Projects
There are four distinct and interconnected project areas:
- Semiconductors and Characterization
- Copper Reclamation of Electronics Manufacturing
- Water and Wastewater Remediation Modeling
- Life Cycle Analysis
Each thematic element will be supervised by faculty from MTU and supplemented by industry visits and community engagement with KBIC.
- Hands-on exposure to the full range of fabrication processes and sequences required for integrated device production in the microelectronics industry
- Engage in unit processing, evaluation, and characterization.
- Utilize a reference mask set to integrate and test a semicondutor device and various processing and characterization techniques within Michigan Tech’s Materials Characterization Fabrication Facility (MCFF)
- Development, implementation, and analysis of university-scale copper recovery from acidic cupric chloride etchant waste from the printed circuit board manufacturing laboratory
- Students will begin by analyzing the current treatment methods for cupric chloride etchant waste, including neutralization
- Students will analyze the Copper recovery methods: distillation, ion exchange, and hydrometallurgy.
- Understand steps to implement a full-scale system for copper recovery of the cupric chloride e-waste etchant in the printed circuit board manufacturing laboratory at Michigan Tech will be attempted.
- To gain familiarity with wastewater remediation from semiconductor industries.
- Learn about physical chemical remediation methods, including advanced oxidation and membrane processes.
- Students will explore the potential risks, maximum contaminant levels of chemicals in drinking water, and regulatory requirements.
- This knowledge will be supplemented through hands-on experience in the model and design of remediation-engineered treatment processes to reduce environmental impacts.
- Learn to use data collected from industry partners, peer-reviewed publications, government reports, and other sources of information on the unit operations involved in the system in Life Cycle Analysis
- Modeling using SimaPro LCA modeling platform
- Use baseline process model that allows for an evaluation of the per-unit environmental impacts associated with business-as-usual processing methods
- Students evaluate which combinations of direct process modifications or indirect supply chain modifications might have the most potential to improve the environmental metrics of interest
Activities
Activities are focused on highlighting community priorities in sustainability and environmental awareness to encourage engineers to think proactively.
2025 Participants
- Tanitoluwa Adeleye, Industrial Engineering ('27), Purdue University
- Andrew Brenner, Chemical Engineering ('26), Michigan Tech
- Simone Chapman, Biomedical Engineering ('27), Virginia Commonwealth University
- Tori Frighetto, Electrical and Computer Engineering ('27), Michigan Tech
- Maria Mandrelle, Biomedical Engineering ('28), Michigan Tech
-
Rickey James Retelny, Electrical and Computer Engineering ('26), Collins Aerospace
- Piper Smith, Biomedical Engineering ('27), Louisiana Tech University
- Navita Sunil, Biomedical Engineering ('26), UT Arlington