Student Life Activities

The IRE Student Life Committee put on the annual IRE golf outing again this fall. It was held at Giants Ridge (The Quarry) in Biwabik, one of the premier golf courses in Minnesota. This experience helps the students get to know each other on a more personal level helping with the team building process while having lots of fun. Many engineering topics were discussed on the course like the projectile motion of the golf ball, how the DC motor worked on the golf cart, and one player was caught trying to design a new earth moving tool with his seven iron (He hopes to intern with John Deere some day). It is events and people like this that make IRE a special community to belong to.


 

ESSAR Refueling Station

This semester I am working on a project with fellow seniors Cody Beer, Bill Dorry and Graham Redshaw. Our mentor for this project is Mike Shoberg. Mike is a professional engineer, who is currently a vice president at Barr Engineering in Hibbing, Minnesota.

For our project this semester ESSAR Steel Minnesota has requested that our group create preliminary designs for their refueling station for their mobile equipment. This stand-alone building will be used to fuel the trucks and perform some regular maintenance, such as the regular fluids and airing of the tires.

These designs will be dictated by the various building codes. These codes include but are not limited to: state, international, general, mechanical, electrical, energy, plumbing and fire.

Our client has requested that we create preliminary drawings and present them to ESSAR early on in the semester. This will allow for constant feedback which will help us create the best possible drawings by the end of the semester. 

Dave Ellis Leadership Conference

Over the weekend of September 15^th, 16^th, and 17^th, Iron Range Engineering sent six students to the internationally acclaimed Dave Ellis Leadership Conference in St. Paul Minnesota.  Dave is a best-selling author, successful businessman, entrepreneur, and CEO of a nonprofit.  The program, titled Coaching Practices for 21st Century Leadership, focused on developing leadership skills among students, industry professionals, and leaders of non-profit organizations.  We learned a variety of skills including a new kind of note taking with 3x5 inch index cards, brilliant listening, and coaching as opposed to giving someone advice.  Note taking on the index cards emphasized taking brief notes, one per card, to help organize thoughts and tasks while maintaining a simple approach.  Mr. Ellis recommended including on these cards a priority rating, deadline/timeline for the goal or task, areas of support or potential collaborators, and potential subcategories.  Brilliant listening entailed being a better listener-giving both verbal and nonverbal feedback, not interrupting or issuing assurances, and then reciting what you heard from the speaker.  The main difference he wanted us to understand between coaching and giving advice is that while coaching, you are there to help the other person think-not to think for them.  Often times, if we ask the right questions or probe the person with a problem, and allow them to articulate their thoughts, they will formulate a solution on their own, which is much more valuable than simply being told another person’s solution.  Coaches facilitate thinking and problem solving.  They do not do it for you. These skills can be used in a variety of situations pertinent to IRE students, particularly in the areas of time and task management, group work, and leading a project team.  

Things are changing at IRE

There are many things changing this fall at Iron Range Engineering, and here are some highlights:

First, we must welcome three new people to IRE. We have a new business instructor, Elizabeth McBride, a new laboratory supervisor, Noel Olander, and a new technology coordinator, Jim Boyd. Welcome to our program, and we look forward to working with you!

This fall our new building located on the Mesabi Range Technical College campus is going up before our eyes. As of today, the concrete foundations have been poured and back-filled, and several walls have been constructed. Hopefully by this spring the new project rooms and laboratory spaces will be completed and ready for our use. 

In our old spaces, a model building and laboratory room has been created and outfitted over the summer, along with a large classroom and a common space. All are located within a short distance of project rooms and faculty offices for ease of access. Additionally, the Blandin Foundation has generously donated a large sum of money allowing us to outfit our new spaces with state of the art tools and equipment.

Finally, thanks to our friends at the Eveleth campus, new facilities are available to us for construction of project related material. These include a wood working and metal shop. We also have use of their overhead gantry crane and forklifts if needed. The availability of these facilities allows us to build high quality experiments and project models.

Thanks to everyone who has supported this program, and we look forward to even more changes in the future.