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1. Jeff Allen, Ezequiel Medici Win First Bhakta Rath Research Award |
by Jennifer Donovan, director of public relations
For their pioneering work to improve water management in low temperature fuel cells, Jeffrey Allen and his PhD student, Ezequiel Medici, have been named the first winners of the Bhakta Rath Research Award at Michigan Tech. Allen is an associate professor of mechanical engineering-engineering mechanics.
The award, endowed earlier this year by 1958 Michigan Tech alumnus Rath and his wife, Shushama Rath, recognizes a doctoral student at Michigan Tech and his or her faculty advisor for "exceptional research of particular value that anticipates the future needs of the nation while supporting advances in emerging technology." Allen and Medici will share a $2,000 prize.
"We are delighted to recognize Professor Jeff Allen and his accomplished student, Ezequiel Medici, for their outstanding research contribution in the field of mechanical engineering and engineering mechanics," said Rath, who is associate director of research and head of the Materials Science and Component Technology Directorate at the US Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC. "We have no doubt that their seminal contributions will advance the frontiers of our knowledge in the field and contribute to development of new technologies. My wife and I wish to join their family members, friends and colleagues in congratulating the recipients of this award."
When he endowed the award in April, Rath said he hoped it would promote and reward research excellence in the physical and natural sciences and engineering, fields in which Michigan Tech is emerging as a world leader in research and education.
"I am honored and grateful to be one of the inaugural recipients of this prestigious award," Allen said. "However, the credit for the success of this research belongs to Ezequiel."
His graduate student added, "I feel really honored to have our research recognized because of its potential impact on the fuel-cell industry."
Medici and Allen's research focuses on improving the management of the water produced during the operation of a fuel cell, liquid that leads to performance loss and rapid degradation of the fuel cell, significantly reducing the life of the system. They developed a new technique for optimizing fuel cell electrodes and a simple, reliable computational tool that captures the nature of liquid water movement in fuel cell electrodes. Their work, sponsored by the US Department of Energy and conducted in collaboration with the Rochester Institute of Technology and General Motors, will reduce the research and development time and cost of improving fuel cell performance and durability.
Bill Predebon, chair of ME-EM, noted the potential importance of Allen and Medici's work. "The research being conducted by Ezequiel Medici and his advisor Dr. Jeffrey Allen on the improvement of water management in low temperature fuel cells will have a significant impact in the fuel cell industry in the design of the porous materials used in fuel cells." |
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2. Gilkerson Finishes 10th at NCAA Championships |
Senior Ken Gilkerson concluded his career at Michigan Tech with a 10th-place finish in the 800 at the 2010 Divison II Outdoor Track and Field Championships Saturday, May 29. He set a new school record in the event with a time of 1:51.08. Senior Mark Husted of Colorado School of Mines won the race in a time of 1:48.65.
"Earning a trip to nationals was always a goal of mine," said Gilkerson. "I have no regrets about the way I raced today. I ended my career with my fastest time ever."
"We are very proud of everything Kenny has accomplished over his career," said head coach Joe Haggenmiller. "He was a great representative of our program. He leaves Tech with eight of the 10 fastest times in the 800 in school history. He was also a great student graduating with a 3.94 in mechanical engineering." |
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3. Cork Accepts Job with CXC Elite Team |
Jason Cork, assistant cross country, Nordic skiing and track and field coach, has resigned to take a job as the Elite Coach for Central Cross Country Team Vertical Limit.
"I would like to thank everyone at Michigan Tech for all of their support over the past two years," said Cork. "I feel that this position with CXC is the next step in my career. I am looking forward to this new challenge."
During his two years with the Huskies, Cork had nine athletes qualify for the NCAA Championships. He helped Jesse Lang earn All-American honors in Nordic skiing in 2009 and was responsible for the training for Ken Gilkerson, who finished 10th at the 2010 Division II NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.
"I want to thank Jason for his time at Michigan Tech," said head coach Joe Haggenmiller. "We will very much miss Jason's hard work and leadership with our many student-athletes. He did a great job of balancing the demands of coaching in three sports and six programs simultaneously. Jason really helped raise the level of all six programs he worked with during his time here. And, while it is difficult to lose him, I am excited for Jason to move up to being a head coach with opportunities to work with US National Champions and US Ski Team athletes. His replacement here will have pretty big shoes to fill."
A national search for the position will begin immediately. The formal application for the position can be found at: www.admin.mtu.edu/hro/postings/index.shtml . |
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4. New Funding |
Professor Amitabh Narain (ME-EM, APSRC) has received $100,000 from the NASA's Glenn Research Center for a one-year project in "Ground-Based Experimental and Computational Investigations of Shear Driven Internal Condensing/Boiling Flows for Flight Experiments and Space-Based Two-Phase Systems."
Professor David Shonnard (Chemical Engineering, SFI) has received $12,978 from the National Science Foundation for a one-year planning grant in Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers for Joining the Center for Bioenergy Research and Development. |
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5. On the Road |
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Larry Sutter, director of the Michigan Tech Transportation Institute and the University Transportation Center, recently attended the Federal Demonstration Partnership (FDP) spring meeting in Washington, DC, May 13-14. Sutter is the Michigan Tech faculty representative to the FDP and serves on the Faculty Committee and the Membership Committee. The FDP is an association of federal agencies, academic research institutions, and research policy organizations that work to streamline the administration of federally sponsored research. |
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