November 21, 2023

Art in Silico is back for its second year, and the submission window is open from now until March 4, 2024!

This computational art exhibition is situated at the intersection of contemporary art and computing. Submissions may take the form of (but are not limited to) digital art, AI art, robotics, video, audio, interactive artworks, coding, performance and/or traditional media. As long as the artwork addresses some aspect of computing — that’s what this show is all about.

Submissions are open for anyone: We encourage submission from community members and Michigan Tech students, staff and faculty alike.

Submit your art at the Art in Silico webpage (details on the schedule will soon be posted on that page as well).

Questions can be directed to silico-art-l@mtu.edu.

Please join Women in the Academy (WIA) for a breakfast celebrating the end of the fall semester. Stop by the MUB Alumni Lounge B anytime between 8 a.m. and 9:30 a.m. on Dec. 12. There will be continental breakfast and coffee.

There will be no formal program or agenda for this meeting, but there will be discussion tables and lots of opportunities for networking and conversation. Hope to see you there!

Submit your RSVP by Dec. 4 to help us organize the event.

Michigan Tech men's basketball guard Marcus Tomashek has been tabbed GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week.

Tomashek scored a career-high 33 points, 22 of which came in the second half, helping the Huskies defeat Missouri-St. Louis on Saturday (Nov. 18) at the SDC Gymnasium.

He shot 8-for-14 from the field (57.1%), 6-for-11 from the 3-point line (54.5%) and 11-for-12 from the free-throw line (91.7%).

He has averaged 27 points per game through MTU's first three games of 2023, leading the GLIAC and ranking fourth nationally.

The Michigan Tech football team saw nine team members earn Second Team All-GLIAC accolades for the 2023 football season. In total, the Huskies had four offensive and five defensive honorees.

The Huskies representing the Second Team All-GLIAC Offense are Ethan Champney, Brandon DeVries, William Marano and Darius Willis. The Second Team All-GLIAC Defense honorees are Michael Bates Jr., Josh Cribben, Samuel Kinne, Brenden Lach and Marc Sippel.

Read about these student-athletes' accomplishments at Michigan Tech Athletics.

A late drive by the Michigan Tech women's basketball team clinched a victory over Southwest Minnesota State, but MTU fell to a similar drive by No. 1 nationally ranked Ashland.

The Huskies drove to a 78-65 victory over Southwest Minnesota State on Thursday (Nov. 16) at the SDC Gym. Tech outscored the Mustangs 18-3 in the fourth quarter to avenge their loss to SMSU a year ago in Minnesota.

"I'm just so proud of our team and the way that we kept battling after the way they came out on fire in the first half," Tech coach Sam Clayton said. "Our defensive urgency and execution could've and should've been better, but we stayed locked in. A ton of players stepped up today."

Tech was unable to overcome a fourth-quarter push by the Ashland Eagles, losing their first home game of the season 74-67 on Sunday (Nov. 19).

With the loss, the Huskies snapped a 17-0 record at home dating back to the 2021-22 season and broke their unbeaten streak at 20 games.

"I'm super proud of how our team competed again. They came out and played their hearts out — a couple of things here and there, and it's a different ball game," Clayton said. "I think to be competing with the No. 1 team in the nation right now, we have work to do but we can get better and we will get better. It's super disappointing — it's heartbreaking — but it's also encouraging, so I hope our team understands that. And as much as it hurts right now, hopefully that motivates them to put ourselves in a position to hopefully play them (the Eagles) again."

Read more at Michigan Tech Athletics.

The Michigan Tech hockey team came away from their first home CCHA series against Ferris State with a split.

The Huskies fell 3-2 in overtime to Ferris State in their CCHA home opener Friday (Nov. 17). Tech outshot the Bulldogs 45-26, posting goals from Arvid Caderoth and Matthew Campbell. But, the dogs in red found the game-winner on a 3-on-1 67 seconds into the extra period.

"I thought we played well and defended much better," Tech coach Joe Shawhan said. "I think we're a good hockey team that just doesn't know how to win. We just have to stay focused, keep growing and start building confidence so we can turn some of these games into wins."

MTU defeated Ferris State 3-2 on Saturday (Nov. 18), coming back from a first-intermission deficit to earn 4-of-6 CCHA points on the weekend. Logan Pietila, Tyrone Bronte and Marcus Pedersen scored the goals for the Huskies.

"We've taken points in three of four league games so far," Shawhan said. "It was a grind all weekend. Ferris is a good team and well-coached team. They defend so well and are hard to play against. It was good to get three goals tonight against a really good goaltender."

Read more at Michigan Tech Athletics.

The Michigan Tech volleyball team's 2023 season came to an end with a 3-1 loss at No. 25 Grand Valley State in the GLIAC Tournament semifinals on Saturday (Nov. 18).

The Huskies were beaten 25-13, 25-10, 23-25 and 25-16, ending their season with a 15-16 overall record after their seventh straight trip to the GLIAC semis.

"Certainly not the way we wanted to go out, but credit should go to coach Jason (Johnson) and his team," Tech coach Matt Jennings said. "Grand Valley is one of the strongest teams in the nation this year and today showed why. Their offense was more than on point. They're super physical and played good enough defense to stifle our offense, which at times can really get going."

Read more at Michigan Tech Athletics.

The Michigan Tech men's basketball team shot a season-high 53.1% from the floor to prevail 83-75 over Missouri-St. Louis on Saturday (Nov. 18) at the SDC Gymnasium.

Bolstered by a career-high 33 points from second-year Husky Marcus Tomashek, it was a feel-good win for MTU's home opener.

"I thought we came out and executed, and honestly I was really happy with what we did after we made the first six or seven 3-pointers — and when those inside-out passes come, we're going to hit those at a high clip," Tech head coach Josh Buettner said. "The second half, they made some nice adjustments — I thought we fought and their point guard did a nice job at adjusting."

The Huskies will play NSIC foes St. Cloud State on the road tonight (Nov. 21) at 7 p.m. The game will be streamed on the NSIC Network.

MTU will then return home to face Minnesota Duluth and MSU Moorhead Saturday (Nov. 25) and Sunday (Nov. 26), tipping off both home games at 1 p.m. Both games will be streamed on FloHoops (a subscription is required — discounts are available for students).

For all three games, fans can also tune in on the radio at Mix 93.5 WKMJ-FM and online at TheMix93.com.

Read more at Michigan Tech Athletics.

Tuesday (Nov. 21)
• Huskies Drive Time, 7:30-8 a.m. on Mix 93 WKMJ-FM
• Men's Basketball at St. Cloud State, 7 p.m. on Mix 93 WKMJ-FM

Friday (Nov. 24)
• Hockey at Minnesota State, 8:07 p.m. on Mix 93 WKMJ-FM & FloHockey

Saturday (Nov. 25)
• Men's Basketball vs. Minnesota Duluth, 1 p.m. at SDC Gym on Mix 93 WKMJ-FM & FloSports
• Women's Basketball at Minnesota Duluth, 3 p.m. on Mix 93 WKMJ-FM
• Hockey at Minnesota State, 7:07 p.m. on Mix 93 WKMJ-FM & FloHockey

Sunday (Nov. 26)
• Men's Basketball vs. MSU-Moorhead, 1 p.m. at SDC Gym on Mix 93 WKMJ-FM & FloSports
• Women's Basketball at St. Cloud State, 3 p.m. on Mix 93 WKMJ-FM

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Athletics News
Read more in the MTU Athletics weekly update.

Job Posting for Tuesday, Nov. 21, 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.

Postdoctoral Scholar, Physics. 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.

Dan Trepal (SS/GLRC) was quoted by the Hamtramck Review in a story about the Hamtramck Historical Museum’s cooperative historic spatial archaeology project, the Hamtramck Explorer. Michigan Tech and Wayne State University are partners on the digital deep-mapping endeavor. Don Lafreniere (SS) was mentioned in the story.

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Rolf Peterson (CFRES) was quoted by the Alpena News in a story discussing whether a wolf hunt should be allowed in Michigan if the species is removed from the federal endangered species list. The story was picked up from Michigan State University’s Spartan Newsroom.

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The Michigan Economic Development Corporation announced a $100,000 Mobility Public-Private Partnership & Programming (MP4) Grant awarded to Michigan Tech to establish a drone operator training program. The funding was part of a total $775,000 awarded to MTU, Western Michigan University, and the University of Michigan. The grants were covered by Kalamazoo’s WWMT News Channel 3.

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WJMN Local 3 covered Second Team All-GLIAC honors received by nine members of the Michigan Tech football team. Another Local 3 story covered five Michigan Tech volleyball student-athletes honored by the conference, including Tess Hayes being named GLIAC Freshman of the Year.

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WLUC TV6 mentioned Michigan Tech in a tribute story remembering Ray Kestner ’55 (B.S. Civil Engineering), who died Nov. 7. Kestner was a recipient of MTU’s Distinguished Service Award in 1988. He met his wife Janet at Tech, and their seven children were Huskies as well.

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The Mining Journal mentioned Michigan Tech in a story about four new members on the Marquette County Community Foundation’s Board of Trustees—including Alex Flannery ’15 (B.A. Sound Design).

PhD Defense: Yuhuan Fei, MSE

Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering candidate Yuhuan Fei will present a Ph.D. defense today (Nov. 21) at 2 p.m. in M&M 610.

Fei is advised by Yun Hang Hu.

The dissertation is titled "Synthesis and Characterization of Three-Dimensional Hydrogenated Graphene."

From the abstract:
Hydrogenated graphene has gained intensive attention with its application potentials in various fields including hydrogen storage, catalysis, electronics, and biomedicine. The recent decade has witnessed increasing research efforts on exploit of synthesis methods for hydrogenated graphene and the development of four primary synthesis approaches, namely, plasma hydrogenation, thermal cracking, Birch reduction, and electrochemical reduction. However, commonly used synthesis methods generally suffer redundant synthesis process, high startup and operation costs, requirements for extreme conditions, and low-quality products with impurities. To solve these issues, we demonstrate a new approach to synthesize hierarchically porous three-dimensional hydrogenated graphene from newly discovered reactions between alkali metal hydrides (i.e., lithium hydride and sodium hydride) and carbon monoxide (CO). The new chemical reaction between lithium hydride (LiH) and CO achieves one-step catalyst-free synthesis of hierarchically three-dimensional hydrogenated graphene with large specific surface area (up to 494 m2/g) and a 1.31 eV band gap. Furthermore, the hydrogenated graphene sheet possesses a thickness from 1.01 to 1.31 nm and hydrogenation degree from 18 to 33%, which are dependent on reaction temperature. These findings provide a new approach to develop graphene-based materials with tunable properties. Besides, through the reaction between sodium hydride (NaH) and CO, the potential hydrogen storage material NaH is unprecedently embedded inside graphene nanobubbles, which perform as nanocontainers to accommodate NaH nanocrystals and prevent them from oxidation in air. Furthermore, NaH in graphene nanobubbles allows us to observe the electron-beam-induced decomposition of graphene-covered NaH nanoparticles for the first time. These findings provide a new approach for the development of hydrogen storage materials.

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PhD Defense: Ben Wang, MSE

Ph.D. in Materials Science and Engineering candidate Ben Wang will present a Ph.D. defense today (Nov. 21) at noon in M&M 610.

Wang is advised by Paul Sanders and co-advised by Yong-Ching Chen.

The dissertation is titled "Improved Rolling Contact Fatigue of Ductile Iron Utilizing Chills and Chromium Additions."

From the abstract:
Ductile iron powertrain components generally cost less than steel, so there is a demand to enhance ductile iron’s tribological properties such as rolling contact fatigue (RCF) life. One potential strategy to increase RCF life is to increase surface hardness through induction hardening, austempering, and chill casting. These procedures produce drastically different iron microstructures, so common RCF microstructural failure mechanisms have not been observed. Chill casting produces a white iron structure with high hardness and wear resistance while not requiring heat treatment, reducing economic and environmental costs. The focus of this research was on the effect of chill casting on the solidified microstructure, hardness, and RCF life in ductile irons. It was found that the larger the chill, the higher the solidification rate and the better the RCF life. Rapid chilling produced fewer and smaller discontinuities in ductile irons, such as less primary graphite, carbide, and pearlite, as well as finer eutectic lamellar ledeburite spacing. Higher hardness correlated positively with ductile iron RCF life, similar to steels, however, Vickers or Knoop hardness measured from the subsurface should be used rather than the Rockwell C on the surface by considering the graded structure of chilled ductile iron.

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Memorial Union Thanksgiving Break Hours

The Memorial Union Office will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. through today (Nov. 21), and closed from noon tomorrow (Nov. 22) through Sunday (Nov. 26).

The Memorial Union Building will be closed for Thanksgiving break from Thursday through Saturday (Nov. 23-25). The building will reopen and resume normal operating hours on Sunday (Nov. 26) beginning at 7 a.m.

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No Tech Today Thursday or Friday

There will be no Tech Today published Thursday or Friday (Nov. 23 and 24) in observance of the Thanksgiving holiday.

Tech Today will resume Monday (Nov. 27). To be included in Monday's newsletter, items must be submitted by noon tomorrow (Nov. 22) using our Submit a Story form.

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

PhD Defense: Ben Wang

Tuesday, November 21, 12 p.m.–2 p.m. | Minerals and Materials Engineering Building (M&M), 610

Materials Science and Engineering Co-advisors: Paul Sanders and Yong-Ching Chen IMPROVED ROLLING CONTACT FATIGUE OF DUCTILE IRON UTILIZING CHILLS AND CHROMIUM ADDITIONS

Master's Defense: Shaina Royer-Weeden

Tuesday, November 21, 1 p.m.–2 p.m. | Minerals and Materials Engineering Building (M&M), U113

Biomedical Engineering Advisor: Sangyoon Han Collagen V Promotes Fibroblast Contractility, and Adhesion Formation, and Stability Attend Virtually:...

MATLAB Workshop

Tuesday, November 21, 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...

PhD Defense: Yuhuan Fei

Tuesday, November 21, 2 p.m.–3 p.m. | Minerals and Materials Engineering Building (M&M), 610

Materials Science and Engineering Advisor: Yun Hang Hu SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF THREE-DIMENSIONAL HYDROGENATED GRAPHENE

Suttons Bay Alumni Social at Hop Lot Brewing Co.

Tuesday, November 21, 5 p.m.–7 p.m.

You're invited to rekindle connections and cultivate new friendships with fellow Michigan Tech alumni and friends on Tuesday, November 21, 2023, from 5-7 p.m. at Hop Lot...

Financial Aid and FAFSA 101

Tuesday, November 21, 6:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m.

Learn more about how to file your FAFSA and options for financing your Michigan Tech Education.

Financial Aid and FAFSA 101

Tuesday, November 21, 6:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m.

To learn more about financing your Tech education and filling out your FAFSA, join us! We want to help make this process as accessible as possible.

Financial Aid and FAFSA 101

Tuesday, November 21, 6:30 p.m.–7:30 p.m.

To learn more about financing your Tech education and filling out your FAFSA, join us! We want to help make this process as accessible as possible.

(Men's Basketball) Michigan Tech at St. Cloud State

November 21, all day

Men's Basketball: Michigan Tech at St. Cloud State, Hallenbeck Hall - St. Cloud, Minn.

Experience Innovation: Detroit

November 21, all day | Detroit, MI

You are invited to Experience Innovation: Detroit! Husky Innovate will bring a group of students on a tour of Southeastern Michigan’s most innovative companies and...