September 9, 2014, Vol. 21, No. 1

The Husky Plaza

Husky Plaza Webcam

I am on medical leave for a while. I will miss you all, but a group of stellar Michigan Tech personalities have stepped up to write guest columns while I am away.  Today, Alumni Director Brenda Rudiger shares her excitement about the Husky Plaza, part of the Alumni Way. —Dennis

Excitement is brewing at the center of campus.  After a year of planning, a huge boulder has been placed; engraved pavers have been set; students are already enjoying the new benches; lighting and landscaping will soon be installed. And the amazing centerpiece—the Husky statue—is due to arrive in early October.

The Husky Plaza is part of the Alumni Way, a campus mall project that will unify the east and west ends of campus. The project began on the east end of campus by the Library. The new seating area, Rovano Plaza, offers a great view of the Husky Statue.  Additionally, there will be a legacy marker unveiled later this month near the Electrical Energy Resource Center (EERC), sponsored by a long-time community business.

You can visit the Husky Plaza project via a webcam.

This project is one of the most fun things I’ve ever worked on here at Michigan Tech.  Made possible by the generous support of numerous alumni, faculty and friends, including Dan and Joan Lorenzetti, the Michigan Tech Alumni Association, Roland Huhtala ’74 and Pete ’53 and Shirley Meyers, the Husky Plaza is going to be a focal point of Alumni Way on campus for past, present and future generations.

A commemorative bench in this area was sponsored by Tech alumna, Lee Thompson ’66.  As we continue the project west, there will be additional benches, legacy markers and other Alumni Way features.

Last spring, many alumni and friends also supported the project by purchasing 642 pavers, each engraved with a personal message of their choosing.  For 122 of these supporters, their paver purchase was the first gift they’d ever made to Michigan Tech.  Hopefully it won’t be the last.

We’ve heard some people say that they missed their opportunity to buy a paver, so the Husky Plaza engraved paver program is back—but only until September 21.  If you didn’t get your paver, don’t miss this second chance to put your message on the Husky Plaza forever. Visit the online form or contact Paula Nutini, 906-487-3609, pjnutini@mtu.edu.

President Glenn Mroz calls the Husky Statue and the Alumni Way that we continue to develop “a constant reminder to prospective students and their families, students, faculty and staff that only a small part of Michigan Tech is here on campus. Much of Michigan Tech exists in the hearts and minds of alumni who live in every state and hundreds of countries,” he explains, “alumni who are extending a hand to today’s students, saying: ‘I value my experience as a proud Michigan Tech Husky, and you will too!‘”

I invite you to learn more about the Alumni Way online.

Brenda Rudiger
Executive Director of Alumni Relations
and the Michigan Tech Alumni Association

At Tech

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Michigan Tech Receives NSF Grant for Transmission Electron Microscope

Michigan Technological University is well on its way to getting a .7 million, state-of-the-science transmission electron microscope (TEM), thanks to the National Science Foundation and a team of dedicated researchers led by Reza Shahbazian-Yassar.

“This will bring us to the forefront of electron microscopy,” said Shahbazian-Yassar, the principal investigator on the project. The new TEM . . . [ Full Story ]

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MTRI Demos Uses for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles in Transportation

The Michigan Tech Research Institute (MTRI) will be flying its unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) before thousands at the Intelligent Transport Systems World Congress in Detroit Sept. 7-11. More than 12,000 researchers, transportation agency and company representatives from around the world are expected to attend the meeting.

Colin Brooks, environmental science lab manager at MTRI, and . . . [ Full Story ]

Alumni Around the World

AAW Fish Fry Photo

West Michigan Fish Fry

Alumni and friends from the West Michigan Chapter gathered for their annual fish fry on Thursday, August 21 at Schmohz Brewery.  Walleye was provided by Jireh Charters and prepared by Ken Glupker ’73 and Vic Foerster ’74. This event promotes the fishing raffles for Jireh Charter and Anderson Charter who have each donated half-day fishing . . . [ Full Story ]

Photo courtesy of Marty Schendel

Detroit Area Alumni Chapter

Earlier this summer more than 100 alumni and friends from the Detroit Area Alumni Chapter packed into the Liberty Street Brewing Company in Plymouth, MI to grab a pint and a slice with President Glenn D. Mroz ’74 ’77.

Check out the Detroit Chapter on Facebook.

Bonvallet group photo

Michigan Tech is a Bonvallet family tradition!

Six alums met in Houghton for a surprise reunion on August 30th to celebrate Michael Bonvallet’s 60th birthday. Four are siblings:   Michael ’84, John ’78, Jane ’82, Jeff ’85 as well as spouses Claudia Alimpich ’78 and Patricia Murphy  ‘86. While on campus, the group posed for a photo beside the Bonvallet family . . . [ Full Story ]

Alumni Profile

Michael C. (Mike) Adler ’14, ’14

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Clouds arise out of nowhere and dissolve into nothingness, an intricate interaction of heat and cold, dampness and dust. Michael Adler aims to describe a portion of that dance in numbers, the sign language of physics.Adler is a senior majoring in both physics and applied/computational mathematics. An accomplished violinist, he is minoring in music, sings . . . [ Full Story ]

Tech Sports

MeadPOW

Mead Named GLIAC Special Teams Player of the Week

Garrett Mead has been named GLIAC Football Special Teams Player of the Week for his performance in Michigan Tech’s 18-17 win at Wayne State last Thursday (Sept. 4).

The senior from Alpena, Mich., kicked four field goals in the contest including the game winner as time expired. Mead booted one field goal in each quarter, . . . [ Full Story ]

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Tech Shuts Out St. Cloud State Sunday

The Michigan Tech soccer team picked up its first win of the season with a 2-0 shutout of St. Cloud State on Sunday (Sept. 7) at Sherman Field. Jacqueline Mielke and Lexi Herrewig provided the offense for the Huskies, and goalkeeper Jenna Phelps picked up her 15th career shutout.

“I though we played a great . . . [ Full Story ]

Fill in the Blanks

From the Email Bag

Three members of the Rugby club pose for a photo at K-Day.

Rugby Reps, Present and Accounted For

Several people contacted us about the photo of rugby players on K-Day. Kelsey Waugh identified the guys, and we heard from two of the players as well—Marc Sanko and Jon Bontranger ‘11.

Marc says, “I was told that a picture of me ran in the TechAlum newsletter. My name is Marc Sanko and I’m the . . . [ Full Story ]

Group of students gather to sing and play guitar.

Names with Faces: Guitar Photo Identified

Lou Best ’70 and Gregory Switek both weighed in on the K-Day guitar photo (Greg reminded us that we used the same photo a couple of years back—we’re apparently getting forgetful!)

Greg says, “The hand on the guitar on the left belongs to Bill French. Bill Baun is center, and Jim Quinlan is on the . . . [ Full Story ]

Bobby “Good Guy” Bartender

Just a thought. Do you remember Bobby Good Guy? Bartender extraordinaire at the Doghouse for years. His name was Bob Mealia. Maybe some folks out there have some stories and/or pictures of him to share. Could be some fun reading.

Best regards,
John Rugani

Editor’s note: We checked with the current owner of the Doghouse—Robert “Bubba”
. . . [ Full Story ]

Ken MTU Mug

Missing Mug?

Here’s another one for your “lost and found” category. I recently found this ASME mug in a Michigan antique store. It has the name “KEN” on the back. I would be happy to get it back to the original owner if we can find him.

Luke A. Reini

Huskies in Bangkok

Larry Mosher (EE class of ‘74) and I will be making a trip to Thailand in October so that he may receive stem cell transplant treatments (for more about Larry’s story, visit www.helpHOPElive.org and type Larry Mosher in the search box).

We will be there for 30 days. Since we will have quite a bit . . . [ Full Story ]

Doctoring in the Keweenaw

In the past year, Portage Health Systems has hired four Michigan Tech alums who are now physicians and who returned to the Copper Country to practice medicine. You can find more about them at www.portagehealth.org.

Dr. Todd Anderson ‘06, DO, practices at the University Center
Dr. Tim LaBonte ‘05, MD, practices at the Lake . . . [ Full Story ]

90th Birthday Alum with Marilyn

A Birthday So Grand, Even the Celebrities Showed Up

On August 10, I turned 90. How did I get here so fast??? My family arranged a very nice party for about 30 close friends at a local restaurant, and we had a ball. My daughter was kind enough to take my picture with Marilyn Monroe, as you can see. I often think about my college days and my . . . [ Full Story ]

Featured Alumni Benefits

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Michigan Tech Alumni Group Insurance Programs

As a Michigan Tech graduate, you qualify for a special group rate on many of your personal insurance needs.

These partner companies provide funds to the Michigan Tech Alumni Association as part of this collaboration. Agreements like this help support a wide range of programs and services for alumni and students.

Around the Keweenaw

Job Opportunities

On Campus

Miss the great Keweenaw lifestyle? If you’re looking for a way to get back to this awesome corner of the world, check out these positions available right here at Michigan Tech.

View a listing of our on-campus career opportunities.