This year, mechanical and aerospace engineering faculty have been recognized on campus and across their various fields and disciplines for their academic contributions. From award-winning research and funding to honors in teaching, MAE faculty are bringing in the gold.
Ezra Bar-Ziv is collaborating with the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Braskem America through the REMADE Institute, funded by a US Department of Energy public-private partnership. With $600,000 in support, this project aims to extract pure polypropylene (PP) from multilayer plastic packaging waste. Bar-Ziv is leading the pilot-scale application of the solvent targeted recycling and precipitation (STRAP) technology.
Jason R. Blough was elected to serve as the president of the Society for Experimental Mechanics (SEM) for a one-year term, which concludes in June 2025.
Ana Dyreson contributed to a new report published by the Energy Systems Integration Group (ESIG) titled “Weather Dataset Needs for Planning and Analyzing Modern Power Systems: A Report of the Energy Systems Integration Group’s Weather Datasets Project Team.” This report assesses the gaps in weather data used for power system planning and outlines an approach to designing the ideal input datasets.
Susanta Ghosh received a Research Achievement Award from the Institute of Computing and Cybersystems at Michigan Tech. This award recognizes institute members who exemplify its mission through their research, collaborations, and contributions. Ghosh was recognized for his pioneering research in computational mechanics and machine learning.
Jaclyn E. Johnson was selected for the Deans’ Teaching Showcase and is a candidate for Michigan Tech’s Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning Instructional Award Series. This is a well-deserved recognition of her dedication to student success. Johnson serves as advisor for the Engineering Ambassadors at Michigan Tech, impacting K-12 outreach and professional development. Her leadership fosters collaboration and communication skills and inspires future engineers.
L. Brad King and Jason Sommerville ’09 PhD ME-EM of Houghton’s Orbion Space Technology were recognized on Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Companies 2024” list. Orbion specializes in small plasma thrusters that aid satellite maneuvering and safe reentry into Earth’s atmosphere at the end of their life cycle.
Sriram Malladi received the 2023 Best Paper Award at the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Conference on Smart Materials, Adaptive Structures, and Intelligent Systems (SMASIS).
Vinh Nguyen was selected by Michigan Tech’s Institute of Computing and Cybersystems and Great Lakes Research Center to receive a Rapid Seedling Award as part of an internal initiative to sponsor scalable research efforts within the institute.
Gregory Odegard, professor and John O. Hallquist Endowed Chair in Computational Mechanics, was named a 2024 University Professor by the Office of the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at Michigan Tech. Odegard is recognized for his outstanding contributions to aerospace and computational multiscale mechanics modeling and materials science. His accolades include the NASA Outstanding Public Leadership Medal and American Society of Mechanical Engineers Fellowship. Odegard has mentored numerous PhD and MS students, secured nearly $43 million in research funding, and published 126 refereed journal papers.
Odegard is set to lead a groundbreaking $5 million research project backed by the Air Force Research Laboratory, aiming to develop advanced composite materials for hypersonic aerospace vehicles in collaboration with Florida State University, Columbia University, and Penn State. The project will focus on improving manufacturability and thermo-mechanical performance through multiscale computational modeling.
Odegard was an invited speaker at the Global Composites Expert Zoom Webinar Series hosted by Purdue University. He discussed US-COMP, a project focused on developing new composite materials for deep space missions. The project aims to design, fabricate, and test composite panels that meet NASA’s requirements and train students for advanced composite materials workforce.
Radheshyam Tewari was a recipient of Michigan Tech’s Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning Instructional Award for Curriculum Development and Assessment.
Bhisham Sharma was selected as a recipient of a Spring 2024 Research Excellence Fund Award by Michigan Tech’s Vice President for Research Office.
Sharma was a plenary speaker at the 2024 NOISE-CON in New Orleans, Louisiana, in June. He spoke about “Enabling Multifunctionality Acoustical Materials Through Additive Manufacturing,” discussing current additive methods and providing an overview of recent work on developing novel structures for multifunctional acoustical applications. His presentation included topics such as acoustic liners for aircraft noise reduction, thin hair-like fibers replicating feathers, airtight inflatable structures, and ceramic structures for engineering applications.
Paul J. van Susante secured a $5,000 Hands-On NASA-Oriented Experiences for Student Groups grant from the Michigan Space Grant Consortium, sponsored by NASA. The grant supports his proposal, Jaclyn E. Johnson Paul van Susante Ezra Bar-Ziv “NASA Lunabotics Competition,” aiding curriculum enhancement and faculty development.
Van Susante has been appointed to the prestigious Lou and Herbert Wacker Professorship in Mechanical Engineering. This endowed position honors individuals who excel in their field, inspire students to explore beyond the curriculum, and seamlessly integrate research into the classroom.
Chad M. Walber was selected as the Mechanical Engineering Teacher of the Year for the 2023-24 academic year. The award is selected solely by Michigan Tech’s ME undergraduate students and conducted by the Mechanical Engineering Student Advisory Committee.
Michigan Technological University is a public research university founded in 1885 in Houghton, Michigan, and is home to nearly 7,500 students from more than 60 countries around the world. Consistently ranked among the best universities in the country for return on investment, Michigan’s flagship technological university offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, computing, forestry, business, health professions, humanities, mathematics, social sciences, and the arts. The rural campus is situated just miles from Lake Superior in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, offering year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure.
