IE senior wins “shiniest” bent award in Tau Beta Pi competition

Pam Apotheker, a senior IE major, won $50 last month for polishing a Tau Beta Pi (TBP) “bent,” a small replica of the honor society’s symbol.

The task was part of her initiation into the Michigan Kappa Chapter of TBP, the national engineering honor society that was founded in 1885 and that now boasts more than 477,000 members.

During Fall 2005 semester, Apotheker and two other IE seniors – Kayla Goostrey and Elizabeth “Libby” Evans – joined 27 other engineering students as new “Tau Bates.” The trio were also welcomed into the honor society by IE seniors Erin Brown, from Fenton, and Michael Hoonhorst, from Wyoming.

Parkview Campus display of Pam Apotheker’s bent as “the shiniest,
smoothest [Tau Beta Pi] key”

All three IE initiates came to WMU as undecided engineering majors. Kalamazoo native Apotheker wanted a career that would enable her to use her math skills. “I didn’t  want to teach, and I knew I wanted to be an engineer, she said. Her choice of IE as her major was based on a recommendation of an older brother. “There’s so much you can do with industrial engineering,” she said. “I like IE a lot because it’s people related.”

Although she is seeking a career in the service area, Apotheker had a summer internship last year at Cook Nuclear Power Co. “It wasn’t exactly industrial engineering, but it was fun,” she said.

Goostrey, from Gobles, tried several majors before coming into the industrial engineering program. When she graduates in April, she plans to join Innotec, in Zeeland, where she had a summer internship.

Evans joined the IE program as a junior. She was inspired by IME professor Dr. Azim Houshyar. When she graduates in April, the Centerville native plans to continue her education at either grad school or law school. She had an internship at Bradford White Corp. in Middleville.

Posing next to the Tau Beta Pi symbol at the entrance of the Parkview Campus are (left to right standing) IME professor Dr. Bob White, IME department representative on the Tau Beta Pi board, IE honors students Mike Hoonhorst, Elizabeth “Libby” Evans, and Kayla Goostrey, and MAE professor Dr. Phil Guichelaar, advisor to the Tau Bates. Left to right, seated, are Pam Apotheker and Erin Brown

According to Dr. Phil Guichelaar, MAE professor and TBP adviser since August, Western’s chapter is about 15 years old. He acknowledged IME emeriti professor Dr. Frank Wolf and ECE Chair Dr. John Gesink as key people who “had a lot to do with making TBP happen and making it successful.”

The honor society, which usually has about 40 members, has planned two community service projects for next semester. In January TBP will set up Martin Luther King projects at the Bernhard Center for Kalamazoo Public School students.

In March, TBP members will be paired with Comstock High School students for career shadowing day. The college engineering students will showcase engineering projects and labs.

TBP membership is limited to engineering students who are in the top 1/5 of the senior class and the top 1/8 of the junior class, and membership is by invitation only.

Three honored in IME 1420 Engineering Graphics / CADKey Competition

Winners of the Engineering Graphics/CADKey Competition, offered to students enrolled in IME 1420 Engineering Graphics classes during Spring 2005, were announced last week in a lecture class led by IME professor Slobodan Urdarevik, who organizes the competitions.

The first-place winner is Justin Hobart, a sophomore in electrical engineering who has already completed an internship with an automotive plant in Oscoda, his hometown, and whose background includes two high school CAD classes. His goal is to put his CAD skills to work in his future career. He described the three-hour competition as “fun.”

Izuan Hazarul, a junior in mechanical engineering who transferred to WMU from Malaysia, earned second-place honors. His career goal is a position in vehicle dynamics in the automotive industry. The Spring IME 1420 has been his only CAD class, so his winning was a surprise. “It was my first experience with computer drawing, so I really didn’t know if I was good enough” he said.

Third place went to Josh Gress, a sophomore majoring in industrial technology and secondary education who plans to be a high school teacher. His experience included four years of CAD classes at Byron Center High School before coming to WMU.

Standing in front of the winning entry of the Engineering Graphics/CADKey Competition are the winners: (left to right) Josh Gress, 3^rd, Justin Hobart, 1^st, and Izuan Hazarul, 2^nd 

IME Chair Dr. Paul Engelmann congratulated the winners and encouraged students in the audience – all members of the Fall 2005 IME 1420 class – to take part in this semester’s competition.

“These guys have done a great job, and maybe the next winner is right here in this room. All of you are headed into disciplines that will require you to use graphics in your careers,” Engelmann said. “This competition allows us to give students recognition for going above and beyond, and it gives those who win a leg up on the competition when they talk to recruiters who want to know what they have done beyond the classroom.”

For the three-hour competition, students were given “a very complicated drawing,” Urdarevik said. “The requirements were to create a 3-D solid model of the part shown on the drawing and to create a layout with the number of views necessary to manufacture the part plus an isometric view with symbols.”

All three winners received engraved plaques acknowledging their accomplishments. The first-place winner also received a $100 certificate. Prizes for the competition were provided by Kubotek (formerly known as CADKey), CIM Solutions, and the IME Department.

Urdarevik plans a similar competition on Saturday, Dec. 10, for the 330 students presently enrolled in IME 1420. Students competing in the Fall 2005 Engineering Graphics Competition will be using AutoCAD, which was introduced this semester.

Urdarevik joined the IME faculty three years ago after teaching eight years at Humber College in Toronto. He earned his master’s degree in mechanical engineering at the University of Skopje in Macedonia.

IME seniors to present design projects at college-wide conference

In the IME department 25 seniors are busy wrapping up seven projects for presentation at the 37^th Conference on Senior Engineering Design Projects, Tuesday, November 29, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Six College of Engineering and Applied Sciences departments will present 35 projects at the Parkview Campus. The event is free and open to the public.

The IME projects will be presented in Room D-208 from 10 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 2:30 p.m.

Chairing the IME session is Dr. Betsy Aller, coordi-nator and instructor of the IME multi-disciplinary senior proposal and senior project classes.

Bronson Methodist Hospital is sponsoring a project to increase the amount of time that nurses spend delivering direct patient care. To improve nurse efficiency, the team of Jeff Hills, Josh Maes, Corey Semrow, and Carl Utess evaluated current supply processes and studied innovative supply systems based on time and motion studies.

A project to improve the production system for Stryker Medical’s Stair Chair Pro involves Abdullah Al-Abbas, Maria Candela, Deanna Cunningham, and Daniel Grupp, who used work measurement techniques, statistics, and simulation models to evaluate the current production model and propose a re-design to improve the system.

To find a safe and efficient process for moving a bulkhead (pool divider) in WMU’s natatorium, Megan Lamont, Alejandro Rodriguez (in photo), and Justin Vriezema considered safety, time, and cost in their analysis of the existing system and resulting recommendations.

Using virtual reality simulation, Advisor Pavel Ikonomov and seniors Brad Armstrong and Dana Gronau examine the control unit for a robot they used in a senior project that explores interaction between a virtual robot and a virtual human. The robot is programmed with intelligence to determine what humans are doing. “If a human gets in the way of the robot, the robot sensors go off, and the robot backs away and finds another path to keep working without harming the human,” Armstrong said.

Jeff Leppert, Craig Nelson, Michael Perry, Jason Phillips, and Warren White present the results of their investigation of options to meet international electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) requirements that multiple electrical or electronic systems function in the same environment without interfering with each other, for sponsor Kohler Company.

Adam Ritchie, Luka Bacal, Matt Getty, and Ryan Severns will present a ventilation ducting hole cutter in a project sponsored by EZ Concepts and for the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) industry.

Clint Barnard, Mark Gajsiewicz, and Roger Anthony produced guidelines for using reverse engineering for complex parts.

Advisors for this semester’s projects include Larry Mallak, Steven Butt, Tycho Fredericks, James VanDePolder, Mitchel Keil, Pavel Ikonomov, David Lyth, and Jorge Rodriguez.

UEM student earns Integrated Supply Matrix Management Scholarship

Quentin Witkowski, a senior in the engineering management (UEM) program, was awarded a $2000 scholarship last month for maintaining high academic standards and for having a minor in the Integrated Supply Matrix Management (ISM) program.

The scholarship, designated for ISM minors, was funded by Kellogg’s.

IME Professor Dr. David Lyth, who is the engineering representative in the ISM program, said that Kellogg’s is one of several companies that are actively involved on the advisory board of the Integrated Supply Matrix Management program. “There is a significant group of advisory board companies that support the program,” he said

Witkowski, 21, did not have to apply for the scholarship. “The award is based on academic performance, so no application was required,” Lyth said. “He [Witkowski] is an outstanding student.”

Lyth, who recommended Witkowski for the scholarship, surprised the senior with news that he had won the scholarship in an IME 4120 Industrial Systems Management class taught by Dr. Larry Mallak. “You have been awarded a scholarship, even though all you get today is a handshake,” Lyth said.

The formal award came in a ceremony at WMU’s business college on the first Friday in October.

Developed in 1989, Integrated Supply Matrix Management combines business with engineering; it leads toward a supply management career. “It’s a joint venture between the business and engineering colleges,” Lyth said. “Business students can take it as a major, and engineering students can take it as a minor.”

The ISM focus is on understanding what the supply chain is, from marketing to purchasing to production to logistics.

 

IME Professor Dr. David Lyth (left) with scholarship winner Quentin Witkowski, 21, a UEM senior with an ISM minor.

Engineering and technology minors take a 15-hour set of courses while business majors take that same sequence plus others, including those supporting infrastructure, like engineering graphics, manufacturing engineering, and manufacturing processes and materials. “They understand the processes involved in a supply chain,” Lyth said. “The program is directed by representatives of marketing, management, and engineering.”

Witkowski, who came to WMU from Battle Creek and who plans to graduate in December 2006, said that having an ISM minor enhances his engineering management technology degree. “It broadens your appeal to employers,” he said.

Because of his interest in integrated supply management, Witkowski is presently working with others to start a student chapter of the American Society of Engineering Management (ASEM). The first meeting was held this fall. “We’ve filed all the paperwork,” he said.

ASEM is a professional organization, founded in 1979 and “dedicated to the science and art of engineering management,” according to its website.

Engineering Opportunity Day…

For last month’s Engineering Opportunity Day (EOD) career fair, 45 employers – in-state, out-of-state, business, industrial, governmental, military, and collegiate – provided WMU’s engineering students with a daylong opportunity to handout resumes and to interview for and learn about jobs, internships, and co-ops.

A representative from Parker Hannifin, which co-sponsored EOD, talks to a WMU engineering student.

“Preliminary indications are that this was one of our most successful career fairs,” said IME’s Larry Williams, the director of cooperative education for the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences (CEAS). He has been involved with EOD since it was initiated 10 years ago.

 

A student shares a resume with a representative of Dana Corp., which co-sponsored EOD.

According to EOD event coordinator Tracey Moon, an assistant director for Career and Student Employment Services (CSES) and the career advisor for the CEAS and the College of Aviation, the event is jointly organized by CSES and CEAS. “It’s a nice partnership,” she said. “We divvy up the work.”

Corporate sponsors Dana Corp. and Parker Hannifin provided funds for the tabloids and posters and the breakfast, lunch, and snacks.

EOD event coordinator Tracey Moon (left), an assistant director for Career and Student Employment Services and the CEAS career advisor, and CEAS Dean Tim Greene welcome Humphrey Products’ representatives.

Dana also offered a workshop for students prior to the EOD event on how to make the most of a career fair. “They not only contributed funds, but they also donated their time,” said Moon.

To prepare students for EOD, Moon offered pre-EOD workshops in classrooms and at student organization meetings. “Students learned how to prepare their resumes and how to make the most of a career fair,” she said. Jobseekers were told to dress appropriately and bring copies of their resumes for prospective employers.

On the day after EOD, several employers interviewed a steady stream of applicants throughout the day. Sandra Blanchard, director of academic advising, was credited for arranging space for the interviews. “We had a full house,” Moon said.

Moon thanked CSES and CEAS staff members for their efforts, and she especially praised Grisel Puertos, a graduate assistant, for handling the paper work, invitations, and confirmations. “She was my right hand,” Moon said.

Trolley project plays key role in couple’s relationship and wedding

Because the trolley replica in front of WMU’s Bernhard Center played a major role in their courtship, Corey Hendricks and Amy Levering used it as part of their wedding earlier this month.

They would have held the wedding in front of the trolley, but lack of room for chairs on the site required the couple to wed across the street at the Oaklands.

Corey, a process engineer at Select Millwork and an alum of IME’s manufacturing technology (MFT) program, was part of a four-man senior design team that created the full-size, historically accurate replica of the landmark Western Trolley. The project had special significance because it was a highlight of WMU’s 2003 centennial celebration.

“The Reincarnation of the Prospect Hill Trolley” project illustrated a genuine reverse engineering of the trolley’s original design, materials, and construction features in order to ensure authenticity.

With neither blueprints nor records of the original trolley, Corey and teammates Brian VanderPloeg, Aron Murphy, and Jeff Clausen used an original bench from one of the cars, archival photographs, alumni recollections, and information about an existing incline trolley out West to create the replica.

For over six months, the students sometimes spent up to 80 hours a week superimposing photo enlargements of the trolley on computer-aided design programs to determine dimensions and details. According to Corey, Amy, a senior in business management, was there to help for the entire project.

With the Western Trolley replica as a backdrop, IME’s James VanDePolder (left) and Fred Sitkins (right), advisors on the senior design project that created the trolley for the 2003 WMU Centennial, celebrated the wedding of Amy Levering, a senior in the business management program, and Corey Hendricks, a 2003 IME manufacturing technology alumnus who was part of the four-man team that created the trolley replica that was placed in front of the Bernhard Center.

Among those attending the wedding were IME professors Fred Sitkins and Jim VanDePolder, two advisors on the trolley project, which was presented at the 32^nd Conference on Senior Engineering Design Projects in April 2003. The other project advisors were IME professors Tom Swartz and Betsy Aller and IME emeriti professor John Lindbeck.

From 1908 to 1948, trolley cars transported students up and down Prospect Hill on the East Campus. Before being dismantled in 1949, the Western Trolley had carried as many as 2,000 passengers a day. It was the only incline railway ever built and licensed in Michigan.

Engineering students wash cars to help Katrina cleanup

WMU engineering students washed cars for 12 hours last Monday for the American Red Cross’s relief effort in the areas stricken by Hurricane Katrina.

Most of the societies and organizations affiliated with the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences worked in teams of 15 to 20 in front of the Parkview Campus engineering building. Students from other academic programs also joined the effort.

Many students from several classes also participated in the car wash. IME Professor Dr. Betsy Aller said that her IME 4920 Multidisciplinary Senior Project students went out to the car wash site en masse following their class.

According to Dan Higgs, president of ASME, which assumed responsibility for counting the money, the event collected $7,559.41.

 

IME’s Dr. David Lyth challenged students and other professors to hit the target that dunked him into the water.

The students also sold coffee and doughnuts. Everyone was also offered an opportunity to “Dunk the Dean” or one of several professors.

 

IME Professor Dr. David Lyth estimated that students and professors had dunked him at least a dozen times in water that he said “looked like it might have been imported from the hurricane floodwaters.”

Greene praised the students for organizing the car-washing effort in less than a week. Six days before the event, representatives of at least 22 different engineering societies brainstormed and divvied up responsibilities for various aspects of the project. “This was a great example of team work and leadership,” he said.

As her car was being washed, WMU President Judith Bailey praised the students for their efforts in the 91-degree heat.

Several area businesses and organizations supported the event. Goggin Rental provided the dunk tank, which was filled with water by Kalamazoo Public Safety Fire Station 7.

Wal-Mart supplied car-washing supplies. Sweetwater’s Donut Mill donated ten dozen doughnuts and discounted even more. Qdoba Mexican Grill will donate $1.50 to the American Red Cross for every redeemed meal coupon handed out at the car wash.

CEAS provided all car-washing equipment, and Greene expressed appreciation for the efforts of the WMU grounds people who came to Parkview before 7 a.m. to set up hoses. “Besides helping us get things ready, they were also the first people to get their cars washed,” he said.

IME’s hydraulic bike competes in Parker Chainless Challenge

Last spring the hydraulic bike was a creative design of one of IME’s senior capstone projects; this month a model created from that project competed in the Parker Chainless Challenge, a two-day event sponsored by Parker Hydraulics Group World Wide and held in Cleveland, Ohio, where the company is headquartered.

Michael Desgardins, a manufacturing technology major from Port Huron who graduates in December, and Elsamawal Mohamed, a graduate student in the manufacturing program, guided the bike to a fifth place finish.

For their senior project, Desjardins and now alumni Jacob Bacon (MFT), Gregory Kobrzycki (MFT), and Anthony Lipke (EGR) designed a hydraulic bike that transfers energy to the driving wheel through a hydraulic media and stores energy for uphill motion. They tested the hydraulic circuit in the lab and performed finite element analysis on a recumbent frame to ensure its structural integrity.

Mike Desjardins operates the hydraulic bicycle model that he and three others designed as a senior capstone project and presented in April.

When the other three members of the team graduated and Desjardins became involved with his final classes, Mohamed joined the team to update the design and fabricate the system. He spent two months building the hydraulic bike model. The task was challenging. “Everything was hard,” he said.

Mohamed credited IME lab coordinator Glenn Hall for providing the machining expertise and effort required to create the parts needed for the bike.

Graduate student Elsamawal Mohamed (left) shows off the hydraulic bicycle model that was built by the team. The bike design was developed by a Spring 2005 senior design team advised by Dr. Alamgir Choudhury (center) and sponsored by Parker Hannifin Corp. Michael Desjardins (right), a member of the bike’s four-man design team, rode the bike in the competition.

Last year Parker funded hydraulic bike designs at 10 colleges; at WMU, Parker also provided the lab that IME Professor Alamgir Choudhury, the advisor for the bike project, and MAE Professor Dr. James Kamman use for work in hydraulics and pneumatics.

Nine of the colleges participated in the challenge. Parker is currently seeking input to improve next year’s event. To prepare for it, Choudhury is planning to organize two senior design projects. One would work to improve the design of the current bike and the other would focus on designing an upright hydraulic bike using a standard bicycle frame.

To improve WMU’s odds of winning the next competition, Choudhury would like to involve sophomores and juniors in the project.

“The schools that did very well – like the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign [which earned first place] – were successful because all levels of students were involved in the project,” he said. “Sophomores and juniors learn about the project and take over when the seniors graduate.”

Summer institute ’05 workshop offers metal casting exposure

Future foundry professionals gathered earlier this summer at the Summer Institute in Metal Casting 2005, held at the Parkview Campus at Western Michigan University’s College of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

Dr. Sam Ramrattan (seated, right) directed the Summer Institute in Metal Casting, a five-day event that attracted high school students from the Midwest to WMU’s CEAS Parkview Campus

IME’s Dr. Sam Ramrattan led 13 high school students through a five-day program designed to help the students learn about the application of math and science in the metal casting profession.

WMU senior Scott Seckel (right), WMU-FEF scholar, and Dr. Sam Ramrattan demonstrate pouring aluminum into sand molds as high school students watch from behind protective barriers

The students learned about molding, melting, and filling, as well as metal properties and the use of computer simulation in the metal casting process. In the lab, they worked with Ramrattan and WMU students on a variety of metal casting processes.

In addition to their lab and course work, the students met with WMU administrators to discuss university entrance requirements and expectations and met with professionals from the foundry industry to review career opportunities in metal casting

“I try to show them why this is a rewarding career,” Ramrattan said.

Students designed their own patterns and poured their own castings in the Metal Casting Lab located on the Parkview Campus.

Dr. Sam Ramrattan (standing, third from the left) observes high school students as they prepare a mold for lost foam casting.

The attendees toured Howmet Casting in LaPorte, IN, and Metal Technologies’ Three Rivers Gray Iron Plant. They also enjoyed a number of activities in the Kalamazoo / Portage metro area

Ramrattan has offered the summer metal casting program for the last six years. Students who attend the program are sponsored by various chapters of the American Foundry Society (AFS) and the North American Die Casting Association (NADCA). There is no cost to the students who stay in WMU dormitories and enjoy campus life.

IME professor introducing hands-on engineering to freshmen

Dr. Steven Butt is the first professor from the IME Dept. to teach ENGR 1010 Introduction to Engineering and Technology, a hands-on problem-solving class. It’s required for civil and construction engineering students and recommended for in-coming engineering students who have not declared a major.

During the first week’s lab section, Butt’s 30 students were organized in teams and asked to create the highest stand for a freely suspended metal platform. Their construction materials were marshmallows and dried spaghetti. “It’s a pass / fail assignment,” he said. “There’s a prize for the highest one.”

IME’s Steven Butt examines a structure of marshmallows and uncooked spaghetti being built by one of the 10 teams of students in ENGR 1010

Engineering 1010 was developed by Dr. Edmund Tsang, associate dean for undergraduate programs and assessment for the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences. Until this semester he has been the only teacher of record for the class.

The first ENGR 101 (the extra 0 was added this year) was offered in Fall 2003, followed by another in Spring 2004.

ENGR 1010 students at work

Two sections were offered each semester last year, and due to high enrollment in those, three classes are being offered this fall. Tsang is teaching two.

The three-credit-hour class meets each week for two hours of lecture and three hours of lab.

Students are introduced to the design and problem-solving aspects of engineering and given hands-on experience. “The whole idea is learning by doing,” Tsang said.

Butt has several more design challenges for his class, including a project he described as “a lower scale version of the senior capstone project they will do just before they graduate.”

Renae Hoglen, an Industrial Engineering senior, is assisting Butt with the freshman class.

Butt also teaches IME 2610 Statistics and is involved in research projects with Haworth, Bronson Hospital, and Stryker.

Tsang credited several CEAS professors for developing class modules and serving as guest lecturers to his class. They include IME’s Dr. Betsy Aller for a research and communication module. Others who contributed are Drs. Frank Severance, Damon Miller, Brad Bazuin, Andrew Kline, Tom Joyce, and Raja Aravamuthan.

Tsang said that colleges that have an introductory course in engineering usually have a higher retention rate than those that don’t. “That’s a national trend,” he said.

IME’s Steven Butt with ENGR 1010 lab problem solvers in a Parkview Campus hallway

Sunseeker ’05 ready for North American Solar Challenge

Sunseeker ’05 heads to Austin, Texas, this week to compete in the North American Solar Challenge, a 2,500-mile race that begins July 17 and ends 10 days later in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Western Michigan University’s solar-powered entry in the race was given a media send off last week in front of the Parkview Campus. WMU President Judith Bailey and CEAS Dean Tim Greene praised the efforts of the Sunseeker team members, advisors, and supporters and wished the crew well.

Sunseeker ’05 with team, advisors, and supporters at its unveiling

Made of lightweight carbon-fiber composite material, Sunseeker ’05 can travel at 80 mph, but has a cruising speed between 55 and 65 mph.

The team includes three advisors, 10 college students, and six area high school students.

Two advisors have IME connections: Abe Poot, WMU engineering lab coordinator for Mechanical and Aeronautical Engineering and IME departments, and Fred Sitkins, a 30-year veteran IME professor. Joining them is Dr. John Kapenga, a computer science professor.

For the first time the team includes six high school students who applied for membership by submitting letters of reference and completing 200-word essays explaining why they wanted to be involved and what they could add to the project.

Sitkins said that adding the high school students to the team was a way to show appreciation to the community for its support. “It’s one way we can say thank you,” he said.

Poot said this year’s vehicle is an improved version of WMU's 2003 entry, which placed fifth in a race along Route 66 from Chicago to Barstow, CA. That car won two major awards: the Inspectors’ Award for mechanical and electrical design and the EDS Gold Award for best overall solar car design.

Abe Poot and Sunseeker ‘05

According to Poot, the improved Sunseeker ’05 version has more solar cells for about 50 additional watts of power, a lighter 25 kg 115-volt Lithium-Polymer battery pack and a state-of-the-art battery protection system.

Improvements were made to the rear suspension, the ventilation system, and the aerodynamics. The car also features a new rear vision camera, an LCD display, and a Global Positioning System.

A new canopy design offers a clearer bubble, better tinting, and the WMU logo.

WMU is one of only three universities that have qualified for every solar-race challenge since the first race in 1990.

About 28 colleges and universities are expected to enter this year’s race. Final testing and inspection takes place during qualifying events set for July 10-15. The biennial race is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy and Natural Resources Canada.

After the race, which follows U.S. Route 75 and the Trans-Canada Highway, with checkpoints in Weatherford, TX; Broken Arrow, OK.; Topeka, KS; Omaha, NE; Sioux Falls, SD; Fargo, ND; Winnipeg and Brandon, Manitoba; Regina, Saskatchewan; and Medicine Hat, Alberta, the WMU team plans to return to WMU on Aug.2.

To follow the race results of WMU’s Sunseeker ’05, check the website: http://www.wmich.edu/sunseeker

WMU welcomes American Foundry Society, Detroit-Windsor Chapter

The Detroit-Windsor Chapter of the American Foundry Society (AFS) took a Western Michigan University field trip last week to explore the Parkview Campus, to present a scholarship, and to meet college administrators, faculty, alumni, and students.

Dr. Sam Ramrattan hosted “Opportunities in Metal Casting at WMU” for 27 AFS members from Eastern Michigan University, Saline High School, Ford Motor Co., Daimler Chrysler, AC Tech, Nemak Corporation, TRW, Ashland Foundry Solutions, and Hayes-Lemmerz Corporation.

Coordinating the trip was James McPherson, director AFS, Detroit-Windsor Chapter and supervisor of technical specialists - casting and forging at FORD Powertrain Manufacturing Engineering.

Ramrattan explained the objectives and courses, the work of the casting advisory board, the role of organizations in the program, and the skill and knowledge expectations of the students. “Metal casting remains strong as an engineering technology curriculum at Western,” he said.

CEAS Dean Tim Greene reviewed facts and statistics about WMU with emphasis on the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences

 

James McPherson

and the new Parkview Campus. He also identified WMU’s standing in a number of national studies. “We’re one of top universities in the US,” he said.

CEAS dean Dr. Tim Greene and IME’s Dr. Sam Ramrattan (l-r, front row) with guests from AFS, Detroit-Windsor Chapter

IME Chair Paul Engelmann examined technological change and the increased cooperation between industry and education to improve curricula and to enhance it with internships, co-ops, and project assistance. “Our university has a long history of shaping metal and of working with industry,” he said.

Reviewing recent IME research projects related to metal casting were Dr. Mitchel Keil, “Optical Metrology,” Dr. Pavel Ikonomov, “Large-Scale Prototypes,” and Dr. Tycho Fredericks, “Foundry Ergonomics.”

Charles Grech (left) presents Past Chair Scholarship to Scott Seckel. On the right is Dr. Sam Ramrattan

Scott Seckel, a senior in the manufacturing engineering technology program, was presented with the AFS, Detroit-Windsor Chapter’s “Past Chair Scholarship.” Charles Grech, Chief Engineer, Nemak Corporation, presented Seckel with a $1,500 check.

IME graduates Ryan Schwark, Kevin King, and Phil Skrzypek presented their senior design project, “Distortion, Degradation Losses, and Collapsibility of Sand Binder Systems.”

Recent IME graduates Ryan Schwark, Kevin King, and Phil Skrzypek (l to r) present their senior design project, “Distortion, Degradation Losses, and Collapsibility of Sand Binder Systems.”

IME-sponsored team of high school students earns a first at FIRST

Winning first place in the rookie division of the West Michigan Regional FIRST Robotics competition was a first for IME’s Dr. Tarun Gupta, who mentored a team of 14 Kalamazoo Area Math and Science Center (KAMSC) high school students.

“We were competing against teams that have 10 years’ experience,” Gupta said. “This was our first time, so our accomplishment was very good.”

In addition to winning the “highest rookie seed” from a field of seven rookie teams, Gupta said the KAMSC team, dubbed Quantum Ninja, also earned a tenth place overall in the field of 45 competitors.

Dr. Tarun Gupta (right), KAMSC high school students, and members of his IME class pose with Robot 1677 at WMU. The team earned a first in the rookie division of the regional FIRST Robotics Competition

The FIRST robotics competition challenges teams of young people and their mentors to solve a common problem in a six-week timeframe using a standard "kit of parts" and a common set of rules.

This year’s challenge required the robot to lift tetrahedrons, which are pyramid-shaped objects, and to place them on larger tetrahedrons.

KAMSC is a magnet school for academically talented students; all its students attend other area high schools. The FIRST project was extracurricular. Students worked on the robot at WMU after school and on weekends. They communicated via an Internet website: quantumninja.com/first.

Most of the work was done at WMU’s Parkview Campus. The KAMSC team was also assisted by WMU engineering students in Gupta’s computer-controlled manufacturing design class and by Randy Blalock, a retired Upjohn technician, who served as an industrial adviser.

Robots stack tetrahedrons in a match at the West Michigan Regional FIRST robotics competition last month in Allendale.

The KAMSC team members learned AutoDesk Inventor, a CAD program used to design most of the robot. They used sub-teams to complete tasks such as designing the robot, programming the sensors, determining the power pneumatics, wiring the circuitry, and testing. The team also had to learn about the complex competition scoring. Many of the students were members of several sub-teams.

KAMSC’s Tom McCurdy works on the robot at WMU

“We’re happy about how well our robot performed,” said KAMSC student Tom McCurdy, 18. “Winning the award was a great honor.”

Gupta is already planning for next year’s competition when he may mentor one or even two teams. “This year’s competition was an overwhelm-ingly positive experience for the team,” he said.

FIRST, which stands for “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology,” is a multinational non-profit organization that sponsors robotics competitions for high-school-aged teams.

Dean & former IME Chair Michael Atkins returns to Texas

Last week, retiring CEAS Dean Michael Atkins headed to Emory, Texas, a fully stocked workshop, a John Deere 650 diesel tractor, and a lake full of fish. His new home is situated on Lake Fork, one of the nation’s premiere bass fishing lakes. “I look at this as an adventure,” he said.

Michael Atkins

After 34 years as WMU professor, IME chair, and CEAS dean, Atkins was celebrated and roasted at official retirement parties on and off campus. “I’m overwhelmed, I feel truly honored, I appreciate all you have done, and I want to thank you all,” he said.

The fifth-generation Texan told well-wishers that they would be missed but that he would not miss “the budget-crunching.”

Atkins came to WMU in 1971 as an assistant professor in the department of industrial education, which no longer exists. He and his wife, Ellen, who is also a Texan, planned to stay for five to eight years.

In 1998 he became the IME department chair. He assumed the position as assistant dean for external relations and facilities in 2001 and moved into the CEAS dean’s office in 2002.

Atkins led the CEAS move from Kohrman Hall to the new Parkview Campus, and IME Chair Paul Engelmann praised Atkins for making the Parkview Campus a reality. “We would not have the facilities that we have today without Michael’s effort,” Engelmann said.

In honor of his retirement, Atkins was presented with a Delta woodworking jointer that he said would complete his new workshop.

Professor Fred Sitkins led the “roasting” by handing out fake letters from Atkins granting 25-percent pay raises to everyone and presenting Atkins with a Kohrman Hall relic antique tapping head attachment for making threaded holes.

In presenting one humorous gift to Atkins, Engelmann connected Atkins’ love of fishing with a small body of water located behind the new Parkview Campus.

“We’ve been searching for something fitting to give Michael,” Engelmann said. “We don’t have the millions it takes to name a building, so instead the university will be dedicating the ‘Michael B. Atkins Pond.’”

Michael and Ellen Atkins - headed for Texas

According to Ellen Atkins, a recently retired Heritage Christian Academy principal, Emory is a “little town with about 750 people – a wide place in the road.” Their retirement plans call for farming “a little vegetable garden and a wildflower field so we don’t have to mow much,” she said.

Atkins said that after getting settled, he may teach at Texas A & M Commerce, which is located about 30 minutes away. His formal education was in Texas: a bachelor’s degree at then East Texas State and a master’s and an Ed. D. at Texas A & M, College Station.

Atkins praised his WMU experience. “I’ve had opportunities I never dreamed of or aspired to,” he said. “I would hope that everyone who comes through this college has the same level of gratification that I have received.”

Outstanding students honored at annual Clausing luncheon

At its annual Clausing Student Recognition Luncheon, the IME Department honored 27 students for their efforts in earning 31 awards and scholarships.

Six seniors were honored as Outstanding Undergraduate Students in IME’s four programs. Top awards went to Alana Dumasius and Maria Candela, IEN; Justin Vreizema and Eric Locker, EGR; Ryan Schwark, MFT; and Michael Gaddes, UEM.

Outstanding Undergraduate Students: (L-R) Alana Dumasius, Maria Candela, Justin Vreizema, Clausing VP Joe Felicijan, Eric Locker, Ryan Schwark, and Michael Gaddes

Dumasius was also honored as this year’s Presidential Scholar and the Dean’s Outstanding IEN Student.

Schwark also received kudos as the Dean’s Outstanding MFT Student and he was acknowledged for winning two scholarships: Foundry Educational Foundation (FEF) Outstanding Student Scholarship and the AFS Toledo Chapter Scholarship.

Six students were also honored as Outstanding Graduate Students in four postgraduate programs: Tod Grams; Sundaresan Narayanan; and Vincent Dutter, Capt., USAF, all garnered awards in the GEM program. Aijaz Jafri and Mike Lukianoff won in IEG and MNE respectively. Yaser Al-Alawi was the outstanding Ph.D.

Three seniors also won IME Outstanding Service Awards: Kevin King, for his work with the American Foundry Society and his outreach activities in developing an engineering class for at-risk middle school students;

Renae Hoglen, for her leadership in organizing a regional IIE Conference and bringing WMU national recognition, and Ken Lothschutz, for his contribution to several WMU societies and events including the Society of Plastics Engineers, Engineers’ Week, soap box derby, and others.

Other students honored were Brian Sather, Dean’s Outstanding EGR Student; Okwuchukwu Atueyi, winner of the 2004 Clausing Industrial Scholarship; Nina Simanca, winner of the Ford Scholarship; and Scott Seckel, winner of the Detroit-Windsor Chapter of the American Foundry Society (AFS) Scholarship.

Outstanding Graduate Students: (L-R) Yaser Al-Alawi, Aijaz Jafri, Sundaresan Narayanan, Clausing VP Joe Felicijan, Tod Grams, Mike Lukianoff, and Vincent Dutter, Capt., USAF

Recognition was also given to William Vasich for the IME 142 TA Award, Fall 2004; to Jim Vlieg, Trent Kenworthy, and Andrew Hyde for winning the IME 142 CAD/Key Contest for Fall 2004, and to Daniel Grupp, Libby Evans, Ben Hormann, and Josh Schilling for writing awards in the IEEE Paper Contest.

A Special Service Award was presented to Laura Decker for her dedicated efforts in the IME office.

Outstanding Service Awards: (L-R) Kevin King, , Clausing VP Joe Felicijan,. Renae Hoglen, and Ken Lothschutz

Clausing Industrial, Inc., provided the luncheon. The Kalamazoo-based company has been providing support to the IME department and offering scholarships to its students for 53 years. Clausing Vice President Joe Felicijan celebrated with the award winners.

IME Professor Tom Swartz emceed the recognition ceremony, and retiring CEAS Dean Michael Atkins and IME Chair Paul Engelmann presented the award plaques.

Senior design projects shaping up for April 12 presentations

As the Spring 2005 semester comes to an end, 34 IME senior engineering students are busy wrapping up 12 capstone design projects in time for the 36^th Con-ference on Senior Engineering Design Projects set for Tuesday, April 12, at the College of Engi-neering and Applied Sciences, Parkview Campus.

Projects include new designs for a hybrid hydraulic bicycle that stores energy for uphill motion, and a low-cost rear-window slider for pickup trucks. One team investigated the feasibility of a design for a low-cost and lightweight wheelchair with retractable footrests.

For one project, students designed a radio frequency identification (RFID) system for a production line. Another group sought to integrate an air intake manifold and an air intake system for the auto industry.

Lucas Graham machines spacers on a metal turning lathe for a project that commissioned a sheet extrusion line in the Parkview Campus Plastics Lab.

The study of thermal distortion in shell-sand systems for the metal casting industry yielded important information in one project, and a long-anticipated plastic sheet extrusion line was commissioned at Parkview Campus, sponsored by the Society of Plastics Engineers. A multi-disciplinary project with the ME department worked on a new kind of right angle axle drive.

Nina Simanca (left) and Emily Ebejer review presentation materials for their capstone project to redesign a low-cost truck rear-window slider.

According to Dr. Betsy Aller, senior design coordinator and teacher of the two-semester design sequence, this semester’s group of projects represents an exciting mix of hands-on problem solving for a variety of industry, academic, and community-based customers. She welcomes inquiries and interest in sponsoring projects in upcoming semesters at betsy.aller@wmich.edu

Assisting the students are 13 faculty advisors. The IME advisors include Aller; Drs. Alamgir Choudhury, Paul Engelmann, David Lyth, Mitchel Keil, Jorge Rodriguez, and Sam Ramrattan, and Profs. Fred Sitkins and Jim VanDePolder.

Drs. Azim Houshyar and Bob White of IME serve as co-advisors on three projects. One project involves designing a quality system at a plastics plant. The other two entail redesigns, one of a cereal manufacturing line and the other of the assembly of an EGR valve.

Dr. Richard Hathaway, of the ME department, co-advises the multi-disciplinary project.

Dr. Edmund Tsang, associate CEAS dean, is advising a five-man team on the redevelopment of a transit cart for donated goods for a non-profit organization. The project is sponsored by National Science Foundation and Learn and Serve America grants.

Corporate project sponsors include Dana Corp., Eaton Corp., Fairmount Minerals Ltd., Invensys Appliance Controls, Kellogg Co., Magna Donnelly Corporation, MANN + HUMMEL USA, Oasis Medical, Parker Hannifin Corp., and Systex Products Corp.

Brian Demos (foreground) and William Leach work on part of a redesigned transit cart for a non-profit organization

On April 12, students will share their work in 25-minute presenta-tions offered in two concurrent sessions. Aller will chair six presentations in Rm. D-208 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:25 p.m. Houshyar and White will chair five other offerings in Rm. D-202 from 10 a.m. to 12:25 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

IME department loses a colleague and friend…Rex Hall

Rex E. Hall, associate professor of metals processing at Western Michigan University for 26 years, passed away on February 24, 2005, following a long illness.

Rex E. Hall (1927-2005)

 

Born November 13, 1927, in Ennis, Texas, the son of Samuel W. and Ethel L. (Powledge) Hall came to WMU in 1961 from Pittsburg, Kansas. He managed the machine shop in the Industrial Education Department (IED) until he retired in 1987.

IME Chair Paul Engelmann, who knew Hall as a professor and as a colleague and who served as Hall’s lab assistant in 1981-82, said Hall “forgot more about manufacturing processes than most people ever learn.”

Describing Hall as his “major professor in 11 years of college,” Engelmann said Hall’s expertise included sheet metal, press work, forging, casting, welding, powdered metallurgy, materials testing, art metal working and more.

“His [Hall’s] depth of understanding was breathtaking,” Engelmann said. “I gained more technical knowledge from him than from anyone else.”

According to IME professor Fred Sitkins – who managed the Mechanical Engineering machine shop during the same time period that Hall managed IED’s and who assumed responsibilities for a blended machine shop after Hall retired – Hall was affectionately referred to as “Mr. Machine Shop”.

“Most students and faculty agreed that Rex knew more about machining processes and techniques than anyone we had ever met in either education or industry,” Sitkins said. “Rex served as a mentor to all of us.”

Hall is also remembered for a style of humor that was honed in his native Texas and that “never failed to bring a smile when one was needed,” Sitkins said.

Engelmann said he couldn’t think about Hall without smiling at remembrances of his teaching style. Hall required students to “meticulously maintain tools” and he gave “hard as nails” tests. “Rex didn’t allow tool abuse, and when it was appropriate, he could yell at the top of his lungs.”

Sitkins said that Hall’s “influence continues today” and that many alumni have asked about Hall and have shared their admiration of him with comments like, “I learned more than just machining from Rex.”

With Hall’s “magnetic personality,” Sitkins said that Hall quickly bonded with students and colleagues alike. “Rex took pride in his unique way of remembering every student’s name especially the ones that were very difficult to pronounce.”

Hall continued to visit WMU until his final illness took him. Rex served with the U.S. Navy during World War II. He is survived by his wife, Martha (Gaskin) Hall, whom he married on December 26, 1951; their three children: Cathy L. (James) VanderMeer of Holland, MI, Elizabeth A. Eichelberg of Houston, TX, and Terry S. Graf of Dallas, TX; and five grandchildren.

“I am deeply saddened by the loss of Rex – my friend, mentor, colleague, and counselor,” Sitkins said. “I am blessed to have known him. I'm also blessed to carry on his legacy in our department.”

Students earn prizes in new engineering graphics competition

Three engineering students who were enrolled in IME 142 Engineering Graphics during the Fall 2004 semester have won prizes in Engineering Graphics/CADKey Competition, a new competition organized by the program’s new lecturer.

At the first Engineering Graphics/CADKey Competition awards ceremony, (left to right): Slobodan Urdarevik, Andrew Hyder (third), Trent Kenworthy (second), Jim Vlieg (first), and Dr. Paul Engelmann

Receiving first prize was Jim Vlieg, a first-year mechanical engineering student from Kentwood. The honors student presented his winning entry at the awards ceremony.

Trent Kenworthy, an industrial engineering junior who transferred to WMU, earned second place. Based on his work experience, the Rose City native identified career interests in process engineering and advanced manufacturing engineering.

The third place winner was Andrew Hyder, a mechanical engineering freshman from Goodrich, who is interested in a career in management.

About 30 of the 330 students enrolled in IME 142 during fall semester competed for prizes.

IME Professor Slobodan Urdarevik, lead lecturer in the engineering graphics program for the last two years, initiated the competition to “generate excitement” about engineering graphics.

“I’m proud of the work they did,” Urdarevik said as he described the final decision as being “very close.”

All three winners are or will be teaching assistants (TAs) for IME 142 lab courses.

IME Chair Dr. Paul Engelmann congratulated the winners before about 100 students present at the ceremony, which took place during one of this semester’s IME 142 lectures.

“All of you are headed into disciplines that will require you to use graphics in your careers,” Engelmann said. “This competition allows us to give

students recognition for going above and beyond, and it gives those students a leg up on the competition when they talk to recruiters who want to know what they have done beyond the classroom.”

Each competitor was required to create a three-dimensional solid model of the part and a layout with a number of required views from what Urdarevik described as a “very complicated” drawing.

Urdarevik said that a similar competition is planned for this semester for the 188 students presently enrolled in IME 142.

At the first Engineering Graphics/CADKey Competition awards ceremony, Jim Vlieg (left) presents his first-place entry. Urdarevik is on the right..

All three winners received plaques acknowledging their accomplishments. The first-place winner also received a CADKey program and a $100 certificate. Second- and third-place winners also received certificates for $50 and $30 respectively.

Prizes for the competition were gifts from Kubotek, formerly known as CADKey; CIM Solutions, Grand Haven; Damon’s Grill, Kalamazoo; and Dr. Hook, Inc., Kalamazoo.

Urdarevik came to WMU from Humber College in Toronto where he taught for eight years. He earned his master’s in mechanical engineering at the University of Skopje in Macedonia.

WMU hosts IIE regional conference on post-graduation life

Over 100 student members of the Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE) – from as far away as University of Louisville and Ohio University – traveled recently to the WMU Parkview Campus for “The World Beyond” Region IV Conference and Technical Paper Competition.

Emceeing the program was senior Renae Hoglen, who also served as the lead co-chair of the event, which focused on information and ideas about what industrial engineers can expect after graduation.

About 40 WMU students attended the event, which included an awards dinner at the Radisson.

IIE Region IV Conference Committee: (L-R) Advisor Tycho Fredericks, co-chairs Alana Dumasius, Renae Hoglen, Lindsay Tabbert, Erin Brown, and Advisor Steven Butts

WMU senior Sachet Shah presented a paper on hospital environmental services. Other technical papers were presented by students from University of Louisville, Purdue, Youngstown State University, and Wayne State University.

Judging of the papers was done by Dr. Harvey Wolfe, an IE professor from University of Pittsburgh, Larry Ellison, a consultant for Borgess Medical Center, Kalamazoo, and Brian Hicks, from the Steelcase Supply Chain Management Department in Grand Rapids.

Wolfe presented information on the vast array of careers open to industrial engineers, and Dr. Teresa Bellinger, Senior Corporate Ergonomist for Haworth, Inc., explained the complexities of chair design.

Answering questions about their post-graduate lives was a panel of four WMU alumni: Courtney Miller (2004), an applications engineer at TRW Occupant Safety Systems, Washington, MI; Jason Hart (2001), a team leader of Stryker’s largest assembly team; Joe Seestadt (2000), Delphi Corp., who’s on special assignment at Ambrake Corp., Elizabethtown, KY; and Nikki Crocker (2004), who is seeking her master’s degree at WMU.

WMU alums answer questions about life after college, left to right: Courtney Miller, Nikki Crocker, Jason Hart, and Joe Seestadt

R. David Nelson, Global Supply Management VP for Delphi Corp., gave the keynote address, “What Does it Mean to be Lean?”

Morning breakout sessions provided attendees with three topic choices. IME professors Dr. Bob White spoke on “Life after Graduation” and Dr. Betsy Aller addressed “What to Do in an Interview.” Dr. Peter Parker, from the Department of Paper Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Imaging, offered “Engineering Ethics.”

Dr. Teresa Bellinger, Senior Corporate Ergonomist for Haworth, Inc., explains the complexities of chair design.

IME’s Drs. Steven Butt and Tycho Fredericks serve as advisors to the WMU IIE Chapter.

Sunseeker team seeking a top spot in next summer’s solar race

The Sunseeker team is preparing WMU’s solar- powered racecar for the 2005 cross-country race, now called the North American Solar Challenge

This year’s entry is a modified version of the Sunseeker 03, which placed 5th in a field of 20 vehicles in the 2003 American Solar Challenge and won the EDS Gold Award for Best Solar Car Design. The 2,500- mile race, takes place in both the US and Canada. At least 41 teams - US, Canadian, & international – are interested in competing.

The race starts in Austin, Texas, on July 17 and ends July 27 in Calgary, Alberta. The route generally follows US-75 North to Winnipeg, Manitoba, and then heads West on Canadian Highway 1 to Calgary.

Between Austin and Calgary, stops and checkpoints are planned for Weatherford, Texas; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Topeka, Kansas; Omaha, Nebraska; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Fargo, North Dakota; Winnipeg, Manitoba; Brandon, Manitoba; Regina, Saskatchewan; and Medicine Hat, Alberta,

A pre-qualifying event is set for May 15 through 20 in Topeka, Kansas, to inspect and test entries from North America.

Cars that qualify at this event will be allowed to drive laps on a 2.1 mile closed track to prove roadworthiness and to earn a starting position for the July race. During the week of July 10, a final qualifier will be open to all international entries and cars that failed to qualify in May.

The WMU Sunseeker race team will leave Kalamazoo on July 6 for Austin, Texas, and return from Calgary on August 1.

According to Abe Poot, a project advisor, a number of changes are in the works. The car is getting a new 25 Kg 150 Volt Lithium-Polymer battery pack and a state-of-the-art battery protection system. The motors are being rewired to run at higher voltage and lower current.

Improvements are planned for the rear trailing arm suspension, ventilation system, and leading edge aerodynamics. A new canopy design offers clearer bubble and better tinting.

Additions to the car include a new rear vision camera and LCD display and a Global Positioning System for improved navigation

The team plans to complete the modifications by the end of March to get it on the road for testing. In April it will be displayed at the SAE Congress at Cobo Hall.

Expenses of the Sunseeker Project are being funded by private donations accumulated over the past several years. The projected budget shows this fund will fall short of meeting all of the race expenses.

Additional contributions are welcome and, to be tax deductible, can be made through the WMU Foundation. See the Sunseeker web site at http://www.wmich.edu/sunseeker and select the donate bar for more information. Other ways of supporting the team would be to sponsor specific needs such as the cost of uniforms, leasing support vehicles, leasing cell phone communications, the race registration fee, and food and lodging expenses.

For more information about how you can help the team, call the team advisor, Abraham Poot at 269-276-3372 or contact him via email at mailto:abraham.poot@wmich.edu.

IME professor pens history of CEAS

IME Professor Thomas Swartz, a master faculty specialist, has published Building on a Solid Foundation: A History of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Western Michigan University – 1903-2003. The 108-page, hardcover book, which includes a poster featuring a timeline of the last 100 years, was published late last year.

The book begins with an overview of Western’s engineering program in the last century and traces the original program as its emphasis evolved from teacher training to industrial training, its focus changing to meet the industrial needs of two world wars and a rapidly growing technological society.

The engineering program began in 1904 when Western State Normal School opened its doors with courses in the Department of Manual Training, a program to train teachers in the industrial arts.

Swartz devotes chapters to the buildings and facilities that housed the college and its programs, the people who shaped the college, and the programs they developed.

The book concludes with a description of the present programs of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences and its move to the new Parkview Campus in late summer 2003.

According to Swartz the book project began in October 2000 with a 15-minute conversation he had with Michael Atkins, the present CEAS dean who was then chair of the IME department. At the time both the WMU Centennial and the construction of the Parkview Campus were in the planning stage.

At that meeting Swartz and Atkins discussed the importance of emeriti faculty and the value of collecting their stories and recollections. In the Author’s Note, Swartz writes, “At the conclusion of our discussion, Dr. Atkins requested that I lead an effort to compile a history of the CEAS at WMU. I gladly accepted his charge.”

In the last three years, Swartz, who presently coordinates and teaches technical communication and report writing courses, spent much of his free time working on the history project. He met with emeriti faculty and administrators and WMU archivists and spent hours researching, organizing, and developing a system for saving pictorial records.

At the same time he was devoting most of his time to the writing project, he also helped coordinate an East Campus trolley restoration senior design project.

Tom Swartz

This is Swartz’s first book, but he has other literary connections. He served three years as managing editor of the literary arts magazine New Blood. He is presently the treasurer of Kalamazoo Friends of Poetry, and he has also served as the group’s president.

Swartz joined the IME program in 1988 as an adjunct faculty. He was hired full time in 1999. His education includes a BA in English at WMU, a MA in English at Pittsburg State University, Kansas, and PhD coursework at the University of Colorado.

Presently Swartz’s family members are all WMU students. His wife, Elizabeth Kerlikowske, a tenured Kellogg Community College faculty member, is completing her PhD in English – Creative Writing. Daughter Rose is pursuing a BA in English and a BFA in photography, and son Nick, in his first year at WMU, hasn’t selected a major.

The book is available for purchase by check or money order for $29.95. For additional information or to order a book, please contact Cathy Smith at 269-276-3253 or cathleen.smith@wmich.edu.

Two IME professors join the WMU 25-Year Club

For serving Western Michigan University for more than a quarter of a century, IME professors Fred Sitkins and Dr. Kailash Bafna were recently inducted into the WMU’s 25-Year Club. Each received dinner, a framed certificate, and a gold watch.

Fred Sitkins

If years as a WMU undergraduate student were added in, Sitkins has spent nearly 30 years at WMU. Being able to teach at his alma mater is a “privilege,” he said. “I shall always be a Bronco.”

Sitkins came to WMU in 1979 on a two-year temporary appointment that became tenure-track later that year. In 1984, he joined the newly formed Engineering Technology department, which later merged with industrial engineering to become IME. He became a full professor in 1998.

In addition to his teaching responsibilities, Sitkins has been an active participant in the WMU community. For several years he served as advisor to the Sunseeker project and to the SME student chapter. He assisted many senior design projects including the one that built a replica of the WMU East Campus trolley for the 2003 Centennial. He also participates in the Mike Gary athletic fundraiser.

“You get the personal satisfaction associated with these kinds of activities by doing them because you want to rather than because you have to,” Sitkins said. “There is much to be said for giving back and the endless rewards gained from it.”

Sitkins has taught vocational education at three Michigan secondary ed programs, Henry Ford Community College, and Ford Motor Company. He also owned and operated Sitco Manufacturing, a stamping and fabricating facility, for seven years.

In addition to his BA from WMU, Sitkins earned a MS from Eastern Michigan University. He is also certified as a manufacturing engineer in both manufacturing management and robotics and as a motion control and technical sales specialist.

Sitkins and his wife, Christine, have seven children and 11-going-on-13 grandchildren.

Bafna has been part of what is now the IME department for 24 years. He has served as associate professor, professor, and department chair. For one year, he was an assistant dean for the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences.

“Working at WMU has provided me with extreme flexibility in how I conduct my classes to make an enriching learning experience,” he said. “It has also provided me with the opportunity to serve my profession internationally.”

Kailash Bafna

Before coming to WMU, Bafna was an assistant professor at Georgia Institute of Technology and an associate professor at University of Wisconsin, Platteville. He has also worked in industry.

Bafna earned a BS in mechanical engineering at Banaras Hindu University, a MS in production management from University of Mississippi, and a PhD in industrial engineering from Purdue University. He and his wife, Vimla, have two children and two grandchildren.

The 25-Year club was founded in 1982 with 98 members. It now has 393 active members and 480 retired members.

Among those active club members are several other IME faculty, staff, and administrators, including Jim VanDePolder, who began teaching in WMU’s Transportation Technology Department in 1966. In his nearly 40 years at WMU, he says that every time he meets a former student, “it’s a great day.”