August 28, 2025

Offered by Michigan Tech's Summer Youth Programs (SYP) for the first time this summer, Metal Casting: Forge Your Future let high school freshmen, sophomores and juniors work directly with Tech researchers in the University's metal foundry — one of the few fully operational metal foundries in the nation found on a college campus.

The week-long summer exploration was developed by Tech's Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) in partnership with Metallurgical Engineering Trades Apprenticeship & Learning (METAL) — a national program led by the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation.

The foundry, MSE's departmental expertise, and the University's ability to partner with METAL created the perfect setup for getting pre-college students excited about the science and art of metal casting and forging. Students fabricated unique items to take home, including an aluminum scratch block, bronze coin and cast-iron "pudgie pie" campfire pan.

"From making molds to making patterns, we tried to show them the whole process," said Peter Jaszczak, MSE lab associate and foundry staff. "We ran simulations, doing some computer-aided design work, and then we made the patterns, which were turned into the final casting."

Learn more about students' experience at Forge Your Future on Michigan Tech's Unscripted Research Blog.

The historic Ford Center Sawmill at Michigan Tech's Ford Forest and Center is getting a facelift. Opened circa 1936 as one of three original Ford-operated sawmills in Baraga County, Michigan, the two-story building is receiving all-new exterior siding from Louisiana Pacific Building Solutions (LP).

The siding project is now underway and expected to be completed by the end of summer. David Flaspohler, dean of the College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, said the project was made possible through the generous support of LP, a local donor, and has a direct connection to Michigan Tech research.

"The wood science research that produced the durable LP SmartSide product originated in the College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science in the early 1990s," said Flaspohler. "This is another example of how investments in basic and applied research pay off for society and our economy through new and innovative technologies and products."

Read about the research behind the new siding on the College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science blog.

The Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts is celebrating 25 years of bringing our community together! We are excited to announce our 2025/26 Visual and Performing Arts Season events, featuring the Michigan Tech Art Series, Michigan Tech Music Series and Michigan Tech Theatre Series.

Michigan Tech's art, music and theatre series bring art exhibitions, live musical performances and theatre productions to the University's students, staff and faculty, and the greater Keweenaw community. The Department of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) is also celebrating the Walker Arts and Humanities Center's 40th anniversary of being the center of humanitarian studies on campus.

"The 2025-26 season is very exciting for performers and audience members," said Jared Anderson, VPA department chair. "There is something for everyone in the season and I can't think of a better way to celebrate these important anniversaries in our department."

Make sure to check out the Rozsa's full season of events. Mark your calendars and get your tickets early! This will be a season to remember.

Get Tickets
Tickets for the Rozsa's 2025/26 Visual and Performing Arts Season events will go on sale at 12:01 a.m. next Friday, Sept. 5. Purchase tickets online, by calling 906-487-1906, or in person at the Rozsa Box Office. All events are free or Pay As You're Able.

This week, the Van Pelt and Opie Library and Campus Store celebrate textbook affordability by promoting Course Reserve and a collaborative project between our two units that maintains a searchable list of course materials in the library's collections.

There are three ways departments and instructors can further our mission to make a Michigan Tech education more affordable:

1. Meet course material adoption deadlines. The spring 2026 deadline is Oct. 4, 2025.
2. Utilize Course Reserve. Instructors may bring a copy of their textbooks to the library for students to access freely. The Course Reserve Request form is available to facilitate the process.
3. Search the library's catalog. Notify the library and Campus Store when you find your course materials so they get added to Course Reserve.

On behalf of the Van Pelt and Opie Library and Campus Store, have a great semester!

This fall marks the official launch of Essential Education, Michigan Tech's new general education program, which began as a part of the University's Tech Forward 1.0 conversations seven years ago. Essential Ed represents a strategic evolution of our curriculum, and we're dedicated to helping you navigate it.

Every Thursday this academic year, we'll use Tech Today to highlight the many components of Essential Education. You'll get a closer look at the key elements, and we'll share the accompanying programs and resources designed to assist instructors and community partners in navigating our new curriculum.

For a deeper dive into any topic, visit the Essential Education Newsblog. We've already developed a number of resources to get you started:

• Essential Ed website: What is Essential Education? The program's website provides a comprehensive overview of its core elements.
• Husky Folio and Folio Thinking webpage: Introducing Husky Folio, powered by PebblePad. Learn about the value of folio thinking and how the new Husky Folio platform will be gradually integrated into the curriculum.
• Essential Education Minors: Our most current list of Essential Ed minors. Degree audits will be linked here once they are finalized.
• Essential Education Experience website: Get all the details about E3s on this new website.
• Essential Education Resource Hub for Instructors: If you are teaching an Essential Ed course, this your one-stop shop in Canvas. It offers step-by-step guidance — including a Course Setup Guide, instructions for Instructor EA reporting and Husky Folio — as well as specialized tools and support for course lists, Essential Abilities, large-class teaching and more.
• Essential Education YouTube Channel: Our new YouTube channel features videos you can use in the classroom or just watch to learn more about Essential Ed. The channel's videos feature corporate partners discussing the value of the Essential Abilities, highlights from our first symposium, and more. We'll be adding new content all year to showcase how Essential Education prepares our students for success.

If you ever miss a Thursday update, just check the Essential Education Newsblog to catch up and continue exploring this signature program.

The clock is ticking! Time is running out to submit your proposal for Professional Development Day on Oct. 16. This is your chance to share your expertise, learn from colleagues and grow professionally — all in one full-day event.

Why Participate?

• Share Your Knowledge: Showcase your skills and passions by leading a session. Inspire others and contribute to a culture of continuous learning.
• Expand Your Skillset: Attend sessions led by your peers and discover valuable insights on a range of topics, from tech tips to wellness strategies.
• Network and Connect: Forge new connections and strengthen existing ones with colleagues from across campus.
• Invest in Yourself: Professional development is key to career advancement and personal growth. Take advantage of this dedicated day to enhance your skills.

We Need Your Proposals!
Have a passion for project management? Excel wizardry? Maybe you've mastered the art of work-life balance. Whatever your expertise, we want to hear about it! Need inspiration? Here are some session ideas from previous years:

• Resolve Conflict with Restorative Practices
• Thinking Like an Investigator: Using Critical Thinking to Everyday Problems
• Shifting Perspectives: Unlocking Positive Conversations
• Stitching Life-Long Learning Into Your Daily Strategy

Don't wait! The deadline for proposals is next Friday, Sept. 5.

Let's make this Professional Development Day the best one yet. Submit your proposal today and be part of this exciting learning opportunity.

Registration information will be announced in Tech Today soon. Stay tuned!

Mind Trekkers is bringing our signature brand of hands-on, curiosity-fueled learning to Marquette this fall — and we need your help to make the magic happen!

The OneUP: Superior Shores STEM Festival will take place on Oct. 7 at Northern Michigan University's Jacobetti Complex, welcoming over 600 seventh-grade students from across the Marquette region. This interactive festival is where "science fair meets carnival." Students will explore and engage with real-world science, technology, engineering and math through mind-blowing demonstrations led by volunteers like you.

We're currently seeking exhibitors and volunteers! This is your chance to inspire the next generation of thinkers, makers and explorers. 

• Exhibitors: Bring a demo, hands-on activity or tech showcase that sparks curiosity (or use one of ours!).
• Volunteers: Join the action and help run stations, guide students and bring the energy!

Mind Trekkers events are offered free of charge thanks to the generous support of our sponsors and partners. With every demo, we're breaking down barriers to STEM education and building a stronger, more curious future.

• Learn more or sign up to get involved at the 2025 OneUP Superior Shores Festival website
• For questions or partnership inquiries, contact us at mindtrekkers@mtu.edu
• Find out more about Mind Trekkers at our website

Last week, the Chemistry Graduate Safety Committee rolled up their sleeves and spent the afternoon voluntarily cleaning and organizing a common laboratory space used by multiple research and teaching groups. This effort, completed before the fall return of students and faculty, exemplified the committee's commitment to a proactive safety culture and peer-led stewardship of shared facilities.

Recognizing the significance of this contribution, Michigan Tech's Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) department hosted a celebratory pizza party to honor the committee's dedication to safety. The event drew a notable roster of attendees, including Provost Andrew Storer, General Counsel Sarah Schulte, College of Engineering Associate Dean Audra Morse, and Associate Vice President for Research, Integrity and Facilities Kathy Halvorsen, underscoring the University's high-level support for student-led safety initiatives.

The gathering served not only as a gesture of appreciation but also as a platform to highlight the importance of graduate student involvement in institutional safety practices. The newly cleaned lab space serves as a model for other departments, demonstrating how small, coordinated actions can have a lasting impact on laboratory safety and Husky well-being. The event concluded with remarks from University leadership, who emphasized the value of student engagement in shaping a safe campus culture.

As Michigan Tech continues to prioritize Husky safety, the Chemistry Graduate Safety Committee's initiative stands as a great example of grassroots action and the enduring impact that each of us can have on Husky health and safety. If your group or department has a Safety Story that needs to be told, please contact ehs-help@mtu.edu. We would love to hear from you!

The Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) is hosting a seminar presented by Janelle Wharry, professor of mechanical science and engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, tomorrow, Aug. 29, at 3 p.m. in M&M 610.

Wharry will present "Irradiation Can Both Degrade and Enhance Materials' Performance."

From the abstract:
This talk will explore the seemingly paradoxical concepts of irradiation degradation and irradiation enhancement of materials properties. The nuclear reactor community has historically viewed irradiation as a means of damaging materials, causing microstructural defects and microchemical gradients that lead to degradation of mechanical properties, premature materials failures, and reduction of operational safety margins. But on the other hand, irradiation-induced defects can enable access to unique material phases and properties not otherwise accessible or achievable, providing an opportunity to enhance materials performance through tailored irradiations. This talk will provide examples from both sides of irradiation effects. Conventional examples of irradiation degradation will be drawn from our work on structural steels. We will then discuss the use of irradiation to enhance the electrochemical performance of metal oxide ceramics. Mechanisms of irradiation-induced ordering and disordering will be discussed as a potentially unifying explanation.

Wharry is a professor of mechanical science and engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her research group focuses on understanding structure-property-functionality relationships in irradiated materials, with an emphasis on deformation mechanisms and mechanical behavior at the nano/microscale. The group's active projects span nuclear structural and cladding alloys, advanced manufacturing and joining methods, metallic nuclear fuels, and electroceramic materials.

Wharry is a recipient of The Minerals, Metals & Materials Society (TMS) Brimacombe Medal, the DOE Early Career Award, National Science Foundation CAREER Award, and American Nuclear Society (ANS) Landis Award. She has mentored 28 graduate and postdoctoral researchers, and has published more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and refereed conference papers. She is also an editor of Materials Science & Engineering A and Materials Today Communications. Wharry serves as chair of the DOE Nuclear Science User Facilities (NSUF) Scientific Review Board, and was previously general chair of the inaugural 2019 Materials in Nuclear Energy Systems (MiNES) Conference. Prior to joining Illinois, she was on the faculty at Purdue University. She received her Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering & Radiological Sciences from the University of Michigan.

The first guest speaker of the semester in the Department of Biomedical Engineering (BioMed) Seminar Series will present tomorrow, Aug. 29, at 3 p.m. in Chem Sci 102 and virtually via Zoom.

Join the BioMed Seminar on Zoom.

Katelyn E. Swindle-Reilly from Ohio State University will present "Polymer Engineering to Prevent Vision Loss."

Read the abstract and speaker bio at the University Events Calendar.

Job Postings for Thursday, Aug. 28, 2025

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.

Custodian (first shift, 12 months), Facilities Management. (AFSCME posting dates are Aug. 28 to Sept. 4, 2025. External applicants are encouraged to apply; however, internal AFSCME applicants are given first consideration if they apply during the internal AFSCME posting dates.) Apply online.

Food Service Utility (first shift, 12 months), Dining Services and Facilities Management. (AFSCME posting dates are Aug. 28 to Sept. 4, 2025. External applicants are encouraged to apply; however, internal AFSCME applicants are given first consideration if they apply during the internal AFSCME posting dates.) Apply online.

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.

Steve Walton and Sarah Scarlett (both SS) were mentioned by the Daily Mining Gazette in a story about the Hancock Planning Commission's recent meeting and its discussions on local development projects.

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MLive mentioned Michigan Tech in a story about Forbes' 2026 America's Top Colleges list. Tech ranked No. 250 nationally and fifth in the state.

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Keweenaw Report mentioned Michigan Tech in a story about the GLIAC preseason volleyball coaches poll, which placed the Huskies fifth for the 2025 season.

Planning to Submit an NIH R01 This Round?

MTU Researchers: If you are going to submit a National Institutes of Health (NIH) R01 grant proposal by this round's Oct. 6 deadline, please complete the Sponsored Programs Pre-Award team's Notice of Intent to Submit a Proposal form as soon as possible. Please note that internal deadlines for R01s are earlier than usual:

Internal Deadlines for R01s:

• Monday, Sept. 15 — Subcontractor budget and documents, full proposal draft budget with justification due.
• Monday, Sept. 22 — Final budget (Sponsored Programs Office approved) and all Tier 1 documents due.
• Wednesday, Oct. 1 — Final research materials due and ready for submission to avoid last-minute sponsor system or formatting issues.

Please help the Sponsored Programs Pre-Award team support you by planning ahead to ensure a smooth submission!

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MAE Graduate Seminar Speaker: Ze Feng Ted Gan

The next Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) Graduate Seminar speaker will present at 2 p.m. today, Aug. 28, in Fisher 329.

Assistant Professor Ze Feng Ted Gan will present "Acoustics of Multirotor Aerial and Marine Vehicles."

Like the automotive industry, arguably the greatest paradigm shift in the aviation industry is electrification. This includes the proliferation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs, colloquially known as drones) and development of manned electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. These aircraft often use distributed propulsion for flight control, which introduces complex aerodynamic and acoustic interactions.

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No Tech Today on Monday

Tech Today will not publish on Monday, Sept. 1, in observance of the Labor Day holiday.

Submissions for publication in Tech Today next Tuesday, Sept. 2, are due by noon tomorrow, Aug. 29.

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

Oh! The Places You Came From!

Thursday, August 28, 8 a.m.–5 p.m. | Library

Our students come from all over the world! Stop and put yourself on the map at our Digital Scholarship@VPOL display so we can see where you were before coming to MTU.

Library Origami Inquiry Quest

Thursday, August 28, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. | Library

Explore the library in search of origami creatures. Scan their QR code to check out our library FAQs. Afterward, stop by the “Ask Us!” desk on the first floor to tell one of...

Local Jobs Expo

Thursday, August 28, 11 a.m.–2 p.m. | Campus Mall

Get Ready for the Local Jobs Expo! We've invited companies from the Copper Country to come to campus and help showcase the kinds of professional jobs they might need. These...

Pops & Possibilities

Thursday, August 28, 1–3 p.m. | Outside the Library

Would you share a thought or two? With a pop in hand — red, green, or blue? Ideas for wellness, fun, and cheer — We want your voice, come lend an ear! With SLI and the Center...

Acoustics of Multirotor Aerial and Marine Vehicles

Thursday, August 28, 2 p.m. | Fisher Hall, 329

MAE Graduate Seminar Speaker Series proudly presents Ted Gan Assistant Professor, MAE at MTU Abstract Like the automotive industry, arguably the greatest paradigm shift...

Disc Golf with Sigma Pi

Thursday, August 28, 4–5 p.m. | Walker Lawn

Test your skills with Sigma Pi at our disc golf setup! Whether you’re a seasoned player or just trying it out, swing by for a chill time, meet the brothers, and see if you can...

Homecoming Info Session

Thursday, August 28, 4–5 p.m. | Memorial Union Building, Alumni Lounge

You have questions. We have answers. Join us for one of three info sessions about all things Homecoming. We'll review how to run for Homecoming Royalty, how to register for a...

Physics Colloquium

Thursday, August 28, 4–5 p.m. | Fisher Hall 139

Women in Physics (WiP) is excited to announce that this semester’s Physics Colloquium will feature a special event organized by WiP. Dedicated to creating a welcoming and...

Outdoor Venture Crew Weekly Meeting

Thursday, August 28, 5–6 p.m. | Fisher 125

This is our first weekly meeting of the year! Come help us plan our weekend trip. We meet every Thursday at 5:00 in Fisher 125. You don't need to attend the planning meeting...

AEMT General Meeting

Thursday, August 28, 5:30–6:30 p.m. | Fisher 325

Casual meeting to discuss car news and cover club agendas/activities. Bring yourself or bring a friend if they are interested in joining the club! All are welcome.

AMA Kickoff Meeting 2025/2026

Thursday, August 28, 6–7 p.m. | AOB 101

Interested in marketing, leadership, or just building your resume with real-world experience? Come check out AMA! We're the American Marketing Association at Michigan Tech, a...

Football vs Bemidji State

Thursday, August 28, 6–9 p.m. | Sherman Field

Football vs Bemidji State Houghton, Mich.

Weekly Practice

Thursday, August 28, 6:00–7:30 p.m. | Upper Field

Come practice your soccer skills with us! We run practice like a competitive club team. We practice similarly to how a competitive club or high school team would. We start...

Homecoming Info Session

Thursday, August 28, 7–8 p.m. | Memorial Union Building, Superior Room

You have questions. We have answers. Join us for one of three info sessions about all things Homecoming. We'll review how to run for Homecoming Royalty, how to register for a...

Indigenous Game Night with Biskaabiiyaang Collective

Thursday, August 28, 7–8 p.m. | Walker Arts and Humanities Center, Writing Center

Come out and play cultural card and board games. We will have light refreshments and cookies. Meet the Indigenous student organization and kick off the start of the semester!