May 9, 2024

On Monday and Tuesday (May 13 and 14), the Center for Educational Outreach (CEO) will be making our annual transition to Wadsworth Hall to oversee Summer Youth Programs (SYP) operations. During the transition, response by phone and email will be delayed. Following the move, staff will be available in our summer office locations, Wads 400E-410E.

We are looking forward to another exciting, impactful year of hands-on learning for the nearly 1,000 participants expected to take part in an SYP course.

CEO staff will return to our academic year locations in Admin 217 and Admin G36 in early August.

For more information about Summer Youth Programs, including scholarship opportunities for local middle and high school students, please visit mtu.edu/syp.

Juggling academics and athletics, along with the challenges of being a woman in the computer science field, hasn’t always been easy for volleyball student-athlete Leiya Rybicki ’24 (B.S. Computer Science). But her wide support system and leadership skills helped her persevere.

“Software development is usually done on a team, so knowing how to work effectively with others is something that I pride myself on,” she said.

Rybicki shares lessons learned in class and on the volleyball court on the College of Computing Newsblog.

Starting July 1, the Cashier’s Office at Michigan Tech will no longer offer check cashing services for employees and students.

Petty cash checks will still be allowed to be cashed by petty cash custodians. When cashing a petty cash check, custodians are required to show a photo ID and have their M number written on the check.

Please remember to submit check requests for disbursements from Michigan Tech Fund Endowed Funds to mtfchecks@mtu.edu by June 3 to meet the deadline for the June 26 payment date.

Financial Services and Operations (FSO) will periodically be sharing information regarding a specific topic to increase awareness and knowledge in a “FSO — Did You Know?” article. If there is an FSO topic that you’d like to learn more about, please email fso@mtu.edu.

Overnight Travel Allowance
When claiming an overnight travel allowance (meal per diem) in Concur, the Report/Trip Business Start Date and End Date must match the dates of the itinerary (travel allowance). It is important to ensure that the dates are accurate, since Concur will automatically calculate the meal per diem based on the dates entered.

If you have any questions regarding Concur, email concur@mtu.edu for a quick response.

Summer is on its way and so is Graduate Student Government’s (GSG’s) summer softball league! This no-holds-barred extreme slow-pitch softball league will be held over the summer semester between June and August! Registration is now open on the GSG Softball website.

Don’t have any softball equipment, you say? Well, no worries here! GSG will provide bats, balls and gloves for every registered player. Of course, if you do have your own equipment, you are more than welcome to use it.

Also, feel free to start recruiting for your team. Those who are not affiliated with a team but are interested in playing are welcome to register solo. We will find a team for you. If you don’t have enough players for a team, still register! We will help you to fill your team with available solo players.

Teams and solo players can register until May 23. Games will be played on Thursdays, starting on June 6.

View the GSG Softball League flyer.

Matt Beals ’22 ’24 (B.S. M.S. Mechanical Engineering), a Michigan Tech graduate student, has received a National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowship Program Honorable Mention.

The oldest STEM-related fellowship program in the United States, the NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) is a prestigious award that recognizes exceptional graduate students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines early in their career and supports them through graduate education. NSF-GRFP fellows are an exceptional group; 42 fellows have become Nobel Laureates and about 450 fellows are members of the National Academy of Sciences.

The fellowship provides three years of financial support, including a $37,000 stipend for each fellow and a $12,000 cost-of-education allowance for the fellow’s institution. Besides financial support for fellows, the GRFP provides opportunities for research in national laboratories and international research.

Christopher Middlebrook (ECE) is a panelist at a meeting today (May 9) hosted by the Upper Peninsula Economic Development Alliance (UPEDA). The event is taking place at Northern Michigan University. Distinguished leaders from universities and community colleges in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula will discuss innovations in the higher education landscape of the U.P. Panel discussions will explore challenges and collaborative opportunities with the workforce.

Middlebrook, a professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, will discuss the new semiconductor-focused curriculum and learning paths now being developed at Michigan Tech — both for traditional undergraduate engineering students, and for other individuals interested in short-term, flexible training to jump-start career paths for in-demand job roles in the semiconductor industry in Michigan.

A wide range of students will be eligible to participate in the new semiconductor learning programs at Michigan Tech, including high school students, University students, community college students, job seekers and veterans. Learning will occur online, on campus at Michigan Tech and on-site at industry partner locations. Scholarships, transportation, child care and other wraparound services will be available to support students. Much of the new curriculum will kick off in fall 2024, said Middlebrook, with further details to be announced. To receive updates via email, add your information to the Michigan Tech Electronics Hub sign-up form.

Some opportunities for high school students will be happening this summer through Michigan Tech’s Summer Youth Programs (SYP). The week of July 21-26, students in grades 9-11 can attend NEXT Scholars: Semiconductors, a weeklong exploration offered on campus. Full sponsorship of the cost is available for 12 students for the program. “This will allow students to attend at no cost, which is very exciting and such a wonderful opportunity,” noted Middlebrook.

In addition, students who take part in two additional SYP sessions, Women in Engineering (June 16-21) and Engineering Scholars (June 23-28), will have opportunities for hands-on semiconductor fabrication activities and field trips to nearby Calumet Electronics.

MTU has received grants totaling $970,000 from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation to support a major expansion of semiconductor education and training programs for workforce development in Michigan. The amount includes $770,000 for the semiconductor curriculum work and $200,000 for the Michigander Scholars Program.

“Our overall goal is to form a talent pipeline to meet Michigan’s increased demand for skilled engineers and technicians in the semiconductor industry, where jobs are projected to grow at least 11% in the next five years,” said Middlebrook.

At Michigan Tech, Middlebrook teaches courses in electrical and computer engineering, with active research in electrical and optical interconnects and platforms. He serves as the faculty advisor for the IPC-Electronics student chapter at Michigan Tech, and directs the Plexus Innovation Center, a professional-grade, electronics-focused makerspace.

M.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering candidate Vaishnavi Balambeed will present her master's defense on Tuesday (May 14) at noon in person in EERC 122 and virtually via Zoom.

The title of Balambeed's defense is "V2I-based Adaptive Collision Avoidance for Safety and Traffic Efficiency."

Balambeed is advised by Aurenice Oliveira.

Job Postings for Thursday, May 9, 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.

Custodian (12 months/ 40 hours/ first shift) #24123, Facilities Management (AFSCME posting dates May 9 to May 15, 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.

Senior Office Assistant, Financial Services and Operations (UAW posting dates May 9 to May 15, 2024 — 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.

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.

Aimee Marceau (BioSci) and Kristin Brzeski (CFRES) were quoted by WLUC TV6 in a story about the continuation of Michigan Tech’s Tick Talk project, a crowdsourced tick collection to aid research on tick populations and tick-borne diseases in the Copper Country.

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Don Lafreniere (SS/GRF) was quoted by UPword in coverage of Michigan Tech’s receipt of the Governor’s Award for Historic Preservation. The award recognized the efforts of the Department of Social Sciences, Geospatial Research Facility and Michigan Tech Archives toward developing the Keweenaw Time Traveler. The award was the subject of a Michigan Tech News story.

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The Keweenaw Report covered the release of Michigan Tech’s annual Isle Royale Winter Study — the longest-running predator-prey study in the world. The annual report for the 65th winter study was announced by Michigan Tech News on April 30.

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Tradeline reported on the opening of Michigan Tech’s H-STEM Engineering and Health Technologies Complex.

Bioathlon Returning to Campus for 2024!

Tomorrow (May 10), Michigan Tech's Department of Biological Sciences (BioSci) will be hosting our annual Bioathlon pre-college outreach event. Each year, the department invites local high schools to participate in this single-day, hands-on problem-solving competition to stimulate an interest in biology careers. This year, 24 eager students from six different schools will be participating in the all-day event.

This will be the department's 34th year hosting Bioathlon.

For more information, please contact Sunny Charpentier at scharpen@mtu.edu or visit our Bioathlon webpage.

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No events are scheduled for today. Visit the University Events Calendar.