April 21, 2021

As we've come to expect, the judging for Design Expo 2021 was very close, but the official results are in. More than 1,000 students in Enterprise and Senior Design showcased their hard work on April 15 at Michigan Tech’s second-ever, fully virtual Design Expo.

Teams competed for cash awards totaling nearly $4,000. Judges for the event included corporate representatives, community members and Michigan Tech staff and faculty. The College of Engineering and the Pavlis Honors College announced the award winners below on April 15, just after the competition. Congratulations and a huge thanks to all the teams for a very successful Design Expo 2021.

Last but not least, to the distinguished judges who gave their time and talents to help make Design Expo a success, and to the faculty advisors who generously and richly support Enterprise and Senior Design—thank you for your phenomenal dedication to our students.

Please check out the Design Expo booklet and all the team videos.

ENTERPRISE AWARDS (Based on video submissions)

• First Place—Husky Game Development (Team 115) Advisor Scott Kuhl, (CC)
• Second Place—Aerospace Enterprise (Team 106) Advisor L. Brad King, (ME-EM)
• Third Place—Innovative Global Solutions (Team 116) Advisors Radheshyam Tewari (ME-EM) and Nathan Manser (GMES)
• Honorable Mention—Consumer Product Manufacturing (Team 111) Advisor Tony Rogers (ChE)

SENIOR DESIGN AWARDS (Based on video submissions)

• First Place —Advanced PPE Filtration System (Team 240) Team Members: Matthew Johnson, Electrical Engineering; Bryce Hudson, Mary Repp, Carter Slunick, Mike Stinchcomb, Braeden Anex, Brandon Howard, Josh Albrecht, and Hannah Bekkala, Mechanical Engineering Advised by: Jaclyn Johnson and Aneet Narendranath, Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics Sponsored by: Stryker
• Second Place—ITC Cell Signal Measurement Tool (Team 204) Team Members: Reed VandenBerg and Andrew Bratton, Electrical Engineering; Noah Guyette and Ben Kacynski, Computer Engineering Advised by: John Lukowski, Electrical and Computer Engineering Sponsored by: ITC Holdings Corp.
• Third Place—Development of a Beta Brass Alloy for Co-Extrusion (Team 234) Team Members: Anna Isaacson, Sidney Feige, Lauren Bowling, and Maria Rochow, Materials Science and Engineering Advised by: Paul Sanders, Materials Science and Engineering Sponsored by: College of Engineering
• Honorable Mention—EPS Ball Nut Degrees of Freedom Optimization (Team 236) Team Members: Brad Halonen, Rocket Hefferan, Luke Pietila, Peadar Richards, and David Rozinka, Mechanical Engineering Advised by: James DeClerck, Mechanical Engineering- Engineering Mechanics Sponsored by: Nexteer
• Honorable Mention—Electric Tongue Jack Redesign (Team 230) Team Members: Jack Redesign and Brandon Tolsma, Mechanical Engineering; Collin Jandreski, Christian Fallon, Warren Falicki, and Andrew Keskimaki, Electrical Engineering Advised by: Trever Hassell, Electrical and Computer Engineering Sponsored by: Stromberg Carlson
• Honorable Mention—Bone Access and Bone Analog Characterization (Team 212) Team Members: Sarah Hirsch, Mechanical Engineering; Elisabeth Miller and Christiana Strong, Biomedical Engineering; Morgan Duley, Electrical Engineering; Katelyn Ramthun, Biomedical Engineering Advised by: Hyeun Joong Yoon and Orhan Soykan, Biomedical Engineering Sponsored by: Stryker Interventional Spine Team
• Honorable Mention—Blubber Only Implantable Satellite Tag Anchoring System (Team 221) Team Members: Quinn Murphy, Lidia Johnson, Joshua Robles, Katy Beesley, and Kyle Pike, Biomedical Engineering Advised by: Bruce Lee, Biomedical Engineering; Sponsored by: NOAA

DESIGN EXPO IMAGE CONTEST (Based on image submitted by the team)

• First Place—Blizzard Baja (Team 101): “Our current vehicle, Hornet, after a race.” Credit: Blizzard Baja team member
• Second Place—WAAM Die Components (Team 237): “MIG welding robot printing a steel part.” Credit: Mike Groeneveld
• Third Place—Aerospace Enterprise (Team 106): “Team photo, pre-Covid.” Credit: Aerospace Enterprise team member

DESIGN EXPO INNOVATION AWARDS (
Based on application)

• First Place—Consumer Product Manufacturing Enterprise, Shareable Air project (Team 101) Advised by: Tony Rogers, (ChE)
• Second Place—ITC Cell Signal Measurement Tool (Team 204) Advised by: John Lukowski (ECE) 
• Third Place—Hospital Washer Autosampler Implementation (Team 218) Advised by: Sang Yoon Han and Houda Hatoum (BioMed)

DESIGN EXPO PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARD (Based on receiving most text-in voting during Design Expo)

• Consumer Product Manufacturing, CPM Advised by: Tony Rogers, (ChE)

ENTERPRISE STUDENT AWARDS

• Rookie Award—Jack Block, CFO - Supermileage Systems Enterprise
• Innovative Solutions—Cory Rorick, Alternative Energy Enterprise
• Outstanding Enterprise Leadership—Andy Lambert, CEO - Supermileage Systems Enterprise and Daniel Prada, Spark Ignition (SI)
• Team Lead—Clean Snowmobile Enterprise

ENTERPRISE FACULTY/STAFF AWARDS

• Behind the Scenes Award—Kelly Steelman, Associate Professor and Interim Chair, Dept. of Cognitive and Learning Sciences, nominated by Built World Enterprise.

Outstanding students, staff, and a special alumni were honored Friday (April 16) during Michigan Tech’s 27th Annual Student Leadership Awards Virtual Ceremony.

Keynote speaker Kaitlyn Bunker ’10 '12 '14 (BS, MS, PhD Electrical Engineering), won the Outstanding Young Alumni Award along with Megan Kreiger '09 '12 (Mathematics and Materials Science and Engineering).

Congratulations to all of the 2021 winners:

• President’s Award for Leadership — Anna Browne
• Dean of Students Award for Service — Lydia Savatsky
• Exceptional Leadership in Student Governance Award — Nathan Ford and Larkin Hooker-Moericke
• Exceptional Enthusiasm as Student Leader Award — Sky Hempel
• Student Employee of the Year — Morgan Drumm
• Rising Star of the Year — Aerith Cruz
• Outstanding Future Alumni — Akayla Weatherby
• Exceptional Program of the Year — Blue Key National Honor Society, Winter Carnival 2021
• Most Improved Student Organization — American Institute of Chemical Engineers
• Exceptional Civic Engagement Award — Tech Tutors at Michigan Tech
• Claire M. Donovan Award — Daniel Liebau
• Student Organization of the Year — Memorial Union Board
• Percy Julian Award — Jailynn Johnson
• Student Organization Advisor of the Year — Danielle Mierow
• The Provost’s Award for Scholarship —Thomas Basala, Biological Sciences
• Exceptional Graduate Student Leader — Marie Richards, Social Science
• Exceptional Graduate Student Scholar —Gabriel Edzordzi Agbozo, Humanities
• Exceptional Graduate Mentor — Dr. Robert J. Nemiroff, Physics
• Exceptional Staff Member — Joseph Licavoli, Materials Science and Engineering
• Sorority Member of the Year — Maria Francisco, Theta Chi Epsilon
• Fraternity Member of the Year — Thomas Basala, Triangle
• Fraternity Chapter of the Year — Delta Phi Epsilon

The Medical Laboratory Science students of MTU placed third nationwide in the ASCP Lab Week Photo and Video Contest.

Laboratory Professionals Week is April 18-24, 2021, and is the annual celebration of medical laboratory professionals and pathologists who play a vital role in health care and patient advocacy. Here is our submission. 

It’s been hard times for the Parade of Nations since the pandemic struck, but the Parade of Nations committee has carried on with the popular multicultural celebration. And they’re planning a Parade of Nations this fall, on Sept. 18.

The committee is looking for new members to help them plan and run the Parade and a community scavenger hunt leading up to it. If you would like to play a role on the inside of this special event, the committee invites you to join. They meet once a month on Zoom, and anyone is welcome—students, faculty, staff and community members.

For more information or to join the committee, call or email Mayra Morgan, educational programs specialist in International Programs and Services, 487-2160, msmmorgan@mtu.edu.

Graduate student Larissa Juip has a unique opportunity for a student to work with her on "Applying an Indigenous Methodology: Storying a Tribal Landscape System." Indigenous storywork, as described by Jo-ann Archibald (2008), combines traditional and life-experience stories to produce a holistic narrative by building “on the storywork teachings of respect, reverence, responsibility, reciprocity, holism, interrelatedness, and synergy."

These stories recognize different ways of knowing, such as those present in Indigenous communities and they often reflect a great emphasis on place-based knowledge and relationships. This storywork project is designed to complement a National Science Foundation research project (Tribal Landscape Systems) being conducted in partnership with the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community (KBIC), Keweenaw Bay Natural Resources, Great Lakes Fish and Wildlife Commission (GLIFWC), and Michigan Tech researchers.

Storywork has great potential to serve as an important method and pedagogy to reflect on responsibilities of Indigenous-University partnerships. Students will assist her in producing stories shared by partners in this project that reflect place-based connections and relationships as they form or are strengthened through research. The collection of stories shared by partners will become an iterative process that sheds light on the importance of place-based knowledge within the research project.

This project is funded through an NSF-CNH2 (Convergence Research: Bridging Knowledge Systems and Expertise for Understanding the Dynamics of a Contaminated Tribal Landscape System) and is part of a larger undergraduate research initiative in Social Sciences, the Undergraduate Program for Exploration and Research in Social Sciences (UPERSS).

Check out the other opportunities that include:

• Ethnic Organization and Diaspora Engagement in the Keweenaw (Kathryn Hannum, SS)
• Developing a University Partnership offering Educational / Cultural Outreach to State Prison Inmates housed in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (Susanna Peters, SS)
• Food-Based Plants as Living Heritage (Mark Rhodes, SS)
• Michigan Tech Inventory of Historic Scientific Instruments (IHSI) (Steven Walton, SS)
• Historic Cemeteries: Mapping, Management, and Memory (TImothy Scarlett, SS)

The Department of Biological Sciences is pleased to host another opportunity to interact with Project Biodiversify at 2 p.m. Friday (April 23) in a virtual seminar.

Hear from Project Biodiversify founder Ash Zemenick as they give an overview of why it is important to target classrooms and curricula as a place to make positive change. In addition, the seminar will discuss the two branches of Project Biodiversify (diversifying and humanizing teaching materials and inclusive and accurate teaching methods), effectively demonstrating why accuracy, inclusion, and efficacy go hand in hand in science curricula.

If interested in attending, please sign up using this form. A Zoom link will be sent via e-mail and Google calendar invitation later in the week.

For more information, please contact Brigitte Morin or Amy Marcarelli.

This program is partially sponsored by the Visiting Professor Program which is funded by a grant to the Office of the Provost from the State of Michigan's King-Chavez-Parks Initiative, in partnership with the Department of Biological Sciences, Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology Department, and College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science.

Michigan Technological University is an Equal Opportunity Educational Institution/Equal Opportunity Employer that provides equal opportunity for all, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.

Michigan Tech Head Hockey Coach Joe Shawhan has agreed to a three-year contract extension Athletic Director Suzanne Sanregret announced on Tuesday (Apr. 20). Shawhan was named the 22nd head coach of the Huskies on May 30, 2017 and has won 74 games.

"I am pleased to announce that Coach Shawhan has agreed to continue to lead Michigan Tech hockey," Sanregret said. "Joe understands and is passionate about our hockey tradition, cares deeply about our student-athletes and their success on and off the ice, and is committed to excellence in all areas of the program. I look forward to continuing to support him and his vision for Huskies hockey."

"I want to thank Suzanne for her support," Shawhan said. "Laura and I love this community and the people. It's home for us. With regards to hockey, what's most important to me is to be part of something special. Michigan Tech hockey is supported in the Copper Country with passion and enthusiastic expectations to be among the best in the nation. I look forward to continuing the work with our great student-athletes to achieve just that."

Shawhan was an assistant coach at Tech for three seasons (2014-17) before being hired as the head coach. In his first season, he tied a program record for a first-year Michigan Tech head hockey coach with 22 wins. The Huskies won the Jeff Sauer Trophy as WCHA Playoff Champions and made their 13th appearance in the NCAA Tournament.

The Huskies won the 2017 Ice Breaker Tournament in the program's first-ever appearance with wins over Union and host Minnesota Duluth. Tech won the 55th annual Great Lakes Invitational in 2019 at Little Caesars Arena after defeating Michigan State and Michigan for the first time in tournament history for the program's 11th tournament title.

During the Shawhan era, Mitch Reinke (St. Louis), Joel L'Esperance (Dallas), Dane Birks (Pittsburgh), and Jake Lucchini (Pittsburgh) have all signed NHL contracts. As an assistant, Shawhan also coached Matt Roy (Los Angeles) and Tanner Kero (Dallas) who have had success at the NHL level this season. He also helped goaltenders Jamie Phillips (Winnipeg) and Angus Redmond (Anaheim) earn NHL contracts.

Six different Huskies have been named to All-WCHA Teams while Shawhan has been head coach, and Tech has been ranked in the top 20 in all four seasons.

Shawhan originally signed a four-year contract when he was named head coach in May 2017. This current contract was agreed upon in January 2021.

Job Posting for Wednesday, April 21, 2020 

Staff and faculty job descriptions are available in Human Resources. For more information regarding staff positions, call 487-2280 or email mtujobs@mtu.edu. 

For more information regarding faculty positions, contact the academic department in which the position is posted.

Assistant Men's Basketball Coach, General Athletics. Apply online.

Michigan Technological University is an Equal Opportunity Educational Institution/Equal Opportunity Employer that provides equal opportunity for all, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities. Accommodations are available. If you require any auxiliary aids, services, or other accommodations to apply for employment, or for an interview, at Michigan Technological University, please notify the Human Resources office at 906-487-2280 or mtujobs@mtu.edu.

Shan Zhou (SS) presented her paper "The Interplay between Renewable Portfolio Standard and Voluntary Green Power Market in the United States" in the session "Determinants and Challenges of Environmental Policy" at the the 78th Annual Midwest Political Science Association (MPSA) Conference, which was held virtually April 14-18.

This paper evaluates the efficacy of utility-based voluntary green power programs implemented in conjunction with government-led (mandatory) renewable energy policies.

Fill Out the COVID-19 Symptom Tracking Form Before Coming to Campus

If you are working on campus while the University is at Health Safety Level Three, remember that no one is permitted to come to campus with symptoms consistent with COVID-19.

Employees are required to monitor their symptoms daily before coming to campus. The Daily Symptom Tracking Form is a short form that will help you determine if you have COVID-19 symptoms.

 

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ME-EM PhD Defense Today

Mechanical Engineering - Engineering Mechanics PhD candidate Esmaeil Dehdashti (advisor, Hassan Masoud) will offer his PhD defense at 2 p.m. today (April 21) via Zoom.

His presentation is entitled "Mathematical Modeling and Numerical Simulation of the Heat Transfer from Isolated Objects."

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Engineering Fundamentals Faculty Candidate Presentation Today

The Department of Engineering Fundamentals is conducting a faculty search. The fourth candidate is Michelle Jarvie-Eggart who will present an active and collaborative first-year engineering lesson at noon today (April 21) via Zoom.

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Volunteers Needed for Augmented Reality Study

We are looking for volunteers to take part in a study exploring how people may interact with future Augmented Reality (AR) interfaces. During the study, you will record videos of yourself tapping on a printed keyboard. The study takes approximately one hour, and you will be paid $15 for your time. You will complete the study at your home.

To participate you must meet the following requirements:

• You must have access to an Android mobile phone
• You must have access to a printer
• You must be a fluent speaker of English
• You must be 18 years of age or older
• You must live in the United States

If you would like to take part, please contact rhabibi@mtu.edu

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CFRES Seminar Thursday

The College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science will have a seminar at 12:30 p.m. Thursday (April 22) via Zoom. Our seminar speaker is Justin Kunkle, assistant director of undergraduate studies and academic advisor in the Department of Forestry at Michigan State University.

Kunkle has shown great success in increasing and improving diversity and inclusion in their undergraduate program. He recently received three substantial NIFA grants to help increase the inclusion of minorities in their program. Kunkle will present a talk entitled "Seeding the Ground: Growing the Next Generation of Multicultural Forestry Professionals.”

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Announcing Safety Skills Training Webinar Today

Please join us at 2 p.m. today (April 21) for our continuing interactive webinar series exploring the many features of the Safety Skills Training Platform Learning Management System. Each webinar is designed to be a stand-alone topic, combining slide presentations and “live” demonstrations utilizing the Safety Skills system.

The webinars are geared for Safety Skills Training administrators, but anyone is welcome to participate.

Today's session will cover How to Train Your Students/Volunteers using the Safety Skills Platform and will be led by Safety Specialist, Chris Maxson. There will be opportunities to ask questions, both in real-time and after the topic presentation.

The webinar will be recorded, so don’t worry if you can’t make it. Previously recorded webinars can be found on the Michigan Tech EHS webpage.

To join this week’s webinar:

• When: 2 p.m. today, April 21
• How to Join: Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android: Join from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android
• Telephone: US: +1 312 626 6799 or +1 301 715 8592 Meeting ID: 882 3537 0460

In the meantime, please feel free to email ehs-help@mtu.edu with any questions or roadblocks you may encounter.

A stretch of County Road 607 in Dickinson County paved with an asphalt mix that uses pieces of old tires is now being tested, almost two years after it was installed. Lab experiments conducted at Michigan Tech by Zhanping You (CEE) and his research team have found the performance has improved over the last two years. Monitoring will continue for ten or more years. The project was a collaboration with You's research team, the Michigan EGLE, and the Dickinson County Road Commission. The story was covered by several media outlets including MI Environment, Public Radio 90, WLUC TV6 and ABC10.

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Michigan Tech was mentioned in the story "Another Louisiana earthquake: 3.1 magnitude quake reported near Louisiana-Texas border," which appeared in several newspapers nationally, including The Advocate (Baton Rouge, Louisiana)

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Bruce Seely (SS) was quoted in the story "Can America’s Road Builders Break the Highway Habit?" in Bloomberg City Lab.

A research paper by Sunil Mehendale (MMET), has been accepted for publication in the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Journal of Heat Transfer (JHT), a top-notch journal that disseminates information of permanent interest in the areas of heat and mass transfer. T

The journal is reputed for its rigorous peer review process and there is a general consensus that the JHT is the world’s premier journal in its field. The paper, “Thermal-Hydraulic Optimization of Open Cell Metallic Foams Used as Extended Surfaces,” has been posted online and is available in the Accepted Manuscript section of the journal on the ASME Digital Collection.

Article Summary:

Heat transfer and fluid flow in metal foams is encountered in a broad range of natural and industrial processes which includes such diverse fields as compact heat exchangers, fuel cell technology, filtration, and physiological processes. An analytical validated model for predicting temperature distribution, heat transfer, pressure drop, and fluid pumping power in an open-cell metal foam fin is developed. A foam length optimization technique based on its performance factor (PF) is proposed. An often-used fin optimization criterion recommends that the fin effectiveness should equal or exceed 2. The present study shows that the effectiveness of any optimized foam always exceeds 2. However, the converse, i.e., requiring the foam effectiveness to at least equal 2, does not guarantee an optimal foam, which implies that the PF-based optimization criterion is an inclusive one. It is also proved that a previously suggested optimization criterion of maximizing a foam’s geometric mean efficiency will result in a sub-optimal foam design.

To have your event automatically appear, please submit them to the University Events Calendar.

Motivation 101

Wednesday, April 21, 11 a.m.–12 p.m.

Motivation. Whether you're looking to strengthen yours or find it to begin with, this once a month workshop is a great place to start. Learn about what factors actually help...

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Teal Ribbons

Wednesday, April 21, 12 p.m.–1 p.m. | Michigan Tech Campus

All month there will be Teal Ribbons on Trees. These ribbons symbolize solidarity with victims of sexual violence and are meant to create conversation on campus about how we...

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UP and Moving - Lunchtime movement high noon

Wednesday, April 21, 12:00 p.m.–12:20 p.m.

Michigan Tech students in the Department of Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology are offering an "UP and Moving" initiative for campus and community members. UP and Moving...

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UP and Moving - Lunchtime movement noon thirty

Wednesday, April 21, 12:00 p.m.–12:20 p.m.

Michigan Tech students in the Department of Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology are offering an "UP and Moving" initiative for campus and community members. UP and Moving...

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PhD Defense: Esmaeil Dehdashti

Wednesday, April 21, 2 p.m.–3 p.m.

Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics Advisor: Hassan Masoud Mathematical Modeling and Numerical Simulation of Heat Transfer from Isolated Objects Attend Virtually:...

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Puppy Parade for Awareness with Dial Help, Inc.

Wednesday, April 21, 6 p.m. | Dial Help, Downtown Houghton

Walks are a great family activity! Come walk with us April 21 at 6pm at our downtown office to support survivors of sexual assault and abuse. This will be a covid friendly...

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Adult Huskies Group Tennis Lessons Spring Session 3

Wednesday, April 21, 7 p.m.–8 p.m. | Gates Tennis Center

Adult Huskies Tennis Lessons are now being offered for ages 17 and up who are looking to learn more about the game of tennis! Each class will include technique and games to...

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Michigan Tech Trivia Night

Wednesday, April 21, 7 p.m.

Are you in interested in learning more about Michigan Tech? Join us (virtually) for Michigan Tech Trivia Nights! You'll play trivia in teams for the chance to win some...

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Pixar Trivia Night

Wednesday, April 21, 7 p.m.–8 p.m. | Online

Join us for a night of Pixar Trivia on April 21st at 7 pm. From "Toy Story" to "Finding Dory" make sure to look "UP" and be "Brave" as you challenge those on Kahoot!You could...

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OAP Kayak Safety Clinic

Wednesday, April 21, 8 p.m.–10 p.m. | Student Development Complex (SDC), Lap Pool

Are you dreaming of summer and those wonderful paddling months? We can’t get you out on the open water, but we can help you work on your skills in the pool! Sign up now for...

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Get Your Erg On! Spring Session 2

April 21, all day | John MacInnes Student Ice Arena, Blue Line Room

Get your Erg on! Join members of the MTU Rowing Club as they guide you through the basics of rowing technique and coach you through fun and challenging workout sessions — all...

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Teal Ribbons for Sexual Assault Awareness Month

April 21, all day | Outdoors

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month. During the Month of April there will be Teal Ribbons displayed throughout campus. Teal has become the signature color for sexual...