March 28, 2023

Researchers are applying neuromorphic computing to improve the energy-efficiency and effectiveness of deep brain stimulation (DBS) systems used to treat Parkinson’s disease.

DBS is an alternative to medications that are effective at addressing symptoms of the neurodegenerative disorder but lose efficacy as patients develop drug resistance.

Chunxiu (Traci) Yu (BioMed) and Hongyu An (ECE) are working with their research teams to develop different strategies using the tools of neuromorphic, or brain-inspired, computing. Highly energy-efficient, neuromorphic computing emulates the nervous system via microchips and algorithms and harnesses neuroscience-powered artificial intelligence.

Learn more about their work at Michigan Tech News.

Michigan Tech’s trail-blazing tendencies and four-season access to unstructured environments qualify the University as a maritime innovation center. And at the Great Lakes Research Center, researchers utilize a fleet of autonomous marine applications to understand and protect our freshwater resources — including smart ships, cyber boats and underwater robots.

If you graduated before 2012, here’s your chance for a closer look at the vessels that have established Tech as a leader in marine autonomy for more than a decade.

Meet the Intelligent Fleet in the 2023 Michigan Tech Magazine.

Join us Thursday (March 30) at 1 p.m. EDT for a virtual discussion on the equity issues faced by campus communities due to inadequate child care and caregiver support.

Led by Wendy Robeson and Autumn Green, this event is a continuation of the Jan. 26 discussion with a focus on implementing child care and family support in campus communities. If you were unable to attend the prior session, you are welcome to still join this session.

Register to attend the discussion.

In the end, we hope that we all can recognize that our campuses need to uphold care infrastructures that are flexible, and value community members' values, cultures, gender, ethnicity and diversity so that all members can advance and reach their potential and thereby enhance the campus to which they belong.

This discussion will be inclusive of all members of the community: undergraduate and graduate students, staff and faculty.

This event is part of the ADVANCE Midwest Partnership — Joining Forces, a partnership of four research-intensive institutions funded by NSF ADVANCE.

Menu for Thursday (March 30):

• Tangy BBQ Beef Brisket 
• Scallion Corn Cake (Vegan)
• Baked Beans (Gluten Friendly, Vegetarian)
• Memphis Style Coleslaw (Gluten Friendly, Vegetarian)
• Baked Macaroni & Cheese (Vegetarian)
• Roasted Green Beans & Cauliflower (Gluten Friendly, Vegan)

Dining Services presents this week's C3 Luncheon, being held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Memorial Union Alumni Lounge (MUB 107). All faculty and staff, along with their guests, are invited.

The C3 lunch buffet menus are created and prepared by executive chef Michael Landini and his culinary team. As the name suggests, the meals are meant to foster conversation, community and collegiality. Attendees may bring their lunch instead of purchasing the buffet. Fruit-infused water, coffee, tea, cookies and fruit are available free to all attendees.

The buffet lunch is $12 per person. Cash, credit cards and gift cards are accepted. Gift cards can be purchased in the Memorial Union office (MUB 101). You can submit C3 feedback using our Google form. To join the C3 Google group and receive weekly menus, email business-support@mtu.edu.

Congrats to Rourke Sylvain, who made it through the qualifying rounds of the 2023 Rice Business Plan Competition with his startup pitch for imi - integrated molecular innovations, an electrochemical biosensor for T4 detection. Rourke is one of 42 teams from colleges across the country who are invited to pitch their startup idea in person May 11-13 at Rice University in Houston, Texas.

Rourke is a graduate student pursuing biomedical engineering. Over the course of the past year, he has steadily worked to hone his pitch and develop his business model for imi. His startup accomplishments include being a winner at the 2022 New Venture Challenge as well as the 2022 Michigan Collegiate Startup Challenge (MCSD) and being a recent recipient of an NSF I-Corps mini-grant.

Ph.D. in Computer Engineering candidate Ranit Karmakar will defend his doctoral dissertation on Monday (April 3) at 8 a.m. in person in EERC 501 and virtually via Zoom.

The title of Karmakar's dissertation is "Development of Artificial Intelligence Algorithms for Eye Banking."

Karmakar is advised by Sean Kirkpatrick.

Our next Department of Mathematical Sciences (Math) Seminar Series presentation will take place tomorrow (March 29) from 12:45-1:45 p.m. in Fisher 323. Please be sure to note that both the day and time of this presentation are different from our usual weekly seminars.

The guest speaker will be Sunil Chebolu, professor and undergraduate director in the Department of Mathematical Science at Illinois State University.

Ghebolu's presentation is titled "Zero-sum free sequences and Hyperplane arrangements."

The Office of the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs will host a workshop focused on planning a sabbatical leave on April 12 from 1-2 p.m. The event will take place in the Memorial Union Alumni Lounges A&B.

This will be a discussion-based session with faculty members who have recently completed a sabbatical, as well as the chair of the Sabbatical Leave Committee. There will be plenty of time for Q&A. All faculty are welcome; those who plan to apply for a sabbatical in the next couple of years are especially encouraged to attend.

Questions can be directed to Shari Stockero, assistant provost for faculty development, at stockero@mtu.edu.

The College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science (CFRES) will have a seminar at 12:30 p.m. Thursday (March 30) at Noblet G002 with speaker Sarah Hoy, research assistant professor of CFRES.

Hoy’s talk is titled “The causes and consequences of selective foraging behavior in northern goshawks, moose and gray wolves.”

From the abstract:
Foraging is a primary activity of any wild animal and a behavior that can be influenced by a wide range of environmental factors (e.g., changes in weather, species abundances or predation risk). Research about how wild animals forage is vital for understanding how species select habitats and interact with other species, predicting how wildlife may respond to changes in the environment, and for understanding community dynamics. In the seminar, I will be discussing: (i) how three generalists’ species, goshawks, moose and wolves, exhibit strongly selective foraging behavior (i.e., disproportionately forage on certain types of prey or plants), (ii) the various factors which shape and influence their foraging behavior, and (iii) how selective foraging behavior can alter the stability of food-web dynamics and the impact that predators can have on the health and resilience of prey populations.

Anupam Gupta from the Indian Institute of Technology will be presenting a this week's Physics Colloquium. The seminar will be presented via Zoom only at 11 a.m. on Thursday (March 30).

Gupta's presentation is titled "Matrix viscoelasticity controls spatio-temporal tissue organization."

Registration is required for this Zoom colloquium. Please register to attend.

Read the abstract on the University Events Calendar.

The Michigan Tech track and field team dazzled at the Raleigh Relays, posting five times under the NCAA provisional qualifying standards.

The performances were highlighted by a new school record holder in the 10,000 meters: Drew Kolodge with a time of 29:43.24, almost 45 seconds faster than the NCAA standard.

Sam Lange and Clayton Sayen were both under the NCAA standard in the 1,500m. Both Sayen and Jesse Jacobusse were under the standard in the 800m.

"Raleigh Relays was a great meet for us and we're coming back home with a new school record and five provisional qualifying marks," head coach Kristina Owen said. "The student-athletes we sent to this meet all ran really well and it's a great starting point for the season. They're going to continue to improve as the season goes on and it's going to be a lot of fun to cheer them on as they do!"

The Huskies did not compete at St. Norbert's Early Bird Invite, which was canceled due to weather.

Read more at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Michigan Tech track and field's Clayton Sayen has been named the GLIAC Track Athlete of the Week.

Sayen placed sixth in the 13th heat of the 1,500 meters at the Raleigh Relays on Thursday (March 23). He had the fastest split from 300m-700m (1:01.38) and was the intermediate leader from 700m-1,100m en route to his 3:47.98 season opener.

Sayen bested eight student-athletes from Division I institutions in an effort that was an NCAA Provisional qualifying time.

Read more at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Michigan Tech's hockey season came to an end Friday (March 24) in the NCAA Tournament Regional Semifinal. The No. 13 ranked Huskies fell 8-0 to No. 11 Penn State at the PPL Center.

The Huskies wrapped up the season with a 24-11-4 record, winning the most games since 2014-15 and hitting the 20-win plateau for the fourth time in head coach Joe Shawhan's six years.

"Congratulations to Penn State," Shawhan said. "They obviously played a tremendous hockey game. We had a little push in the second, but pucks started to go in for them, and we weren't able to overcome adversity tonight."

Read more at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Michigan Tech women's tennis is the first GLIAC team to record three conference victories this season, finding ways to win against Davenport University and Purdue Northwest this weekend.

The Huskies snuck past Davenport University 4-3 on Friday (March 24) at Grand Rapids Racquet and Fitness Club. Tech missed the team doubles point with losses at No. 1 and No. 2, where Lauren Opalewski and Emily Cojocaru lost their first doubles set of the season in a tiebreaker 7-6(1). The Huskies made up the ground in singles — Cojocaru won in straight sets 6-3, 6-0, and Dominika Bobik improved to 5-3, winning 6-4, 6-4. Grace Eland edged her opponent in a first-set tiebreaker 7-5, then took the second 6-4. Opalewski grabbed a third-set win at No. 6 to break the 3-3 match tie.

"We had hard-fought matches all around today and some really good close results," commented head coach Kristin D'Agostini-Yep. "High performance on critical points was there and it came right down to the end. I was happy we were able to squeak it out."

Against Purdue Northwest, victory came down to the final match of the afternoon, with Opalewski propelling Michigan Tech to its third straight GLIAC win 4-3 on Saturday (March 25) at Park Forest Tennis Club.

The Huskies had to come from behind again after dropping the team doubles point. Bobik continued her strong stretch at No. 1, winning 1-6, 6-2, 6-2. Eland followed with a straight-set win, 6-4, 6-1 at No. 2. And Opalewski came through for MTU at No. 6, breaking a 3-3 match tie with a 6-3, 6-2 victory.

"The girls were really tough today and pushed through all adversity they encountered," said D'Agostini-Yep. "I was really happy we came out on top against a challenging opponent."

Read more at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Michigan Tech men's tennis lost two hard-fought matchups against Davenport University and Purdue Northwest over the weekend.

The Huskies were defeated by the Panthers 4-3 on Friday (March 24) at Grand Rapids Racquet and Fitness Club. Tech continued a recent stretch of strong doubles play to lead 1-0, but suffered four losses in singles.

Despite the team loss, Vitor Jordao picked up his first win of the spring at No. 1 singles in straight sets 6-3, 6-1. Ricardo Nunez was also victorious for the first time, winning 6-2, 6-4 at No. 6. Nunez also teamed with Ambarish Rao to win at No. 3 doubles 6-1. 

"It was a hard-fought match by both teams today," said head coach Kristin D'Agostini-Yep. "It came down to the end but we came up just short. We look forward to trying to get a win tomorrow."

Tech's struggles continued with a 5-2 loss at Purdue Northwest on Saturday (March 25) at Park Forest Tennis Club. The Huskies lost a pair of three-setters in singles and fell to 0-3 in GLIAC play (0-11 overall).

Despite the loss, Jordao came from a set down to win at No. 1 singles, and Adam Fenjiro found success at No. 4 singles with a convincing 7-5, 6-2 win — his first singles victory of the spring.

"Our guys had a really tough match today," said D'Agostini-Yep. "The competition was good but emotions were very high for both teams."

Read more at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Chunxiu (Traci) Yu (BioMed) and Hongyu An (ECE) were quoted by Parkinson’s News Today in a story about their research into deep brain stimulation as an alternative treatment for Parkinson’s disease. The research was the subject of a recent Michigan Tech News story.

*****

SPIE highlighted a story written by Jeremy Bos (ECE) on its Technology News and Stories homepage. The story centered on lidar unit benchmarking activities and findings from tests conducted in Orlando, Florida, in April 2022.

*****

Susan Cristanelli (Mont Ripley) was quoted by the Daily Mining Gazette in a story about Mont Ripley’s annual Easter egg hunt, which was held Saturday (March 25) at the ski hill. 

*****

MiBiz mentioned Michigan Tech’s accredited four-year land surveying program and the Center for Science and Environmental Outreach’s Teaching with Spatial Technology (TwiST) program in a story about a shortage of land surveyors in Michigan. This year’s TwiST program is planned June 25-30 at MTU.

*****

The Times of India referenced Michigan Tech’s What is Mechatronics? page in a story about three new skill subjects — mechatronics, financial management and fashion studies — that will be taught in a new set of schools established by the government in Delhi.

*****

WLUC TV6 covered the watch party held last Friday (March 24) at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena as Michigan Tech hockey faced Penn State in the NCAA Tournament.

*****

NHL.com mentioned Michigan Tech in a story about the retirement of Flyers broadcaster Steve Coates ’73 (B.S. Business Administration), a former Husky and a member of the Michigan Tech Sports Hall of Fame.

*****

WLUC TV6 mentioned Michigan Tech in a story about former Husky basketball player Jake Witt’s performances at NFL Pro Day, held March 19 at Central Michigan University. Witt scored a 9.8 out of 10 in his Relative Athletic Score.

Proposal Submission Deadline Reminder

Principal investigators (PIs) planning to submit proposals to external sponsors are reminded of Michigan Tech's internal paperwork deadlines, which are summarized on the Vice President for Research Office website.

PIs are also strongly encouraged to complete the Intent to Submit Form as early in their proposal development process as possible. Completing this form is very helpful to personnel supporting the proposal development and submission process from the Vice President for Research Office and across campus. It also reduces the potential for unexpected challenges prior to internal and external deadlines, which may make a submission impossible.

*****

Technical Lecture with CS Faculty Candidate Phung Lai

Department of Computer Science (CS) faculty candidate Phung Lai will present a technical lecture today (March 28) at 2 p.m. in Fisher 132 and virtually.

Lai’s research interests focus on trustworthy machine learning with the core of privacy and security. The title of the talk is “Trustworthy Machine Learning through the Lens of Privacy and Security.”

Join the Zoom meeting. 

Read the talk abstract on the Computing News Blog.

*****

Café Français

Please join us today (March 28) for an hour of laid-back Francophone setting with French natives and other Francophiles. All levels welcome. Walker 120A, from 5-6 p.m. Please be advised: We changed rooms.

Note that we meet every second Tuesday. The semester's last meeting is April 11.

Friends and family are welcome!

*****

Spanish Conversation Hour

Join us today (March 28) at the last Peña of the semester! Come unwind and meet new people at the Spanish Conversation hour, all while you refresh your Spanish! We will meet from 5-6 p.m., at the Humanities Digital Media Zone (HDMZ), Walker 120A.

*****

Study Abroad in England – Slots Still Available

Join us on our Summer Track B Study abroad in England! We still have several slots available, but you need to apply this week.

The deadline for the 2023 Summer Track B Cumbria, England, Study Abroad program has been extended! Join us in this four-week, six-credit program (July 16 to Aug. 12) for an amazing opportunity to explore England's northwestern borderlands, including ancient stone circles, Roman forts and Medieval castles and cathedrals, all while taking in contemporary English and Scottish culture!

Simply fill out the Study Away/Study Abroad 2023 Application Form to get started. Your $500 deposit (applied toward the program fee) will be due Saturday (April 1).

Please contact Dan Trepal at djtrepal@mtu.edu with any questions regarding the program.

Don't wait — apply today!

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

Volunteer Income Tax Assistance by Appointment

Tuesday, March 28, 12 a.m. | Academic Office Building (AOB), G015

The College of Business is pleased to again offer Volunteer Income Tax Assistance. Accounting majors will provide free income tax preparation assistance for students and...

*****

Michigan Tech Art Presents: Snowsports Faculty and Staff Art Show

Tuesday, March 28, 8 a.m.–8 p.m. |

MICHIGAN TECH ART PRESENTS SNOWSPORTS FACULTY AND STAFF ART SHOW WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2023 THROUGH SATURDAY APRIL 29, 2023 A-SPACE HOURS: M-F 8 A.M.-8 P.M.

*****

Master's Defense: Benjamin Reuss

Tuesday, March 28, 2 p.m.–3 p.m. | Great Lakes Research Center (GLRC), 202

Environmental Engineering Advisor: Noel Urban Mixing, Metabolism, and Climate Change: A Modeling Case Study of a Shallow, Hypereutrophic, Polymictic Lake Attend Virtually:...

*****

Technical Lecture: CS Faculty Candidate Phung Lai

Tuesday, March 28, 2 p.m. | Fisher Hall, 132

Department of Computer Science faculty candidate Phung Lai will present a technical lecture on Tuesday, March 28, 2023, at 2 p.m. in Fisher Hall, Room 132, and...

*****

PhD Defense: Robert Tunison

Tuesday, March 28, 3 p.m.–4 p.m. | Grover C. Dillman Hall, 320

Forest Science Advisor: Molly Cavaleri Tropical Plant Physiological Responses to Experimental Warming and Hurricane Disturbance Attend Virtually:...

*****

Michigan Tech Research Forum - Chelsea Schelly

Tuesday, March 28, 3:45 p.m.–5:15 p.m. | Memorial Union Building (MUB), Ballroom A

Please join us for the Michigan Tech Research Forum Spring 2023 Distinguished Lecture. Chelsea Schelly (Social Sciences) has been selected to give this year's lecture. Her...

*****

Adult Huskies Swim Lessons Spring 2023 Session 3

Tuesday, March 28, 5:00 p.m.–5:50 p.m. | Student Development Complex (SDC), Pool

Adult Huskies Swim Lessons provides aquatic education for the beginner to the intermediate swimmer who is looking to become more comfortable in the water and learn the...

*****

Adult Huskies Swim Training Spring 2023 Session 3

Tuesday, March 28, 5:00 p.m.–5:50 p.m. | Student Development Complex (SDC), Pool

Adult Huskies Swim Training provides additional attention and competitive guidance to swimmers ages 18 and older who are looking to improve their swimming skills and fitness...

*****

Café Français

Tuesday, March 28, 5 p.m.–6 p.m. | Walker Arts and Humanities Center, 120A

Please join us for an hour of laid-back Francophone setting with French natives and other Francophiles. All levels are welcome. Walker 120A, from 5PM to 6PM. Note that the...

*****

La Peña: Spanish conversation hour

Tuesday, March 28, 5 p.m.–6 p.m. | Walker Arts and Humanities Center, HDMZ, 120A

Welcome to the Peña, the Spanish Conversation Hour. Come unwind, meet new people and play board games, all while you refresh your Spanish. All levels are welcome. Bring a...

*****

Engineers Without Borders General Meeting

Tuesday, March 28, 6 p.m.–7 p.m. | Dillman 211

Engineers Without Borders General Meeting

*****

HuskyLEAD: Effective Leadership Transitions

Tuesday, March 28, 6 p.m.–7 p.m. | MUB Alumni Lounge B & C

In Student Leadership and Involvement, we often hear from groups that had a "bad transition" between student organizations leaders. They lack historical knowledge, miss...

*****

SAE Aero Design Bi-Weekly Meetings

Tuesday, March 28, 6:00 p.m.–7:30 p.m. | MEEM 703

SAE Aero Design aims to offer valuable experience to Michigan Tech students of all majors interested in an extracurricular engineering & design opportunity. Come join our...

*****

Leanne Simpson: "The Work of World Building"

Tuesday, March 28, 7:00 p.m.–8:30 p.m.

The Institute for Policy, Ethics, and Culture is presenting "Work in Transition," a speaker series exploring the future of work in partnership with the Portage Lake District...