About MTRI

MTRI, a research center of Michigan Technological University, is a recognized leader in the research, development and practical application of sensor and information technology to solve critical problems in national security, protecting and evaluating critical infrastructure, bioinformatics, earth sciences and environmental processes.

Mission

Be a recognized leader in the research, development and use of Information Technology to support solution of critical problems in national security, infrastructure, bioinformatics, earth sciences and environmental processes.
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Be acknowledged nationally and internationally as an innovator for the marriage of phenomenological understanding and implementation of the mathematically rigorous algorithms to build information from data in support of sponsor needs.
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Provide visibility and outreach for Michigan Tech in Southeastern Michigan.
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Establish collaborations with Michigan Tech academic departments, institutes, and centers to increase funded contract revenues for all organizations involved.
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Maintain a creative environment that rewards and encourages innovation.

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Our Facilities

Michigan Tech Research Institute (MTRI) Dave House Center is located in Ann Arbor, MI.  The research institute was purchased by Michigan Tech University in 2006 with a gift from the House Family Foundation, established by former Intel executive Dave House, a Michigan Tech alumnus.

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Outreach

MTRI’s outreach activities are designed to provide educational programs, technical expertise, tools/data and information and make them available to the public and stakeholders to promote awareness and improve environmental management. >>>

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What's New

January 2012 - 3-D Optical Bridge-evaluation System (3DOBS) is an easily deployable bridge evaluation system used for rapidly assessing surface condition indicators such as the area, volume, and location of spalls and scaling.

October 2011 - The Lake Superior Weather and Water Quality Monitoring Buoy, Ranger III sensors, and Temperture Chains have been removed from Lake Superior for the winter.

July 2011 - New North Lake Superior Weather and Water Quality Monitoring Buoy deployed in Lake Superior.

Employment

MTRI is seeking employees committed to cutting edge research, development and practical application of sensor and information technology to solve critical problems in national security, protecting and evaluating critical infrastructure, bio informatics, earth sciences and environmental processes.

Current opportunities may be found on the MTRI employment page, however all exceptionally qualified applicants will be considered.

Internships at MTRI are available to undergraduate and graduate students. Desirable experience includes GIS, radar, signal processing, remote sensing, statistics, environmental science, MATLAB, computer science, and programming.>>>

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Business with MTRI

MTRI works through the Sponsored Programs Office (SPO) of Michigan Tech. Their website is: www.mtu.edu/research

Customer Base / Contract Type

View a list of all sponsors >>>

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Recent Publications

Vaghefi, K., Oats, R.C., Harris, D.K., Ahlborn, T.M., Brooks, C.N., Endsley, K.A., Roussi, C., Shuchman, R., Burns, J.W., and Dobson, R., Evaluation of Commercially Available Remote Sensors for Highway Bridge Condition Assessment, Journal of Bridge Engineering 1, 202 (2011). >>>

Bourgeau-Chavez, L., Powell, R., Jenkins, L., Brooks, C., Erickson, T., Carlson Mazur, M., Kowalksi, K., Huberty, B., Riordan, K. Mapping and Monitoring of Invasive Phragmites in the Coastal Great Lakes using Radar Imagery. (2011). Presented at the 54th International Conference on Great Lakes Research, IAGLR, Duluth, WI. >>>

Brooks, C., Ahlborn, T. (2011).  Using Remote Sensing for Bridge Condition Evaluation.  Presentation to the Michigan Bridge Conference, March 23, 2011, Big Rapids, MI. 42 pp. >>>

Read All MTRI Patents, Publications, and Presentations >>>

View all of the posters presented on the Husky’s campus on October 7, 2011. >>>

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Focus

Focusing on education, research, and development of technology to sense and understand natural and manmade environments.

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In the News >>>

MTRI Research Scientist, Jessica McCarty, participated in the International Meeting on Open Burning and the Arctic:  Causes, Impacts, and Mitigation Approaches
St. Petersburg, Russia, 8-9 November 2010 (Released, January 2012)
In early November 2010, over seventy policymakers, scientists, activists, and academics from Russia, Europe, and North America met in St. Petersburg, Russia for a two-day conference to discuss the causes and impacts of set fires in forests, peatlands, croplands, and steppe in Northern Eurasia and North America. >>>

STATE: Conservationists from EMU, state officials discuss invasive plant species Phragmites
November 5, 2011 - The Ypsilanti Courier
Laura L. Bourgeau-Chavez of Michigan Tech Research Institute in Ann Arbor spoke about mapping the plants in the coastal Great Lakes by using satellite imaging radar. >>>

Michigan Tech Researchers to Study Atmospheric Aerosols at PICO Mountain Research Observatory

October 18, 2011 - Michigan Tech News
In 2001, an atmospheric research station was established on the top of Mt. Pico, an extinct volcano in the Azores.  Mt. Pico is the highest point in the Portuguese island chain and the only spot in the mid-Atlantic where the air is high enough to escape the effects of the ocean environment.  >>>

College of Engineering, Michigan Tech

MTRI: Michigan Tech Research Institute (Ann Arbor) poster presentations were on display in the Atrium of the Dow Environmental Sciences and Engineering Building where numerous faculty and students had the chance to study them. >>>

MTRI Researchers Study Distribution and Expansion of Invasives

Michigan Tech Research Institute Image Analyst Receives Top Honor in Field

Dr. Chuck Olson has been doing image interpretation and analysis for more than half a century.  Now the senior image analyst at MTRI in Ann Arbor has been recognized for his contributions with one of the highest honors his professional society can confer: Honorary Member of the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS). >>>

Michigan Tech Research Institute Receives NIH Grant to Study Wildfires, Health

Where there’s smoke, there may be health risks. And where there’s climate change, there may be more—and more intense—wildfires. What does that mean for the health of people downwind from the smoke>>>

MercuryNews.com - Study asks: Will warmer world bring harmful smoke? >>>