April 23, 2025

Can you build a career on being “really into soil?” If Allyson McQuiston ’25 (applied ecology and environmental science) is any example, absolutely.

McQuiston will graduate on Saturday, April 26, with a career firmly in place as a soil conservationist. After spending two summers interning with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service, she received a full-time job offer from the USDA NRCS late last year, and will begin her position this fall.

“You always think about plants and how they’re interacting,” said McQuiston. “But if you really dig down, it all begins with the soil.”

See how Husky tenacity, networking and hard work helped her move from intern to professional soil conservationist at Stories from Husky Nation.

Missed the deadline for the Essential Education Symposium? Don’t worry — registration is now open through Friday, April 25.

Join us next Wednesday, April 30, in the Memorial Union Building for the Essential Education Symposium, a full-day event open to all Michigan Tech faculty and staff as well as local community partners. The day begins with check-in and breakfast at 8 a.m., followed by sessions designed to deepen understanding of the Essential Education curriculum, explore innovative teaching and advising practices, and strengthen campus-community partnerships.

Lunch will feature a keynote from Shane Sutherland, founder, CEO and “chief mischief maker” of PebblePad, Michigan Tech’s ePortfolio platform. The event will wrap up with a panel of industry leaders and campus deans, followed by an awards and recognition ceremony, and will conclude at 3:15 pm.

Please register by Friday using the Michigan Tech Essential Education Symposium Registration Form.

To learn more about the agenda and session topics, visit our Essential Education blog.

Questions? Contact us at essential-ed-l@mtu.edu.

Assistant Professor Amna Mazen (AC/MMET) and two of her students, doctoral student Kamyab Yazdipaz (computational sciences and engineering) and master’s student Innocent Mateyaunga (mechatronics), have been invited to participate in the final physical competition phase of the Benchmark Autonomous Robot Navigation (BARN) Challenge.

The BARN Challenge is part of the IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA), one of the top international conferences in robotics. Mazen, Yazdipaz and Mateyaunga earned their invitation by proposing a novel mobile robot navigation algorithm during the challenge's simulation phase on April 1.

According to organizers, the challenge evaluates state-of-the-art autonomous navigation systems that move robots through highly constrained environments. Participants are tasked with navigating a standardized Clearpath Jackal robot from a set starting place to a goal location as quickly as possible in a safe and efficient manner, without any collision.

The simulation phase was conducted using a simulated BARN dataset. During the physical phase of the challenge, participants will navigate the robot through a physical obstacle course at ICRA 2025 in Atlanta, Georgia, on May 21-22.

Job Postings for Wednesday, April 23, 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.

Administrative Aide #25088 (12 months, 40 hours), ​Electrical and Computer Engineering (UAW posting dates April 23 to April 29, 2025 — external applicants are encouraged to apply; however, internal UAW applicants are given first consideration if they apply during the internal UAW posting dates). Apply online.

​S​enior Office Assistant #​25097 (12 months, 40 hours), ​Financial Services and Operations (UAW posting dates April 23 to April 29, 2025 — external applicants are encouraged to apply; however, internal UAW applicants are given first consideration if they apply during the internal UAW posting dates). 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.

Yousef Mohammadi Darestani (CEGE/MTTI) is the principal investigator (PI) on a project that has received a $176,022 research and development contract from the Michigan Department of Transportation.

The project is titled "A Comprehensive Framework for the Fabrication, Condition Assessment, Repair, and Replacement of Spun Concrete Poles."

Quang Tran, Daniel Dowden and Qingli Dai (all CEGE/MTTI) are co-PIs on this potential 19-month project.

Starting today, April 23, Terri Jo Frew and Lisa Gordillo (both VPA) will present creative research at the Harvard Divinity School's Conference on Spirituality and the Arts. The conference ends Saturday, April 26.

Frew’s talk, titled “Ave Pikachu: The Creation of the Ars Goetiamon Zine,” connects 17th century grimoire and 21st century anime, noting their joint influence on her 2019 creative project, the zine “Ars Goetiaman.” The talk includes conversation on ceremonial magik, “The Lesser Key of Solomon,” the Pokémon universe, transgressive spirituality and art outside the traditional canon. Following the presentation, Frew will host a zine swap.

Gordillo’s presentation, “What Is Buried: Artistic Practices of Witness, Grief and Comfort,” shares her research on art made in response to trauma and tragedy. She will present two projects: “Brazada,” a collaboration with her late husband Hugo, focused on Guatemala’s civil war and U.S. complicity in its most violent acts; and “Magdalena,” her recent art installation and community healing space created for a local church in the wake of Hugo’s death. Gordillo will discuss the invisibility felt by grieving people, the need for grief and trauma to be supported over a longer duration than that with which our culture is comfortable, the value of sitting with uncomfortable stories and the spiritual work that art can do when it is harnessed as an act of witness.

David Watkins (CEGE) was quoted and Ph.D. student Jessica LaReaux (civil engineering) was mentioned by Michigan Public in a story about a Michigan Tech geospatial analysis highlighting inequities in access to green spaces in Detroit. The analysis found that Detroit residents with higher social and environmental vulnerability face more significant barriers to green space access.

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Tara Bal (CFRES) was a guest on the April 21 episode of Michigan Public’s “Stateside” radio show, where she discussed the implications of a federal proposal to increase domestic lumber supply on Michigan’s national forests.

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The Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation mentioned Michigan Tech in a story about the development of a pilot reactor at Michigan Tech, in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Braskem America, for producing high-quality recycled plastic resins using solvent-targeted recovery and precipitation (STRAP) technology.

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The Detroit News mentioned Michigan Tech in a story about federal research funding cuts and their impact on Michigan universities.

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PR Newswire mentioned Michigan Tech alum Satvir Deol ’90 (B.S. Electrical Engineering) in a story about his appointment as vice president of transmission operations at FirstEnergy. The story was picked up by Yahoo! Finance and 137 nationwide outlets.

Government Relations Engagement Process Announced

Michigan Technological University seeks to engage effectively with governmental officials, staff and agencies at the state and federal level. To this end, the Office of the Vice President for Governmental Relations and the Vice President for Research Office are collaborating to help assist and equip individuals who engage with key government officials on University business.

Our goal in this endeavor is to support the varied work that goes on across campus with governmental constituents, track activities to avoid duplication of effort and raise awareness, and support a common message in our interactions with external partners.

If you have a planned engagement with an elected representative or high-level government executive, or need assistance planning a visit with governmental contacts, please use the Governmental Relations Engagement Form to begin a conversation with Michigan Tech's Government Relations team about how we can best support your efforts.

Please note: The form is intended to only capture interactions with elected officials and key high-level government agency leaders. It is not necessary to report day-to-day interactions with federal program directors, agency contacts or related program-level discussions. The intention is to provide support to the campus community, not to add a reporting burden for routine meetings and conversations.

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TRIP Forms for Fall 2025 Semester

Benefits Services and Financial Aid strongly encourage students to submit their TRIP (Tuition Reduction Incentive Program) application forms for fall 2025 by Friday, April 25, to ensure timely processing. Students should turn these forms in as soon as they have them completed, and no later than July 1.

A TRIP application form can be obtained from the Additional Benefits page. The form is to be signed by the eligible employee/retiree and student. One application form is to be completed for each semester.

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ROTC Joint Commissioning Ceremony

The Air Force and Army ROTC invite you to the Spring 2025 Joint Commissioning Ceremony on Friday, April 25, at 7 p.m. at the Rozsa Center.

This semester, we have seven Air Force cadets and four Army cadets commissioning. Those commissioning are from the following programs:

Civil Engineering | Computer Science | Computer Engineering | Electrical Engineering | Environmental Engineering | Ecology and Environmental Sciences | Exercise Science | Mechanical Engineering | Physics | Social Sciences

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

PhD Defense: Catherine Tislar

Wednesday, April 23, 9–10 a.m. | H-STEM, 248

Applied Cognitive Science and Human Factors Advisor: Kelly Steelman Examining Video-Based Learning in Higher Education

State of Michigan Virtual Job Fair

Wednesday, April 23, 11 a.m.–3 p.m.

Are you looking for a job? The State of Michigan is hosting monthly virtual events so you can learn more about careers within state government. Each monthly event will offer...

Magdalena: An Art Installation for Grief, Comfort, and Hope Premieres at Trinity Episcopal Church

Wednesday, April 23, 12–5 p.m. | Trinity Episcopal Church

Hosted by Trinity Episcopal Church Trinity Episcopal Church will host the art installation Magdalena, an exhibition supporting grief, comfort, care, and hope by artist Lisa...

SoundGirls General Meeting!

Wednesday, April 23, 5–6 p.m. | Walker 210

Join us in Walker 210 at 5pm every Wednesday for our general meeting!

West Michigan Alumni Spring Dinner

Wednesday, April 23, 6–8 p.m. | Ada, MI - Egypt Valley Country Club

You're invited to join fellow alumni and friends at the annual West Michigan Alumni Spring Dinner on Wednesday, April 23 at 6 p.m. This year's honored guest speaker is Rick...