Energy Department Taps Tech to Lead New Regional Climate Resilience Center

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has awarded Michigan Tech nearly $860,000 to stand up the new Center for Climate-driven Hazard Adaptation, Resilience, and Mitigation (C-CHARM). 

C-CHARM will strengthen regional climate resilience by empowering rural community planners in the Great Lakes region, providing them with vital climate data and the tools they need to better plan for climate change and increased severe weather. The new center is one of six Climate Resilience Centers (CRCs) being funded by the DOE.

The center’s leadership team includes Pengfei Xue (CEGE), Ana Dyreson (ME-EM), Chelsea Schelly (SS), Jenny Apriesnig (COB) and David Watkins (CEGE) — all members of the Great Lakes Research Center — as well as former faculty member Thomas Oommen, now with the University of Mississippi. 

They will be joined by collaborators from the DOE’s Argonne National Laboratory; community partners at the Western Upper Peninsula Planning & Development Region Office; the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community; the Michigan Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Network; and the Keweenaw Economic Development Alliance.

Through this research, climate modeling for the Western Upper Peninsula will be available in more detail than ever before to help community planners identify key risks, vulnerabilities and disruptions in order to strategize ways to adapt and respond to a changing climate. 

Read the full press release and get more details on Michigan Tech News.

41 North Film Festival Announces Lineup

Presenting another year of cinematic explorations and provocations, the 41 North Film Festival returns November 2-5 to the Rozsa Center. With a lineup of over 20 films, the festival includes panels, special guests, music, and more. Major festival sponsors include the Department of Humanities, the Department of Visual and Performing Arts, and the College of Sciences and Arts. This four-day event is free and open to the public.

The opening night film, Time Bomb Y2K (Becker/McDonald, 2023), takes a look back at a moment of technological anxiety. Assembling archival footage from 1997-2000 as the world prepared to face the "Y2K millenium bug," the filmmakers offer both a time capsule and an opportunity to reflect on technological dependency and its implications. Continuing the discussion about technology on Sunday with a different set of questions is Another Body (Hamlyn/Compton, 2023), about a college student who takes us on an investigation into deepfake pornography after she finds herself a victim of it. Both films will offer panel discussions following the films. 

On Friday night, the spotlight turns to the Elephant 6 Recording Company (Stockfleth, 2022), an inspiring story about the music collective that gave rise to such bands as Neutral Milk Hotel and the Apples in Stereo, among many others. Core member of the collective, Robert Schneider, who is now part of the Michigan Tech faculty in mathematics, will be joined by producer Daniel Efran for a Q&A. Music and a reception will follow in the Rozsa Lobby.

Saturday evening, the festival presents The Erie Situation (Ruck, 2022), which takes a hard look at the confluence of science and politics around a great lake's toxic algae problem. Co-sponsored by the Great Lakes Research Center, the film will be followed by a panel discussion and Q&A.

Continue reading about the lineup, and visit the festival website for the complete schedule. For more information, contact Erin Smith, ersmith@mtu.edu.

One in Four, One in Nine: October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Intimate Partner Violence. Dating Violence. Domestic Violence. The terms may be different but the behavior and consequences are the same: physical violence, sexual violence, stalking and psychological aggression by a current or former intimate partner that negatively impacts physical health, mental health, work, school, friends and more. 

According to the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, one in four women and one in nine men have experienced domestic violence. It can affect anyone, regardless of age, race, financial status, gender identity or sexual orientation. Despite these grim statistics, there is also hope. Domestic violence can be prevented — but it takes all of us. 

Our campus has been decorated with purple ribbons to highlight Domestic Violence Awareness Month, showing that we stand in solidarity and support with the individuals impacted by domestic violence. Signs with statistics about that impact accompany the ribbons, reminding us of the effects domestic violence has on individuals and families — including those here in our community.

 Participate in Purple Thursday Oct. 19

October is our opportunity to raise awareness and take action. By understanding the difference between healthy and unhealthy relationships, recognizing signs of violence, knowing the resources and being prepared to respond for ourselves, a friend, or a family member, we can be part of the solution. Learn more through online resources, look for upcoming One Love in-person workshops and resources and donate to our local Barbara Kettle Gundlach Shelter. On Thursday, Oct. 19, wear purple and join us on campus as we walk with the Society of African American Men (SAAM).

Join Us for Walk a Mile in Her Shoes® Wednesday, Oct. 25

In addition to participating in Purple Thursday, a national day of action held every October to raise awareness about domestic violence,  Michigan Tech Equal Opportunity Compliance and Title IX and the Center for Diversity and Inclusion (CDI) will host a “Walk a Mile in Her Shoes®” event from 1-4 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 25. The walk, which begins at CDI, is designed to raise awareness of sexual assault and gender violence. It also gives men the opportunity to put themselves in "her shoes" — we encourage participating men to wear high heels during the one-mile walk. We hope the event starts conversations about the causes, effects and solutions that can help to end sexual and gender violence. The walk will also serve as a donation drive for the Barbara Kettle Gundlach Shelter.

Read the University definitions of Dating and Domestic Violence and get more information by visiting the Title IX website

 

Water-Ski and Wakeboard Club Seeks Advisor

The Waterski & Wakeboard Club is working toward registering as an official student organization. We currently have 25 hard-working, dedicated students full of ideas for community and student involvement and ready to represent MTU in the competitive water skiing world. We have our constitution, risk management plan, student organization request form, waiver, and budget completed. 

All we need is an advisor.

If you are a full-time faculty or staff member who enjoys any kind of watersports, please contact president Trent Verboncouer (taverbon@mtu.edu) or secretary Austin Jordan (aujordan@mtu.edu) with any questions or to express an interest in being our advisor. We appreciate your support.

Midterm Grade Submissions Open Today Through Oct. 16

Midterm grade submission will open at noon today, Monday, Oct. 9, and close at noon on Monday, Oct. 16. 

Midterm grades must be submitted for all first-year students and transfer students with fewer than 30 credits. The Waino Wahtera Center for Student Success coordinates outreach to these students based on the midterm grades submitted. This supports timely intervention for students who may be experiencing academic and/or other difficulties.

Electronic Grade Submission Process
Instructors have two options for electronic grade submission. They may submit grades via Banner Self-Service by going directly into Banweb, entering grades and then clicking submit. Those with larger class sizes where grades have already been totaled in Canvas may submit grades via Canvas by going to CourseTools and using the Grade Wizard to first extract them from Canvas and then submit them to Banner.

If grades are submitted using Banner Self-Service, only the students who require a midterm grade will appear. For those who submit their grades via Canvas, a first-year student column has been added to identify these students in your course grade book.

Satisfactory grades (A-C) should be entered as SA and Unsatisfactory grades (CD-F) as UN.

Midterm grades are for full-semester courses only. Grades not turned in by the deadline will have an M (missing) grade assigned.

Town Hall Meeting Thursday to Discuss CSA Dean Position

The CSA Search Committee will hold an open town hall meeting at 11:30 a.m. Thursday, Oct. 12, in GLRC 202 to discuss the CSA Dean position description and the list of qualifications and attributes. The draft position description is available here.

Faculty, staff and students are invited to send written comments to  committee members prior to the town hall meeting. See the Oct. 4 Tech Today for a list of committee members.

The next committee meeting is at 2 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 18, in AOB 201. Any additional meetings open to faculty, staff and students will be announced by the committee through Tech Today.

CoE Dean Search Committee Meeting

The College of Engineering (CoE) Dean Search Committee will be holding a public forum to receive feedback on the position description.

The meeting is on Wednesday (Oct. 11) from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. in MUB Ballroom A2.

On-Campus 2023 Flu Shot Clinics

Michigan Tech, in collaboration with UP Health System – Portage, would like to remind the campus community about our remaining on-campus flu shot clinics scheduled for this fall:

  • Tuesday, Oct. 10, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. — Rozsa Lobby
  • Tuesday, Oct. 17, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. — Rozsa Lobby
  • Tuesday, Oct. 24, from 4-6 p.m. — SDC Wood Gym Balcony

A few things to remember for this year’s flu shot clinics:

  • There's no need to make an appointment — all flu shot clinics are walk-in friendly.
  • Be sure to have a valid copy of your insurance card (or a very clear picture of the front and back of the card) with you when you arrive.
  • Be sure to fill out the Influenza Vaccination Authorization Form before you arrive.
  • Flu shots are $40 for those who do not have insurance, payable by cash, check or credit card.

Full details on the flu clinics can be found by visiting the Center for Student Mental Health and Well-being webpage, and questions can be directed to counseling@mtu.edu.

Virtual Interest Session: MTU's Online Health Informatics Program

Save the Date: Join us Oct. 23 for a 45-minute virtual interest session on one of Michigan Tech’s most in-demand online programs: the online Master of Science in Health Informatics.

In this session, MS in Health Informatics Program Director Guy Hembroff, associate professor in applied computing, and David Lawrence, vice president for Global Campus and continuing education, will explain the details of this versatile, customizable online program, such as its stackable certificates. You’ll also discover how this program allows you to leverage your previous computational, clinical, cybersecurity or data science background.

Interest Session Details:

Celebrating 10 Years at the Michigan Tech Testing Center

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 6 Fun Facts: The Michigan Tech Testing Center has many awesome features, but how do we stack up against other testing centers at our peer universities?

  • MTU offers 60 hours of testing each week, while some of our peers offer as few as 34 hours.
  • MTU offers flexibility and asks that testing requests are sent in 36 hours before the exam period. One of our peers states, “Exam requests must be submitted at least one calendar week prior to the day and start time of the exam.”
  • Both of Tech's Testing Centers have a camera over every seat. Many of our peers have fewer cameras, with a single camera often covering from two to six testing stations.
  • MTU requires scheduled exam times. A few of our peers allow walk-in testing.

Week 6 Tips: The Michigan Tech Testing Center offers many things to help the students with their testing session. Of course, we have lockers for students to put away their belongings, and loaner items such as calculators, rulers, pencils, scratch paper, and noise canceling headphones or earplugs. We have desks with computers and desks with electrical outlets, if either are needed.

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

Open Application Tuesdays for Food Service Positions

Husky Eats will be hosting Open Application Tuesdays at MTU for anyone interested in food service jobs. Join us inside the Memorial Union Building, Keweenaw Commons area, from 12:30-5 p.m. every Tuesday for assistance with your application completion.

Husky Eats is looking to fill positions quickly. Several on-campus food service positions are available, including full- and part-time positions.

Beth Fish from Husky Eats HR will help you possibly find a convenient on-campus food service job with growth opportunities! You could also schedule an appointment by calling 906-201-1979 or emailing bfish@mtu.edu.

Learn more about open on-campus positions in food service at the Husky Eats Employment Opportunities page.

Phone/Voicemail System Upgrades

On Oct. 19, starting at 9 a.m., Michigan Tech IT will be working with a vendor to apply upgrades to the campus phone and voicemail systems. Phones will continue to operate as normal and fail over to backup systems if necessary. Incoming and outgoing calls will be unavailable during a phone reboot, which will only take a few minutes.

The voicemail system will also be upgraded at this time. We’re testing the migration process now and will alert you ahead of time if there are any changes you’ll need to make.

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

Writing Center Offers Insights on Plagiarism and Turnitin at Next CTL Coffee Chat

You’re invited to the next CTL Coffee Chat at 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct, 17. Claire Helakoski, assistant director of MTU Writing Center, will discuss the  different types of plagiarism that instructors might encounter in student work and provide practical insights on effective language to discuss citing issues with your students. We'll also review the Turnitin similarity tool, demonstrate how to enable this feature in a Canvas-based writing assignment and provide guidance for interpreting Turnitin reports.

Register for the event and join us on Oct. 17. Contact the CTL (ctl@mtu.edu) if you have questions or need more information.

HR Support Center Streamlines Questions and Transactions

Human Resources has launched the Human Resources Support Center, located online at hr-help.mtu.edu. Similar to the Business Support Center, the HR Support Center provides employees with a centralized, streamlined ticketing system for human resources-related questions and transactions.

As part of this process, we are transitioning to one general email. All inquiries related to benefits/wellness, employment and payroll services can be submitted two ways:

Submitting questions either way initiates a process similar to the IT Help process: You’ll receive an email with your ticket number and can track its progress online.

This Week at the Rozsa

New Beginnings — Wednesday, October 11, 7:30 p.m.
Location: Rozsa Center For the Performing Arts
Presented by Michigan Tech Music, performed by the Superior Wind Symphony

Joel Neves leads the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra, Superior Wind Symphony, and Pep Band for the 2023-2024 concert season. For his inaugural Superior Wind Symphony concert, the band performs some of the very best music for wind ensemble, including a tribute to Mike Christianson, outgoing (and beloved) director of the MTU band program for the past 11 years. Learn more.

Tickets
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.

Students, reserve your tickets (included with your Experience Tech Fee) online and bring your HuskyCard to use your student tickets or tap in for Student Rush.

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The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage — Thursday through Sunday, Oct. 12-15 (five performances)
Location: McArdle Theatre
Presented by the Rozsa and Michigan Tech Music

Steampunk graphic novel. Crime-fighting computer scientists. Boston opera company. Houghton-raised composer. Get ready for 75 minutes of hilariously epic adventures performed by Guerilla Opera

This Rozsa Presenting Series event is part of the yearlong celebration of 50 years of Computer Science at Michigan Tech.

Stay after the show on October 12th for a panel discussion with Alaina de la Guardia (Ava Lovelace); Elena Ruehr (Composer); Libby Meyer (Director, Music Composition Program); Linda Ott (Professor, Computer Science); Jennifer Nish (Associate Professor of Rhetoric and Composition); and Richard Canevez (Assistant Professor, Communication, Culture & Media, and Humanities). Learn more.

Tickets
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.

Students, reserve your tickets (included with your Experience Tech Fee) online and bring your HuskyCard to use your student tickets or tap in for Student Rush.

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Overtures! — 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 14 
Location: Rozsa Center For the Performing Arts
Presented by Michigan Tech Music

The Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra presents a concert of overtures: short one-movement orchestral works that tell a dramatic story. Highlights include "Sorcerer’s Apprentice," "Candide Overture," "Prelude to Lohengrin" and Tchaikovsky’s "Romeo and Juliet." Learn more.

Tickets

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.

Students, reserve your tickets (included with your Experience Tech Fee) online and bring your HuskyCard to use your student tickets or tap in for Student Rush.

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Layered In Between: Prints by Erin Hoffman Exhibit — Through Saturday, Nov. 4
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. Learn more.

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

Tennis Lesson Registration is Coming Soon

Registration for Fall Session 2 Programming at Gates Tennis Center for beginner, intermediate and advanced adult Huskies group tennis lessons is coming soon. Lessons are open to players of all levels age 17 and up looking to improve their tennis games. Advanced lessons are subject to instructor approval.

Session 2 registration for weekday and Saturday group tennis lessons for youths will also open soon. Join by age group and level for some fun on the tennis courts!

Check back regularly for registration updates and visit our webpages for more information:

See you at Gates and Go Huskies!

Civil Engineering Alumnus Recognized for Structural Engineering Contributions

Civil Engineering alumnus Ryan Sherman '07 recently presented the prestigious 2023 Robert J. Dexter Memorial Award Lecture on "Evaluation of Steel Additive Manufacturing Experimental Results." 

The Robert J. Dexter Memorial Award Lecture is a significant honor, recognizing Sherman's outstanding contributions to structural engineering, particularly in the domain of steel bridge research. Currently an assistant professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology, specializing in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, his work involves large-scale laboratory testing, field monitoring and instrumentation projects on steel bridges and related highway structures throughout the United States.

Learn more about Sherman's lecture, which was delivered to the Steel Bridge Task Force on Sept. 21 in Denver, Colorado.

PhD Proposal Defense: Junyao Yang, CS

Ph.D. in Computer Science student Junyao Yang will present their Ph.D. dissertation proposal on Friday (Oct. 13) from 8-9:30 a.m. in Fisher 131 and via Zoom online meeting.

The title of Yang's proposal is "Design and Modeling of Sampling-Based Caching Policies."

Join the Zoom meeting.

Read the proposal abstract on the Computing News Blog.

Empowering Women to be Leaders in Science and Engineering: Leadership and Negotiation Workshop

Women scientists take on leadership roles every day — in the classroom, in their department or institution, and in their professional organizations.

This fall, Women in the Academy (WIA) and the Office of the Provost are co-sponsoring a workshop designed to give participants the basic concepts of leadership, describe recent research on leadership qualities that lead to success and failure, discuss effective leadership styles for women in different cultures, provide strategies for career advancement into leadership roles, and discuss effective negotiating techniques and developing and maintaining strong leadership networks.

The workshop is led by Pushpa Murthy, who has offered similar workshops across the world.

Event Details:

  • When: Friday, Oct. 13, from 1-4:30 p.m.
  • Where: MUB Ballroom A1
  • RSVP Deadline: RSVP by the end of today (Oct. 9)

If you are interested in the workshop but cannot attend, please consider responding anonymously to help us better understand the barriers to attending such events.

ADVANCE Offers Advocates and Allies Workshop for Faculty and Staff

Have you noticed that different people have vastly different experiences in classes, meetings, informal and formal events, and other interactions on campus? Ever notice that this is dependent upon visually identifiable identities (gender, skin color, etc.)? If you'd like to learn more about becoming an ally in the moment and to help intentionally craft the culture at Michigan Tech to position every single individual for success — not just those who fit the "historically typical" mold — you're invited to attend one of two sessions (held concurrently) of a workshop from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 23. The workshop will explore the impact of gender and race on faculty members’ experiences of the University campus climate. Through small and large group discussions and a review of the existing research, these sessions seek to shift the dialogue from individual problems and solutions experienced by underrepresented faculty to acknowledging and identifying institutional challenges and solutions related to gender and racial inequity in higher education.

If you'd simply like to learn more about these issues in a collegial environment, please attend. If you would like to practice allyship, attend and bring a friend! This workshop will be led by Michigan Tech's own Advocate Team members (cisgender-men-only session) and by ADVANCE's PI team/Advocates and Allies Advisory Board members (women and other genders session). Details on Advocates and Allies are available on the ADVANCE webpage.

Lunch will be served. Please RSVP no later than Friday, Oct. 13, so we can place our food order.

  • What: ADVANCE Advocates and Allies Workshop
  • When: 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Monday, Oct. 23
  • Where: Memorial Union Ballroom A1 and A2
  • Who: All faculty and staff are encouraged to attend

This workshop is sponsored by the Advocates Team, the Advocates and Allies Advisory Board (A3B) and the ADVANCE Initiative at Michigan Tech. ADVANCE at Michigan Tech is an NSF-funded initiative dedicated to improving faculty career success, retention, diversity, equity and inclusion. To learn more about our mission and programming efforts, and to check out our growing collection of resources, email us at advance-mtu@mtu.eduvisit our website or stop by our office in Library 102B.

On the Road

Holly Hassel, Andrew Fiss and Jennifer Nish (HU) presented papers at Feminisms and Rhetorics 2023 on Oct. 1-3 at Spelman College. Hassel presented in the roundtable “Addressing the Barriers between Us and That Future: Feminist Activist Coalition Building in Writing Studies” and in the panel “The Rhetorical and Political Work of Social Justice-Focused Textbooks and Readers” about her recent textbook with Christie Launius (Kansas State). Fiss presented a paper titled “The Sound of Science: College Songs and Rhetorical Ridicule in 1880s America” about student singing traditions in STEM fields. Nish presented a paper titled “A Transnational Feminist Rhetorical Approach to Disability Justice” and participated in the roundtable “Making Publishing in Peitho Transparent” about publishing in a journal focused on feminist rhetorical studies.

In the News

Dennis Livesay (CC), Vinh Nguyen (ME-EM) and Randy Berry ‘82 (B.S. Computer Science) were quoted by the Daily Mining Gazette in a story covering the opening of Showcase[AI] at Michigan Tech, which took place Oct. 4-6, featuring speakers, panels, workshops and interactive events on artificial intelligence and its impacts. Showcase[AI] was previewed in a Michigan Tech News story.

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Radio Results Network mentioned undergraduate student Allie Grochowski as one of five recipients of a Catalyst Award from the Marquette County Community Foundation. According to the story, award recipients “have demonstrated a commitment to the Marquette County community through their gifts of time, talent, and treasure to help make life better for the people of Marquette County.” 

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Hockey coach Joe Shawhan (ATH) was quoted in a Daily Mining Gazette story about the high expectations of the Huskies this season. The team began the season last weekend ranked No. 10 in the nation in the preseason DCU/USCHO and predicted to top the CCHA 2023-24 regular season standings.

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Michigan Tech was mentioned in an Outdoor Wire story about Michigan Archaeology Day, which took place on Saturday (Oct. 7). The University was listed as an exhibitor at the event. 

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Midland Daily News mentioned Michigan Tech as among the few Michigan universities seeing “surging enrollment” despite an overall statewide decline. The story cited enrollment statistics first reported in a Michigan Tech News story.

Reminders

Christopher Plummer and Andrew Burton Presenting at Today's Research Forum

Distinguished Professor Christopher Plummer (VPA) and Distinguished Professor Andrew Burton (CFRES) will be featured at the Michigan Tech Research Forum (MTRF) today (Oct. 9). The event will be held in the Memorial Union Ballroom A. The lectures will begin at 4 p.m. Networking and light refreshments will begin at 3:45 p.m. and will continue after the lectures.

Plummer's presentation is titled “Sound as a foundation of our built and digital environments.”

Burton’s presentation is titled “Long-term ecological research – the gift that keeps on giving.”

Additional details can be found on the MTRF website.

The Office of the Provost presents the MTRF with support from the Vice President for Research Office. The forum showcases and celebrates the work of Michigan Tech researchers and aims to strengthen discussions in our community. All are welcome, including the general public.

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Idea Pitch Competition: Registration Open

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 today (Oct. 9).

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

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EPSSI Seminar with XingChao Chen

Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences Institute (EPSSI) guest XingChao Chen, associate professor in the Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science at Pennsylvania State University, will give a talk today (Oct. 9) at 4 p.m. in M&M U113.

Event details can be viewed on the University Events Calendar.

Chen's talk is titled "Deepening Insights into Tropical Convection: Leveraging Satellites, High-Resolution Models, and Data Assimilation Techniques."

From the abstract:
Tropical convection plays a major role in Earth’s water and energy cycles. It redistributes energy, moisture, and momentum vertically, and produces tremendous amounts of precipitation in the tropics. Heating released by tropical convection is the major driver of the atmospheric general circulation, and clouds associated with tropical convection modulate considerably the global radiation balance. However, tropical convection often occurs over regions with sparse in situ observations. As a result, our knowledge of the physical processes governing the evolution of tropical convection is still incomplete, and accurate model predictions of tropical convection remain elusive.

In this talk, I will introduce some of our recent work examining the intricate interplay between tropical convection and the large-scale environment. Using a recently developed satellite-based global cloud tracking and classification dataset, I will show that shallow, isolated deep, and organized convection play sequential roles in the precipitation-moisture coupling cycle over the tropics. Organized convection (i.e., mesoscale convective systems, or MCSs) becomes the dominant precipitation type as the troposphere approaches saturation, with a rapid increase in MCS precipitation area. We further found that, in addition to moisture, environmental deep-layer (~surface-400 hPa) wind shear also plays a crucial role in modulating the precipitation of tropical MCSs, mainly by enhancing the heavy precipitating convective activity within MCSs. Using high-resolution models, I will further show how the organization of tropical deep convection will modulate vertical mass, water, and energy transports, and further influence the onset of monsoon systems.

In the second half of the talk, I will discuss the limitations of using either satellite observations or numerical models to study tropical convection. To address these limitations, data assimilation is emerging as a valuable statistical approach that integrates information from both observations and model simulations to provide more accurate insights into tropical convection. Using data assimilation, we have recently developed a new reanalysis dataset of tropical convection. This dataset serves as an important tool for our group to study the scale interactions between tropical convection and its environment. I will illustrate this with an interesting case study where gravity waves play an important role in modulating the formation of a tropical cyclone.

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Indigenous Peoples Day Drum Social

Indigenous Peoples Day is a federal holiday in the United States that celebrates and honors Indigenous American peoples and commemorates their histories and cultures.

Celebrations will be held at 3 p.m. today (Oct. 9) at Michigan Tech's Center for Diversity and Inclusion (CDI) with a local Ojibwe drum group named Four Thunders from the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community. Stop by and have a listen!

Read more at the Cognitive and Learning Sciences News blog.

Today's Campus Events

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

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...

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No More Che Day

October 9th will mark 56 years since Che Guevara was executed, bringing an end to a reign of terror by the Marxist revolutionary and international thug. Unfortunately, most...

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Pro-Life Cupcake Day

Free cupcakes and healthy conversation in Fisher Hall. About 1 million preborn babies die from abortion per year. These cupcakes are to honor the birthdays that they will...

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Gathering & Presentation Honoring Indigenous Peoples' Day

All are welcome to a gathering honoring Indigenous Peoples’ Day on October 9th. This annual holiday celebrates the histories and cultures of Indigenous peoples across Turtle...

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MATLAB Workshop

Free MATLAB Workshop! Women in Physics is hosting a MATLAB workshop that is available to anyone who is interested. It is a 7 week course that will begin with the basic...

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Indigenous Peoples' Day Drum Social

Indigenous Peoples' Day is a federal holiday in the United States that celebrates and honors Indigenous Peoples and commemorates their histories and cultures. We will be...

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Michigan Tech Research Forum

Distinguished Professor Dr. Christopher Plummer (College of Sciences and Arts) and Distinguished Lecturer Dr. Andrew Burton (College of Forest Resources and Environmental...

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Deepening Insights into Tropical Convection: Leveraging Satellites, High-Resolution Models, and Data Assimilation Techniques

Joint EPSSI and ENVE Graduate Seminar Dr. XingChao Chen, Associate Professor in the Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science, Pennsylvania State...

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EPSSI Seminar: Dr. XingChao Chen

Dr. XingChao Chen, associate professor in the Department of Meteorology and Atmospheric Science at Pennsylvania State University, will give a talk on Monday, Oct 9th at 4:00...

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Race Practice

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...

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

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...

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

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...

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Huskies Group Swim Lessons - Preschool Aquatics Fall 2023 Session 1

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. ...

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Law Club Weekly Meeting

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...

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No More Che Day

October 9th will mark 56 years since Che Guevara was executed, bringing an end to a reign of terror by the Marxist revolutionary and international thug. Unfortunately, most...

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Campus Barbershop

Sign up for an appointment today: https://getsquire.com/booking/book/the-good-life-barber-lounge-marquette