Weekly message 1/29/2022

Happy Saturday,

I hope you are all having a relaxing Saturday. 

This week, the homework that is due is 

• Calculations Part 2 (in the Fundamentals of Air Pollution folder)
• Health Effects
• Participation Question 3
  

If you need the grace period just let me know and I'll reset the due dates for you.

On Monday we will discuss Project 1. I have posted the team assignments, Project 1 description and accompanying PowerPoint, and the grading rubric. All are in the project folder. Project 1 is due February 23rd. There will not be any other homework due that day. Project 1 is to be completed in your assigned teams. 

After our discussion this past week about the health effects of air pollutants and infectious diseases, this photo should be cringe-worthy to all of us. At least we won!

Source: The State News

This week we will study indoor air quality modeling. The lecture is posted in LON-CAPA.

I want to remind you that we all need to update our COVID vaccination form by Feb. 1. The Vaccine Booster verification process is now live using MSU’s vaccine verification form. You have to click edit to add the booster information. You also can request an exemption to the booster mandate using the verification form. MSU has partnered with the Ingham County Health Department to host booster clinics. The next ones are on Jan. 31 and Feb. 17 at the Breslin Center, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. All three FDA-approved or -authorized vaccines (Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson) are available.

President Stanley also announced that KN95 masks will be available starting this coming week. You can pick up a free mask at one of several distribution sites across campus, including the Union, main library, residence halls and other common spaces. Apparently, details will be sent from Student Life and Engagement, so watch out for that email.

MDHHS is also giving out masks (in packs of 5). Details here.

Here is an interesting article that links health effects with gas stoves (indoor air pollution) and climate change. I'm beginning to like my electric stove more and more. 

Have a great rest of your weekend,

Dr. Masten

 

Weekly Message 1/23/2022

Greetings and Happy Sunday,

I hope all of you are doing well.  

I'm sure you've seen the email message from President Stanley regarding the return to in person classes. The modality of ENE 489 will remain unchanged as we still have a classroom, but I will continue to lecture from home via Zoom. I am asthmatic, have genetic COPD, and am a couple months away from turning 65, all of which make me high risk. At the advice of my physician along with MSU's infectious disease expert, Dr. Peter Gulick, I will continue working from home as long as the COVID19 case numbers remain high, which they continue to be (see below). While I know this isn't what many of you wish to be the case, me becoming very sick from COVID19 will be far more disruptive to the course than me lecturing from home on Zoom. I do hope you all understand. More than anything, I want to finish the semester with all of you.

However, as we continue to have our classroom (NR 158), feel free to attend in person if you wish to do so.  You will be able to log into the computer console and Zoom so you can watch in person with your peers who also wish to do so. Several students in ENE 480 and ENE 483 did this last semester and it seemed to work reasonably well.  Someone will need to moderate questions from those in the classroom since we do not have a ULA. However, if it seems necessary, I will request a ULA to assist in the classroom, although I cannot guarantee we will be provided one.  If you do attend in person, I strongly encourage you to wear a properly fitted N95, KN95, or KF95 mask and to participate in the Early Detection Program (Spartan Spit). It's easy - you can even pick up kits right outside of the entrance to EB 1345 (the big lecture hall) and drop them off in the dropbox in the EB Circle Drive (among many other locations).

 

COVID-19 reported cases (based on PCR testing), hospitalizations and deaths in Michigan. The number of cases is reported as per 100,000. Data are reported as weekly averages starting 6/6/2021. The last set of data is from the week ending Friday 1/21/2022. All data are from MDHHS.

The second homework assignment on the sources of air pollution and calculations 1 is due on Wednesday 1/26 at 11:59 PM; Participation question 2 is due at the same time. If you would like the 48-h grace period, just let me know and I will adjust the due dates for you. 

This week we will finish the calculation lecture on Monday and look at the health effects of pollutants on Wednesday and Friday.

I have posted the team assignments and Project 1 description. Both are in the project folder. Project 1 is due February 23th. There will not be any other homework due that day.  I will post the grading rubric this coming week.

I have received several emails about the Air and Waste Management Association - West Michigan Scholarship encouraging me to pass the information on to students. Details are in the link; applications must be submitted online before 12:00 midnight on Sunday, January 30, 2022. Right now they have only one application for a $5000 scholarship! https://wmawma.org/scholarships.

I have also posted several internship and job opportunities on the blog and will continue to do so.

Enjoy the rest of the weekend,

Dr. Masten

 

Weekly Message: 1/16/2022

Happy Sunday!  

I hope all of you have had a chance to relax this weekend. The sun is glorious today and despite the cold, I went on a beautiful hike with a friend. The coolest part was where the water from a pond outlet had created a channel in the ice, flowing through the ice, and into the stream a few feet below. 

The first homework on the history of air pollution and scales of pollutant transport is due on Wednesday at 11:59 PM, Participation question 1 is due at the same time. If you would like the 48-h grace period, just let me know and I will adjust the due dates for you. 

I have received several emails about the Air and Waste Management Association - West Michigan Scholarship encouraging me to pass the information on to students. Details are in the link; applications must be submitted online before 12:00 midnight on Sunday, January 30, 2022. Right now they have only one application for a $5000 scholarship!   https://wmawma.org/scholarships.

There is no lecture on Monday because of MLK Day, however, I'll log into office hours on Zoom in case anyone has any questions.  On Wednesday, we will finish the lecture I started on Friday and begin a unit on calculations used in air pollution. 

Enjoy the rest of the weekend,

Dr. Masten

 

 

 

Scholarships

 

The Michigan Section of the ASCE encourages the advancement of the Civil Engineering profession by qualified and interested students. To that end, the ASCE Michigan Section offers financial support through two scholarships. These scholarships have been endowed through the efforts and generosity of individual Civil Engineers and leading Civil Engineering companies throughout Michigan. Applications are due by Memorial Day.

 

Mackinac Scholarship

Named in honor of Michigan's #1 Civil Engineering Project of the 20th Century by the ASCE Michigan Section membership in December 1999, the Mackinac Scholarship is intended to recognize a premier Civil Engineering student from Michigan. The award will be presented annually, and will consist of a two-year grant of $5,000 each year (totaling $10,000 over a two-year period) to a student entering his or her junior year at an ABET-accredited Civil Engineering program. The award considers merit, personal initiative, and financial need and encourages both participation in a student chapter of ASCE and contributions to the advancement of student engineering.

 

Zuidema Scholarship

Named in honor of an outstanding Past-President of the Michigan Section and the Western Michigan Branch of ASCE, the Marvin L. Zuidema Scholarship Award is presented annually to a student member of ASCE who has made a contribution to the advancement of student engineering activities. This award will consist of a one-time grant of $1,500, and considers academic performance as an indication of preparation for a future career in Civil Engineering. The Zuidema scholarship is available to either a junior or senior in an ABET-accredited Civil Engineering program.

 

Click the link below to access more detailed information and the application itself.

 ASCE Michigan Section Scholarship application 

 

 

SCHOLARSHIPS

The West Michigan Chapter of the Air & Waste Management Association (WM-AWMA) is pleased to announce the availability of at least two (2) individual scholarships, each in the amount of $5,000, to be awarded to selected college juniors, seniors, and graduate students pursuing a qualifying environmental career in the West Michigan area.  Preferred courses of study include environmental engineering, physical or natural sciences, natural resources, environmental law or environmental education. Successful applicants will also receive a one-year student membership in WM-AWMA.

The application with additional information and instructions is at www.wmawma.org/scholarships.

Welcome!

Greetings and welcome to ENE 489,

I hope all of you are well and have enjoyed the break between semesters. It is now clear that the semester will begin online on January 10th and remain as such until at least January 28th.  

I've set up the course website (LON-CAPA: https://loncapa.msu.edu/), which you will be able to access as of later today. You will sign in as you would normally on D2L. 

I will run the course synchronously with recorded lectures that I will post unedited on MediaSpace. Links to the recorded lectures from 2021 are included in the course schedule in the syllabus. I encourage you to attend class so that you have the opportunity to ask questions and interact with your classmates.

There is a folder on the site with review material for you so that, if you desire, you can look over material covered in ENE 280 and past chemistry courses. The syllabus is also posted on LON-CAPA.

There will be homework assignments (yes, for those of you that have had me as an instructor - it will be in LON-CAPA), where you will be able to master the course material.  And there will be no exams! In place exams, there will be three group projects.

There is no textbook for this course.  The reading material is available electronically on LON-CAPA.

There is a Google form/survey (link on LON-CAPA) that I have created, which will assist me in preparing the course and assigning students to teams.  Please complete that as soon as possible.

I have also created a class blog, where I will post weekly messages, job and internship announcements, etc.  

If you have any questions, feel free to email me.

Enjoy the remaining few days of the break and stay well, and see you in class on the 10th!

Dr. Masten