College of Engineering to host ASME Technical Tour Oct. 16

DETROIT (Oct. 8, 2013) - The Wayne State University College of Engineering will host lab tours as part of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) 2013 Internal Combustion Engine Fall Technical Conference, set for Oct. 13-16 in Dearborn. The tours will be held for conference participants starting at 8:40 a.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 16.

"We're thrilled to play a large role in this year's ASME Internal Combustion Engine Conference," says Marcis Jansons, WSU assistant professor of mechanical engineering and tour organizer. "WSU has a long history of innovation in engine combustion, emission controls, alternative and renewable fuels, electric vehicle technology, and automotive safety. This conference brings together some of the best experts and pioneers in our field. We look forward to welcoming conference participants to our campus and hope to spur new discussion and future collaboration."

The WSU portion of the ASME conference will begin with welcome remarks by WSU College of Engineering Dean Farshad Fotouhi in the college's Marvin I. Danto Engineering Development Center at 8:40 a.m. Tour participants will then visit the:

Center for Automotive Research (CAR) combustion engine test cells laboratories

Alternative Energy Technology (AET) laboratory, which is focused on the development of next generation electrode materials for improved power and energy density of Li-Ion batteries, as well as on benchmarking the charging and discharging performance of battery modules and packs using state-of-the-art battery cyclers

Facilities for the development of catalytic processes to produce green drop-in diesel from waste grease

Direct Injection Engine Combustion Research lab, where they will watch spray visualization, in-cylinder combustion and CFD movies

Optical Engine Laboratory, which comprises a single-cylinder optical compression-ignition research engine uniquely located in a climatic chamber capable of reaching temperatures as low as -40°C, allowing the investigation of combustion processes at cold-start conditions with laser diagnostics

A second cold room, which can attain even lower temperatures of -50°C and is devoted to the study of entire engine-starter-battery systems

Combustion ionization laboratories, where they will watch a demonstration on the autonomous operation of a fuel neutral diesel engine with a multitude of fuels using the ion current sensing technology

Professor and CAR Director Naeim Henein welcomes the visit of ASME members to college labs. "We hope they will talk to our graduate students and get acquainted with the educational and research programs we offer to the technical community in the heart of the North American automotive industry."

Current research projects in the college's Center for Automotive Research are focused on combustion engines and cover conventional, alternate and renewable fuels, auto-ignition, combustion, performance, emission controls, friction and wear.

For more information about the ASME conference and technical tour on Oct. 16, visit http://www.asmeconferences.org/ICEF2013/TechnicalTour.cfm. Contact Kristin Copenhaver, associate director of marketing and communications, at kcopenhaver@wayne.edu, with questions.

Throughout October, the Wayne State College of Engineering celebrates its 80^th anniversary. For more information on anniversary events and activities, visit https://engineering.wayne.edu/news.php?id=12520.

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Wayne State University is a premier urban research institution of higher education offering 370 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to nearly 29,000 students. For more information about engineering at Wayne State University, visit engineering.wayne.edu.