April 8, 2026

Give Back to the Pack 2026 is underway, and the Husky Nation is already making an incredible impact! Thank you to everyone who has made a gift so far.

If you haven’t participated yet, there’s still time. Every gift makes a difference! Designate your gift to any area on campus, or select an area with an active challenge, match, or leaderboard to increase your impact. Your gift, no matter the size, helps support the programs and students you care about most.

Give Back to the Pack ends today, April 8, at noon Eastern Time. Show your Husky Pride before time runs out at giveback.mtu.edu.

This is the first entry in a five-part series highlighting the contributions of the 2026 Enterprise Distinguished Service Award recipients.

Michigan Tech’s Enterprise Program awards the Enterprise Distinguished Service Award to recognize the dedication and exceptional contributions of advisors and champions who have played pivotal roles in shaping the program’s success. Each of the award winners has more than 15 years of service within Enterprise, dedicating their time and expertise to guiding teams, ensuring student success and advancing the program’s discovery-based learning mission.

This year’s recipients of the Enterprise Distinguished Service Award are Jim DeClerck (MAE), Scott Kuhl (CS), Erin Smith (HU), Mary Raber (EF) and Ruth Archer (OCI).

First Award Winner Profile: Jim DeClerck

Jim DeClerck, a Professor of Practice in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, has shaped Michigan Tech’s Formula SAE Enterprise for more than a decade. After earning his Ph.D. from Michigan Tech in 1991, he spent 18 years at General Motors working in vehicle development. When he returned to campus in 2009, he brought with him a deep understanding of applying engineering fundamentals. He began advising Formula SAE in 2010.

“When I took over Formula, my goal was to help the students organize themselves like a real car company,” he said. “Documenting decisions, understanding tradeoffs, and thinking about process. That’s what makes better cars, and competition judges ask about their development process.”

Read DeClerck’s full profile on the Enterprise Blog.

The following Atmospheric Sciences graduate students will be presenting their research progress at an Atmospheric Sciences Colloquium: 

• Geeta Nain (advised by Pengfei Xue)
• Hamed Fahandezh Sadi (advised by Raymond Shaw)

This will be an in-person event. The students will give their talks at 4 p.m. on Monday, April 13, in Fisher 101.

Event details, including Nain’s and Fahandezh’s presentation titles and abstracts, are available on the University Events Calendar.

The next Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) Graduate Seminar speaker will present at 2 p.m. tomorrow, April 9, in EERC 103.

Kartik Iyer will present “Zeroth Law of Turbulence: There Are Zero Laws in Turbulence”.

From the abstract:
In this talk, I revisit this seemingly settled question through the lens of Onsager’s theorem. Using data from experiments and high-resolution simulations of homogeneous isotropic turbulence, I present evidence that calls into question the zeroth law. These results suggest that mean dissipation in turbulence without walls retains a weak Reynolds-number dependence, mirroring the behavior of the turbulent friction factor in smooth pipes. This naturally raises the deep question: does turbulence ever truly attain an ultimate state characterized by persistent, viscosity-independent dissipation?

The next guest speaker of the semester in the Department of Biomedical Engineering (BioMed) Seminar Series will present Friday, April 10, at 3 p.m. in Chem Sci 102 and virtually via Zoom.

Join the BioMed Seminar on Zoom.

Chao Ma from Cleveland Clinic Research will present “Engineering human in vitro models of physiology and diseases for precision medicine”.

Read Ma’s abstract and bio on the University Events Calendar.

Please join the College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science (CFRES) for our Friday seminar series on April 10 from 3-4 p.m. in Noblet G002, followed by a small social in the Forestry Atrium.

Terry Baker, CEO of the Society of American Foresters, will give a talk titled “Leading Where you Are”, a presentation and discussion on leadership in forestry and natural resources and how you genuinely show up for your team.

Job Postings for Wednesday, April 8, 2026

Staff and faculty job descriptions are available on the Human Resources website. For more information regarding staff positions, call 906-487-2280 or email humanresources@mtu.edu. For more information regarding faculty positions, contact the academic department in which the position is posted.

Enterprise Program Manager, College of Engineering.

Assistant to General Counsel, General Counsel.

Director of Global Campus and Continuing Education, Michigan Tech Global Campus.

Assistant Teaching Professor, Humanities.

Administrative Aide (12 months, 40 hours), Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering. (​UAW posting dates are April 8 to April 15, 2026. External applicants are encouraged to apply; however, internal ​UAW applicants are given first consideration if they apply during the internal ​UAW posting dates.)

Michigan Technological University is an Equal Opportunity Educational Institution/Equal Opportunity Employer that provides equal opportunity for all, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.

Accommodations are available. If you require any auxiliary aids, services, or other accommodations to apply for employment or for an interview at Michigan Technological University, please notify the Human Resources office at 906-487-2280 or humanresources@mtu.edu.

Researchers from the team of Assistant Professor Yan Zhang (BioSci), and Professors Thomas Werner (BioSci), Athar Ata and Haiying Liu (both Chem), including Ph.D. students Mohamed Mahmoud, Mahmood Norouzi and Adonis Amoli, along with undergraduate researchers Sheng Shu, Christina You and Isabelle Knighton, are the authors of a new study published in Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical.

The study is titled “Amine-Conjugated FRET Coumarin-Cyanine Ratiometric Probes for Sensitive Viscosity and HSA Imaging in Live Cells and Tissues”.

The work highlights the development of advanced ratiometric fluorescent probes for sensitive biological imaging applications. This research provides a powerful new platform for real-time visualization of microenvironmental changes in living systems, with potential applications in disease diagnostics and biomedical research.

The authors acknowledge financial support from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (R15DK137195) and the PKD Foundation (1021264) for Zhang’s contributions. They also thank the Kansas PKD Research and Translation Core Center at the University of Kansas Medical Center (U54D126126) and the Polycystic Kidney Disease Research Resource Consortium (PKD-RRC) for providing human kidney tissue samples. Liu’s work was supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (R15GM114751, 2R15GM114751, and R15GM146206-01) and the National Cancer Institute (1R15CA305552-01). Additional support from the National Science Foundation (2117318) enabled the acquisition of an NMR spectrometer, with Liu serving as co-principal investigator.

Great Lakes Now quoted David Flaspohler (CFRES), while Keweenaw Report mentioned Michigan Tech in stories about the planned closure of four U.S. Forest Service research facilities in Michigan, including one in Houghton.

MLive quoted Tara Bal (CFRES) in a story about a proposed large-scale logging and forest management project in the Western Upper Peninsula. Bal noted that projects of this scale are often intended to improve forest health and resilience across broader landscapes.

Michigan Tech was mentioned in the April 6 episode of the Ann Arbor SPARK podcast, titled “Why the Midwest Wins: Where Innovation Takes Off”. The episode discussed university partnerships and innovation ecosystems supporting business growth in the Midwest.

Art in Silico: Call for Artists, Writers and Composers!

Do you have art, music or writings connected to or inspired by computers, science, science fiction, technology, artificial intelligence (AI), electronics, machinery or mathematics, or providing commentary on these topics? Please contribute your work to Art in Silico 2026, Michigan Tech’s annual computational arts festival!

“Computer Music” is the theme of this year’s Art in Silico events, and we welcome composers of experimental, electronic and instrumental music to please contribute to a public playlist we will release the week of the festival.

Join us for a week of futuristic music, art and ideas! Art in Silico 2026 will feature events across Michigan Tech’s campus next week, April 13-17. 

Art in Silico will include talks on music and art technology, AI ethics, historical computing demos and more — plus a special film screening of “Opus Cope: An Algorithmic Opera” on Tuesday, April 14, and an art exhibit, science fiction reading and live music show at the Orpheum Theatre next Thursday, April 16.

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MTU Researchers, Students Invited to Submit to JMMP Special Issue

Anis Fatima, a faculty member in the Department of Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering Technology (MMET), Michigan Technological University, invites Michigan Tech faculty, postdoctoral researchers and students to submit their work for a special issue of the Journal of Manufacturing and Materials Processing (JMMP): The Future of Manufacturing: Embracing Digitalization and Smart Technologies.

Fatima serves as a contributing leader for this peer-reviewed special issue, which focuses on the transformative role of digitalization in manufacturing, particularly within Industry 4.0 — the integration of artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, and data-driven systems into modern production environments. The issue aims to highlight innovative research that advances smart, efficient and sustainable manufacturing systems.

Fatima encourages Michigan Tech researchers to contribute and gain international visibility in this rapidly evolving field. Participation by MTU research community members serves to strengthen Tech’s global research engagement and position the University at the forefront of innovation in digital and smart manufacturing.

Fatima’s research and academic contributions align closely with the special issue’s theme, emphasizing advanced manufacturing processes, materials innovation and the integration of intelligent technologies to solve complex engineering challenges. Through her involvement in this initiative, she continues to promote interdisciplinary collaboration and support the dissemination of impactful research.

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Modern Languages & Cultures Celebrating Graduating Students

Michigan Tech’s Modern Languages & Cultures program is happy to invite you to our yearly celebration of graduating minors, happening tonight, April 8, from 6-7:30 p.m. in Walker 134. Join us for treats and fun games!

For the spring and summer 2026 semesters, 41 students will graduate with a minor in French, German or Spanish. We are very proud of their achievements during the time they have spent with us.

To have your event automatically appear, please submit them to the University Events Calendar.

Master's Defense: Cooper Evans

Wednesday, April 8, 8–9 a.m. | R. L. Smith Building (MEEM), 1021

Mechanical Engineering Advisor: Vinh Nguyen Detecting and Repairing Conflicting Constraints in Co-Trained Physics-Informed Neural Networks for Composite Curing Processes Attend Virtually: https://michigantech.zoom.us/j/81573770155

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I-9 Verification at the MUB

Wednesday, April 8, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. | Memorial Union Building; Room 101

Human Resources will be on-site at the MUB to verify I-9 documentation for new hires.

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Master's Defense: Mason Krause

Wednesday, April 8, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. | R. L. Smith Building (MEEM), 1021

Mechanical Engineering Advisor: Paulus van Susante TORQUE-BASED DETECTION AND ISOLATION OF BUCKET-SPECIFIC LOAD VARIATIONS IN A CONTINUOUS BUCKET LADDER EXCAVATOR

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Master's Defense: Joden Robinson

Wednesday, April 8, 11:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. | Memorial Union Building (MUB), Ballroom B1

Chemistry Advisor: Shiyue Fang Modular Synthesis of Conjugated Aromatic Systems via Palladium-Catalyzed Cross-Coupling Reactions Attend Virtually: https://michigantech.zoom.us/j/87848298087

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Resume Lab: Update w/ Semester Experience

Wednesday, April 8, 12:00–3:30 p.m. | Administration and Student Services Building (Admin, Building 1), 220 Career Services

Bring your own device and revise your resume with tips, tricks, and feedback from our Career Service staff.

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Master's Defense: Justin Kurncz

Wednesday, April 8, 1–2 p.m. | R. L. Smith Building (MEEM), 1021

Mechanical Engineering Advisor: Scott Miers DEVELOPMENT AND CONSTRUCTION OF A MINITURIZED PORTABLE EMISSIONS MEASUREMENT SYSTEM Attend Virtually: https://michigantech.zoom.us/j/84721480288

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Master's Defense: Michael Erzuah

Wednesday, April 8, 1–2 p.m.

Geographic Information Science Co-advisors: Mickey Jarvi and Mohammadhossein Sadeghiamirshahidi CORRELATION OF MWD PARAMETERS AND SOIL PROPERTIES IN NEBRASKA WITH GEOSPATIAL VISUALIZATION OF BOREHOLE DATA Attend Virtually: https://michigantech.zoom.us/j/85738014813

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Master's Defense: Robin Austerberry

Wednesday, April 8, 1–2 p.m. | R. L. Smith Building (MEEM), 908

Mechanical Engineering Advisor: Paulus van Susante PERFORMANCE COMPARISON OF A LOW MASS VIBRATORY LUNAR SURFACE COMPACTOR IN VACUUM VERSUS ATMOSPHERE Attend Virtually: https://michigantech.zoom.us/j/86862094630

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Resume Lab: Update w/ Semester Experience

Wednesday, April 8, 2:00–3:30 p.m. | Administration and Student Services Building (Admin, Building 1), 220 Career Services

Bring your own device and revise your resume with tips, tricks, and feedback from our Career Service staff. See Handshake for additional details.

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Master's Defense: Edith Ogbodo

Wednesday, April 8, 3–4 p.m. | Walker Arts and Humanities Center, 318

Rhetoric, Theory and Culture Advisor: Jason Archer Digital Technology and Women's Health in Nigeria: A Feminist STS Walkthrough Analysis of mDoc Digital Health

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PhD Defense: Eli Harma

Wednesday, April 8, 3:30–4:30 p.m. | Minerals and Materials Engineering Building (M&M), 610

Materials Science and Engineering Advisor: Paul Sanders DEVELOPMENT OF STRONGER, MORE EXTRUDABLE 6XXX SERIES ALLOYS Attend Virtually: https://michigantech.zoom.us/j/81382167514

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BMES General Meeting

Wednesday, April 8, 4–5 p.m. | ChemSci 102

This semester, our general meetings are every other (even) Wednesdays at 4pm in ChemSci 102. Any changes and topics for each meeting will be announced the week before the meeting takes place.

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BMES General Meeting: Virtual Tour with Boston Scientific

Wednesday, April 8, 4–5 p.m. | ChemSci 102

Join BMES for a special general meeting featuring a virtual tour of Boston Scientific, one of the world’s leading medical device companies. Boston Scientific will guide us through their labs and manufacturing lines, offering a behind‑the‑scenes look at extrusion, molding, and other key processes involved in developing life‑changing medical technologies. Students will also have the chance to ask questions and learn more about career pathways within the company. What to expect: Virtual lab tourVirtual line tours (extrusion/molding)Q&A with Boston Scientific staffInsight into internships, co‑ops, and full‑time rolesAll BME students are welcome. Attendance counts toward BMES points.

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Girls' Basketball Little Huskies

Wednesday, April 8, 4–6 p.m. | Student Development Complex (SDC), Multi Room

Learning skills, working in a team, and having fun: that’s Michigan Tech’s Little Huskies girls’ basketball camp. It’s a great introduction to the sport for young, budding basketball players held in the SDC Varsity Gym and Multipurpose Room. Students learn fundamental skills for team play and individual skills like ball-handling, shooting, defense, and more—all from coaches and instructors who are renowned in their field. Daily sessions are 2 hours, and players will work on fundamental basketball skills like ball-handling, shooting, and team play. Girls, Grades 2-5 (age 7-11)

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Huskies Swim Training - Session 3

Wednesday, April 8, 4–5 p.m. | Student Development Complex (SDC), Pool

Huskies Swim Training is a program that provides additional attention and competitive guidance to advanced swimmers looking to focus on stroke technique and efficiency. Sessions will be designed to improve swimming through stroke drills and swimming sets focused on endurance, speed, and race strategy. Coaches will provide feedback and stroke correction in a group environment with an emphasis on promoting a love for competitive swimming and lifelong skills such as discipline, dedication, and teamwork. Come be part of the pack! Competitve swimming opportunities are now availabe to current Huskies Swim Training participants!

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PhD Defense: Parinaz Eskandari

Wednesday, April 8, 4–5 p.m. | Electrical Energy Resources Center (EERC), 122

Electrical Engineering Advisor: Paul Bergstrom Design, Modeling, and Experimental Development of Nanoscale Confinement Structures on Planar Silicon-Based Microelectrode Arrays for Single-Entity Electrochemical Sensing Attend Virtually: https://michigantech.zoom.us/j/88181983464

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Modern Languages and Cultures Spring Celebration

Wednesday, April 8, 6:00–7:30 p.m. | Walker Arts and Humanities Center, 134

Languages & Cultures celebration of our graduating Minors! 41 students are graduating this Spring & Summer with a minor in French, German & Spanish! We are very proud of all of you! We can't wait to see the paths you take with your future careers ❤️🔥 We also want to recognize all the students who decide to take on the study of a language different to their own. Through their journey they learn ways of doing new things, keep an open mind, accept they will make mistakes & move on... Students also discover new perspectives to envision the world and learn about themselves. We will have food, games, music, & more...

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Record Painting

Wednesday, April 8, 6–8 p.m. | Wadsworth Annex (G11)

Take a study break and tap into your creative side! Join us and WMTU for a calming paint night using recycled vinyl records. Design your own piece to take home or contribute to a community art display for WMTU. Music, art, and stress relief, all in one space. Perfect way to recharge before finals.

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SMLS Bi-Weekly Meeting

Wednesday, April 8, 6–7 p.m. | Fisher 231

Welcome to the Society of Medical Laboratory Scientists! We host meetings every other week to discuss topics within the major, career development opportunities, volunteer opportunities, and do MLS themed crafts. We are open to all majors, and welcome anyone with an interest in MLS.

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Pickleball Club Weekly Practice/Meeting

Wednesday, April 8, 9–11 p.m. | Gates Tennis Center

Come join us at Gates Tennis Center for some Pickleball! We have equipment that is free to use and its a great way to have some friendly competition against fellow huskies. If you have never played pickleball and want to learn, then you came to the right place! We can teach you how play, so feel free to come at any time and join in on the fun.