December 17, 2024

In April 1968, Michigan Tech’s beloved “wiggle,” 91.1 WGGL-FM, began broadcasting from the upper floors of Sperr Hall. With just 10 watts of power, its signal barely reached beyond campus. For Stan Smart ’69 (B.S. Business Administration), the station’s first student manager, those early days marked the beginning of a journey that would not only shape his college experience, but also his career.

Read the full story about the birth of WGGL, including how Smart turned the experience into a career, on Alumni Stories.

The Vice President for Research Office (VPR) has hired Matt Hellman as the chief research security officer. He will begin his duties on Jan. 6.

Hellman is a 1990 Michigan Tech graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. He will be joining us after spending 28 years as a special agent/supervisor for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. During his time with the FBI, he worked in their offices located in Denver, Colorado Springs, Buffalo and Albany, and most recently worked in the Marquette office. A majority of his time, 22 years, has been spent working in counterintelligence matters.

As a counterintelligence agent, Hellman worked closely with universities and businesses to protect their classified and proprietary information and research. He has spent the last 10 years working with Michigan Tech, helping Michigan Tech balance between the need for research collaboration and the need to protect research that shouldn't be given freely to our adversaries. Michigan Tech is not the only university Hellman has worked with during his career, so he has become attuned to the challenges presented to researchers in the world of “academic espionage.”

“I very much look forward to dedicating myself full-time to helping protect the professors and research of one of the best STEM universities in the country," he said.

We are pleased and honored to welcome Matt to Michigan Tech.

On Tuesday, Dec. 10, 500 middle school students from 15 Western Upper Peninsula schools came to Michigan Tech's campus to attend the 2024 OneUP Copper Trail Festival, hosted at the SDC. Students engaged with over 55 hands-on STEM demonstrations and learned about in-demand careers, resources and educational opportunities.

The Center for Educational Outreach (CEO) would like to thank all the departments, student organizations and Michigan Tech faculty, staff and students who volunteered their time to make this event a success! The event was also supported by dozens of external exhibitors from both local businesses and nonprofit organizations, and event partners including Michigan Tech Mind Trekkers, UP Michigan Works!, MiSTEM Network and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.

Photos from the event can be found on CEO's Flickr page!

Our next event will take place at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on Jan. 29 and 30. Academic departments are invited to join us as exhibitors to showcase educational opportunities. To learn more, please reach out to us at outreach@mtu.edu.

The Benefits Office would to remind employees that the deadline to submit claims for their 2024 Flexible Spending Account (FSA) is March 15, 2025. Health care and dependent care claims during the 2024 calendar year are eligible if the date of service was in 2024. Any money remaining in the account after March 15 is forfeited per IRS regulations.

Dependent care claims require an invoice or receipt from the provider. All medical, dental and optical claims should be processed through your insurance plans before submitting them to your health care reimbursement account.

Attach the Explanation of Benefits (EOB) or a claim summary from your insurance plan to the claim form when submitting a claim. For expenses not processed through insurance, submit the itemized receipt.

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

For questions, contact Benefits Services at benefits@mtu.edu or call 906-487-2517.

To support faculty, staff and students who wish to leverage generative artificial intelligence in their professional and academic pursuits, we’re excited to announce that effective Jan. 8, 2025, the basic Google Gemini application will be available to all MTU faculty, staff and students. While this application has limitations, it makes generative AI capabilities available to all MTU affiliates at no cost.

Once enabled, anyone with an MTU Google account can go to Gemini and enter a prompt to be processed by Google’s Gemini generative AI service, which can be used to answer questions, summarize content, generate new content, etc. MTU affiliates are encouraged to review the Generative AI Policy prior to using Google Gemini.

Data submitted to Gemini when logged into your MTU account is afforded the same data protections as all other data you create or store in Google Workspace for Education, and data you submit won’t be used or reviewed by anyone to improve AI models.

For details and examples on using the Google Gemini web app, please visit Google’s Help page.

In preparation for winter break, please note that the Michigan Tech Archives will be closed for the holidays from Friday, Dec. 20, until Jan. 6. Phone calls and emails to the archives during that time will be returned after Jan. 6.

In addition, appointments to visit the archives will be unavailable until Jan. 20. This extended hiatus will allow our staff to focus on readying new and improved collections for your research! Remote reference services will continue to be available in January via copper@mtu.edu or 906-487-2505.

Please do not hesitate to get in touch with any questions. We hope everyone has a safe break and a joyful holiday season!

Ready to help the Huskies face off against waste? Michigan Tech is hosting its first-ever Zero Waste Challenge during the upcoming hockey game against Lake Superior State on Saturday, Jan. 11. The initiative aims to demonstrate how large-scale sporting events can minimize their environmental impact while maintaining an exceptional fan experience.

Attendees will notice several environmentally friendly changes at the game, including compostable packaging at concessions, waste collection stations with clearly marked recycling and composting bins, and volunteer support to guide proper waste sorting. Following the game, a dedicated team of volunteers will ensure proper waste management, partnering with Recycle 906 and Partridge Creek Compost to divert materials from landfills.

This event is a partnership between MTU Athletics, Husky Eats and the Office of Sustainability and Resilience.

Interested in helping out during the Zero Waste Hockey Game? Sign up to volunteer and support sustainability efforts on campus!

Michigan Tech hockey remains unbeaten on the road. The Huskies recorded a tie and a win at Bemidji State this weekend, taking 4-of-6 CCHA weekend points.

Tech skated to a 2-2 tie against the Beavers on Friday, Dec. 13. Logan Morrell scored twice, including the late game-tying goal with the extra attacker. The Beavers took the extra CCHA point with a shootout win.

"It was a difficult game but our special teams came through, and we were able to come out with a point on the road against a good Bemidji State team," Tech coach Joe Shawhan said. "We have one game left before the break, so we need to clean some things up and finish the first half of the schedule strong."

The Huskies defeated the Beavers 9-5 on Saturday, Dec. 14. After trailing 2-0, MTU scored all nine goals in the final two periods.

"It was a really exciting game and we're proud of the resilience in our group," Tech assistant coach Raymond Brice said. "We challenged them to score some goals this morning and the young group responded. Not much was said between the first and second. The guys knew what they had to do."

Read more hockey news at Michigan Tech Athletics.

The Michigan Tech men's basketball team saw six players reach double-digit scoring in a 106-43 win over Northland at the SDC Gymnasium on Saturday, Dec. 14.

Second-year guard Matt Schmainda's 14-point outing led the Huskies to victory in their last nonconference match of the season.

"It was a good win and good to get back into rhythm with finals week," Tech head coach Josh Buettner said. "I liked the way we had good intensity defensively and I thought the ball moved well on offense. It felt like we were scoring with ball movement and running our offense rather than feeling like we had an advantage one-on-one. We got better offensively because of how well we moved the ball."

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

Kellie Raffaelli (SA), graduate speaker Mehnaz Tabassum ’23 (Ph.D. Electrical and Computer Engineering), undergraduate speaker Aliyah Maxwell-Abrams ’24 (B.S. Civil Engineering), and alumni speaker Adam Mitteer ’03 ’17 (B.S. Business Administration, M.S. Data Science) were quoted by the Daily Mining Gazette in a story about Michigan Tech’s 2024 Midyear Commencement. Raffaelli was also quoted by WLUC TV6, and the commencement ceremony was previewed by the Keweenaw Report.

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Amanda Stump (CFRES) was quoted by Planet Detroit in a story about climate change threatening oak trees in the Great Lakes region. Stump discussed how rising temperatures, severe weather and increased vulnerability to pests and diseases put oaks at risk, despite their adaptations to extreme conditions.

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Cindy Pindral (ATH) was quoted by the Daily Mining Gazette in a story about her return to Michigan Tech as the head coach of the Huskies volleyball team. Pindral shared her excitement about leading the team, building on her past experience at Tech and her connections within the local volleyball community.

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Visit Keweenaw mentioned Michigan Tech’s Mont Ripley Ski Area, Winter Carnival, and Outdoor Adventure Program in a story about winter activities and rentals in the Keweenaw Peninsula.

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Michigan Tech alum Jim Becsey (B.S. Mechanical Engineering) was mentioned by the Glen Arbor Sun as the new manager of building and grounds at Glen Arbor’s Homestead resort in Leelanau County.

Sign Up for Lean White Belt Virtual Workshop

The Office of Continuous Improvement (OCI) is offering a virtual workshop where you can earn a Lean White Belt.

The workshop, "Processes, Flow, and Waste: Lean Fundamentals (Virtual)," will be offered twice:

• Wednesday, Dec. 18, from 9 a.m. to noon
• Wednesday, April 2, from 9 a.m. to noon

In this fun and interactive workshop, you’ll practice visualizing the fundamental Lean concepts of flow and waste and see how you can apply them to your job right away. These tools can assist you in your efforts to create the best possible experience for students, faculty, staff and other customers. Lean White Belt certification is awarded to those who satisfactorily complete all requirements for this workshop.

To see the workshop description and register, complete our brief Upcoming Michigan Tech Lean Courses form or visit our website. Once registered, we'll add you to a calendar event for the course.

This workshop will be taught virtually using Zoom and Miro. Miro is a virtual collaboration tool, similar to a virtual whiteboard. Learn more about how to use Miro at the Miro Academy Essentials course. The course is considered complete after attending the workshop and submitting a couple of brief activities to demonstrate application of concepts. A certification of completion will be awarded after meeting all requirements. There’s no cost to Michigan Tech employees.

This stand-alone workshop is part of the Lean Basics workshop series. It can be taken independently, or, if you complete the requirements for all five workshops in the series, we’ll award you a Lean Yellow Belt certificate!

For more information, email improvement@mtu.edu.

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

PhD Defense: Seyedehfatemeh Razaviamri

Tuesday, December 17, 10–11 a.m. | H-STEM Complex, 348

Biomedical Engineering Advisor: Bruce Lee Modified Catechol-based Polymeric Biomaterials for Antiviral, Antibacterial, and Hemostatic Applications Attend Virtually:...

Staff Council Meeting

Tuesday, December 17, 12–1 p.m. | Administration and Student Services Building, 404

Join us for the monthly Staff Council meeting! Staff Council exists to support Michigan Tech staff: full-time, part-time, nine-month, or ten-month; non-student, non-faculty....

Skiing at Gitchi Gami Games SuperTour

December 17, all day | Cable, Wis.

Skiing at Gitchi Gami Games SuperTour Cable, Wis.