Professor Cheol Lee received a research grant from Samchun Pure Chemical for development of electrode materials for solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC). Dr. Lee and his research team will be working on new DOE, data mining, cost modeling and  optimization techniques for establishing relationships between powder characteristics and performance of a small single solid oxide fuel cell.

When John Junge was applying to college as a teenager in Jackson, Michigan, he assumed he would have to go to community college first because of financial constraints. But he won a scholarship to the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor instead. After learning about the Dearborn campus's cooperative education program, he transferred so he could earn money in his chosen profession while finishing his studies.

Now he's giving back. Junge, a member of the class of 1964, recently announced a 350,000 gift to establish a scholarship for high school students who want to major in industrial and manufacturing systems engineering at the University of Michigan-Dearborn.

 

"Being privileged to attend the University of Michigan is a blessing, and it's a further blessing sometimes to be able to give," Junge said via video at an event honoring him with a Distinguished Alumni Award to recognize his leadership, community service, and personal accomplishments. "So I'm announcing here today the endowment of the Junge Family Scholarship to study industrial engineering at the University of Michigan-Dearborn."

In recognition of his roots, the Junge Family Scholarship will be directed toward qualifying students from the state of Michigan and from the Jackson area, if applicable. Junge owns All-Star Inc., a San Diego-based company that provides management and operations service to government and military facilities in 18 states and Germany.

The Junge family has previously made other gifts to the university, most notably to the athletics programs. The Junge Family Champions Center in Ann Arbor is named in their honor.

The advisory board meeting of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering department was held on November 14, 2008. Eleven faculty and five advisory board members attended the meeting. Following a brief welcome note from the Dean Sengupta, the meeting activities commenced with a tour of Vehicle Ergonomics Laboratory. Drs. Bhise and Rodrick demonstrated three on-going projects during the tour. Both advisory board and faculty members provided their comments and suggestions on the current human factors and ergonomics research.

Following the tour, the attendees convened in PEC 1410. Acting chair Dr. Orady talked about the department that included history, mission and objectives, enrollment, research activities and external funding, new graduate programs, and focus research areas.  Dr. Kridli presented the last academic year's ABET assessment of undergraduate courses. Dr. Bhise presented the findings of a survey on faculty perception of offering undergraduate IE and Manufacturing Engineering programs in distance learning mode. Also, some faculty members made brief presentations on selected externally funded research projects. Meeting concluded with the dinner, during which both faculty and advisory board members exchanged views on faculty research activities and industry-specific potential research areas.

For this event photos click here.

Every couple of years, the department of Industrial and Manufacturing Systems Engineering (IMSE) makes a special effort to bring groups of alumni back to campus. This year all IMSE alumni were invited back -- and enjoyed a very special surprise.  

The event on September 14, hosted by Drs. Swatantra Kachhal and Adnan Aswad, drew about 30 alumni and emeriti faculty back to campus for dinner to reminisce, catch up and see what the department is doing. Alumni who attended included Tom Helzerman (BSEIE '67, MSE ‘91), Marlin Thomas (BSEIE '67, MSE '68, Ph.D. '71), Dennis Kirchoff (BSEIS '79), Phil Lavender (BSEIE '68), Keith Talbot (BSEIS '80), Richard Anderson (BSEIE '76, MSE '82) and Bob Matsura (BSEIE '72, MBA '77).

The highlight of the evening was the announcement of a new, named scholarship in honor of Dr. Kachhal. This endowed fund will provide support for future IMSE students for many years to come. Dr. Kachhal was quite surprised. "I had no idea anything like this was going to happen," he said. "I am so pleased and very proud of our alumni for supporting future students. That the endowed fund will be in my name is very humbling."

Dr. Kachhal has been chairman of the department for 25 years and has always been highly regarded by his students. "Dr. Kachhal has had such an enormous impact on so many Engineering students at UM-Dearborn," said Dennis Kirchoff, a former student. "He's been here for half the life of the campus, so he's been an integral part of the lives of hundreds of IMSE alumni. This scholarship fund is our way of saying thanks for all he's done."

An anonymous gift was made to start the fund. But it can be added to at any time, in any amount. Those interested in making a gift to this endowed fund should contact Mike Stein, Director of Development, at mjshd@umd.umich.edu or (313) 583-6744.