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Department Newsletter Archive

CEE 2009 News
Spring 2009 PDF
(4 Mb)

Spring 2007 (800 kbb PDF)

2006 Department Review PDF Version 1.8 Mb

Fall 2005 (800 kbb PDF)

Research News

 

News Features

Avery Bang of Bridges to Prosperity D80 Center Conference October 2009: Go! Learn? Contribute. The D80 Conference is a celebration of the efforts to solve issues that confront the world's poorest 80%. Avery Bang of Bridges to Prosperity presented "Jobs in Development are Yours for the Taking" and Bridges for Development

Russell Lutch Selected as UTC-MiSTI Student of the Year
The University Transportation Center for Materials in Sustainable Transportation Infrastructure (UTC-MiSTI) has selected CEE student Russell Lutch as its Student of the Year.

Dr. W. Charles Kerfoot Sustainable Futures Institute Annual Banquet and Poster Session for Fall 2009 features Dr. W. Charles Kerfoot speaking about the new $25 million Great Lakes Research Center

Michigan Tech Research Institute Michigan Tech Research Institute (MTRI) Poster Session Fall 2009
MTRI scientists and engineers were at Michigan Tech to discuss current projects, collaborations with Tech departments and areas of research.

Family Engineering Inspires Family Engineering Inspires Students (and Mom and Dad)
Supported by NSF, the program helps families work together to discover what engineering is, how to solve engineering problems and hopefully inspire some youngsters to pursue education and careers in engineering.

The Michigan Tech Distinguished Service Award for 2009 has been awarded to Alex Mayer, Director of SFI’s Center for Water and Society. Alex won for all his efforts related to raising awareness of water-related issues and building research and education efforts related to water resources. Alex shares the honor with Janice Glime (BS) More Details

Green Campus Enterprise Working to Lighten University's Carbon Footprint

ISD MTU Michigan Tech Remains Top Peace Corps School

How Georgia and Alabama Got Their Shapes ...and how Stan Vitton solved the 200-year-old mystery.

 


Martin Auer Young researcher and his mentor team up on lake inquiry
Scientists at Tech are known for their expertise in lake restoration and management, much of it applied to pristine Lake Superior. Now two researchers, an old hand and a budding scholar, are working on a small UP lake that is nearly choked to death.

Explorations in Engineering Explorations in Engineering Described as 'Exciting and Dynamic: High School Students explored the entire spectrum of engineering programs at Michigan Tech

Charles Edwin "Ed" Haltenhoff

Charles Edwin "Ed" Haltenhoff named a 2009 Construction Hall of Fame inductee.


Pasi Lautala Michigan Tech Partners With IBM in Global Rail Innovation Center
When IBM set its sights on becoming an international rail transportation leader, one of the first university partners they turned to was Michigan Technological University. Michigan Tech's Rail Transportation Program is an emerging player educating future leaders for the rail industry. Shown at left, Pasi Lautala, director of Michigan Tech's Rail Transportation Program

  CEE Professors, Graduate Student Win Rudolph Hering Medal
Alex Mayer and David Hand, both professors of civil and environmental engineering, and Karen Endres, a former PhD student, have been named winners of the 2009 Rudolph Hering Medal from the American Society of Civil Engineers. The award is given annually for the best paper on environmental engineering or water resources published in an ASCE journal during the previous year.

Richard E. Honrath Richard E. Honrath
1961-2009
Memorial Page

Battling the Ballast Water Battling the Ballast Water by Marcia Goodrich from Michigan Tech Research Magazine 2009
For David Hand, the line between work and play is as thin as monofilament. This is evident from the trophy lake trout on his office wall and in the passion that charges his voice when he talks about a deadly threat to his beloved Lake Superior fishery.


Plumbing the Great Lake's Secrets Plumbing the Great Lake's Secrets by Jennifer Donovan
Is Lake Superior a source or a sink for carbon dioxide? Noel Urban, associate professor of civil and environmental engineering, wants to know. What about beach erosion and estuary flow, inquires Barkdoll. Can we protect the watershed that feeds the lake containing 10 percent of all the available fresh water in the world? Mayer hopes that answer lies in the new Great Lakes Research Lab.

$25 Million for Great Lakes Research State Authorizes $25 Million for Great Lakes Research Lab at Michigan Tech

From Michigan Tech Research Magazine

Keeping it Clean by John Gagnon
David Watkins says an Upper Michigan deer camp and a small village in Africa have something in common: the need for rudimentary sanitation in the form of an outhouse or latrine

From Michigan Tech Research Magazine 2009


Graduate Research: Making Concrete Greener Graduate Research: Making Concrete Greener by John Gagnon
PhD student Melanie Kueber is part of a team that wants to reduce the use of cement by replacing more of it with coal fly ash. The process would use what was once a discarded material as a useful one that would mitigate stress on the environment. Article from From Michigan Tech Research Magazine 2009

David Connell and  Gil Carmichael 4th Annual Railroad Night
David Connell, Vice President, Engineering, Union Pacific Railroad with Keynote speaker Gil Carmichael, Intermodal Transportation Institute


Prosperity By Design: D80 Conference

Prosperity By Design: D80 Conference
The 2nd Annual D80 Conference was held Saturday November 8, 2008

D80 Website


Ahlborn to Co-chair Scientific Committee Ahlborn to Co-chair Scientific Committee for Structural Concrete Congress

  New Faculty: Paul V. Doskey, Devin K. Harris and Fawen (James) Zheng

  Helping to Make Urine Potable: Michigan Tech Scientists Optimize New Space Station Water Recovery System, made possible in part by researchers at Michigan Tech, can transform ordinary urine into water so pure it rivals the cleanest on Earth.

State of the Lake
Ecology of Lake Superior aboard the EPA Research Vessel Lake Guardian.

 


Michigan Tech wins 8th place

Michigan Tech wins 8th place in 21st Annual ASCE National Concrete Canoe Competition at Montreal, Canada at the Montreal’s Olympic Basin 2008-- More details

More photos


Michigan Tech Ranks #1 in Peace Corps Master's Degree Programs

Michigan Tech Ranks #1 in Peace Corps Master's Degree Programs

http://www.cee.mtu.edu/peacecorps/


Latrines Trounce Toilets

Global Sanitation: Latrines Trounce Toilets
Jim Mihelcic, David Watkins and Laura Fry of the Sustainable Futures Institute is featured in an article in Environmental Science and Technology, "Why Is Global Sanitation So Elusive?" Read about it this link to Environmental Science & Technology

Water- and Nonwater-related Challenges of Achieving Global Sanitation Coverage," was published in volume 42, number 12 of Environmental Science and Technology and is available at Global Sanitation: Latrines Trounce Toilets


David Hand
New Ballast Treatment Could Help Shield Lake Superior from Deadly Fish Disease
David Hand, has developed a new water treatment that could help keep a deadly fish disease out of Lake Superior, has devised a simple way to treat ballast water in vessels ranging from pleasure craft to ore boats.

Martin Auer Tech Teaching Tool Helps Sudan Battle Cholera
An interactive teaching module on water quality and water-borne epidemics developed at Michigan Tech is being used to help educate residents of southern Sudan

Tech Rail Transportation Scholarships Tech Rail Transportation Students Sweep Scholarships
Michigan Tech students won 11 of 23 scholarships awarded this year by the American Railway Engineering and Maintenance-of-Way Association (AREMA)

William Sproule Civil Engineering Professor Sproule Honored
Professor William Sproule of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Michigan Technological University is the 2008 recipient of the Robert Horonjeff Award from the American Society of Civil Engineers.

William M. Bulleit Professor William M. Bulleit has accepted a three-year appointment as chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, effective July 1

Annual Railroad Night Third Annual Railroad Night on Feb. 19, 2008: What are the greatest challenges facing the Rail Industry today?

Michigan Tech Rides the Rails into the Future

Michigan Tech is betting on the future of rail transportation in this country and the world by establishing a Rail Transportation Program (RTP) within the Michigan Tech Transportation Institute (MTTI)

Tech Graduate Student Awarded Second Mondialogo Award

For the second time, Michigan Tech graduate student Helen Muga has received the prestigious Mondialogo Award

More about the Mondialogo Award


Valerie Fuchs Valerie Fuchs is addressing the effectiveness of nature-based, sewage treatment processes—such as engineered wetlands—for use between large-scale, urban treatment plants and small-scale, rural septic systems. Featured in Michigan Tech Research 2008

Tech Presents Atmospheric Observatory A Gift of Science, Tech Presents Atmospheric Observatory to the Azores PDF

 

CE Alum to be Honored at Black Engineer of the Year Awards Conference

Moussa Sissoko, a 2004 civil engineering graduate, has been selected as Modern-Day Technology Leader in the 22nd Annual Black Engineer of the Year Awards.


 

Pavement Enterprise Qualifies for National Civil Engineering Student Competition

The Michigan Tech Pavement Enterprise recently won the Heavy Civil Division at the Associated School of Construction Region III student competition, held in suburban Chicago


C. Robert Baillod

Baillod Elected to Environmental Engineering Board

C. Robert Baillod, professor emeritus and former chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, has been elected to a three-year term on the Board of Trustees of the American Academy of Environmental Engineers (AAEE).


Brian Barkdoll Barkdoll Named ASCE Fellow

Associate Professor Brian Barkdoll (CEE) has been elected a fellow in the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).


Tomasini Professors Civil and Environmental Engineering Names Tomasini Professors
Thanks to a generous donation by a Michigan Tech alumnus, several professors were recently named Donald and Rose Ann Tomasini Professors in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Michigan Tech Transportation Institute The Michigan Tech Transportation Institute (MTTI) hosted a research informational forum

Engineering Development for Humanity

Engineering Development for Humanity: D80 Conference

Photos and Projects from D80 Conference

What is D80?
Many challenges confront our planet's inhabitants, particularly the 80% not typically considered by designers of infrastructure, goods and services. Engineers must play a critical role in elevating the quality of life for all while ensuring future generations can thrive.


  Timothy J. (TJ) Bates has been selected as the University Transportation Center for Materials in Sustainable Transportation Infrastructure (UTC-MiSTI) Student of the Year

A watershed opportunity
Geographers say that people seek out water when they locate; Greg LeFevre, with a fresh BS in environmental engineering, seeks out water for his re-search.

Featured in Michigan Tech Research 2007


Teaching Teachers about the Great Lakes Teaching Teachers about the Great Lakes

Water, Water Everywhere
Storm water, rushing from storm sew-ers to streams, can erode the landscape and scour watersheds; so inventive people have come up with ways to slow the runoff and ease it into waterways . Immersed in this technology is Nancy-Jeanne Bachmann, a master’s student in environmental engineering.

Featured in Michigan Tech Research 2007

Terrorism—trying to pinpoint targets
Doctoral student Matthew Drewek is trying to zero in on a moving target.Drewek is working on a PhD in civil engineering, and his research assesses areas of a community that are vulnerable to a terrorist attack.

Featured in Michigan Tech Research 2007


Michigan Tech, Yale Will Study Great Lakes Water Michigan Tech, Yale Will Study Great Lakes Water
Scientists at Michigan Tech and Yale University have received a grant of nearly $2 million from the National Science Foundation to analyze the quantity, quality and availability of water in the Great Lakes region. The universities will collaborate on the interdisciplinary research over the next five years.

Civil engineering faculty have been cited in both the Detroit Free Press and the Detroit News in connection with the collapse of the I-35W Bridge in Minneapolis. Associate Professor Tess Ahlborn is quoted in this Free Press story , "Are Michigan Bridges Safe?":

Professor Bill Bulleit was interviewed by the News for the article "Michigan Checks Spans for Safety"


Associate Professor Noel Urban (CEE) is cited in an article, "Changing Lake Superior frustrates boaters, mystifies scientists," published by The Detroit News, written by John Flesher of the Associated Press and picked up by several national and Canadian publications.

Urban is measuring carbon dioxide levels of Lake Superior as part of a greater effort to understand the basic functions of the lake. The article raises concerns about the warming of Lake Superior.

Michigan Tech Places Tenth Michigan Tech Places Tenth Overall in National Concrete Canoe Competition



See the Michigan Tech Concrete Canoe Team Website


Amy (Grisdale) Trahey Amy (Grisdale) Trahey owner of Great Lakes Engineering Group, in Lansing, and a 1994 graduate of Michigan Tech, will receive the Outstanding Young Alumni Award at Spring Commencement. Trahey joined the Michigan Department of Transportation after graduating from Michigan Tech with a BS in Civil Engineering and a love of bridges. In 2000, she founded Great Lakes Engineering Group, one of only three engineering firms in the state owned by a woman. The firm specializes in the inspection, design and construction oversight of bridges. In awe of bridges since her youth, Trahey is dedicated to their rehabilitation, preservation and safety. Read more

MTU steel bridge Concrete Canoe, Steel Bridge Competitions: Michigan Tech hosting the American Society of Civil Engineers' 2007 North Central Conference, which features two collegiate design contests: the Steel Bridge Construction Competition and the Concrete Canoe Competition. The events are free and open to the public. Tech Today Story

SFI

  Andrea Muñoz-Hernández, a PhD student in environmental engineering, won first place for her poster, at the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers National Conference, held recently in Denver.

Michigan Tech Students Compete in International Environmental Design Contest Michigan Tech Students Compete in International Environmental Design Contest

  Students for Environmental Sustainability will present the 2007's Earth Week events. Who Killed the Electric Car? documentary Gaviotas: A Village to Reinvent the World, Annie Bond, presents new household cleaners.

Rail_industry Rail Industry's top engineers attend Michigan Tech 2007 Railroad Night:

Videos of Rail Industry Panel Forum "What is greatest challenge facing the rail industry?"


Review
The 2006 Review for the Department of Civil and
Environmental Engineering shows how the past year has been productive for the department, with many exciting developments—which are featured in this report.<

Michigan Tech Civil and Environmental Engineering is an innovative leader in the International Sustainable Engineering, and research in water and wastewater treatment, surface water and air quality, hydraulics, hydrology, water resources, structural analysis, geotechnical engineering, transportation design, and construction engineering.

Download the PDF Version 1.8 Mb


Catherine Leslie, '83 civil engineering, is executive director of Engineers Without Borders USA; she is manager at Tetra Tech Inc. an engineering consulting firm in Longmont, Colorado.


Engineers Without Borders USA

  International Sustainable Development Engineering Research Experiences Program (ISDEREP) funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Developing Global Scientists and Engineers (DGSE) program, brings together Michigan Tech students, Universidad Tecnològica Boliviana students, professors, NGOs, and Bolivian communities to work on sustainable development engineering projects to meet community needs.
See Website


 
New Faculty Members
Veronica Webster Griffis comes to Michigan Tech from Cornell University in Ithaca, N. Y. and Zhanping You comes to Michigan Tech from Texas A&M University -Kingsville. See the Biographies of the new C&EE faculty.

 
CEE Students Take Second at the Associated Schools of Construction Heavy/Civil Bid Competition
A team of six CEE students earned second place in the Associated Schools of Construction Great Lakes Region III Heavy/Civil Bid Competition on Saturday, Oct. 21, in suburban Chicago. The competition requires student teams to develop a proposal for a construction project in 16 hours. S

International Senior Design

IRESD
NSF Grant Supports International Research Experience & Sustainable Development Engineering Education
Qiong Jane Zhang, Kurt Paterson, David Watkins, Brian Barkdoll, Linda Phillips, James Mihelcic, and Lauren Fry have received $144,345 from the NSF’s Office of Office of International Science & Engineering for their proposal “Integration of an International Research Experience in Bolivia with Sustainable Development Engineering Education.”

Hawkinsoin scholarship Master's International Student, Ryan Schweitzer, wins 2006 Hawkinson Foundation Scholarship: (PDF)
Ryan Schweitzer, currently serving in the Dominican Republic, was awarded the 2006 Hawkinson Foundation scholarship in recognition of his peace and justice work with Engineers Without Borders, Peace Corps, and other organizations. Hawkinson Foundation has awarded 54 scholarships since 1988. More about Ryan Schweitzer


Heather Wright
Heather Wright was awarded first place in the 2006 Student Design Competition at the 30th Pan American Conference of Engineers
Environmental engineering graduate student Heather Wright was awarded first place in the 2006 Student Design Competition at the 30th Pan American Conference of Engineers held at Georgia Tech Sept. 19-22 for her international senior design project, "Feasibility Study for Wetland Rehabilitation in Santa Cruz, Bolivia" More Details

EWB MTU
Engineers Without Borders has an active Chapter at Michigan Tech. They recently completed a project in Bolivia and won a national EWB award. Shown at left, members serving pizza at noon in the Dow Atrium.

Find out more at their website: http://ewb.students.mtu.edu




roadway

railway engineering

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