October 2, 2023

October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM), and all members of the Michigan Tech community are encouraged to participate. This year's theme, "Advancing Access and Equity," reflects the contributions of America’s workers with disabilities past and present, and showcases supportive, inclusive employment policies and practices that benefit employers and employees.

For specific ideas about how the Michigan Tech community can support National Disability Employment Awareness Month, visit the Office of Disability Employment Policy's webpage. Suggestions range from simple, such as putting up a poster, to comprehensive, such as hosting a disability education program for your department.

We all play an important part in fostering a more inclusive workplace, whether in-person or online, one where every person is recognized for their abilities — every day of every month.

Custodians are the University’s first line of defense when it comes to our community’s health and well-being. Much of the work they do each day is behind the scenes and the tasks are often thankless.

Cleaning restrooms, setting up events and shoveling snow from building entrances are just a few of the things custodians do every day to keep campus facilities running safely and smoothly.

If you pass a custodian in the hall today, please take a moment to show your appreciation to some of the hardest working folks on campus.

Covidence (pronounced "CAH-vih-dens") is a systematic reviews production tool used for title/abstract screening, full-text screening, data abstraction and quality assessment. Designed to make conducting reviews more efficient and easily tracked, Covidence can be used for any kind of literature review that requires reproducible and reportable reviewing and screening.

Covidence is available on a trial basis to the Michigan Tech community through December 2023. Complete your one-time registration to get started in Covidence. The trial offers a demo review, and users may also import up to 500 references to use within Covidence. Getting Started with Covidence is a series of short videos that will help you navigate the Covidence interface. Please contact library@mtu.edu with any questions.

Your feedback is very important in our decision-making process. Please take a few moments to let us know what you think of Covidence.

Following Senate Procedure 802.1.1, the following individuals have agreed to serve on the College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science (CFRES) dean search committee.

• Andrew Burton (CFRES), Applied Ecology and Environmental Science/Forestry
• Kristin Brzeski (CFRES), Wildlife Ecology and Conservation
• Carsten Külheim (CFRES), Molecular Genetics and Biotechnology
• Julia Burton (CFRES), Forestry/Applied Ecology and Environmental Science
• Mickey Jarvi (CFRES), Forestry/GIS
• Valoree Gagnon (CFRES), Natural Resource Management/Environmental Science and Sustainability
• Luke Nave (CFRES), Applied Ecology and Environmental Science/Forestry
• Nor Sorocki (alternate Swapan Chakrabarty), Graduate Student Government
• Jasper Johnston (alternate Sierra Rosten), Undergraduate Student Government
• Joe Eskola (CFRES), staff
• Kathy Halvorsen (VPR), at-large
• Pasi Lautala (CEGE), at-large
• Justin Miller, Green Timber Forestry, at-large
• Renee Ozanich (HR), ad-hoc
• Susan Sullivan (EOC/Title IX), ad-hoc

The committee has received their charge and scheduled their kickoff meeting, which is open to faculty, staff and students. This meeting is scheduled for tomorrow (Oct. 3) at 10 a.m. in Noblet G004.

Additional meetings open to faculty, staff and students will be announced by the committee through Tech Today.

Do you have an innovative idea that could disrupt the norm and redefine "business as usual"? If so, we invite you to showcase your innovation at the upcoming Fall 2023 Idea Pitch Competition.

Register for the Fall 2023 Idea Pitch Competition.

Competition Details:

• When: Wednesday, Oct. 11, from 5-7:30 p.m.
• Where: Great Lakes Research Center, GLRC 202

At the Idea Pitch Competition, you will have a platform to present your groundbreaking idea in an engaging community setting. Each contestant will have three minutes to captivate the audience and judges with their visionary ideas. Judges will vote to select top pitches and award cash prizes to the top contestants:

• First Place: $200
• Second Place: $100
• Third Place: $50
• Honorable Mention: $25
• Audience Favorite: $25

Pitch decks must be submitted to huskyinnovate@mtu.edu, with a deadline of Oct. 9.

The live pitch event is Oct. 11 from 5-7 p.m.

As the Michigan Tech Testing Center starts our 10th year of operation, we will be bringing you tips and fun facts — one each week for 10 weeks.

Week 5 Fun Facts: Scantron services were picked up by the Testing Center shortly after opening. We started with the red and blue forms that needed to have graphite read by a special machine. As the hardware aged out, software was purchased that allowed the Scantrons to be custom generated and ready from a PDF file.

In the 10 years the Michigan Tech Testing Center has been serving our community, over 45,000 Michigan Tech exams and almost 3,000 sponsored exams have been given.

Week 5 Tips: When the pandemic hit, the Testing Center assisted instructors by converting paper exams into Canvas quizzes. This service is still available.

The Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) is now available to assist you with Grade Scope and their bubble sheet grading. As the current software used by the Testing Center ages out, the Grade Scope bubble grading will need to be used by any bubble sheet users in the future.

If the Testing Center can assist you or your students, please reach out to us at techtesting-l@mtu.edu or 906-487-1001.

New Music in the Mine — Thursday and Friday, Oct. 5 and 6, at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Location: Quincy Mine No. 2 Hoist House
Presented by Michigan Tech Music

Hard hats are required — and provided — to hear this exciting new music by contemporary composers in the Quincy Mine hoist building. This annual sellout show will contain some of the best music you haven't heard yet! Check out this year’s lineup of musicians.

New Music in the Mine is coordinated by Libby Meyer, director of music composition at Michigan Tech.

Tickets for Faculty, Staff and General Public
Get your tickets online, at 906-487-1906, or at the Rozsa Box Office from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Tickets for Students
For this event, you must reserve your free Student Rush Tickets in advance online. Student Rush is sponsored by the Experience Tech Fee. Students must show a valid HuskyCard at the door to use their Student Rush Tickets.
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Layered In Between: Prints by Erin Hoffman Exhibit — Open Now! Closes Saturday, Nov. 4
Location: Rozsa Art Galleries A-Space
Presented by Michigan Tech Art

Erin Hoffman is an artist and printmaker from Muskegon, Michigan, who deals primarily with political and social concerns. Through the presentation of mismatched ideas and assemblages, her art serves as a prompt to critical thought and new conclusions.

A-Space Gallery Hours:
Monday-Friday: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. | Saturday: 1-8 p.m.

Ph.D. in Computer Science student Scott Pomerville will present his dissertation proposal on Friday (Oct. 6) from 2-3 p.m. in Fisher 101 and via Zoom.

The title of Pomerville's proposal is “SCALE: Statically Controlled Asynchronous Lane Execution.”

Pomerville is advised by Soner Onder.

Join the Zoom meeting.

Read the proposal abstract on the Computing News Blog.

Ph.D. in Computational Science and Engineering student Zhao Chen will present his dissertation defense on Wednesday (Oct. 4) from 4-6 p.m. in Rekhi 101 and via Zoom.

The title of Chen's dissertation is “Deep Learning for Medical Image Segmentation using Prior Knowledge and Topology.”

Zhao is advised by Weihua Zhou.

Join the Zoom meeting.

Read the defense abstract on the Computing News Blog.

Mechanical engineering alumnus Marty Lagina ’77 will deliver the First-Year Engineering Series Lecture to Michigan Tech’s incoming engineering majors today (Oct. 2) at 6 p.m in the Rozsa Center Auditorium.

Lagina is the CEO of Heritage Sustainable Energy, a winemaker, and an executive producer of the long-running reality TV show “The Curse of Oak Island,” now in its 10th season on the History Channel.

The title of Lagina's lecture is “I’m Not Here to Give You Advice.”

Read more about the lecture on the College of Engineering Blog.

The Department of Computer Science (CS) will present a lecture by CS alumni Randy Berry ’82 and John Furton ’87 as part of the department’s 50th Anniversary Series. The title of their presentation is “Life in the Tech Lane. Two Tech grads share their experiences and thoughts.”

The lecture will take place Thursday (Oct. 5) from 2-2:50 p.m. in Rekhi G009 and via a Zoom webinar.

Berry and Furton will be inducted into the College of Computing Honor Academy on Wednesday (Oct. 4). The Honor Academy recognizes Michigan Tech graduates who have distinguished themselves in their professions, and others who have made extraordinary contributions to the advancement of the College of Computing and its programs.

Join the Zoom webinar.

Read the speaker bios on the Computing News Blog.

Sultan Hassan from New York University will be presenting at this week's Physics Colloquium. The seminar will be presented in person at 4 p.m. on Thursday (Oct. 5) in Fisher 139.

Event details are available on the University Events Calendar.

The season debut of the "Michigan Tech Huskies Hockey Show" will air live today (Oct. 2) at 10 a.m. from the Tervo Agency in Hancock on Mix 93.5 WKMJ-FM. Hosted by Dirk Hembroff, the program will feature reigning CCHA Coach of the Year Joe Shawhan and the Tervo staff, previewing the much-anticipated Michigan Tech hockey season.

The show will air weekly throughout the season at 10 a.m. on Mondays. The program will feature regular appearances by the coaching staff and current Huskies.

The show can be heard live on Mix 93.5 and is streamed on the TuneIn Radio app and online at Pasty.net.

Read more at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Job Postings for Monday, Oct. 2, 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.

Assistant Professor, Electrical and Computer Engineering. Apply online.

Assistant Teaching Professor or Assistant Professor, Engineering Fundamentals. Apply online.

Multiple Tenure-Track Positions, Chemical Engineering. Apply online.

Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics. 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.

Muhammad Rizwan (BioMed/HRI) is the principal investigator (PI) on a project that has received a $443,432 research and development grant from the National Institutes of Health.

The project is titled "Development of Complex Liver Organoids Using Cell-Specific Patterned Biomaterials."

This is a potential three-year project.

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Dongyan Zhang (Physics/CQP) is the PI on a project that has received a $274,212 research and development grant from the National Science Foundation.

The project is titled "PFI-TT: Boron Nitride Dots for Biomedical Application."

Xiuling Liu, Nazmiye Yapici and Yoke Khin Yap (all Physics/CQP) are co-PIs on this potential two-year project.

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Wayne Weaver (ME-EM/ECE/MARC) is the PI on a project that has received a $77,000 research and development contract from Sandia National Labs.

The project is titled "Advanced Modeling, Controls, Power Electronics, and Water Power Testing for Renewable Energies."

Shangyan Zou (ME-EM/MARC) is a co-PI on this project.

Lake Superior Magazine included Michigan Tech’s upcoming Showcase[AI], being presented Wednesday through Friday (Oct. 4-6) by the Institute of Computing and Cybersystems and the College of Computing, in its “Around the Circle This Week” list of events.

East Hall Construction and Parking Transitions

Construction preparations at the future site of East Hall, the University’s new residence hall, are beginning today (Oct. 2). The construction area is east of the Rozsa Center in the former Temporary Parking Lot 10. Students with Guaranteed Commuter parking permits in Lot 10 have already been contacted directly with instructions about where to park when construction begins. Parking for students, faculty and staff with other permits should not be affected during this initial phase of construction.

Construction Prep & Pedestrian Routes
This week, crews will mobilize equipment and set up temporary roads, pathways and sidewalks. Pedestrian traffic will be limited to the existing sidewalk along Cliff Drive while fencing is installed around the construction site. Later in the week, demolition of the parking lot will begin.

For the rest of the 2023-24 academic year, pedestrian traffic will be routed along the south side of the construction site on a temporary walkway. The building foundations will be constructed through late November or early December, as weather allows.

Seventh Avenue Parking Lot Updates
Construction has begun on the new parking lot on Seventh Avenue for students with Standard Commuter parking permits. We expect a gravel version of this lot with 340 parking spaces to be ready for use sometime in November. The opening of this lot will be announced in Tech Today, and Transportation Services will directly contact all impacted parking permit holders.

Construction Timelines
Wall panels for East Hall will be constructed off-site during the winter months, and construction work will resume at both sites in spring 2024.

Paving, striping and other work on the new Seventh Avenue parking lot will be completed in May 2024. East Hall is projected to open in fall 2025. In the meantime, construction progress will be streamed through a new East Hall Construction webcam, available on Michigan Tech's Webcams page beginning this morning.

We appreciate your patience and understanding over the next two months. As always, please use caution around construction sites and follow all posted signage, as there will be heavy equipment going in and out frequently.

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You're Invited: IPEC Membership Social

Join us for the Institute for Policy, Ethics, and Culture (IPEC) fall membership get-together!

Members and nonmembers alike are invited to the Rozsa mezzanine from 6-7:30 p.m. on Oct. 12 for heavy appetizers and drinks. Then, join us afterward for "The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage," a one-hour opera in the McArdle Theatre. Free opera tickets are available by contacting IPEC Director Stefka Hristova at shristov@mtu.edu.

Add the IPEC Membership Social to your Google Calendar.

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Training Opportunity: 'Surviving an Active Threat: Run. Hide. Fight.'

Michigan Tech’s Department of Public Safety and Police Services, in collaboration with the Louisiana State University National Center for Biomedical Research and Training/Academy of Counter-Terrorist Education (LSU NCBRT/ACE), will be hosting two “Surviving an Active Threat: Run. Hide. Fight.” training courses this fall.

A five-minute summary of the training is available on YouTube. (Content warning: The video starts with a simulated gunshot and shouting.)

This course aims to train nontraditional first responders, including civilian employees, students, faculty, staff and any other individuals, who live, work or visit any location where an active threat incident may occur.

The course focuses on the various components of the Run. Hide. Fight. response paradigm, which is widely accepted and taught as one of the primary response paradigms regarding active threat incidents. Participants will learn about ways the Run. Hide. Fight. response paradigm can be applied in any active threat incident, regardless of the location or other factors involved.

There will be two sessions:

• Tuesday, Nov. 14, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Wednesday, Nov. 15, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Faculty and staff are encouraged to register for the training as soon as possible, as each session has a capacity limit. You do not need any prior experience to register for this training.

To register, go to MI-Train (you may need to create a MI-Train account if you do not have one already).

If you have any questions about the registration process or about the course itself, please email Reid DeVoge at rdevoge@mtu.edu.

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VPR Research Series: Final SciENcv Session Before NSF Requirements Take Effect

Join us Wednesday (Oct. 4) from noon to 1 p.m. for the next session in the Vice President for Research Office (VPR) Research Series: "SciENcv: Creating Biosketches, C&P Docs, and Changes to NSF PAPPG."

As of Oct. 23, the National Science Foundation (NSF) will begin requiring that all senior personnel listed on NSF proposals use an online tool called SciENcv to prepare their biographical sketch and current and pending support forms, which are required proposal elements. Those unfamiliar with SciENcv have been able to use fillable PDF forms; this flexibility will end in October, so this session is for anyone interested in NSF proposals who has not yet learned the SciENcv system.

The session will cover all steps, from sign-up to producing the required documents; no prior experience is necessary. This session will also briefly cover recent changes to the NSF Proposal and Awards Policy and Procedures Guide.

Join us on Zoom on Wednesday from noon to 1 p.m. to learn how you can create and maintain your biographical sketch and current and pending support documents in SciENcv. Once you get the initial setup done, you'll be able to easily make any updates and generate biosketches and current and pending documents that are compliant with the current rules of the agency.

Note: This will be the final session offered on SciENcv before the NSF requirements go into effect Oct. 23.

Any questions should be addressed to rd-l@mtu.edu.

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EPSSI Seminar with Dennis Niedermeier

Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences Institute (EPSSI) guest Dennis Niedermeier, a scientist at Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS), will give a talk today (Oct. 2) at 4 p.m. in M&M U113.

Event details can be viewed on the University Events Calendar.

Niedermeier will present "Investigating aerosol – cloud – turbulence interactions in a well-defined and controlled environment: The turbulent moist-air wind tunnel LACIS-T."

From the abstract:
Clouds are important players in both weather and climate. To better understand and quantify the behavior of clouds in general, and the interactions between turbulence and cloud microphysical processes in particular, intensive laboratory investigations under well-defined and reproducible conditions form an irreplaceable part of cloud research.

In this presentation, we introduce the unique turbulent moist-air wind tunnel LACIS-T (Turbulent Leipzig Aerosol Cloud Interaction Simulator) developed at TROPOS to specifically study the interactions between turbulence and microphysical cloud processes. The investigations take place under well-defined and reproducible turbulent and thermodynamic conditions covering the temperature range of warm, mixed-phase and cold clouds. The continuous-flow design of the facility allows for the investigation of processes occurring on small temporal and spatial scales. Thereby a Lagrangian perspective is feasible. The experimental studies using LACIS-T are accompanied and complemented by computational fluid dynamics simulations which help us to design experiments as well as to interpret experimental results.

In this presentation, we will show the fundamental operating principle of LACIS-T, the numerical model, and results concerning the thermodynamic and flow conditions prevailing inside the wind tunnel. Finally, results are presented from deliquescence, droplet activation and growth as well as heterogeneous ice nucleation experiments.

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CoE Dean Search Open Meeting

The College of Engineering (CoE) Dean Search Committee will be holding another open meeting for Michigan Tech faculty, staff and students tomorrow (Oct. 3) at 8:10 a.m. in the MUB Ballroom A1.

The search committee is looking for input on the position description at this meeting.

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SS Brown Bag with Todd Holmstrom: Michigan Tech's International Engagement

Join the Department of Social Sciences (SS) today (Oct. 2) at noon in AOB 201 or virtually on Zoom for a talk with Instructor Todd Holmstrom on Michigan Tech's international engagement.

Universities are motivated to engage internationally for various reasons. Some focus on budget imperatives while others are driven by academic collaborations. Few approach international engagement with an integrated plan that links to their strategic planning. Conversely, foreign universities have a much clearer objective when engaging U.S. institutions but too often focus on the marquee names associated with America's Ivy League. Nonetheless, international engagement is a force multiplier for education in both directions.

Michigan Tech has a number of assets that could be applied internationally to further its academic, research and organizational goals. This talk will explore those resources as well as the Department of Social Sciences' role in facilitating greater international engagement at Michigan Tech.

Holmstrom is a retired member of the U.S. senior foreign service. Though focused on foreign policy formulation and execution in Washington, D.C., and overseas, he had a special interest throughout his career in promoting people-to-people exchanges between countries. While leading three diplomatic posts overseas, Holmstrom became especially interested in how U.S. universities engaged with their counterparts in his host countries.

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ACSHF Forum with Leanne Jensen

The Department of Cognitive and Learning Sciences will host Leanne Jensen, Ph.D., at the next Applied Cognitive Science and Human Factors (ACSHF) Forum today (Oct. 2) in Meese 109, from 2-3 p.m.

Jensen holds a prominent role in the aerospace industry as a member of The Boeing Company’s Technical Fellowship, focusing on human performance technology and human factors engineering. Her work has led to several invention awards related to human reliability and productivity, including a pending patent for a model-based systems engineering approach to advanced product quality planning, solidifying her reputation as an innovative thought leader. Her expertise in developing and implementing human-centric solutions has enabled organizations to achieve higher levels of safety, productivity, quality and operational excellence.

Read Jensen's full bio and abstract on our Cognitive and Learning Sciences News blog!

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

Layered in Between: Prints by Erin Hoffman Presented by Michigan Tech Art

Monday, October 2, 8 a.m.–8 p.m. | Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts, Rozsa Galleries A-Space

Erin Hoffman is an artist and printmaker from Muskegon, Michigan, who deals primarily with political and social concerns. Through the presentation of mismatched ideas and...

EPSSI Seminar: Dr. Dennis Niedermeier

Monday, October 2, 4 p.m.–5 p.m. | Minerals and Materials Engineering Building (M&M), Room U113

Dr. Dennis Niedermeier, a scientist at Leibniz Institute for Tropospheric Research (TROPOS), will give a talk on Monday, Oct 2nd at 4:00 pm In M&M U113 entitled:...

Race Practice

Monday, October 2, 5 p.m.–8 p.m. | East Houghton Waterfront Park

Race practices are pretty casual. We set a few marks in the portage and have a few races on Monday and Wednesday nights. Anyone is welcome to attend, regardless of sailing...

Huskies Group Swim Lessons - Parent & Child Aquatics Fall 2023 Session 1

Monday, October 2, 5:10 p.m.–5:50 p.m. | Student Development Complex (SDC), Pool

Ages 6 months to 3 years. Come make a splash in Huskies Group Swim Lessons! American Red Cross Parent and Child Aquatics levels are being offered at the SDC Pool for ages 6...

Huskies Group Swim Lessons - Parent & Child Aquatics Fall 2023 Session 1

Monday, October 2, 5:10 p.m.–5:50 p.m. | Student Development Complex (SDC), Pool

Ages 6 months to 3 years. Come make a splash in Huskies Group Swim Lessons! American Red Cross Parent and Child Aquatics levels are being offered at the SDC Pool for ages 6...

Huskies Group Swim Lessons - Preschool Aquatics Fall 2023 Session 1

Monday, October 2, 5:10 p.m.–5:50 p.m. | Student Development Complex (SDC), Pool

Ages 4-5 years. Come make a splash in Huskies Group Swim Lessons! American Red Cross Preschool Aquatics levels are being offered at the SDC Pool for ages 4 to 5 years old. ...

Law Club Weekly Meeting

Monday, October 2, 6 p.m.–7 p.m. | Library 103

Objectives: 1. To provide a pre-professional organization for those who are planning to pursue a legal career or those who are interested in the legal field. 2. To prepare...

(Men's Tennis) Michigan Tech vs. TBA

October 2, all day

Men's Tennis: Michigan Tech vs. TBA, ITA Regionals