. George Cushingberry Jr., chair of the Michigan House Appropriations Committee, toured research labs on the Michigan Tech campus on Saturday, July 21. They visited with Wood to Wheels researchers John Sutherland (MEEM), Jeff Naber (MEEM) and David Shonnard (Chem Eng). They also saw Craig Friedrich's (MEEM) nanotechnology lab and visited with Chandrashekhar Joshi (SFRES). More
Michigan Tech's undergraduate education was ranked in the top tier of national universities by US News & World Report's latest edition of "America's Best Colleges" Undergraduate programs at 262 national universities and 266 liberal arts colleges were evaluated. The US News rankings also recognized Michigan Tech as one of 25 national universities whose students finish college with the least amount of educational debt.
Michigan Governor Granholm has announced that the Massachusetts-based Mascoma Corporation will build a commercial-scale cellulosic ethanol plant to manufacture automotive biofuel from woody plant materials in Michigan. Michigan Tech's expertise and research leadership played a key role in the bio-energy company's decision to come to Michigan. The Wood to Wheels (W2W) (Dr. John Sutherland, MEEM, SFI director) initiative is already working to create a clean-burning, energy-efficient and cost-effective biofuel from trees. W2W includes development of an automotive engine to make the best use of the wood-based ethanol. Mascoma plans to use Michigan Tech's state-of-the-art automotive engineering laboratories to test its biofuels. Michigan Tech also will be involved in workforce development for the new plant, including training the next generation of scientists and engineers to work in the biofuels industry and improvements in biomass harvesting and processing technologies. See the press release See more on W2W at: http://www.sfi.mtu.edu/w2w/index.html.
MTU hosted the Michigan Technological University Automotive Research Symposium at Ford Motor Co. The event was organized by Dr. Carl Anderson (Professor, MEEM). Twelve MTU faculty members presented research they were conducting that can be applied to the automotive industry.
The New York Times has recognized Michigan Tech as an economic cornerstone of the Copper Country in the article "Industrial Echoes in Michigan's Copper Country" by Stephen Regenold, The article can be viewed at http://travel.nytimes.com/2007/08/10/travel/escapes/10American.html?pagewanted=all .
The MTU Board of Control has approved the establishment of the Strategic Faculty Hiring Initiative (SFHI). In the first of this ten year initiative (ten new faculty added each year) the focus will be on sustainability. Three of the new positions will be the Robbins Chairs of Sustainability established by Richard (BSME '56) and Bonnie Robbins, of Seattle, WA.
Glenn Mroz, MTU President, David Reed, vice president for research, and David Shonnard, professor of chemical engineering,went to Sweden the week of August 13th as part of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) Biofuels Working Group. The group, a scientific delegation, is exploring promising opportunities for Swedish biofuel companies to expand to Michigan. The Swedish companies, which are considering opening plants in Michigan, will have access to Michigan Tech and Michigan State expertise. Michigan Tech's Wood to Wheels initiative is making the university a recognized leader in alternative energy and biofuels research. President Mroz joined Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm for a briefing from the Biofuels Working Group and attended a Swedish Chamber of Commerce conference, at which the governor spoke. They also attended a reception at the US Embassy in Stockholm.
Department Accomplishments
The National Science Foundation ranked the ME-EM Department 23rd in research expenditures in FY2005 with $8.900 million among all mechanical engineering departments in the U.S.
The 2008 U.S. News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges", which was published in August, ranked our mechanical engineering program 22nd among 181 doctoral granting Mechanical Engineering Departments in the U.S. Earlier in the year our graduate program was ranked 54th (top 37%) nationally among 164 doctoral granting mechanical engineering departments in the U.S. by the 2008 U.S. News & World Report: America's Best Graduate Schools.
Currently our undergraduate mechanical engineering program is 7th in the U.S. in BSME degrees granted (latest ASEE data). We have been in the top 7 in this category for the past 24 consecutive years.
Michigan State Sen. Bruce Patterson, R-Canton, chairman of the state senate's Energy Policy and Public Utilities Committee, toured laboratories at Tech on Monday, August 13th with State Sen. Mike Prusi, D-Ishpeming. Patterson heard from three ME-EM professors regarding their research. Dr. Jeff Naber gave a tour of his lab where he explained his goal is to develop an engine powered by a blend of diesel and bio-diesel. Dr. John Sutherland (SFI Director) gave a presentation on cellulosic ethanol where he talked about Tech's Wood to Wheels program, a cooperative effort among several of the university's departments to develop ethanol, which is focused on forest resources. Dr. Craig Friedrich gave a presentation on his nanotechnology research which has potential applications in cellulosic ethanol production. Patterson said after the tour. "It seems Michigan Tech is really on the cutting edge. They certainly could have a tremendous impact, a positive impact, if we could get this cellulosic ethanol."
Michigan Tech was highlighted in the 09/29/07 Great lakes IT Report. The research of three MEEM professors (William Endres, L. Brad King, and John Sutherland) along with ME senior Kyle Marsh were highlighted in the article.
The Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics received the 'Department Support of Youth Programs Award' at the 35 Year Anniversary of the MTU Youth Programs on Friday, August 3. The award acknowledges an academic department which has provided vision and guidance for programming as well as long-term support of access and educational opportunities for youth. MEEM academic advisors, Danise Jarvey and Jim Mattson, coordinate and oversee the summer programs for the Department.
New Faculty
New faculty joining the MEEM faculty this fall are:
Dr. Ossama Abdelkhalik, assistant professor, earned his Ph.D in Aerospace Engineering from Texas A&M in 2005. He completed a year of post doctoral experience at Texas A&M and was a visiting assistant professor in the College of Engineering, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, for a year. Dr. Abdelkhalik's areas of expertise are space mechanics and spacecraft dynamics.
Dr. Olanrewaju Aluko, lecturer, earned his PhD in Mechanical Engineering - Applied Mechanics from Howard University in 2006. He comes to MTU with ten years of experience as a lecturer at the University of Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria. His research expertise is in the solid mechanics area.
Dr. Bo Chen, assistant professor, earned her PhD in Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering from the University of California, Davis in 2005. She comes to MTU from the University of California, Davis where she was an associate director and post doc fellow for two years. She was also an associate professor in the Electrical Engineering department at Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, China for two years. Her areas of expertise include mechatronics and embedded systems, agent technology, distributed control systems, and intelligent transportation systems.
Dr. DeSheng (Dennis) Meng, assistant professor, earned his PhD in Mechanical Engineering from UCLA in 2005. He comes to MTU from UCLA with two years of experience as a post doc and a lecturer. His areas of expertise are micro and nano technologies for energy and environmental applications, microfluidics, micro fuel cells, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), and micro and nano fabrication.
Dr. Fernando Ponta, assistant professor, earned his PhD in Engineering from the University of Buenos Aires in 2000. He comes to MTU from the University of Illinois at Urbana with three years of post doc experience there, one year as an interim assistant professor at the University of Buenos Aires, and two years as a visiting assistant professor at U of I, Urbana-Champaign. His areas of expertise include theoretical and computational fluid mechanics, vortex dynamics, fluid-structure interaction, wind-turbine aerodynamics, renewable-energy sources, and energy systems.
Dr. Reza Shahbazian Yassar, assistant professor, earned his PhD in Material Science from Washington State University in 2005. He comes to MTU from Mississippi State University with two years of post doc experience. His areas of expertise include microstructure-mechanical property relationships in bio- and nano-materials, in-situ electron microscopy, crystal plasticity modeling, and artificial neural network modeling.
Faculty/Staff Awards/Accomplishments
Dr. Jeffrey Allen (Assistant Professor - MEEM) was invited to speak at the inaugural workshop on Water Management of Fuel-Cells for the Fuel-cell Water Management Global Research Center (FWGRC) at the Pohang University of Science and Technology (POSTECH) in Pohang, Korea. Dr. Allen, one of five international speakers, presented "A Discussion of Capillary-Scale Two-Phase Flow and the Implications for Water Management in PEM Fuel Cells". The workshop was held August 31, 2007 as part of the opening ceremonies for the FWGRC which has POSTECH, the University of Michigan, and the University of Cincinnati as founding partners.
Dr. Craig Friedrich (Professor - MEEM) has accepted the position of Associate Chair and Director of Graduate Studies. He replaces Professor Carl Anderson, now the Associate Dean of Engineering for Graduate Education and Research in the College of Engineering.
Dr. Craig Friedrich was interviewed by the Science and Society Network on August 16th.
Dr. John Johnson (Professor Emeriti and Research Professor - MEEM) has been invited to become a member of the National Research Council's Committee on fuel Economy of Light Duty Vehicles .
Dr. John H. Johnson has been elected a Fellow of American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME). The ASME Fellow grade of membership recognizes exceptional achievements and contributions to the engineering profession.
Drs. Brad King and Gordon Parker (both MEEM) have developed a tractor beam that could hold a small group of spacecraft in formation. The device would rely on the subtle electric charge accumulated by objects in space, harnessing forces as small as 10 micronewtons. To put that in perspective, a single paper clip resting on a table exerts a force of about 10,000 micronewtons.
Dr. Madhukar Vable (Professor - MEEM) received a Best Paper Presentation Award for "Improving Mechanics Courses" at the 2007 ASEE national Conference in Oahu, Hawaii last June.
Prof. Charles Van Karsen (Associate Professor - MEEM) has accepted the position of Associate Chair and Director of Undergraduate Studies in the MEEM Department, replacing Associate Professor Donna Michalek, who is serving as Assistant Provost.
Current Contracts and Grants
Blough, Jason R. (PI - MEEM), Anderson, Carl (Co-PI - MEEM), "Torque Converter Noise Generation and Noise Characteristics at Various Speed Ratios", Sponsor: General Motors Total award amount: $118,483.
Camelio, Jaime (PI - MEEM), "REF - Mentoring Grant - Dr. Camelio (mentee) & Dr. Ceglarek (mentor)", Sponsor: State of Michigan - Research Excellence Fund Total award amount: $9,000.
Camelio, Jaime (PI - MEEM), D'Souza, Roshan M. (Co-PI - MEEM), "Elemental Mold and Die Proof Concept", Sponsor: Michigan Universities Commercialization Initiative (MUCI) Total award amount: $83,988.
Dai, Qingli (Co-PI - MEEM), "A Microstructure-Based Modeling Approach to Characterize Asphalt Materials", Sponsor: National Science Foundation Total award amount: $216,819.
D'Souza, Roshan M. (PI - MEEM), "Graphics Hardware Accelerated Real-Time Machinability Analysis of Free-Form Surfaces", Sponsor: National Science Foundation Total award amount: $256,445.
Maiti, Spandan (PI - MEEM), "Deformation and Failure Behavior of Cellular Solids and Biopolymer", Sponsor: State of Michigan - Research Excellence Fund Total award amount: $34,318.
Mukherjee, Abhijit (PI - MEEM), "Empirical Modeling of Convective Heat-Transfer in Micro-Ducts", Sponsor: Endres Machining Innovations, Total award amount: $8,486.
Naber, Jeffery (PI - MEEM), "Graduate Student Research in Hydrogen IC Engines", Sponsor: Argonne National Laboratory Total award amount: $51,169.
Naber, Jeffery (PI - MEEM), "A Novel Method of Stochastic IC Engine Combustion Knock Detection", Sponsor: Michigan Universities Commercialization Initiative (MUCI) Total award amount: $122,837.
Naber, Jeffery (PI - MEEM), "Ionization Signal Analysis for Combustion Feedback", Sponsor: Ford Motor Company Total award amount: $98,262.
Odegard, Gregory M. (PI - MEEM), "Multiscale Modeling of the Effects of Physical, Chemical, and Hydrothermal Aging on Failure of Graphite/Epoxy Composites," Sponsor: National Aeronautics and Space Administration Total award amount: $201,254.
Youn, Byeng D. (PI - MEEM), "Multidisciplinary Bayesian System Reliability Analysis", Sponsor: State of Michigan - Research Excellence Fund Total award amount: $35,318.
Faculty and Student Invention Disclosures
William J. Endres (Associate Professor - MEEM) has filed a patent application entitled "Cutting Tool Insert Having Internal Microduct for Coolant".
Drs. John H. Johnson (Research Professor, MEEM), Gordon G. Parker (Professor, MEEM), and Maruthi Devarakona (MEEM PhD student),have filed an invention disclosure for "A control strategy for NOx and NH3 reduction Urea-SCR aftertreatment systems".
Student Accomplishments/Awards
Karen Hauch (MS student, MEEM) is one of three MTU students selected to receive one of the Michigan Tech DeVlieg Fellowships. Funding is intended to contribute to the education and attainment of research goals by graduate students. Her advisor is Dr. Tammy Haut Donahue.
Margot Hutchins (ME-EM Ph.D. student) has been named head coach for Michigan Tech's track and field program and assistant coach for the Huskies' cross country and Nordic skiing teams. She recently completed her second year as an assistant coach for the Michigan Tech cross country and track and field squads after volunteering with both teams for two seasons. She competed for the Michigan Tech cross country and track and field teams as an undergraduate, where she lettered in both sports. Margo received her bachelor's and master's degrees from Michigan Tech in 2002 and 2007, respectively. She is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in mechanical engineering within the Sustainable Futures Institute.
Casey Luskin (ME Sr.) and Elizabeth Vanheusden (ME Sr.) were two of the six ROTC students chosen by the Department of Defense to participate in the Army Science Board Summer Study.
Casey Luskin, Sr. MEEM, was one of four Army ROTC cadets at Michigan Tech selected by the Department of the Army as Distinguished Military Graduates. He will be commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army upon graduation.
Tara E. Swanson, Sr. MEEM, was an award recipient of the 2007 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) and participated in a poster session Saturday, Sept. 29. "Recovery of Meniscal Tissue following a Period of Spaceflight or Disuse", Advisor: Dr. Tammy Haut Donahue (MEEM)
Karl Walzcak (MEEM PhD student) was selected to receive the Marshall Family Fellowship. His advisor is Dr. Craig R. Friedrich.
Xiaoli Ye (MEEM Ph.D. student) won the 2007 ASME/NSF Design Essay Competition. The award is for travel expenses to the 2007 ASME Design Technical Conference to be held in Las Vegas, Nevada. Her advisor is Dr. John Gershenson.
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 |
