Annual "IRE Biggest Loser Challenge"

Students of Iron Range Engineering held a general fitness competition during the spring 2013 semester. The goal for this competition was to encourage and give added incentive for students to stay in shape and be active during the winter months of the year.

There were three different challenges for students to compete in. The first was a presidential fitness competition in which all participants were tested on their strength, stamina and flexibility; evaluation was made by percent improvement at the end of the semester, which included both male and female victors.  The second challenge was evaluated by determining who had the greatest percentage body fat loss. This was managed by each student personally (via electric impedance scale provided by IRE), as to not invade privacy. The last challenge was based off of total time spent exercising. Each student interested in participating was required to record their time they spent during each work out and a small description of the workout.

The parameters will most likely change in the future to increase fairness, encourage participation and positive community morale.  The four winners of the competition received $150 Visa gift cards for their hard work and persistence. IRE intends to continue the Biggest Loser challenge next year and make it an annual tradition.

“For me life is continuously being hungry. The meaning of life is not simply to exist, to survive, but to move ahead, to go up, to achieve, to conquer.” – Arnold Schwarzenegger 

by Case Goodyear

My First Semester Update

As my first semester here at IRE comes to a close, it is time to wrap all of the semesters deliverables up. Between project work, technical competencies, and professionalism, this list is fairly long! Here at IRE, we work to become efficient project managers. This not only comes from our semester long projects, but from managing and completing all these things in a short amount of time.

With that, the next few weeks will be quite busy. I am enjoying this semester and all the experiences I've had. I am also excited to return in the fall!

-Justin

Building Update

The interior of new building has finally been completed. Now that the ribbon-cutting ceremony has been completed, the building has been officially opened for use. The machinery has been installed in the machine shop, and the project groups have settled into their project rooms. Here is a short photo tour of the building.

  

This is the south entrance in the building. Through the wooden door is the machine shop.

 

Just above the south entrance is a small sitting area.

 Here is the wall of commemorative plaques for the first and second groups of students to graduate from the Iron Range Engineering program.

 Situated near the west entrance is another plaque that thanks the individuals who helped contribute to the Iron Range Engineering program.

 

Here is a conference room that is available for all students and mentors to use.

 Inside the machine shop are the CNC machine (left) and lathing machine (right).

 There is also a water jet cutting machine sitting next to the lathing machine. On the left, the Wikispeed team is working on their vehicle.

Printed on the wall above the machine floor are the sponsors for the new building.

Made to Stick

At the end of the day it can’t be all Fourier transforms and Navier-Stokes equations. Students at Iron Range Engineering work hard to be competent professionals as well as technical experts. This semester, that included reading the interesting and useful book “Made to Stick” by Chip and Dan Heath.

The book describes how to make a lasting impression. They say a successful idea has to be simple. The key to communicating simply is finding the core of the idea and sharing it. You want to strip away all of the excess fat that distracts from the main goal. By focusing on one thing you want people to pay attention to, you ensure that they take away at least one thing.

Put simply:

Find the core.

Share the core.

WIKISPEED progress report

IREngineering Outsider blog post

Daniel Marshall 4-24-2013 

The semester has been flying by and many of the students and faculty are making greater use of the modeling lab and the new machining lab.  The WIKISPEED project team has been occupying a section of the machining lab to build the WIKISPEED SGT-04 car. 

After the WIKISPEED project team traveled to the Lynnwood Washington shop there was a realization that the team had to step back and redesign the scope of the current project. Many of the presumptions about the current WIKISPEED car were wrong and more engineering analysis was needed than thought.

The primary focus is now to redesign the steering setup to provide better handling, redesign the crush structure assembly, implement suspension improvements, and adapt the motor mounts to support the larger 2.0 liter Honda Civic engine.  The changes made to the cars design have been made with engineering excellence in mind.  The crush structures, along with many other project goals are nearing completion with the semester coming to an end. This has been achieved by setting aside time every Thursday for the team to go into the shop and work on design and fabrication of car components.

Completion of the items in the team scope will leave the fall 2013 WIKISPEED project team set up for a quick start.  The image below shows the current phase of construction of the WIKISPEED 100 mpg car and the testing done to determine the vibration characteristics of the crush zones and chassis structure.  The new machine lab is an awesome addition to Iron Range Engineering and will improve project based learning here at the Minnesota State University, Mankato extension campus.  

Steven Spooner & Ronnie Ulseth editors

United Way Volunteers

A couple of weeks ago, seven Iron Range Engineering students volunteered to participate in the United Way of Northeastern Minnesota allocation panels. United Way of Northeastern Minnesota raised $913,286. Thirty-six agencies and programs from across the Iron Range sent in their applications to request funds. The thirty-six agencies were split across nine United Way panels, which consisted of eight to nine volunteers. Each volunteer read their panel’s four applications, made sight visits, and participated in the allocation interviews. This experience allowed us the opportunity to see how donations from the area are distributed and be a part of the decision making process as to what agencies will receive the money. The whole experience was very eye opening. We really got to see what our communities are all about and what the true need is. It also gave us the opportunity to learn more about United Way.

We learned that United Way focuses on the building blocks of life: education, income, health, and basic needs. They work to help children and youth achieve their potential, families and individuals become financially stable, to improve people’s health and wellbeing, and by supporting the transitional need for food, shelter, clothing, and safety.

United Way staff and volunteers raise additional funds for their initiatives throughout the year by holding events across the region:

·  Power of the purse

·  Bayview blast and arctic splash

·  Flavor of the north

·  Ride the range

·  Kooch County cruise

·  Hooked on talent

Besides raising money for their initiatives, United Way started and funds Imagination Library, Smiles Across Minnesota, and the Buddy Backpack Program.

Volunteering for United Way is a great way to give back to your community, which is an important part of being an engineer. Two Iron Range Engineering students were voted onto the United Way of Northeastern Minnesota board of directors at their annual campaign celebration dinner. To learn more about United Way or to volunteer visit UnitedWaynemn.org. 

Posted by: Katy Marking & Ron Ulseth

Proofread by: Emily Kilpatrick

Undergraduate Research Symposium

 

 

On Tuesday April 16th, nine students presented at the 15^th Annual Undergraduate Research Symposium at Minnesota State University, Mankato.  Six of the students presented posters during the morning session, while the other three presented oral presentations in the afternoon.  A few students stayed for the Undergraduate Research Symposium Celebration Dinner that took place in Minnesota State University, Manakato's Ballroom after all the presentations were competed.  Students that participated in this conference have gained a great learning experience as well as the opportunity to be more involved with Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Proofread by: Grant Roy

Generation 6 Update

The dust has settled, and amazing things have happened.

Over the past month a team of Gen 6 and Itasca Community College students have been finishing their preparations to compete at the Shell Eco Marathon in the urban concept car division. As our peers set out, we wish them the best of luck at competition and hope they have a safe trip.

Proofreader: Adam Benes

After school robotics class

Recently, IRE has provided funding to start an after school robotics class to a few local 5^th graders. Brian Stephenson, an IRE senior, has been teaching the class on Wednesdays for just over a month. The theme for all of the robotics projects has been centered around “how can we design a robot to make our lives lazier”. One of the challenges that students completed was designing a robot which would help them sleep in longer in the mornings. The kids designed a robot that would sense a person entering t heir room to wake them up in the morning and would throw Lego pieces at the person to hopefully scare them away. The kids are having a blast learning engineering principles to make their lives lazier and are excited to wake up when it’s “Robotics Day”. The kids have so much fun that they frequently talk about the class at school. Their technology teacher has even dropped by to see what they have been working on since they talk about it so much.

It is important to help inspire young minds by empowering them science and engineering fundamentals to accomplish fun things.

Proof read by: Jim Boyd and Elizabeth McBride

Thank You

I am writing this blog to publicly thank the faculty and staff, at Iron Range Engineering.  Over the last two years, the wonderful people who have helped me with my education have been an inspiration not only to my learning but my life in general. They helped me learn the technical aspects of being an engineer, and helped me grow as a person in many ways. I see the long days they put in to accommodate students’ needs and their patience when students are questioning why we do the things we do.  I see their sincerity in making sure every student gets a chance to excel in the areas that interest them. I feel very blessed that IRE came into my life when it did. The size of the school adds a sense of community that could not be matched at a bigger school. This experience has led to many friendships, with both students and staff; I look forward to maintaining these relationships long after I am done with school.  As I finish my education at IRE, I will go out into the work force and try to emulate the hard work and dedication I have had the privilege to see at IRE. Once again, thank you.