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1. Hot Car: Student Designs High-Voltage Stunt for Mercedes |
When Mercedes Benz wanted to roll out their sporty new sedan in a blaze of glory, they called kVA Effects in Los Angeles for some high-voltage excitement. And when kVA director Jeff Parisse started thinking about fooling around with five million volts, he called Michigan Tech undergraduate Sam Barros.
Why summon a 23-year-old mechanical engineering major to help with a stunt involving roughly the same power as a thunderbolt? Barros has been tinkering with electricity since he was old enough to stick a fork in a socket. In his four years at Tech, he has built powerful accelerators known as rail guns and his own personal laser. He has been featured in Fortune magazine, on MTV and on Discovery Canada's "The Daily Planet" and was tapped by "Fear Factor" to design and build an extra-scary electrical obstacle course.
This time, the current event would involve dazzling the media during the much-anticipated preview of the Mercedes E63AMG. Moderately tricked out, the sporty family sedan will set buyers back over $100,000. The unveiling was set for Wednesday, two days before the official kick-off of the New York International Auto Show.
"Sam's personality, his advanced interests and the relevance of his studies at Michigan Tech make him an extraordinarily valuable member of our team," Parisse said. "We've been doing high-voltage special effects for a long time, and sometimes it's a good idea to get a fresh perspective. I trust Sam's opinion along with that of my senior engineers."
In this case, the special effect involved a super-size Tesla Coil. A metallic donut about the size of a truck tire, kVA's Tesla Coil is the manmade equivalent of the arm of Zeus. Suspended from the ceiling, it can throw down a spark about the size of a bolt of lightning.
During the Mercedes stunt, the spark was first transmitted from the Tesla Coil to a chainmail-clad stunt man hanging in mid-air above the vehicle, courtesy of a power cable. "The charge goes from him to three dancers via a metal wand, and when they reach the car, they send a spark to the car," Barros explains. Then, from out of the car, emerges the driver, a Mercedes executive.
You'd think that maybe someone would be collecting a handsome insurance settlement after a trick like this, but Barros, the technical advisor, was there in part to make sure that didn't happen. All five million volts ran through the chainmail suits and not through the actors, he noted. Engineers were even concerned that all that amperage would short circuit the complex electronics in the Mercedes, but Barros assured them--correctly--that the car would be just fine.
When it all came together, the stunt was as spectacular as a thunderstorm in summer.
"I'm so happy," Barros said afterward. "The installation and the trouble shooting were extremely difficult, and that made the show that much more satisfying. People were blown away; they couldn't believe what they were seeing."
Even at that, the journey was more fun than the destination.
"The team was awesome. I learned about things I'd never even seen before," Barros said. "The stunt had never been tried before, and some people thought we couldn't do it. But like my father says, everything is impossible until someone goes out and does it." |
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2. Staff Council Meeting Thursday |
Staff Council's monthly meeting is set for Thursday, from noon to 1 p.m., in the Memorial Union's Peninsula Room A. John Lehman from Enrollment Services will present information about the department. Bring your lunch; water and cookies will be provided.
Agenda items include service awards, staff awards, Staff Council website, Staff Council t-shirts and election of a person to represent Staff Council on the Dean of Engineering Search Committee.
All interested staff are invited to attend. The council is also seeking individuals who want to serve on the council or committees.
If you have questions, contact Becky Christianson, rwchrist@mtu.edu or 487-2416. |
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3. Help Recover Healthcare Funds Paid In Error |
Submitted by Maryann Wilcox, senior staff assistant, Human Resources
Michigan Tech employees and families have done a great job in helping the Benefits Office recover healthcare funds paid out in error. Since the inception of the Healthcare Audit Reward Program in 2001, over $130,000 in claims have been turned in to the Benefits Office. Almost $15,000 of the recoveries has been returned to employees in the form of cash prizes.
It is estimated that the above claims are only a fraction of what is out there. The Benefits Office is requesting your help in finding additional healthcare dollar recoveries by looking through your Blue Cross Blue Shield Explanation of Benefits for claims paid in error. Look for Worker's Compensation claims that should have been paid by Worker's Comp rather than Blue Cross; look for double payments on services; look for services you did not receive; look for payments made that should have been paid by a primary payer; look for services that have exorbitant charges. If an Explanation of Benefits just doesn't seem right, the Benefits Office staff would be happy to review it with you; several Healthcare Audit claims have been found this way.
Controlling healthcare costs by reporting errors will help the employees of Michigan Tech to continue to enjoy their excellent healthcare plan and avoid co-payments on major services, such as inpatient and outpatient hospitalization, laboratory services and x-ray diagnostic services. The smaller Healthcare Audit claims are important too--they help to identify bigger problems with the Blue Cross claim system.
If you would like to set up an appointment to review your Blue Cross Explanation of Benefits, call Maryann Wilcox at 487-3309 or mawilcox@mtu.edu. |
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4. Expand Your Horizons at Professional Development Day |
Would you like to know more about investing, or what you might need a resume for? Would you like to learn to use Microsoft Excel to its maximum potential? Do you know how University Marketing and Communications can assist your department? Maybe you just need a break and need to learn how to balance your life.
If any of this sounds interesting, visit http://www.mtu.edu/profdev to register for Professional Development Day. Professional Development Day will be May 18 and is brought to you by the Student Affairs Professional Development Committee and Staff Council. |
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5. MTU Student Wins Udall Scholarship |
Marcy Erickson recently received a Morris K. Udall Undergraduate scholarship. Erickson, a 2000 graduate of Calumet High School, is currently majoring in applied ecology.
Erickson is the third Michigan Tech student in as many years to be named a Udall Scholar.
The Morris K. Udall Foundation gives out the $5,000 scholarships every year to sophomore and junior students based on merit. The students must have demonstrated a commitment to careers related to the environment or to tribal policies and healthcare. This year, the foundation awarded 80 scholarships to students selected from 445 nominees nationwide.
Udall represented his Arizona district in Congress 1961-91, serving as chair of the House Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs from 1971 until his retirement. Chief among his accomplishments was the Alaska Lands Act of 1980, which doubled the size of the national park system and tripled the size of the national wilderness system.
For three years, Erickson has been working with the wolf/moose study on Isle Royale National Park with John and Leah Vucetich, both faculty members in the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science. Her work includes a two-year study of the dietary habits of wintering moose. Erickson expects to earn a secondary teaching certificate and educate students about the outdoors. The scholarship will help support Erickson during her senior year at the university.
For more information, visit http://www.udall.gov/ . |
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6. Learn More About Undergraduate Expo |
The Undergraduate Expo took place Thursday, April 13, in the Memorial Union Ballroom. The event drew more than 80 students and their teachers from eight local high schools. Prizes were given for undergraduate research, Senior Design projects and Enterprise presentations and posters.
Visit http://www.expo.mtu.edu/expo2006/report/ to read more about the Expo and see a full list of winners and prizes. |
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7. Rao Elected Fellow of SAE and ASME |
Mohan D. Rao, an associate professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, was recently elected a Fellow, both of the Society of Automotive Engineers International and of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.
The ASME Fellow grade of membership recognizes exceptional achievements and contributions to the engineering profession.
SAE Fellowship status is the highest grade of membership bestowed by the Society of Automotive Engineers. It recognizes outstanding engineering and scientific accomplishments by an individual that have resulted in meaningful advances in automotive, aerospace and commercial vehicle technology.
Rao has conducted research in acoustics and vibration for more than 20 years, with applications in the automotive, aerospace, construction equipment, snowmobile and appliance industries. He is a member of Michigan Tech's noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) group, which was named among the top six in the nation by Sound and Vibration magazine for its high-quality research and education programs. Since he joined the MEEM department in 1988, graduate student enrollment has more than tripled in the area of vibration and noise control.
Rao has worked closely with industry, teaching short courses and undertaking research projects. Since 1989, he has co-taught a popular NVH short course to more than 350 engineers at Ford, Visteon and other industries and has been invited to teach similar courses overseas in Belgium, India, Korea and Japan. He has worked at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory for the past four summers in its Auditory Research Department on projects related to the design and development of communication and headgear for soldier systems.
Rao has been nominated twice for Michigan Tech's Distinguished Teaching Award and has also been active in curriculum and new laboratory development, including the lab used by undergraduates studying acoustics and noise control. This lab allows students to analyze and characterize complex sound fields such as those found in the interior of an automobile.
Rao has received a National Science Foundation Research Initiation Award and was honored by the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center for his work on the damping of the Hubble Space Telescope truss system. He was recognized as a United Nations Development Program expert in noise and vibration control. His research has been sponsored by numerous agencies and corporations, including NASA, NSF, Army Research Lab, Ford, GM, Daimler-Chrysler, Caterpillar, TRW, Johnson Controls, John Deere, NIOSH, ArcticCat, Polaris and Volvo.
Rao has published more than 80 technical papers in various journals, conference proceedings and in the SAE Transactions. He is an associate editor of the International Journal of Vehicle Noise and Vibration. He was a member of the organizing committee of two International Congresses on Sound and Vibration and has organized and chaired many sessions at the Noise and Vibration conferences held at Traverse City.
In addition to serving on numerous university committees, Rao was the faculty advisor for the MTU chapter of Pi Tau Sigma, the mechanical engineering honor society. |
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8. Reminder: Peterson Retirement |
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The faculty and staff of the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science will hold an open house to celebrate the retirement of Rolf Peterson today, Monday, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m., in the atrium of the U. J. Noblet Building. Cake, punch and coffee will be served. Please attend to honor Peterson and wish him good luck. |
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9. Golf Course Opening Tuesday |
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The Portage Lake Golf Course will open for the season Tuesday. Season memberships are available, as well as cart rentals, season cart leases, nine and 18-hole punch cards, daily passes, individual lessons and quality apparel and equipment. Pro-shop hours are 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. beginning Tuesday. Children under 12 play for free with a paying adult. Payroll deduction may be processed for memberships now through Oct. 1. Book your tee times today by calling 487-2641. |
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10. Annual Used Book Sale Wednesday |
The annual Friends of the J. R. Van Pelt Library Book Sale is set for Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. A special pre-sale for members of the Friends will be held on Tuesday, 5-7 p.m.
The Friends Book Sale raises hundreds of dollars every year for the library. If you have books to donate, please bring them to the library or call and have them picked them up. Videos, DVDs, cassettes and CDs are also accepted, but no magazines. To arrange a pick up, call Dana Richter (487-2149 or dlrichte@mtu.edu) or Terry Reynolds (487-2113 or treynold@mtu.edu).
Help is always needed to process book donations and get ready for the sale. Anyone who is interested in helping with book sorting and pricing or at the sale should contact Friends chair Dee Vincent at dee@mtu.edu.
The book sale is brought to you by the Friends of the Library with help from Tau Beta Pi and the Society of Intellectual Sisters. All profits from the book sale will be used to benefit MTU library projects and programs.
Not sure if you're a member of the Friends in good standing? Come to the pre-sale and check the list of members. If you are not a member, it is only $15 to join at the pre-sale. |
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11. Michigan Tech Bands Perform on Wednesday |
Submitted by Karen Snyder, administrative aide, Fine Arts
Two of Michigan Tech's fine performing ensembles, the Wind Symphony and the Campus Concert Band, invite the community to enjoy music at its springtime best on Wednesday, at 7:30 p.m., in the Rozsa Center. Director of Bands Nick Enz says both groups are at their peak and have prepared a program of pop classics sure to brighten an April evening. All seats are $4.
The Wind Symphony, a select group of 36 musicians, recently completed a tour of northern Wisconsin and Minnesota high schools with rave reviews, so they're eager to perform for the home crowd. The Campus Concert Band includes veterans of the Huskies Pep Band who enjoy playing in the more traditional, but always enthusiastic, style of the Concert Band. Enz directs all three bands.
The April 19 program ranges from modern classics, including overtures by Shostakovich and Bernstein, to irresistible Latin and Irish dances. Clarinetist Allen Hunter (Materials Science and Engineering) will be a featured soloist. More information on the bands is available from the Fine Arts Office, 487-2067. |
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12. Jazz Band Showcase Saturday |
Submitted by Karen Snyder, administrative aide, Fine Arts
Michigan Tech's award-winning jazz program presents its annual spring showcase, the fifth annual Don Keranen Memorial Concert, on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in the Rozsa Center, directed by Mike Irish. Always a high-energy evening of great jazz from many traditions, the concert will feature the Jazz Lab Band, the R&D Band and members of Irish's current jazz arranging class. Tickets are available from the Rozsa Box Office and at the door for $8 for general public, $4 for students.
The winners of this year's two Don Keranen Awards will be announced during the concert, one for outstanding jazz musician and the other for most improved jazz musician. Keranen, the founder of the jazz studies program at Michigan Tech, is remembered for incorporating new and interesting jazz arrangements in his concert programs, with a particular fondness for reggae, and this concert will follow suit. Expect to hear inspired jazz musicians playing at the very top of their form.
More information on the concert and jazz studies at Michigan Tech is available from the Department of Fine Arts, 487-2067. |
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13. Chamber Music Concert Sunday |
Submitted by Karen Snyder, administrative aide, Fine Arts
The Department of Fine Arts will present the final concert in this year's Chamber Music Series on Sunday at 3 p.m. in McArdle Theatre, Walker 207. The program will feature Beethoven's Cello Sonata played by cellist Tracy Greer and pianist Neil Paynter, as well as two sonatas by Arcangelo Corelli for violin, cello and piano. The Corelli sonatas will be performed by Katie Himes and Elizabeth Meyer, violins, Margaret Twining, cello, and Susan Byykkonen, piano.
Tickets are available from the Rozsa Center Box Office and at the door for $6 for general public, $3 for students. |
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14. Memorial Union Menus April 17-21 |
Monday, April 17
The Grill--Breakfast, the Mini $3.99; Lunch, Philly Steak Sandwich value meal $4.45, Sandwich only $2.95
Home Style Entrees--Chicken and Spaghetti with beans $5.25; Green Beans $1.25; Chicken only $3.25, Full order Spaghetti $2.50; Half order Spaghetti $1.25
The Wok About International Display Cooking--all entrees $4.25; Shanghai Beef Wraps, Chicken Caesar Salad
Soup by the Cup--$2.30; Minnesota Wild Rice, Vegetarian Vegetable at Peppers & Pickles Deli
Mubsterz Pizza--Italian Salami Pizza by the slice $2.59
Peppers & Pickles Deli--Try this week's featured sandwich Turkey Caesar Pitas $2.75
Tuesday, April 18
The Grill--Breakfast, Breakfast Croissants $2.25; Lunch, Two-fer-Tuesday $3.50
Home Style Entrees--Carved Roast Pork $3.25; Full Meal $5; Parslied New Potatoes $1.25; Steamed Broccoli with Garlic and Pepper Butter $1.25
The Wok About International Display Cooking--all entrees $4.25; Chinese Fried Rice, Chicken Caesar Salad
Soup by the Cup--$2.30; Cream of Mushroom, Chicken Noodle
Mubsterz Pizza--Ham and Cheese Pizza by the slice $2.59
Peppers & Pickles Deli--Serving great subs, toasted sandwiches, wraps and soups every day at the Deli
Wednesday, April 19
The Grill--Breakfast, Breakfast Pizza $2.75; Lunch, Peppercorn Chicken Philly Wraps $3.25
Home Style Entrees--Enchilada Plate Lunch $4.95; Enchiladas each $1.99; Mexican Rice $1.25; Nachos and Salsa $1.25
The Wok About International Display Cooking--all entrees $4.25; Chicken Scarpariellio over Orzo, Chicken Caesar Salad
Soup by the Cup--$2.30; Italian Sausage and Tortellini, Cheesy Vegetable Medley
Mubsterz Pizza--Hawaiian Delight Pizza by the slice $2.59
Peppers & Pickles Deli--Try one of our low carb friendly wrap sandwiches, $3.75 at the Deli
Thursday, April 20
The Grill--Breakfast, Western Omelet, Toast, Coffee $3.95; Lunch, Onion Crisps $1.75
Home Style Entrees--Carved Beef Eye of Round with Mushroom Sauce $3.95; Blue Cheese Stuffed Potatoes $1.25; Corn on the Cob $1.25
The Wok About International Display Cooking--all entrees $4.25; Bahian Spicy Shrimp, Chicken Caesar Salad
Soup by the Cup--$2.30; Tomato Soup, Beef Barley
Mubsterz Pizza--Sausage and Peppers Pizza by the slice $2.59
Peppers & Pickles Deli--Make any sandwich a value meal and get a 20-ounce fountain soda, chips or a jumbo cookie for just $1.50
Friday, April 21
The Grill--Pancakes and Eggs $2.50; Lunch, Rueben Sandwiches $2.75
Home Style Entrees--Baked Whitefish with Wild Leeks $3.95; Fruited Rice $1.25; Roasted Fresh Vegetables $1.25; Zydeco Stomp Gumbo $3.50
The Wok About International Display Cooking--all entrees $4.25; General Taos Style Chicken, Chicken Caesar Salad
Soup by the Cup--$2.30; New England Clam Chowder, Minestrone
Mubsterz Pizza--Ranch Chicken Bacon Pizza by the slice $2.59
Peppers & Pickles Deli--Try this week's featured sandwich Turkey Caesar Pita $2.75
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