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.
Mission
The mission of the Ecosystem Science Center (ESC) is to advance knowledge through research on ecosystems. Humans, non-human organisms, and the abiotic environment create a complex set of socio-ecological processes, patterns, interactions, and connections and ESC members seek to understand this inherent complexity of social-ecological systems through research in ecosystem ecology, ecosystem response to global change, climate change adaptation and mitigation, carbon sequestration and bioenergy, plant, wildlife, aquatic and community ecology, invasive species, decomposition, and ecosystem restoration.
ESC's primary strategic goals are to:
- Foster a vibrant, and inclusive community of scholars who conduct research with relevance to ecosystems.
- Enhance member efforts to acquire external funds for ecosystem research.
- Support and grow internal and external partnerships and capacity to achieve novel broader/research impacts.
The Center operates through a shared-governance system, where Center members work together, with leadership of the Center Director and staff, to allocate resources and make decisions about priorities and programming.
Mission
The mission of the Great Lakes Research Center (GLRC) is to be a leader in interdisciplinary aquatic science and engineering focused on the Laurentian Great Lakes Basin in its entirety through excellence in research education and outreach.
The vision of the Great Lakes Research Center (GLRC) is to become a world-class institute in interdisciplinary aquatic sciences, policy, engineering, and technology. We will develop unparalleled strength and expertise in four core areas: aquatic ecology and ecosystem dynamics, marine engineering and technology, aquatic resources and human dimensions, and education and outreach. Research at the GLRC will not only advance our knowledge in these four areas of focus but will also inform resource managers and the general public, enabling them to advance the sustainable use of freshwater resources.
At Michigan Tech, researchers in the Health Research Institute (HRI) are tackling a variety of health-related challenges, whether that is developing material for better wound care, creating vaccines, studying alcohol’s effects on the nervous system, designing a magnetoelastic sensor for use in an artificial knee, or growing heart muscle cells faster and stronger with less chance of rejection. The research is translational, interdisciplinary, and increasingly convergent.
Mission
The mission of the Health Research Institute is to establish and maintain a thriving environment that promotes translational, interdisciplinary, and increasingly convergent health-related research and inspires education and outreach activities.
The Institute for Policy, Ethics, and Culture (IPEC) addresses the policy implications, ethical considerations, and cultural significance of the massive changes and disruptive forces currently underway. By bringing policy, ethics, and culture into the center of inquiry, IPEC creates collaborations on topics key to understanding technocultural change: issues such as algorithmic culture, medicine, biotechnology, and ethics; technology and autonomy; surveillance and privacy; and reconfiguring human relationships in and with a changing environment. IPEC brings together faculty and staff from diverse departments to collaborate on and support research, policy, and teaching that responds to the changing technological environment.
Mission
The mission of the Institute for Policy, Ethics, and Culture is to promote research, policy engagement, and teaching that address the ethical and cultural challenges, implications, and strategies unique to the emerging technocultural environment.
Goals
Research - To promote innovative research and collaboration on policy, ethics, and culture.
Policy - To contribute to policy making in Michigan and beyond.
Teaching - To provide students with tools to work proactively in the emerging environment.
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.
Mission
The Michigan Tech Aerospace Engineering Research Center (MARC) will serve as a focal point at Michigan Tech for activities related to Aerospace Engineering. Specifically, the institute will:
- Enable world-class research
- Foster undergraduate and graduate educational programs
MARC will serve as a home for all aerospace engineering related activities, and will work across university units in support of these activities. These activities include:
- Seminar series: we will host a regularly-occurring seminar series to focus on aerospace engineering research/education projects on campus. These seminars will catalyze collaborations and provide researchers/students with opportunities to showcase their work.
- MARC leadership team meeting: The MARC leadership team (defined below) will meet as needed to discuss resources, proposal opportunities, and technical issues. Student team support: MARC will provide support (technical guidance, resources if available) to aerospace engineering related student teams. Examples of these student groups includes the Aerospace Enterprise, Mining Innovation Enterprise, and the SAE Aero team.
- Research support: MARC will provide resource support (when available) to aerospace engineering related research projects on campus, particularly those that are supervised by institute members.
- Aerospace minor: In conjunction with the Department of Mechanical Engineering– Engineering Mechanics, the institute will help administer the Aerospace Minor. Specifically, the MARC leadership team will provide curricular guidance and help develop aerospace engineering-related technical electives for the minor.
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.
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