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Expanding Research

June 5, 2023

The College of Engineering is expanding its research efforts with a host of new engineering institutes and centers, and growing existing ones. Here’s a look at some of the areas where Lawrence Tech is pursuing the creation of important new knowledge and scholarship.


Wearable Technology Innovation Center

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It started with a watch that could measure your pulse and how many steps you take in a day. Now, wearable technology is exploding. And Lawrence Technological University aims to be at the forefront of this developing technology, along with other university and industry partners, in the creation of Michigan’s first Wearable Technology Innovation Center (WTIC). Through the planning and establishment of WTIC, innovators from both new and established enterprises will have access to resources that will help them design, research, develop, manufacture and commercialize their technologies and products, as well as establish and scale businesses. WTIC will encompass a robust entrepreneurial ecosystem, innovation center, and regional economic development engine. It will bring together innovative companies, entrepreneurs, start-ups, manufacturing firms, industry leaders, university researchers, and workforce development stakeholders to foster the development and production of wearable technology in the areas of elder care, worker safety and protection, youth recreation, athletic safety, and human productivity. Leading this effort will be Eric Meyer, associate professor of biomedical engineering and leader of LTU’s Experimental Biomechanics Laboratory. To learn more and/or to become a part of the planning team, contact Ross Sanders, LTU corporate partnerships manager, at rsanders1@ltu.edu or 248.204.2221.


Construction Safety Research Center:

The Construction Safety Research Center (CSRC) at Lawrence Technological University published the results of its initial research project and announced the addition of four new member companies. The study tried to answer why some construction workers don’t properly use personal protective equipment (PPE). The topic was selected by the CSRC’s founding members. Research from CSRC Director Ahmed Al-Bayati, assistant professor of civil and architectural engineering at LTU, identified lack of proper use of PPE as a major factor in construction site injuries and deaths. The culprits behind not using PPE include poor PPE design, the belief that PPE is cumbersome and too hot in warm climates, the belief that PPE will slow down work, inadequate safety supervision, lack of safety training, and lack of management support, among other factors. Suggestions for improvement included more training, management support, and improved PPE designs. The study, titled “PPE Non-Compliance Among Construction Workers,” has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Safety Research, a top scholarly publication in the safety industry published by the National Safety Council and Elsevier. The study’s white paper can be found on the CSRC webpage at https://www.ltu.edu/engineering/csrc-old/research-results-signup.  The CSRC also added four new members in late 2022: Barton Malow, the Southfield-based contractor and construction manager; CAB Engineering LLC, a Northville-based provider of government certification, procurement, and contracting consulting; MISS DIG 811, the Michigan non-profit corporation that operates the underground utility safety notification system for Michigan; and Frank Rewold & Sons, the Rochester-based construction firm. Founding members are Carhartt, Inc., a Dearborn-based maker of work apparel; DTE Energy, Michigan’s largest utility; RBV Contracting, Inc., a Detroit construction firm; the cities of Kalamazoo and Southfield; and Michael Darga, partner at Giffels Webster, the Detroit civil engineering firm, who graduated from LTU in 1985 with a Bachelor of Science in Construction Management.


Lawrence Tech Transportation Institute:

Lawrence Technological University is consolidating its transportation research and training programs under a new umbrella, the Lawrence Tech Transportation Institute (LTTI). In recent years, Lawrence Tech has developed a thriving practice in training for Michigan road contractors, teaching them how to certify road construction materials for use in road projects. During the 2021-22 academic year, LTU trained 182 people under these programs, in cohorts ranging in size from seven to 19 people. Those programs, along with the research from Nishantha Bandara, associate professor of civil and architectural engineering, and Elin Jensen, chair of that department, will find a new home in the LTTI. Recently,  LTU faculty researched methods of reducing alkalinity of road drainage, advancing in pavement design, using recycled materials for the bases of roads, mobile wireless sensor networks for road safety, using extra-wide snowplows towed behind plow trucks to speed snow removal, and more. The LTTI also has new materials testing equipment in its lab, including a machine that can simulate the passage of thousands of cars over asphalt to find the perfect balance between strength and pliability in paving materials.


New Industry 4.0 lab is ‘one of a kind’:

Lawrence Tech cut the ribbon in January on a new robotics and factory automation laboratory that the companies that helped create it say is unique anywhere in the United States. The Rockwell Automation/McNaughton-McKay Electric Co. Industry 4.0 Robotics and Industrial Automation Laboratory “is state of the art technology, world class control architecture… the list goes on and on,” said Tim Mulcahy, recently retired engineering manager for the Michigan region of McNaughton-McKay. And Larry Smentowski, global automotive director of Rockwell Automation, said: “This lab is a beacon for your students and a vehicle for your students and the larger community to understand what the future will be like…This is something no other university, no other campus, has done.” The lab is a million-dollar-plus investment by LTU and its industry partners in training LTU robotics engineering and electrical & computer engineering 0students how the factories of tomorrow will be designed, optimized, and run. Michael Brennan, engineering manager at McNaughton-McKay, said: “The great thing about this lab is that it has all the different trends in industry today. This will help us create future members of our automation community.” Inside a steel safety cage, Kuka industrial robots grab items and place them in boxes on movable pucks on an assembly line, which send them to the next station for more alterations. The lab can simulate assembly line and warehouse packing operations, all controlled by Rockwell software and programmable logic controllers installed by McNaughton-McKay. Also in the lab is machine vision and inspection technology from Oak Park-based Detect-It and Rochester-based Deepview. The lab also uses Rockwell virtual reality software called Emulate 3D, creating a virtual twin of the lab, where students can test out their manufacturing simulations before trying them in the physical assembly line. The lab will be used by several LTU engineering and computer science programs.


Nabil Grace Center for Innovative Materials Research:

Lawrence Tech University shared its advanced infrastructure research capabilities with the people who run one of the world’s most iconic bridges during the spring semester. Four of the six members of the Mackinac Bridge Authority board and other Bridge Authority officials toured LTU’s Nabil Grace Center for Innovative Materials Research, informally known on campus as the Grace CIMR. Among them was Kirk Steudle, former director of the Michigan Department of Transportation who is now a member of the Mackinac Bridge board. Steudle graduated from LTU in 1987 with a Bachelor of Science degree in civil engineering. He also serves on the LTU Board of Trustees and last year was inducted into the Michigan Transportation Hall of Honor. The lab has equipment that can test the flex and weight-bearing capacity of bridge beams with over 175,000 pounds of load, as well as a heat chamber that can subject infrastructure materials to temperatures up to 2,300 degrees Fahrenheit, similar to conditions inside the World Trade Center after the Sept. 11 attacks, when burning jet fuel brought down the twin towers. Another carbon-fiber reinforced bridge beam was also subjected to about 50,000 pounds of load inside the heated chamber, taking over an hour to fail. The lab also has an environmental chamber that can be heated to 140 degrees or chilled to minus 40, with sprays simulating rain and ice.

» Document Viewer

Use Your Cell Phone as a Document Camera in Zoom

  • What you will need to have and do
  • Download the mobile Zoom app (either App Store or Google Play)
  • Have your phone plugged in
  • Set up video stand phone holder

From Computer

Log in and start your Zoom session with participants

From Phone

  • Start the Zoom session on your phone app (suggest setting your phone to “Do not disturb” since your phone screen will be seen in Zoom)
  • Type in the Meeting ID and Join
  • Do not use phone audio option to avoid feedback
  • Select “share content” and “screen” to share your cell phone’s screen in your Zoom session
  • Select “start broadcast” from Zoom app. The home screen of your cell phone is now being shared with your participants.

To use your cell phone as a makeshift document camera

  • Open (swipe to switch apps) and select the camera app on your phone
  • Start in photo mode and aim the camera at whatever materials you would like to share
  • This is where you will have to position what you want to share to get the best view – but you will see ‘how you are doing’ in the main Zoom session.