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Michigan Tech Scientist's Discovery Could Lead to a Better Capacitor

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 09:58:08 -0400

A new process for growing forests of manganese dioxide nanorods may lead to the next generation of high-performance capacitors.

As an energy-storage material for batteries and capacitors, manganese dioxide has a lot going for it: it’s cheap, environmentally friendly and abundant. However, chemical capacitors made with manganese dioxide have lacked the power of the typical carbon-based physical capacitor. Michigan Technological University scientist Dennis Desheng Meng theorized that the situation could be improved if the manganese dioxide were made into nanorods, which are like nanotubes, only solid instead of hollow. However, a stumbling block has been making manganese dioxide nanorods with the right . . .

Undergraduate Expo Showcases Student Ingenuity

Mon, 8 Apr 2013 16:05:12 -0400

More than 60 student teams will display their research projects at the Undergraduate Expo from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m Thursday, April 18, at the Van Pelt and Opie Library.

Prepare to be amazed.

Whether as a Senior Design team or an Enterprise, students tackle complex problems, sponsored by industries and other organizations, and routinely come up with clever solutions.

Case in point: improving walkers for the elderly.

Biomedical engineering students are improving the folding and locking mechanisms of walkers and creating a touch-sensor lighting system for night use. All these are important safety features, according to Dan Muckala and Matt Kilgas.

“We are working on . . .

Researchers Invited to Learn Essentials of Entrepreneurship

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 10:09:58 -0400

In an effort to help researchers fast-track their technologies to the marketplace, Michigan is launching a new entrepreneurial training program called Michigan I-Corps. Applications for the program, administered by the University of Michigan, opened last week.

Michigan I-Corps is modeled after the National Science Foundation’s I-Corps (Innovation Corps) program. Two Michigan Tech teams have participated in the national I-Corps. Earlier this month a team led by Ezra Bar Ziv, a professor of mechanical engineering-engineering mechanics, was selected as the top team among the 24 participating teams from universities throughout the nation. The first NSF I-Corps team from Michigan Tech was led by . . .

On the Horizon: Implants with Built-in Sensors that Can Shake off Infection?

Tue, 12 Mar 2013 17:11:33 -0400

Keat Ghee Ong envisions a new generation of implantable biosensors. Not only could they signal if all is well (or not) after surgery, they would do it with no batteries and no computer chips. Plus, they could fight infection.

For his insights, the associate professor of biomedical engineering at Michigan Technological University was one of 24 Outstanding Young Investigators invited to present at the 2013 Frontiers in Bioengineering Workshop. The workshop, held at Georgia Tech Feb. 25-26, brought together leaders in bioengineering to discuss cutting-edge research in the field.

Here’s what makes Ong’s sensors radically different. Instead of being surgically inserted alongside a . . .

Michigan Tech Receives $100,000 from General Motors

Fri, 1 Mar 2013 08:58:15 -0500

Michigan Technological University recently received a $100,000 gift from the General Motors Foundation, a long-time University supporter.

The gift will fund a variety of student activities. Among them are the Advanced Hybrid Electric Vehicle and Advanced Motorsports Enterprises, several senior design teams, student groups and diversity programs.

General Motors Company recently donated a 2011 Chevy Cruse for hybrid engine/vehicle testing, research and education in the Advanced Power Systems Research Center.

"The General Motors Foundation is proud of its long standing affiliation with Michigan Tech,” said Kurt Wiese, GM’s executive director, Global Manufacturing Engineering. “This grant furthers our support of Science, Technology, Engineering and . . .

Employers, Students Brave Blizzard to Build Their Futures

Thu, 21 Feb 2013 08:47:22 -0500

Michigan Tech’s Career Fair is an event awash in numbers, statistics, efforts to quantify the success of our students and the health of the overall economy. The numbers so frequently tell the story.

Behind these figures, though, there are the students and employers themselves, and the careers and lives that they’re building together. Tuesday, the Multipurpose Room at the Student Development Complex hosted hundreds of companies that braved a blizzard to meet the ambitious, motivated and talented students of Michigan Tech.

Largest Spring Fair Ever
Representatives of 229 corporations attended, and more than 2,000 interviews were scheduled.

Just inside the doors of the SDC . . .

CN Donates $500,000 to Rail Transportation Program

Thu, 14 Feb 2013 12:23:31 -0500

CN, North America’s Railroad, announced today it has donated $500,000 to Michigan Technological University's Rail Transportation Program to create the CN Endowed Fellowship in Rail Transportation. This brings CN’s total funding to the program to $750,000.

Building on the CN Rail Transportation Education Center that opened in 2010, the endowment will support rail transportation-related projects and research, as well as hardware and software resources for students, and provide student scholarships.

"This is not only a generous gift from CN, but a strategic one." said Bill Worek, dean of Michigan Tech’s College of Engineering. “Our students are highly sought after by industry, and the . . .

Ceramic Resonators Open Metamaterial Doors

Mon, 4 Feb 2013 12:57:49 -0500

To most people, ceramics means pottery—glazed and fired clay fashioned into mugs or bowls. But ceramics have industrial applications too. The most important product of the ceramics industry is ceramic capacitors, which store electromagnetic energy. Another is ceramic resonators, which produce oscillations or back-and-forth movements.

Using small ceramic resonators three millimeters in diameter, Michigan Technological University researcher Elena Semouchkina has found a way to bend electromagnetic waves or light rays in dramatically different directions, enabling novel applications.

An associate professor of electrical and computer engineering at Michigan Tech, Semouchkina uses arrays of ceramic resonators to form metamaterials with a negative refractive index. This . . .

US News Top Tech Jobs Focus on Michigan Tech Strengths

Wed, 9 Jan 2013 12:51:36 -0500

In its 2013 Best Technology Jobs rankings, US News & World Report leaned heavily on professions in which Michigan Tech graduates excel.

Seven computing and two engineering jobs made the elite list. Ranked one through nine were computer systems analyst, database administrator, software developer, web developer, computer programmer, mechanical engineer, IT manager, computer systems administrator and civil engineer.

Bill Predebon, professor and chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, was not surprised to see his field represented.

“One of the main reasons that mechanical engineering is listed is because it’s a very broad field,” he said. “And because systems have become so . . .

Senior Design Teams Tackle Jaipur Foot Challenge

Wed, 9 Jan 2013 10:49:07 -0500

Most of us would rather hop in a car than walk. Walking has become something of a lost art.

But what if you couldn’t walk?

A low-cost solution for those needing a lower limb replacement has been the Jaipur foot. The prosthetic designed in India has helped millions around the world walk again.

The foot only lasts two or three years, though. So an International Senior Capstone Design team at Michigan Technological University took on the task of improving the foot’s performance. Their goal was to increase the foot’s longevity while reducing its weight and improving overall flexibility.

The effort has been funded by . . .