Rick White

Contact

riwhite@mtu.edu
906-487-3510
Administration Building G25

Executive Director of Strategic Communications, University Marketing and Communications

Biography

Rick joined Michigan Tech in 2022 after earning his MFA in Creative Nonfiction from the University of Montana. His essays have been nominated for Best American Essays and published in LitHub, High Desert Journal, The A.V. Club and elsewhere. He also holds an MS in Environmental Studies from the University of Montana and a BA in Geography from the University of Central Arkansas.

About Rick

Rick leads the UMC communications team in projects ranging from media relations to editing MTU News and Tech Magazine.
He enjoys cooking, gardening, traveling, and exploring the Keweenaw Peninsula.

Recent Stories

Aerial black and white scan-quality view of the KRC proving grounds.

National Security: A Keweenaw Specialty

For more than seven decades, the Copper Country has been a hub for engineering, manufacturing, testing, and research aimed at national security. Now, Michigan Tech and local business leaders have banded together to strengthen their collective voice amid the United States' booming defense industry. The . . . Read More

1400 Townsend Drive: University News

Launching new programs and curricula. Winning state awards. Welcoming talented new students and helping graduates land great jobs. Get a glimpse of campus happenings and student and faculty accomplishments in this edition of 1400 Townsend. Michigan Tech's fall 2025 incoming class reflected not only the . . . Read More

Researcher processing samples in a lab while two others converse in the background.

1400 Townsend Drive: Research News

Michigan Tech is making good on our designation as one of the nation's premier R1 research institutions with a haul of prestigious national, international, and University research awards. Michigan Tech's Robotics and Remote Sensing Lab brought home an unprecedented win in the 2025 Benchmark Autonomous . . . Read More

Person on a mountain bike overhead as they jump a feature on the trail.

1400 Townsend Drive: Student Life

From campus spaces to the surrounding landscape, Michigan Tech encourages exploration and calculated risk-taking. These experiences sharpen Huskies' technical skills while building confidence, adaptability, and problem-solving instincts that extend far beyond the classroom. Michigan Tech's East Hall . . . Read More

A large, tan-colored tactical vehicle stands parked outside in the snow.

Michigan Tech’s APS LABS Developing Vehicle Integrated Power Kit for U.S. Army Tactical Vehicles

The U.S. Army’s Defense Innovation Unit selected Michigan Tech’s Advanced Power Systems Research Center, also known as APS LABS, to design and develop cutting-edge technologies for power generation on the battlefield. In early 2025, the U.S. Army awarded APS LABS a $7.8M contract through the Defense . . . Read More

The solar car in front of a US map highlighting the route from New York to California.

Chasing the Cannonball Sun

A group of engineering students spent years chasing a shared dream: to complete the first coast-to-coast American road trip fully powered by the sun. What could possibly go wrong? Even on a sunny day in June, there are few more unspectacular places in America for a dream road trip to limp to an end than . . . Read More

Three boats in the water going past a lighthouse.

Charting New Waters in Great Lakes Mapping

Researchers at Michigan Tech's Great Lakes Research Center are leading a collaborative effort to map the lake beds of the Great Lakes at high resolution for the first time—a giant leap forward in the protection of the region's precious freshwater resources. On October 23, 1968, a Beechcraft Queen Air . . . Read More