April 4, 2023

Do you know a current student who would make a great mentor? Then tell them about the Husky Connect Peer Mentorship Program!

The Husky Connect Peer Mentorship Program is looking for remarkable student mentors for the fall 2023 semester. As a mentor, we ask students to share their experiences and offer support to first-year students. Mentors will begin their training in the summer and will be paired with their mentees before they arrive on campus. This support continues throughout the fall semester and sometimes even lasts a lifetime.

Husky Connect mentors will receive compensation for their time.

Students can learn more about this peer-to-peer program and apply to be a Husky Connect mentor on our website. Applications close next Wednesday (April 12) at 5 p.m.

For more information, please contact us at huskyconnect@mtu.edu.

Mari Buche (COB) and Vice President for Global Campus and Continuing Education David Lawrence will be hosting a 45-minute virtual interest session on the online version of MTU's TechMBA.

Save the date: This session will run next Tuesday (April 11) from 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. ET via Zoom.

Come discover not only what makes the TechMBA unique, but also how this degree can equip you with fundamental business, communication and project management skills, which help prepare you for STEM professional roles.

Register for this interest session.

If you have any questions about this interest session or the online TechMBA program, please email Amanda Irwin at globalcampus@mtu.edu.

The University Senate will convene Meeting 686 at 5:30 p.m. tomorrow (March 22) in Dow 642.

Those within the University community unable to attend in person have the option to attend via Zoom. Please note: You will need to log in to your MTU Zoom account to join the virtual meeting.

Senators are responsible for making their constituents aware of the agenda for this meeting. Senators who are unable to attend should arrange for their alternates to attend in their place.

View the agenda to Meeting 686.

The annual steam shutdown will take place during the week following Spring Commencement, from April 30 through May 5 (weather permitting).

This outage is required to provide maintenance and service of the boilers and steam distribution system on campus. This planned maintenance improves the reliability of our system and reduces the likelihood of an unplanned failure during the winter heating season.

Note: There will not be heat or hot water in the affected buildings during the steam shutdown. There will be no distilled water available from the steam-driven stills. Steam-driven autoclaves/sterilizers will not be operational.

Annual steam shutdown dates/times:

• Begins: Sunday, April 30, at noon
• Ends: Friday, May 5, at noon

Buildings affected:

Administration Building
ROTC Building
Academic Office Building
Annex Building
Electrical Energy Resources Center
Dow Environmental Sciences and Engineering Building
Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts
Walker Arts and Humanities Center
Minerals and Materials Engineering Building
Grover C. Dillman Hall
Fisher Hall
J. R. Van Pelt and John and Ruanne Opie Library
U. J. Noblet Forestry Building
Chemical Sciences and Engineering Building
R. L. Smith Building (MEEM)
Student Development Complex
Kanwal and Ann Rekhi Hall
Douglass Houghton Hall
Memorial Union Building
Wadsworth Hall
McNair Hall
Central Heating Plant
Facilities Management
Hillside Place
Great Lakes Research Center

Facilities Management has developed a five-year rotating plan to service the 12,470-volt switchgear and associated breakers on campus. Our campus electrical distribution system depends on this gear being in good working condition.

This work requires a two-night power outage that affects the least number of buildings possible. Please note that in most cases elevators, fume hoods, exhaust fans, ventilation equipment, normal lighting, plug-in appliances, and plug-in equipment will not operate during the outage. Only items connected to the building emergency generator will have power during the outage; the building emergency generators and battery systems that supply power to emergency/egress lighting and special equipment should function as normal. If you are unsure if your equipment connects to the building emergency generator, please contact the Facilities Management Building Mechanic for your building.

Information Technology will be turning off all network equipment in the affected buildings for these outages starting at 5 p.m. You should plan to save any work and shut down your computer systems and exit buildings before the outages. Additionally, some buildings with power will be without phone or internet service.

Only the buildings listed will have their power shut off during the scheduled outages.

There will be two power outages:

Power Outage One

• Begins: Wednesday, May 3, at 6 p.m.
• Ends: Thursday, May 4, at 6 a.m.

Power Outage Two

• Begins: Thursday, May 4, at 6 p.m.
• Ends: Friday, May 5, at 6 a.m.

Buildings without power:

Administration Building
Chemical Sciences and Engineering Building
J. R. Van Pelt and John and Ruanne Opie Library
Memorial Union Building
Student Development Complex
John MacInnes Student Ice Arena
Advanced Technology Development Complex
Kearly Stadium
Gates Tennis Center

Buildings with power but no phone or internet:

Harold Meese Center
Central Heating Plant
Facilities Management
Alumni House
O’Connor House (Grad Commons)
Tech Trails

If there are questions or concerns with this plan, contact Energy Management or Facilities Management at 7-2303.

Menu for Thursday (April 6):

• Beef Goulash (Gluten Friendly)
• Spaetzle (Vegetarian)
• Braised Red Cabbage (Vegan)
• Roasted Spring Vegetables (Vegan)
• Polish Cucumber Salad (Vegetarian)

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.

Congratulations to the Great Lakes Research Center (GLRC) Student Poster Award winners, in recognition of World Water Day, at the Graduate Student Government Graduate Research Colloquium last week:

• First Place: Cassandra Reed-VanDam (CFRES)
• Second Place: Michelle Bollini (CEGE)
• Third Place: Mitch Kehne (BioSci)

The Society of Women Engineers (SWE) Section at Michigan Tech would like to congratulate all the local students who will be attending the FIRST in Michigan State Championship presented by DTE Foundation 2023 at Saginaw Valley State University (SVSU) from April 6-8.

Qualifiers for the state championship event are Jenna Beaudoin of Lake Linden-Hubbell FIRST Robotics Team No. 5486, Robotic Turmoil, and the Houghton FIRST Robotics Team No. 857, Superior Roboworks.

Beaudoin was selected as a district championship semifinalist at the Lake Superior State University (LSSU) FIRST Robotics District Competition. At the FIRST in Michigan State Championship, she will be interviewed as a qualifier for the FIRST Dean’s List award.

Beaudoin, a junior at Lake Linden-Hubbell High School, was nominated by her team mentor Robert Stenger ’18 (B.S. Physics). “Jenna is one of the most helpful, energetic and outgoing members of Team 5486,” said Stenger. “She is consistently jumping in wherever she can possibly help, including helping other teams work on their robots when needed. She has taken on any and all tasks needed of her from the time she joined our team.”  

“Our section congratulates Jenna on her well-deserved honor and accomplishments,” said SWE Section President Aerith Cruz (management information systems). “Jenna embodies the core values of SWE and FIRST in everything she does, and exemplifies great leadership qualities.”

Houghton FIRST Robotics Team No. 857, Superior Roboworks, competed at district events at Escanaba High School and LSSU. They ranked first at Escanaba and won the event, and ranked second at LSSU and were event finalists. The team also earned the Engineering Inspiration Award at Escanaba and the Autonomous Award at LSSU.

Currently, Superior Roboworks is ranked sixth in the state out of 479 teams. Their performance qualified them for the FIRST in Michigan State Championship at SVSU. They will be among 160 of the best teams in the state competing for  the 82 spots that will advance to the FIRST Championship in Houston, Texas, from April 19-22. 

“As a former drive team member of No. 857, I recognize the hard work that was put into their excellent performance and would like to congratulate all of 857’s members on overcoming the small and large challenges that come with competing at multiple FRC events,” said Erik Lund ’18 (B.S. Mechanical Engineering), now a test systems engineer at General Motors. “I’m excited to see where this season takes them and will be watching intently from the sidelines.”

The SWE Section is thrilled that so many students from our area will be competing in both the Dean’s List and FIRST in Michigan State Championship. It is great to see our Tech alumni excited about FRC and continuing to support teams in our area. We look forward to seeing the competition results.

Michigan Tech track and field's Ellie Zimmerman and Anna Scheuller tied for second place in the pole vault at the Pioneer Opener in Platteville, Wisconsin, on Saturday (April 1), setting a new school record together.

Zimmerman and Schueller both bested former record holder Erika Poli's 11-6.5 (3.52 meters) set back in 2015. Schueller cleared 11-9.75 (3.60m) on the second attempt, while Zimmerman cleared the new school record on her third attempt.

"It's so fun to see these ladies working together to push each other higher and higher," head coach Kristina Owen said. "I think they're both genuinely delighted to share this record and at the same time, they both have big goals to duke it out and go even higher next weekend. All of our pole vaulters are wonderfully driven and great at working together to improve as a team."

The meet was Michigan Tech's official team debut for the outdoor track and field season. In total, the Huskies had six event winners: Kyle Samluk (3,000m steeplechase), Mady VanWieren (1,500m), John Paul Norland (800m), Ashley Plum (200m), Andrew Lewis (400m hurdles) and Jamie Hendrickson (high jump).

Read more at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Michigan Tech hockey forward Nick Nardella has signed a professional contract with the Cincinnati Cyclones in the ECHL.

Nardella joins former Husky Mark Sinclair in Cincinnati. He made his debut Saturday (April 1) against David Jankowski and the Wheeling Nailers.

Nardella played 85 games for the Huskies over three seasons. He tallied 31 career points with four goals and 27 assists.

Cincinnati is affiliated with the Buffalo Sabres of the NHL and the Rochester Americans of the AHL.

Read more at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Michigan Tech Nordic ski head coach Tom Monahan Smith has been named the CCSA Men's Coach of the Year, and also the Co-Women's Coach of the Year with Maria Stuber of College of St. Scholastica.

Monahan Smith was recognized at the NCAA Central Regional Championships on Feb. 26. 

In the regular season, the Huskies were combined overall team champions in all but one race weekend. They took second place in the conference championship as a combined team, while the men picked up first place for the first time in Tech history and came home with the Men's Team Butch Ryder Cup. The Huskies won the combined overall NCAA Central Regional Skiing Championships.

Monahan Smith earned his first CCSA Men's Coach of the Year award back in 2018 and was named CCSA Women's Coach of the Year for the 2022 season.

Read more at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

No. 45 Michigan Tech women's tennis won a matchup against Saginaw Valley State University before being dealt their first conference loss by Wayne State.

The Huskies defeated the Cardinals 4-5 on Friday (March 31) at Greater Midland Tennis Center.

The middle matches of the singles lineup decided the contest for Tech after SVSU won the team doubles point. Grace Eland won a tight second-set tiebreaker 4-6, 7-6(6), 6-2 at No. 2, and Ewa Podulka prevailed 5-7, 6-2, 6-2 at No. 3. Emily Cojocaru was victorious 6-1, 6-4 at No. 4, while Marina Fernandez added another win 7-5, 6-1 at No. 5.

"Saginaw Valley State showed they are a much-improved team this year," said head coach Kristin D'Agostini-Yep. "But we keep showing how tough we can be in matches. I am very happy with the win."

Michigan Tech fell 5-2 to No. 13 Wayne State on Saturday (April 1) at Gates Tennis Center, snapping their four-match win streak.

"I felt we played well today against a really difficult Wayne State team," said D'Agostini-Yep. "I was disappointed to lose but happy with the way we have been playing against quality conference opponents."

Dominika Bobik and Grace Eland pulled out a win at No. 1 doubles, but Wayne State picked up convincing wins at No. 2 and No. 3 to win the team doubles point. In singles, Eland did not drop a point in her first-set tiebreak, then cruised 6-3 in the second for a straight-set win. The Huskies were defeated at all other singles positions.

Read more at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Michigan Tech men's tennis fell 7-0 to No. 14 Wayne State on Saturday (April 1) at Gates Tennis Center.

The Huskies lost the team doubles point to the Warriors, last year's National Division II runner-up, in 23 minutes. Although many individual student-athletes played well for short-handed Tech, MTU could not find a victory in singles.

Notably, Vitor Jordao played well at No. 1, and Adam Fenjiro showed some of his best play of the season at No. 3 before an injury forced his retirement from the match in the second set.

"Credit to Wayne State for playing a strong match today," said head coach Kristin D'Agostini-Yep. "They are always at the top of our league. I thought we competed well, especially Adam in his first set."

Read more at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Job Posting for Tuesday, April 4, 2023

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.

Administrative Aide 7 (12 months/ 40 hours/ first shift) #22354RPRP and #23053RP, Human Resources (UAW posting dates April 4 to April 10, 2023 — external applicants are encouraged to apply; however, internal UAW applicants are given first consideration if they apply during the internal UAW 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.

Students and faculty from the Department of Social Sciences (SS) were well represented at the annual meeting of the American Association of Geographers in Denver last week. The following papers were presented, many resulting from work done during the 2022 Amtrak Tourism: Trains, Cities, & Sustainability study away program led by Mark Rhodes and Kat Hannum.

• Anna Kavanaugh (undergraduate student, sustainability science) presented "Urban landscape histories: Sustainability in transit development"
• Cal Quayle (undergraduate student, anthropology) presented "Crit rolls, culture roles: Social consciousness and critical representation in real-play Dungeons and Dragons media"
• Clare Fidler (undergraduate student, sustainability science) presented "Exclusionary landscapes through infrastructure: Accessibility of public transportation in urban America"
• Maya Klanderman (undergraduate student, sustainability science) presented "A settler-scholar perspective on applying and indigenous methodology in undergraduate research"
• Emma Wuepper (Ph.D student, industrial heritage and archaeology) presented "Solarpunked landscapes of the (post) industrial apocalypse: Miyazaki's Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind"
• Rhodes and Hannum presented "Amtrak's sustainable futures: Slow tourism and the nationalization of industrial heritage"

Joel Isaacson (ATH) was quoted by the Business News in a story about the Green Bay Blizzard professional arena football team’s relocation of their entire field (30,000 pounds of artificial turf) to MTU’s Quad Core for the team’s spring training.

*****

Tech Today News (no relation!) and MLive mentioned Michigan Tech in a story about Global Detroit’s Entrepreneur-in-Residence program, which has partnered with the University of Michigan to enable immigrant entrepreneurs to launch their startups in the United States. Michigan Tech and Lawrence Tech are on deck as the program’s next partners.

*****

Macomb Daily mentioned Michigan Tech’s Concrete Canoe teams in a story about the Eastern Great Lakes Concrete Canoe Regional Races, held at Lake St. Clair Metropark on Friday (March 31). Tech’s men’s and women’s teams each finished in second place in their respective races.

*****

The Traverse City Business News mentioned Michigan Tech’s Grand Traverse Research Center in a story about this year’s Northern Michigan Startup Week, which will focus on water innovation and the blue economy.

*****

MLive mentioned Michigan Tech in a story about the FIRST in Michigan Robotics Competition district tournament in Saline, Michigan, on Friday (March 31).

*****

The Daily Mining Gazette covered Tom Monahan Smith (ATH) being named CCSA Men’s Coach of the Year and Co-Women’s Coach of the Year.

*****

UCHO and the Keweenaw Report covered Michigan Tech hockey forward Nick Nardella’s signing with the Cincinnati Cyclones.

Call for Submissions: Humanities Media Student Showcase

The Department of Humanities will be holding its first annual Humanities Media Student Showcase on April 20, designed to celebrate and raise awareness about the media and design work done by students in humanities media courses, by humanities majors, and those in the media production minor.

It is often the case within media courses that one moves from project to project, and those projects inevitably remain unseen on a hard drive. The intent of the media student showcase is to shake off the digital dust, bringing greater awareness to excellent design and media work produced in the humanities department each and every semester.



Professional visual designers from the community will join the event, providing applicants the opportunity to seek feedback on their work. A best in show and two runners-up awards will be announced during the event. Refreshments will be available.

The deadline to submit is Friday (April 7). Submission guidelines and criteria can be found on the Humanities Media Student Showcase page.

Questions may be directed to the organizers: Tom Adolphs at tcadolph@mtu.edu and Samantha Canevez at scanevez@mtu.edu.

We look forward to your submissions!

*****

MS Defense: Vanessa Cubillos, BioSci

M.S. in Biological Sciences candidate Vanessa Cubillos will present a master's defense today (April 4) from 11 a.m. to noon in the Great Lakes Center, GLRC 202. Virtual attendance is also invited via Zoom. 

The title of Cubillos’ defense is "Under Ice Photosynthetic Primary Production and Dark Carbon Fixation in a Temperate Freshwater System."

From the abstract:
Ice-covered lakes are vulnerable to environmental change, especially those in the Northern Hemisphere where ice cover is rapidly declining due to global warming. These changes can alter metabolic processes and disrupt carbon cycling driven by primary producers who form the base of the food chain and are key to sustaining ecosystem function. Photosynthetic primary production and dark carbon fixation were investigated during ice cover in the Keweenaw Waterway using a carbon isotopic labeling (14C-bicarbonate) technique. Results revealed photosynthetic primary production was substantially reduced during ice cover, however, there was a relatively high abundance of chlorophyll-a present during the ice-covered period suggesting photoadaptation. Dark carbon fixation was also suppressed during the ice covered period compared to the open water period. Extracellular release of dissolved organic carbon associated with dark carbon fixation was substantially higher compared to photosynthetic primary production suggesting dark carbon fixation may be an important source of dissolved organic carbon in the water column. Together, these findings give insight into the relative importance of photosynthetic primary production and dark carbon fixation to aquatic carbon production and their response to changing environmental conditions.

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

Volunteer Income Tax Assistance by Appointment

Tuesday, April 4, 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, April 4, 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: Kaushik Baruah

Tuesday, April 4, 9–10 a.m. | Chemical Sciences and Engineering Building, 201

Chemical Engineering Advisor: Rebecca Ong Chemical Decomposition of Flexible Polyurethane Foam to Generate a Media for Microbial Upscaling Attend Virtually:...

Master's Defense: Vanessa Cubillos Tellez

Tuesday, April 4, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. | Great Lakes Research Center (GLRC), 202

Biological Sciences Advisor: Trista Vick-Majors Under Ice Photosynthetic Primary Production and Dark Carbon Fixation in Lake Superior's Keweenaw Waterway Attend Virtually:...

PhD Defense: Sadaf Batool

Tuesday, April 4, 2 p.m.–3 p.m. | R. L. Smith Building (MEEM), 1021

Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics Co-advisors: Jeffrey Naber and Mahdi Shahbakhti Dynamic Modeling and Predictive Control of a Multi-Mode Combustion Engine ...

Adult Huskies Swim Lessons Spring 2023 Session 3

Tuesday, April 4, 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, April 4, 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...

Engineers Without Borders General Meeting

Tuesday, April 4, 6 p.m.–7 p.m. | Dillman 211

Engineers Without Borders General Meeting