March 7, 2023

“Art in Silico” is now accepting submissions for our juried art show through March 23!

The inaugural “Art in Silico” is a computational art exhibition and event series that examines the expressive world of creative computation and the confluence of technology and art, connecting circuit board to canvas. As technology pervades our existence, forming new universes — metaverses — in which we can live, act and perceive, the spaces between the conventional science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines and the creative arts have shrunk to the infinitesimal. “Art in Silico” celebrates the continuum of arts and STEM, seeking to hack your mind and STEAM your brain to experience a world in which data are compelling, evocative, provocative, ugly, beautiful and appealing.

Pieces chosen for the exhibition will be required to be installed in their indicated location by March 27. Installations will be on display at Michigan Tech prior to the “Art in Silico” awards reception, which will be held at 5th & Elm at the Orpheum Theater on April 13. $1,500 in prizes will be awarded in multiple categories.

Please see the Institute of Computing and Cybersystems’ Art in Silico page for more information!

Beginning today (March 7) at 11 a.m. and ending tomorrow (March 8) at 5 p.m., Michigan Tech IT will be upgrading the card services system on campus. During this time, CS Gold access readers, meal readers and access to some Keywatcher Kiosk rooms will work in their offline mode. After the maintenance is complete, transactions will be uploaded back into CS Gold.

The following services will be affected:

cardservices.mtu.edu website
Husky Card Printing
Mobile Readers
Vending Readers
Micros Point of Sale Systems (will be available but unable to process transactions with the card services system)
Experience Tech Tracking System and related WebFOCUS reports
Husky Print

For more information on upgrade considerations specific to departments, please review our Knowledge Base article.

If you have any questions or concerns about the upgrade, we can help. Contact IT at it-help@mtu.edu or call 7-1111.

Due to spring break, there will not be a C3 Luncheon this week.

The next luncheon will be held March 16.

The Health Research Institute (HRI) held their 2023 Student Forum on Feb. 24. The forum featured a poster session and an oral presentation session, which drew participation from 20 students in 10 departments. Judges selected the following winners from each category:

Poster Session:

• First Place: Gregory Miodonski, Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology
• Second Place (tie): Bianca Velez, Biological Sciences
• Second Place (tie): Chen Zhao, Applied Computing
• Third Place (tie): Emily Washeleski, Biological Sciences
  Third Place (tie): Sherry Chen, Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology

Oral Presentations:

• First Place: Seth Kriz, Chemical Engineering
• Second Place (tie): Brennan Vogl, Biomedical Engineering
• Second Place (tie): Natalie Nold, Chemical Engineering
• Third Place: Roya Bagheri, Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics

Thank you to all of the participants and congratulations to the winners.

For more information on HRI's student programs and resources, please visit the HRI Student Resources page.

Maria Carreon will present as part of the Department of Chemical Engineering (ChE) Research Series on Friday (March 10) at 10 a.m. in person in Chem Sci 201 or virtually via Zoom.

Carreon will present "Nitrogen Fixation: Unveiling the cold plasma-based route."

Read the abstract on the University Events Calendar.

Carreon is an assistant professor at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

No. 11 Michigan Tech hockey swept St. Thomas in the first round of the the CCHA playoffs.

Blake Pietila did what Blake Pietila does on Friday night (March 3), as he backstopped the Huskies’ 1-0 shutout of St. Thomas. Pietila stopped all 30 shots he faced in the shutout — his eighth Friday night shutout, 10th shutout of the season and 20th shutout of his career. With the blank, Pietila tied the CCHA record for shutouts in a season and broke the Michigan Tech records for shutouts in a season and career.

Brett Thorne scored the game's only goal 11:28 into the third period as Tech improved to 23-9-4 overall.

"We knew it was going to be battle. There wasn't anything pretty about the hockey game," coach Joe Shawhan said. "I can't see anybody in the country being more valuable to their team than Blake. He had to make some really big saves. He was the difference, and he earned it."

The Huskies and Tommies combined for nine goals on Saturday (March 4), and the Huskies advanced to the CCHA semifinals with a 5-4 victory. 

Tristan Ashbrook and Kyle Kukkonen each scored a pair of goals for the Huskies with Jack Works also finding the back of the net. Pietila made 30 saves and moved into a tie for the school record for wins by a Michigan Tech goaltender with 58.

Shawhan picked up his 119th career win and is now second in program history behind only John MacInnes.

"We needed wins to put ourselves in a good position for the national tournament and hopefully this weekend solidified our bid," Shawhan said. "Goofy things happen in elimination games. It was hard to get the win. It was a battle because they just didn't go away."

Tech will host Northern Michigan in the CCHA semifinals on Saturday (March 11) at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena.

Read more at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

No. 22 Michigan Tech women's basketball topped the Bulldogs to advance to the GLIAC tournament championship, where they fell to the No. 5 Lakers. But, the Huskies’ postseason will continue.

The No. 2 seeded Huskies defeated Ferris State 68-57 in the semifinal game Saturday (March 4) at GVSU Fieldhouse Arena, advancing to the conference championship for the second time in three years. Tech assembled a 25-0 run in the second half, but had to erase an 11-point third-quarter deficit to secure the win.

"We cannot have a start like that and expect to win tomorrow," said head coach Sam Clayton. "At the same time, I'm proud of the fight that we showed in the second half. Lydia (Schaible) came in and went 2-for-2 from the 3-point line, which helped us stay in the game. We changed some things at halftime and came out with a much better effort. To have only one turnover in the second half was very important to our success."

Sara Dax led Michigan Tech with 14 points and six rebounds and Ellie Mackay added 13 points, all in the second half. The fifth-year senior also passed Jenny Postlewaite for second place on the Michigan Tech chart for career points.

Michigan Tech fell 62-54 to No. 5 Grand Valley State in the GLIAC championship Sunday (March 5) at GVSU Fieldhouse Arena. The Huskies snapped a six-game win streak while the Lakers nabbed their 12th straight victory.

Alex Rondorf led Tech with 19 points, shooting 7-of-11 from the field with six rebounds. Isabella Lenz added 15 points and a team-high six assists.

"I thought we competed hard from start to finish," said Clayton. "Our overall effort was there. We just came up a little bit short against a very good Grand Valley State team. Credit to them for how they played. I'm proud of our season and tournament and hopefully, we'll get another shot at the NCAA tournament."

Spoiler: They will. 

Huskies Selected to NCAA Midwest Region Tournament
Michigan Tech earned an at-large bid to the Division II Midwest Region Tournament, the NCAA selection committee announced late Sunday night. The Huskies (25-6) earned the No. 4 seed and will face No. 5 seed Trevecca Nazarene (21-9) in the quarterfinals.

MTU plays the Trojans on Friday (March 10) at 7:30 p.m. ET at Kates Gymnasium in Ashland, Ohio. It will be Tech's 21st appearance in the NCAA tournament since 1975.

Read more at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Michigan Tech men's basketball held off Grand Valley State in the GLIAC semifinals to advance to the championship, where they fell to Northern Michigan.

The Huskies held off the Lakers 73-69 on Saturday (March 4) to advance the conference championship for the third time in four years. Pete Calcaterra and Dan Gherezgher made layups with under two minutes to play to help the Huskies to victory. 

First-year Marcus Tomashek led the team with 22 points. Eric Carl came scored a season-high 19 points and Calcaterra contributed in all facets with 10 points, nine rebounds and a team-best seven assists. The Huskies shot 45.6% overall with 36 rebounds, 19 assists and 13 turnovers.

"I'm really happy for the guys," said head coach Josh Buettner. "We've talked for a while about just getting in the tournament and then anything can happen. We executed the game plan well and competed our tails off. I was also really proud of Eric Carl's effort. He stepped up and made some huge shots for us. You love to see that from your senior leader."

MTU's underdog postseason run came to an end in the GLIAC championship against No. 3 seed Northern Michigan. The Huskies fell 79-66 at Jim Wink Arena on Sunday (March 5). 

The Huskies led by two at halftime, but Wildcats' potent offense struck back after the break. The Huskies (10-20) shot 44.6% overall and were outrebounded 38-29.

"They (NMU) wanted to run us off the line and we missed a lot of baskets at the rim in both halves," said Buettner. "In the second half when we got in the paint, we just didn't finish. Some of it is strength and some of it is touch, but we need to get better in that area."

Gherezgher led the Huskies with 15 points and Dawson Nordgaard collected 14 points in 14 minutes after shooting 7-of-7 from the floor.

Read more at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

No. 11 Michigan Tech hockey will host Northern Michigan in the CCHA Mason Cup semifinal game Saturday (March 11) at 6:07 p.m. at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena.

Tickets went on sale at 8 a.m. Monday (March 6). However, due to a high volume of requested tickets, reserved seat and online ticket sales were suspended partway through Monday while staff worked through the high volume of requested tickets. Reserved seats and online ticket sales will resume at noon today (March 7). 

Tech's third-party ticketing vendor, AudienceView, is down, and the ticketing process is manual. Season ticket holders had until 5 p.m. on Monday to purchase tickets and claim their seats in person at the SDC Ticket Office.

Tickets can be purchased in person at the Central Ticket Office in the Student Development Complex and online resuming at noon today. Ticket prices are as follows: Rail 555: $45, Adult: $30 and Youth: $20. Michigan Tech students can enter the game at the Experience Tech entrance as usual.

If you have any other questions, please email huskytickets@mtu.edu.

Tuesday (March 7)
• Huskies Drive Time, 7:30-8 a.m. on Mix 93 WKMJ-FM
• Tennis vs. Florida Southern (Orlando)

Thursday (March 9)
• Nordic Skiing at NCAA Championship (Lake Placid, New York)
• Women's Tennis vs. Winona State (Orlando)
• Men's Tennis vs. West Liberty (Orlando)

Friday (March 10)
• Tennis vs. Lynn (Orlando)
• Women's Basketball vs. Trevecca Nazarene in NCAA Tournament, on Mix 93 WKMJ-FM

Saturday (March 11)
• Nordic Skiing at NCAA Championship (Lake Placid, New York)
• Women's Basketball at NCAA Tournament, on Mix 93 WKMJ-FM
• Hockey vs. Northern Michigan, 6:07 p.m. at MacInnes Student Ice Arena on Mix 93 WKMJ-FM

Job Postings for Tuesday, March 7, 2023

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

Coordinator of Graduate Degree Services, Graduate School. Apply online.

Research Associate, Chemistry. 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.

Brad King (ME-EM) was quoted by MLive in a story about the surge of space and software companies in the Upper Peninsula.

*****

Sarah Hoy (CFRES) was quoted by Experience Magazine in a story about how the National Park Service is reacting to climate change.

*****

Jeff Naber and Jeremy Worm (ME-EM/APSRC) were quoted by WLUC TV6 in a story about how a partnership between Michigan Tech and Eagle Mine is beneficial to the electric vehicle battery industry and consumers.

*****

Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity members Andrew Phelps and Brad Burnish were quoted by the Daily Mining Gazette in a story about a $350 donation Sigma Tau Gamma made to the Special Olympics. The money was originally donated to the fraternity by the Mid America Snow & Terrain Expert Racers (MASTERS).

*****

Michigan Tech Mushing Club members Alyssa Sarlund and Wade Canavan were mentioned by the Keweenaw Report in a story on the results of the Copper Dog sled dog races last weekend. Sarlund finished eighth and Canavan ninth in the Copper Dog 80.

*****

Michigan Tech was mentioned in more stories about the new $10,000 Michigander EV Scholars scholarship promoting EV and mobility careers. In addition to Manufacturing.net, Ford Authority and four other manufacturing industry publications, the scholarship program was covered by the Tennessee Star, ClickOnDetroit and Grand Rapids’ WOOD TV8.

The scholarship program will be offered to students at Michigan Tech, Michigan State University and the University of Michigan.

*****

The Mining Journal mentioned Michigan Tech in a story about 35 projects receiving a total $3.6 million in grants through the Michigan Invasive Species Grant Program. The University was awarded $159,100 to study the spread of oak wilt in Marquette, Iron, Mackinac and Houghton counties.

*****

Michigan Tech was mentioned in continuing coverage of Finlandia University’s impending closure by the Associated Press, the Daily Mining Gazette, Sault News, Radio Results Network, Cheboygan Daily Tribune and Petoskey News-Review. 

Michigan Tech’s commitment to assist Finlandia students was covered by WLUC TV6 and WJMN Local 3.

*****

The Daily Mining Gazette mentioned Michigan Tech in a story about the start of the season for Houghton’s FIRST Robotics team. The team will hold a demo at the Western U.P. STEM Fair and Festival at the Memorial Union Building on March 16.

*****

MLive mentioned Michigan Tech’s Winter Carnival in a story about how winter festivals breathe life into the state’s winter economy.

*****

The Daily Mining Gazette covered Michigan Tech hockey’s Blake Pietila being named CCHA goaltender of the month.

*****

The Daily Mining Gazette covered All-GLIAC recognition awarded to Michigan Tech women’s basketball players Ellie Mackay, Isabella Lenz, and Alex Rondorf.

*****

WJMN Local 3 and the Daily Mining Gazette covered Michigan Tech men’s basketball’s Dan Gherezgher being named to the All-GLIAC Second Team.

*****

Attorney at Law Magazine mentioned Brandon Schwartz ’06 (B.S. Finance and Economics) in a story profiling father-and-son duo behind the Schwartz Law Firm.

*****

Civil + Structural Engineer Magazine picked up the announcement of Ryan Sherman ’07 (B.S. Civil Engineering) as the recipient of the 2023 Robert J. Dexter Memorial Award Lecture.

Spring Safe Place Training

The Center for Diversity and Inclusion will be hosting Safe Place Training for this spring semester for faculty, staff and graduate students on the following dates:

• Session 1 — Tuesday, March 21, 1-3 p.m. (Location TBD)
• Session 2 — Thursday, March 23, 1-3 p.m. (Location TBD)

Please register in advance, as spots are limited to 30 per cohort. The registration form is located below the Upcoming Training details on the Safe Place Register for Training webpage.

Questions or concerns? Please email cdi@mtu.edu.

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

Data Carpentry Workshop: Ecology in Python

Tuesday, March 7, 9:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

Michigan Tech is hosting an online Data Carpentry workshop on Ecology in Python on March 6-7, 2023, from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. ET. The workshop is free for all Michigan Tech...

Detroit Science & Engineering Festival Alumni Volunteer Opportunities

Tuesday, March 7, 9:00 a.m.–2:30 p.m. | Spain Elementary-Middle School

The Michigan Tech Mind Trekkers, in partnership with Heroes’ Alliance & the Motor City Alliance, invite you to participate in the 2023 Detroit Science & Engineering Festival! ...

(Men's Tennis) Michigan Tech vs. Florida Southern

March 7, all day

Men's Tennis: Michigan Tech vs. Florida Southern