March 24, 2025

Bonspieling their way to national success for the second year in a row, Huskies Curl at Michigan Tech — a registered student organization in only its second year of existence — took second place in the 2025 USA College Curling Championship, held March 6-9 in Midland, Michigan.

Huskies Curl was among 16 teams who qualified for the event. Hailing from across the country — from Arizona State University to the United States Naval Academy — all of the competitors were undergraduate or graduate students expected to maintain academic excellence as well as prowess on the curling sheet.

Read about the group's growth and goal for next year at Stories from Husky Nation.

The College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science (CFRES) welcomes alumna Sierra Williams as outreach coordinator. She steps into her new position at Michigan Tech eager to pass on her love of the natural world, education and Husky Spirit to future generations.

Williams earned her undergraduate degree in applied ecology and environmental science in 2022 and her accelerated master's in 2023. She brings to the position outreach and natural science education experience from both the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry and Michigan Tech’s Center for Educational Outreach.

In her new role, Williams will continue to engage youth and prospective students who may be interested in a career in forest resources and environmental science.

“I enjoyed my education so much, and I think I may be a little overly passionate about that,” said Williams. “This position is the best combination of all that I had previously done and enjoyed. I'm excited to be able to help other students find a home here for their college experience.”

Read about the guidance Williams can offer to Huskies and student organizations at the College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science blog.

Congratulations to Assistant Professor Jeff Sherwood (VPA) on being elected and named a director on the United States Institute for Theatre Technology (USITT) Board of Directors. USITT is the national professional organization for the theatre design, technical production and live entertainment industry, whose membership includes thousands of individuals, companies and institutions.

As a director, Sherwood is charged with advising, governing, overseeing policy and direction, and assisting with the leadership and general promotion of the institute to support its mission and needs. His three-year term begins on July 1.

Sherwood and VPA Students, Faculty Attend USITT Annual Conference

USITT's 65th Annual Conference and Stage Expo, held March 5-8 in Columbus, Ohio, hosted over 6,300 professionals, students and educators, and offered more than 400 presentations, demonstrations and celebrations of work by top artists and experts in the field. Sherwood served on the USITT National Conference Committee as the main stage sound coordinator of the 2,000-seat ballroom keynote space, which involved planning and supervising the design and installation of the sound system. In doing so, he also mentored over 50 conference assistants (early career professionals and students from institutions across the country) in sound engineering and operation of the conference's six main stage events.

Each year, Michigan Tech students attend the USITT conference led by Department of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) faculty through the study away professional development career course. This year's trip included 25 students across VPA degree programs (Sound Design, Audio Production and Technology, and Theatre and Entertainment Technology), half of which participated in portfolio presentations and review sessions. The students were led by VPA faculty Kent Cyr, Mary Cyr and Terry Dana Jachimiak II, as well as Christopher Plummer, who oversees mentorship for the USITT Sound Commission.

For the third year in a row, Michigan Tech students were invited to a special meeting with recruiters and representatives from Disney Live Entertainment who recognize the strength of our programs and have been impressed with the work of VPA alumni at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and other areas of the greater Walt Disney Company.

Congratulations to Professor Sherwood and all of our VPA students, alumni, faculty and staff, who continue to build Michigan Technological University's high reputation.

The Commencement Team is seeking volunteers for Michigan Tech's upcoming Spring Commencement ceremonies. We need volunteers to help with pre-ceremony setup, serve as greeters and ushers, coordinate graduate check-in, and assist guests with special seating accommodations.

More information regarding the graduate and undergraduate ceremonies can be found on the Commencement website. Please sign up by April 16 if you would like to volunteer.

Contact Tiffany Jaeger at tiffanyj@mtu.edu if you have any questions.

This special event cannot happen without the help of our amazing Michigan Tech community!

Join Serve The King Ministries, a registered student organization at Michigan Tech, for "Christianity: Light For a World Without Answers," a transformative discussion event scheduled on April 3 from 6-8 p.m. in R. L. Smith 112.

Today’s society stumbles under the weight of human knowledge. Worldviews crumble, unable to bear the soul’s deepest questions. Other philosophies promise wisdom but leave humanity fractured and searching. In contrast, Christ shines as an unshakable cornerstone of truth.

This event will reveal how Jesus restores purpose, hope and eternal light. Through compelling discussion, we’ll explore why Christianity isn’t just another belief system — it’s a singular, living worldview that aligns with reality as God designed it.

Hosted by Serve The King Ministries, this gathering is for seekers, skeptics and believers alike — anyone ready to confront the failures of human wisdom and embrace the radiant truth of Christ. Expect a night of revelation discussing the chaos of modern thought and the beauty of the gospel. Bring your questions, your doubts and your hunger for something real. Discover why Jesus is the way, the truth and the life — the light that no darkness can overcome.

Mark your calendars and join us. Let’s step out of the shadows together.

Don Keranen Jazz Festival 2025 — March 28-29 
McArdle Theatre and Livestream
Friday 7:30 p.m. | Saturday 6 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Michigan Tech Music Series

Get ready for a weekend full of jazz! Three unique performances make up this year’s annual Don Keranen Jazz Festival, paying tribute to the founder of the Michigan Tech Jazz Studies Program. Led by Jazz Studies Director Adam Meckler (VPA), the festival includes performances by the Video Game Jazz Ensemble, R&D Band, Lab Band, Jaztec, Workshop Brass Band and masterclass students from local middle and high schools. The weekend will also feature guest artist Steven Hobert, whose repertoire spans jazz, world music and more.

See the Don K. Jazz Fest Lineup

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“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” — April 10-12
Rozsa Center | 7:30 p.m. nightly
Michigan Tech Theatre Series

Michigan Tech Theatre is excited to present “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,” a musical thriller and the final Michigan Tech Theatre Series event of the 2024-25 season. Directed by Nich Radcliffe (VPA), the musical tells the tale of a barber driven to madness by injustice. It’s filled with unforgettable songs and shocking twists. Accompanied by the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Joel Neves (VPA), the production features a talented cast of community members and Michigan Tech faculty, staff and students. Sweeney will be played by local performer Soren Schmidt, known for his terrific vocal presence. Sarah Hayes will make her local debut playing Mrs. Lovett. This is a performance not to be missed!

Get Tickets for “Sweeney Todd”

SWEENEY TODD is presented through special arrangement with Music Theatre International (MTI). All Authorized performance materials are also supplied by MTI.
http://www.mtishows.com

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Artist Reception: “Odyssey” Student Art Showcase — April 11
Rozsa Art Galleries | 5-7 p.m.
Michigan Tech Art Series

“Odyssey,” Michigan Tech's spring student art showcase, is an artistic journey into the heart of one class's studio art practice. Fiber Arts 2170 presents artworks made during the spring 2025 semester at MTU. Featuring various techniques like crochet, felting, stitching, embroidery and mixed media, this show promises to be eclectic as the viewer is shown the world through the eyes of participating students.

At the free artist reception, enjoy refreshments, see spectacular art, meet the students artists in a relaxed environment, and hear them speak about their vision and inspiration.

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 27:

• Pork Sandwich (PR)
• BBQ Tofu “Steak” (PR)
• Macaroni & Cheese (V) (PR)
• Garden Pasta Salad (VG) (PR)
• Coleslaw (V) (AG)
• Cookie Platter (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.

Join the Research Development team for the VPR Research Series presentation “Intellectual Property and Research” by Jim Baker, senior associate vice president for research, innovation.

The event will take place virtually on Thursday, March 27, from 12-1 p.m.

Join the VPR Research Series Presentation on Zoom.

We'll be digging into some technical details to better define what intellectual property (IP) encompasses, what it doesn't, and how it relates to academic research pursuits. While the session is not intended to focus on commercialization as an aspect of IP, we will touch on the connections of IP to translational and applied research activities.

This session will help researchers better understand the fundamentals of IP rights and connections across a range of issues relevant to academic researchers.

The last presentation of this spring's MTU Artificial Intelligence Colloquium Series is Wednesday, March 26, at noon in EERC 216.

Data science master's student Nirmal Loganathan will be presenting "Machine Learning-based Lane Detection and Lateral Offset Estimation Model for Vehicle Following Applications."

Food and refreshments will be provided.

From the abstract:
Precisely understanding the driving environment and determining the vehicle's accurate position is crucial for a safe automated maneuver. vehicle following systems that offer higher energy efficiency by precisely following a lead vehicle, the relative position of the ego vehicle to lane center is a key measure to a safe automated speed and steering control. This article presents a novel Enhanced Lane Detection technique with centimeter-level accuracy in estimating the vehicle offset from the lane center using the front-facing camera. Leveraging state-of-the-art computer vision models, the Enhanced Lane Detection technique utilizes YOLOv8 image segmentation, trained on a diverse world driving scenarios dataset, to detect the driving lane. To measure the vehicle lateral offset, our model introduces a novel calibration method using nine reference markers aligned with the vehicle perspective and converts the lane offset from image coordinates to world measurements. This design minimizes the sensitivity of offset estimation to lane detection accuracy and vehicle orientation. Compared to the existing deep learning-based depth perception models and stereo vision systems, our calibration method significantly improves postprocessing time and minimizes the impacts of the processing delay on the vehicle following system energy efficiency. To assess the accuracy and processing time, we implemented the model on an instrumented L4-capable vehicle and conducted automated vehicle following tests in a controlled environment. In our tests, the model achieved a high level of accuracy, with a biased error of only 0.214 m and a random walk error standard deviation of 0.135 m, demonstrating its reliability across various environmental conditions and ensuring precise lane tracking. Results demonstrate reliable performance across various environmental conditions and sensor noise levels, ensuring precise lane tracking and enhanced automated maneuvering.

Please join the Department of Computer Science (CS) next Monday, March 31, at 3 p.m. in Rekhi G005 for a research presentation by tenure-track faculty candidate Yanxue Jia, following the social hour in Rekhi 218 (coffee and snacks).

The title of Jia's presentation is "Secure Data Collaboration via Cryptography."

From the abstract:
Data plays a crucial role in collaboration — for accessing services, enhancing products, making decisions, and driving innovation. However, data also holds immense value, and directly sharing it with others not only transfers this value but also raises significant security and privacy concerns, especially when sensitive information is involved. To address this challenge, her research leverages secure multi-party computation (MPC) to enable people to enjoy gains from data collaboration without exposing their data.

In this talk, she will present highly efficient secure two-party computation solutions for key data collaboration scenarios involving set operations and end-to-end communication. Specifically, private set operations reveal the operation results while hiding the other items, making them valuable for many secure data collaboration scenarios. Her work unifies diverse private set operations into a framework, and further designs private set union protocols with both stronger security and better performance. In addition, when accessing communication services, leaking metadata — that is, who communicated with whom, when, and the extent of their interactions — poses significant privacy risks, while communication content is protected. To address this, she leverages two non-colluding servers to assist users in their communications while protecting their metadata. Finally, Yanxue will outline her future research directions, which include achieving secure data collaborations for compute-intensive (e.g., AI-driven) tasks and developing secure data management systems, to support data-driven digital ecosystems.

Jia is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Computer Science at Purdue University. She earned her Ph.D. in Computer Science from Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 2022. She is an applied cryptographer and her current research focuses on secure (multi-party) computation, blockchains and provable security. She is dedicated to advancing cryptography to solve security and privacy issues in existing as well as emerging real-world applications. Her work has been published at top-tier conferences, such as USENIX Security, ACM CCS, IEEE S&P and Asiacrypt. She has also served as a program committee member for conferences such as ACM CCS and FC.

Li He from the University of Pennsylvania will present at a Physics Colloquium this week. He's presentation is titled "Topological and Nonlinear Nanophotonics."

The seminar will be presented at 11 a.m. on Thursday, March 27, in Fisher 325.

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

Kelly Malone of Los Alamos National Laboratory will present at this week's Physics Colloquium. Malone's presentation is titled "Multi-messenger astrophysics at the highest energies."

The seminar will be presented at 4 p.m. on Thursday, March 27, in Fisher 139. The coffee hour will be held at 3:30 p.m. in the Fisher Lobby.

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

RTC Brown Bag returns at noon this Friday, March 28, with Emma Johnson presenting her paper, "Beauty, Excess, and the Grotesque in the Late-Capitalism Critique of Lauren Greenfield."

Johnson is a Ph.D. student in Rhetoric, Theory, and Culture (RTC). Her research interests include cultural studies, aesthetics, socio-economic class, globalization and philosophy.

This event is sponsored by the Department of Humanities and the RTC program. It is free and open to all!

From the abstract:
Embracing slow cinema and focusing on women are both underappreciated approaches to filmmaking when it comes to representing the financial crisis. One filmmaker who explores the financial crisis through these underused techniques is Lauren Greenfield. In this paper, I will explore three of Greenfield’s films through the lens of theorists Jill Godmilow and Nicholas Mirzoeff to show how alternative ways of looking provide a new critique of capitalism. Typically, films on financial crises are fast paced. Juliette Feyel and Clémence Fourton’s 2019 article “Post-2008 Films: The Financial Crisis in Fictions and Documentaries” argues that 2008-crisis films are represented in specific structures and patterns. Clichéd quick cuts show phone calls, graphs, and skyscrapers. These visual depictions are limiting, often excluding how crisis affects daily life and women. An alternative approach is found in the work of Greenfield, including the films The Queen of Versailles (2012), Generation Wealth (2018), and The Kingmaker (2019). I argue that Greenfield uses beauty, excess, and the grotesque to critique late capitalism. Greenfield favors mundane daily life with long shots of mansions with neglected pools, motivational posters in a vacated office, and dog poop left on the carpet after the nannies are laid off. She pays attention to women in a sub-genre where women are largely absent and uses slow-cinema techniques in a sub-genre that mostly embraces fast-paced narratives. Interviewees who would typically be depicted in quick clips are given screen time to humanize themselves. Greenfield juxtaposes excess with relatable reasons for its pursuit, drawing attention away from subjects and toward the system that creates it, coming close to accomplishing what Godmilow terms postreal filmmaking and Mirzoeff Visuality 2. Ultimately, Greenfield invites the audience to sit with her subjects, identify with them, and begin to imagine an alternative world.

Job Postings for Monday, March 24, 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.

Food Service Helper #25077 (second shift, nine months), Dining Services (AFSCME posting dates March 24 to March 28, 2025 — external applicants are encouraged to apply; however, internal AFSCME applicants are given first consideration if they apply during the internal AFSCME posting dates). Apply online.

Senior Divisional Marketing Specialist #25059, Residential Living. 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.

Professor Bruce Lee (BioMed) and his research team and collaborators are the co-authors of a paper published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry B.

The paper is titled "Accelerated Dermal Wound Healing in Diabetic Mice by a H2O2-Generating Catechol-Functionalized Gelatin Microgel."

The paper describes a new biomaterial that is antimicrobial and can accelerate wound healing in healing-impaired diabetic wounds. The material consists of biocompatible microgel functionalized with mussel-mimetic adhesive molecule. The material can be applied directly to the wound site as a dried powder and transition into a wound-covering adhesive film when hydrated by the fluid at the wound site. The material generates hydrogen peroxide which acts as a disinfectant and a biomolecule that promotes wound healing.

The Daily Mining Gazette mentioned MTU student org Huskies Curl in a story about their silver medal finish at the 2025 USA College Curling National Championships. Huskies Curl President Gracie Kohn, team member Rese Elza and coach Gordon Maclean were quoted. Team members Bryce Doering, Tyler Magnuson, Owen Stephenson and Joe Sharland were mentioned.

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The Ann Arbor Times quoted Lucas Nave (CFRES) in a story about a study on forest carbon storage, which found that factors like forest structure, tree and microbial composition, and soil nitrogen availability are more influential than time in carbon sequestration. Nave led the study while at the University of Michigan.

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The Daily Mining Gazette quoted Joel Neves (VPA) in a story about the upcoming production of “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” at the Rozsa Center. Directed by Nich Radcliffe (VPA), the production features Michigan Tech students Katherine Rauscher and Sebastian Dash.

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Michigan Tech’s Mind Trekkers were featured by ClickOnDetroit’s “Live In The D” in coverage of the third annual STEM Fest at St. Clair County Community College on March 16. Mind Trekkers delivered their signature high-energy STEM roadshow to spark curiosity and discovery at the event, which featured interactive exhibits, live demonstrations and industry experts, making STEM learning both fun and accessible.

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Forbes mentioned Michigan Tech’s How Statistics Are Used in Supply Chain Management webpage in a story about how digital partnerships can improve supply chain efficiency.

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The Keweenaw Report and K-Bear 102 WHKB-FM mentioned Michigan Tech alumni Austin Gongos ’18 and Nathan Ackerman ’18 (both B.S. Mechanical Engineering) in stories about their company, Chicken Tramper Ultralight Gear, and its growth in the outdoor recreation industry with support from a MEDC Industry 4.0 Technology grant. Gongos and Ackerman’s story about starting CTUG was published in last year's Michigan Tech Magazine.

Provost’s Final Open Office Hour of 2024-25

Provost Andrew Storer will be holding his final open office hour of the 2024-25 academic year next Wednesday, March 26, from 1:30-2:30 p.m. at Velodrome Coffee Company, located on the first floor of the Van Pelt and Opie Library. Feel free to stop by; appointments are not required for open office hours.

Provost Storer will continue to hold regular office hours from 1:30-3:30 p.m. each Thursday during the spring 2025 semester. Faculty, staff and students are welcome to schedule an appointment by emailing Amie Ledgerwood at asledger@mtu.edu.

The information provided here is also available on the Academic Affairs website. To view it, click the Office Hours icon in the bottom right corner of the banner image at the top of the page.

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Art in Silico Speaker: Martin Krzywinski Presenting Workshop/Talk

The Art in Silico Event Series is excited to welcome Martin Krzywinski to Michigan Tech’s campus as part of this year’s programming!

Krzywinski is a staff scientist at the Michael Smith Genome Sciences Centre at BC Cancer, specializing in bioinformatics and data visualization. He developed Circos, a widely used tool for visualizing genomic data, which has been featured in journals like Nature and Science. His work extends to scientific communication, co-authoring “Points of Significance” and “Points of View” columns in Nature Methods to improve data presentation in research. Additionally, he teaches workshops on data visualization and has contributed information graphics to mainstream outlets like The New York Times and Wired.

“Art allows us to find ourselves in the science. Because, while milestones in scientific discovery may be inevitable, our personal reaction to the world they describe is not,” said Krzywinski.

Check out his two events in the Art in Silico Event Series:

Martin Krzywinski Creative Talk
Date/Time: Monday, March 24, from 3:30-5 p.m.
Location: MUB Alumni Lounge
Talk Title: “Explain visually, explain well. Practise and philosophy of scientific communication”

In this talk, Krzywinski will distill the core concepts of information design into practical guidelines for creating visual explanations of science: figures, posters and graphical abstracts. The focus will be on clarity and concision and on the idea that form follows function. You'll learn visual strategies for organization, emphasis and theme. To illustrate these guidelines concretely, he will walk attendees through redesigns of scientific visualizations from the wild.

Martin Krzywinski Creative Workshop
Date/Time: Tuesday, March 25, from 4-6 p.m.
Location: Rekhi 112

Working on a creative project but would like another set of eyes? Thinking of submitting something to the 2025 Art in Silico exhibition, but need some help deciding on a direction? Krzywinski’s Creative Workshop is perfect for you! In this session, Krzywinski will lead by sharing his experiences in combining science, art, visualization and design to create explanations, promote engagement and stir the imagination. From public signage, music videos about transfinite numbers and posters depicting cancer journeys as trees, to his annual “Pi Day” celebration.

The workshop's final 90 minutes is an open-floor session where you’ll have the chance to share your work, ask questions and get feedback from Krzywinski and fellow attendees. Whether you need guidance on visual storytelling, refining your concept or making your work more impactful, this is your opportunity to explore creative strategies in a supportive and inspiring environment.

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ATM Colloquium: Grad Student Presentations

The following Atmospheric Sciences (ATM) graduate students will be presenting their research progress at an ATM Colloquium:

• Kadja Flore Gali (advised by Will Cantrell and Laura Fierce)

• Hamed Fahandezh Sadi (advised by Raymond Shaw)

This will be an in-person event. The students will give their talks at 4 p.m. today, March 24, in Fisher 125.

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

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

Isle Royale Art Exhibition - Michigan Tech Art

Monday, March 24, 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...

Hot Cocoa Handout

Monday, March 24, 2–4 p.m. | Husky Statue

We offer free Hot Chocolate to all students from2 to 4pm near the Husky Statue every Monday!

Measurement and Modeling of Processes Controlling pH in the Laurentian Great Lakes

Monday, March 24, 3 p.m. | Great Lakes Research Center (GLRC), 202

Environmental Engineering Graduate Seminar Speakers: Noel Urban, Environmental Engineering , MTU Hayden Henderson, Great Lakes...

Martin Krzywinski - “Explain visually, explain well. Practise and philosophy of scientific communication”

Monday, March 24, 3:30–5:00 p.m. | Memorial Union Building (MUB), Alumni Lounge

Want to learn about how to make effective scientific illustrations for figures, posters, and graphical abstracts? This talk is for you! From Martin - "I will distill the core...

ATM Colloquium - Graduate Student Presentations (Gali, Sadi)

Monday, March 24, 4–5 p.m. | Fisher Hall, 125

Please join ATM graduate students, Kadja Flore Gali and Hamed fahandezh Sadi for their presentations on Monday, March 24 at 4 PM - Fisher Hall 125. Kadja Flore Gali (Advisor:...

WiP Machine Learning Workshop

Monday, March 24, 4–5 p.m. | Fisher Hall 231

A beginners friendly guide to the ins and outs of Machine Learning. Lessons weekly every Monday at 4:00-5:00 PM in Fisher Hall 231 with a hybrid option availible.

Psalm Bible Study

Monday, March 24, 7–8 p.m. | Wads Cafe

Want to see how the bible handles emotions? How it instructs us in righteousness? Eat cafe food, talk through the psalms, learn and grow with Pastor Brandon Charbonneau.