#umengineering

UMengineering http://twitter.com/UMengineering/status/907959242404933634 https://t.co/Jzv6g5wqia September 13, 2017 at 10:28PM

New federal guidance on #automatedvehicles issued at @UMichMcity | “A Vision for Safety 2.0.” https://t.co/GCOcwIqHMg http://pic.twitter.com/BNPwvxsCVb

Final Steps from the Solar Fridge Team 

As final exams and summer plans increasingly capture the student consciousness, project teams are busy putting the finishing touches on a year’s worth of work. At Solar Fridge, each component of the Fridge is being brought together for the final assembly of a full scale prototype. This event marks the end of two semesters’ worth of designing, manufacturing, and testing, and marks the beginning of full-scale fridge testing. As leader of the condenser sub-team this year, I’ve seen the fridge’s condenser go from a mere pencil sketch to a high-functioning element at the heart of the Solar Fridge.

This month’s condenser work has revolved around one task: soldering. The condenser consists of a cascading zig-zag of half-inch copper pipe, which naturally requires soldering at each and every turn, coupling, and value. As a sub-team, we began with little to no soldering experience, but we had a goal to finish a leak-free condenser by mid-March, just in time for the full-fridge assembly. With practice and some help from Youtube, we improved our soldering technique each week, producing the carefully crafted condenser that the Solar Fridge needs to function at its full potential.

With the Trip Right Around the Corner - Guatemala Team 

Check out this wonderful photograph of Yoani Herrera (one of the members on the Guatemala Team) and Kevin Jiang (one of our project leads and future president)! In this photo, they are acting out the story of Jimmy Morales, the current president of Guatemala. This is a part of the recent culture workshops we have been incorporating into the meetings so that we can get a better understanding of Guatemalan culture before we return to Antigua to conduct a more focused needs assessment.

There have been a lot of interesting changes recently in how Emma and Kevin have been running the meetings. Since there is a lot to do to prepare for this trip so that it is fruitful, we have been improving on the task delegation process. At the beginning of every meeting, each member sets a number of hours they can commit to the Guatemala Team in the following week. Then, the remaining tasks are split amongst subgroups, who take charge on the task and inform Emma and Kevin of the progress. I am really interested to see how our team’s dynamic and productivity are affected by this change. Personally, I think it has been working great.

With the trip right around the corner, I have a lot to think about. Even though I got to participate in SANA this year, I know this will be a very different experience. Most of the members going on this trip have already been to Antigua before. The needs assessment process itself will be very different and much more in-depth. We will be meeting with more in-country contacts and stakeholders. The results of this trip will determine how the Guatemala Team continues next year. I have grown attached to this team. My experience on the team so far has taught me a lot about leadership, teamwork, and what it means to be a global health advocate. I love all of its members, and everything we strive to accomplish as a team. Wish us all the best!

A group of University of Michigan students has spent a month in rural India surveying water needs, a project that gave them a deeper understanding of village life – the delights of the mango harvest, festive weddings and cricket matches.

The students, who called themselves the BLUElab India team, departed in early May to begin the water assessment project that will help them design filtration and storage technology in the western state of Gujarat.

“It involves going to different villages and mapping their water needs. Where does the water come from? What are its uses everyday and how is it disposed?” said Mike McGahren Clemens, team co-leader and a junior in chemical engineering.

Could cancer be diagnosed with a simple blood test? A new chip developed by Sunitha Nagrath, assistant professor of chemical and mechanical engineering, and her lab developed a chip that can trap cancer cells.

When the team runs a blood sample through the chip, it can catch breast, lung and pancreatic cancer cells. These cells can then be grown on the chip to learn more about the disease in a specific patient.

The beloved #AnnArbor burger joint, Blimpy Burger, closed its doors yesterday. But, before it did, we asked people in this video what three words they would use to describe the artery-clogging restaurant.