Was the perfect storm really perfect? And what’s with all those new-fangled classroom do-dads? Visitors to the 2014 Alumni Reunion can learn the answers to these very different questions at two intriguing Tech Talks. One looks at the latest classroom technology, the other takes a scientific look at two Hollywood blockbusters.
Lots more fun and interesting campus events are planned for Alumni Reunion, Aug. 7-9. You can also canoe, bike or hike in the great outdoors and explore the Keweenaw Waterway in the University’s research vessel, the Agassiz.
Reunion is a great opportunity for all former students and members of the University community to meet new friends and rekindle old relationships. The featured groups this year include the Classes of 1964, 1974, 1984, 1989, 1994 and 2004, as well as the Golden M’s, who graduated 50 or more years ago. This year’s affinity groups are women’s basketball, tennis, Sigma Rho and Sigma Tau Gamma.
Plus the Ford Forestry Center is celebrating its 60th anniversary. For more information, go to www.mtu.edu/forest/fordcenter/Ford_Center_60th.html. And the Seaman Mineral Museum is offering free admission throughout reunion to attendees wearing their nametag. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
You can still sign up by going to www.mtu.edu/reunion and clicking the registration button at the top. Or, you can register and buy tickets by calling 906-487-2400 or visiting the Alumni Reunion Registration Area, which will open in the Memorial Union on Wednesday, Aug. 6. Attendance at some events is limited, so consider registering early. I’ve pulled out some highlights below:
Thursday, Aug. 7
Welcome Breakfast at the Memorial Union Building, 8:30 a.m., followed by walking tours.
Tech Talks—In Fisher 139, physics faculty members John Jaszczak and Michael Meyer will present “From Slide Rules to iClickers: Learning at Michigan Tech, Then and Now” at 10 a.m. In this interactive session, they will introduce the technologies that are the hallmark of “blended learning” and modern classrooms.
“Hollywood Meets Ocean Science: ‘The Perfect Storm’ and the ‘Search for Red October’” follows at 11 a.m. Guy Meadows, director of the Great Lakes Research Center, will use applied physics to answer these questions and more: “Could the perfect storm really occur? And how do submarines communicate underwater?”
Pasty Picnic follows at 4 p.m. on the campus green between the Electrical Energy Resources Center and the Chemical Sciences Building (rain site: Memorial Union). Pasties, pickled eggs, KBC beer, salads, desserts and other beverages are included.
Keweenaw Alumni Chapter Social at the Keweenaw Brewing Company, 6 p.m.
Friday, Aug. 8
All-Class Alumni Breakfast at the MUB with President Glenn Mroz ’74 ’77
Children’s Science Exploration—Kids will have a chance to build their own launchers—devices that propel an object by turning stored energy into kinetic energy. 10 a.m. Great Lakes Research Center. [ ALMOST FULL ]
Starting at 1 p.m., boat tours in the RV Agassiz will leave hourly from the Great Lakes Research Center dock until 4 p.m. [ ALMOST SOLD OUT ]
Alumni Reunion Dinner and Awards Banquet, 5:30 p.m. social, 6:30 p.m. dinner, MUB.
Saturday, Aug. 9
First there’s coffee at the Alumni House, then Explore the Keweenaw!
The Outdoor Adventure Program is hosting a four-hour canoe trip on the Sturgeon River. Meet at 9 a.m. at the Alumni House. [ SOLD OUT ]
At 2 p.m., OAP is leading its first Alumni Reunion a mountain-biking tour of the Michigan Tech Trails, on Sharon Avenue.
If you’d rather walk and ride, join the Keweenaw Waterfall Tour and Hike, which starts at 2 p.m. [ SOLD OUT ]
So, there you have it. So many great reasons to come home, again. I know you’ll find something, and some alumni and friends, to make the trip worthwhile.
Dennis ’92 ’09
P.S. I’m taking a break from TechAlum for a bit, but you’ll have plenty of good stuff to read in here over the next few issues, I guarantee it. And, keep the emails coming.