WMU Chapter Wins an Award at Regional IIE Conference

Attending the regional IIE Conference were (left to right): Row 1 David Treier, Ben Smith, Krisana Gutierrez, and Aarti Valsadia; Row 2: Ella Lambrix; Row 3: Wen Ken Loh, Yenni Chen, Alisha Hankins, Mariam Ouazar, and Prachi Chandrana; Row 4: Eric Drzerwicki, Rob Cookingham, Bryan Dopkins, Shannon Bowerson, and Ashley Bazanna; Row 5: Evan Maltas, Dr. Steven Butt, Matt Pridgeon, and Dr. Tycho Fredericks

 

Last month, 17 industrial engineering students - all members of WMU’s IIE chapter who ranged from freshmen to seniors - attended the Great Lakes Region IV Institute of Industrial Engineers Conference (IIE) at the University of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky.

Yenni Chen, an IE sophomore, won third place in a competition to determine the best technique to sort a deck of cards and place them in order. “Yenni did an incredible job using our IE skills to come up with the best procedure to sort the cards,” said Shannon Bowerson, an IE senior who serves as IIE president. For her accomplishment, Chen received a check from the University of Louisville Student Chapter.

The group also heard several speakers and technical paper presentations and toured the Louisville Slugger factory. “We all received a free Louisville Slugger bat and a group picture with the giant bat in front of the factory,” Bowerson said.

The other IE students who attended the regional conference include Ashley Bazanna, Prachi Chandrana, Rob Cookingham, Bryan Dopkins, Eric Drzerwicki, Krisana Gutierrez, Alisha Hankins, Ella Lambrix, Wen Ken Loh, Evan Maltas, Mariam Ouazar, Matt Pridgeon, Ben Smith, David Treier, and Aarti Valsadia.

Accompanying the students were Dr. Steven Butt and Dr. Tycho Fredericks, professors in the Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering (IME) who serve as advisors to the WMU IE Chapter. “We really appreciate everything they [advisors] do for us,” Bowerson said.

WMU’s IIE chapter toured Louisville Slugger factory, where
everyone received a bat and this photo

“We also appreciate and want to thank the IME department and the Dean [Dr. Tim Greene] for their generosity and the support that allowed us to attend this conference,” Bowerson said.

IME Night Showcases Programs with Facts, Fun, and Food

To showcase IME’s four undergraduate programs, the IME department held its second annual IME Night. IME students and professors provided lots of pizza in an informal setting to discuss and answer questions about industrial and entrepreneurial engineering (IEE), manufacturing engineering technology (MFT), engineering management technology (UEM), and engineering graphics and design technology (EGR).

Ilgin Acar (right), IE Ph.D. student, reviews chair research with Case Bonebrake, who came to IME Night to explore options and who won the
door prize, a WMU chair.

Slobodan Urdarevik, IME faculty, coordinated the event. Activities included games, lab tours, research displays, and networking opportunities with faculty, students, and representatives of two area companies Enhancing the fun was a variety of pizza, soda, and treats.

 

Torrey Cook (left), associate human resource manager for General Foods’ Post Cereal, talks to Wes Moon, an undecided CEAS student. Post is a major
contributor to WMU and CEAS.

Torrey Cook, an associate human resource manager for General Foods’ Post Cereals, and Anton Lorentz III, a technology team leader from Parker Hannifin Corp., the Parker Aerospace Group, The Hydraulics System Division, discussed what engineers do in the workplace. Cook also answered questions of presently enrolled IME students about resumes and life after graduation.

As Trent Kenworthy (left), an IME teaching assistant majoring in IE,
looks on, IME professor Dr. Tarun Gupta (second from left) explains a
robot to two undecided students who attended IME Night. The robot
was designed and built by a team of area high school students for the
2008 FIRST regional competition next month.

IME students and faculty set up tables to showcase IME programs, products, and organizations and to answer questions. Ongoing chair research being done by IME’s Human Performance Institute was displayed so that participants could examine a chair used to produce computerized images of the pressure points a person exerts when he or she sits. Furthermore, some Parkview Campus engineering labs were open for guided tours and demonstrations

IME faculty Dr. Tarun Gupta (left) and Slobodan Urdarevik, discuss
IME programs with Kevin Megee (right), an undecided CEAS engineering student. Urdarevik coordinated IME Night.

Urdarevik credited the IME professors, staff, and students for the event’s success. Special thanks were offered to Troy Place, who emailed over 160 invitations, Fred Sitkins, who invited the corporate representatives, and the IME office staff: Klaz Welch, Mary Fosburg, Marji VanHoorelbeke, and John Jacobs for their efforts in procuring food and preparing publicity materials. “Many contributed to this event,” Urdarevik said.

Casting Spells with High School Students at Summer Workshop

Last month, IME professor Dr. Sam Ramrattan hosted a weeklong metal-casting workshop for nine high school students from areas around Detroit, Ann Arbor, and Saginaw, Michigan; Cleveland, Parma, and Defiance, Ohio; and Windsor, Ontario. He has been offering the annual hands-on workshops for up to 15 area tenth-through-twelfth-grade students for the last eight summers.

Dr. Sam Ramrattan (right) and Adil Abdelwahab (second from right in back), an IME graduate student, pose with nine high school students who attended the 2007 summer metal casting short course at WMU

During the students’ five-day campus visit, Ramrattan, a technical advisor to the American Foundrymen's Society and a Key Professor for the Foundry Educational Foundation, directs activities in the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Parkview Campus Metal Casting Laboratory.

Workshop topics include metal casting history, trends, and the relationship of manufacturing (molding, melting, filling, and finishing), engineering, quality, purchasing, marketing, and sales of castings. The students explore the use of computers, math, and science in metal casting.

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

Field trips to metal casting industries provide students with opportunities to see real-world technology and to meet with professionals. This year’s attendees toured Metal Technologies’ Three Rivers Gray Iron Plant, and Contech’s die casting facilities in Dowagiac, MI. They also enjoyed activities in the Kalamazoo / Portage metro area.

Students who attend the program are sponsored by various chapters of the American Foundry Society (AFS) and the North American Die Casting Association (NADCA). Students are selected on the basis of an aptitude for math and science. There is no cost to the students, who stay in WMU dorms and enjoy campus life.

Dr. Sam Ramrattan supervises as two students pour molten aluminum into sand molds that they had prepared. Other high school students, seated behind the protective barrier, took turns donning safety apparel and making their own sand castings.

WMU has had a casting metal program in various engineering curricula since the college opened over 100 years ago. Its most recent accreditation began in 1992 when Ramrattan joined the faculty. It is currently an option in all IME undergraduate programs. “Our goal is to produce hands-on engineers as an integral part of what we do in manufacturing engineering programs,” he said.

Saginaw high school students Steve Trombley (left) and Rollin Carter prepare a sand mold that they will use to create sand castings from molten aluminum.

Ramrattan specializes in material and process improvement emphasizing casting and non-traditional manufacturing processes. For more information, contact him at sam.ramrattan@wmich.edu