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.