March 13, 2025

Michigan Tech’s SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge team took home first place at the annual challenge, held in Eagle River, Wisconsin, earlier this month. The team won first place in the sparked ignition snowmobile (SI) challenge, as well as first place in the design phase of the competition. Huskies earned second place in the compression ignition diesel utility snowmobile (CI) competition.

The team’s co-presidents, master's student Sophie Bollin and senior Jared Ott (both mechanical engineering), were thrilled with the team’s performance this year and grateful for their experiences.

“I am beyond proud of the team and the hard work they’ve put in over the last year,” said Bollin. “As my fourth and final year on the team, I couldn’t have pictured a better way to end.”

The multidisciplinary team is part of Tech’s Advanced Motorsports Enterprise, and is advised by Jason Blough and Scott Miers (both MAE).

Read more about the team and their accomplishments at the College of Engineering Blog.

The Michigan Tech College of Business Collegiate DECA Chapter brought a record 13 students to the state Career Development Conference in Bay City, Michigan, last month, where nine Huskies were recognized as finalists. Five were Top 3 competitors and now move on to global competition in April at the International Career Development Conference in San Francisco, California.

DECA is an educational organization that focuses on preparing young, emerging leaders and entrepreneurs to excel in the fields of finance, marketing, business management and administration, and entrepreneurship.

“DECA has been life-changing for many members of our chapter,” said Veronica Frystack, chapter president — a six-year member who credits the organization for giving her the confidence, skill set and experience needed to succeed in professional development and personal goals. She said Michigan Tech students have historically done well at the national and international level of DECA competitions and “shown the world the hardworking, tenacious, and scholarly spirits that Michigan Tech students have, showing the world what Huskies can do.”

Learn more about the group’s goals, on campus and off, at the College of Business Newsblog.

Save the Date: If you’re an undergraduate student with a GPA of at least 2.75, join representatives from Michigan Tech Global Campus and the Graduate School next Thursday, March 20, at 5 p.m. for an in-person information session on MTU’s online graduate programs and accelerated master’s degrees.

The session will unpack the details of the following topics:

• Accelerated master’s programs
• Online graduate programs
• Double-counting undergraduate credits
• Senior Rule
• The cost savings of accelerated degrees
• The Graduate School application process

Event Details:

• What: Info Session on Accelerated and Online Graduate Degrees
• When: Thursday, March 20, at 5 p.m.
• Where: Fisher 135
• Register: Register for the Info Session.

There will be pizza and lemonade, so make sure you bring both your appetite and your questions!

Looking for more information? Please contact Amanda at globalcampus@mtu.edu.

The 11th annual Undergraduate Research & Scholarship Symposium (URSS) is set for next Friday, March 21, from 1:30-3:30 p.m. in the Rozsa Lobby, with awards announced at 3:15 p.m. This event highlights the outstanding research conducted by Michigan Tech’s undergraduate students, showcasing a wide range of disciplines and innovative projects.

Attending the URSS is a great way to support and celebrate our student researchers as they present their work and share their discoveries. It’s also an opportunity to engage in conversations with students, ask questions about their research and gain insight into the exciting projects happening across campus. For faculty and staff mentoring students, this event serves as an excellent introduction to the many research possibilities available at Michigan Tech, so please encourage them to attend.

This year, the URSS coincides with Michigan Tech’s Preview Weekend, providing a valuable chance to showcase the University’s dynamic research environment to prospective students and their families. Seeing the incredible work being done by our undergraduates may inspire future Huskies to embark on their own research journeys.

We invite you to join us at the URSS to support our student researchers and help foster the next generation of scholars. We hope to see you there!

On March 23 from 10 a.m. to noon, Perceptive Content will be unavailable while we perform maintenance. Affected departments include:

• Advancement and Alumni Engagement
• Admissions
• Business Support Center
• Campus Store / University Images
• Facilities Management
• Financial Services and Operations
• Graduate School
• Human Resources
• International Programs and Services
• Michigan Tech IT
• Michigan Tech Research Institute
• Rozsa Center
• Registrar's Office
• Residential Living
• Sponsored Programs
• Summer Youth Programs
• University Marketing and Communications

If you use the Perceptive Content Client to upload documents, be sure to back up your existing profiles before next Friday, March 21. After the maintenance is complete, any issues with Perceptive Content may require copying the profiles back into place. For step-by-step instructions, refer to our Knowledge Base article "Backup and Restore Perceptive Content Capture Profiles."

If issues persist after you restore the files, or if you have questions about this maintenance, we can help. Email IT at it-help@mtu.edu or call 906-487-1111.

The Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts has announced the rescheduling of the stand-up comedy performance by Zarna Garg, originally slated for Saturday, March 22.

The event has been rescheduled for next year’s Winter Carnival due to a conflict in the updated production schedule for Garg's new television series, currently in development. With Kaling International Inc. and Hartbeat Productions to executive produce, the series features Garg as a proud immigrant woman and mother searching for her own American dream.

The new performance date at the Rozsa is Feb. 6, 2026.

“We are disappointed to have to reschedule Zarna, but what an exciting reason! We always hope the up-and-coming comedians coming to the Rozsa will take off. We’re thrilled that Zarna is one of those talents,” said Kiersten Birondo, executive director of the Rozsa Center. “We appreciate our community’s understanding and look forward to bringing Zarna to the stage during Winter Carnival 2026, after her new show launches!”

All ticket holders have been contacted, and all tickets will be refunded or held in reserve for the new performance date.

If you have reserved tickets that you would like refunded or have questions, please contact the Rozsa Box Office by emailing rozsa@mtu.edu, calling 906-487-1906, or dropping by during regular box office hours, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.

You are invited to an informal genomic technologies themed coffee hour sponsored by the Ecosystem Science Center in the atrium of the U. J. Noblet Forestry Building on Monday, March 17, at 2 p.m.

Students, staff and faculty with an interest in genomic technologies and its applications are welcome to attend this great opportunity to socialize with colleagues across centers, institutes and colleges.

Coffee, tea and snacks will be provided. We hope to see you there!

Please join the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering (CEGE) on Wednesday, March 19, at 10 a.m. in GLRC 202, for a research presentation* by faculty candidate Han Qiu, research scientist at the University of Texas at Dallas.

The title of Qiu's presentation is "Towards Next-Generation Integrated Hydrologic, Ecological, and Water Quality Modeling."

* Please note: This seminar will take the place of the Environmental Engineering Graduate Seminar this week. There will not be a seminar on Monday, March 17.

From the abstract:
Climate variations intensify water resource constraints by altering precipitation patterns, raising temperatures, and increasing the frequency of extreme weather events. These shifts not only impact water availability but also exacerbate hydrologic extremes and degrade water quality through the mobilization of contaminants during floods. Water, food, and energy are foundational to human survival, economic stability, and ecosystem health. However, despite their critical interconnections, these systems are often underrepresented in global change assessments, limiting our understanding of their cascading impacts on socio-economic sectors such as agriculture, energy, public health, and urban development. Integrated hydrologic, ecological, agricultural, and water quality modeling is essential for capturing the complex interactions that govern water cycles and resource management in an era of rapid environmental change. Traditional modeling approaches often operate in isolation, restricting their ability to fully represent the feedback mechanisms between hydrologic, ecological, agricultural, and biogeochemical processes. Advancing next-generation integrated models will enhance our capacity to assess system-wide responses, inform sustainable resource management strategies, and improve resilience to climate-driven environmental challenges. In this seminar, I will present my efforts to enhance the modeling capabilities of integrated land surface, hydrologic, and water quality models to improve predictions of Earth's water, energy, and biogeochemical cycles, as well as key water quality variables. I develop and implement novel methodologies to enhance model coupling, scalability, and predictive accuracy, incorporating advances in hyper-resolution parallelized modeling. I will highlight the development and application of next-generation modeling approaches as powerful tools for sustainable water resource management, agroecosystem resilience, and environmental health applications. Additionally, I will introduce my work in coupled human-Earth system modeling, emphasizing the connections between environmental, agricultural, and ecological sciences and critical global challenges such as energy transitions, food security, and environmental sustainability. Finally, I will discuss my research in applying artificial intelligence (AI) to hydrology and environmental engineering, including advancements in physics-informed and explainable AI, to further enhance predictive capabilities and system understanding.

Qiu is a research scientist in the Department of Sustainable Earth Systems Sciences at the University of Texas at Dallas, working with Dean David Hyndman. Qiu obtained a Ph.D. in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Michigan State University and received postdoctoral training at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.

Qiu's research focuses on addressing critical global environmental and Earth system challenges. Qiu employs interdisciplinary approaches to unravel the complex interconnections among shifting water resources, water quality dynamics, land-atmosphere interactions, soil and water biogeochemistry, and nutrient and carbon cycles. Qiu's work integrates process-based modeling, data assimilation, high-performance computing and artificial intelligence to enhance predictive capabilities across diverse environmental systems.

Additionally, Qiu's research explores ecosystem resilience and environmental sustainability within various socioeconomic sectors — including energy transitions, land use change, food security and environmental health — by leveraging coupled human-Earth system modeling approaches to understand global change impacts and inform sustainable solutions.

The Department of Psychology and Human Factors (PsyHF) will host two speakers at the next Applied Cognitive Science and Human Factors Forum: Laura Albrant and Kat Rawhouser, both ACSHF Ph.D. students. Their presentations will be from 2-3 p.m. on Monday, March 17, in M&M 610.

Albrant will present "Examining Student Resolutions of Automated Critiques."

Rawhouser will present "Lessons from Needs Assessments."

USCHO.com, the Bemidji Pioneer, Sioux Falls Live and Yahoo! Sports mentioned Michigan Tech hockey players Elias Jansson, Logan Morrell, Rylan Brown and Chase Pietila in stories about the CCHA's 2024-25 all-conference awards. Jansson, Morrell and Brown were named to the CCHA All-Rookie Team and Pietila earned All-CCHA First Team recognition.

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The Association for the Sciences of Limnology and Oceanography mentioned Michigan Tech Ph.D. student Megan Berberich (biological sciences) in a story about the 2025 LOREX program. Berberich will research microbial metabolism and greenhouse gas dynamics in boreal stream hyporheic zones during her exchange at Umeå University in Sweden.

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The Keweenaw Report mentioned Michigan Tech in a story about students from MTU’s Circle K chapter and Sigma Rho fraternity helping serve a chicken dinner to seniors at the Let’s Eat Community Meals event on Sunday, March 16, at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Houghton.

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Port Huron’s 102.3 WGRT-FM mentioned Michigan Tech’s Mind Trekkers in a story about the STEM Fest at St. Clair County Community College on Saturday, March 15. The event features hands-on exhibits focused on science, technology, engineering and mathematics. 

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The Keweenaw Report mentioned the Young Americans for Freedom chapter at Michigan Tech in a story previewing YAF’s upcoming speaker event with Ian Haworth next Thursday, March 20.

An Evening of Literature and Music with Stephanie Carpenter and M. Bartley Seigel

Please join us next Thursday, March 20, at the Orpheum Theater in Hancock for An Evening of Literature and Music celebrating new books by novelist Stephanie Carpenter and poet M. Bartley Seigel, both creative writing faculty in the Department of Humanities.

Carpenter and Seigel will be joined by special musical guests Dead North and Willowby at the event. Studio Pizza will be slinging pies.

Doors open at 7 p.m. Readings and music start at 7:30 p.m.

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Physics Colloquium: Grad Student Presentations

The following Department of Physics graduate students will be presenting their research progress at this week’s Physics Colloquium:

• Mahsa Najafi​​​​​​​ (advised by Petra Huentemeyer)

• Tanner Sether (advised by Elena Giusarma)

• Krishna Teja Vedula (advised by Tiffany Lewis)

This will be an in-person event. The students will give their talks at 4 p.m. today, March 13, in Fisher 139.

Read the students' presentation titles and abstracts at the University Events Calendar.

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HU Department Chair Candidate Visit

The Department of Humanities (HU) is pleased to be hosting candidates for on-campus interviews for the position of department chair.

The next candidate will present a department leadership seminar titled "Leading Together" today, March 13, from 11 a.m. to noon in Walker 134 and via Zoom.

The candidate will also present a research and teaching presentation titled “Compassion as Interdisciplinary Research and as Humanities Pedagogy” tomorrow, March 14, from 1-2 p.m. in GLRC 202 and via Zoom.

Join the HU Department Chair Seminars on Zoom.

All members of the Michigan Tech community are welcome to attend.

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Physics Colloquium with Qi Zhong

Qi Zhong from St. Louis University will present at this week's Physics Colloquium. Zhong's presentation is titled "Non-Hermiticity and Exceptional Points in Photonics: From Classical to Quantum."

The seminar will be presented at 11:00 a.m. today, March 13, in Fisher 325.

Read Zhong's abstract and bio at the University Events Calendar.

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BioSci Seminar Series Speaker: Clara Shaw

Clara Shaw, disease ecologist from the University of Minnesota-Duluth, will be presenting today, March 13, from 3-4 p.m. in GLRC 202 and on Zoom.

Join the BioSci Seminar on Zoom.

Shaw's presentation is titled "Understanding viral persistence within natural and non-natural host species."

From the abstract:
Countless genetic and environmental factors impact susceptibility to infectious disease and the outcome of infection. We use a Caenorhabditis nematode – Orsay virus system to understand these factors through laboratory experiments. During the first part of my talk, I will discuss our work exploring the effect of maternal age on Orsay virus susceptibility and viral amplification. We found that early offspring (from young parents) had greater viral loads than later offspring (from older parents). Interestingly, when the virus was allowed to transmit in populations derived from early or late offspring, there was more viral amplification in the populations derived from the later offspring. We are now working to mechanistically understand these effects, which, at first glance, seem contradictory. During the second part of my talk, I will discuss our experiments to understand factors that govern the success of viruses following spillover of Orsay virus to Caenorhabditis species that do not naturally host the virus. Often, spillover results in dead-end infections, sometimes, in stuttering transmission chains that die out, and rarely, large epidemics and virus persistence. We exposed populations of non-natural host species to the virus and measured epidemiological characteristics of the resulting spillover process (i.e. prevalence of infection, intensity of infection, and the degree of virus shedding from novel hosts). We then quantified viral persistence in populations through a passage experiment: we used quantitative PCR to track virus persistence in passaged host populations for 10 passages or until virus was undetectable, indicating its loss. We found that sustained transmission was associated with infection prevalence in the exposed population and the ability of exposed hosts to detectably shed the virus, but not with the infection intensity. Though there are few other experimental studies of disease emergence for comparison, our findings are in line with theory and with findings in invasion ecology: the probability of persistence increases with more introductions and pre-adaptation to the novel environment. These findings suggest that continued monitoring of pathogens known to replicate and disseminate from human cells and of spillover events that infect multiple individuals is important for disease emergence monitoring.

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MAE Graduate Seminar Speaker: Craig Hill

The next Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) Graduate Seminar speaker will present at 2 p.m. today, March 13, in EERC 103.

Craig Hill will present "Are the Great Lakes part of our energy future? Opportunities and challenges for marine energy development in Lake Superior."

Hill is an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota (UMN) Duluth Mechanical and Industrial Engineering Department and is affiliated with the UMN Institute on the Environment and Large Lakes Observatory.

After receiving his B.A. in Geology from the University of St. Thomas, Hill acquired his M.S. and Ph.D. in Civil Engineering at the University of Washington, working on research and development in marine renewable energy. With research interests toward the intersection between marine environments and engineered systems, his group focuses on identifying technologies to aid in the societal transition toward sustainable energy, smart environments and resilient coastal communities.

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Design Expo Workshop: Explain Your Project to Anyone

Participating in Design Expo? Join us for a series of workshops structured to help you ensure your project, poster and video are clear and engaging!

The first workshop is titled "Explain Your Project to Anyone." Practice talking about your design in a concise, easy to understand way. This will help you solidify content for your video and develop a short elevator pitch that you can share at your booth the day of Design Expo. Come prepared to talk about your design and answer a few questions about it!

Workshop Details:

• What: Design Expo Workshop: "Explain Your Project to Anyone"
• When: Thursday, March 13, from 2-3 p.m.
• Where: Library 244
• Registration: Register for the Workshop.

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Today's C-Cubed Luncheon Menu

Carved and Crafted Catering at Michigan Technological University invites faculty, staff, and their guests to the C-Cubed Luncheon, held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. every Thursday in the Memorial Union Alumni Lounge (MUB 107).

Menu for Thursday, March 13:

• Sweet and Sour Chicken (PR)
• Asian Vegetable Stir Fry (VG)
• Basmati Rice (VG) (AG)
• Marinated Tofu (VG) (AG)
• Asian Salad (VG)
• Vegetable Spring Roll (V)

The C-Cubed lunch buffet menus are created and prepared by Chef Luis Delgado and his culinary team. As the name suggests, the meals are meant to foster conversation, community and collegiality. Attendees may bring their lunch instead of purchasing the buffet. Fruit-infused water, coffee and tea are available free to all attendees. All vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free items on the buffet are labeled for easy identification. Meals are for dine-in only, and personal containers and to-go meals are not permitted.

The buffet lunch is $15.50 per person. Cash, credit cards and gift cards are accepted. Gift cards can be purchased in the Memorial Union Office (MUB 101).

You can submit C-Cubed feedback using C-Cubed Survey/Comments form. To join the C-Cubed Luncheon Email List and receive weekly menus, please complete the sign-up form.

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Chem Stores Limited Hours Tomorrow

Chem Stores will have limited hours tomorrow, March 14.

Chem Store will be open from 1-4:30 p.m. tomorrow. Stock orders will be filled in the afternoon.

Please plan accordingly to make your purchases ahead of time and have your orders picked up by 4:30 p.m. today, March 13.

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

Isle Royale Art Exhibition - Michigan Tech Art

Thursday, March 13, 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...

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Physics Colloquium with Qi Zhong

Thursday, March 13, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. | Fisher Hall, 325

Qi Zhong from St. Louis University will present at this Thursday Physics Colloquium. Qi Zhong's presentation is titled "Non-Hermiticity and Exceptional Points in Photonics:...

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Are the Great Lakes part of our energy future? Opportunities and challenges for marine energy development in Lake Superior.

Thursday, March 13, 2–3 p.m. | Electrical Energy Resources Center (EERC), 103

MAE Graduate Seminar Speaker Series proudly presents Craig Hill, PhD University of Minnesota Abstract This talk will highlight seasonal and annual wave energy resource...

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Biological Sciences Seminar Series - Understanding viral persistence within natural and non-natural host species

Thursday, March 13, 3–4 p.m. | Great Lakes Research Center (GLRC), 202

Dr. Clara Shaw, Disease Ecologist University of Minnesota, Duluth Abstract: Countless genetic and environmental factors impact susceptibility to infectious disease and the...

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Physics Colloquium - Graduate Student Presentations (Najafai, Sether, Teja Vedula)

Thursday, March 13, 3:30–5:00 p.m. | Fisher Hall, 139

Please join physics graduate students, Mahsa Najafi, Tanner Sether , and Krishna Teja Vedula for their presentations on Thursday, March 13th at 4 PM - Fisher Hall 139. Mahsa...

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Nourish to Flourish Husky Hour

Thursday, March 13, 4–5 p.m. | Wadsworth Dining Hall

Ditch the diet culture and discover a healthier, more balanced relationship with food! Join us for an insightful event on intuitive eating, where we’ll explore how to listen...

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99 Striped Balloons - Huskies Pep Band Concert

Thursday, March 13, 7:30 p.m. | Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts

MICHIGAN TECH MUSIC SERIES EVENT The Pep Band will raise the decibels with their annual concert at the Rozsa, featuring their classic upbeat jams and entertaining...

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TNT (Thursday Night Thing)

Thursday, March 13, 8–9 p.m. | Forestry G002

Come to our weekly large group meeting to hang out, have fun, and grow closer to God! These meetings include two worship sets, an activity, a talk given by one of our members,...