Labs and Centers

Mission

The mission of the Advanced Power Systems Research Center (APSRC) is to promote and facilitate education and research in critical technologies for the development of clean, efficient, and sustainable power and powertrain systems.

Purpose

Advanced Power System Research Center is a multidisciplinary organization that will foster large, collaborative, research efforts in the areas of clean, efficient, and sustainable Power Systems technologies. This Center will develop both fundamental and applied knowledge that is required for the next generation of low-emission, high-efficiency vehicles. The Center will seek to bring together and coordinate a large number of Michigan Tech researchers already working in:

• internal combustion engines,
• spray formation,
• combustion modeling,
• combustion and mixture controls,
• torque converters,
• alternative fuels (including ethanol, bio-diesel, and hydrogen),
• hybrid powertrains,
• fuel cells, and
• powertrain noise.

The result will be an interdisciplinary power systems research organization that will be responsive to the economic needs of the state and the energy needs of the nation.

Visit the APSRC website to learn more! 

Mission

The mission of the Institute of Computing and Cybersystems (ICC) is to promote research and learning experiences in the areas of cyber-physical systems, cybersecurity, data sciences, human-centered computing, and scalable architectures and systems for the benefit of Michigan Tech and society at large.

Objectives

• Bring faculty and students together to discover innovative new knowledge in the field of computing
• Foster interdisciplinary collaborations and enable faculty to develop multidisciplinary proposals and conduct impactful research which otherwise would not be possible
• Create a platform for broad sets of national and international collaborations to make valuable contributions to the field
• Promote The Alliance for Computing, Information, and Automation (ACIA) external visibility

Visit the ICC website to learn more! 

The Center for Cyber-Physical Systems addresses the close interactions and feedback loop between the embedded cyber components for computing and control and the dynamic physical components that involve mechanical components, human activities and surrounding environments.

The Center for Scalable Architectures and Systems carries out groundbreaking research that leads to new areas of parallelism and scalability in computing infrastructure, hardware and software architectures, and algorithms.

The Institute for Material Processing (IMP) exists to provide, maintain, and encourage partnerships for the use of facilities supporting synthesis, processing, and the manufacture of a wide range of engineering materials and product prototypes.  IMP-maintained capabilities include several variants based on melt processing, various deformation-processing strategies, particulate (powder)-based methods, and emerging capabilities in metal-based additive manufacturing.  The facilities support a wide range of university activities, including production of advanced and experimental materials for faculty-led research, industry-led process development, support of instructional labs, interdisciplinary collaboration, outreach, and serves as a means to advance the “maker environment” at Michigan Tech by enabling the transition of entrepreneurial concepts into pilot-scale production.  When coupled with the university's core Microfabrication Facility (MFF) and the Advanced Characterization and Morphological Analysis Laboratories (ACMAL), Michigan Tech's suite of material processing and complementing characterization facilities represent an impressive breadth of capabilities enabling advanced in-house experimentation, discovery, and development at a level and scale that is unique among universities nationally and internationally.

Visit the IMP website to learn more! 

Mission

The Michigan Tech Transportation Institute (MTTI) will provide the operating structure, resources, recognition, and leadership, in a collaborative environment, that supports research, education, and outreach leading to sustainable solutions for transportation.

MTTI is an umbrella organization bringing together the cross-disciplinary centers and principle investigators conducting transportation-related research and education initiatives that address national and global needs. Principal Investigators conduct transportation research under MTTI within six transportation-focused areas: 

• Transportation Structures including bridges, pavements, and pipelines. Other related areas include geotechnical, construction, and nanotechnology related to sensors.
• Transportation Materials including concrete, asphalt, steel, wood, and aggregates. Other related areas include construction, geotechnical, and nanotechnology related to sensors and materials.
• Transportation Systems including waterways, traffic/safety, construction, rail, air, public transportation, freight, intelligent transportation systems, vehicle infrastructure integration, nanotechnology related to sensors, and radio frequency identification devices.
• Environmental Aspects of Transportation including environmental impacts, energy, carbon dioxide and other pollutants, fugitive dust, wildlife, flora and fauna, and carbon credits.
• Social Aspects of Transportation including policy, planning, human factors, history, economics, and archeology.
• Transportation Technology Transfer including all outreach, management systems, and workforce development programs.

Visit the MTTI website to learn more! 

The Microfabrication Shared Facility provides resources for micro- and nano-scaled research and development of solid state electronics, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), lab-on-a-chip, and microsystems materials and devices.

The Research and Innovation in STEAM Education Institute (RISE) provides services for faculty and staff interested in science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics education at all levels.

Purpose

The purpose of the Research and Innovation in STEAM Education Institute (RISE) is to recognize, strengthen, and encourage collaboration in STEAM education pedagogy through fundamental and discipline based education research (DBER), and to establish Michigan Technological University as a leader in Michigan, the nation, and the world in the area of STEAM education research. The RISE Institute is aligned with the vision for Centers and Institutes on the Michigan Tech campus, which is to help to promote interdisciplinary work that involves faculty from several different departments on and off campus.

• Culture: The RISE Institute promotes a culture that values teamwork and collaboration, and recognizes all contributions of faculty, staff, and students to meet our mission. To facilitate this culture, the RISE Institute provides support to the University community through programming directed towards implementation of outreach, scholarship and educational research. We acknowledge, respect and promote the importance of diversity and equity in an inclusive environment.
• Vision: A collaborative, interdisciplinary community fostering excellent and inclusive STEAM opportunities for all.

Mission

Maintain a robust and diverse community of stakeholders at Michigan Tech, who will serve as the bridge from proposal preparation and submission through empirical activities to outreach and dissemination by engaging in the following activities:

• Serve the research and scholarship activities of the community of educational researchers at Michigan Tech
• Build capacity and diversity in STEAM disciplines through networking, scholarly pursuits and interdisciplinary research related to innovative pedagogy, transformative learning, and cutting-edge teaching and learning practices
• Maximize inter-department collaboration to eliminate program duplication, enabling effective use of resources while maximizing the impact made on the Michigan Tech community

Visit the RISE website to learn more! 

Located four miles from campus at an excellent, dark-sky site, the AMJOCH observatory houses a 16" Schmidt-Cassegrain LS-200 telescope mounted on a Paramount ME equatorial mount, complete with the ST-8 CCD camera and UBVRI filter.

Computational Science and Engineering at Michigan Technological University is a PhD program engaging faculty and students in interdisciplinary research and teaching, focusing on computational aspects of science and engineering.