Michigan Tech 'Latest News'

Researchers Begin to Decipher Metabolism of Sexual Assault Drug

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 00:01:01 -0500

It’s a naturally occurring brain chemical with an unwieldy name: 4-hydroxybutyrate (4-HB). Taken by mouth, it can be abused or used as a date-rape drug.

Now, a team of Ohio and Michigan scientists have determined new routes by which 4-HB is metabolized by the body. “This is new and important information,” said K. Michael Gibson, professor and chair of biological sciences at Michigan Technological University and a member of the research team. “It may provide new clues on how to counteract the drug’s effects, or to enhance its metabolism and decrease toxicity for chronic abusers or victims of sexual assault.”

Gibson is . . .

Youth Programs Helps Science Score Big with Young People

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:51:37 -0500

Michigan Technological University took its traveling STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Road Show to Grand Rapids last week, inspiring thousands of elementary and high-school students to “score with science” at a hockey game and science expo.

The Grand Rapids Griffins’ annual matinee game and Score With Science Expo featured exciting, hands-on activities for the students, presented by Michigan Tech Youth Programs staff. They showed the youngsters how to make liquid nitrogen ice cream, to “walk on water” in an oobleck pool filled with a cornstarch mixture that looks like water but acts like a solid, to blow smoke like a . . .

Many Nations Break Bread at International Food Festival

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:05:19 -0500

International students and faculty members joined dozens of guests from Michigan Tech and the community for an evening of ethnic food and music at the Memorial Union Ballroom on Saturday night, Nov. 14.

The International Club’s third annual International Food Festival featured dishes from around the world, including Bangladesh chicken, Moroccan chicken with lemon and green olives, Native American butternut squash, Indian vegetable rice, Bengali fried chicken and potatoes, Jamaican jerk chicken, Mexican chipotle chicken, spaetzle or German dumplings, and nisu, a Finnish sweet bread.

Entertainment featured Raymond Mao, singer/songwriter; Alexandra Hand, flute; Carly Charlier ,violin; Mollie Ruth, cello; Uzi Mendez, cello; . . .

Building a Grid that Plays Nice

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:58:11 -0500

It's unlikely that you'll crash the local utility system by turning on your microwave. But in smaller electric grids it's not that hard for a single, power-gobbling component—say, central air-conditioning—to blow the proverbial main fuse.

Wayne Weaver, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Michigan Tech, is interested in designing ways for all components in smaller electrical grids to share power. His work applies to systems as simple as a solar-powered home and as complex as a naval vessel, an industrial park or a military outpost.

With a three-year, $350,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, Weaver will use game . . .

Sudhakar Pandit Elected a Society of Manufacturing Engineers Fellow

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 03:09:27 -0500

Sudhakar M. Pandit, a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, has been named one of nine new Fellows of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, a professional society serving the manufacturing industry.

He joins SME's prestigious College of Fellows, created to honor members who have made outstanding contributions to the field of manufacturing.

One of Pandit's main contributions to the manufacturing industry has been development of a new methodology called data dependent systems and its applications to design and manufacturing. He has written two books and is author or co-author of more than 150 peer-reviewed papers.

Others in the 2009 class of . . .

Michigan Tech Graduate Student Aids International Bird Rescue Effort

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:06:19 -0500

Conservation could be Amber Roth’s middle name. She loves anything to do with nature. Birds, trees, grasses, ecosystems: she’s fascinated by it all.

So after tucking a Bachelor of Science in Conservation Biology and International Relations and a Master of Science in Wildlife Ecology under her belt, the Green Bay native came to Michigan Tech to earn a PhD in the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science (SFRES).

Roth studies how to manage aspen forests to produce the maximum amount of biomass per acre without harming wildlife habitat. “It’s a management trade-off question,” she explains, and the basis of her PhD . . .

Detroit Youth Learn About Technical Theater

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:36:26 -0500

Sixteen performing arts students from Detroit visited Michigan Technological University late last week as part of an outreach program that immersed them in the technical aspects of performance. These students were accustomed to be onstage; Michigan Tech put them backstage.

The group, from Cass Technical High School, showed off their skills at a half-hour performance at the McArdle Theatre on Thursday night; then they spent Friday learning about such matters as editing and engineering.

Patricia Helsel, assistant professor of visual and performing arts (VPA), said the endeavor was meant to be both “an initiation and an inspiration.”

She said this kind of technical . . .

But Can You Use It? Usability Day Involves Students Across Campus

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 03:05:44 -0500

Students from many departments were investigating usability lately—analyzing products and processes to find ways to make them more efficient and more satisfying to use.

The results were as varied as they were impressive.

It was all part of World Usability Day–UP (WUD-UP), coordinated by Karla Kitalong, associate professor of humanities. This year’s theme was sustainability.

In one event, students in the Fisher Hall lobby tried paper prototyping, a simple way to model a more-complex interface, in this case a “smart home” that would allow residents to keep track of their energy consumption. The students designed a touch-screen wall display and made a mock-up . . .

Seven Added to Michigan Tech Sports Hall of Fame

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 03:11:48 -0500

Michigan Tech inducted seven new members into its Sports Hall of Fame during a recent ceremony on campus.

Don Boldt (football 1954-57), Herb Boxer (hockey player 1967-70 and coach 1985-90), Dave Fischer (sports information director, 1987-2004), Chris Klaes (cross country and track, 1987-90) and Ron Ray (football and wrestling 1966-70) all spoke and accepted their plaques during the event. D.J. Evans (women’s basketball 1979-84) and John Opie (major donor) both were inducted but were unable to attend.

The theme of the evening was people, as all five of the inductees in attendance thanked the many individuals who surrounded them at . . .

Strategic Faculty Hiring Initiatives Seek Energy, Health Faculty

Thu, 5 Nov 2009 10:26:59 -0500

A worldwide search is on for outstanding energy and health researchers to fill up to 20 new tenure-track faculty positions at Michigan Technological University. The competitions are Michigan Tech’s latest in a multi-year series of Strategic Faculty Hiring Initiatives, designed to enhance and expand the University’s existing, cross-disciplinary research strengths.

One new initiative focuses on Energy: Next Generation Energy Systems. The other is in Health: Basic Sciences, Technologies and Medical Informatics.

Over the 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 academic years, up to 10 faculty will be hired who specialize in multidisciplinary research in any aspect of 21^st century energy, including smart transmission and . . .

Michigan Tech, Portage Health Offer Medical Discount to Peace Corps Students

Wed, 4 Nov 2009 09:56:05 -0500

Graduate students in Michigan Technological University’s Peace Corps Master’s International programs will be able to get their required medical exams and lab tests at a major discount, thanks to a new partnership between the University and Portage Health.

The health care provider will offer PCMI students at Michigan Tech a 20 percent discount on any balance they owe after insurance payments for exams and tests required by the Peace Corps, plus an additional 10 percent prompt-pay discount, for a total discount of 30 percent.

That can add up to quite a sum. “The personalized medical exams and tests that the Peace Corps . . .

2009 was Fine, but Golf Course Seeks Constant Improvement

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 12:56:18 -0400

As the grounds crew, in chooks and gloves, trimmed evergreens, ran sprinklers, dug with a bobcat and did end-of-year cleanups, it was good time to reflect on the golf year just past and talk about next year.

Beginning with the Par and Grill restaurant, Mark Maroste, manager of the Portage Lake Golf Course (PLGC), says it was a very good season.

“We’ve created a nice dining atmosphere,” he says. “We are getting more non-golfers coming out for lunch, and we’re getting rave reviews on our burgers.”

The action on the course was busy, too, Maroste says, thanks in great part to the Experience . . .

Memorial Grove at Michigan Tech: Planting a Green, Living Memorial

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 02:00:01 -0400

Dan Lorenzetti is not a man who likes to wait for results. When he heard that Michigan Technological University was planning to add approximately 150 trees to the well-traveled eastern approach to its campus along Highway 41 over the next 15 years, his response was: “I want to see that approach to campus beautified immediately.”

So he came up with a win-win plan to achieve that goal: Invite the public to sponsor a tree in a Memorial Grove, in honor or memory of someone they admire. That way, a public entrance to Michigan Tech gets its trees, and the community . . .

School of Technology Plans New Robotics Program

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 02:24:10 -0400

Michigan Technological University's School of Technology is partnering with industry to develop a new course in robotics and industrial automation designed to give students both industrial and University certification.

The School of Technology has purchased two robots from FANUC Robotics America, a Japanese firm with a strong presence in the US. The company, a leader in supporting robotics education, donated software and training. The market value of the package donated was $292,163. FANUC collaborates with higher education with an eye to streamlining its operations by reducing costs, improving quality and maximizing productivity.

The initiative, says interim dean Jim Frendewey, “will meet the . . .

Grad Student Takes Aim at Sugar Maple Dieback

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 02:00:36 -0400

When Tara Bal brings a 12-gauge into the woods, she doesn’t worry about exceeding her limit.

Bal, a Michigan Technological University PhD student in forest science, isn’t a hunter. She is more of a gatherer, using the shotgun to bring down sugar maple leaves from the forest canopy.

With Andrew Storer, a professor of forest resources and environmental science, she aims to find out why so many Upper Peninsula sugar maples are in trouble. If you go for a walk in the woods and look up, you’ll see quite a few trees with dieback: branches, even whole sections of the tree, . . .