Amber Kemppainen

Comparative life-cycle assessments for biomass-to-ethanol production from different regional feedstocks.

This study compares life‐cycle (cradle‐to‐gate) energy consumption and environmental impacts for producing ethanol via fermentation‐based processes starting with two lignocellulosic feedstocks: virgin timber resources or recycled newsprint from an urban area. The life‐cycle assessment in this study employed a novel combination of computer‐aided tools. These tools include fermentation process simulation coupled with an impact assessment software tool for the manufacturing process life‐cycle stage impacts. The process simulation file was provided by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and was modified slightly to accommodate these different feedstocks. For the premanufacturing process life‐cycle stage impacts, such as the fuels and process chemicals used, transportation, and some preparatory steps (wood chipping, etc.), a life‐cycle inventory database (the Boustead Model) coupled with an impact assessment software tool were used (the Environmental Fate and Risk Assessment Tool). The Newsprint process has a slightly lower overall composite environmental index (created from eight impact categories) compared to the Timber process. However, the Timber process consumes less electricity, produces fewer emissions in total, and has less of a human health impact. The amount of life‐cycle fossil energy required to produce ethanol is 14% of the energy content of the product, making the overall efficiency 86%. Process improvement strategies were evaluated for both feedstock processes, including recycle of reactor vent air and heat integration. Heat integration has the greatest potential to reduce fossil‐derived energy consumption, to an extent that fossil‐derived energy over the life cycle is actually saved per unit of ethanol produced. These energy efficiency values are superior to those observed in conventional fossil‐based transportation fuels.

Assessment of the Automobile Assembly Paint Process for Energy, Environmental, and Economic Improvement

A coat of paint adds considerable value to an automobile. In addition to consuming up to 60% of the energy needed by automobile assembly plants, however, the painting process also creates both economic and environmental impacts. This study investigated the degree of cost and environmental impact improvement that can be expected when modifications are considered for existing paint processes through heat integration. In order to accomplish this goal, a mathematical model was created to describe the energy use, costs, and environmental impacts from energy consumption in an automobile assembly painting facility. The model agrees with measured energy consumption data for process heating and electricity demand to within about 15% for one Michigan truck facility from which model input parameters were obtained. Thermal pinch analysis determined an energy conservation target of 58% of paint process energy demand. A heat exchanger network optimization study was conducted in order to determine how closely the network design could achieve this target. The resulting heat exchanger network design was profitable based on a discounted cash flow analysis and may achieve reductions in total corporate energy consumption of up to 16% if implemented corporatewide at a major automobile manufacturer.

Sustainability in a common first year engineering program

Do the lifestyle and technology of today compromise the ability of future generations to meet their own needs? Since the Fall of 2005, first year engineering students at Michigan Technological University have been considering this question. They began by learning the definition of sustainability and then examined its importance to engineering through: (i) Researching and presenting the sustainability of 20th century engineering achievements. (ii) Investigating the ethical issues involved in sustainable technologies. (iii) Evaluating sustainability case studies using global Sullivan principles. (iv) Calculating their individual electrical energy consumption within their residence hall room and the resultant carbon dioxide produced. From this, they proposed methods to reduce their energy consumption.(v) Analyzing the sustainability of their semester design projects. From these activities, students learned that engineers need to evaluate the economic, environmental and social aspects of their designs in order to produce sustainable solutions. They investigated the differences of sustainable technologies in developing and developed countries. They determined the effect their lifestyle had on the environment by calculating both their carbon and ecological footprints. This paper will describe the incorporation of these sustainability activities into the Michigan Tech first year engineering program and the assessment methodology used.

How important is high-school computing experience for first-year engineering student success?

First-year engineering students enter our university with differing experiences using computers and technology. This affects the classroom dynamic especially with large differences between students. With this in mind, faculty must address the following questions when planning their course: Where should the faculty focus their time? Do they focus on bringing everyone to a specific level? Do they teach to the average student and hope the less experienced keep up and the more experienced are not bored? The first step to answering these questions is to determine the distribution of experience. To assess this, first-year engineering students at Michigan Technological University were given the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) Computer Access and Familiarity Survey (Grade 12) during their first week of classes. The NAEP survey measures access to and familiarity with technology. The survey was modified to measure the familiarity with computing tasks students use in their first engineering courses. This paper will focus on determining: how much exposure to computers and technology have our students had, what exactly is the depth and breadth of the skills they enter the university with, and are there any factors within access or familiarity that impact success in the first-year engineering courses?

Tendencies towards DEEP or SURFACE learning for participants taking a large massive open online course (MOOC)

In this report we will describe our first steps in understanding the characteristics of individuals enrolling and completing MOOCs. The learner characteristic we focus on is the deep versus shallow learning dimension. We will use the revised two-factor study process questionnaire of Biggs in our study [1]. To our knowledge, there is no comparable research either reported in the literature or currently under way. Our focus is on Learning How to Learn (LHTL), currently the most heavily subscribed course on the Coursera platform. The last offering of LHTL, completed in January, 2015, attracted just under a quarter million learners. In the fourth and final week of the course, the R-SPQ-2F survey instrument was made available to all students on the LHTL site. Approximately 1,600 students completed the survey. We believe our research to be of interest widely because of the confluence in our research of (a) MOOCs, (b) the deep versus surface learning dimension, and (c) a methodology that can lead to better understanding of MOOCs.

Measuring Sisu: Development of a Tool to Measure Mental Toughness in Academia

Sisu is a Finnish term loosely translated as endurance or resilience in the face of adversity. In the athletic arena, the construct of Mental Toughness (MT) similarly describes the ability of some top athletes to overcome challenge and persist. We sought to measure sisu, or mental toughness, within an academic context in an effort to understand if mental toughness may be one of the missing puzzle pieces in understanding individual differences in persistence in STEM majors and careers. Exploratory factor analysis yielded similar constructs underlying academic MT as compared to athletic MT. This preliminary research provides the first step in creating a reliable and valid tool to assess MT in academics. Further research establishing the reliability and validity of this construct is warranted given the finding that several MT factor correlations with academic self- efficacy existed. We believe the ability to identify and quantify one’s MT will serve as an important variable in understanding individual differences in challenging situations.

A comprehensive project utilizing spatial visualization skills

It has been shown that spatial visualization skills are a critical part of engineering education. Methods to improve these skills are varied, but in general contain activities that have students attempt to visualize objects when translated or rotated from their original orientation. At Michigan Technological University, students take a two-semester engineering course sequence (ENG1101 and ENG1102) during their first year. Both courses have activities that help develop spatial visualization skills through hand sketching and 3D modeling. This paper describes two culminating spatial visualization activities that combine all the skills learned by the students in their engineering coursework. In one case, students are provided with an object that has four or more distinct parts. Students measure, sketch, dimension, and model a single component and then combine their object with their team members objects into a completed assembly in NX. A more advanced boot dryer project allows students flexibility in their final design. Students are provided with several components to the dryer, but not all. Based on their measurements and models of the given parts, they can design and model unique boot dryer systems.

Work in progress — Refining a technical communication rubric for first-year engineering instructors

At Michigan Technological University, we offer approximately 23 sections of first-year engineering courses (ENG1001, ENG1101, and ENG1102) every fall semester. For course assessment and accreditation reporting, it is important to have a reliable metric of student performance. Perhaps even more important is for this metric to produce comparable results when used by different instructors. The authors began by reviewing the reliability of a rubric developed by Washington State University. For our courses, this rubric was not applicable for all assignments and not reliable between instructors teaching different sections of the same course. Therefore, the rubric was modified to reduce inconsistencies in grading between different instructors and standardize it so that the same rubric could be used for first-year engineering technical communication assignments. This paper focuses on the process of adapting and evaluating a technical communication rubric for use with multiple instructors and assignments. Our process for developing, refining and using a common rubric will be discussed as well as the challenges encountered and the modifications required making it an effective tool for course assessment.

Facilitating interpersonal communication between students and faculty in an engineering design project

Traditional engineering education has focused on instructing students in the fundamentals of engineering and applying these principles in the solution of engineering problems. While it is important for engineering education to continue providing a strong technical background, recognition of communication skills (e.g., oral presentations, technical reports, memos) are becoming increasingly important in the current business environment. At Michigan Technological University, students complete these activities, but we have also included communication that has traditionally been used primarily in the workplace environment: the interpersonal communication that occurs between supervisor and employee. As part of their first-year engineering classes, student teams complete design projects, which consist of a series of deliverables throughout the semester. Beginning in the fall of 2008, students in several sections met with their instructor during the design process for a progress meeting. This paper discusses the dynamic experienced between different instructors and their student design teams as this concept was implemented into the first-year program.

Computerizing Exams: The Michigan Tech Testing Center

Universities such as Brigham Young offer a central facility for computerized testing. Michigan Technological University is following this model with the establishment of the Michigan Tech Testing Center (MTTC) in 2012. The center creates a space that supports flexible, high integrity computerized exams. This paper focuses on the pilot testing of a spreadsheet lab practical using file submission through Canvas and Jotform.