An Out-of-this-World Experience

2018 China Future City Finals presenters Ethan Dodson, Reagan Rutkowski, Prisca Yim (alternate) and Sloan Kerska in Beijing. 2019-2021 presenter Emerson Kerska is shown on the right.

BY LINDA J. GERHARDT

The Future City Competition challenges middle school students to apply the engineering design process to brainstorm solutions to an annual problem while imagining, designing, and building cities of the future. Program deliverables include a project plan, a research essay, a scale model made from recycled materials, a presentation highlighting the solution, and Q&A sessions with panels of judges. This year’s challenge was as unique as this entire year has been: to build a city on the Moon that uses two lunar resources that help keep residents healthy and safe.

For the past 13 years, it has been a privilege to share some of what I have learned throughout my education and career as an engineer, first as mentor and then as an educator, with the many St. John Lutheran School in Rochester students who have participated in the Future City program. Over the years, our team has been honored with numerous regional titles and special awards, multiple top 5 at nationals finishes, two national titles, and an invitation to participate at the China Future City Finals in Beijing.

Despite our many experiences throughout the years, completing project deliverables and preparing to compete during a pandemic year was difficult. Although our school held in person classes, we did not have an academic enrichment class during the school day. In addition, after school meetings were hit or miss, since mandates changed over the course of the project. To build our model, construction started in one team member’s garage, continued in our classroom, and was completed in another team member’s garage. Essay development and presentation practices also took place when and where possible. For this reason, our team’s motto for this year was ‘be flexible.’

Our team of 8 for the 2020-21 competition year included presenters Emerson Kerska, Brendan Koss, and Hannah Bernthal, alternate and moving part presenter Grant Hiler, and team members Caleb Raikes, Amber Koss, Noah Toth, and Johnny Hering. Our faculty sponsor is St. John Lutheran 8th grade teacher Tim Grothaus, and our mentor is General Motors engineer Tim Koss.

To capture the experiences of the presentation team members during this challenging year, I posed some questions to them.

Emerson Kerska participated in our program from 5th grade through 8th grade and was able to travel to China with the team as a 6th grader. When asked how her experience this year compared to previous years, she responded: “This year was so different from any other year. The biggest change was our ability to meet and practice. In a normal year, we would spend over 100 hours practicing. The mandates for when we could meet kept changing and we really had to work hard when we did meet.”

Brendan Koss participated in both 7th and 8th grade and was our go-toguy during the many Q&A sessions the team participated in. When asked what the best part of this year’s competition was, he answered: “The best thing about this year is that we were still able to participate, because a lot of schools could not. We were lucky that we were able to meet in person as a team.”

Hannah Bernthal, who was quiet in the classroom but strong as a presenter, was also on our team during 7th and 8th grade. When asked what she learned from participating in Future City, she responded: “I learned about the Moon, space travel, teamwork, and problem solving. However, the most important thing I learned was presenting confidently. I learned how to think quickly when asked questions and how to push forward when I made a mistake.”

As far how students benefit from the program besides being a part of a team and learning about how engineers impact our community, 3-year presenter Emerson seconded Hannah’s comment: “The biggest thing that I gained from participating is the ability to speak confidently in public. Before Future City, I was always timid when it came to public speaking. Now, I can get up and speak confidently.”

Brendan also gave a similar response about a main benefit of the program: “The biggest thing I gained is public speaking. Being a presenter has helped me gain a lot of confidence. When I first started, I was shy. By the

2021 Future City Presenters were Emerson Kerska, Brendan Koss, Grant Hiler (alternate), and Hannah Bernthal. Faculty Sponsor Tim Grothaus is on the left and Engineer Educator Dr. Linda Gerhardt is on the right.

2021 St. John Lutheran Future City Team consisted of (from left) Grant Hiler, Noah Toth, Emerson Kerska, Hannah Bernthal, Caleb Raikes, Brendan Koss, Amber Koss, and Johnny Hering.

end of the competition, when we were participating in the regional and finals Q&A, I felt comfortable in front of a screen with all of the judges.”

Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Michigan Regional Competition was held virtually on February 25, and the national Future City competition was held virtually over the course of two weekends in March, and the awards ceremony took place on April 7. St. John Lutheran Rochester, representing the Michigan Region with its city Gateway Station Armstrong, captured a 4th place finish at the national competition, along with the ASABE-sponsored Most Sustainable Food Production System special award.

Celebrating its 30th anniversary nationally and its 26th in Michigan under ESD sponsorship, Future City is a program of DiscoverE, the organization behind National Engineers Week. More information about Future City can be found at futurecity.org or contact Michigan Future City Coordinator Allison Marrs at amarrs@esd.org or 248-353-0735, ext. 121.

Linda J. Gerhardt, PhD, FESD, has been an Engineering Society of Detroit Engineer Mentor for Middle School for the Engineering Program for 13 years. Guiding the Future City teams at St. John Lutheran in Rochester, Michigan, she has guided teams to nine State Regional Championships and 33 State Regional Special Awards.

2021 JOHN G. PETTY IMAGE AWARD: Janice K. Means

Congratulations to Janice K. Means, PE, LEED AP, FESD, Professor Emerita from Lawrence Technological University (LTU), on receiving the 2021 John G. Petty Image Award

Means’ diverse experience in consulting, industry and higher education—with engineering work ranging from energy efficiency, solar energy design and blasting effects to pipelines to natural gas pipeline transmission problem solving and facilities work in a major automobile company’s research center— made her a perfect candidate for the award. But it was her dedication to the field and to up-and-coming engineers that impressed decision makers the most.

“She epitomizes one who has promoted and enhanced the engineering profession to and for students, other professionals and the general public throughout her career,” says Filza Walters, nominator and long-time colleague at LTU. “She continues to encourage women and minorities to enter STEM/STEAM fields and to present/publish on several topics even after her 2019 retirement.

“Janice has been a bigger than life example of an intelligent, driven, hardworking, professional woman, mentor and educator. She exhibits the very foundation of the TechCentury Award,” Walters says.

Means’ outreach in the promotion of engineering and energy extends beyond teaching. She is active in three professional societies, has published and lectured for seminars and international conferences, and has chaired or co-chaired ten local conferences on sustainability and solar energy.

Becoming an engineer was an interest early in Means’ life. “Even as a small child, I had a curiosity and developing love of science and math. My father and I used to watch Sputnik go by in the night sky, and the Cranbrook Institute of Science was my favorite place to visit,” she says. “My high school counselor, Don Arsen, asked me if I wanted to be an engineer. I said no; I didn’t know what an engineer was! So, like many women, I came to engineering by a circuitous route, starting my professional life as a math and science teacher.”

Throughout her career, Means says she never lost that childhood fascination with discovery. “I love learning and sharing my findings with others. To me, it is like being a detective deciphering problems and finding solutions to create a better world,” she says, adding that inspiration grew from the accomplishments of others. “I admire those engineers and scientists who paved the way before me— especially those ESD Fellows who inspired or mentored me: Joe Olivieri, Stanford Ovshinsky, Dick Marburger and John Petty.”

An increased reliance on technology—demanding that engineers improve and build on the work of those who preceded them – has continued that motivation as she paved her own way as a female engineer. “Unlike my male counterparts, I didn’t have many role models of my gender. I could expand on how technology has changed the field, but I choose to talk about the people side of engineering and the plight of women engineers in the U.S.,” Means explains.

“Had I applied to the company which hired me in my first engineering position three years earlier than I did, they would not have even considered my application because I am a woman. During my tenure at this company, there were few as one and as many as six women engineers—less than 0.5 percent to 3 percent of the company’s 200 engineering employees.”

While opportunities have grown for women in the field the numbers are still low. According to the Society of Women Engineer’s (SWE) 2019 statistics, women make up only 13 percent of all engineers, 1 percent of mechanical engineers, and the percentages are even lower for women of color.

“Women engineers also earn 10 percent less than their male counterparts today. More women are entering college with the goal of getting an engineering or other STEM-related bachelor’s degree now, but nearly a third of them switch to another program before graduation, and then 70 percent of the women who become engineers leave the profession prior to celebrating 20 years after graduation,” Means explains. “As I have said many times, ‘We cannot afford to have only 50% of our population contributing to the creativity and innovation that’s needed to solve the challenges of the 21st century.’ ”

Means says that although the field is more open to women, it still has a long way to go. One of her goals in retirement is to mentor and encourage

women and under-represented minorities to enter the field.

With great accomplishments come great rewards, and Means has many.

“During the last 40+ years, I have held positions in industry, operated my own consultancy, and during the last 15 years until retirement, taught university students who were studying to become architects or architectural engineers. My greatest rewards are twofold: seeing my students blossom in their own careers; and sharing information to improve the energy efficiency of buildings, thus reducing their negative impact on the environment and climate.”

As an engineer, she takes her responsibilities very seriously “I believe the greatest role of engineers is to recognize and act on our responsibility to the public to design, build and operate better buildings, vehicles, mechanisms and systems which improve the lives of all… while protecting the individual, community and the environment,” she says.

As technology, the profession and the goals of the engineering profession evolve and grow, Means sees a coming together of engineering disciplines as a positive focus for the future. “I see engineers becoming more integrated with other professionals in their day-to-day work. We are beginning to recognize that a group composed of diverse disciplines, as well as a mixture by gender, nationality, race, etc., is much more creative in solving problems and developing better designs to meet the needs of society as a whole.”

And although she is now technically retired, Means will forever be an engineer, “Since I retired from teaching in 2019, I have continued to research, publish and present--spending most of my time volunteering with my professional societies. I also plan to do some limited consulting,” she says. “You might say that I will never truly retire from being an engineer—a profession which continues to provide me with great fulfillment.” The ESD Image Award has been renamed in honor of ESD Past President John G. Petty, FESD, who passed away on January 23, 2020.

The John G. Petty Image Award is for individuals who have made a positive impact on the engineering profession. These leaders have helped promote the engineering and technical professions through involvement in the community, mentoring, public service, public speaking, and presentations to various groups.

John Petty was ESD’s first African American President and served on both the ESD and Lawrence Technological University boards of trustees for many years. He was a recipient of The Horace H. Rackham Humanitarian Award. He served on the ESD Editoral Board when the Image Award was created.

“John was an exemplary individual who made a significant impact on the Detroit engineering community,” said Robert Magee, ESD Executive Director. “John was extremely active in the community, as well as a prominent engineer, and his wisdom, generosity and kindness—as well as his support for the engineering profession and its membership—is greatly admired.”

Petty’s family was thrilled to hear of the award being named after him. “It is a great source of pride for my father to be the champion of this honor,” says his son, John Petty. “Engineering was his ultimate passion. He did math for fun. But he always encouraged my sister and I to follow our own passion. He used to say, ‘Be who YOU are, do the thing you are called to do.”

For the senior John Petty, that was to make his mark on engineering. Petty started working in the field before his graduation from college, first in 1963 with the engineering design firm G. L. Bowen Co., and then, in 1964, with Williams International, where he helped develop and analyze gas turbine engines for both aerospace and automotive applications.

In 1973, he joined General Dynamics Land Systems and become involved in engineering a 1,500-horsepower gas turbine engine used to power the U.S. Army’s main battle tank—the M1 Abrams—which was then undergoing its initial design and development.

The tank was designed so efficiently that according to the history of the Abrams tank “Very few M1 tanks were hit by enemy fire, and none were destroyed as a direct result of enemy fire, with no fatalities due to enemy fire.”

During his 30-year tenure he held many other positions of high responsibility, including ethics program director for all General Dynamics locations worldwide.

Petty’s son says he never considered engineering as a profession himself because. “We thought my dad was so awesome at what he did it would be like being Michael Jordan’s son and playing basketball.”

Award-Winning Tetra Tech Provides Clear Solutions to Complex Problems

Tetra Tech is a global provider of consulting and engineering services with more than 21,000 employees worldwide, and 270 based here in Michigan. With the Engineering News Record placing the company consistently first in ratings for water, environmental management, and wind power solutions, among others, Tetra’s reputation has led to consistent contracts with the Michigan Department of Transportation, DTE, and Consumers Energy.

Other accolades include Newsweek’s list of America’s Most Responsible Companies 2021 and the Top 10 companies in the Professional Services category.

Tetra Tech’s focus is to serve public and private clients by addressing fundamental needs for water, environment, infrastructure, resource management, energy, and international development services. Services include technical studies, planning, engineering, design, and construction management solutions to address project needs.

Philip Spalding, PE, PMP, ENV SP, Vice President of Tetra Tech prides himself on looking to the future for solutions to today’s challenges. On the forefront of sustainable infrastructure, the company’s storm water management lead is based in Ann Arbor and is directing projects to “work with communities to develop the long game and undo what we used to know to provide better solutions... we’ve learned so much about better ways for sewage treatment, water

Philip Spalding

treatment and landfill operations to make engineering better for the environment.”

Among recent projects Tetra Tech is serving as the Owner Engineer with the decommissioning and retirement of three coal-fired power plants , part of DTE Energy’s initiative to reduce carbon emissions.

Tetra Tech was recently selected by MDOT to provide design engineering services for the reconstruction of an interchange, five bridges, and 3.23 miles of multilane on Interstate 75.

Similar to projects for MDOT, Tetra Tech has supported dozens of state departments of transportation, environmental agencies, and planning departments to design the critical infrastructure to move goods and services across the country and to manage natural resources sustainably.

In addition, the company has technical experience providing full lifecycle services for CCR disposal landfills and impoundments. This includes knowledge of regulatory specifications, compliance guidelines and construction management needs.

You can learn more about the company online at tetratech.com or tetratechmichigan.com.