March 9, 2023

The latest Institute for Policy, Ethics, and Culture (IPEC) series will lead community members to a deeper examination of work life, now and in the future. 

The Work in Transition lecture series features three livestreamed virtual talks with Q&A sessions on three consecutive Tuesdays: March 14, 21 and 28. On Thursday, March 16, there’s a live event at the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts. All events begin at 7 p.m. and are free and open to the public.

The series tackles the topic of work — from how to prepare for the workplace of tomorrow to quiet quitting. Speakers include professors with TED Talks and popular books, social media influencers, a lawyer and a poet-musician. Following each presentation, Michigan Tech faculty members will lead discussions, with audience participation moderated by Michael Stanitis, program coordinator at Portage Lake District Library.

IPEC Director Jennifer Slack (HU) said the lecture series is designed to help participants explore the transforming world of work from key perspectives: the history of work, the emergence of new forms of work, the challenges of the new workplace, and what work might look like in the context of building a better world.

Get more details at Michigan Tech News.

The Tech Forward Initiative on Sustainability and Resilience (ISR) at Michigan Tech invites applications for educational innovation projects that increase student exposure to sustainability and resilience in formal coursework. The ISR seeks to incentivize the creation of new sustainability curricula through new and existing coursework so more students across Michigan Tech learn about sustainability, resilience and the connection of each to their domain expertise.

Applications for Educational Innovation support will be accepted and reviewed on a rolling basis between now and March 31, with notification of awards planned by April 15.

Proposals may include support for hourly student work, summer salary or materials/supplies to develop new courses, revamp existing courses or host workshops for educating faculty and/or staff on sustainability education. Proposals may also include funds to support or incentivize participation from students, faculty and/or staff, and/or materials or supplies for coursework innovation.

Faculty, graduate students and staff are all eligible to apply. Applications can be submitted by individuals or teams; graduate students are encouraged to collaborate with a faculty member to submit an application.

We anticipate most awards will be in the range of $3,000 to $5,000, but encourage budgets that meet the project needs. Potential applicants are encouraged to reach out with questions about their potential budget.

Submitted proposals should be no more than two pages. Each proposal should include:

• A narrative description of the proposed educational innovation. This description should include at least one stand-alone paragraph that clearly describes how this educational innovation aligns with the broader goal of ensuring all students at Michigan Tech are exposed to sustainability and resilience through the curricula, including how many students are likely to be impacted by this innovation and how this innovation will be maintained in the curriculum.
  
  
• A detailed budget and a proposed project timeline. Project work should take place no later than spring 2024; the implementation timeline is flexible but should be described in the proposal.
  
  
• A list of deliverables to be provided to ISR at the end of the project period, such as a completed syllabus, a new course proposal prepared for submission, a workshop report, etc., to be determined and described by the applicant.
  
  
• Separate from the proposal document, we are also asking for confirmation from relevant department chairs that they have reviewed the proposal and are supportive of the proposal plans, especially if the proposal involves creation of a new course. This can be in the form of an email to Robert Handler. 

If you have any questions about a potential project proposal, please reach out to ask! The ISR Working Group (ISR WG) will review applications and contact applicants regarding decisions. For questions and to submit your application, please email Robert Handler at rhandler@mtu.edu.

Pavlis Honors College (PHC) is currently accepting applications to the Undergraduate Research Internship Program (URIP) for the 2023-24 academic year. The internship program will run from September 2023 through mid-March 2024 and is open to any undergraduate student on campus with an identified faculty research mentor. Faculty and students who are already working together are welcome to apply.

PHC will provide $960 in funding for the student intern, with the expectation that faculty will provide equivalent matching funds to be dispensed concurrently, resulting in a total of $1,920 paid hourly over the course of the internship. Faculty may make use of research funds, IRAD and startup packages, or consult their chairs, deans or center/institute management to identify the source of their match.

Details regarding the application process can be found on the Pavlis Honors College website.

The deadline to submit applications is 5 p.m. March 24. Faculty need to supply a letter of support as part of the application package. If you have questions about the submission process, please email Rob Handler at rhandler@mtu.edu.

URIP is made possible with support from PHC and generous donations from the Portage Health Foundation and the DeVlieg Foundation.

Tuesday (March 14) is Equal Pay Day 2023, a day that symbolizes the extra days an average women must work to catch up to what the average man earned the previous year. According to data from the American Association of University Women, women earn 83 cents, on average, for every dollar earned by men. For women of color, the gap is even worse.

The date of Equal Pay Day changes from year to year as the situation improves — no gender pay gap (i.e., if women and men, on average, earned the same amount over the course of a year) would land Equal Pay Day on Dec. 31. This is not the case, and thus one can think of women as working into the following year to make as much as a man, on average — having to work until March 14 is having to work 50 extra days, Monday to Friday. Red is worn on Equal Pay Day as a symbol of how far women and people of color are "in the red."

What can be done? Widespread awareness is a first and very effective step in addressing the gender pay gap. On Tuesday, we’ll spread awareness by wearing red and gathering at the Husky Statue on campus from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. We’ll be giving out cookies, sharing data and answering questions. Everyone can do something, whether it’s being on the lookout for nonconscious bias in employment practices; interceding for yourself, a friend or a colleague; or staying informed on current research into the causes of workplace pay inequity.

Co-sponsoring the Equal Pay Day event this year are the Copper Country League of Women Voters, Friends of the Michigan Tech Library, and the Society of Women Engineers, Center for Diversity and Inclusion, Equal Opportunity Compliance and Title IX, Graduate School, and Women in Natural Resources Club at Michigan Tech.

Find out what you can do to help close the gap. If your organization would like to join the list of co-sponsors of Equal Pay Day in the future, please contact Faith Morrison at fmorriso@mtu.edu. You’ll be making positive change happen.

All Michigan Tech employees will be receiving an email soon from Equal Opportunity Compliance which will contain a link to a confidential self-identification Google form. The purpose of this form is to gather information on race, ethnicity, gender, disability status and veteran status. Completion of the form is voluntary.

Federal regulations require Michigan Tech to maintain data on race, ethnicity, gender, disability status and veteran status, and to regularly remind current employees of their right to self-identify. This information is only used according to the provisions of applicable federal laws, executive orders and regulations, such as IPEDS and OFCCP reporting. Equal Opportunity Compliance routinely sends this invitation to self-identify to all employees.

We often get questions regarding the limited response options for certain demographic questions on the form. This data’s purpose is for federal reporting. All of the options provided for the self-identification questions are federally regulated. Until the federal government updates their reporting requirements to recognize more diverse identities, Michigan Tech cannot offer options beyond those listed on the form.

If you have questions, please contact Equal Opportunity Compliance and Title IX at 7-3310 or email eocompliance@mtu.edu.

Associate Professor Yakov Nekrich (CS) will present a Department of Computer Science Colloquium lecture next Friday (March 17) from 3-4 p.m. in Rekhi 214 and virtually via Zoom.

Nekrich works on efficient algorithms for geometric and sequence data. He is especially interested in space-efficient and compressed data structures and their applications to the world of big data. The title of his talk is “Geometric Data Structures: Point Location and Range Reporting.”

Learn more and read the abstract on the Computing News Blog.

Michigan Tech will host a Software Carpentry Workshop in R from March 20 to March 24, with sessions each day from 3-5:30 p.m. The virtual workshop is open to and free for Michigan Tech students, faculty and staff.

The workshop covers basic R concepts and tools, including program design and plotting.

The target audience for the workshop is learners who have little to no prior computational experience. Instructors place priority on creating a friendly environment to empower researchers and enable data-driven discovery. Those with some experience will benefit also, as the goal is to teach not only how to do analyses, but how to manage the process to make it as automated and reproducible as possible.

Please register by Monday (March 13). Space is limited and will likely fill quickly. Confirmation of your registration will be emailed Tuesday (March 14). Please note, learners are expected to commit to attending the entire workshop.

Register for the Software Carpentry Workshop in R.

Read more on the Computing News Blog.

Ranked No. 23 nationally, Michigan Tech women's basketball makes its 21st NCAA appearance tomorrow (March 10) in Ashland, Ohio. The No. 4 seed Huskies take on the No. 5 seed Trevecca Nazarene Trojans at 7:30 p.m. ET in the Midwest Region quarterfinals at Kates Gymnasium.

The Huskies and Trojans were both runners-up in their respective conference tournaments last weekend.

A radio broadcast will be on Mix 93.5 WKMJ-FM and online at Pasty.net. Livestream video will be available free via Stretch Internet Portal courtesy of Ashland University. 

Tomorrow marks the second time the Huskies have qualified for the NCAA Tournament under fifth-year head coach Sam Clayton. Should MTU win, they would face the winner of No. 1 seed Ashland and No. 8 seed Malone in the semifinals Saturday (March 11) at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Read the preview at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

The Michigan Tech Nordic ski team is in New York for the 2023 NCAA Skiing Championships, being held in Lake Placid today (March 9) and Saturday (March 11) hosted by Mt. Van Hoevenberg.

The national championships will start today with the 5km/10km freestyle, with the 20km classic taking place on Saturday. Both competition days will start at 10 a.m.

A livestream of the event will be provided on NCAA.com, while live results will be available at Bullitt Timing.

The Huskies will showcase a complete team, with the men's team made up of Colin Freed, Skylar Patten and Adam Witkowski. The women's team is Olivia Laven, Anabel Needham and Henriette Semb. Of note, Henry Snider also qualified for the NCAA Skiing Championships and is a race alternate.

Tech is one of eight programs to qualify a full team. The Huskies won the Central Regional Championships by one point.

"This year I feel like it was a greater challenge than in years past," head coach Tom Monahan Smith said. "The depth of the central region is just getting stronger, and it went down to the last race at the central region to determine those last spots. We're really proud to be representing Michigan Tech with a full squad at the national championships."

Read the preview at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Michigan Tech men's tennis fell 7-0 to the Florida Southern Moccasins on Tuesday (March 7) at Wynee Warden Tennis Center.

The Huskies dropped to 0-6 in nonconference matches this spring.

"This team is resilient and I was proud of how we came out and fought hard to the end against a very challenging opponent," said head coach Kristin D'Agostini-Yep. "We look forward to bringing a strong effort again on Thursday."

Read more at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Job Postings for Thursday, March 8, 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.

Cook (12 months/ 40 hours/ first shift) #23058, Dining Services (AFSCME posting dates March 9 to March 15, 2023 — 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.

Director, Student Leadership and Involvement. 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.

Yu Cai (AC/CS/ICC) was quoted by UPWord in a story about Michigan Tech’s designation as a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense by the National Security Agency. The recognition was recently announced by the College of Computing and Michigan Tech News.

*****

Ian Repp (UMC) was interviewed by UPWord for a story on his family’s life in the Keweenaw Peninsula and what brought them here.

*****

The Traverse City Record-Eagle mentioned Michigan Tech in coverage of the new $10,000 Michigander EV Scholars scholarship promoting EV and mobility careers. The scholarship program will be offered to students at Michigan Tech, Michigan State University and the University of Michigan.

*****

University Business and UPWord mentioned Michigan Tech in stories on the closure of Finlandia University after the spring 2023 semester. MTU was listed among the colleges working with Finlandia to offer FinnU students a place to complete their education.

No C3 Luncheon This Week

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

The next luncheon will be held March 16.

*****

ChE Research Seminar with Maria Carreon

Maria Carreon will present as part of the Department of Chemical Engineering (ChE) Research Series tomorrow (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.

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

No events are scheduled for today. Visit the University Events Calendar.