The Honors House, building number 82 on the campus map and formerly the Ruppe House, is a next-door neighbor of the University Residence on Woodland Road. The headquarters for Michigan Tech’s Honors Institute, the Honors House is home to nine honors students and provides ample space for the group’s operations. The remaining four beds are filled by non-honors students who have returned to campus after at least one year of study.

The idea of converting the Ruppe House—previously used for . . .]]>Thu, 03 Oct 2013 11:35:52 -0700 http://www.mtu.edu/news/stories/2013/october/story97966.html3D printing isn’t just cheaper, it’s also greener, says Michigan Technological University’s Joshua Pearce.

Even Pearce, an aficionado of the make-it-yourself-and-save technology, was surprised at his study’s results. It showed that making stuff on a 3D printer uses less energy—and therefore releases less carbon dioxide—than producing it en masse in a factory and shipping it to a warehouse.

Most 3D printers for home use, like the RepRap used in this study, are about the size of microwave ovens. They work by melting filament, usually plastic, and depositing it layer by layer in a specific pattern. Free designs for thousands of products are available . . .]]>Thu, 03 Oct 2013 08:59:03 -0700 http://www.mtu.edu/news/stories/2013/october/story97909.htmlThe world is a vast place with a deep history. Scientists try to capture it all, but they cannot identify all the details. That is where you, the citizen, comes in. A group of students and faculty from Michigan Tech are trying to bridge the gap between citizens and scientists with multiple smartphone applications, especially the EthnoApp.

Cyber Citizens is the name of the project, and it is sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The project’s goal is building smartphone applications and websites to help citizens and scientists acquire environmental information.

Led by Alex Mayer, a professor of civil and environmental engineering . . .]]>Wed, 02 Oct 2013 07:23:33 -0700 http://www.mtu.edu/news/stories/2013/september/story97732.htmlA brighter, better, longer-lasting dental implant may soon be on its way to your dentist’s office.

Dental implants are posts, usually made of titanium, that are surgically placed into the jawbone and topped with artificial teeth. More than dentures or bridges, implants mimic the look and feel of natural teeth. While most dental implants are successful, a small percentage fail and either fall out or must be removed. A scientist at Michigan Technological University wants to lower that rate to zero using nanotechnology.

“Dental implants can greatly improve the lives of people who need them,” said Tolou Shokuhfar, an assistant professor of mechanical . . .]]>Fri, 27 Sep 2013 10:55:31 -0700 http://www.mtu.edu/news/stories/2013/september/story97569.htmlMichigan Technological University is one of three colleges and universities that will collaborate with the biotech-based alternative fuels and  chemical company LanzaTech on a $4 million research project. They will work to find ways to convert waste methane into low carbon fuels and chemicals.

Funding for the 3-year research project comes from the US Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E). 

Chemical Engineering Professor David Shonnard will lead the research at Michigan Tech, with Robert Handler providing technical and program management support. Shonnard is director of the University's Sustainable Futures Institute (SFI) and holds the Richard and Bonnie Robbins Chair in . . .]]>Tue, 24 Sep 2013 10:48:42 -0700 http://blogs.mtu.edu/engineering/2013/09/23/career-fair-grows-into-a-week-of-career-activities/Mon, 23 Sep 2013 10:24:26 -0700 http://blogs.mtu.edu/engineering/2013/09/23/mtris-global-research-featured-at-michigan-tech/Mon, 23 Sep 2013 07:06:53 -0700 http://www.mtu.edu/news/stories/2013/september/story97329.htmlWith 264 companies registered for the Fall Career Fair on Tuesday, Sept. 24, their 900 recruiters run the gamut from new to returning to never-miss-a-fair.

Among the new companies, according to Jim Turnquist, director of Career Services, is Chevron. Although they have recruited and hired on their own on campus, this year they’ve joined the Career Fair and expanded their search.

“In the past, they focused on geology, but this year they are looking for many different engineering fields: chemical, civil, electrical, environmental, mechanical,” Turnquist says. “That’s a big plus.”

Back after a hiatus from recruiting is Procter and Gamble. They are scouting for . . .]]>Mon, 23 Sep 2013 07:00:23 -0700 http://www.mtu.edu/news/stories/2013/september/story97203.htmlWhen Michigan Technological University launched its Generations of Discovery capital campaign in 2006, announcing a goal of $200 million, there were some doubters. Remember 2006—when the housing bubble burst and the stock market was heading for its 2008-09 crash, kicking the country into a major recession?

But Michigan Tech did it—and then some. At a campaign celebration at the University’s Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts on Sept. 19, 2013, Campaign Chair Dave House announced that Michigan Tech has raised $215,366,353, much of it in planned gifts that will be coming in over the next 10 to 25 years.

House, a Michigan Tech . . .]]>Thu, 19 Sep 2013 17:00:09 -0700 http://www.mtu.edu/news/stories/2013/september/story97310.htmlIn 2006, Michigan Technological University was basking in Guinness glory, having nabbed three wintery world records. But records are made to be broken: one by one, each toppled in the intervening years, and those radiant moments of victory faded into memory.

Last winter, a hardy band of mechanical engineering students had had enough. That was when Michigan Tech’s ASME student chapter pledged to bring at least one of the University’s long-lost Guinness World Records back to Houghton.

They ruled out the snowball fight. “The record is 5,000 people, and we cannot do that,” said Parshwa Patwa, who organized the effort. The newest snow . . .]]>Thu, 19 Sep 2013 13:36:01 -0700