Final Design Review

Today was the culmination of the work that the students have accomplished for the spring 2012 semester. All of the groups presented their final designs for the semester projects to the IRE staff, students, and visitors.

The entire semester of work can be summed up in these hour long presentations. Much time and effort has been put in by all the students for the last four months in order to give these outstanding final design presentations. I think it is safe to say that everyone has improved their presentation skills from the start of the year, after completing numerous other presentations.

The groups that have worked this semester on projects for industry will now go out to their client’s site and give one final presentation. I know that those students will be prepared to give quality, well prepared presentations to their clients.

The remainder of the week will now be dedicated to finishing technical and professional work. On Thursday the Generation 2 students will be graduating, and entering the workforce. Congratulations and best of luck in your future jobs!

Proofed By: Steven Spooner

CO-OP project

This semester Grant Graupmann and I have teamed up to work on an entrepreneurial project together. Grant and I are both Generation 2 students working in industry as co-op students. We work for two different companies and are not geographically close to one another. This made working on a project challenging, because face time was very sparse. As it turns out working darn near full time makes things even harder. Nevertheless, we have achieved our goals we set at the beginning of the semester, and have a preliminary product that has been brought through the first stage of a feasibility study. Grant and I are presenting our product and the work we have done during a Final Design review this week. Our hopes are that another group of students at IRE will pick up where we left off and take this product to the next level.

This will be my last design project at IRE. Looking back at my experience thus far at IRE I can honestly say Im glad I came to school here. Although I have one more semester until I graduate I look back at my IRE experience with a smile, and the feeling of a job well done. I have learned how to be a professional and an efficient and quick learner, I have a good job that I thoroughly enjoy, I got my job before I graduated, and I did it all without leaving the Iron Range! What more could I possibly ask for?

Proofed By Matt Sjostrand

IRE - A Retrospective

The semester is coming to a close once again, and as a graduating senior, it’s a good time to reflect on my experiences at IRE. I have worked on a variety of projects, such as creating a data-retrieval program for pacemakers, designing process controls for a paper mill, and evaluating the electrical design of a substation. These projects have exposed me to several different aspects of what an engineer does, and I have been able to relate all my projects to my technical learning. I have also witnessed the rooms at IRE undergo several re-designs, and I am excited to see the new IRE building after its construction.

Along with the engineering experience comes a dynamic curriculum. As a growing program, we are still refining the best way to educate engineers, so students can witness firsthand what works in the program and what doesn’t. At times, this can lead to frustration and late nights at IRE, but the program is getting better, and we are all capable of shaping the best way to learn engineering.

Despite the hardships I have been through, I am positive that going to Iron Range Engineering was the best choice for me, and I would gladly recommend it to anybody pursuing an engineering career. In just a few weeks, I will graduate as an engineer with an electrical emphasis. This is only the beginning of my lifelong learning.

Proofread by Michael Rudi

Undergraduate Research Symposium

A couple weeks ago ten students went to Minnesota State University Mankato to present at the Undergraduate Research Symposium.  This symposium had over 100 different abstracts accepted for presentation at this annual conference. 

The Minnesota Power Design Team gave an oral presentation on the design process of their project and a poster presentation on a heat transfer deep learning activity that found heat transfer through a model building.  

This was a great opportunity to share what the different project teams have been doing and practice their professional presentations skills.  This also gave Mankato students a chance to learn and ask about Iron Range Engineering.  

Proofread: Emily Kilpatrick

Industry Contacts

As the semester comes to a close, it is important to recognize the industry contacts we have made over the past semester.  Many of our projects involved direct contact with local professionals.  We gained many things from these contacts, including industry knowledge, mentorship, and in some cases internship and engineering employment. 

Our relationships between engineering professionals will hold importance throughout our careers.  Learning to develop these relationships will be crucial when looking for that first job, or when working on projects with other engineers with our current employers.  We must remember when closing out this semester's projects to thank these people for their assistance.

2012 Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration Conference

A group of students went to Duluth this Tuesday and Wednesday (April 17^th and 18^th) to attend the annual Society for Mining, Metallurgy and Exploration Conference. Students participated in the Tuesday’s afternoon sessions and trade show exhibit and Wednesday’s morning sessions and afternoon luncheon. There are a number of different sessions that were held Tuesday and Wednesday covering everything from “Dust Suppression” to “Training a Workforce for Future Mining.” Each student will be expected to attend several sessions and treat each as a learning experience. This annual meeting is run for the professional development of those in the local mining industry. Students are encouraged to talk with those attending the conference and the vendors about the industry and to ask any questions they may have. The bill for the students attending this conference has been paid by U.S. Steel, Arcelor Mittal, and Cliffs Natural Resources. IRE and its students would like to thank these companies for making it possible to attend this conference, which could potentially open up doors us now or later down the road.

Steven Spooner

Local industry helps us to learn

In the educational environment we operate in, the key to learning is cooperation. The local industries and businesses are helping Iron Range Engineering, (IRE) every semester. Brian Pazzelli, owner of North Country Heating, Cooling, & Refrigeration helped our team learn about the refrigeration cycle by modifying a small refrigerator. He has prior educational experience as a former educator at Dunwoody College. His willingness to explain the process and ensure modifications were done correctly was great. He added valves to the refrigerant lines, Figure 1, and recharged them with environmentally safe refrigerant. His firm also donated a set of pressure gauges so we could monitor the pressures and complete our learning experiment. The difference between the ideal and actual operation of systems is easier to understand and remembered longer when it is experienced “hands on”.

Figure 1 Valves and pressure gauges

The learning process for engineering never stops changing. There are new technologies to learn and discover in almost every field of study. One other thing that is sure not to change is the state of Minnesota’s commitment to work with industry and educational institutions to achieve the right balance of economy, safety and environmental protection.

This cooperation happens with every IRE team at one time or another. Help is provided when needed, by one of the fine businesses around the Iron Range and state. They are going to make this educational program model work for the future engineers and the industry of Northern Minnesota.

Progress Minnesota

April 11 was the inaugural Progress Minnesota day, as proclaimed by Governor Mark Dayton¹. Gov. Dayton promotes economic growth through “business enterprises and the development of innovative products and services”. Along with it being Progress Minnesota day, Finance and Commerce held their first annual “Progress Minnesota” awards. These awards recognized thirteen individuals and fifteen organizations for their contribution to the growth of Minnesota.

Among the thirteen individuals is our very own Mr. Ron Ulseth for his excellent work and dedication to the Itasca Community College Engineering Program and the MSU Iron Range Engineering program.

In the organization awards our program, Iron Range Engineering, was honored for using a radically different method of educating engineers while simultaneously keeping these engineers in Minnesota.

The program is proud to receive this reward, and we are also proud to have an award winning instructor/mentor interacting with us a daily basis

¹ http://mn.gov/governor/images/Progress_Minnesota_Day.pdf

Ethics Discussions at IRE

It has come time to write the summary of the ethics discussions that were held throughout the semester at IRE during design and learning review. Ethics is part of the everyday life at IRE because of the importance of ethics during an engineer’s career. Some of the topics that my group had discussions on were the responsibility of the engineer during the construction process, conflict of interest, and the Challenger Shuttle disaster. The discussions start by somebody introducing the topic from the research, then the group takes turns saying what they would do if put in the situation, and why they would take that approach. By having ethics discussions every week, students have the opportunity to talk about real world problems and how to deal with them because there will always be ethical dilemmas. It is important for engineers to follow the engineering code of ethics everyday and by being exposed to problems, students will be more equipped to handle issues during their professional career.