Ed Laitila Receives Youth Awards
Staff engineer and scientist Edward A. Laitila has received the 2009 Youth Programs Award for Engaging Youth in Learning. This award is presented to Youth Programs instructors that have truly engaged students in hands-on discovery-based learning. Ed was also part of the Material Science Team that received the 2009 Youth Programs Award for Most Popular Engineering Session in WIE and EIE. The participants in both programs voted for their favorite engineering session of the 10 they participated in. READ MORE
November 2, 2009

Philanthropy Continues to Benefit Tech
Tech Today, October 9, 2009

Benefits to MSE include support for an expanded and enhanced seminar room in the Minerals and Materials Engineering building, from gifts from John and Virginia Towers, Charles McArthur and several corporations. Towers and McArthur are Michigan Tech alumni.

New Funding
Yu Wang (MSE) has received $126,000 from the US Department of Energy for the first year of a potential three-year, $378,000 project, "Domain Microstructures and Mechanisms for Large, Reversible and Anhysteretic Strain Behaviors in Phase Transforming Ferroelectric Materials."
Tech Today, September 30, 2009

Local Alumnus Makes Good
Tech Today, September 30, 2009

The SmartZone expansion is expected to impact Tech's academic departments such as materials science and engineering, with whom GS Engineering has worked in the past.

Career Fair Is All About Prospects
Tech Today, September 30, 2009

Andrew Heikkinen, a junior in materials science and engineering, was looking for a co-op or an internship. "I’d really like to get something," he said. "I have to learn some more skills." He was buoyed by the Career Services website that said 38 companies were looking for materials engineers. He considers himself a savvy young man who will make a good impression. "I'm a smart kid," he said. "I can talk."

M&M 610 Room Dedication - Seminar Room
September 25, 2009

Summary of renovations:

• Removed walls of 610A (storage), 611 (darkroom), 611A (darkroom)
• Built platform, new paint, wainscot, ceiling tiles, recessed lighting, carpeting, “warm and comfortable look”
• New furniture, acoustic panels, audio visual, paint-on whiteboard (IdeaPaint)

Researchers Receive $1.5 Million to Make Steel, Syngas Using Microwaves
A project spearheaded by a team of materials science and engineering researchers has received $1.5 million from the Michigan Public Service Commission to further develop a new, energy-efficient method for making steel. And, by the way, it also produces syngas. The grant was awarded jointly to Michigan Tech and to U.P. Steel, a start-up company created by Professor Jiann-Yang Hwang and Xiaodi Huang, a project manager and research leader in the Institute of Materials Processing.
Michigan Tech News, September 22, 2009

MTU awarded nearly $4.2 million
Mining Gazette, September 19, 2009

Yun Hang Hu, of materials science and engineering, was awarded $302,650 toward using metal organic frameworks for potentially cost-effective hydrogen storage and bringing the technology of hydrogen-based energy into high school classrooms.

Michigan Tech’s Undergraduate Engineering Ranking Rises (MSE)
Michigan Tech News, August 20, 2009

Materials Science and Engineering ranked 17 in the Top 20 Lists of Specialty Engineering Programs for 2010, according to US News & World Report's annual publication titled America's Best Colleges.

New Faculty
In its second Strategic Faculty Hiring Initiative (SFHI), Michigan Tech has hired seven new faculty members to conduct research in computational discovery and innovation, including Yu Wang, Virginia Tech, materials science and engineering: Yu Wang's research focuses on modeling and simulation of phase transformation in ferroic or magnetizable materials, nanoparticle self-assembly, nanodomain diffracting phenomena and multifunctional composites.
Tech Today, August 18, 2009

New Funding
Yun Hang Hu has received $302,650 from NSF for a three-year project, "Catalytic Activation, Spillover and Storage of Hydrogen on Transition-Metal/MOFs."
Tech Today, August 14, 2009

Michigan Tech Reveals 2009 Sports Hall of Fame Class
Tech Today, July 31, 2009

Michigan Tech will enshrine seven new members in its Sports Hall of Fame during induction ceremonies scheduled for Saturday, Nov. 7. Among the inductees will be alumn John Opie, who received a BS in Metallurgical and Materials Engineering in 1961. He is the retired vice chairman of the board and executive officer of General Electric. He was also president and chief executive officer of GE Lighting.

Opie has been an extremely generous supporter of Michigan Tech athletics, as well as endowing Materials Science and Engineering and contributing to the library.

John and Ruanne Opie Library

Opie Gives $250,000 to Hockey Campaign

GE Executive Will Speak at MTU's Commencement

GE Exec Gives Major Gift to Michigan Tech

Read More About John Opie

New Funding
Yun Hang Hu has received $302,650 from NSF for a three-year project, "Promoting Effects of Anions on Hydrogen Storage Reactions of Li-N-Based Materials."
Tech Today, July 30, 2009

GLIAC Honors 28 Tech Athletes
Tech Today, June 26, 2009

The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference announced the 2009 all-academic teams for the spring season, and they included 28 Michigan Tech athletes. Aaron Cedergren, senior, materials science and engineering, is listed in Men's Track and Field.

President of India Honors Tech Alumnus
Tech Today, May 29, 2009

Bhakta Rath, head of the Materials Science and Component Technology Directorate at the Naval Research Laboratory in Monterey, Calif., has received the prestigious Padma Bhushan Award of Honors and Excellence from the president of India. The award recognizes highly distinguished service in the sciences, arts and public service.

Rath earned his Master of Science in Metallurgy from Michigan Tech in 1958 and received an honorary doctorate in engineering when he spoke at Tech's December 2007 Commencement. In 2008, he was elected to the National Academy of Engineering.

Dr. Bhakta Rath Receives Honors of the Padma Bhushan Award
NRL Press Release, February 19, 2009

Dr. Bhakta Rath honored by President of India
EurekAlert! May 26, 2009

Drelich and SME
Associate Professor Jarek Drelich has been nominated to serve a one-year term as Chair of the Remediation & Secondary Processing Committee on behalf of the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration (SME). He has also been nominated to serve a three-year term as a member of the Gaudin Award Committee, effective at the 2010 SME Annual Meeting in Phoenix, Arizona.
May 28, 2009

Research Excellence Fund Award
Mark Plichta (MSE) has received an Infrastructure Enhancement award of $50,000 for "Acquisition of a Nanorobotic System for the Manipulation of Nano- and Micro-Scale Materials in Scanning Electron Microscope."
Tech Today, May 1, 2009

2010 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
Professors Drelich and Hwang will organize the 1st International Symposium on High-Temperature Metallurgical Processing that will be part of the 2010 TMS Meeting in Seattle. The Symposium will promote physical and chemical transformations that enable valuable metals recovery and/or the production of pure metals, intermediate compounds, alloys (including steel), or ceramics. Symposium participants will focus on innovative high-temperature technologies including non-traditional heating methods and environmental aspects such as offgas handling and by-product processing. The symposium will also address the need for sustainable technologies that reduce energy consumption and pollutant emissions.
April 25, 2009

New Funding
Mark Plichta (MSE) has received $437,820 from UP Steel for a multiple-year project, "Process Optimization of Energy Efficient Steel Production."
Tech Today, April 24, 2009

Three Michigan Tech Graduate Engineering Programs Ranked in Top 50 (MSE)
Tech Today, April 24, 2009

Three Projects Take Home Undergrad Expo First Prize
Tech Today, April 24, 2009

MSE Senior Design Projects Get First Place and Honorable Mention
Expo News, April 23, 2009
MSE Senior Design Projects 2008-09

Tech Students Will Participate in Graduate Education Day (Matt Swanson)
Tech Today, April 21, 2009

Michigan Tech Skiers Honored for Academics
Tech Today, April 2, 2009

MSE major Britta Lundberg is among the 14 Michigan Tech skiers named to the 2009 National Ski Coaches Association National All-Academic Ski Team.

Drelich Invited to Give Keynote
Associate Professor Jarek Drelich has been invited to give the keynote lecture at the 14th International Conference on Surface Forces. The conference will take place in summer of 2010 in Russia on a boat cruise out of Moscow.

The conference will cover a broad range of colloid and surface science from physics to chemistry and engineering with the emphasis on the fundamentals of surface forces. Dr. Drelich's lecture is tentatively entitled "Charge Heterogeneity of Surfaces: Mapping and Effects on Surface Forces".
March 11, 2009

Ken Brooks Awarded Scholarship

MSE major Kenneth Brooks has been awarded the Second Annual EGI Metallurgy Scholarship in the amount of $25,000 from the Ellwood Group Inc. (EGI). The scholarship is awarded based on academic performance, talent, and dedication to the metallurgy field as well as the recipient's interest in the steel industry. The award also includes a 2009 Summer Internship with the Ellwood Group. Photos by Emil Groth. December 18, 2008

MSE Student Wins Ellwood Group Scholarship
Tech Today, January 14, 2009

MTU student wins $25K scholarship
Mining Gazette, January 31, 2009

Drelich Reappointed
Associate Professor Jarek Drelich has been reappointed as member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Adhesion Science and Technology. Drelich has been a board member since 1999.

The international journal provides a forum for "theoretical and basic aspects of adhesion science and its applications in all areas of technology". It is published by Brill, one of the oldest scholarly publishers in the world.

Owen Mills Receives the Michigan Tech - Innovative Solutions Award
Tech Today, November 26, 2008

Owen Mills was one of the staff receiving "Staff Making a Difference" Awards for 2008. The award ceremony will be held on December 1. Mills was nominated by MSE Chair Mark Plichta for his work in the Applied Chemical and Morphological Analysis Laboratory (ACMAL). In particular, Mills developed a web-based booking system to schedule time in the lab and an eTraining program for educating lab facility users in scanning electron microscopy. Owen is a Senior Research Engineer and Scientist II, ACMAL Electron Optics Engineer, and Director of the Materials Characterization and Fabrication Facilities.

New Faculty: Stephen L. Kampe
Tech Today, November 22, 2008

Stephen L. Kampe joins the faculty of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering as a professor. He comes from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Jong Lee Recognized for 35 Years of Service to Michigan Tech
Tech Today, June 11, 2008

Faculty and staff were recognized for their service in an awards dinner held on May 21, 2008. Dr. Lee is Professor Emeritus of Materials Science and Engineering.

Tech Students Awarded NSF Graduate Research Fellowships
Two Michigan Tech students have been awarded $40,500 each in research funding through the National Science Foundation's Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP). One student, Alexandra Zevalkink, plans to use the funds to attend graduate school at Michigan Tech. Zevalkink is an undergraduate in materials science and engineering. READ MORE
Tech Today, April 7, 2008

Four Michigan Tech Graduate Engineering Programs Rank in Top 50
U.S.News & World Report's "America's Best Graduate Schools 2009" has ranked four Michigan Tech graduate programs among the best in the country. The programs include Materials Science and Engineering (41th)...
Michigan Tech News, March 28, 2008

Tech makes national engineering rankings
Daily Mining Gazette, April 1, 2008

Department Chair Mark Plichta responds to the ranking...
Great Lakes IT Report, WWJ Newsradio 950, April 1, 2008

Tech programs in Top 50
US News and World Report publishes the rankings.
WLUC TV6, March 31, 2008

Krishna Poster Takes First Place
MSE graduate student Lakshmi Krishna's research poster took First Place in the Graduate Student Council (GSC) Poster Session held on March 25-26, 2008. The poster was entitled "PMN-PT epitaxy on R-plane sapphire substrates". Krishna's research advisor is Dr. Moran. Also presenting a poster from MSE was Alex Zevalkink, "Mechanical Alloying of PbTe based Thermoelectric Materials". Lakshmi also presented during the GSC Research Colloquium, as well as Dan Seguin, "Demonstration of epitaxial Fe0.8Ga0.2 films on single-crystal Pb[Mg1/3Nb2/3]0.69[PbTiO3]0.31 substrates".

X-Ray Paper Selected for Dedicated Issue
A manuscript submitted by staff engineer and scientist Edward A. Laitila is not only to be published in the Denver X-Ray Conference proceedings, but has also been selected as one of the papers to which an issue of Powder Diffraction will be dedicated. The paper "Employing X-Ray Scattering to Characterize Materials with Grain Sizes in the Nano-Regime" will be published in the June 2008 issue of Powder Diffraction.

Alumnus Elected to National Academy of Engineering
Tech Today, March 3, 2008

Bhakta Rath, who earned a BS in Metallurgy from Michigan Tech in 1958, has been named to the National Academy of Engineering. Election to the academy honors those who have made outstanding contributions to engineering research, practice and education, and for pioneering new or developing fields of technology. READ MORE

“Bhakta B. Rath, head of Materials Science and Component Technology Directorate and associate director of research, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C. For leadership in advancing materials research and technology to support national security.”

MTU commencement held
Daily Mining Gazette, December 17, 2007

"Commencement speaker Bhakta Rath [see below], a native of India and MTU class of 1958 graduate in metallurgy, told graduates to remain focused on their dreams, no matter how outlandish they may be." READ THE SPEECH

MTU Alumni Spotlight: Bob Carnahan
Michigan Tech Lode, December 12, 2007

Robert “Bob” Carnahan is a1953 graduate of the metallurgy program at Michigan Tech.
MSE Alumni Profiles | Alumni Photos

Michigan Tech to Honor Three Alumni at Midyear Commencement
Michigan Tech News, December 6, 2007

Bhakta B. Rath, a 1958 graduate of Michigan Tech, will deliver the commencement address at Midyear Commencement Friday, Dec. 15. Dr. Rath has received a number of honors and awards, including Presidential Rank of Meritorious Executive Award (1999), the Distinguished Award for outstanding contributions to basic and applied research in materials science (1996), and many more.
MSE Alumni News

Ruth Kramer Receives the MTU Creating Connections Award
Tech Today, December 7, 2007

Ruth Kramer was one of the staff receiving "Staff Making a Difference" Awards for 2007. The award ceremony will be held on December 12. Ruth was nominated for this award for establishing strong connections with several academy and advisory board members, promoting the department and Michigan Tech, leading recruitment efforts, advising undergraduates, creating the alumni newsletter, and organizing field trips for local high schools.

New Faculty: Yun Hang Hu
Tech Today, October 20, 2007

Yun Hang Hu joins us as an assistant professor. He comes to Michigan Tech from the State University of New York at Buffalo. His past research experience includes nanomaterials, hydrogen storage materials, computational nanosciences, catalyst materials for on-board gasoline reforming to hydrogen for fuel-cell vehicles and advanced materials for on-board sulfur removal for fuel-cell vehicles.

Levy Receives Michigan Tech Research Award
Tech Today, June 26, 2007

Miguel Levy, who investigates that most ephemeral of substances, light, is the winner of Michigan Tech’s 2007 Research Award.
MTU Research Award | Levy Website