July 27, 2001, Vol. 33, No. 42
Drilling in the Great Lakes: Why Oil and Water May Not Mix
Going Away Party for Mary Zanoni
New Software Promises Cleaner, Safer Manufacturing Processes
Alumni Reunion August 2-4
Talks on Cardiology, Acupuncture August 2
Seminar July 30 on Ore Processing
New Staff
MTU Notables
On the Road
Job Postings
Bill Curnow, director, University Relations
Marcia Goodrich, Tech Topics editor
Gail Sweeting, electronic marketing assistant
Information to be included in Tech Topics should be submitted to the Tech Topics editor in one of the following ways:
By electronic mail--send information to ttopics@mtu.edu
By interdepartmental mail--send double-spaced, typed copies to the attention of Tech Topics editor, University Relations.
Each week, the deadline for submitting information is Friday at 5:00 p.m. for the following Friday distribution.
News (Back to Contents)
Drilling in the Great Lakes: Why Oil and Water May Not Mix
On his computer monitor, James Wood points out a broad ribbon of little red starbursts flowing through a map of Manistee County. Each of them represents a gas well, and they run in a 15-mile-wide swath right up to the shore of Lake Michigan. Then they stop.
It's not legal to drill for gas and oil on the Great Lakes, and poll after poll shows that the people of Michigan want to keep it that way. But it's pretty clear from looking at Wood's map that you wouldn't have to try very hard to find oil and natural gas under Lake Michigan.
To get around the no-drilling prohibition, companies are considering horizontal drilling to reach underwater reservoirs from the land. You could do that, says Wood, a professor in the Department of Geological Engineering and Sciences and an expert in horizontal drilling. A horizontal drilling rig leaves a small footprint on land, and the drilling itself is relatively clean and pollution-free. But it might not be worth it.
Here's why.
Manistee County, unlike Saudi Arabia, doesn't float on a hydrocarbon sea. Each of those red starburst wells on Wood's map represents one small pocket of natural gas, oil, or a mixture of both. Millions of years ago, when all of the state was under water, shellfish and other small animals piled upon each other and formed what are now known as pinnacle reefs. These reefs, which once reached the surface of the lake, eventually were covered with sand, died, and decomposed into gas and oil.
It's not uncommon for one reef to be tapped by only one well, Wood explains. So to reach the off-shore reefs from land, multiple drilling sites would have to be established, and he doubts that would work.
"I don't think it could be done with horizontal wells," he said. "The farthest out into the lake they could drill would be about 1,500 feet, and the pinnacle reefs go out 20 or 40 miles. I don't think it would be economical." Even the most generous estimates--that directional drilling could tap reefs two miles out into the lake--still leave most of the oil and gas untouched.
It could be better than economical if industry could get permission to set up standard drilling rigs on the Great Lakes, Wood said. Each well would cost a couple hundred thousand dollars to build, and it could yield revenues of $2 million to $5 million over its lifespan. Economics, however, may have to take a back seat to esthetics.
"The real problem would be the infrastructure," Wood said. In addition to the visual clutter--anyone standing on shore would have a panoramic view of dozens of little oil rigs--pollution would be almost inevitable. Oil and gas would have to be collected, stored, and hauled to shore. And while natural gas is a vapor, it's usually located in the same places as oil, so some seepage and spilling would be almost inevitable.
On the up side, the Michigan economy would have access to another energy source. "The state would get tax revenues from the wells, and more people than you might think would benefit," Wood said.
In addition, the negative side effects would be ephemeral, at least in geological terms. In about fifty years, the wells would run dry "and the infrastructure would be toppled into the lake," he said. Any leftover oily goo would be eaten by microorganisms, and in a few years the scenery and the environment would return to normal.
But for anyone dreaming of vacationing along a pristine lakeshore in Manistee County, fifty years would probably seem like a very long wait.
Going Away Party for Mary Zanoni
A going-away party for Mary Zanoni, director of System Administration Services, will be held Friday, August 3, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. in EERC B18.
Everyone is invited to come and consume free refreshments and try to make Mary (who has worked here since she was in the third grade--1978!) change her mind about going to the University of Kansas.
"We love her, and we will miss her, but we are very excited for this great opportunity she has," say Zanoni's SAS co-workers.
Entertainment and Enrichment (Back to Contents)
New Software Promises Cleaner, Safer Manufacturing Processes
A new computer program developed by Michigan Tech researchers promises to help engineers develop cleaner, safer manufacturing processes.
A software copyright for Environ 2001: Environmental, Safety, and Health Property Data and Estimations for the 21st Century 1.0, has been registered in the name of Michigan Tech and several current and former MTU researchers, including former senior research engineer Andrew Kline (now an assistant professor at Western Michigan University), Associate Professor Tony Rogers, and professor and interim chair Michael Mullins (Chemical Engineering). Environ 2001 is being marketed by EPCON International, of Houston.
The software provides engineers with the latest data and methods to effectively manage EPA- and OSHA-regulated substances in a database of more than 1,000 chemicals and 55 properties.
Environ 2001 is based on information developed at Michigan Tech over the past ten years through the Design Institute for Physical Property Data Properties Projects 911 and 912. DIPPR is an industry-funded consortium including MTU that is organized through the American Institute of Chemical Engineers.
Also involved in the development of Environ 2001 are former technical staff assistant Clare Whitten and technical staff assistant David Zei (Chemical Engineering). Former student research assistants who worked on the project are Erin Donnellon '00 (Chemical Engineering), Martin Heward '00, Matthew Trumbell '00, and Phillip Wells '00 (Computer Science).
Other contributors are Project Steering Committee Chair Ashok Dewan (BP Amoco), DIPPR Technical Director George Thomson, and Todd Willman, president of EPCON International.
This year's Alumni Reunion, set for August 2-4, features scenic cruises on the Portage Waterway, a grand opening in the ME-EM, and a revealing talk by historian Larry Lankton on a pioneer Lake Superior family.
While Alumni Reunion is for Michigan Tech's former students, all members of the MTU community are invited to a number of events. Many are free; some are not. To get tickets for the Pasty Picnic, the Awards Dinner, or the Golf Outing, contact Alumni Relations at 487-2400 for a registration form. To register for any of the Keweenaw Waterway cruises, call Keweenaw Excursions at 482-0884. Reunion headquarters will be in the Memorial Union.
Here are a few highlights:
THURSDAY, August 2
FRIDAY, August 3
SATURDAY, August 4
SUNDAY, August 5
Seminars and Workshops (Back to Contents)
Talks on Cardiology, Acupuncture August 2
Two Michigan Tech alumni will offer a continuing medical education program for health-care professionals and interested lay persons as part of Alumni Reunion, set for August 2-4 at Michigan Tech.
Dr. Mark Cowan '77, a Marquette cardiologist, and Dr. Mark Shebuski '72, a Houghton family practitioner, will give presentations on cardiology and acupuncture on Thursday, August 2, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. in Dow 642.
Cowan will discuss catheter ablation, the mechanisms of common narrow complex tachycardia, and how electrophysiology techniques are used to cure these tachycardias.
Shebuski will speak on the history of acupuncture, how acupuncturists are trained, and the complications and uses of acupuncture in medicine.
The program is co-sponsored by Portage Health System, the Department of Biological Sciences, and the Michigan Tech Fund. For more information, contact Paula Nutini, 487-3324, or John Adler, 487-3415.
Seminar July 30 on Ore Processing
Erol Kaya, a senior research engineer at Phelps Dodge Mining Company in Safford, Arizona, will give a seminar, "A Novel Approach to Ore Processing," on Monday, July 30, at 10:30 a.m. in M&M 610.
All members of the MTU community are invited, and refreshments will be served.
Regular Features (Back to Contents)
Michelle Corcoran has joined the Residence Life staff as area coordinator. She was previously employed at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse, as residence hall director.
Corcoran has a BA in English from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point and an MA in English from Northern Michigan University. She will live in Wadsworth Hall and enjoys skiing, hiking, reading, and writing poetry and fiction.
Professor Cindy Selfe (Humanities) has been elected chair of the National Council of Teachers of English Nominating Committee.
Members of the nominating committee help choose candidates for various posts within the National Council of Teachers of English, including members of the nominating committee itself. The committee member receiving the most votes (in this case, Selfe) is named the committee chair.
Selfe has held a variety of positions in the Conference on College Composition and Communication, a constituent group of the 77,000-member National Council of Teachers of English. In 1996, she became the first woman and first English teacher to receive the EDUCOM Medal for innovative teaching with technology.
Assistant Professor Adrian Sandu (Computer Science) gave a presentation, "Numerical Solutions of Particle Dynamics Equation," at the 2001 Annual Meeting of the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics, held July 9-10 in San Diego, California.
Job descriptions will be available at 1:00 p.m. on Friday or by e-mail from <JOBS@MTU.EDU>. For a complete listing of available jobs, visit http://www.admin.mtu.edu/hro/postings/index.shtml
The following positions will be posted Friday, July 27, 2001, at 1:00 p.m. through noon, Friday, August 3, 2001, in the Human Resources Office.
Lecturer--Computer Science
University employees are reminded to apply in writing prior to noon, Friday, August 3, 2001, to be considered as internal candidates for bargaining unit positions only. Applicants from the recall pool will be given first consideration for non-bargaining-unit positions only. Vacancy announcements are normally posted every Friday at 1:00 p.m. in the Human Resources Office. Complete job descriptions are available in the Human Resources Office or by calling 487-2280. More information regarding employment opportunities is available by calling the Job Line at 487-2895. Michigan Technological University is an equal opportunity educational institution/equal opportunity employer.