June 4, 2024

Michigan Tech’s faculty trip to Washington, D.C., has a long-standing tradition of connecting researchers to funding agencies and other collaboration opportunities in the nation’s capital city. The upcoming Fall 2024 DC Trip opportunity is for any Michigan Tech researchers and faculty, especially those who have environmental-related research interests.

The Research Development (RD) team encourages anyone thinking about or interested in the Fall 2024 DC Trip to join our next info session on June 13 from 9-10 a.m. via Zoom.

This fall’s trip has been set for the week of Sept. 16 due to the timing of the Association of Ecosystem Research Centers (AERC) meeting on Sept. 17-18. The meeting involves AERC program officer visits. However, you do not need to be involved or interested in this meeting to join in the trip activities. In the coming weeks, we will work together with trip participants on the logistics of pulling together an impactful experience that fits a diverse set of environmental interests. Agencies we hope to visit or engage with include: DOE, DoD, USDA, NSF, NASA and others.

If you have any interest at all in the Fall 2024 DC Trip, please email Sarah Atkinson at sjbird@mtu.edu to stay in the loop.

The RD team is looking forward to working with you!

David Reed, Michigan Tech's vice president for research, will be retiring on June 30. Please join the staff of the Vice President for Research Office to honor his prestigious career on June 25 from 2-5 p.m. in the Memorial Union Ballroom.

Hors d'oeuvres and light refreshments will be served. A cash bar will be available.

The Office of Alumni Engagement is excited to announce the slate of recipients being honored with our 2024 Alumni Awards:

• Outstanding Young Alumni: Andrea (Walvatne) Falasco '12 and Elizabeth Anne (Dancy) Maher '12
• Honorary Alumni: David D. Reed
• Outstanding Service: Brenda R. Ryan '76
• Distinguished Alumni: Michael A. Pulick Jr. '86
• Humanitarian: Danna Kasom '14

Learn more about each award and recipient.

These extraordinary alumni will be honored at the 2024 Alumni Awards Ceremony, which will take place during Reunion Weekend on Aug. 2.

Note for MTU faculty and staff: Please do not register yourselves through the online system for Reunion events. With limited capacities at many events, we want our visiting alumni and friends to have priority to register for those spots. If you would like to inquire about attending specific Reunion events, please contact the Office of Alumni Engagement at alumni@mtu.edu and we will be in touch with you after registration closes.

Michigan Tech’s Safety Team — Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) and the Office of Risk, Insurance, Safety, Security, and Compliance (RISSC) — will be hosting our second monthly safety roundtable: a place for all Huskies to share a cup of coffee and learn about the importance of campus health and safety. 

We invite all Huskies to share a cup of coffee and learn about the importance of campus health and safety tomorrow (June 5) from 9-10 a.m. in the MUB Alumni Lounge.

3D (additive manufacturing) printers and their associated processes present challenging health and safety hazards across the MTU campus depending on their location, material and type of printing processes. As the use of 3D printing technology expands in many Michigan Tech laboratories, makerspaces and classrooms, gaining a University-wide understanding of their current and future potential health and safety implications is critical for Husky safety.

Continuing with the monthly safety series, this event features EHS guidance on the safety of 3D printing, including the rollout of a Technical Fact Sheet and departmental 3D printing surveys.

In addition, EHS staff will be on hand to answer questions about the use of Safety Skills training modules in your classroom and the greatly discounted Authorized OSHA certification courses. These programs are as low as $25 for OSHA 10 and $90 for OSHA 30, which includes U.S. Department of Labor-issued wallet cards and certificates. These programs are available for all Huskies.

And more importantly, this will be an informal opportunity to talk with our campus safety professionals, ask the questions you have always wanted to ask and get the answers you need about Michigan Tech safety programs, legal compliance issues and additional resources.

Melissa Kuhar has been named Michigan Tech's third soccer head coach in the program's history. Kuhar comes to Houghton after four seasons as an assistant coach at Drury.

"I am pleased to welcome Melissa to Michigan Tech," said Suzanne Sanregret, Tech's vice president for athletics and recreation. "She brings a wealth of knowledge and experience as an assistant for seven years at the collegiate level. I believe her enthusiasm for guiding student-athletes on and off the field will make her a great fit for our program."

"I am excited and honored to be named the next head coach of the Michigan Tech soccer program," Kuhar said. "I want to thank Suzanne Sanregret, Rhys Edwards and the entire search committee for entrusting me with this amazing opportunity."

"From the moment I stepped foot on campus and in the Houghton community, I knew this would be a good fit for me," said Kuhar. "The academic and athletic reputation of Michigan Tech is top-notch and I am confident I can help build something special here. I am beyond thrilled that I get to work with a great group of student-athletes on and off the field. There is a tremendous pride and sense of community throughout the athletics department, and I cannot wait to be a part of the Husky family."

Read more at Michigan Tech Athletics.

Job Postings for Tuesday, June 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.

Business Systems Analyst, Information Technology. Apply online.
Eligible for relocation reimbursement.

Electrical Engineer – Campus Facilities, Facilities Management. Apply online.

Head Men's and Women's Tennis Coach, Athletics. Apply online.

Athletic Equipment and Event Coordinator, Athletics. Apply online.

College Marketing and Communications Manager, University Marketing and Communications. Apply online.

Academic Coordinator, Center for Educational Outreach. Apply online.

Cook (12 months/ 40 hours/ first shift) #24153, Dining Services (AFSCME posting dates June 4 to June 10, 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.

Lei Pan (ChE/GLRC) is the principal investigator (PI) on a project that has received a $162,480 research and development contract from the Argonne National Laboratory.

The project is titled "ReCell Michigan Tech FY24 Project."

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Gregory Odegard (ME-EM/MARC) is the PI on a project that has received a $4,438,800 research and development contract from the U.S. Air Force, Air Force Research Laboratory.

The project is titled "Computationally-Driven Next Generation Carbon-Carbon Composite Material Development."

This is a potential two-year project.

Adjunct Assistant Professor Chris Adams (BioSci) was mentioned by Outdoor News as a panelist at an event addressing a program to foster stronger populations of coaster brook trout in Lake Superior.

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Michigan Tech undergraduate Jozie Opela (biochemistry and molecular biology) was quoted by the Tribune-Democrat of Johnson, Pennsylvania, in a story about Spider-Man creator Steve Ditko being honored posthumously at the Disney Legends awards in August. Ditko was Opela’s great-uncle.

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Railway Age mentioned Michigan Tech as one of the inaugural institutional members of the new National University Rail Center of Excellence (NURail CoE). The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony on May 29 to celebrate the center’s opening.

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Hydro Review mentioned Michigan Tech as one of 23 teams selected to compete in the 2025 Marine Energy Collegiate Competition.

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Visit Keweenaw included Michigan Tech’s 34th annual Parade of Nations in its list of “12 Can’t Miss Keweenaw Summer Events.”

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The Daily Mining Gazette mentioned Michigan Tech in a story remembering Copper Country educator Bill Polkinghorne, who passed away May 29. The story noted that Polkinghorne ran MTU’s Summer Youth Programs for more than 10 years.

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Southeast Michigan’s Metro Parent mentioned Michigan Tech in a story about a volunteer effort by 11th graders and their mentors to beautify Belle Isle in Detroit. Ernie McCutchen ’86 (B.S. Electrical Engineering) was quoted in the story.

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Nevada’s Elko Daily Free Press mentioned Michigan Tech as one of the inaugural participants in the first International Collegiate Mining Competition, held in 1979. The 46th annual competition was held at Montana Technological University in March.

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