October 27, 2023

Writing in the Discipline (Write-D) and the College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science (CFRES) are pleased to welcome Reed Arneson as the College’s Write-D facilitator beginning in the second half of the fall 2023 semester.

Write-D provides a dedicated time and space for graduate students to get work done and receive support on writing projects within their discipline, such as manuscripts, research proposals, dissertations, etc. Guest speakers from the department and industry visit to present briefly on research, writing and publishing tips. This free program is open to all graduate students.

Current groups and facilitators:

• Biological Sciences and Biomedical Engineering: Catherine Rono
• Forest Resources and Environmental Science: Reed Arneson
• Chemical Engineering: Grace Dykstra
• Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering: Miaomiao Li
• Mathematical Sciences: Kyle Schwiebert
• Physics: Alyssa Horne
• Social Sciences: Aritra Chakrabarty

For more information, including times and locations, visit the Write-D webpage.

Questions? Contact Write-D Coordinator Sarah Isaacson at sisaacso@mtu.edu.

Over the last week, the Van Pelt and Opie Library has celebrated International Open Access Week by highlighting several library services related to Open Access (OA).

We look forward to continuing to serve the Michigan Tech community’s needs regarding predatory publishing, Digital Commons @ Michigan Tech, Creative Commons licensing, and beyond.

Thank you for celebrating with us! You can keep the OA party going by reaching out to the library at library@mtu.edu and visiting the International Open Access Week homepage.

The work to ensure staging of sponsored program proposals and awards from Cayuse to Digital Measures continues. This means some Digital Measures (DM) users may notice that recent Sponsored Research records, starting on July 1, 2023, are not appearing in their DM accounts. Once staging and testing is complete, an announcement will be posted in Tech Today.

While staging and testing are in progress, please contact the Digital Measures administrator at 7-2135 or dm-admin@mtu.edu if you need assistance regarding your sponsored program proposal and award data.

Tonight and tomorrow (Oct. 27 and 28), the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts stage transforms into an intimate backstage jazz club for a rad weekend of jazz covers with “Backstage Jazz: Music from TV, Movies, and Video Games” presented by Michigan Tech Music and performed by Michigan Tech Jazz. Both concerts begin at 7:30 p.m.

Audiences can look forward to music from movies like “Austin Powers” and “Spider-Man,” TV shows like “Sanford and Son” and “Family Guy,” anime shows like “Cowboy Bebop,” and many of their favorite video games! Grab some concessions and enjoy pre-concert music in the lobby by two Michigan Tech jazz combos: JAZTEC Combo and Blue Combo. 

“These backstage concerts are a rare chance to actually be with the musicians,” student musician Matt Plansinis said in a recent interview with WLUC TV6. “See how they interact with each other and just what goes on behind the scenes.”

Backstage Jazz on Friday
Friday opens with New Orleans styling by the Workshop Brass Band. They’ll choose tunes on the fly from a list spanning “I’ll Fly Away,” “Just My Imagination,” and, of course, New Orleans Brass classics “When the Saints Go Marching In” and “Bourbon Street Parade.” Then, the R&D Big Band takes the stage, ready to delight with a set that includes “Theme from Sanford and Son” by Quincy Jones and Herbie Hancock’s “Tell Me a Bedtime Story.”

Backstage Jazz on Saturday
Saturday is headlined by the Video Game Jazz Ensemble, true to its namesake, covering smashing video game music like Legend of Zelda. 

Michigan Tech Jazz’s top ensemble, the Jazz Lab Band, will close both concerts with a TV- and movie-inspired set of “Bewitched,” “Tank” from “Cowboy Bebop,” “Family Guy” and more. Their performance includes a multimedia experience featuring clips of the original movies and shows created by Hancock High School student Mikah Kotajarvi.

Tickets
Tickets for the public are available online, by calling 906-487-1906, or the Rozsa Box Office from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday through Friday and for one hour before shows. Tickets are part of this season’s new Pay As You’re Able ticketing with a $15 full fee. Michigan Tech students are eligible for free Student Rush tickets to this event, included with the Experience Tech fee.

Backstage Jazz Details:

• When: Friday and Saturday, Oct. 27 and 28, at 7:30 p.m.
• Where: Rozsa Backstage
• Tickets: Pay As You’re Able ($15 full ticket fee). Student Rush included with Experience Tech fee.

Attend a Performance.

Developed for anyone interested in making a comprehensive plan! This Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA) webinar will be held Wednesday (Nov. 1) at noon.

The webinar covers core concepts of investment strategies, taking on life's challenges, a financial personality type quiz and goal setting.

Reserve your spot at TIAA.org/webinars.

Joanna Martin is a retired litigation attorney who now lives in Tennessee. Before earning a law degree, she received a degree in philosophy, specializing in political philosophy and epistemology (theories of knowledge). She now writes extensively on the U.S. Constitution, referencing the Federalist Papers to interpret the Constitution’s original meaning and intent.

Martin's writings argue that federal judges and politicians have ignored the U.S. Constitution and replaced it with personal opinions and beliefs. She explains how Americans can, by learning about the country's founding principles, restore the U.S. to a constitutional republic.

Martin will visit Michigan Tech to speak about a Convention of States and preserving the Constitution of the United States. Her presentation is scheduled today (Oct. 27) at 6:30 p.m. in Fisher 138 and is open to the public.

The Department of Chemical Engineering (ChE) would like to congratulate the following students as winners of the External Advisory Board (EAB) Poster Session held last Friday (Oct. 20).

Undergrad Research winners:

• First Place — Prajeet Kadam
• Second Place — Morgan Redding

Student Organization winners:

• First Place — Addymae Paleck (AIChE)

Graduate Research winners:

• First Place — Hunter Stoddard
• Second Place — Grace Dykstra

A special thank-you to the EAB members and to all who participated!

Ph.D. student Suresh Pokharel (computer science) will present their dissertation proposal next Friday (Nov. 3) from 2-4 p.m. in Rekhi 101 and via Zoom online meeting.

The title of Pokharel’s proposal is “Enhancing PTM Prediction: Leveraging Protein Language Model Embeddings for Accurate Insights.”

Join the Zoom meeting.

Read the talk abstract on the Computing News Blog.

Join the Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) Instructional Design team on Thursday (Nov. 2) at 2 p.m. for an active and hands-on workshop where we will take a deep dive into the first step in creating high-quality courses: defining and developing observable and measurable learning objectives.

When you begin creating a course, you want to design with the end in mind. The best way to approach this is to start by writing observable and measurable course learning objectives. Course learning objectives are the destinations on your course map. They state where you want students to go. A learning objective is a statement that clearly and precisely describes what the learner will know and be able to do by the end of the course, module or unit.

Please register to attend, and bring your tablet or laptop. Have a course in mind that you would like to start the instructional design process on, and let's get to work!

We hope to see you there. Contact the CTL at ctl@mtu.edu if you have questions.

Associate Professor Ali Ebnenasir (CS) will present a Department of Computer Science Colloquium lecture next Friday (Nov. 3) at 3 p.m. in Rekhi 214 and via Zoom online meeting.

The title of Ebnenasir’s talk is “Quantum Computing Explained.”

Join the Zoom meeting.

Read the talk abstract on the Computing News Blog.

The next Environmental Engineering Graduate Seminar will take place at 3 p.m. on Monday (Oct. 30) via Zoom (use passcode 646893).

Yi Liu, coastal engineer with Environmental Science Associates, will present "Smart Living Shorelines: An AI-Informed Green Strategy for Resilient Coasts."

Read the abstract on the University Events Calendar.

Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences Institute (EPSSI) guest Mark Moldwin, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering and Applied Physics at the University of Michigan and NASA's Michigan Space Grant Consortium (MSGC) director, will give a presentation on Monday (Oct. 30) at 4 p.m. in M&M U113.

His talk is titled "Space Weather Impacts on Human Exploration of Mars."

Details are available on the University Events Calendar.

From the abstract:
When will a human explorer visit Mars? This presentation will outline the rationale, current plans, and limitations of future human exploration of Mars in the context of space weather - the dynamic space environment that impacts our space-based and ground-based technology and society. Current NASA design and engineering efforts to mitigate some of the technological, biological and psychological hurdles will be described as well as ways that you can participate in solving some of these challenges as a NASA Center Intern or in a Michigan Tech NASA Student Challenge team.

Speaker bio:
Mark Moldwin is the Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering and Applied Physics at the University of Michigan. He is currently the executive director of NASA’s Michigan Space Grant Consortium (MSGC), and principal investigator of the NASA Lunar Gateway HERMES and Geospace Dynamics Constellation magnetometers.

Moldwin received his Ph.D. in Astronomy/Space Physics from Boston University (1993) and was awarded a B.A. in Physics with Honors from the University of Alaska-Fairbanks in 1987.

Moldwin’s primary research interests are magnetospheric, ionospheric and heliospheric plasma physics, magnetic sensor development and pre-college and college space science education. He has published over 200 scientific articles, essays and a textbook on these subjects. Moldwin has won numerous awards for his research, teaching, mentoring and work to promote diversity, equity and inclusion.

The Department of Cognitive and Learning Sciences (CLS) will host Cosmas John Kathumba from Rhodes University at the next Applied Cognitive Science and Human Factors (ACSHF) Forum.

The presentation will be from 2-3 p.m. (EST) Monday (Oct. 30) via Zoom from Grahamstown, South Africa.

Kathumba will present "Promoting and investigatin the pre-service teachers’ computational thinking practical development in the physical sciences methods course."

Full abstracts can be found on the Cognitive and Learning Sciences News blog!

Lanrong Bi from the Department of Chemistry at Michigan Technological University will be presenting a Chemistry Seminar from 3-4 p.m. today (Oct. 27) in Chem Sci 101.

The seminar is titled "Therapeutic Strategies for Modulating Mitochondrial Dynamics."

From the abstract:
Dr. Bi's research laboratory is dedicated to addressing a common issue with drug administration - side effects and systemic toxicity resulting from a lack of target-specific affinity towards a pathological site. To overcome this, they are developing new strategies to enhance drug efficacy and therapeutic index by specifically delivering therapeutic agents to the targeted organelle or intracellular therapeutic active site. Their ultimate goal is to improve targeting selectivity and delivery efficacy in the development of a targeted drug delivery system. Dr. Bi's talk will focus on the potential therapeutic targets for various cardiovascular diseases, specifically the pharmacological modulation of mitochondrial fusion and fission, as well as the repair or removal of damaged mitochondria.

Speaker bio:
Lanrong Bi is an associate professor in the Department of Chemistry at Michigan Technological University. She earned her Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Peking University, ranked 14th globally. Before joining Michigan Tech, Bi worked as an associate research scientist at the Genome Center at Columbia University. Her current research endeavors involve developing innovative organelle-targeting techniques that enable the safe and efficient delivery of therapeutic agents into the targeted organelle.

Bi's interdisciplinary research group has developed a dynamic research program, supported by NIH, NSF, AHA, NASA, MMIE and Roche funds. She has 10 U.S. patents and has published over 50 scholarly articles in top-tier journals including PNAS (IF 12.78), JACS (IF15), Journal of Medicinal Chemistry (IF 8.0), Organic Letters (IF 6.0), Autophagy (IF 16), European Journal of Medicinal Chemistry (IF 7.0) and Nature Scientific Reports (IF 5.0). These publications have received significant recognition, with 12745 citations (H-index of 28, and an i10-index of 51) according to Google Scholar.

Bi has been a panel reviewer for NIH since 2013 and has also worked as an editorial board member for Nature Science Reports and a guest editor for several notable journals such as Biomedicines (IF4.65) and Antioxidants (IF7.675). Bi's involvement in these activities is just one example of the strong expertise, dedication and contribution to the field from the faculty at Michigan Tech University.

Bi's mentorship has resulted in the success of two highly accomplished Ph.D. students, Catherine Bammert and Nazmiye Yapici, who have both made remarkable contributions to the field. Bammert, whose Ph.D. study was supported by Roche funds, was appointed assistant professor at UT MD Anderson Cancer Center, ranked first in the nation for cancer care and research, immediately after graduation from Bi's research group, even without postdoc experience. Similarly, Yapici, a Rath Research Award co-recipient with Bi, secured NSF grants totaling $1,627,998 as a PI. The students' success is a testament to the high-quality mentorship and exceptional graduate training system at Michigan Tech University.

Michigan Tech Athletics has named Hope Zander the event operations manager/athletic equipment supervisor. In her role, Zander is responsible for the game management and staffing of events hosted by Michigan Tech Athletics and also the athletic equipment operation and staffing. She began her duties in September.

"It's a privilege to join such a well-respected team with the Huskies," Zander said. "I am grateful to Senior Associate Athletic Director Joel Isaacson and VP of Athletics Suzanne Sanregret for giving me the opportunity to grow professionally in the area I call home."

"We are excited to have Hope join our department and team," said Isaacson. "Her experience and background give a fresh perspective on our event and equipment operations."

Read more at Michigan Tech Athletics.

Michigan Tech volleyball is heading back downstate to continue a roadtrip.

The Huskies play at Davenport today (Oct. 27) at 6 p.m. They'll wrap up the weekend at Grand Valley State at 2 p.m. tomorrow (Oct. 28).

Fans can watch the games on FloSports (a subscription is required — discounts are available for students).

The Huskies are 10-12 overall and 6-5 in the GLIAC. Last month, Tech swept GVSU at home and fell to Davenport the next day.

Read the preview at Michigan Tech Athletics.

The Michigan Tech soccer team is concluding a regular season homestand by hosting Ferris State today (Oct. 27) and Saginaw Valley State on Sunday (Oct. 29).

Today's game is slated for 4 p.m., while Sunday's contest begins at noon. Sunday will serve as Senior Day for Cassie Bonifas, Mikayla Marshalek and Gracie VanLangevelde.

Fans can catch the contests on FloSports (a subscription is required — discounts are available for students).

Read the preview at Michigan Tech Athletics.

Job Postings for Friday, Oct. 27, 2023

Staff and faculty job descriptions are available on the Human Resources website. For more information regarding staff positions, call 487-2280 or email humanresources@mtu.edu. For more information regarding faculty positions, contact the academic department in which the position is posted.

EHS Support Specialist, Environmental Health and Safety. Apply online.

Telecom Technician, Information Technology. Apply online.

Cook (nine months/ 40 hours/ first shift) #23244RP, 23245RP, Dining Services (AFSCME posting dates Oct. 27 to Nov. 2, 2023 — external applicants are encouraged to apply; however, internal AFSCME applicants are given first consideration if they apply during the internal AFSCME posting dates). Apply online.

Cook (12 months/ 40 hours/ first shift) #23297, 23298, Dining Services (AFSCME posting dates Oct. 27 to Nov. 2, 2023 — external applicants are encouraged to apply; however, internal AFSCME applicants are given first consideration if they apply during the internal AFSCME posting dates). Apply online.

Office Assistant, Merchandising Operations (UAW posting dates Oct. 27 to Nov. 2, 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.

Custodian (12 months/ 40 hours/ second shift) #23300, Facilities Management (AFSCME posting dates Oct. 27 to Nov. 2, 2023 — external applicants are encouraged to apply; however, internal AFSCME applicants are given first consideration if they apply during the internal AFSCME posting dates). Apply online.

Custodian (12 months/ 40 hours/ first shift) #23301, Facilities Management (AFSCME posting dates Oct. 27 to Nov. 2, 2023 — external applicants are encouraged to apply; however, internal AFSCME applicants are given first consideration if they apply during the internal AFSCME 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.

Ana Dyreson (ME-EM) contributed to a new report published by the Energy Systems Integration Group (ESIG).

The report is titled "Weather Dataset Needs for Planning and Analyzing Modern Power Systems: A Report of the Energy Systems Integration Group's Weather Datasets Project Team."

As electric power systems change to incorporate more wind, solar, storage, transmission and flexible load, weather and climate drivers are increasingly important to planning modern power systems. This report assesses the gaps in weather data used for power system planning and outlines an approach to designing the ideal input datasets.

An executive summary, full report and summary report are available on the ESIG website.

Associate Professor Kathryn Perrine (Chem) gave an oral presentation at the American Chemical Society Midwest/Great Lakes Regional Meeting, held Oct. 18-21 in St. Louis, Missouri.

Perrine presented the group’s research, “Surface Reaction Pathways of Monochloramine on Iron Interfaces for Uncovering Effects of Water Disinfection.”

Graduate student Subash Pandey (chemistry) and undergraduate student Ryan Mackie (chemistry) are co-authors.

This project is supported by the NSF CHE 2108316.

Jeremy Bos and Michael Roggemann (both ECE) and Cyndi Perkins (UMC) were quoted by the BBC in a story about the mysterious Paulding Light: “the most punctual ghost in the world.”

*****

Tara Bal (CFRES/ESC) was quoted by Great Lakes Echo in a story about the threat invasive earthworms pose to the Great Lakes Region’s hardwood forests. Fieldwork photos featuring MTU master’s students Shelby Lane-Clark (forest ecology and management) and Manuel Anderson (applied ecology) accompanied the story, which was picked up from Michigan State University’s Spartan Newsroom.

*****

Erich Petushek (CLS) was quoted by ABC 10 in a story about the Health Research Institute’s second annual Upper Peninsula Medical Conference, which will bring regional health care leaders to Michigan Tech today and tomorrow (Oct. 27 and 28).

*****

Mariana Nakashima (IPS) was quoted by WLUC TV6 in a story about the Winter Coat and Boot Drive being held by the Husky Closet Collective. Coats and boots in adult sizes will be accepted until Nov. 5.

*****

Adam Meckler (VPA) was quoted by WJMN Local 3 in a story previewing Michigan Tech Music’s "Backstage Jazz: Music from Television, Movies and Video Games" concerts, being held today and tomorrow (Oct. 27 and 28) backstage at the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts.

*****

WNMU-FM mentioned Michigan Tech in a story about Calumet Electronics being awarded a $7.5 million grant and a 15-year, 100% state essential services assessment exemption to support construction of a first-of-its-kind package substrate factory. MTU was credited as graduating the “brilliant engineers” behind the company’s innovations. The grant was announced by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Tuesday (Oct. 24).

*****

Radio Results Network picked up a Michigan Tech News story about the University’s new baccalaureate degree in nursing.

*****

CULTURS Magazine and Stellantis Media profiled Aurora White ’16 (B.S. Mechanical Engineering), who was selected by the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) as its 2023 Most Promising Engineer. White is a torque security calibration engineer for Stellantis.

Banner Production System Maintenance on Sunday

A production system maintenance window is scheduled for Sunday (Oct. 29) from 7 a.m. to 1 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

For questions or concerns, we can help. Contact us at it-help@mtu.edu or call 7-1111.

*****

Prescription Drug Take Back Day

Michigan Tech is excited to announce the DEA’s National Prescription Drug Take Back Day scheduled tomorrow (Oct. 28) from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.! This is an opportunity to properly dispose of expired and unused prescription drug medication. Michigan Tech Public Safety and Police Services is a registered drop-off/collection site and is located at 206 MacInnes Drive, Houghton, Michigan. As a reminder, this prescription drug medication disposal is for pills only (no liquids please).

Michigan Tech Public Safety and Police Services has a 24/7/355 thru-wall drug disposal box that can be used any day of the year to dispose of your unused medications.

*****

Math Seminar with Toby Driscoll

Please join us for the next Department of Mathematical Sciences (Math) Seminar, taking place today (Oct. 27) from 1-2 p.m. in Fisher 327B.

Our special guest speaker will be Toby Driscoll, the Unidel Chaired Professor at the University of Delaware.

Driscoll's presentation is titled "Data-Driven Modeling and Simulation of the Human Tear Film."

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

Friday, October 27, 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...

*****

MATLAB Workshop

Friday, October 27, 2 p.m.–4 p.m. | Online

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...

*****

(Women's Soccer) Ferris State vs. Michigan Tech

Friday, October 27, 4 p.m.–7 p.m. | Sherman Field

Women's Soccer: Ferris State vs. Michigan Tech

*****

Annual Physics Bowl

Friday, October 27, 5 p.m.–7 p.m. | Fisher 132

The Women in Physics is hosting the Annual Physics Bowl on 27 th Friday 2023 at Fisher 132 from 5 pm to 7 pm. The questions will cover basic under-grad physics questions and...

*****

Portage Waterway Cruising

Friday, October 27, 5 p.m.–6 p.m. | East Houghton Waterfront Park

The Sailing Club at Michigan Tech has weekly cruises on the Portage Waterway, most Friday nights in the fall semester (weather permitting). No previous sailing experience is...

*****

(Women's Volleyball) Michigan Tech at Davenport

Friday, October 27, 6 p.m.–9 p.m.

Women's Volleyball: Michigan Tech at Davenport

*****

ASO General Body Meeting

Friday, October 27, 6 p.m.–8 p.m. | Fisher Hall 131

General body meeting with all our members and any guests. The meeting features RSO updates, Academic presentations and cultural presentations.

*****

Realisms of a Convention of States

Friday, October 27, 6:30 p.m.–8:00 p.m. | Fisher 138

Lawyer, philosopher logician. Strict constructionist of the U.S. Constitution. Passionate about The Federalist Papers (Alexander Hamilton, James Madison John Jay), restoring...

*****

Spooky Euchre Night

Friday, October 27, 7 p.m.–9 p.m. | Wads Annex (G11W)

Join for a relaxed night of Euchre fun with some added spooky vibes! If you don't know how to play, that is okay! Come learn how to play euchre and get to learn a little bit...

*****

Backstage Jazz: Music from Television, Movies and Video Games Presented by Michigan Tech Music

Friday, October 27, 7:30 p.m. | Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts

Head backstage for a rad evening of jazz covers of your favorite music from TV, movies, and video games. The Friday night performance will feature the R&D Big Band, the New...

*****

Film Board Presents: The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Friday, October 27, 9 p.m.–11 p.m. | Fisher 135 Michigan Tech

Join Film Board this weekend as we show The Rocky Horror Picture Show! 💋 We have continued showings Friday 10/27, and Saturday 10/28 in Fisher 135! See our website for more...

*****

(Men's Ice Hockey) Michigan Tech at St. Lawrence

October 27, all day

Men's Ice Hockey: Michigan Tech at St. Lawrence

*****

Engineering the Future of Human Health

October 27, all day | Memorial Union Building (MUB)

Biomedicine in the 4th Industrial Revolution Collaborative Research Symposium "Symposium Brings Together MTU and MSU Researchers" Michigan Technological University and...

*****

Winter Coat & Boot Drive

October 27, all day | Michigan Tech Campus, Various locations on campus and in the community

The Husky Closet Collective is seeking winter coat and boot donations for the Clothing Closet at Michigan Tech. To help keep our Huskies warm, we need to secure donations of...