July 11, 2023

The Van Pelt and Opie Library is pleased to announce the addition of an online subscription to the New York Times, which is available to all of our MTU students, faculty and staff. Once you sign up, you can access the New York Times from your computer or app on your phone. Content includes access to the archives back to 1851, podcasts, Daily 360 content and access to their education resource website, nytimes.com/edu. You can get started now by going through the library’s webpage or setting up your account at accessnyt.com.

MTU students, faculty and staff with existing registered subscriptions to the New York Times can follow the below procedures to gain access through the library.

• Existing registered subscribers with active paid subscriptions need to cancel their personal subscription by connecting with a New York Times chat agent or calling 800-698-4637 before creating an account. Once their personal subscription is canceled, they can follow the instructions for subscribers with inactive subscriptions below.
  
  
• Existing registered subscribers who do not have an active NYT subscription can:
  • Visit accessnyt.com, type in the name of the school and follow the instructions based on their location.
  • Since the subscriber "Already has an account " they click “Log In" (found below "Create an Account"). Then, they input their email address and the same password created for their personal subscription.
  • If the subscriber encounters an error message, they can email edu@nytimes.com.

A paper co-authored by graduate student Zichong Wang (computer science) received the Best Paper Award at the sixth annual Association for Computing Machinery Conference on Fairness, Accountability and Transparency (ACM FAccT), held in Chicago, Illinois, on June 12-15.

The title of the paper is "Preventing Discriminatory Decision-making in Evolving Data Streams." Zichong Wang is advised by Assistant Professor Wenbin Zhang (CS).

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

M.S. in Biological Sciences candidate Alyssa Abbas will present a final master's defense Thursday (July 13) from 12-1 p.m. Attendees are invited to join via Zoom.

Abbas' defense is titled "Dissecting the Role of Selenoprotein P and Thioredoxin Reductase in Pancreatic Cancer Metabolism."

From the abstract:
Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), the fourth leading cause of US cancer-related deaths, has a stark 5-year survival rate of 9%, emphasizing an urgent need for effective therapies. A well-established characteristic of cancer, metabolic dysregulation, presents an opportunity for developing therapies that target specific metabolic susceptibilities inherent in cancer cells. Our recent studies have discovered a susceptibility in PDAC; deprivation of cystine or blocking its uptake by erastin (a cystine transport inhibitor) triggers significant lipid peroxidation, thereby inducing ferroptosis specifically in the mesenchymal subtype of PDAC, but not in the epithelial subtype. This study aims to elucidate the roles of Selenoprotein P (Sepp1) and Thioredoxin Reductase (TrxR) in epithelial PDAC. Using RNAi and CRISPR-CAS9 methodologies, we found that the activity of TrxR2 is responsible for drug resistance in epithelial PDAC, while Sepp1 and TrxR1 are unnecessary. These findings could significantly contribute to novel therapeutic developments.

Alex Kostinski (Physics/CQP) is the principal investigator on a project that has received a $32,000 research and development grant from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

The project is titled "Cloud composition from the analysis of sun glints off horizontally oriented ice crystals."

Jade Driscoll (REHS) is the author of a debut chapbook of poetry recently published through And Then Publishing, a micropress based in Leelanau County, Michigan.

The chapbook is titled "Awaken."

Many of the poems in the collection focus on destigmatizing mental illness, and transformation is a major theme throughout.

Physical copies of the chapbook can be purchased on the And Then website.

Wayne Gersie (OVPDI) was profiled by the Quinnipiac Chronicle after Quinnipiac University announced him as its new vice president of equity and inclusion. Gersie will begin his new role July 31.

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Kristen Monahan Smith (ATH), Michigan Tech Nordic skier Anabel Needham (environmental engineering) and former Husky runner Jonathan Kilpela were mentioned by the Keweenaw Report in coverage of the Run the Keweenaw event, held Saturday and Sunday (July 8-9).

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Yahoo! News mentioned Michigan Tech in a story about a tour by Michigan legislators of the future site of the Freshwater Research and Innovation Center in Traverse City, Michigan. Michigan Tech is one of five organizations partnering on planning the facility. The story was picked up from the Traverse City Record-Eagle, which also published an editorial about what the research center could bring to the area.

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Michigan Tech was mentioned by autoevolution in a story summarizing the four projects selected to advance to Phase 2, Level 3 of NASA’s Watts on the Moon Challenge. NASA announced the finalists in June.

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Talent Management mentioned Michigan Tech in a story about Michigan’s industry, government and institutes of higher education collaborating to build a high-quality workforce in the state. MTU’s partnership with Calumet Electronics to bring hands-on manufacturing experience to engineering students was highlighted.

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The Flathead Beacon in Montana mentioned Michigan Tech in a story about wildfire precautions local officials are recommending to residents and communities. MTU is listed as a partner in an initiative to engage local citizens, especially those new to the area.

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Detroit’s 105.1 WMGC-FM mentioned Michigan Tech in a story about Money Magazine's list of the best colleges in the nation for 2023. MTU was included on the list with a ranking of 4.5 out of five stars.

GLRC Invited Campus Talk with Andrew Whetten

Please join the Great Lakes Research Center (GLRC) on Thursday (July 13) from 3-4 p.m. in GLRC 202 for an invited campus talk by Andrew Whetten titled "Data Science Practice and Theory in the Environmental and Biological Sciences."

From the abstract:
Data collected in the environmental and biological sciences regularly challenges existing quantitative methods and practices. Towards supporting pressing conservation and sustainability efforts, the study of complex biological processes requires timely, pragmatic, and accessible methodology. I will discuss ongoing and planned efforts of my research program to provide such methodology, guidelines, and support for federal and academic researchers. I will also present a broad summary of my research in conservation of threatened and endangered bird species (e.g., lesser prairie-chicken), animal interaction, and management of disease in animal populations (e.g., chronic wasting disease). I will also summarize my work promoting the use of unsupervised machine learning and feature engineering to enhance the analysis of animal movement and satellite derived vegetation data.

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Sharing Abundance and Adversity: Food Stories from the Keweenaw

What if we tended to the care of story in our local food systems just as we tend to the care of compost, soil or tomato plants? What if we shared our food stories with the same attention we pay to making our favorite recipes for loved ones? Too often, we hear stories about our food systems that are harmful misconceptions — that our food comes from "somewhere else" or that we "can't grow much food here." These stories are not true; what might true stories, told in our own words, look like? What power might these stories have as we share them together as tools for education, community-making and food systems transformation?

In fall 2022 and spring 2023, 11 community members met at the Portage Lake District Library to share local food stories through a participatory research method called photovoice. Photovoice involves community members in an iterative process of story-sharing as they bring photos and reflections to meetings for shared dialogue.

The ongoing dialogue helps new connections and knowledge to grow. Some members of the group chose to take part in a community food stories exhibit, selecting some of their images and narratives to share publicly. Together, the group developed a title for the exhibit: "Sharing Abundance and Adversity: Food Stories from the Keweenaw."

The meetings were facilitated by 14 students in the fall 2022 Communities & Research class taught by Angie Carter (SS). Students in the course also developed materials so that educators and other community members could engage in or adapt this project for their own use, including K-12 curriculum activities, a virtual photovoice exhibit and a photovoice facilitation guide. Isabelle Cervantes, a student from the class, then designed the printed exhibit in spring 2023 that debuted at the UP Food Summit in March 2023.

The printed exhibit consists of a selection of 11 of the 22 total local food stories shared throughout the project. The project is a great educational tool to share at public events and local schools. More information, including the virtual exhibit and associated resources, is available on the Western U.P. Food System Collaborative's website.

Funding for this project was provided by the Michigan Health Endowment Fund.

Michigan Tech is a partner of the Western U.P. Food Systems Collaborative, a grassroots coalition of food growers and procurers, public health and civic partners, scientists, educators, land and water stewards, students and all community members.

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Dow Construction Update for This Week

In conjunction with the Dow Environmental Sciences and Engineering Building Elevator Project, construction for the canopy at the Dow's north doorway, off of Lot 31, continues this week.

Beginning yesterday (July 10), access to the Dow from Lot 31 is open and requires entering through the walk-through scaffolding. While it may appear closed, at least one of the entryway doors is open at all times.

As always, we remind you to keep alert while in and around construction zones and to follow all posted directions.

If you have questions or concerns, please email facilities@mtu.edu.

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

Women's 2-Person Scramble

Tuesday, July 11, 9 a.m. | Portage Lake Golf Course

Women's 2-Person Scramble at PLGC.

Little Huskies Summer Volleyball camp

Tuesday, July 11, 3 p.m.–5 p.m. | Student Development Complex (SDC), Varsity Wood Gym

This camp is open to boys and girls entering grades 1 - 5 as of Fall 2023. Michigan Tech’s Little Huskies Camp is the perfect way to explore the basics of volleyball for...

PhD Defense: Tanner Olson

Tuesday, July 11, 3 p.m.–5 p.m. | Minerals and Materials Engineering Building (M&M), 610

Materials Science and Engineering Advisor: Paul Sanders Computational Materials Design for Improved Weldability in Dual Precipitate Nickel-Base Superalloys Attend...

Hockey Camp Group 1

July 11, all day | Student Development Complex (SDC), Macinnes Student Ice Arena

Gain fundamental skills and broad knowledge of the sport for all age levels. Co-ed camps and clinics focus on team play, positional play, defensive play, strengthening...

Hockey Camp Groups 2 and 3

July 11, all day | Student Development Complex (SDC), Macinnes Student Ice Arena

Gain fundamental skills and broad knowledge of the sport for all age levels. Co-ed camps and clinics focus on team play, positional play, defensive play, strengthening...