July 8, 2024

Alumni Reunion is less than one month away! We are looking forward to celebrating the weekend with visiting alumni and friends, especially those from our honored classes. Be sure to visit the Reunion website for details and check out who will be joining us on campus.

A reminder: many Reunion activities have limited capacities that will sell out, and we want our visiting alumni and friends to have priority to register for online events. We request that faculty and staff reach out to the Office of Alumni Engagement to inquire about attendance, instead of signing up through the online registration our alumni guests utilize.

We encourage all faculty and staff to consider participating in the weekend to make our guests feel welcome and enjoy the company of alumni and friends — both old and new. There are plenty of opportunities to connect with guests during Reunion weekend at functions that have large capacities, including:

• Tech Talk: "A View of the Past, Present, and Future of Michigan Tech’s Jewel: the A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum" with John A. Jaszczak on Thursday at 8 a.m.
• Department Open Houses: Friday at 1 p.m.
• H-STEM Engineering and Health Technologies Complex Open House: Friday at 3 p.m.
• Alumni Social and Honored Classes Exhibit: Saturday at 10 a.m.

If you are interested in attending any Reunion events, please contact the Office of Alumni Engagement at alumni@mtu.edu.

Michigan Tech’s Safety Team — Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) and the Office of Risk, Insurance, Safety, Security, and Compliance (RISSC) — will host our third monthly Safety Round Table: a gathering designed for all Huskies to come together over coffee, foster relationships and delve into campus health and safety topics.

We invite all Huskies to share a cup of coffee and participate in building our campus culture of health and safety on Wednesday, July 10, from 9-10 a.m. in MUB Ballroom B.

We've streamlined the agenda for our July coffee talk to allow ample time for open discussion among participants. We're eager to hear about successful initiatives that have enhanced safety culture in various departments, as well as identify areas where improvements can be made. By sharing these insights and discussing challenges across different areas, we aim to spark collaborative problem-solving and create synergies to enhance the culture of safety at Michigan Tech.

Additionally, EHS staff will be available to address your inquiries regarding integrating Safety Skills training modules into your classroom. We're also excited to offer a highly discounted Authorized OSHA 10 certification course at $25. These courses include U.S. Department of Labor-issued wallet cards and certificates. These opportunities are accessible to all Huskies.

This event provides an informal setting to engage with our campus safety professionals. It's a chance to ask any lingering questions about Michigan Tech’s safety programs, seek clarification on legal compliance matters and discover additional resources to benefit you.

Join us for a cup of coffee, meaningful conversations and a deeper understanding of how we can collectively make Michigan Tech an even safer and more supportive community.

Event Details:

• What: A Cup of Joe with the Safety Crew
• When: Wednesday, July 10, from 9-10 a.m.
• Where: MUB Ballroom B

Department of Chemical Engineering (ChE) Ph.D. student Natalie Nold will present a dissertation defense on Thursday, July 11, at 10 a.m. The presentation will be in person in Chem Sci 101 or virtually via Zoom.

Nold's defense is titled “Continuous Platform Purification of Viral Products.”

Nold is advised by Caryn Heldt.

Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) Ph.D. student Siyuan Fang will present a final oral examination (dissertation defense) today, July 8, from 8-10 a.m. in person in M&M 610 and virtually via Zoom.

Fang's dissertation is titled “Sustainable Materials for Environment Multifunctional Material Made from Dead Leaves and Nanostructured Materials for Antibiotic Degradation.”

Fang is advised by Yun Hang Hu.

From the abstract:
As environmental pollution rises, efficient recycling of waste materials and degradation of persistent contaminants are increasingly critical. Dead leaves, an abundant but underutilized biomass, can be transformed into value-added materials. Concurrently, antibiotics like tetracycline in water bodies pose serious risks, requiring effective degradation methods. This dissertation leverages natural and nanostructured materials to develop multifunctional products and advanced photocatalytic processes. First, by utilizing whewellite biominerals to bind lignin and cellulose, red maple dead leaves were transformed into an active multifunctional material. This material exhibits intense optical absorption and a heterogeneous architecture that enhances charge separation, excelling in solar water evaporation, photocatalytic hydrogen production, and tetracycline degradation. Additionally, it serves as a bioplastic with superior mechanical strength, high-temperature tolerance, and biodegradability. Furthermore, visible-light driven photocatalytic processes were explored for degrading antibiotics using green, cost- effective, nanostructured photocatalysts. On the one hand, ZnO was found active under visible light owing to tetracycline's promotion effects by adjusting ZnO's energy band, photo-sensitizing it, and enhancing charge transfer, thus achieving a remarkable degradation efficiency of 91.1%. On the other hand, a thermo-photo catalytic process was developed for tetracycline degradation using WS2 nanoflakes. By harnessing in-situ generated heat under illumination, this method achieved 87.4% degradation efficiency, outperforming individual thermal and photo catalysis, and promoted tetracycline mineralization while reducing toxicities. Overall, this dissertation demonstrates innovative strategies for valorizing waste biomass and advancing photocatalytic processes for environmental remediation, providing sustainable solutions to global challenges.

Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics (ME-EM) Ph.D. student Jonathan Aurand will present a Ph.D. proposal defense tomorrow, July 9, at 2 p.m. in person in MEEM 908.

The Ph.D. proposal defense is titled “Evaluation of Thermoelectric Power Plant Derate Methods for Ambient Conditions and Improved Quantification of Combined Cycle Power Plant Performance in a Warming Climate.”

Aurand is advised by Ana Dyreson.

Research by Steven Walton (SS) on John T. Parsons and the roots of industrial Traverse City was featured in the story “Rocket Man,” found on pages 90-91 in the May/June 2024 issue of DBusiness Magazine. Parsons invented numerical control for machining helicopter rotor blades, but also catalyzed Traverse City’s industry with his production of World War II munitions, metal kitchen cabinetry, fiberglass fishing boats and other product lines. Walton was quoted in the story.

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The Traverse City Record-Eagle mentioned Michigan Tech in a story about a $1 million grant awarded by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy to the planned Freshwater Research and Innovation Center at the Discovery Center & Pier on West Grand Traverse Bay. The grant will fund contaminated groundwater and soil removal as well as asbestos removal following the demolition of existing buildings. The center is a collaboration between MTU, 20Fathoms, the Discovery Center & Pier, Northwestern Michigan College and Traverse Connect.

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Michigan Tech hockey defenseman Chase Pietila was interviewed by The Livingston Daily in a story about his selection by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the fourth round of the 2024 NHL Draft. He was also mentioned by The Tribune-Democrat of Johnson, Pennsylvania, in a story reviewing the Penguins’ 2024 draftees. That story was picked up by Yahoo! Sports.

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The Keweenaw Report mentioned Michigan Tech in a story previewing an invited talk about the history and unique qualities of the Yooper dialect by Kate Remlinger ’95 (Ph.D. Rhetoric and Technical Communication). The talk will be hosted by the Keweenaw County Historical Society tomorrow, July 9, at 7 p.m.

Do You Like Puzzles?

Are you a sudoku superfan? A crossword champion? A puzzle powerhouse? If so, then Michigan Tech's Alumni Engagement team wants you! We are looking for a puzzle enthusiast to moderate a webinar in August on how to master sudoku. This webinar will feature one of our international alumni who “wrote the book” on sudoku.

The Alumni Engagement team will work with you on preparing for the webinar and will manage all event logistics.

If you love puzzles and have the skills to moderate a webinar, please reach out to Jenn Biekkola at 906-487-1056 or jrbiekko@mtu.edu. We will even throw in some Michigan Tech alumni swag!

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

PhD Defense: Siyuan Fang

Monday, July 8, 8–9 a.m. | Minerals and Materials Engineering Building (M&M), 610

Engineering - Environmental Advisor: Yun Hang Hu Sustainable Materials for Environment - Multifunctional Material Made from Dead Leaves and Nanostructured Materials for...

Volleyball Summer 2024 Little Huskies Camp

Monday, July 8, 3–5 p.m. | Student Development Complex (SDC), Varsity Gym

This camp is open to boys and girls entering grades 1 - 5 as of Fall 2024. Michigan Tech’s Little Huskies Camp is the perfect way to explore the basics of volleyball for...

Huskies Swim Training - Summer 2024 Session 2

Monday, July 8, 3:30–5:00 p.m. | Student Development Complex (SDC), Pool

Join us for a summer of swimming in Huskies Swim Training! This training program provides additional attention and competitive guidance to proficient swimmers ages 6-17...