January 9, 2026

The deadline to submit the 2025 MTU Wellness 360 Incentive form is Tuesday, Jan. 13. The MTU Wellness 360 - Incentive 2025 Checklist Google form must be completed by the end of the day on Jan. 13, 2026, in order to qualify for the incentive payout.

To earn up to $450, participants will check off the activities they completed between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2025, and submit the electronic form. Benefits-eligible employees can access the MTU Wellness 360 - Incentive 2025 Checklist Google form or navigate to the MTU Wellness 360 website. 

Tuesday is the last day to submit the MTU Wellness 360 incentive form for 2025. Payouts are expected to arrive by March. Tax-free payout options include lump sums deposited into an employee’s health savings account (HSA) — available only to employees enrolled in the HDHP1/HDHP2 health insurance plans — or flexible spending account (FSA). Taxable payout options include Michigan Tech Gift Card or Keweenaw Cash.

The MTU Wellness 360 program supports qualifying, benefits-eligible faculty and staff in learning about their health and well-being, encourages them to take steps to improve or maintain it, and offers monetary rewards of up to $450 for participating in the annual incentive program. Participation in the MTU Wellness 360 program is free, voluntary and confidential.

The current MTU Wellness 360 incentive program will conclude after 2025 payouts are complete. A new wellness program is under development and slated to launch in 2027.

The Office of the Provost is happy to announce that the state of Michigan has approved funding for visiting professors through the King-Chávez-Parks (KCP) initiative. This program supports campus departments in inviting professors, scholars, potential faculty or research collaborators to Michigan Tech’s campus during the 2025-26 academic year. We are now accepting applications for visits to take place through Sept. 30, 2026.

University departments or units are invited to apply for financial support to bring visiting scholars who provide underrepresented perspectives in their field of expertise to Michigan Tech. Visitors do not need a terminal degree or a faculty position to qualify for support. Supported visits can range from a few hours to a semester or longer. While on campus, visiting professors must interact with students in the classroom, in seminars, and/or in informal and formal group discussions, or teach a session during an academic or summer semester. They are also welcome to work with faculty during their visit.

Applications must be submitted at least one month prior to a proposed visit for pre-approval by the state of Michigan. Funding requests can be made for up to $2,000. However, unit(s) must provide a minimum 1-to-1 match to expenses covered by KCP funds.

Learn more about the Visiting Professor Program, including its purpose and the application process. If you have any questions regarding the program, please contact Shannon Vairo, manager of partner engagement and faculty support, at ssvairo@mtu.edu.

Congratulations to all of our 2025 Making A Difference Award nominees and winners, who were honored at an awards program on Tuesday, Jan. 6, in the Memorial Union Ballroom.

The 2025 award winners are: 

• Behind the Scenes: Emilie Sander, Student Leadership and Involvement
• Innovation Award: Jim Baker, Vice President for Research Office
• Legacy Award: Karen Hext, Graduate School
• Outstanding Leader: Kiersten Birondo, Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts
• Rookie Award: Easton Laitila, Auxiliary and Business Services
• Serving Others: Dawn Corwin, Waino Wahtera Center for Student Success
• Unsung Hero: Shelle Sandell, Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering

To read the full story featuring the nominations and comments about the winners, visit the Staff Council website.

Staff Council would like to extend a thank-you to those who nominated an employee or wrote a letter of support. Through your efforts and thoughtfulness, we are able to celebrate these staff members. And thank you to this year’s judges and committee members: Amy Hjerstedt, Margaret Landsparger, Shanda Miller, Vicky Roy (retiree), Laurie Stark and Judy Zei. A special thanks to the President's Office for providing the award each winner will receive.

College of Engineering Dean Michelle Scherer has selected Zack Fredin, associate teaching professor in the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering (CEGE), as the first instructor in the 2026 Deans’ Teaching Showcase. Fredin will be recognized at an end-of-term event with other spring showcase members and is a candidate for the CTL Instructional Award Series.

Fredin teaches across the transportation area of CEGE, covering courses in transportation engineering and design, railroad engineering, traffic, and the recently revived popular airport planning course. He is regularly at the top of the department’s course evaluations. Students frequently point to two consistent strengths: clear expectations and an energetic classroom climate that keeps them actively involved with the material. 

His gamification approach for class activities is one big reason for his success. He organizes students into teams that take turns answering questions about assigned readings, out-of-class video materials or content from earlier lessons. The teams compete in semester-long rankings that are meaningful to the students. In this way, students keep each other accountable for keeping up with materials and performing assigned out-of-class work. Critically, instead of having it be a stressful or burdensome activity, students find the competitive aspect of his courses to be fun.

Fredin noted that the gamification or competition aspect of his courses, first introduced by Pasi Lautala (CEGE), helps students explore the content introduced to them through a flipped classroom format. The low-risk environment allows students to make mistakes and learn from them before having to use the skills on a graded assignment. The team-based competitions support peer-to-peer learning and dialogue, which is often missing in a formal lecture.

“Students have continued to comment on the uniqueness of this classroom experience and the fun that it brings to learning otherwise technically challenging topics,” said Fredin.

In an era when higher education is focused on demonstrating vocational value, return on investment, mastery of both hard and soft skills, and student achievement of program objectives, having an instructor like Fredin who also brings the joy of engineering into the classroom is very important, said CEGE chair Andrew Swartz.

“Our curriculum leads to career success for the vast majority of our students every year. But it will be the joy and fun that students feel in Zack’s course, and others like it, that will keep MTU and CEGE in the hearts of students, long after they have accepted their first job offer,” said Swartz.

“We know that people can power through many struggles by stolidly reminding themselves, ‘This is good for me… this is good for me,’” added Fredin. He noted that the technique works really well for courses that use design specification documents (AASHTO, MDOT, etc.). “This setup allows students to explore those documents as part of the class where otherwise this is often left to be done outside of the classroom,” he said. 

He added that, for classes where students are learning codes or design standards, or if you just want students to dig deeper into their references, gamification can turn a tedious assignment into something fun, engaging and memorable.

“Zack is a shining example of the immense value instructional teaching faculty have on the experiences our students have at Michigan Tech and he helps us differentiate our education from other civil engineering programs in the nation,” said Scherer.

Professor Emeritus David Nitz (Physics) was recently honored for his efforts to build bridges for Michigan Tech students from Malargüe, Argentina.

On Jan. 6, the Municipality of Malargüe held a recognition breakfast in Nitz’s honor, highlighting his long-standing contribution to education and his commitment to supporting Malargüe students who attended Tech. 

During the event, local authorities presented Nitz with Ordinance No. 2,362/2025 from Malargüe’s city council, which officially designated a public street as “David F. Nitz Street.” The tribute, covered by local newspaper Ser y Hacer de Malargüe, reflects the deep appreciation of the community for a professional career that not only advanced scientific knowledge but also created lasting educational opportunities for students. 

The event also emphasized the human dimension of Nitz’s work. Together with his wife, he played a key role in accompanying Malargüe students during their academic experience in Houghton. For many, adapting to a new country, language and academic culture was a significant challenge. In this context, the guidance and personal support provided by Nitz and his family became essential. Over the years, his home served as a place of orientation, reassurance and emotional support for students far from their families, helping ensure not only their academic success but also their personal well-being.

Nitz’s sustained commitment helped strengthen the Malargüe Scholarship Program, which since 2001 has enabled several students to access high-quality education abroad, expanding their academic and professional horizons. In many cases, the emotional and practical support provided to participants by mentors like Nitz was crucial to sustaining their educational journey.

Malargüe’s recognition of Nitz symbolizes more than personal achievement. It highlights the importance of cooperation, mentorship and educational opportunity as drivers of local development. By naming a street after him, Malargüe honors a man who helped open doors for young talent and reinforced the idea that investing in education creates lasting benefits for individuals and communities alike.

The first guest speaker of the spring semester in the Department of Biomedical Engineering (BioMed) Seminar Series will present today, Jan. 9, at 3 p.m. in Chem Sci 102.

Rodica Curtu from the Department of Mathematical Sciences here at MTU will present "Discovering dynamical patterns of activity from single-trial intracranial neural recordings."

Read Curtu’s abstract and bio at the University Events Calendar.

Michigan Tech Sports Hall of Famer Mark Olson passed away on Jan. 3 in Peoria, Illinois, at the age of 98.

Olson, a native of Marquette, Michigan, was a four-year letter winner and three-time most valuable player for Michigan Tech in hockey, and captained the Huskies in their 1948-49 and 1949-50 seasons. He scored 50 goals and had 68 assists during his career at Tech and went on to play seven seasons of semiprofessional hockey.

Read more about Olson and find a link to his full obituary at Michigan Tech Athletics.

Keweenaw Report and K-Bear 102 WHKB-FM quoted Staff Council chair Laurie Stark (VPOL) in stories highlighting Michigan Tech’s Making a Difference Staff Awards ceremony, held on Jan. 6.

The Daily Mining Gazette quoted Lauren Furey (SS) in a story about Michigan Tech’s 2026 Sustainability Film Series, which begins Thursday, Jan. 15, and features screenings and facilitated discussions on environmental and social topics.

Register Now for Spring Semester Faculty Hiring and Review Workshops

Do you need to complete the Faculty Hiring and Review Workshop? There is still time to register for spring workshops.

Faculty serving on faculty search committees and tenure and promotion committees (TPRs) are required to complete a course called the Faculty Hiring and Review Workshop. The workshop covers high-impact practices for attracting the best candidates, required steps for search committees, legal aspects of hiring, and approaches for successfully promoting and retaining faculty. The workshop is managed by fellow faculty members in collaboration with Academic Affairs, Equal Opportunity Compliance and Title IX, and the Office of Community Engagement at Michigan Tech.

Use the Schedule and Registration page to choose the best course for you and then use the registration form to indicate your preferred workshop. You will receive an enrollment confirmation email from Human Resources. Please allow at least 48 hours for confirmation!

Use the Workshop Status page to check faculty completion and expiration status (ISO login required).

Please plan your completion of the Faculty Hiring and Review Workshop and refresher courses in advance. These courses have enrollment caps and cannot be provided on demand. The provost will not make exceptions. New faculty are encouraged to enroll in the full workshop in the spring semester of their first year. Faculty enrolling in a refresher course to maintain their status must complete the refresher before their status expires.

If you have any questions, please contact workshop coordinator Sarah F. Scarlett at sfscarle@mtu.edu or 906-487-2110.

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MTU Spring Recreation Opportunities

Make plans to join us at Tech Rec for the spring semester! The SDC, Gates Tennis Center and Outdoor Adventure Program have something to offer for all your recreation needs. Make sure to visit Michigan Tech Recreation’s website soon for registration links — and check back often for new and upcoming programs!

Interested in building membership and taking advantage of all the great components? We’ve got you covered! Check out all the details of an SDC Membership or Gates Membership.

We look forward to seeing you this spring! Until then, get ready for another fun and active semester with Tech Rec.

Questions? Reach out to recreation@mtu.edu.

Spring Semester Recreation Programs:

• Sports Camps and Events
  • Volleyball High School Skills Academies
  • Girls' & Boys' Basketball Little Huskies
  • Football Little Huskies 
  • Doghouse Classic 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament
  • Indoor Triathlon
    
    
• Aquatics
  • Adult Swim Lessons & Training
  • Private/Semi-Private Swim Lessons
  • Youth Group Swim Lessons 
  • Youth Competitive Swim Training
  • American Red Cross Lifeguarding Courses
  • Aqua-Fit Class
  • PADI Open Water SCUBA Course
  • WIBIT Events
    
    
• Fitness Coaching
  • Personal and Partner Fitness Coaching
    
    
• HuskiesFit
  • Group Fitness Classes 
  • Indoor Rowing Classes
  • Aikido and Self Defense
  • Tumbling
    
    
• Ice Arena
  • Open Skate and Open Hockey
  • Equipment Rental and Skate Sharpening
    
    
• Outdoor Adventure Program
  • Indoor Rock Climbing and Log Rolling
  • Snowshoeing
  • Equipment Rental
  • Wilderness First Responder Course
  • BigFoot Glowshoe Event
    
    
• Shooting Range
  • CPL and Defensive Handgun Courses
  • Pistol League and Pistol Competition
  • Hunter’s Safety Course
  • Ladies Night
    
    
• Gates Tennis Center
  • Youth and Adult Group Lessons
  • Private Lessons

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ChE Seminar Series with Reid Van Lehn

Reid Van Lehn will present as part of the Department of Chemical Engineering (ChE) Seminar Series today, Jan. 9, at 10 a.m. The seminar will be held in person in Chem Sci 106 and virtually via Zoom.

Join the ChE Seminar on Zoom.

Van Lehn will present "Computational Modeling of Solvent-Mediated Plastics Recycling." 

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

Van Lehn is a Sobota Associate Professor of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is hosted by Rebecca Ong.

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Martin Luther King's Legacy: Your Call to Action at Michigan Tech

The Michigan Tech community is ready to transform this "day off" into a powerful "day on" — a genuine commitment to service, reflection and meaningful action. Martin Luther King Jr.’s enduring legacy calls us to a higher standard of citizenship and humanity, and these scheduled events provide a powerful path for every student to answer that call and contribute to his vision of “unity through service."

This Martin Luther King Jr. Day, don't just take the day off. Show up. Serve. Reflect. Act. Honor King's legacy by engaging with the events and making a meaningful difference right here in Houghton.

MLK Day 2026 Events:

• MLK Day of Service — We kick off Martin Luther King Jr. Day on Jan. 19, 2026, at 10 a.m. with a Day of Service at multiple volunteer locations where the hands-on efforts of Michigan Tech students and community members can make a tangible difference in the local community. By volunteering, you are actively participating in the work of social uplift that King championed. Give your time, apply your talents and live the spirit of service.

• Volunteer Reading — Michigan Tech students will also read to local schoolchildren, spreading King's history and legacy to young minds in our community.

• Interfaith Service — Our Interfaith Service starts at 4:15 p.m. in the Van Pelt and Opie Library's East Reading Room, offering a space for quiet introspection that draws on King's spiritual foundation and his call for unity across all faiths.

• Peace March — The campus and community are invited to participate in a peace march, beginning with a gathering at the Husky Statue at 5 p.m. The procession will travel to the Alumni House and return. Walking together, we will publicly reaffirm Michigan Tech’s dedication to King's enduring principles of justice and nonviolence, making a powerful, visible statement about our commitment to an equitable future.

• Shared Meal/Panel Discussion — The day concludes with a shared meal and a panel discussion featuring alumni Jemel Thompson, Jailynn Johnson and Austin McFarlane, offering a chance to connect, reflect and hear their stories of resilience. Dinner will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the MUB Ballroom. Gather with fellow students, faculty and staff to share stories from your service, discuss the meaning of King's legacy, and strengthen the bonds of the Michigan Tech community.

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MLK Day of Service

Join Michigan Tech students and community members on Jan. 19, starting at 10 a.m., to honor Martin Luther King Jr.'s legacy through hands-on service.

This Martin Luther King Jr. Day, don't just take the day off. Show up. Serve. Reflect. Act. Honor King's legacy by engaging with the events and making a meaningful difference right here in Houghton.

Find more information on GivePulse.

Event Details:

• What: MLK Day of Service
• When: Monday, Jan. 19, at 10 a.m.
• Where: Multiple locations, including the Copper Country Humane Society, Letters Against Isolation, the Bluffs Senior Living Facility and the Community Alliance for Progressive Education (CAPE).

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

Skiing at U.S. Cross Country Ski National Championships

Friday, January 9, 12 a.m. | Lake Placid, NY

Skiing at U.S. Cross Country Ski National Championships Lake Placid, NY

Computational Modeling of Solvent-Mediated Plastics Recycling

Friday, January 9, 10 a.m. | Chemical Sciences and Engineering Building, 106

Chemical Engineering Seminar Dr. Reid C Van Lehn Sobota Associate Professor University of Wisconsin-Madison Abstract Plastics are ubiquitous in all facets of everyday life, leading to the annual generation of millions of tons of plastic waste. Most plastic waste consists of complex mixtures of polymers and contaminants. This complexity significantly inhibits existing plastics recycling processes. We recently developed the Solvent-Targeted Recovery and Precipitation (STRAPTM) process with collaborators as a platform technology for recovering target polymer components from multicomponent plastic waste via selective dissolution and then precipitation in carefully chosen solvents. In this talk, I will detail computational methods that we have developed to guide solvent selection for STRAP by integrating molecular simulations and machine learning and process optimization methods. I will further describe our methods for integrating computational modeling with experiments to identify solvents for removing contaminants, such as inks, from plastic waste, while elucidating molecular mechanisms underlying their removal. Finally, I will present example applications to highlight the ability of STRAP to recover clear, near-virgin quality resins from complex feedstocks, including printed multilayer films. Bio Dr. Reid Van Lehn is the Sobota Associate Professor in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He received his Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering from MIT then performed research as a NIH Ruth-Kirschstein postdoctoral fellow at Caltech. He joined UW-Madison in May 2016, where his research group uses molecular simulations and data-driven methods to study synthetic and biological soft materials. He has received several honors, including the American Institute of Chemical Engineers CoMSEF Young Investigator Award, an NSF CAREER award, and the UW-Madison Vilas Associate and Vilas Early Career awards.

PhD Defense: Ayush Chutani

Friday, January 9, 12–1 p.m. | R. L. Smith Building (MEEM), 1021

Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics Advisor: Ana Dyreson Snow-Induced Energy Losses in Single-Axis Tracker Solar Photovoltaic Systems and Mitigation Strategies to Enhance Winter Performance Attend Virtually: https://michigantech.zoom.us/j/84799230700?jst=3

Cookies & Coloring

Friday, January 9, 2–4 p.m. | Alumni House

Beat the winter blues! Stop by for Cookies & Coloring, grab a sweet treat, relax with some coloring, and take a little mental break. Perfect for de-stressing and recharging.

Discovering dynamical patterns of activity from single-trial intracranial neural recordings

Friday, January 9, 3–4 p.m. | Chemical Sciences and Engineering Building, 102

Biomedical Engineering Research Seminar Rodica Curtu, Ph.D. Michigan Technological University Abstract Discovering dynamical patterns from high fidelity time series is typically a challenging task. In this talk I will discuss a data-driven method for the analysis of neural recordings taken from the auditory cortex of human subjects who listened to sequences of repeated triplets of tones and reported their perception by pressing a button. Subjects reported spontaneous alternations between two auditory perceptual states: a galloping-like rhythm (1-stream) and a Morse-code like rhythm (2-streams). Our algorithm leverages time-delayed coordinates, diffusion maps, and dynamic mode decomposition, to identify neural features in large scale brain recordings that correlate with subject-reported perception. The method captures the dynamics of perception at multiple timescales and distinguishes attributes of neural encoding of the stimulus from those encoding the perceptual states. Our analysis reveals a set of latent variables that exhibit alternating dynamics along a low-dimensional manifold, like trajectories of attractor-based models. Bio I am by training an applied mathematician, but I have worked in the field of mathematical and computational neuroscience since graduate school. Soon after graduation, I took an academic appointment in Romania while, in parallel, I collaborated as an informal postdoc with scientists from the Center for Neural Science at New York University with expertise in computational neuroscience and the visual sciences. Since then, interdisciplinary collaborations have been a significant component of my research program with applications spanning cell biology, cognition, and visual and auditory perception. My lab has extensive experience in modeling neural data and in examining the dynamics of neural models. It applies nonlinear dynamical systems methods, pattern formation, computer simulations, statistical methods and machine learning algorithms to study a wide range of neural mechanisms underlying perception and cognition. My research group has also developed new methods for the analysis of large-scale data. These rely on diffusion maps and manifold learning principles to extract non-stationary features from multisite neuronal recordings.

American Red Cross Lifeguarding Course - Jan. 7-11, 2026

Friday, January 9, 5–9 p.m. | Student Development Complex (SDC), Pool

Earn your American Red Cross Lifeguard Certification in this intensive training course located at the Michigan Tech SDC Pool. The certification includes Lifeguarding (Including Deep Water) with CPR/AED for Professional Rescuers, First Aid Certification and all training materials. All participants must be 15 years of age or older by the first date of the course (documentation required). Required water skills include the ability to: Swim 150 yards (using the front crawl, breaststroke or a combination of both, swimming on the back or side is not permitted, swim goggles are allowed), maintain a position on the surface of the water for 2 minutes by treading water with the legs, swim 50 yards (using the front crawl, breaststroke or a combination of both). Complete a timed event within 1 minute, 40 seconds.Starting in the water, swim 20 yards (face may be in or out of the water, swim goggles are not permitted).Surface dive (feet-first or head-first) to a depth of 7 to 10 feet to retrieve a 10-pound object.Return to the surface and swim 20 yards on the back to return to the starting point, holding the object at the surface with both hands and keeping the face at or near the surface.Exit the water without using the ladder or steps. For additional details on registering for this course to receive ACADEMIC CREDIT, please reach out to Ann Boyle at ambengry@mtu.edu or 906-487-2995.

RSO Budget Hearing Info Sessions

Friday, January 9, 7:30–8:30 p.m. | M&M U115

The RSO Budget Hearing Info Sessions are the first week of the Spring semester on: - Tuesday, January 6th - Thursday, January 8th - Friday, January 9th All organizations are required to send at least one representative / officer to one info session to be eligible to participate in Budget Hearings. Multiple officers or representatives are permitted, but you must send someone to one of the information sessions. The content of the information sessions will remain the same. After organizations participate, they will receive an information packet with the presentation content and details about submitting their budget and inventory before Budget Hearings begin.

Men's Ice Hockey at Bemidji State

Friday, January 9, 8:07–11:07 p.m. | Bemidji, MN

Men's Ice Hockey at Bemidji State Bemidji, MN

The Graduate School is pleased to announce the following dissertation, thesis and report defenses occurring next week. Please consider attending to learn more about our students’ scholarship and celebrate their academic accomplishments. Check the University Events Calendar for last-minute updates to times, dates and locations.