July 17, 2023

The Michigan Tech Institute of Computing and Cybersystems (ICC) has announced that it will host a group of faculty-nominated scholars during the ICC's Showcase[AI] conference on Oct. 4-6 through the ICC Scholars initiative.

ICC Scholars aims to introduce non-MTU graduate students to Michigan Tech, and is not intended for current MTU students. Active ICC faculty members are encouraged to recommend non-MTU graduate students for the initiative. Up to seven students will be selected, with travel and accommodations funded by the ICC.

The selected scholars will have opportunities to meet with potential faculty advisors, and they are required to give a short Tech Talk synopsis of their research background and interests. Find more info on the ICC Scholars page.

The deadline to nominate a graduate student for ICC Scholars is Sept. 1. ICC faculty members may nominate a student using the ICC Scholars Application. Non-MTU graduate students may also submit the application form with faculty member permission. No unsolicited applications without faculty recommendation will be accepted.

Master’s and Ph.D. students are preferred. For postdoc candidates, contact Amanda Stump at ajstump@mtu.edu to discuss their attendance.

There is still time to register for Alumni Reunion 2023, but not much! Some events are already sold out or reaching capacity, so register as soon as you can before Sunday, July 23.

Check out the full schedule of events and register today.

If you have any questions about Reunion, please email alumni@mtu.edu.

Current Results from Community Tick Submission
Of 495 ticks collected and submitted to the lab, current testing results are as follows: 

• 77 Lyme positive ticks
• 24 Anaplasma positive ticks
• 187 Rickettsia positive ticks
• 0 positive ticks for Ehrlichia, Babesia and Tularemia

Top locations for disease-positive ticks include Maasto Hiihto Trails, Chassell, Stanton-Liminga Road and Pilgrim River Trails. Several disease-positive ticks were submitted from unknown locations. Please note that not all Rickettsia bacteria cause disease — we will be performing sequencing analysis to determine the types of Rickettsia found in those ticks.

If you have any questions please contact Aimee Marceau, sequencing lab lead, at ahmarcea@mtu.edu.

Crowdsourcing Ticks Project at MTU Continues Through Sept. 30
The Genomic Sequencing Lab wants ticks from you, your family and your pets. The goal of this project is to identify the prevalence of tick-borne illnesses in the Copper Country. Through Sept. 30, please bring any ticks you find to one of two collection boxes on the Michigan Tech campus:

• U. J. Noblet Forestry Building — Main Entrance
• Great Lakes Research Center at 100 Phoenix Drive — Building Lobby

How to Remove and Preserve Ticks

1. Use clean, fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin’s surface as possible.
2. Pull upward with steady, even pressure. Don’t twist or jerk the tick; this can cause its mouth parts to break off and remain in the skin. If this happens, remove the mouth parts with tweezers. If you cannot remove the mouth easily with tweezers, leave it alone and let the skin heal.
3. After removing the tick, thoroughly clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol or soap and water.
4. Never crush a tick with your fingers. Dispose of a live tick by:
   1. Placing it in a sealed plastic storage bag. Multiple ticks from the same location can be placed in the same bag.
   2. Once the tick is sealed inside the plastic storage bag, bring it to a drop-off point within eight hours or place the bag with the tick in a freezer until dropping it off at Michigan Tech.
5. Follow the directions at the drop-off site to ensure the tick is properly preserved.

Join representatives from the College of Business (COB) and Global Campus for a 45-minute Zoom interest session that spotlights two online 30-credit programs from the COB: the TechMBA and Master of Engineering Management (MEM).

Save the date: The interest session will run next Monday (July 24) at 11:30 a.m.

Register for the interest session.

This interest session will discuss the details of these programs, as well as compare them. Discover which degree equips you with broad, foundational business skills and which degree helps you best bridge the worlds of business and engineering.

Admissions representatives will also be present to discuss curriculum pathways, accelerated options and the application process.

Michigan Tech IT is collecting lab software requests for spring 2024. If you still have not submitted a request for spring 2024, this needs to be done by Aug. 28. As a reminder, requests should be completed one semester in advance of intended use.

Please refer to the Knowledge Base support article on requesting lab software for information about request guidelines and access to the submission form.

Please note that there is no need to request currently available software. These requests are for additional software that is not already installed in the labs.

If you have any questions, we can help. Contact it-help@mtu.edu or call 7-1111.

A production system maintenance window is scheduled for July 30 from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. The following production services will be unavailable during that time:

• Banner
• Banweb
• MyMichiganTech
• Aspire
• Confluence
• Course Tools
• Fischer/mylogin.mtu.edu
• mtu.edu/tips
• OAP Rental System
• Oracle Reports
• Papercut Printing
• Perceptive Content (Imagenow)
• Pinnacle
• Sunapsis
• UC4/Appworx
• Virtual Cashiering
• WebFocus

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

Dimo Okeyo, a civil engineering master's student, will be presenting his abstract, titled "Understanding the Impact of Land Use Change on Local Climate Patterns: A Case Study in Urban Environments," at the 17th Graduate Climate Conference.

Hosted by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution at the Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL), this conference brings together brilliant minds from various disciplines.

Dimo has been selected to present a poster during the event, which will take place in person in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, from Nov. 2-4.

Ph.D. candidate Xiaoqing Gao from the Department of Mathematical Sciences (Math) will defend her doctoral dissertation tomorrow (July 18) at 1 p.m. in person in Fisher 328 and virtually via Zoom.

The title of Gao's dissertation is "Machine Learning Methods for Predictions of Human Infection Virus and Imputation of HLA Alleles."

Xiaoqing is advised by Kui Zhang.

Molly Skinner will present as part of the Department of Chemical Engineering (ChE) Research Seminar Series on Friday (July 21) at 10 a.m. in person in Chem Sci 404 and virtually via Zoom.

Skinner will present "Exploration of Corona Charge as a Novel in Vitro Molecular Delivery Method."

Read the abstract on the University Events Calendar.

Skinner received her B.S. in Chemical Engineering and her M.S. in Biomedical Engineering, and is finishing her Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering from the University of South Florida.

The Office of the Associate Vice President for Research Development (AVPRD) invites researchers to a workshop on developing safe and inclusive off-campus research (SAI) plans. These plans are required when any MTU researcher develops a funding proposal that will include the collection of data, information and/or samples at an off-campus research site, including urban, rural and remote locations or other organizations' facilities. The two-hour session will provide background information and an opportunity to develop a strong and effective plan with feedback from experienced peers.

The workshop is scheduled for Aug. 2 from noon to 2 p.m. Lunch will be provided. Questions can be directed to Sarah Atkinson at sjbird@mtu.edu or Kathy Halvorsen at kehalvor@mtu.edu.

Please RSVP to Research Development’s Sarah Atkinson at sjbird@mtu.edu by July 26 if you would like to attend.

Michigan Tech volleyball has been honored for team academics by the United States Marine Corps (USMC) and the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) for 2022-23, receiving the USMC/AVCA Team Academic Award for the 11th straight season.

Tech held a 3.5 team GPA and was one of eight GLIAC teams honored. Twelve Huskies were named to the GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team while two others were on the GLIAC All-Academic Team.

Individually, Carissa Beyer received a GLIAC Commissioner's Award after being named the All-GLIAC First Team and holding a 3.63 GPA. Lindy Oujiri and Riley Stichter held a 4.0 for the academic year, while Janie Grindland, Kaycee Meiners, Meg Raabe and Morgan Radtke each had a 4.0 semester.

Read more at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Job Postings for Monday, July 17, 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.

Director of International Programs and Services, International Programs and Services. Apply online.

Director for Foundation Relations, Advancement and Alumni Engagement. 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.

Lindsay Hiltunen (Library) is the principal investigator (PI) on a project that received a $6,000 other sponsored activities grant from the Keweenaw National Historical Park - Keweenaw Heritage Grants.

The project is titled "Calumet and Hecla Employee Card Digitization Cleanup."

David Holden (Library) is a co-PI on this project.

Carl Blair (SS) was quoted by WLUC TV6 in a story about Michigan Tech’s seven-week Summer Archaeological Field School at Delaware Mine. The program aims to teach students the methods and techniques of archaeological fieldwork.

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The Detroit News, WTOL 11 of Toledo, Ohio, and the Keweenaw Report covered the ECHL’s Toledo Walleye announcing Pat Mikesch (ADV) as their next head coach. Mikesch, an MTU hockey alum, played for the Huskies from 1992-96. He was inducted into the Michigan Tech Sports Hall of Fame in 2022.

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U.S. Sen. Gary Peters mentioned Michigan Tech in a press release about funding legislation passed by the Senate Appropriations Committee that could bring $250,000 to MTU. The funds would help the University create a small business accelerator “to support research and jobs related to advanced materials and critical minerals used in the automotive and defense industries.”

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WLUC TV6 mentioned Michigan Tech in a story about the new Western Upper Peninsula regional director for the MiSTEM Network: Emily Geiger ’11 ’15 (B.S. Ph.D. Biochemistry and Molecular Biology).

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Hemmings Motor News mentioned Michigan Tech in a story written by Scott Overton (B.S. Mechanical Engineering) about his stint as a summer worker in Spokane, Washington, in 1966 as a third-year mechanical engineering student.

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WFFT-TV FOX 55, the Journal Gazette and WANE 15, all of Fort Wayne, Indiana, mentioned Michigan Tech in stories about the former Husky hockey forward signing with the Fort Wayne Komets in the ECHL.

MS Defense: Ženia Sidorov, CS

M.S. in Computer Science candidate Ženia Sidorov will present a master's thesis defense today (July 17) from 10-11:30 a.m. in person in Rekhi 101 and virtually. Virtual attendees are invited to join via Zoom.

The title of Sidorov's thesis defense is "Prediction of Sumoylation Sites in Proteins from Language Model Representations."

Read the talk abstract on the Computing News Blog.

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PhD Defense: Niusen Chen, CS

Ph.D. candidate Niusen Chen will present a final oral examination (defense) tomorrow (July 18) at 2 p.m. in Rekhi 101 and virtually. Virtual attendees are invited to join via Zoom.

The title of Chen’s defense is "Ensuring Data Confidentiality via Plausibly Deniable Encryption and Secure Deletion."

Chen is advised by Associate Professor Bo Chen.

Read the paper abstract on the Computing News Blog.

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Graduate Research Assistant Position in Marine Autonomy

The Pattern Recognition and Intelligent Machines Engineering (PRIME) Lab, directed by Tim Havens (CC/ICC/GLRC) is seeking applications for a three-year graduate research assistant (GRA) position in marine autonomy.

The project addresses a concern of the broad artificial intelligence and autonomy communities: As autonomy is pushed into complex and unstructured environments, the vulnerabilities of sensing, processing and decision-making must be better understood and addressed.

Applicants must be U.S. citizens.

Read more on the Computing News Blog.

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

Tracks to the Future Session II

Monday, July 17, 8 a.m.–5 p.m. | University Partner Locations

Railroad Transportation and Engineering 2023 Hybrid Delivery Program: Virtual, Hands-on, and Field Trips July 17–21, 2023 Monday-Friday Open to high school students who...

Master's Defense: Evgenii Sidorov

Monday, July 17, 10–11 a.m. | Rekhi Hall, 101

Computer Science Advisor: Dukka KC Prediction of SUMOylation Sites in Proteins From Language Model Representation

Master’s Thesis Defense: Ženia Sidorov, Computer Science

Monday, July 17, 10:00–11:30 a.m. | Rekhi Hall, 101

Graduate student Ženia Sidorov, Computer Science, will present their master’s thesis defense on Monday, July 17, 2023, from 10-11:30 a.m., in Rekhi Hall, Room 101, and...

Hockey Camp Group 1

July 17, 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 17, 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...