March 4, 2024

This March, Michigan Technological University joins the nation in celebrating Women's History Month — a time to lift up the remarkable achievements and invaluable contributions of women throughout history and at Michigan Tech. This annual observance resonates deeply with our commitment to fostering an inclusive community where all individuals are empowered to excel.

From the University's start, women like Margaret McElhinney and Mary Louise Bunce shattered barriers, paving the way for future generations. Professor Emerita Faith A. Morrison and Former Dean of Students Gloria Melton are among the many who left a lasting impact.

Wayne Gersie, vice president for diversity and inclusion, explores the history of some of our Michigan Tech trailblazers and the significance of Women’s History Month in a new post on the Office of Diversity and Inclusion Newsblog.

Registration ends soon for the Inclusive STEM Teaching Project! A six-week course begins this week (March 4-8), and Michigan Tech instructors are encouraged to participate.

This course presents a unique opportunity for professional development, focusing on the critical topics of equity and inclusion in STEM education. With a flexible commitment of approximately 3-4 hours per week, it fits into your busy schedule while providing valuable skills and knowledge to enhance your teaching practice.

Whether you're a doctoral student, postdoctoral researcher or faculty member, this course aims to enhance your awareness, self-efficacy and ability to cultivate inclusive STEM classrooms for your students.

Visit the official course page for more information and to register.

"My Fair Lady," a Lincoln Center Theater Touring Production — Thursday, March 7, at 7:30 p.m.
Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts
A Rozsa Presenting Series Event

From the Lincoln Center Theater, which brought you "The King & I" and "South Pacific," comes Lerner and Loewe’s "My Fair Lady." Director Bartlett Sher’s glowing production has been described as "a sumptuous new production of the most perfect musical of all time" by Entertainment Weekly and “thrilling, glorious and better than it ever was” by the New York Times. “Every so often a revival comes along that reminds you how indispensable great theater can be,” adds Spectrum News NY1.

Boasting such classic songs as “I Could Have Danced All Night,” “The Rain in Spain,” “Wouldn’t It Be Loverly” and “On the Street Where You Live,” the show tells the story of Eliza Doolittle, a young Cockney flower seller, and Henry Higgins, a linguistics professor who is determined to transform her into his idea of a proper lady. But who is really being transformed?

Tickets
General Public: Tickets are Pay As You're Able for this Rozsa Presenting Series Event. Get your tickets through the Rozsa Box Office online 24/7, or on weekdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in person or by calling 906-487-1906.

Students: Learn how to get your free Student Rush ticket, sponsored by the Experience Tech fee, for this reserved seating show. (Instructions are near the bottom of the webpage under the subheading "Skip the rush line by reserving in advance.")
_ _ _ _ _

Tchaikovsky Symphony No. 6 — Saturday, March 9, at 7:30 p.m.
Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra
Calumet Theatre
Presented by the Calumet Theatre and Michigan Tech Music

Romanian guest conductor Cristian Lupeş leads the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra in an evening of transcendent Tchaikovsky at the Calumet Theatre. The evening features Tchaikovsky's turbulent "The Tempest" (Symphonic Fantasy after Shakespeare) and his final work, Symphony No. 6, “The Pathétique” — premiered nine days before his death.

Tickets
General Public: Get advance Pay As You’re Able tickets through the Rozsa Box Office online 24/7, or on weekdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in person or by calling 906-487-1906. Advance sales through the Rozsa end on Friday, March 8. You can also purchase Full Fee tickets through the Calumet Theatre Box Office in advance or at the door. 

Students: Reserve your tickets (included with your Experience Tech fee) in advance online and bring your HuskyCard to use your student tickets or tap in for Student Rush.
_ _ _ _ _

The American Dream — Sunday, March 10, at 7:30 p.m.
Superior Wind Symphony with Conductor Joel Neves
McArdle Theatre
Presented by Michigan Tech Music

Conductor Joel Neves leads a Superior Wind Symphony celebration of the finest American wind band composers, old and new.

Tickets
General Public: Tickets are Pay As You're Able. Get your tickets through the Rozsa Box Office online 24/7, or on weekdays from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in person or by calling 906-487-1906.

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.
_ _ _ _ _

Simple Machines: Poetry, Letterpress, and the Art of the Little Magazine — Exhibit Open Now through March 30
Rozsa Art Galleries A-Space
Presented by Michigan Tech Art

Simple Machines is a two-edition international letterpress poetry magazine founded and edited by Michigan Tech’s M. Bartley Seigel (HU) and featuring original poetry from a diverse array of national and international poets. The publication is funded through a Research Excellence Fund Scholarship & Creativity Grant and produced in collaboration with designer/printers at the Copper Country Community Arts Center (CCCAC) and TYPA Letterpress & Paper Art Centre, Tartu, Estonia.

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

On Jan. 3, a student in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula was invited to tour a high-tech business in Muskegon, Michigan, to experience firsthand how industrial technologies create products. The invitation was a collaborative effort between the Office of Innovation and Commercialization (OIC) at Michigan Tech, Northern Michigan University and InvestUP, a private-sector economic development organization.

Nate Yenor of the OIC, Corinne Bodeman of NMU and InvestUP created a student Entrepreneurial Fellows Program to apply the well-defined Customer Discovery process developed by the National Science Foundation to identify and solve problems for regional businesses. They connected enthusiastic students with experienced university faculty and staff to boost economic growth in the Upper Peninsula.

“I have worked with students from multiple universities, and I don’t know any other group that has this type of program for students, especially one that works with university-based technology,” said Yenor.

Business owner and MTU faculty member David Shonnard (ChE) presented the Entrepreneurial Fellows Program with a problem for Resurgence Innovations, a company he founded to commercialize his research. He wanted to find a way to keep mixed plastic municipal solid waste out of landfills by creating a product or service that people would purchase.

With InvestUP funding, Yenor and Bodeman hired students for the Entrepreneurial Fellows Program and assigned students to Shonnard’s project. They were tasked with 1) increasing the understanding of current business technologies, needs and practices; and 2) identifying potential customers for the business’ solution.

Josh Lewandowski, a senior studying public relations and business administration at NMU, was exploring if plastic waste could be turned into wax for making other products. Lewandowski contacted Paramelt, a global leader with more than 125 years of experience in formulating specialty waxes, adhesives and dispersions, and received a generous invitation to tour their facility.

Lewandowski and his team traveled to meet with the Paramelt team at their Muskegon location. They left with a deeper knowledge of the expected properties of wax products for industrial use, which will help guide their future technological development.

Lewandowski gained firsthand knowledge of how high-tech equipment is used in the manufacturing process and expanded his professional network of industry experts — a widely valued tool for a college student who will soon graduate and seek employment.

Students like Lewandowski who are exposed to these types of educational opportunities can develop entrepreneurial mindsets, critical-thinking skills and the ability to identify innovative solutions.

“I truly cannot attach a value to what I have gained from this program, and I can't thank my peers enough for the opportunity,” said Lewandowski. “Sure, you can learn a lot from studying the book, but what really solidifies things is getting out there and applying what you've learned.”

His advice to students? “Don't fear uncertainty; embrace the opportunity! Go ask a lot of questions, take more notes than needed and continue to push yourself to learn as much as you can. The student fellows program has been great for this."

Save the date for this semester’s IPEC Social Event! We welcome returning, new and prospective members of the institute to join us.

• When: Thursday, March 21, from 4-6 p.m.
• Where: Walker 139, IPEC Office
• What: A general meeting to welcome members and prospective members to the updated IPEC office space.

We will provide light refreshments during the event.

Contact IPEC Director Stefka Hristova at shristov@mtu.edu for more information.

See full event details on the IPEC News Blog.

Department of Computer Science (CS) tenure-track faculty candidate Wen Li will give a research presentation Friday (March 8) from 3-4 p.m. in Rekhi 214.

The title of Li’s talk is “Run-Time Analysis and Security of Multi-Language Systems.” A social hour will follow in Rekhi 218. Snacks and beverages will be served.

Read Li's bio and talk abstract on the Computing News Blog.

The Office of the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs will host a workshop, "Preparing a Tenure and Promotion Binder," on Wednesday (March 6) from 2-4 p.m. The event will take place in Admin 404 in the Administration Building.

The first half of the session will focus on the mechanics of preparing a well-presented promotion and/or tenure binder and will include insights from a panel who have been involved in the TPR review process. Panelists include Nancy Langston (SS), Bruce Lee (BioMed), Dennis Livesay (CC) and Adrienne Minerick (ChE). The second half of the session will focus on how to input data and narratives into Digital Measures to produce a Faculty Activity Report (FAR) for the tenure and promotion binder.

All faculty are welcome; those who plan to submit a tenure/promotion package in the next couple of years are especially encouraged to attend.

Faculty are welcome to attend just one part of the session as their schedule allows. Questions can be directed to Shari Stockero, assistant provost for faculty development, at stockero@mtu.edu.

The Office of the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs will host a workshop, "Preparing an Instructional Track Faculty (ITF) Promotion File," on Thursday (March 7) from 2-4 p.m. The event will take place in Admin 404 in the Administration Building.

The first half of the session will focus on the mechanics of preparing an ITF promotion file and will include insights from panelists who have gone through the promotion process or reviewed promotion materials. Panelists will be Kit Cischke (ECE), David Flaspohler (CFRES), Paniz Hazavah (AC) and Teresa Woods (Math). The second half of the session will focus on how to input data and narratives into Digital Measures to produce a Faculty Activity Report (FAR) for the promotion file.

All ITF are welcome; those who plan to submit a promotion package in the next couple of years are especially encouraged to attend.

Faculty are welcome to attend just one part of the session as their schedule allows. Direct questions to Shari Stockero, assistant provost for faculty development, at stockero@mtu.edu.

Department of Physics graduate students will be presenting their research progress at this week's Physics Colloquium:

• Lucas Simonson (advised by Ramy El-Ganainy)
• Nithin Allwayin (advised by Raymond Shaw)

This will be an in-person event — the students will give their talks at 4 p.m. Thursday (March 7) in Fisher 139.

Event details, including the students' presentation titles and abstracts, are available on the University Events Calendar.

Job Posting for Monday, March 4, 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.

Assistant Production Manager, Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts. Apply online.
Contact: Mary Jennings

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.

Robin Clark (CFRES) was interviewed by the Detroit Metro Times for a story about her historic appointment as the first Anishinaabe woman to serve on Michigan’s Natural Resources Commission. Clark is a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians. Her four-year term on the board, which sets regulations for fishing, hunting and trapping in Michigan, began in January.

*****

The Daily Mining Gazette covered Michigan Tech hockey’s Blake Pietila being named the CCHA Goaltender of the Month for February.

CSA Dean Semifinalist Presenting at Open Forum

The College of Sciences and Arts (CSA) Dean Search Committee has invited four semifinalist candidates to Michigan Tech for on-campus interviews.

Candidate 3 Open Forum Presentation:
Monday, March 4, at 10 a.m. in the Library East Reading Room
The third candidate's interview will be held today and tomorrow (March 4 and 5). The candidate will present their administrative philosophy and vision for CSA at an open forum at 10 a.m. today in the Library East Reading Room.

Information on all candidates, interview dates and open forum information can be viewed at the Academic Affairs Dean Search page. A Michigan Tech login is required to view resumes and provide comment. The open forums will be video recorded and posted to the website for viewing.

The CSA Dean Search Committee encourages the campus community to interact with each candidate during the interviews and provide feedback by completing the anonymous comment form provided at the website. Feedback forms will be available for 72 hours following the last candidate's visit.

*****

COE Dean Semifinalist Presenting at Open Forum

The College of Engineering (COE) Dean Search Committee has invited four semifinalist candidates to Michigan Tech for on-campus interviews. This is an update to the Feb. 21 announcement in Tech Today, which referenced the committee inviting three candidates.

Candidate 1 Open Forum Presentation:
Monday, March 4, at 2 p.m. in MUB Ballroom A2
The first candidate's interview will be held today and tomorrow (March 4 and 5). The candidate will present their administrative philosophy and vision for COE at an open forum at 2 p.m. today in MUB Ballroom A2.

Information on all candidates, interview dates and open forum information can be viewed at the Academic Affairs Dean Search page. A Michigan Tech login is required to view resumes and provide comment. The open forums will be video recorded and posted to the website for viewing.

The COE Dean Search Committee encourages the campus community to interact with each candidate during the interviews and provide feedback by completing the anonymous comment form provided at the website. Feedback forms will be available for 72 hours following the last candidate's visit.

*****

Nominations Open for 30th Annual Student Leadership Awards

Nominations for the 30th Annual Student Leadership Awards are open now. The deadline nomination is Sunday (March 10).

On behalf of the University, Student Leadership and Involvement is seeking nominations for the President's Award for Leadership, Dean of Students Award for Possibilities, the William and Josephine Balconi Community Service Award and a variety of other awards to recognize the efforts and achievements of our amazing Michigan Tech community.

We encourage you to visit the Student Leadership Awards webpage for more information on each individual award. Click on an individual title to read more about the award and its requirements, then complete and submit the nomination form. Please take a minute to nominate a standout student, student organization or advisor today!

The recipient of each award will be honored at the 30th Annual Student Leadership Awards Ceremony at 6 p.m. April 12 in the Memorial Union Ballroom. Nominators are warmly encouraged to attend.

Nominations are due by midnight on Sunday for the following awards:

Individual Awards:

• President’s Award for Leadership
• Dean of Students Award for Possibilities
• William and Josephine Balconi Community Service Award
• Percy Julian Award
• Clair M. Donovan Award
• Exceptional Enthusiasm as a Student Leader
• Exceptional Leadership in Student Governance
• Rising Star of the Year
• Student Employee of the Year
• Student Organization Advisor of the Year

Organizational Awards:

• Exceptional Civic Engagement Award
• Exceptional Program of the Year
• Most Improved Student Organization
• Student Organization of the Year

Questions concerning the Student Leadership Awards can be directed to Student Leadership and Involvement at activities@mtu.edu or 7-1963.

*****

Flexible Spending Deadline Approaching

The Benefits Office would like to remind employees that the deadline to submit claims for their 2023 flexible spending account (FSA) is March 15. All claims will be paid out by March 31 per IRS regulations. Health care and dependent care claims during the 2023 calendar year are eligible if the date of service was in 2023. Any money remaining in the account after March 31 is forfeited per IRS regulations.

More information and the FSA claim form can be found online on the Human Resources Flex Spending page.

For questions, contact Benefits Services at hr-help@mtu.edu or call 7-2517.

*****

CISR Research Discussion: 'Food and Forest Resilience'

On Wednesday (March 6) from noon to 1 p.m. in Library 103 (or via Zoom), join a discussion on research and engagement opportunities in the thematic area of food and forest resilience.

Panelists Valoree Gagnon and Tara Bal (both CFRES) and Maria Janowiak (USDA/NIACS) will seed the conversation. Attendees will also get a chance to learn more about Center for Innovation in Sustainability and Resilience (CISR) resources to support research development. Feel free to bring lunch.

Add the event to your Google Calendar.

*****

2024 Spring WIA Breakfast with the Provost

The Women in Academy (WIA) is hosting the 2024 Breakfast with the Provost event to gather as a group and discuss openly with Provost Andrew Storer. We will have some questions prepared and will also open the floor for your questions.

If you have questions that you want to ask but wish to do so anonymously, please include them in the RSVP or email them to Tara Bal at tlbal@mtu.edu or Smitha Rao at smithar@mtu.edu.

There will be a breakfast with coffee, tea and orange juice, including vegetarian options. If you have any additional dietary restrictions, please share them so we can attempt to arrange special meals.

This event is co-sponsored by the Office of the Provost and WIA.

Event Details:

• What: 2024 Spring WIA Breakfast with the Provost
• When: Monday, March 18, from 8-9:30 a.m.
• Where: MUB Alumni Lounge B
• RSVP: Please RSVP by Thursday, March 7. 

*****

H-STEM Public Opening Set for March 11

Although move-in to the H-STEM Complex will began Feb. 22, the official date the H-STEM Complex will be open to the public is next Monday (March 11).

In the meantime, we ask that you please refrain from wandering into the building, even if barriers get taken down.

*****

Seeking Input on SHAPE Essential Education Minor Themes

The SHAPE Essential Education Minors Working Group is tasked with identifying 15 themes for SHAPE Essential Education minors to be developed over the next three academic semesters. We are sharing our preliminary identification of themes and requesting feedback from the campus community. 

Please complete the feedback form by Wednesday (March 6) to provide your input!

*****

Deadline Extended for IPEC Faculty and Graduate Student Funding Applications

IPEC is extending its application deadline to April 12 for Seed Research Grants.

Small grants are available to IPEC faculty and faculty-member-affiliated graduate students to conduct preliminary research in the following research areas without any priority:

1. Social Media and Society
2. Human Machine Culture
3. Justice and Security in Energy Transitions
4. Ethics in STEM
5. Algorithmic Culture

Funds can be used for hourly pay, conference travel, or travel to collect data and access primary sources.

If you have questions about whether your research project fits within IPEC's research scope, reach out to IPEC Associate Director Soonkwan Hong at shong2@mtu.edu.

Evaluation criteria include:

1. Previous research experience and productivity
2. Scholarly merit of the proposed research project
3. Potential for extended/continuous research program

All full-time IPEC faculty members are encouraged to use the faculty application form. The maximum funding amount is $5,000, with an expected average of $2,500.

All full-time graduate students whose advisors are IPEC members are encouraged to use the graduate student application form. The maximum funding amount is $5,000, with an expected average of $3,000.

*****

Report Movement of Tagged Property

Location changes of equipment and furniture tagged as Michigan Tech property must be reported to the Property Office.

If your department will be moving equipment into the H-STEM Complex or other spaces, please work with your equipment coordinator to make sure new locations are reported. If you are unsure who to notify, a list of equipment coordinators by department is available in the Property Procedures Manual.

*****

University Senate Meeting 698

The University Senate will convene Meeting 698 at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday (March 6) in Dow 642.

Those within the University community unable to attend in person have the option to attend via Zoom. Please note: You will need to log in to your MTU Zoom account to join the virtual meeting.

Senators are responsible for making their constituents aware of the agenda for this meeting. Senators who are unable to attend should arrange for their alternates to attend in their place.

View the agenda to Meeting 698.

*****

Environmental Engineering Graduate Seminar with Valoree Gagnon

The next Environmental Engineering Graduate Seminar will take place at 3 p.m. today (March 4) in GLRC 202.

Valoree Gagnon (GLRC/CFRES/HU) will present "Bridging Knowledges and Expertise: Understanding Contamination and Climate Change Dynamics within the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Landscape System."

Read the abstract on the University Events Calendar.

*****

GMES Faculty Candidate Presentation with Xiang Li

Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences (GMES) assistant professor candidate Xiang Li will give a presentation today (March 4) at noon in Dow 610. All are welcome to attend. Virtual attendance is invited via Zoom.

The presentation is titled "Integrating Satellite Remote Sensing and Geotechnical Modelling: A New Frontier to Predict Geosystem Failure."

From the abstract:
In recent years, severe storms driven by climate change have become more frequent globally, presenting significant threats such as triggering heavy floods and risking infrastructure safety. Meanwhile, remote sensing techniques such as Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) have been developed to a stage where they are capable of effectively measuring ground deformation with high precision, down to millimeter-scale resolution. This advancement offers valuable opportunities to interpret the hydromechanics of earthen materials, thereby aiding in the prediction of ground failures. In this talk, I will present a modeling framework to investigate the interaction between the hydraulic and mechanical behaviors of earthen materials and their impact on geosystems. Emphasis will be placed on the integration of geotechnical modeling and InSAR remote sensing techniques to simulate the velocity changes in slow-moving landslides and to further explore their potential to exhibit catastrophic acceleration.

Xiang Li is a postdoctoral scholar at the Joint Institute for Regional Earth System Science & Engineering of the University of California, Los Angeles. He received his Ph.D. in 2022 in civil engineering from Northwestern University. His primary research interest is geotechnical modeling, with an emphasis on the study of landslide dynamics triggered by precipitation. At UCLA, he has broadened his expertise by guiding the development of geomechanics theory on the basis of large datasets acquired via InSAR remote sensing. This approach not only allows him to obtain large-scale ground deformation data to train and improve the geotechnical models but also offers opportunities for future applications in soil-structure interaction, infrastructure resilience and earthquake engineering.

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

Simple Machines: Poetry, Letterpress, and the Art of the Little Magazine Presented by Michigan Tech Art

Monday, March 4, 8 a.m.–8 p.m. | Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts, Rozsa Galleries

Simple Machines is a two-edition, international, letterpress poetry magazine founded and edited by Michigan Tech’s M. Bartley Seigel, funded through a Research Excellence...

*****

Bridging Knowledges and Expertise: Understanding Contamination and Climate Change Dynamics within the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Landscape System

Monday, March 4, 3 p.m. | Great Lakes Research Center (GLRC), 202

Environmental Engineering Graduate Seminar Dr. Valoree Gagnon, Director, University-Indigenous Community Partnerships, GLRC, Assistant Professor, College of Forest Resources...

*****

NSF I-Corps Program

Monday, March 4, 4:00–6:30 p.m.

Course Description Entrepreneurially-minded graduate and undergraduate students, faculty, staff, alumni, and local community teams are invited to join the next Great Lakes...

*****

Huskies Group Swim Lessons - Parent & Child Aquatics - Spring 2024 Session 2

Monday, March 4, 5:10–5:50 p.m. | Student Development Complex (SDC), Pool

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

*****

Huskies Group Swim Lessons - Preschool Aquatics - Spring 2024 Session 2

Monday, March 4, 5:10–5:50 p.m. | Student Development Complex (SDC), Pool

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