December 10, 2024

Submission for the 2024 MTU Wellness 360 Incentive is open. To earn up to $450, participants will check off the activities they completed between Jan. 1 and Dec. 31, 2024, and submit the electronic form. Benefits-eligible employees can access the MTU Wellness 360 Incentive 2024 Checklist Google form or navigate to the MTU Wellness 360 website. 

The last day to submit the MTU Wellness 360 incentive form for 2024 will be Jan. 10, 2025. Payouts are expected to arrive in late February. Tax-free payout options include lump sums deposited into an employee’s health savings account (HSA) — available only to employees enrolled in the HDHP1/HDHP2 health insurance plans — or flexible spending account (FSA). Taxable payout options include Michigan Tech Gift Card or Keweenaw Cash.

The MTU Wellness 360 program supports qualifying, benefits-eligible faculty and staff in learning about their health and well-being, encourages them to take steps to improve or maintain it, and offers monetary rewards of up to $450 for participating in the annual incentive program. Participation in the MTU Wellness 360 program is free, voluntary and confidential.

This October, the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) section at Michigan Tech supported the travel of 19 students to SWE’s WE24 conference, the world’s largest conference for women in engineering and technology. These students were able to attend sessions, participate in the “largest career fair for women in the world,” and meet with Michigan Tech alumnae from the Chicago area and SWE at large.

Following the career fair, Tech students in attendance had 17 interviews and four internship offers from participating in this event. WE24 also hosted an awards ceremony where current students, alumni, and faculty from Michigan Tech received awards for their achievements and contributions.

Visit the College of Engineering blog for more details on SWE at Michigan Tech’s awards and honors, as well as the conference’s impact on participating students.

M. Bartley Seigel (HU) will be a guest on Living Writers, a radio program hosted by T Hetzel on 88.3 WCBN-FM in Ann Arbor, tomorrow, Dec. 11, from 5-6 p.m.

Seigel will be joined by Michigan Poet Laureate Nandi Comer and fellow Michigan poets Brittany Rogers and Jonah Mixon-Webster.

The program will be livestreamed on WCBN's website.

The MLK Planning Committee is excited to announce the 36th Annual Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration at Michigan Technological University! As part of this celebration, we will be hosting the MLK Banquet on Jan. 20 to celebrate King's life and legacy.

Due to overwhelming positive responses from the campus community, we are anticipating more of our Husky family attending this year's celebration. As such, we want to ensure that students, staff and faculty have an opportunity to share in this celebratory event. Therefore, we're extending our donation deadline to Jan. 10. Your assistance allows us to provide this program free of charge and continue our collaborative efforts to provide programming that focuses on embracing diversity on Michigan Tech's campus.

We'd love your support in ensuring a successful event. Keep in mind, all sponsors will be recognized in our celebration. To initiate your donation, please email cdi@mtu.edu with your donation amount. Donations should be transferred to D96356. If you have any questions, please email cdi@mtu.edu.

A Banner maintenance window is scheduled for Dec. 22 from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. The following production services will be unavailable during that time:

• apps.mtu.edu
• Banner
• Banweb
• MyMichiganTech
• Aspire
• Course Tools
• OAP Rental System
• Oracle Reports
• UC4/Appworx
• Virtual Cashiering
• WebFocus

If you have any questions or concerns, we can help. Email IT at it-help@mtu.edu or call 906-487-1111.

Michigan Tech hockey split a CCHA series versus St. Thomas on Friday and Saturday, Dec. 6-7, at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena.

The Huskies defeated the Tommies 2-1 on Friday. Rylan Brown scored a third-period power-play goal to break a 1-1 tie.

"I'm extremely proud of the guys," Tech coach Joe Shawhan said. "Our penalty kill was outstanding, the goaltending was solid again, and our power play got the goal when we needed it. Winning the third period was another important thing for us to do."

MTU fell 4-1 to St. Thomas on Saturday. The Tommies scored three goals in the first period and one in the third.

"I'm proud of our guys and proud of the way we played," Shawhan said. "Their top guys got them a lead. We played hard and tried to battle back with momentum in the third, but couldn't find a goal. They blocked a lot of shots and their goaltenders played well."

Read more hockey news at Michigan Tech Athletics.

Graduate transfer forward Janie Tormanen scored a career-high 21 points as the Michigan Tech women's basketball team earned its first GLIAC win of the season, defeating Purdue Northwest 74-63 at the SDC Gymnasium on Saturday, Nov. 7.

A trio of Huskies joined Tormanen in double-digit scoring, with veteran guard Isabella Lenz garnering 17 points and a team-high five assists. First-year guard Kendall Standfest was near another double-double with 11 points and eight rebounds, while sophomore guard Alyssa Wypych reached 10 points for the first time in six games.

"I think Purdue Northwest played with a ton of heart — we got up by 20 points and they battled back in it. I don't think we played well, but I'm happy we got the win," Tech head coach Sam Clayton said. "It's great to see Janie finish so well — she was pretty patient in the second half and played well for us. Emma (Anderson) rebounded so well for us today, which was huge with Maja (Kozlowska) being in foul trouble. I'm really glad we get two weeks to just practice and get better. I'm hoping we look like a different team in a couple of weeks."

Read more women's basketball news at Michigan Tech Athletics.

The Michigan Tech men's basketball team saw six players reach double-figure scoring in the Huskies' 92-59 domination of Purdue Northwest on Saturday, Dec. 7.

Marcus Tomashek led Tech with 15 points and two steals. Starters Dawson Nordgaard and Pete Calcaterra produced 12-point outings, with Calcaterra also recording a team-leading seven rebounds.

The Huskies' bench scored 44 points collectively in the win — which was the third straight game in which Tech has scored over 80 points at a clip of 50% or better from the field. MTU has now won four straight.

"Today was great — the guys came out with the same competitive juice as Thursday and guarded well, and didn't let Purdue Northwest get comfortable," said Tech head coach Josh Buettner. "Once again, we shared the ball with six guys reaching double figures. That's impressive no matter what level of basketball, and 21 assists is great."

Read more men's basketball news at Michigan Tech Athletics.

The Michigan Tech Nordic ski teams began the 2024-25 season at the Swedetown CCSA Season Opener. The Huskies raced against Northern Michigan and St. Scholastica, and came out on top in the team standings in the female, male and overall categories. The event was a 7.5K freestyle with 30-second interval starts.

"It was a stellar start to the competition season for the Huskies," coach Tom Monahan Smith said. "We're thrilled with how the team performed today. It gives us confidence that we're ready to compete early in the season, and we're looking forward to getting some national-level racing next weekend."

"I want to thank the Swedetown Trails Club for hosting the event and the Michigan Tech Cross Country Team for coming out and supporting their fellow Huskies," he said.

Read more Nordic ski news at Michigan Tech Athletics.

Friday, Dec. 13
• Hockey at Bemidji State, 8:07 p.m. on Mix 93 WKMJ & Midco Sports Plus

Saturday, Dec. 14
• Nordic Skiing at Gitchi Gami Games SuperTour (Cable, Wisconsin)
• Men's Basketball vs. Northland, 5 p.m. at SDC Gym on Mix 93 WKMJ & FloCollege
• Hockey at Bemidji State, 7:07 p.m. on Mix 93 WKMJ & Midco Sports Plus

Sunday, Dec. 15
• Nordic Skiing at Gitchi Gami Games SuperTour (Cable, Wisconsin)

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Athletics News
Read more in the MTU Athletics weekly update.

Terry Sharik and Tara L. Bal (both CFRES) are co-authors of an open-access paper published in Ambio.

The paper, titled “Social and knowledge diversity in forest education: Vital for the world’s forests,” was the result of a large international collaborative effort. In addition to Sharik and Bal, the paper's authors include Mika Rekola, Andrew Taber, John Parrotta, Michael Dockry, Folaranmi Babalola, David J. Ganz, Marta Gruca, Manuel R. Guariguata, James Kungu, Pipiet Larasatie, Anne Nevgi, Sandra Rodriguez-Piñeros, Sirichai Saengcharnchai, Niclas Sandström and Khalil Walji.

The study found that forest educators and trainers around the world  still find deficits in the inclusion of knowledge and student diversity. Many programs' curricula were found to have weak coverage of critical forest services and cultural and social issues. The inclusion of traditional and Indigenous knowledge was frequently poor or absent. Additionally, gaps were found in enrollment at tertiary education levels with respect to diversity by gender, race/ethnicity and other societal groups.

“If unaddressed, forest researchers, professionals, and workers will continue to lack familiarity with different knowledge systems and the importance of inclusive representation,” reads the abstract. “Improvements in forest education related curricula, research, monitoring, policy, recruitment, and promotion are recommended. Without remedial action to build a representative, skilled, and knowledgeable workforce, prospects for forests to meet local, national, and global goals are at risk. Improved social and knowledge diversity in forest education is paramount for the future of forests.”

My UP Now mentioned Michigan Tech in a story about the InventCON Kickoff Event, part of the lead-up to the March 16 Invention Convention at Superior Makersfest. Tom Oliver (CSEO/CEGE) and Michigan Tech students are assisting participants with brainstorming and developing prototypes for the event.

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EnergyTech and Ocean News & Technology mentioned Michigan Tech in stories about the U.S. Department of Energy’s $18 million investment in marine energy and offshore wind research. Michigan Tech received $598,800 to support innovation in marine energy technologies as part of the initiative.

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Tim Scarlett and Roman Sidortsov (both SS) were quoted by the Keweenaw Report in a story about their research on pumped underground storage hydropower (PUSH) systems in the Upper Peninsula’s abandoned hard rock mines. The researchers discussed how PUSH systems could store renewable energy, generate power, and clean contaminated water, presenting opportunities for environmental and economic growth. The story was picked up from My UP Now.

Info Session on DoD Cyber Service Academy Scholarship Program

An information session about the U.S. Department of Defense Cyber Service Academy (DoD CSA) will take place today, Dec. 10, at 4 p.m. in Rekhi 214. College of Computing faculty members Bo Chen and Yu Cai will share insights into the prestigious scholarship program, outline eligibility and application details, and explain the benefits of participation.

The DoD CSA program provides scholarships to college students (non-DoD civilians) at the undergraduate and graduate levels to study in cyber-related majors at select National Centers of Academic Excellence in Cybersecurity (NCAE-C), including Michigan Tech.

Learn more on the College of Computing Advising blog.

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Toys for Tots at the Library: Your Help is Needed!

It’s that time of year again — Toys for Tots have arrived at the Van Pelt and Opie Library! Stop by and see the amazing collection of toys gathered by Tammy Monette (VPOL) and her team of special elves this semester.

Your generous donations will be greatly appreciated and accepted until tomorrow, Dec. 11. After that, the toys will be picked up and sent off to the North Pole to spread holiday cheer.

Don't miss the chance to make a difference this season!

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

Financial Aid & FAFSA 101

Tuesday, December 10, 6:30–7:30 p.m.

Paying for college is a big deal. Nearly 90 percent of Michigan Tech students receive scholarships and/or financial aid to help cover the costs of a world-class education....

Main Meeting!

Tuesday, December 10, 7–9 p.m. | WADS G42W

Main meeting for our organization where we listen to preaching, take communion and have fellowship

Weekly Meeting

Tuesday, December 10, 7–9 p.m. | Guys' House

His House meets every Tuesday evening for worship, Bible study, fellowship and food! Join us at our campus house on Blanche Street! Hope to see you soon!