Geology and Economics

During our Job shadow at Polymet, Austin, Brianna, and I kept hearing that we should have a talk with the geologist, Rich, and that it would be a very interesting conversation. Well on Wednesday afternoon we got the chance to talk with him. We started by asking what he did for the mine planning and about what geologists do in general. It started out as a decent presentation but then evolved into a conversation that blew our minds. It was very difficult to wrap our heads around some of the ideas and calculations that go into geology and the geologic aspect of mine planning. We talked about the sample drilling, and how they use that information to guess what is going on underneath the ground. If the geologist is looking for fault lines, the drilling needs to be done at an angle into the ground so they can mark the bottom of it to tell how it was orientated in the ground. Then we talked about how they use this information to create a 3 dimensional model of where the ore is. This is a block model, but instead of displaying ore content it tells you the value in dollars. Each block is labeled with a price per ton of collectible ore. We also now know that this information is fed into a computer program that creates a plan for the order in which it is best to take out the ore. But even with all that, the most interesting part is when you start talking about the cutoff value. After they pull the ore out of the ground they have to decide whether to bring it to the processing plant or to put it in a waste rock stockpile. This is decided by looking at not only the amount of ore in the block but what market prices are doing. I found out that geologists and engineers in general need to know a lot more about economics than I thought. All three of us learned a lot from that meeting and had our heads spinning afterward.

Proofed by Brianna

Environmental Impact Public Meeting

Tonight Brianna, Andrew, and I attended the public hearing down in Blaine about the opening of the precious metal mine, Polymet. It was held at the Schwann Center, consisting of an open house that ran from five to seven, and a presentation beginning shortly thereafter. Among those to speak were the DNR, Sen. Tomassoni, Sen. Bakk, and Rep. Rukavina. The open house had various booths including mine waste management, water, air, mercury, wildlife, socioeconomic impact, and a whole assortment of other topics; each of them having an expert in those areas to explain the concerns and give a plan to the next proposed course of action. The presentation discussed the first draft of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). There were two main topics involved in it, what Polymet projects to do in the project to handle environmental issues, and other alternative options that need to be considered, which were provided by the DNR. The place was packed, causing many people to have to stand. Powerful speeches from the two Senators and Representative, subdued the protest to a minimum level. The hearing overall went very well for Polymet and the Iron Range supporters from up North. There are some alternatives that still need to be examined and studied before the project is given the green light, but is now one more step closer to becoming a reality.

Proofed by: Brianna

UTac Job Shadow

The last few days I have been at UTac job shadowing a Mechanical Engineer that works in Business Improvement. Business Improvement is the Lean Six Sigma section of Cliffs. The projects that they do are to improve efficiency, safety, and basically anything else. When the Black Belts start a project, they have written process that they follow. The first step is to define the problem statement. Once they have done that, they figure out the business effects and what opportunities the company has by completeling the project. The next step is to go into the field and gather data. They use the data to calculate how much money the company will save by completing the project. The next step is to bring the project to a meeting to decide whether or not the project is worth it. If the project gets approved then the Black Belt assembles a team. The team usually consists of the workplace owner, direct supervisor, and a couple of workers affected by the problem. The team meets and brainstorms ideas to improve the area. Having the people that work directly in the problem area on the team is important because they usually have the best ideas to fix the problem. The team comes up with a solution and they implement the project. It was really neat to get a first-hand look at this because we had a day of training with the Business Improvement information and I got to see actual projects that involve it. Overall, it gave me a better understanding of Cliffs business improvement.

Proofed by Christine

Minnesota's Power

12/7/09: 7:10 a.m. At MN Power's Laskin Energy Center in Hoyt Lakes. Let's see how this thing is put together.

Facts: Produces 110,000 kilo-volts of power
Lower-sulfur, sub-bituminous coal generating station
Two power generating units are rated for 55 megawatts each

What a sight to see. One D-9 cat pushing coal into a grizzly hopper/reclaim unit. The coal gets a ride on a belt system into the plant after it is pulverized into a fine powder. The fine powder is produced by a massive steel rotating wheel that is located in the drum house. The pressurized system then forces the coal and air powder into the two boiler units, one for each steam turbine. The Pre-igniter units combust the fuel air mixture and swirl the ferocious updraft inferno up and out the exhaust exchangers. The inferno super heats the water lines in the boiler, this water goes to a chamber between two rotating drums allowing the water to instantly evaporate into steam. The steam is fused into the the main throttle unit on each Westinghouse turbine. Wickets allow the transfer of this energy from the high pressure side to the low pressure side, spinning a generator to create power. A step-up transformer ends the power distribution cycle by increasing the voltage to transfer long distances through transmission lines.

What a great start to the week. A employer that treats its employees well. Employees that love there job and as a result create a positive learning environment. I seen much more today I cannot describe. I learned much more that I thought would be dry and boring. I was wrong, very wrong... I cannot wait to see what the rest of the week has to offer.

Proofed by: Alex and Austin

North Shore Mining Job Shadow

Today was my first day of job shadowing Mike Jonson at North Shore Mining. The first thing we did was drive to the dump building to take some measurements. Several levels below ground level, there was a broken jib. A jib is basically a beam that is hinged to the wall, and used to swing a load from one area to another. This particular jib was rated for 2 tons. Last week someone decided to use the jib to move a 10,000 pound load. This caused more force than the anchor bolts could handle, and pulled them out of the concrete wall. Our job was to find a way to re-attach the jib in the same place and make it more reliable. To do this, we decided we needed to bolt an I-beam to the wall, and fasten the jib to the I-beam. This meant we needed to do some beam analysis. We found what moment of inertia would be needed to support the load, then look through the beam bible to find the most efficient beam. We ended up picking a w6x15 beam because it was the smallest beam that could hold the load, with a factor of safety of 5. But then, Mike remembered that the bolt pattern on the jib was 8 inches. This caused us to look at the possibilities for an 8 inch beam. The smallest 8 inch beam was a w8x31, which was more than 5X stronger than the 6 inch beam. Also, it more than doubled the weight and cost of the beam, but eliminated the waste of man hours, fab costs, and material costs that would have been required to mate the jib to the 6 inch beam.

Throughout the day we looked at many projects and solved lots of problems. It was a good learning experience for the both of us, considering Mike had never seen a Voyage 200.

Proofed by: Cory Moran

Hibbing Taconite Job Shadow

This morning, at the bright and early time of 7 a.m., Dan and I started a week of job shadowing at Hibbing Taconite. We are shadowing quite a variety of Cliffs Natural Resources engineers. For the first half of the week, I am shadowing plant engineering. My time is split between Todd Pocquette--electrical engineer and head of plant engineering, and Bill Janicki--mechanical engineer. Dan is shadowing in the concentrating department with Jon Eng--reliability engineer. At mid week, Dan and I will switch, so we can get a better understanding of the diversity of the different engineering positions in just a week.

The first day went very well. We started with a short safety video on Hibbing Taconite operations, and shortly thereafter, Dana Koth led us on a very informative tour from which we gained a good understanding of the site and site operations. At the end of the tour, Dan and I split to begin our shadowing. After a very jam packed day, our heads were spinning with the new knowledge and excitement of the projects to come. Look for an update on our projects later in the week.

Proofed by Bill and Dan

Coleraine Minerals Research Lab

Today we attended Coleraine Minerals Research Lab to learn more about the mining process. Our teacher was a retired geologist who had seen almost all of the mining processes ever used, including those that are still being used today. It was very interesting to hear about how efficient the process has become over the years. Most of the tailing piles that can be seen across the Iron Range, actually contain valuable Taconite ore they are now working to extract. The way they used to mine entailed only going after the pure ore chunks that were in the ground below. Surrounding that ore was rock that only contained a percentage of the valuable material. They now are able to seperate the two using a slurry mix of the crushed minerals and a magnet that pulls the ore out, but back then they had to leave everything that wasn't pure for waste. They have actually went back to some of the piles to try remove the taconite, but due to oxidation (aka rust) most of the mineral isn't suitable to make pellets that hold their shape.

He also touched on the new projected mine, Polymet. The mine is going to try extract the copper and nickel that are embedded below the surface. He stated that many worry about the waste sulfuric materials becoming an environmental hazard, but using a metalurgical process and a newly available chemical they now have, he does not see it being a problem. Years ago when they drilled and attempted to mine the metals, they did not have the chemical they do now that will actually absorb the sulfuric gases out of the compounds leaving behind the nickel and copper along with other precious metals such as platinum. The chemical can then actually be used to fire the metal, this due to the flammability of the absorbed gases. I was still suprised to learn that only about ten percent of the material removed will be of value. It should be interesting to hear more about Polymet as Brianna, Andrew, and I job shadow there next week.

Proofed by Christine and Richie

Blandin Project Update & White Board Use

We have made significant progress on the Blandin project. Up-to-date: we have conceived many ideas for the hitch design and agreed on a current best solution, formed many ideas for hooking two carts together, created an interactive Excel Workbook that analyzes members of the cart, and modeled our current design in Pro/E.

Most of our design took place on a white board where we scribbled down ideas, erased, redrew, erased, redrew, and ended up with a final (or best at the time) design. When we go to record what we’ve done, all there is to record is our latest drawing. The problem with that is there isn’t any development of our design on paper—no starting point and improvements showing the design process.

The white boards are valuable tools, but they can hinder our ability to keep good records. I have found it more effective to limit the amount of work that is done on the boards and do more on paper. This will ensure that there is a reflective record of what has been done. It will also help provide evidence of the design process used and most importantly, it will provide a better reference to look back on.

Proofed by Austin and Christine

MSHA training

Our instructors for the new miner M.S.H.A. training have taught us about many procedures and practices to ensure the health and safety of miners while on the job. We have learned about, among other things, hazard communication, safe vehicle operation, and proper PPE selection. Even though we have learned many details of practices to stay safe on the job, the knowledge from the past two days of training that will stick with me most is this; it is your responsibility to keep yourself safe. There are a surprisingly small amount of accidents compared to 30 years ago, but it can still get much better. And, last but not least, someone who fears a particular object, space, task, or procedure is much less likely to be injured by it. Long story short, whenever you are working in dangerous situations, keep a clear, alert mind and you are much less likely to get yourself or others injured.

Proofed by Tyler Bartek, Deric Phillips

MSHA and the final weeks of the semester

A big portion of our learning will be the projects that we will be working on. Many of these projects will take place in the local taconite mines. In order for us to be able to go on the mining property, all of the students of IRE are taking the MSHA course (Mine Safety and Health Administration). These 3 days prior to Thanksgiving break are dedicated to MSHA. During MSHA, students will learn about the dangers of working in the mines and how to avoid accidents and injuries.
Next week will allow students to put some of the things that they learned during MSHA in to context. All of us will be taking a course learning the entire process of mining, from the very beginning to the final product; through NRRI in Coleraine. Although I have worked in a mine for three years, I believe this will be a valuable course for me. It will fill in the gaps of things that I'm unsure of and will help solidify the "big picture" of projects that I will be working on in the future. I think that everyone will find this course to be rather interesting and a valuable asset to our future projects.
The week after that, most of the students will be able to put their knowledge from MSHA and the NRRI course in to practice. Some of the students will be job shadowing engineers that work in the mines. During job shadowing, we won't be working on projects necessarily. Job shadowing will allow us to see a week in the job of an engineer in industry. As I said, some of us will work in the mines, some will work in power plants and some will work in paper plants. These opportunities will provide us with some great insight of possible future careers.
Our final two days of school for the semester will consist of a study day for the FE exam, followed by taking the FE exam. It will be a great time. It's not the real FE exam, but practicing will definitely help us realize what we need to study and how well we are doing. I'm actually looking forward to taking it.

IRE Television Commercial

Yesterday WDIO came to shoot our TV commercial for Iron Range Engineering. As a developing program we want to get our name out to everyone in the area. The main goal of the commercial is to target engineering students who are not satisfied with the way traditional education has been tought to them, with the hope that they will look further into our program. There were two different scenes that they shot, one was taken in our workspace and the other was at TriTec. They are also going to add one of their shots from the mining outlook due to the morning's foggy weather. In the office they did both an individual and a group shot that allowed everyone to be a participant. At TriTec we did an action shot to show that we are a hands on learning form of education. Matt Mattson one of our past guest speakers and industry partner, actually designed a sign for us that was cut out by their massive plasma cutter. The sign said Iron Range Engineering and was made out of Stainless Steel, there is talk that we might hang it for our guest speakers to sign. The commercial went very well and stayed in the time slot they provided us with. The entire setup of the commercial was done by our Public Relations group, they deserve a pat on the back for all of the challenges they faced in order to make it happen.

Program Development Update

To the students in IRE, program development takes a high priority. This is the committee that is developing the new curriculum. A few weeks ago we submitted our proposal for competencies and grading techniques together. We found out that more work had to be done with our submittals. It seems to me that we need to scramble. Many of us have already spent time searching online for help in these areas. The problem is that a lot of these competencies have been created or ranked before. Now we are not sure where to look for assistance. Time is counting down in this semester and our desired target has not yet been identified. For the next few weeks in IRE, there will be a rush to get our work done.
Proofed by: Cory Moran and Deric Phillips

First Aid/CPR

On Wednesday, we had our First Aid/CPR training class. The training will provide us with First Aid/CPR knowledge that we hopefully will never have to use. We are now certified to administer First Aid/CPR. Our trainer was Adam from MED 1 out of Grand Rapids. For anyone out there who has already had the training, here is a small refresher. When giving CPR, the compression to breathe count ratio is 30:2 and roughly 100 compressions per minute. Everyone enjoyed the training, and Adam had an effective way of getting his points across without making it boring. It was nice for once to learn something else other than engineering.

Proofed by: Austin and Alex

Lean Six Sigma Training

Yesterday the students of IRE had Lean Six Sigma training. This training was provided by Cleveland Cliffs, who we will be partnering with. Ken Stocco, who is Lean Six Sigma Master Black Belt, led the training. This training was very beneficial to us as a class. Lean Six Sigma is a system that Cliffs uses to reduce the defects in their products and operations. This training will be helpful to our school functions and will greatly benefit our careers as engineers. Lean is a methodology that was developed to optimize the automotive industry. Six Sigma is a system created to eliminate product defects in industry. Now these two ideas have been combined and adopted by all kinds of industry, Cleveland Cliffs being one of them. Lean Six Sigma puts a huge emphasis on reducing waste to optimize production and save the company money. Ken taught us several ways to identify waste and ways to reduce or eliminate that waste. We also learned techniques to make a meeting run more efficiently. This will help us in our office because we have different types of meetings and with training, we will be able to constantly improve our operations. One of the points that I thought was interesting was Kaizen events. Kaizen events are small continuous improvements that help make operations run more efficient. One Kaizen event we did to better our office was a room configuration. We went through the entire office and organized the whole thing. The room configuration consisted of finding a permanent home for everything. Also items should be placed in a logical place, and have a purpose for being in that place. The Lean Six Sigma training was greatly beneficial to us as future engineers. A big part of engineering is making things better and more efficient and the training we received is all about doing that. IRE greatly appreciated that Cleveland Cliffs put on the class and our instructor, Ken, did a great job presenting the information. We all look forward to learning more about Lean Six Sigma as the program progresses.

Proofed by Christine and Austin

Activities

Last Tuesday we sent our first and hopefully final draft of the program curriculum to our advisory board. It has been a big weight lifted off our program development committee's shoulders. Also last week on Wednesday, we attended ICC and presented PowerPoint presentations about IRE and mechanical engineering in general. We spoke to five different classes including two Engineering Professional Development classes, and three Intro. to Engineering classes. The speeches went very well, although there is still room for improvement. T-shirts with our new Iron Range Engineering logo, were given out to those who asked good questions. Last Thursday we volunteered to help beautify the Mesabi campus. We gathered in groups of two and went around picking up stray garbage and trash. As a group, we have been taking workout hours for the past few weeks, playing football and running on our treadmill and elliptical machine. The long awaited deer season is just around the corner and we are all looking forward to spending some time away from the office, in the woods. We are having a big buck contest between the students. There are prizes for the heaviest buck, widest rack, and biggest doe. All in all, it has been very busy last week and everyone will enjoy the time off next week.

Proofed by Alex and Roth

Efficiency

IRE students are working daily on many things that we need to accomplish by the start of next semester.  There is no doubt that we are all hard workers and have strong work ethics.  The well-oiled machine that we strive to be is still in need of some TLC, talking in terms of efficiency.  There is a lot of time we use throughout the day that a couple of changes could be made to.  Here are a couple of things we could re-evaluate to help us perform more efficiently. Some of us use these methods, but most of us don't, including me.

• Hone your Thinking Skills
  
  • Make sure you always ask questions. Get an explanation you can understand. Communication is vital. Consider all scenarios before continuing.
    
  • Learn from your mistakes, accept the fact you made them.
    
  • Be amicable towards new perspectives, look to others for more experience and skill when needed.
    
  • Adapt your abilities for future use. Anticipate things that may or may not apply at the moment. Wait for proper timing.
    
• Focus
  
  • One project at a time will give you a sense of accomplishment.
    
  • Most steps are supported by the previous ones. Document steps one at a time, complete each one fully, and then proceed.
    
  • Remove distractions, give the project full attention.
    
    • Time can slip away if you forget a step or get off track.
      
• Think in advance
  
  • Planning ahead will make your processes and techniques faster.
    
  • Make a list of ideas (journal).
    
    • If there is no time at the moment, reflect on it later.
      
  • Weigh your Pros and Cons, (risk and benefits)
    
  • SSPL, Start Simple and Perfect Later. Learn the basics then move to complicated.
    
  • Choose tools and resources appropriate for certain tasks.
    
  • Prioritize.
    
  • Think realistically with your time. Plan out each step and set time aside for the unexpected. Think about the next step as you near the end of one.
    
  • Take on smaller portions.
    
  • Get the task at hand to a certain point where it can be restarted the next day.
    
• What's your behavior?
  
  • Record key information. Make sure you realize how your behavior and habits influence the outcome of a situation or event.
    
• Break Time!
  
  • Replenish and rejuvenate your body and mind.
    
  • Get up, move around to increase circulation and oxygen to your brain. It's like getting a fresh drink of water. Your mind will thank you.
    
• Organize
  
  • Make things easy to find and easy to clean.
    
  • Clear space= Clear Mind.
    
• Don't Worry
  
  • To adapt more efficiently you need education. Offer up some of your knowledge, skills and direction.
    
  • Have confidence in your decisions. Love your work.
    
  • Be new and innovative. Nothing is perfect.
    
  • Focused Thoughts= Productive Endeavors
    
• Enjoy your passionate pursuit
  
  • Make a list of things you've been waiting to do. Learn something new for yourself.
    

Proofed by Matt

    Re-proofed by Tyler and Matt

-Abraham Lincoln once said, "If I had six hours to chop a tree, I'd spend four hours sharpening the axe."

Personal Accounatability and Responsibility

Every individual within Iron Range Engineering has a certain level of responsibility to the school and to fellow students. Unfortunately, this responsibility (or personal accountability) isn’t always where it should be for individuals and the group as a whole. This being said, there are various ways in which we can tackle this issue, both constructive and destructive.

The first option I’d like to talk about is babysitting. By this I mean one person (or several persons) believes that every second of every workday has to planned out to a T, and everyone needs someone looking over their shoulders to make sure that we are on task. The second option is personal accountability. To me, this seems like a much better choice. Personal accountability is an obligation to answer for an action. This coincides with personal responsibility, which is the obligation to act. These two things (personal accountability and responsibility) are to be done by the individual alone, and the standards at which these are set are also done by the individual. I guess what I am trying to say is that we need to worry about ourselves and understand that everyone has a level of accountability that should be incorporated into our workday.

Understanding personal accountability and responsibility is a huge part of being a professional. Employers aren’t going to be babysitters; they are going to have expectations that we need to meet. By the end of our two years at IRE, I think everyone will understand and practice this professional obligation.

Proofread by: Derek Phillips
Alex Learmont

Our Learning

Here at Iron Range Engineering, we are required to teach each other classes that some have not taken yet. The ultimate goal is passing the Fundementals of Engineering Exam. We have several ways to address this need. One way is having a few students teach a class (such as Mechanics of Materials or Fluid Mechanics) for two hours of the day. The other is doing practice problems from an FE Exam booklet.
In the past week there has been disagreement in choosing these teaching methods. Some feel that working in a smaller group is the best way to learn and others prefer a big group meeting. Personally, I think both methods are effective. As long as everyone is truly trying to learn and they are giving an effort, then the method shouldn't matter. Yes, a bigger group would be more organized than smaller groups, but at the same time smaller groups are formed because they know what they don't know. Both ways are effective in a learning environment and I don't think that is an issue that should cause tension.
I hope in the future that there will be time to use both methods. Lately, time has been limited. Efficiency is our focus and that is why there is conflict with the techniques we use. However, I believe the method does not measure efficiency. I think that we need to make what we do more efficient.

Proofed by: Tyler Bartek

Communication

There are many aspects of our interactions at IRE. The one that I am most concerned about is our communication as a large group. So far, this blog has seemed like a daily journal rather than an inside look at Iron Range Engineering. By no means are we a well oiled machine yet. We still have a long way to go until we’re as efficient as we could be.
We often come together as a whole group to make decisions for many things. I have found that these meetings are usually not efficient and they usually end in many people being very frustrated. From what I have witnessed, we are a group of 14 very strong minded, dominant individuals and we have learned to argue and “discuss” in much the same way. We are all used to taking leadership roles in a group and we’re all very used to voicing our opinions. When we discuss things in a large group, it is no different. I know that everyone’s opinion is valid, and I’m glad that everyone has input. However, it seems that a lot of people do not know how to properly convey their ideas and more importantly, it seems that a lot of people do not know how to respect other people’s ideas if they don’t agree with the idea. On the other side, people are immediately going on the defensive if someone doesn’t agree with their idea. This creates a lot of tension, a lot of arguing rather than discussing, and it makes for a very hostile group meeting. Because of all these factors, we tend to have some rather long meetings that do not end in a decision. The decision gets delegated off to someone, which could have been done at the beginning of the meeting…saving time.
Two bits of advice for everyone, including myself: learn how to convey your idea in a non-threatening, overbearing way, allow people to constructively criticize your idea without going on the defense right away. And respect other people’s ideas.

Proofed by: Cory Moran

Connecting Your Experiences in the Classroom and Community

Funds Available for Students

Two $1,000 awards are available to full-time students interested in
connecting their experiences in the classroom and in the community.
Fill out a brief application by November 30th, 2009 to be considered
for one of two Carter Academic Service Entrepreneur awards given to
Minnesota college and university students. The awards support
innovative service learning projects that feature strong partnerships
between students, faculty, and community partners. To learn more,
visit mncampuscompact.org.

CASE-GP program provides a $1,000 grant for a student to implement a community service project, a certificate of merit from the Foundation for the student. The project will be published on their website.

GP scholarship students who have innovative ideas to use their academic discipline to solve a community problem or to address an environment need or otherwise strengthen the community are encouraged to apply.

Application and Info: http://www.servicebook.org/

Project Lead the Way Fall Student Survey

IRE Students

Please take the time to fill out a short survey on Engineering Education
in Minnesota. This is an important survey and offers a great chance to enter
to win a $50 Barnes and Noble gift certificate. This survey is open to all
students who are taking an Engineering or Engineering Technology class during
the 2009-2010 school year. It takes less than 5 minutes to complete.
This survey is open until November 6th, and the Gift card drawing will take
place on November 13th. Limit one entry per student.


Please follow this link to take the survey:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=33PpGMQfjYJUDmGiwII0Vg_3d_3d

Daily Journal

Wednesday was spent fulfilling various side tasks. A majority of us travelled to Itasca Community College to work on three dimensional modeling and a recycling project, while a few stayed behind to represent the students in an industry meeting. Overall, it was a very productive day. We designed and built three different recycling containers made from a corrugated plastic material manufactured locally by MDI. We have implemented them in our classroom and have plans to teach younger students the process of building them as a volunteer activity. The 3D modeling group learned some of the more complex tools and features of the Pro-Engineer program. We also received exciting news from the industry meeting. It looks as if there are several local industries and businesses with real life engineering opportunities for us; one of which could start within the next few weeks.

Proofed by: Deric Phillips

As Students

Recently I have been encouraged to gain a clearer understanding of what will change as we start our first semester as IRE students. Well I have discovered that we will still be in the classroom 8-4 on a typical day, but we will also be getting 4 hours of homework a day. We will be spending on average about three days working with industry to every one day in a classroom setting. We will be creating our own learning, but we will not be teaching one another. We will be learning together as a group and when the correct time comes, we will then be given the information we need. We will be doing projects for industry partners and leading EPD projects at ICC. We will be doing service work and writing technical papers. It will be a new, enjoyable and effective learning experience.

Proofed by Tyler Bartek

Target Field Tour

On Friday October 2, 2009 a group from Iron Range Engineering toured the new Minnesota Twins stadium, Target Field, located in downtown Minneapolis. The tour was led by Kyle Fritze, a Mechanical Engineer from M-E Engineers. Kyle acts as a consultant engineer, providing the link between the architecture firm Populous Architecture and the general contractor Mortenson Construction. Kyle would interpret the problems the contractor had with the design and relay the information to provide options for the architect. His title is Representative Engineer of the Mechanical and Electrical Processes. These processes are used in the building of the stadium, his specialty, however, is HVAC systems.

Design and Layout
The stadium location was selected from one of two spots. The chosen location was downtown Minneapolis, near the Target Center. The stadium has a very small footprint, as this was all the location allowed. The stadium was designed and built to fit around interstate 394 by the right field plaza. On the other side, a set of railroad tracks runs parallel to the third base line. Traffic will be an issue, and the light rail and public transportation options will be highly recommended. A passenger train will be added to act as a shuttle service to long distance locations. The field contains three main gates for the general public. The fan capacity is reduced by 15,000 from the 55,000 provided by the HHH Metrodome. Target Field has a sellout capacity of 40,000 fans.

Building and Construction
The building of the stadium was constructed by four main cranes that were centered inside the walls of the structure. They started building in right field, home of Target Plaza, in August 2007. Construction continued to work its way around home plate and into left field, ending near the service gate located in center field where the cranes were removed. The field was laid out using GPS, which allowed maximization of the space and precision in the location of design. In right field, the bleachers come within two feet of the Parking Ramp, and a large ad- panel was constructed to keep onlookers from peering in. Six levels make up the stadium: service, service mezzanine, main concourse, club, suite, and terrace concourse. It also is home to the largest canopy in MLB. The canopy is designed with the Minnesota winters in mind. There are four large legs and a main truss that support each section of canopy. This heavy support structure will be adequate for bearing the weight of the numerous lights, speakers, and snow that will accumulate during the winter.
During the early stages of development, there were up to 1,000 employees working on the jobsite at any given time. Now, as the construction process wraps up, they have reduced the number of employees down to about 300. On any given day, Kyle would have an average of three problems brought to his attention. These problems often included conflicts with designs and layouts that were not physically feasible for the construction crews to build. Kyle commented on the fact that engineers and architects don’t always agree, but spend long hours coming up with solutions that are both functional and aesthetically pleasing.

Technical Design
There are many different engineering aspects included in the operation of the stadium. These include, but are not limited to: heating, plumbing, electrical, environmental, and economical processes. The stadium contains four 400 ton air cooled chiller units that are in operational use. Each cooling unit contains 10 to 12 condensers. To improve efficiency of the heating system, exhaust air from the locker rooms is used to preheat incoming air. The exhaust air is blown over a heat wheel that rotates and heats the input air; therefore increasing efficiency and reducing cost. Believe it or not, one of the hardest things to configure in the construction of the interior design was the grease ducts. This was because of the 1/8 inch per foot slope from horizontal, required for the drainage of the steam and grease splatter given off while cooking. To keep all of the beer cold for the 12 bars and concession areas, 26 keg coolers were installed.
With all of the electrical needs of the building, two backup generators are required for emergency use. Both of the generators are diesel powered, one produces 1000 KVA while the other produces 800 KVA. NFPA Code requires them to run for a period of 30 minutes per month to maintain reliability and performance. Exhaust from the generators is routed out to interstate 394 to prevent it from blowing back into the stadium. For the lighting of the field, the canopy contains a light bar, on the outer face, that projects out on the field. The positioning of the lights will be done at night on a 10’ x 10’ grid. Each square foot of field is required to have 225-350 foot-candles of light intensity according to Major League Baseball.
The plumbing that ran exterior was surrounded by heat trace. Heat trace is a wrap that surrounds the exterior of the pipes. It is activated by a thermostat to maintain a pipe surface temperature above 32 F to prevent freezing in cold weather. The original design had only planned for 6,000 lineal feet of the heat trace; the actual stadium required 18,000 lineal feet. The domestic water enters the building at 50 psi from the city. Once it has entered, the water is pumped up to 100 psi to maintain the required 80 psi at the upper levels after head loss is taken into account. Below the surface of the field, 38 miles of heated water tubing runs throughout placed on six inch centers to keep the playing conditions of the field ideal. The water that flows through the pipes is heated by steam from a city garbage incinerator located near the third baseline next to the stadium.
Now that the Twins are going back to an outdoor stadium, there are many design features needed to make outdoor baseball possible in Minnesota. The field was cored out six feet deep and layered with six different levels of rock and soil to maximize the runoff of water. Underneath the playing surface, several miles of drain tile was laid out to handle up to a four inch per hour rain, which is required by Minnesota State Code. The sod for the field came from Colorado. During the winter months, a special, heavy duty, breathable tarp covers the field. It is designed to sit on the grass to minimize compaction due to heavy snow. The field will be heated during cold months by 38 miles of hot water pipe to prevent the problems that come with freezing. The stadium has many aesthetic features to provide a good experience to the fans while also being player friendly. One of these features is the big green backdrop built in center field to allow the batters to better locate the ball coming from the pitcher. The backdrop includes spruce trees to break up the design of the plain wall, while also giving the stadium some character. The seats of the stadium were also chosen to be green to give the fielders a better chance of picking up the balls in play. Because of the layout of the field and positioning of the stadium, the Twins are taking the first baseline dugout to utilize the sun and rain protection.
Target Field is an impressive engineering feat. As of right now, the field is right on schedule to be ready for play in the upcoming 2010 season. The cost to build the stadium was around 450 million dollars. The stadium is also on track to becoming Silver LEED Certified; this takes into account the efficiency and environmental impact. The stadium includes twelve bars, numerous suites, multiple seating levels, a large plaza in right field, and year round administrative offices for the Twins executives.

Program Development Update

I am part of the Assessment Design team who has been developing a curriculum for the IRE students to use in the future. Recently we have come close to completing 24 competencies that we should have a decent skill level in by the time we graduate. We have created a format for each of these competencies and are currently proofreading them for spelling and grammar errors as well as consistency issues. Just recently, a portion of the IRE students met with industry partners who gave us a list of skills they believe an entry level engineer should be able to do. We then took this list, removed the skills we already dealt with, and consolidated the remaining ones into more competencies to go through the same editing, revising, and reinforcement processes we went through for the first 24 competencies.

Proofed by Cory

Chancellor McCormick's Visit

Chancellor James H. McCormick came in and visited IRE this morning. It was exciting for us to be able to meet the Chancellor and introduce our new program to him. We had a short discussion on what we do here at IRE, and then he gave us a few words of advice. He emphasized that all of us are now role models and that we are the key to the program’s success. He showed great interest in our program, and he spoke of the beneficial factors that will provide great opportunities for us further down our career paths. Overall, I feel that the Chancellor shares our excitement and he has great confidence in us.

Proofed By Christine

Bill Beyer’s Industry Message

Instructor Ron Ulseth, recently had an email sent to him from a former graduate of ICC about the kinds of things the Iron Range Engineering Program should cover. Bill Beyer and his employer came up with these key elements.

"There are 3 things shown in this document."

1. An engineer should be a master at the methods shown. This document is a standard calculation sheet we use in house at North Engineering
Company. The topics listed at the top have been created by us as necessary components to calculation sets. Being able to use these steps
in a design will give engineers a good practice to build their designs around. It will also give them a good way to approach and solve many
problems.

2. An engineer should be able to define a project in four paragraphs. When the opportunity for a project surfaces you need to define the
background of the project, the problem that needs to be solved, what the solution or possible solutions will be, and finally, what benefit does
the project have. Also, this method can be applied to different things, such as, a method to decide whether you should purchase certain
software or what kind of training should I attend.

3. Group Dynamics: I think this speaks for itself. Engineers need to recognize teamwork and participate in that environment, they need to
know when they need to lead, they need to know when they should follow, finally, be able to judge and know when they should take a stand.
-"These are the things that we came up with as good things to fit into the program."

Meaning of IRE…

What is Iron Range Engineering?

• A new and innovative engineering program different from traditional four-year engineering universities
  
  • The learning taking place will be project-based that partners with local industry
    
• Located in Virginia, MN on the Mesabi Range Community and Technical College campus
  
• Part of the distance education program through Minnesota State University-Mankato
  
  • Students will receive a Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering Degree
    
• Our goal is to produce high quality work-ready engineers
  
• We are putting a big emphasis on professionalism
  
• We are participating in several community service activities
  

 

Why is Iron Range Engineering Needed?

• Several statistics have shown that engineers graduating from traditional four-year colleges are not work-ready
  
• IRE is going to attack this problem with a goal of producing higher quality engineers that have more experience with practical application
  

    

How is Iron Range Engineering Different?

• Our curriculum will be based on an actual work environment format
  
  • Students are in an office setting from eight to four (roughly two days a week)
    
  • Students will be out in industry working like on an actual job (roughly three days a week)
    
  • Students are required to dress like professionals
    
    • Business casual two days a week
      
    • Business formal one day a week
      
• Students are accountable for their own learning
  
• IRE will eliminate the passive learning style and move to an active learning environment
  
• Project-based Learning
  
  • Students will be doing actual industry engineering projects
    
  • Students will go into industry and work with engineers (industry engineers and IRE faculty) who will assist them when they need it
    
  • Faculty will use the projects for developing competencies and learning subject matter
    
• Self Learning
  
  • Students will teach one another the technical engineering skills needed
    
    • They will be required to pass the Fundamentals of Engineering Exam
      
  • Students will create their own knowledge and skills by working to together to address and solve real world engineering problems
    
• Professional Skills
  
  • Traditional four year institutions only provide students with technical engineering skills, not professional skills
    
  • IRE is providing these skills by:
    
    • Having the students interact with professionals in industry
      
    • Having the students plan school functions through committees
      
      • Program Development
        
        • Designs the grading system
          
      • Public Relations
        
        • Design radio and TV commercials
          
        • Sets up school tours
          
      • Student Life
        
        • Organizes all student life activities and accommodations
          
      • Video Journal
        
        • Keeps an ongoing update of all activities that IRE participates in
          

Competencies, Skills, and Attributes

Hi. My name is Ron. I am one of the faculty members for IRE. This fall I have been helping the students establish an efficient working structure, interacting with our industry partners, and developing what will ultimately be our curriculum when school starts in January.

One of the premises of our program is that it is outcome based. Our students have been working very hard to develop assessments for the outcomes. In this style of education, the student is presented with an outcome they are expected to achieve. The outcome is defined as a continuum from novice....to......expert. Think perhaps along the lines of a scale of 1-10. Where one is novice and 10 is expert. At the beginning of their IRE experience, students will work with faculty to determine their individual starting point on the continuum. Then, as their time at IRE goes by, they will be performing tasks that allow them to move down the continuum towards expert. Graduation will be possible when the student reaches a high level of achievement in a high percentage of outcomes.

Outcomes come in the forms of competencies, skills, and attributes.

Competency is defined as the quality of being adequately or well qualified physically and intellectually. wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn Think of this as knowledge acquisition.

Skill is the ability to do something well.
www.nga.gov/education/classroom/heroes_and_heroines/glossary.shtm Think of this as something that can be attained through practice.

Attributes are characteristics or qualities. en.wiktionary.org/wiki/attribute Think of attributes as the characteristics that make up who we are and how we act as people.

The outcomes students attain will be competencies, skills, and attributes that are both technical and professional in nature.

Proofed by Angie

Update from the Front office

The students hard work has not gone unnoticed, on Monday the 19th, the students will meet MnScu Chancellor James H. McCormick. He will be at Mesabi CC for a meeting with the Provost and a meeting has been arranged for him to come and visit the students and engage each other with a Q&A session. More will be posted on the happenings after the event.

Engineering devices are arriving daily! Being a new program we needed to purchase many new engineering tools and we have been in the process for the last few months. Some of the highlights are the new Dimension 3-D printer that can print models that were designed in a 3-D drafting program. We have also just received all of our computers with all the appropriate engineering software installed. Those are our two highest priced items that we have, but we also have many smaller priced items that are incorporated into our everyday teaching, ranging from our 96" smart board, two TVs that are connected to our desktops and a 36" plotter for printing our drawings.

Being an engineering program, we strive to find the newest and coolest gadgets. We have a great technology department helping us stay up to date with modern technology. We are currently looking into two gadgets that are rivaled by none: a note pad that records vocal notes and your pen strokes and loads them onto your computer for synced playback of both at a later time. The other is a pocket sized projector that would give us extra mobility when doing presentations.

We are always looking for new gadgets....

IRE Eveleth Golf Outing

IRE Eveleth Golf Outing
It is well known that many business deals take place on the golf course. On Monday, October 5, 2009, the IRE group headed to the Eveleth Golf Course to work on obtaining a business skill. The goal was to spark the interest to gain enough golf sense to not make a fool of ourselves next time on the course. The outing was put on by the Student Life Committee; it included a lesson and nine holes.
The day we attended was actually the last day the course was open. We arrived at the clubhouse at 11:00 a.m. for our lesson. The manager/professional instructor, John Rinne, seemed very happy to have us. When we arrived, the carts, clubs, and balls were all laid out for us. The plan was for an hour instructional including grips, putting, chipping, driving, and course etiquette. The first part of the lesson Jon gave us was on grips and putting. After the putting we moved on to chipping. All 15 of us were allowed to practice at the same time. You can just about imagine 15 inexperienced golfers surrounding the green, and all shooting at the same hole. In spite of the chaos, the instructor had a very high patience level with us.
The next station that was set up for us was a simulated driving range. I say simulated because of the fact that Eveleth does not have a driving range; instead he had the hole 2 fairway blocked off for us to launch balls down. This meant the balls were not special driving range balls; instead they were actual games balls that he provided. Many of the balls were lost to the trees and all of them had to be picked up by hand. After completing the last station, we headed out for the nine hole round.
Each of the teams of two were spread out among the holes to prevent from finishing at different times. We played a scramble, this is where a team takes the best ball after every shot to play on. Throughout the course the instructor checked in with us to see how it was going and also give a few pointers.
Overall, everyone had fun and enjoyed the outing. It was one of the best Mondays a person could have in the office. We plan on heading back in the spring for another outing.

-Student Life- Austin, Alex, & Deric

Proofed by: Erin

Friday

Yesterday Oct. 8th we opened the morning up with 2 hours of M.O.M. teaching. We then broke up into our teams and had discussions on things to complete by the end of Thursday. Toward the end of the day, we had a meeting with Ron; after he discussed Wednesday's Industrial Partnership Meeting, Ron had us do an activity gauging our level of verbal participation in a group atmosphere. All the scores were added up from each individual and then presented to the participants in random order by Ron, so that they had no knowledge of who graded them. Reflections are due Monday to reflect our understanding of the different levels. The thought process that went with this activity was a much needed one. It made everyone take time out of there day to think about what they have been bringing to the table as far as communication goes in our daily group involvements. Personally, I scored myself on the higher end of the spectrum, and I was not surprised that the others graded me towards the same level. Overall, it was a good experience to go through for all of us. We will have many more experiences like this in the next 2 plus years.

Professionally Edited by: Alex

Thursday 08, 2009

On Wednesday some of the IRE students went to ICC. For those who went to ICC, some finished the trailer shelves, which look awesome. The others started on their Pro E drawings, where much progress was made. The students that stayed back at IRE met with industry partners, and talked about how they will proceed with IRE in the near future. The meeting went very well and multiple issues were brought up. Overall it was a productive day for IRE.

Proofed By: Cory

Daily Journal 10-8-09

Yesterday felt like it was a big day for us here at IRE. Here on the Mesabi campus, there was a meeting with most of IRE's business partners. Representatives from BARR Engineering, Blandin Paper, Polymet, Hibbing Taconite, United Taconite, Tri-Tec, Arrowhead University Consortium and ALLETE had all gathered here for the sake of IRE.

There were two main reasons that this gathering was called to order. First on the priority list had been to answer any questions on how IRE would work as a college. The second was to receive input from business representatives on what they would like to see from employees of their companies.

To me, this was an honor. I was one of three IRE students who had the opportunity to partake in the meeting. There were times that three of the industry workers and I would brainstorm ideas to better IRE. It felt just like my classmates and I sat down to discuss ideas. The only difference that I noticed (off hand) was that it was a much more professional level. Ideas that were discussed didn’t have a long explanation, more like “one word” thoughts. This gave me some insight on how to handle this situation next time we are in a meeting and it also gave me confidence in working with industry. For me, this was a productive day.

Proofed by: Brianna Frey

IRE Golf Outing

Yesterday was definitely a fun filled day for the students here at IRE. We spent the day golfing at the Eveleth Golf Course, and it was a wonderful time. This was an event planned out and ran by our student life team (Alex, Austin, & Deric). There were 13 students who attended and 2 faculties. The first half hour we had lessons from the pro; this included putting, chipping, driving, and how to use the irons correctly. We were then sent out in groups of four to play best ball between the teams. Let me tell you it was definitely some intense golfing that had taken place. The majority of the students had never golfed before, and if they had, there wasn’t much practice behind it. After two hours of balls being hit in the woods or water, and tees being broken on the tee boxes, we all realized we have a lot of room for improvement. As a group, we decided we will make this an annual event and are all looking forward to next spring!

We Got The Tour!

Last Friday was an exciting day for IRE. All of last week the Public Relations Committee, led by Dan, worked on getting us a tour of the new Twins Stadium, Target Field. We had to jump through a few hoops to get the tour. They told us that they weren’t giving out tours, but we decided as a group that this tour would benefit our education, so we went on to talk to the engineers on the project. We were successful in getting the tour. The actual tour of the stadium was awesome. Our tour was led by Kyle Fritze, a Mechanical Engineer with an emphasis in HVAC from Mortensen Construction. To start the tour, he showed us around the Mortensen Office. There were piles of drawings of the different elements of the stadium. He told us the drawings change every time there is problem out in the field. Basically, the drawings have changed hundreds of times. Then we went out to the field to see the ballpark.
We started out the tour by walking around the concourse and looking at the structure. Then we went down to the service level where we got to see the guts of the stadium. We saw all the HVAC systems for heating the indoor parts of the ballpark. We learned about the LEED program while on the tour. The LEED program is a program designed to encourage environmental friendly energy systems. The new stadium has a system that uses exhaust air from the locker rooms to preheat air entering the heaters. Target Field is on track to get a silver certification for the LEED program. Another neat engineering feature is that the field has the ability to handle four inches of rain per hour. In order to do this, the field has six layers of different grades of dirt, and there is 40 miles of drain tile. To prevent the field from heaving due to frost, the field has water coils in it that keeps it from freezing. To end the tour, we got to walk down to the field and check it out. Overall, the tour was highly educational and we look forward to watching the Twins in the new stadium.

Attention Resume Writers

By EngineerSalary.com Staff, September 29, 2009

A Poor Resume is Costly
A September 2009 review of over 1400 Human Resource Managers revealed that a surprising number of open Engineering and Technical Management positions remain unfilled.

While it's no surprise in this economy that there are a tremendous number of job applicants, it is a surprise that so many employers claim very few candidates have the qualifications they seek.

It was further revealed that a vast number of potentially qualified candidates are routinely disqualified because their resumes lack substantial or comprehendible content. And in many cases, resumes are screened down to consideration for positions that are probably lesser than the candidate may otherwise be qualified. Several managers commented that they don't have the time to 'read between the lines', or make assumptions on whether candidates have the level of skills required.

Engineering resumes were cited as particularly challenging to screen. With the multitude of technologies and terminology unique to the profession, many screeners find the process overwhelming. In many cases, resumes are filled with ambiguous acronyms that pertain only to a specific company or industry niche. Other resumes are so vague that they communicate very little.

One respondent commented: "Many candidates seem to take their resume for granted. They put more thought and effort into preparing a company report".

To the reader, the resume is a summary view of who the candidate is – and how the candidate perceives them self. Above all, it reveals their communication skills. It portrays their thought process and ability to convey complex concepts into meaningful and comprehendible language.

In conclusion, it appears that many potentially qualified candidates are being rejected because their resumes do not adequately convey their abilities.

Make your resume work for you

Be sure your resume is well organized, concise, and contains solid and relevant material. Resumes that are too brief and say little are immediately disregarded. Those that are too long and verbose put the reader to sleep. Do NOT use a functional format – this is viewed as a red flag. Pay close attention to how you display dates of employment and education credentials – these items are always scrutinized, and can be an immediate disqualifier. Most importantly, make sure it is readily comprehendible.

In a volatile job market, it's critical to maintain a well-prepared resume so that you can respond quickly to a changing environment – whether you need to make a move, or want to capitalize on a new opportunity that presents itself.

Want Expert Advice?

Take advantage of our complimentary resume critique service to determine if your resume stands out. You'll also learn how a professional writer might successfully refine your resume.

For more than 15 years, our affiliated Certified Professional Resume Writers have helped thousands of Engineering and Technical Professionals land their next interview.

Today's job market demands hard-hitting resumes that sell. Your resume is your first impression, and your ticket past the gatekeeper – and a powerful one can take you to the front of the line. Does yours showcase your skills as best it can?

Remember, the interview lands you the job, but the resume lands you the interview.

Don't chance your career to a mediocre resume. Make sure yours is worthy of your talents.

Contact our experts – and take the first step towards your next success.

Daily Journal 10-2-09

Yesterday, Ron implemented a new (for lack of a better word) “game”. This “game” is intended for personal/group gain only. What’s happening is IRE is being split into two teams (the gold versus the blue). This leaves seven people per team. Now, every week there will be a team leader on one team and everyone else will be under his/her order. When the week is over the group will be graded by the leader (in a one to six fashion) and the leader will be graded by the other members (in general).
I see where great potential can come from this. In a perfect world, only good things would come. However, we are not in a perfect world. Personally, I won’t have a problem being told that I am sixth place in group of student’s whose potential is already set at a very high standard. I could sleep just fine knowing that. But I am kind of leery about other consequences that could come with this little “game”.
I don’t want this to be a competition. I have decided that my intentions are going to be the same as any other day in IRE when we are working. “Impressing is not our message, just let us do what we do”. This is how I feel and I am excited to see how things change from here on out.
~Matthew Korpela

Daily Journal

Yesterday we took our usual Wednesday trip to ICC. Erin, Christy, and Bri were at Timberlake Lodge for the Women In Engineering day. The rest of the IRE students were at ICC with the goal of constructing some shelves and work benches. These were designed to be placed inside the IRE and ICC trailers, but also be removable when not needed. In the front end of the IRE trailer we built a permanent twelve space shelving unit. The sides of the trailer also received a removable work bench with storage underneath, and some removable utility shelves on the other side. For the ICC trailer, we built a permanent work bench up front, and two rows of removable shelves on one side. Construction was mostly completed yesterday, with only a few finishing touches to be made next Wednesday. Getting started was slow moving for a while because we had ten engineers that wanted to do it their own way. Although, it wasn’t long before we all came to a consensus on a final design plan. Then, the shelves were built and installed without hesitation. Photos from the first day of construction can be found below, on this blog.

IRE Trailer Shelf Build

Here is a link to view the pictures we took of IRE students making shelves for the ICC trailer and the IRE trailer.

2009-09-30 trailer shelf

Requirements for IRE

Requirements of IRE admission

Mankato:

5 Physics 1 (with lab)
5 Physics 2 (with lab)
16 Calculus throughDifferential Equations
Calculus 1
Calculus 2
Mulivariable Calculus
Differential Equations
2 Introduction to Engineering
3 Statics
3 Dynamics
4 Circuits 1 (with lab)
5 Chemistry 1 (with lab)
2 Introduction to Problem Solving and Engineering Design
7 Technical or Expository Writing and Public Speech
6 Humanities
9 Social Sciences (which must include either micro/macro economics)
Either Physics 3 with lab, General Biology, or Chemistry 2



Iron Range Engineering

3 out of the following list:
Mechanics of Materials
Thermodynamics
Fluids
Digital Logic
Circuits 2
Organic Chemistry
ProE/Graphics

Daily Journal

Last week the IRE footprint was large. With a few at our home location assisting in preparations for Camp Rankine and carrying on our typical daily work, another group located at Camp Rankine in Bigfork leading activities and supervising, and the remaining at the North Shore volunteering at state parks, our week was anything but ordinary. I was included in the group that explored the more costal like region of this great state. With a deficient supply of red rock, the North Shore proved to be quite a different landscape. Though most of us have been there before, the scenery is always a pleasant reminder of what is right out our back door. Our main focus of the week was building a board walk, trimming trails, and excavating steps into the steeper parts of the trails. Our ability to work together in a business like setting reflected into the woods. Everyone knew what needed to be done and had no problem helping out anywhere needed. Mid way through the week our DNR supervisors left us, realizing that we lacked the need of someone watching over our shoulder. For myself one of the best parts of this trip was being with my classmates in a different setting. I feel that it strengthened the bond between us. We also got a chance to explore some of the natural attractions of the area, but by the end of the week I believe that we were all ready to leave the cliffs, waterfalls, and occasional hy-brid to be home on the range

Daily Journal

This week has been a complicated one so far. The majority of the IRE students went on a camping trip to volunteer at the North Shore. The few of us who decided not to go continued our daily work and found volunteer projects of our own. On Monday afternoon the four of us who remained cleaned the Mesabi campus and I must say it needed it. In no time at all we had four garbage bags full of loose trash. Tuesday and Wednesday we were asked to help ICC prepare for their first camping trip to Camp Rankine. The four of us did virtually all of the food and equipment preparation. It was a learning experience trying to plan an event for a group of 70 people. Two days of running was barely enough time to get the essentials figured out. I’m sure next year will have fewer issues because everyone will have a better idea of what is going on and the school will have most of the equipment they need. One of the worst parts is being told we needed to get the registration for 18 canoes/kayaks. Well, first of all, the DMV doesn’t like it when you bring in 18 registrations and say we need these done in under two hours, and we don’t know how to pay for them, and we don’t have the right info, and half are used half are new, and some had previously been registered incorrectly. We did get it ironed out in time and the only major problem was finding enough lifejackets so all of the watercraft could be used at once. It was all hard work and was stressful, but to be honest I did learn a lot about organizing and delegating, and it was still fun.

Daily Journal

Last week, as a whole group of 14 students we went through the areas of study that we had issues with. One issue that I thought was important to address was about the assessment design process. We (the 14 students) had been having trouble making a decision because we are all equals and no one wanted to overstep their boundaries. When someone did make a decision, it could be seen as putting themselves above everyone else and could give the illusion they have higher authority. To combat this, we have team leaders (four to be exact) that are representing the assessment design sub-groups. If a conflict arises, then the team leaders get together and come up with what they believe would be the correct decision.

Daily Journal

For the past two days we have really been trying to buckle down and get everything we need completed for this week. We have been working as a team of 14 to try and get our assessm. ent design project headed in the right direction. I think that working in such a big team instead of splitting up into smaller ones is beneficial for us because we have a lot of input. The only problem with this is that there are 14 different opionions that come into play and not everyone is always made happy. So yesterday when there was some dispute, the parties involved realized that they needed to come to a compromise, otherwise nothing was going to get completed. After we got everything settled, we just flew through the material that we wanted to cover.

Daily Journal 9-17-09

Yesterday, the group of us spent the day at ICC. Alex and Richie went with Nick to scope out Camp Rankine. The rest of us spent the day accomplishing random things that we needed to get done. One of the questions that came up was "what does IRE really mean to you?" To me, IRE is an opportunity. It's an opportunity with endless possibilities. All 14 of us have an amazing chance to show ourselves, each other, all the contributors and every one to follow our lead (both new IRE students and new programs that will start to arise) what we are truly capable of. I believe that we are incredibly lucky to be afforded this chance, and it already seems that we have a lot of potential and a lot of drive to really make this brand new program a success; to give this engineering program a face and a personality just by, not only living up to everyone's expectations, but by far surpassing them and doing things beyond what even the biggest dreamers dreamed we could do. I have faith in all 14 of us to achieve this. I have faith that throughout the two and a half years that we will be spending in this program together, we will grow immensely and we will prove ourselves to everyone involved.

Daily Journal

Yesterday Alex, Andrew and I taught Mechanics of Materials to Erin and Christy. Along with that we gave example problems to the whole class, as a good review. In FE review our group started to break apart the main parts of Chemistry. Other groups made use of the smartboard to teach what they were covering.
After coming back from lunch the whole group did an example FE math problem. Most everyone got it done with ease which is a good sign to see. In our Assessment Design groups we found out that it is going to be a bit of a challenge to come up with an accurate way to judge all of the things needed to be an Engineer. We started with the ABET criteria as a baseline. After that we met in our Student Life group. We had a list of things we wanted to do already, so we began finding numbers and calling around to line trips up. The group met briefly at the end to set goals for today and we were dismissed.

Daily Journal : 9-14-09

Last friday was the first opportunity we had to use the daily schedule that had been set up for the Iron range engineering program. I think that it was well planned and went fairly well last friday. We will get better at sticking to to the schedule and feel more comfortable with it as we continue to follow this as a daily plan. I beleve it will become a very useful tool for us during our engineering education. the schedule is as follows.
8:00-8:15 -Journal
8:15-8:30 -Check E-mail/Online news
8:30-9:30 -Teaching team prep/Learning team practice
9:30-10:30 -Teaching team introduces new material
10:30-11:30 -Fundamentals of engineering preparation
11:30-12:15 -Lunch
12:15-12:30 -Daily FE problem
12:30-2:15 -Assessment design
2:30-3:30 -Committee mtgs/Personal development
3:30-3:45 -Group wrap up
3:45-4:00 -E-mail/Online news

Ron's Speech

This is a very good speech everyone should listen to it again... This speech was presented to everyone at the signing ceremony on Thursday.

Daily Journal

Friday, Sept 11, 2009

Yesterday was the official signing day that involved University of Minnesota Mankato represented by Dr. Davenport and Northeast Higher Education District represented by Dr. Collins. This signing made the Iron Range Engineering program official and was an important day for many people. Many organizations were represented including University of Minnesota Duluth, Arrowhead University Consortium, Bahr Engineering, Cliffs Natural Resources and many others.

Attention IRE Students.

Ron needs to know if anyone has any last minute schedule changes. Aug 28th is the last day to add/withdraw from classes. If you need more co-op credits or another class, please let him know asap.
thanks

IRE Dress Code

Monday – business casual

Tuesday – formal

Wednesday – street casual

Thursday – business casual

Friday – street casual

These may change according to weekly events such as the signing which is a Thursday, and we will be dressed formal.

Definitions

Street casual

Men: What you would wear to a ball game

**NOTE: No jeans with obscene holes (show skin) or graphic T’s (Partner school/industry graphic T’s are okay)

Women: What you would wear to a ball game

**NOTE: No jeans with obscene holes (show skin) or graphic T’s (Partner school/industry graphic T’s are okay)

AND If sandals are worn (men or women) please bring tennis shoes with to work.

Business casual

Men: Khakis or slacks; polo, button-up (can be short sleeve), or sweater; appropriately colored socks and dress shoes

Women: Khakis or slacks (or Capri of either), polo or button-up/blouse (can be short sleeve), appropriately colored socks and dress shoes

Business formal

Men: Slacks, long sleeve button-up with tie, sports coat, dress belt, and appropriately colored socks and dress shoes

Women: Slacks or skirt (past knees), polo or button-up/blouse , suit jacket, dress shoes (if wearing open toed heels; nylons are needed)

ICC Requirments

See if this is any help. Figure out what credits in each area you need to complete what we are looking for. Use in conjunction with the Mankato links.
click here

Registering for Classes at MRCTC?

If you need to sign up for classes at Mesabi and will be taking 9 credits or less, you do not need to go through the formal application process. This link will take you to the Part-time application. You need to print it off, fill it out, and fax it, along with a copy of your ICC transcript (which you can get from e-services), to Sue Twaddle (Admissions Assistant). The fax number is on the form, but here it is again -- Fax: 218-749-0318. At the top write Attn: Sue Twaddle. She will then call you with your student id number and password, and you can register yourself for classes. She, just as everyone else, is busy and may get side tracked, so don't be shy and call her if she hasn't called you after a couple hours of faxing your form. If you have any questions, you can call Sue at (218) 749-0315.

Equivalency Guides

Table of Semester Course Equivalents for Itasca Community College

This is a link that Tracey Hammell the Academic Advisor at MSU has provided us with, in coordination with Ron,

http://www.mnsu.edu/admissions/equivalency/07-08/itasca.html

Approved General Education Courses: General Ed Requirment

This next link is explaining the MSU requirements of credits in the humanities area and social science areas.

http://cset.mnsu.edu/mece/me/programs/ugrad/gened.html

Things to keep in mind…

Everyone has had a little different career at ICC and other institutions. The classes you will be taking this Fall Semester might be a little different from others or the same depending on certain circumstances. If you have any questions (which you all have) don't be afraid to call Ron and Rick first, then Tracey. Please don't sit around and wait to take action, we need you all to try and be as sharp as possible at getting yourself signed up for classes at ICC and MRCTC, if you haven't done so already! Please try to get your housing app fee in for the dorms at Measbi, this is urgent if you haven't done so. I would recommend everyone doing a FAFSA no matter what, even if you think it's pointless. Some forms of payment might need this information to get processed. Wednesday, August 19^th - Start of Apartment Check-in. Keep checking your email, your phone, phone a friend; please try to keep the communication hot, we really need to get fresh feedback from all of you as we draw closer to start up.

Thank you,

General Education Requirements

Here is a link to Mankato's Undergraduate Mechanical Engineering Gen Ed requirements. This will give you an idea of what Mankato is looking for.

http://www.mnsu.edu/supersite/academics/bulletins/undergraduate/2008-2009/mechengineering.pdf

Consortium Students

Everyone is taking classes at more than one school. These two links that I have posted will get you going in the right direction. These need to be filled out as soon as possible!!!

Also please check your email. There are important things that need to be filled out and understood so Ron and Nick can get things going. Talk with your parents and try to finish things up to the best of your knowledge!

Thank you,

http://www.itascacc.edu/financeedu/consortium.cfm

http://www.itascacc.edu/financeedu/0910ConsortAgrmnt.pdf

IRE Student Code of Conduct

Student code of conduct

    The purpose of this code of conduct is to ensure that students of Iron Range Engineering (IRE) can learn in an ethical and lawful manner. All members must conduct themselves with integrity in order to advance IRE as a program. It is required that anyone who attends Iron Range Engineering will follow the governing laws of Minnesota and the surrounding community ,as well as the codes of conduct published by IRE's partnered schools: Mesabi Range Community College, Minnesota State University – Mankato, and Itasca Community College.

    The Iron Range Engineering program relies on the personal and professional development of its students, faculty, and staff. Therefore, the conduct of IRE's members shall embody the following fundamental traits:

Patience: It is necessary to control one's self when faced with prolonged opposition. Members of IRE must proceed in a calm manner in all activities and must never let aggravation be visible to others. Teamwork is a skill intrinsic to IRE; as such, patience is imperative to the success of the program.

Communication: Communication throughout the student body will be practiced by everyone in attendance, not for fear of the consequences associated, but for the opportunity to develop one's personal and professional self.

Trust: Each member receives IRE's trust in full. Each member must work consistently to prove their loyalty to IRE and its partnered schools. By becoming a member of IRE, you are reliable for upholding this trust and report those who choose to disregard it.

Integrity: For IRE to be successful each member must complete his work to the best of his ability. Development is measured by what you have done and without integrity, your work is meaningless. IRE expects its students to be honorable in all decisions and statements made.

Honesty: Honesty is the fiber from which any relationship is formed and is crucial to establishing personal competency and leadership. Every member shall be honest about their life's activities and deviate from the deceit of others. True honesty is practiced at all times, not just when convenient.

Leadership: With the design of IRE, leadership does not imply a commanding position. It is up to each individual to hold themselves accountable for their responsibilities as well as being aware of the responsibilities of others. A true leader is not one who not only dictates orders, but one who is also a laborer within the group.

Pride of Ownership: Each member of Iron Range Engineering must feel a sense of loyalty to the program, its staff, and student body. Therefore, one must strive to improve the program and to foster an environment that is ideal for learning.