February 26, 2025

Whether it’s a rave in the hot sun throwing beach balls and sipping fruity drinks or a long, relaxing week on the couch, the spring-breaker stereotype doesn’t typically involve long hours of learning and labor. But thanks to Student Leadership and Involvement (SLI) at Michigan Tech, Huskies have options.

SLI’s Alternative Spring Break gives students across campus the opportunity to spend their time off serving communities around the world — and having a different kind of fun in the process.

This year’s domestic trip is to Denver, Colorado, where students are working with Habitat for Humanity of Metro Denver on an affordable housing initiative. SLI Coordinator Taylor Piering is leading participants in cleaning the local Rebuild Store and aiding in a home-build project.

Meanwhile, in Shandia, Ecuador, SLI Director Amy Hjerstedt leads students in working with Manna Project International. The trip gives students a variety of service opportunities to choose from in education, health, sports and recreation, business agriculture, and environment. No matter what projects the group chooses, their goal is to help create communities of young leaders working to break the cycle of poverty in underserved communities around the world.

Read more on the College of Sciences and Arts Newsblog.

Design Expo, hosted by the Enterprise Program and the College of Engineering at Michigan Tech, is celebrating its 25th anniversary this April and is looking for individuals to volunteer as distinguished judges. The event, scheduled for April 15, showcases pioneering projects crafted by our talented students across various disciplines, with more than 100 Enterprise, Senior Design and capstone projects on display.

The best Design Expo judges can come from anywhere: Michigan Tech faculty, staff, alumni, friends, local community members, industry representatives and anyone with an interest in supporting our students as they engage in hands-on, discovery-based learning.

To be considered as a judge, individuals must be present at Design Expo from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on April 15, as well as be able to review and score team materials prior to the event. Learn more about becoming a Design Expo judge and sign up today!

Applications for the 2025 Michigan Translational Research & Commercialization (MTRAC) grants are open until March 31.

The MTRAC Innovation Hub for Applied Advanced Materials program at Michigan Tech provides funding and resources to support materials related projects with high commercial potential. This support includes research and development funding for prototype and late-stage translational activities, with consultation and mentoring from an oversight committee including industry and investment experts.

Contact Julie Baker at juabaker@mtu.edu or 906-487-3458 to receive assistance and guidance on proposal preparation.

Proposal instructions can be found in the 2025 MTRAC Applied Advanced Materials Application Process PDF. Information about MTRAC is available on the University's MTRAC page.

Join us for WIBIT Wednesday! Registration is open for our next session next Wednesday, March 5. Test your individual skills on the course or challenge your friend to a race across the obstacles.

Register for the March 5 WIBIT Session.

Potential featured pieces include:

• The Step — This piece allows users to climb up onto the course.
• The Base — Users must make their way across a horizontal surface. Be careful how fast you move, as it can get slippery!
• The Cliff — Users must navigate either side of a slope using the handles and their balancing skills.
• V-Connect — Users must use limited footing space to navigate across the horizontal structure.
• The Bridge — Users must navigate up and over an arched structure without falling through.
• The Slope — Users must climb up a six-foot wall that leads to a slide into the pool water below!

Can’t make it? Come visit us next time!

• Wednesday, April 9, from 5-8 p.m. | Step, Cliff, Bridge, Slope

For more information, visit the WIBIT page on the Michigan Tech Recreation website.

Michigan Tech’s Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) team will be hosting our next monthly Safety Round Table: a place for all Huskies to share a cup of coffee and learn about the importance of campus health and safety.

We invite you to join us next Wednesday, March 5, from 9-10 a.m. in the MUB Ballroom.

Topic: Jeff Lewin will discuss incident reports, reported safety concerns and other safety issues addressed during the months of August 2024 through January 2025.

If you have a topic you want discussed, please email ehs-help@mtu.edu. We would be happy to present on a safety topic you are interested in.

Safety Training Compliance is vital for providing a safe Husky learning and working environment. This month, we want to hear from you and understand your safety compliance challenges and how to overcome those roadblocks with features within the Safety Skills system. A brief overview of Safety Skill compliance capabilities will be presented before opening the floor for questions and answers.

In addition, there will be an informal opportunity to talk with our campus safety professionals for other safety related questions and issues.

So mark your calendars and come 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…and have a cup of Joe with the Safety Crew!

It’s that time of year! The Doghouse Classic is an original Michigan Tech event that saw its beginnings over 30 years ago under the direction of Kevin Borseth, head women’s basketball coach at the time.

The tournament will take place on April 12 in the SDC Multipurpose Room on six competition courts. The number of teams registered will determine the number of divisions and the tournament format for each division. The preferred format will be a double-elimination bracket. Tournament brackets will not be available until the day of the tournament.

Register for the Doghouse Classic.

Tournament Details:

• Divisions: Boys and girls divisions for grade levels 4-8, JV, Varsity, and Men's and Women's Opens
• Cost: $120 per team (four players per team)
• Registration: The deadline to register is March 31

This tournament is an excellent opportunity to have some fun playing 3-on-3 basketball in a friendly yet competitive environment. Prizes will be awarded for division champs, and event swag will be available for all participants!

Visit Michigan Tech Recreation's Doghouse Classic Spring 2025 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament page to learn more and sign up.

Please join the Department of Computer Science (CS) next Wednesday, March 5, at 3 p.m. in Rekhi G005 for a research presentation by tenure-track faculty candidate Qin Yang, following the social hour in Rekhi 218 (coffee and snacks).

The title of Yang's presentation is "Cooperative Multi-Agent Systems Cognitive Modeling: From Individual Needs to Swarm Intelligence."

From the abstract:
With the tremendous growth of AI technology, Robotics, IoT, and high-speed wireless sensor networks (like 5G) in recent years, it gradually forms an artificial ecosystem termed artificial social systems that involves entire AI agents from software entities to hardware devices. How to integrate artificial social systems into human society and coexist harmoniously is a critical issue for the sustainable development of human beings. In this talk, I will discuss cooperative multi-agent systems from the cognitive modeling perspective and survey how to optimize the global system's utility and guarantee sustainable development for each group member from an individual needs angle in agents' interaction and collaboration.

Yang received his Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Georgia in 2022. He is an assistant professor specializing in robotics and artificial intelligence at Bradley University. His research focuses on multi-agent/robot systems (MAS/MRS), artificial intelligence, cognitive modeling, swarm intelligence/robotics, and human-robot interaction (HRI). Before that, he was a research scientist studying autonomous driving systems at Hitachi America Ltd. He received the NSF Foundational Research in Robotics (FRR) program award for his research on "Cooperative Multi-Agent Systems Cognitive Modeling" and has over 12 years of experience in the intelligence systems field.

The next Environmental Engineering Graduate Seminar will take place at 3 p.m. on Monday, March 3, in GLRC 202.

Michelle A. Cooper, Ph.D. candidate at Michigan Tech, will present "Sustainability as a Mindset for Enhancing Pavement Performance."

Read Cooper's abstract at the University Events Calendar.

The Department of Psychology and Human Factors will host two speakers at the next Applied Cognitive Science and Human Factors Forum: Lauren Sprague and Anusha Kannan, both ACSHF Ph.D. students. Their presentations will be from 2-3 p.m. on Monday, March 3, in M&M 610.

Sprague will present "Press Start and Juggle: Exploring Dual-Tasking in Gamers.”

Kannan will present "Examining the Effects of Intelligent Multimodal Alerts on Driver Decision Behavior at Two Types of Highway-Rail Crossings.”

Job Posting for Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025

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.

​Archivist (Two-Year Fixed Term Position),​ V​an Pelt and Opie Library. 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.

Assistant Professor Erich Petushek (PsyHF) is the co-author of a paper published in the Orthopaedic Journal of Sports Medicine.

The paper is titled "Reason Profiles for not Returning to Preinjury Activity Level Following Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction — A Latent Class Analysis With Subgroup Comparison of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures."

University President Rick Koubek was a guest on WLUC TV6’s “The Ryan Report” on Sunday, Feb. 23.

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Visit Keweenaw published an article written by Tom Oliver (CSEO) about night sky viewing etiquette in the Keweenaw Peninsula. In the article, Oliver outlined ways in which people venturing out to view the dark skies can make their experience and the experience of others around them more enjoyable.

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The Daily Mining Gazette mentioned Michigan Tech in a story about the City of Hancock’s inaugural Snow Sculpture Invitational. MTU Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity member Bruer Staley (manufacturing and mechanical engineering technology) was quoted and Zach Duford and Hallie Olson ’24 (B.S. Mechanical Engineering) were mentioned.

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WZMQ 19 News mentioned Michigan Tech in a story about a recent change to the University’s Diversity Incentive Award.

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The Daily Mining Gazette covered the Michigan Tech women’s Nordic ski team’s victory at the NCAA Central Regional Championship. The Huskies edged Northern Michigan by one point to become regional champs. The MTU coaching staff was also named Women’s & Men’s NCAA Central Region Coaching Staff of the Year.

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The Daily Mining Gazette mentioned Michigan Tech hockey’s first-year forward Elias Jansson in a story about his selection as CCHA Rookie of the Week for the fourth time this season.

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Grand Rapids’ Mix 95.7 WLHT-FM mentioned Michigan Tech hockey’s junior forward Stiven Sardarian in a story about his nomination for the 2025 Hobey Baker Memorial Award.

Summer 2025 Finishing Fellowship Nominations Open

Applications for Summer 2025 Finishing Fellowships are being accepted and are due no later than 4 p.m. next Wednesday, March 5, to the Graduate School. Please email applications to gradschool@mtu.edu.

Instructions on the application and evaluation process are found online. Students are eligible if all of the following criteria are met:

1. Must be a Ph.D. student.
2. Must expect to finish during the semester supported as a Finishing Fellow.
3. Must have submitted no more than one previous application for a Finishing Fellowship.
4. Must be eligible for candidacy (tuition charged at Research Mode rate) at the time of application.
5. Must not hold a final oral examination ("defense") prior to the start of the award semester.

Finishing Fellowships provide support to Ph.D. candidates who are close to completing their degrees. These fellowships are available through the generosity of alumni and friends of the University. They are intended to recognize outstanding Ph.D. candidates who are in need of financial support to finish their degrees and are also contributing to the attainment of goals outlined in the Michigan Tech Strategic Plan.

The Graduate School anticipates funding up to 10 fellowships, with support ranging from $2,000 to full support (stipend plus tuition). Students who receive full support through a Finishing Fellowship may not accept any other employment. For example, students cannot be fully supported by a Finishing Fellowship and accept support as a GTA or GRA.

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Union Appreciation Week at Campus Store, University Images

This week, from Feb. 24-28, the Campus Store and University Images proudly celebrate the hardworking members of UAW and AFSCME! As a token of our appreciation, enjoy 20% off your entire purchase all week long. See cashier for details.

Store Hours:

• Campus Store: Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. | Closed Saturday
• University Images: Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. | Saturday, 12-5 p.m.

Thank you for your dedication and contributions to our community!

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

Isle Royale Art Exhibition - Michigan Tech Art

Wednesday, February 26, 8 a.m.–8 p.m. | Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts, Rozsa Galleries A-Space

MICHIGAN TECH ART SERIES EVENT Enter into a world of artistic expression inspired by the wilderness of Isle Royale. The artworks showcased in this exhibition have all been...

Colorado Alumni Social

Wednesday, February 26, 6–8 p.m.

Calling all Denver-based Huskies! You're invited to join volunteer hosts Stacey '95 and Craig '94 Krastins and Abbie Bethune '22 for an alumni social on Wednesday, February...