January 17, 2024

Led by researchers from Michigan Tech and Duke University, a new study published in the journal Osteoarthritis and Cartilage found that moose with periodontitis are much more likely to develop severe forms of osteoarthritis and osteoporosis.

“Many diseases that impact people are not uncommon among other species,” said Sarah Hoy (CFRES), the study’s lead author. The difference is that moose are not affected by many of the same risk factors for the diseases as humans. For example, moose don’t contend with obesity, consume alcohol or smoke cigarettes.

Learn how Michigan Tech’s researchers and a vast collection of Isle Royale moose bones contributed to the study on Michigan Tech’s Unscripted Research Blog.

Do you know an undergraduate student who is passionate about sustainability and climate change? Please share with them the competition for the Frank Chernosky Climate Leadership Award, an alumni-funded award that supports the development of Michigan Tech undergraduate students into the climate change leaders of tomorrow.

The award for 2024-25 will be $9,600 — a scholarship amount of $8,000 spread over fall and spring semesters, and a professional development and applied work fund of up to $1,600 to be used by August 2025. Awardees will also receive active mentorship from campus and/or external professionals to help them develop networks and skills for their future work. The overall timetable for the award is flexible to accommodate opportunities such as a co-op or internship. Applicants and award recipients will solidify the details on the timing of the award, as well as the nature of mentorship and professional development, through the application process and dialogue with the committee.

To be considered, an applicant must be a full-time undergraduate student at Michigan Tech with the equivalent of at least three semesters of full-time enrollment at MTU by fall 2024. They must also have a minimum of two semesters of coursework remaining, though there is potential for flexibility to accommodate an internship or co-op into the award timeframe.

Applications are due March 13. Full details of the award and a link to the application are available on the Michigan Tech Sustainability Blog.

Career Fair Forged by Nucor will be Feb. 13, from 12-5 p.m. Career Services is actively seeking volunteers from the Tech community to contribute during this event.

We have a variety of shifts, tasks and responsibilities to fill. Your participation in this event is pivotal for the future success of many Huskies, and your assistance would be highly valued. We sincerely appreciate your willingness to help!

Visit the Spring Career Fair Volunteer Sign-up form to sign up. Thank you in advance!

A production system maintenance window is scheduled for Jan. 28 from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The following production services will be unavailable during that time:

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

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

Open Log Rolling weekly sessions are set for spring 2024 at the SDC!

Log Rolling Details:

• When: Tuesdays, Jan. 16 to April 23, from 8-10 p.m. (no log rolling on Feb. 27)
• Where: SDC Lap Pool
• Who: Open to MTU students and SDC Access Pass holders (minimum one-month) only.
• Cost: Free!

No experience is necessary. Most new rollers pick up the basics quickly, though for some it may take a little longer. The focus will be on balance, foot movement and core strength; the more you do it, the better you will get! A basic demonstration of swimming proficiency will be required on the first day. Must be able to swim at least 10 yards unassisted.

For more information, visit Michigan Tech Recreation's Open Log Rolling page.

Bonne année 2024! Please join us for the first "spring" session of Café Français, which will take place in our usual location, Walker 120C, from 5-6 p.m. tomorrow (Jan. 18).

In this week's conversation, we will commemorate the life and career of the late French actor Gaspard Ulliel, who passed away unexpectedly on Jan. 19, 2022 — two years ago this Friday. You may know Ulliel from such movies as "A Very Long Engagement" (Un long dimanche de fiançailles), "Paris, I love you" (Paris, Je t'aime), and "It's Only the End of the World" (Juste la fin du monde). For this last performance, Ulliel won the César Award for Best Actor (the French equivalent of an Oscar) in 2016.

After catching up a bit and allowing any newcomers to introduce themselves, we will watch and discuss the beginning of "It's Only the End of the World." Coffee and tea will be served. À jeudi!

Brian Barkdoll (CEGE) has been accepted into the American Academy of Environmental Engineers and Scientists (AAEES). Congratulations to Brian for now being a Board Certified Environmental Engineer!

In addition to being an honor for Barkdoll, this is great news for the environmental engineering program at Michigan Technological University.

Students who are completing a dissertation, thesis or report are invited to join the Graduate School to learn about the resources available to them to assist in scheduling their defense, formatting their documents and submitting their documents. In one afternoon, you can learn everything you need to be successful and complete your degree in a timely fashion! Faculty and staff who assist students with submissions are also welcome to attend. Attend the entire event, or stop in for the seminar that interests you.

• When: Wednesday, Jan. 24, from 2-4 p.m. (see a detailed schedule on our blog)
• Who: Students completing a dissertation, thesis or report; faculty and staff who assist students with submission.
• Where: Virtually via Zoom (please register to attend online and receive participation instructions) and in person in Admin 404 (room capacity is 35).
• Registration: Please register to receive handouts via email or attend online. The seminar will be available online as well as on campus.

If you are unable to join us, the event will be taped and available online after the event. The previous semester’s seminars are always available online.

Information on submitting, formatting and more can be found online for dissertations and theses or reports.

The next guest speaker in the Department of Biomedical Engineering (BioMed) Seminar Series will present Friday (Jan. 19) at 3 p.m. in person in M&M 610 and virtually via Zoom.

Kartik Balachandran from the University of Arkansas will present "Label-free Assessment of Early Calcific Aortic Valve Disease Progression — The Role of Altered Metabolism."

Read the abstract and speaker bio at the University Events Calendar.

The Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) is hosting a seminar presented by M.S. candidate Henry Summers tomorrow (Jan. 18) from 1-1:20 p.m. in M&M 610.

Summers will present "Mechanical Integrity of Bioresorbable Zn-Based Alloy under Corrosion-Fatigue Loading."

From the abstract:
Zinc-based alloy systems are attractive candidate materials for use in the construction of temporary, bioresorbable stents due to their ideal corrosion behavior and biocompatibility. Despite the numerous improvements that have been made to the mechanical and corrosion performance of these alloys, their mechanical stability while undergoing the combined effects of corrosion and cyclic loading has not received substantial attention by researchers working to advance the development of temporary stent materials. This study aims to elucidate the impacts of secondary phases present in the microstructure of a hot-extruded Zn-Ag-Mn-Cu-Zr-Ti alloy on the corrosion-fatigue performance. An annealing treatment was used to reduce the volume of secondary phases by roughly 40%. Fatigue experiments were conducted on samples in as-extruded and annealed conditions. Physiological conditions were simulated by immersing the samples in a body-temperature (37°C) Hank’s balanced salt solution during fatigue tests and compared with similar tests in air. Fracture surfaces were utilized to identify differences in fracture mechanisms caused by microstructural and environmental variables.

Speaker bio:
Summers is an M.S. candidate in the MSE department working under the guidance of Jaroslaw Drelich. He received his B.S. in Materials Science and Engineering from MTU in spring 2023. His current research focuses on the characterization of mechanical and corrosion behaviors in novel zinc-based bioresorbable alloys for medical implant devices. Upon completion of his M.S., Summers plans to pursue his Ph.D. abroad, continuing work with bioresorbable implant materials.

Join the Rhetoric, Theory, and Culture (RTC) graduate program for a Brown Bag event at noon on Friday (Jan. 19) in the Petersen Library in Walker 318.

Genius Amaraizu, RTC graduate student, will present "The 'High-Risk' Migrant: Re-Evaluating (Algorithmic) Automated Decision-Making in the Public-Sector."

From the abstract:
For almost a decade, the Netherlands secretly used the variables of gender, nationality, and age, to profile migrants as “high-risk,” subjecting them to extensive investigations and eventual visa denial in many cases. Artificial intelligence algorithms reinforce power hierarchies that inadvertently or deliberately reinforce discrimination. When computational instructions are central to facilitating profiling systems that calculate the risk of applicants applying for non-/immigration visas, and other border control and migration governance, it relegates the applicants to experimental subjects for the increasing adoption of these automation tools for decision-making in the public sector. This paper investigates the influence of such automated decision-making systems on public-sector decisions in immigration applications. It delves into the ethical and human rights implications arising from deploying algorithms in migration policy and decision-making, as well as the means to strike a balance between efficiency and human rights considerations.

Michigan Tech football punter Brenden Lach has been named to the Don Hansen Football Committee NCAA Division II All-America team as an Honorable Mention selection. The award is the first of Lach's career.

Lach was an All-GLIAC Second Team defense honoree this past fall, playing in 10 games for the Huskies. He was the nation's leader in punting average for the majority of the season. 

He averaged 44.5 yards on 49 punts, totaling 2,184 yards and dropping 16 inside the 20-yard line. His longest punt of the season was a jaw-dropping 72 yards.

Job Postings for Wednesday, Jan. 17, 2024

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.

Cook (nine months/ 40 hours/ first shift) #24016, Dining Services (AFSCME posting dates Jan. 17 to Jan. 23, 2024 — 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.

Food Service Helper (12 months/ 40 hours/ first shift) #24019, Dining Services (AFSCME posting dates Jan. 17 to Jan. 23, 2024 — 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.

Food Service Helper (nine months/ 40 hours/ second shift) #24020, Dining Services (AFSCME posting dates Jan. 17 to Jan. 23, 2024 — 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.

The Daily Mining Gazette, WJMN Local 3 and WLUC TV6 covered Michigan Tech’s annual celebration of Martin Luther King Jr., held Monday (Jan. 15). University President Rick Koubek, Laura Bulleit (SA), undergraduate Austin McFarlane (scientific and technical communication) and Jaylyn Boone ’18 (B.S. Finance) were quoted by the DMG, and Bulleit and Boone were also quoted by TV6. Jacek Borysow (Physics) was mentioned in the DMG and TV6 stories as the 2024 recipient of the Bayard Rustin Award from Tech’s chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers.

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WJMN Local 3 covered Michigan Tech football’s Brendan Lach being selected as a Don Hansen All-America Honorable Mention.

Call for Applications: Faculty Fellow Program

Applications are being solicited for the Faculty Fellow Program, sponsored by the Vice President for Research Office (VPR).

The program:

1. Expands familiarity with VPR operations among the staff and faculty.
2. Develops leadership capacity among the staff and faculty.
3. Improves VPR operations through staff and faculty input.

Please note that the Faculty Fellow program does not support staff and faculty in developing their own research grant proposals, promoting the goals of a particular center or carrying out a project focused on a single department or college.

For the 2024-25 academic year, there are four possible appointment areas:

• Faculty Fellow, Sponsored Programs (e.g., pre- and post-award processing and administration)
• Faculty Fellow, Research Integrity (e.g., HRPP, ARPP, laboratory operations, Responsible Conduct of Research, and Research Misconduct)
• Faculty Fellow, Research Development (e.g., proposal development, building teams for large proposals, etc.)
• Faculty Fellow, Commercialization (e.g., translational research, technology de-risking, proprietary projection strategy, management talent recruitment, value proposition development, customer discovery)

Applications are due no later than 4 p.m. Feb. 15 and must be submitted electronically per the guidelines. For additional information, visit the Faculty Fellow Program page.

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Now Available at Michigan Tech: Boost Campus Food Ordering

Dining retail locations on Michigan Tech’s campus are introducing Boost Campus Food Ordering for quick food pickup. Save time by pre-ordering your favorite meals, snacks and drinks on Boost's website or with the Boost mobile app! Boost offers convenience, options and fast service at your fingertips, so skip the line and order ahead for pickup.

• Get exclusive offers
• Pay using your campus card, credit/debit card
• Easily reorder your favorite meals or customize orders
• Pick up on your schedule
• Get real-time order status updates through push notifications
• Separate pickup window area (follow the Boost signs and skip the line)

Boost Ordering is currently available for BRKFST & CO. and Bowl Life, located in the Memorial Union Building, and the Campus Cafe, located in Wadsworth Hall. The Library Cafe is scheduled to add Boost Ordering on Monday (Jan. 22).

To download the Boost app, search Boost Ordering in the App Store on Android or iOS, or text BOOST to 99299.

To order, search Boost for Michigan Technological University, pick your current food craving, customize your meal and choose a pickup time that works best for you!

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This Week's C3 Luncheon Menu

Menu for Thursday (Jan. 18):

• Cauliflower General Tso's (Vegetarian, Soy, Sesame, Gluten, Dairy, Egg)
• Orange Chicken (Sesame, Dairy, Gluten, Egg, Soy)
• Basmati Rice (VG, AD, AG)
• Garden Salad (VG, AD, AG)
• Vegetable Stir Fry (VG, AD, AG)
• Vegetable Spring Rolls (Vegetarian, Dairy, Sesame, Gluten, Egg)

Join Carved and Crafted Catering for this week's C3 Luncheon, held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Memorial Union Alumni Lounge (MUB 107). All faculty and staff, along with their guests, are invited.

The C3 lunch buffet menus are created and prepared by Chef Luis Delgado and his culinary team. As the name suggests, the meals are meant to foster conversation, community and collegiality. Attendees may bring their lunch instead of purchasing the buffet. Fruit-infused water, coffee, tea and cookies are available free to all attendees.

The buffet lunch is $15 per person. Cash, credit cards and gift cards are accepted. Gift cards can be purchased or redeemed in the Memorial Union Office (MUB 101).

We have incorporated new food icons moving forward. Please follow the guide listed below and you will see these included into our menus and used in dining facilities across campus.

AG = Avoiding Gluten
AD = Avoiding Dairy
VG = Vegan
V = Vegetarian

We will continue to list out any additional top-nine allergen items that are included in each dish. We look forward to seeing you at our next luncheon.

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

Resume Workshop

Wednesday, January 17, 10:15–11:00 a.m. | Administration and Student Services Building, 220 Career Services

Interactive workshop, to get your resume ready for Career Fair. Bring your laptop!

Husky Hour: Communicating With Confidence

Wednesday, January 17, 1–2 p.m. | Career Services

The Center for Student Mental Health & Well-Being is partnering with Career Services to bring you a hands-on skills workshop to learn how to introduce yourself to...

Middle School Volleyball Development League

January 17, all day | Student Development Complex (SDC), Multi-Purpose Gym

A four-week developmental program for middle school girls in grades 7 & 8 to learn and improve their skills in preparation for the upcoming interscholastic season. This...