March 27, 2025

Michigan Technological University’s Ford Center in Alberta, Michigan, recorded the coldest official temperature in the state this winter: negative 32 degrees Fahrenheit at 9 a.m. on Jan. 21.

Both manual and remote sensors confirmed the reading, which was verified by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as the lowest from any official recording station in Michigan during the season.

The Ford Center’s weather tracking program has been running daily since October 1957, just a few years after Michigan Tech acquired the site. Located in Baraga County within the Ford Forest, the station contributes temperature, precipitation and snow depth data to NOAA through its WxCoder platform, making it one of the longest-running climate data contributors in the region.

The University Work Order System, aka Maintenance Direct, will be out of service for infrastructure upgrades over the upcoming weekend, starting tomorrow, March 28, at 10 p.m. and continuing through Sunday, March 30, at noon. There will be interruptions in service during this time.

Facilities Management would like to reiterate that the 24-hour Facilities Emergency phone line remains dedicated to emergencies only. We ask that the campus community please use that resource accordingly.

Warm up a cold spring weekend with a hot cup 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, Don Keranen.

The Don Keranen Jazz Festival is part of the Michigan Tech Music Series, and will be held Friday and Saturday, March 28 and 29, in the McArdle Theatre. Performances begin Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday at 6 p.m. and 8 p.m., and can be enjoyed in person and on livestream.

Get Tickets to Attend In Person.

Join the Livestream.

Led by Jazz Studies Director Adam Meckler, 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.

2025 Don K Jazz Fest Lineup:

Friday 7:30 p.m. Performance
Approximately two hours
Video Game Jazz Ensemble and the R&D Band featuring 2025 guest artist Steven Hobert.

Saturday 6 p.m. Performance
Approximately 90 minutes
Lab Band with 2025 guest artist Steven Hobert performing original compositions by Adam Meckler. Opening set by the Don K Weekend masterclass students.

Saturday 8 p.m. Performance
Approximately two hours
Late night sets by JazTec and Workshop Brass Band.

Get ready for an unforgettable evening as the campus community comes together for the Campus Talent Show, hosted in partnership by Student Leadership and Involvement’s Late Night Program, Delta Zeta and Sigma Phi Epsilon!

Come cheer on students as they showcase their incredible talents — music, singing, juggling and more! In addition to enjoying the performances, you’ll have the opportunity to support philanthropic causes, making a difference while having fun.

Don’t miss this chance to celebrate local talent, give back and enjoy a night of entertainment with friends. See you there!

Event Details:

• What: Campus Talent Show
• When: Friday, April 4, at 9 p.m.
• Where: McArdle Theatre in Walker 207 (second floor)

For more info about the event or accessibility, contact Amy Hjerstedt at ahjerste@mtu.edu.

Editor's Note: The candidate's visit on March 31 and April 1 was canceled due to weather and will be rescheduled.

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 "The Lake Whitefish Theory of Leadership" on Monday, March 31, from 11 a.m. to noon in GLRC 202 and via Zoom.

The candidate will also present a research and teaching presentation titled “Desire and the Limits of Mediation” on Tuesday, April 1, from 1-2 p.m. in GLRC 202 and via Zoom.

Join the HU Department Chair Seminar on Zoom.

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

Prepping for Design Expo? Join us for a workshop on recording your video, available tools and tricks to make your production more professional and accessible. The last half of the hour will be devoted to questions and open work time.

Workshop Details:

• What: Design Expo Workshop: "Video Creating & Editing"
• When: Thursday, March 27, from 2-3 p.m.
• Where: Library 244
• Registration: Register for the Workshop.

Job Posting for Thursday, March 27, 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.

Coordinator, Center for Educational Outreach. 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.

Earth.com 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 play a more significant role in carbon sequestration than time alone. Nave led the study while at the University of Michigan.

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My UP Now and the Keweenaw Report mentioned Michigan Tech’s appointment of Carlos Rodriguez as chief financial officer and vice president of administration.

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The Wausau Pilot & Review in Wisconsin mentioned Michigan Tech’s Mind Trekkers in a story about the upcoming return of STEM Fest, an interactive science, technology, engineering and mathematics event hosted by Northcentral Technical College and the Mind Trekkers on April 12.

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WLUC TV6, the Daily Mining Gazette and the Keweenaw Report covered the Equal Pay Day awareness event held at the Husky Statue yesterday, March 26, by the League of Women Voters of the Copper Country and Michigan Tech co-sponsors.

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99.1 WFMK-FM mentioned Michigan Tech in a story about Houghton’s snowfall total for the 2024-25 season, which could nearly double last year’s amount.

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The Daily Mining Gazette mentioned Michigan Tech men's basketball junior guard Marcus Tomashek in a story about his selection to the NABC All-America Team. He is the eighth Husky in program history to earn the honor.

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My UP Now 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 appeared in the 2024 Michigan Tech Magazine.

Health Research Institute Monthly Coffee Hour

The Health Research Institute is hosting an informal coffee hour in the second floor atrium of the H-STEM Complex today, March 27, at 2 p.m.

This is a great opportunity to socialize and meet new colleagues. We hope to see you there!

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Physics Colloquium with Li He

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. today, March 27, in Fisher 325.

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

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Physics Colloquium with Kelly Malone

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. today, 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.

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CS Faculty Candidate Presentation with Yanxue Jia

Please join the Department of Computer Science (CS) on 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.

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BioSci Seminar Series Speakers: Dean and Bette Premo

Dean and Bette Premo will present as part of the Department of Biological Sciences (BioSci) Seminar Series today, March 27, from 3-4 p.m. The seminar will be held in GLRC 202 and virtually via Zoom.

Join the BioSci Seminar on Zoom.

The Premos will present "A Professional Science Business in the Upper Peninsula."

From the abstract:
Dean and Bette Premo have been in the private environmental consulting business for 40 years. Both have doctorates from Michigan State University (in zoology and limnology, respectively). In 1985, they founded White Water Associates, Inc. a for-profit environmental laboratory and ecological consulting firm located in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Their presentation will describe White Water’s services and discuss their experiences building and operating a science-based business. They will discuss their approach to consulting using examples that include environmental chemistry monitoring work, surveys for plants and animals, and scientific research that contributes to appropriate field methods and robust applications of ecology.

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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 "Strategies for Leading Positive Change" today, March 27, from 11 a.m. to noon in Walker 134 and via Zoom.

The candidate will also present a research and teaching presentation titled “Why Stories Matter: From Researching to Teaching Interdisciplinary Humanities” tomorrow, March 28, from 1-2 p.m. in GLRC 202 and via Zoom.

Join the HU Department Chair Seminar on Zoom.

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

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CEGE Seminar with Visiting Speaker Kristen Cetin

The Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering (CEGE) will host a seminar presented by visiting speaker Kristen Cetin of Michigan State University tomorrow, March 28, at 10 a.m. in Dow 875.

Cetin will present "Smarter, Energy Efficient, Grid-Interactive Buildings: Improvements to Housing for Varied Demographics."

From the abstract:
How we use our homes, and therefore how our homes use energy and interact with the increasingly dynamic electric grid continues to change, from variations in working from home, changes in the aftermath of COVID-19, among others. At the same time the increasing adoption of smart home technologies and of demand response programs to support improved grid reliability has also increased. However, these changes in both home use and adoption of technologies vary substantially across different socioeconomic groups suggesting that not all households behave similarly. Similarly, varied weather and weather extremes have had substantial impacts on housing and its energy use including cold climates. This seminar will provide an overview of efforts to assess the state of housing in an era of increased working from home and weather extremes, particularly across varied demographics. Case studies will focus on both urban and rural housing across different socioeconomic groups in the U.S. Moving forward there is interest in identifying paths forward to better support guidance/standards for the operation of residential buildings, and design of DR programs given how homes are being used, and insights from these comparisons. This seminar will summarize these recent efforts.

Cetin is an associate professor and associate chair of faculty and academic staff development in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Michigan State University. She is also the director of the MSU Industrial Training and Assessment Center (ITAC) and chief editor for the ASCE Journal of Architectural Engineering.

This program/lecture is partially funded/sponsored by the Visiting Professor Program, which is funded by a grant to the Office of the Provost from the State of Michigan's King-Chávez-Parks Initiative.

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MAE Graduate Seminar Speaker: Michael D. Shields

The next Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (MAE) Graduate Seminar speaker will present at 2 p.m. today, March 27, in EERC 103.

Michael D. Shields will present "The Nexus of Machine Learning, Physics-based Modeling, and Uncertainty Quantification."

Shields received his Ph.D. in Civil Engineering and Engineering Mechanics from Columbia University in 2010 and was employed as a research engineer in computational mechanics thereafter. Shields now serves as an associate professor in the Department of Civil and Systems Engineering at Johns Hopkins University, director of the Center on High-Throughput Materials for Extremes (HT-MAX), with a secondary appointment in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, and as a fellow of the Hopkins Extreme Materials Institute.

Furthermore, for his work in uncertainty quantification (UQ), Shields was awarded the ONR Young Investigator Award, the NSF CAREER Award, the DOE Early Career Award and the Johns Hopkins University Catalyst Award, developing the open-source UQpy software with his group for computational, mathematical and physical UQ systems.

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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 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.

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

Track & Field at WashU Distance Carnival

Thursday, March 27, 12–3 a.m. | St. Louis, Mo.

Track & Field at WashU Distance Carnival St. Louis, Mo.

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Isle Royale Art Exhibition - Michigan Tech Art

Thursday, March 27, 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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March NotMiSpecies Webinar

Thursday, March 27, 9–10 a.m.

Now you see me, now you don’t! The trick of finding and managing invasive lesser celandine In 2024, lesser celandine (Ficaria verna), a spring ephemeral plant found in forest...

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PhD Defense: Brennan Vogl

Thursday, March 27, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. | Chemical Sciences and Engineering Building, 101

Biomedical Engineering Advisor: Hoda Hatoum Computational and Experimental Assessment of Aortic and Atrial Flows Attend Virtually: https://michigantech.zoom.us/j/82274994800

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Physics Colloquium with Li He

Thursday, March 27, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. | Fisher Hall, 325

Li He from University of Pennsylvania will present at Thursday Physics Colloquium. Li He's presentation is titled "Topological and Nonlinear Nanophotonics". The seminar will...

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Intellectual Property and Research

Thursday, March 27, 12–1 p.m.

Join us for a presentation about intellectual property (IP) and research by Jim Baker, Senior Associate Vice President for Research, Innovation. We'll be digging into some...

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Master's Defense: Donovan Murphy

Thursday, March 27, 2–3 p.m. | Administration and Student Services Building, 404

Industrial Heritage and Archaeology Advisor: Steven Walton "An Ancient Vanished Race:" Industrial Mythistory and the Alternative Archaeology of Lake Superior Copper Attend...

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PhD Defense: Meiling Zhou

Thursday, March 27, 2–3 p.m. | Fisher Hall, 327B

Statistics Advisor: Kui Zhang Statistical Methods for Joint Analysis of Multiple Types of Phenotypes in Genetic Studies Attend Virtually:...

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The Nexus of Machine Learning, Physics-based Modeling, and Uncertainty Quantification”

Thursday, March 27, 2–3 p.m. | Electrical Energy Resources Center (EERC), 103

MAE Graduate Seminar Speaker Series proudly presents Michael D. Shields, PhD Johns Hopkins University Abstract Uncertainty Quantification (UQ) and Machine Learning (ML)...

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Biological Sciences Seminar Series - A Professional Science Business in the Upper Peninsula

Thursday, March 27, 3–4 p.m. | Great Lakes Research Center (GLRC), 202

Dr. Dean Premo & Dr. Bette Premo Founders of White Water Associates, Inc.

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Go Beyond Beauty and Discover Nature's Best Hope

Thursday, March 27, 3–5 p.m. | Portage Lake District Library

Join KISMA at the Portage Lake District Library for a brief presentation about invasive species in landscaping and how everyone can take action to preserve habitat in their...

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Physics Colloquium with Kelly Malone

Thursday, March 27, 3:30–5:00 p.m. | Fisher Hall, 139

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

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West Michigan Pickled Egg Contest and Social 2025

Thursday, March 27, 6–8 p.m. | Schmohz Brewing Co

Michigan Tech alumni and friends, mark your calendars for an egg-citing tradition! Join us for this year's West Michigan Pickled Egg Contest and social gathering on Thursday,...

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TNT (Thursday Night Thing)

Thursday, March 27, 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,...