May 20, 2025

The Department of Public Safety and Police Services is pleased to announce an upcoming training opportunity designed to equip Michigan Tech faculty and staff with the knowledge and skills necessary to contribute to a coordinated and effective institutional response during challenging times. The training is being conducted by the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Services (TEEX).

MTU faculty and staff are invited to register for "Crisis Management Affecting Institutions of Higher Education: A Collaborative." This comprehensive two-day training will delve into the unique challenges and considerations facing higher education institutions during various types of crises. It emphasizes a collaborative approach, recognizing that effective crisis management requires the engagement and cooperation of individuals from across all departments and levels of a university.

This training has no prerequisites and is perfect for all staff and faculty members who want to learn how they can assist their departments during a campus crisis. By participating, members will contribute to a more resilient and prepared Michigan Tech.

If any MTU faculty or staff members have any questions about the training, please contact Reid DeVoge at rdevoge@mtu.edu.

Training Details:

• What: "Crisis Management Affecting Institutions of Higher Education: A Collaborative"
• When: July 22-23 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day
• Where: Michigan Tech Lakeshore Center Community Room
• Registration:  Register for the July 22-23 session on TEEX’s website. A free TEEX account is required to register.

Please join the Graduate School in congratulating Michigan Tech's Summer 2025 Finishing Fellows.

Kenny Larsen is a Ph.D. candidate in environmental engineering who has always been intrigued by the interactions of humans with the environment. Larsen's research focuses on phosphorus transport and transformation in aquatic ecosystems in the context of the role of beaver dam-building in shaping hydrologic and biogeochemical cycles across North America. Larsen's work to understand the cumulative impact of beaver activity on sediment, phosphorus retention and wetland formation highlights how animal-driven landscape processes influence large-scale environmental systems — bridging ecology, environmental engineering or human-ecology interactions.

Read more about Larsen’s journey at Michigan Tech on the Graduate School Newsblog.

Please join the Graduate School in congratulating Michigan Tech's Summer 2025 Finishing Fellows.

Raj Santhosh's interest in automobiles and machines eventually led him to Michigan Tech. As a master's student in mechanical engineering, Santhosh worked with Darrell Robinette on the U.S. Department of Energy’s ARPA-E NEXTCAR project. This connected vehicle research opened opportunities into the possibilities and impact vehicle connectivity and automation could have on our daily lives. With some inspiration from his co-advisors, Robinette and Jeffrey Naber, he decided to pursue a doctoral degree in mechanical engineering with a focus on leveraging vehicle connectivity and automation to improve energy efficiency of passenger vehicles.

Read more about Santhosh’s journey at Michigan Tech on the Graduate School Newsblog.

Cristhian Salas Pazmiño, Ph.D. candidate at University of California Santa Barbara, returns to Houghton on Thursday, May 22, to share his cutting-edge geophysical research.

Salas Pazmiño earned his M.S. in Geophysics from Michigan Tech in 2021, advised by Greg Waite (GMES). He joined MTU after completing his B.S. in Geology/Earth Science at Universidad Yachay Tech in 2020. He is currently pursuing his Ph.D. under the guidance of UCSB's Zach Eilon.

Join us Thursday at 1 p.m. in Dow 610 to hear about his latest work and reconnect! All are welcome.

Salas Pazmiño's presentation is titled "Inference of thermodynamic state of the upper mantle beneath Alaska by using teleseismic body-wave velocity and attenuation tomography."

From the abstract:
Tomography models of seismic attenuation and seismic velocity provide valuable and complementary information about the Earth's thermodynamic state, as these parameters possess different sensitivities to various mantle properties. Despite the potential of combining these two observations, the challenges associated with measuring attenuation have often limited its frequent integration with velocity studies at the regional scale. Alaska's complex tectonics, diverse thermodynamic conditions, and the excellent seismic coverage provided by the deployment of the Transportable Array (TA) make it an ideal natural laboratory to assess the power of using new high-resolution regional models of attenuation and velocity to provide new insights into the mantle's physical conditions. We have updated an attenuation measurement approach that simultaneously fits both the amplitude and phase components of the differential attenuation operator while testing teleseismic signals for elastic focusing and defocusing effects, known to contaminate attenuation measurements. This updated method enabled us to produce thousands of high-quality body-wave differential attenuation measurements (t*). We complemented these observations with differential travel time measurements and independently inverted the different datasets to create three-dimensional attenuation and velocity tomography models, respectively. We collected multi-frequency observations for our velocity (V) models, which were then inverted using finite-frequency tomography. Additionally, we developed a novel iterative inversion algorithm for attenuation that uses ray-based tomography. In this case, we solved for the quality factor, Q, accounting for potential order-of-magnitude gradients. Our resulting models reveal remarkably consistent large-scale regions in the mantle, such as a fast velocity, low-attenuating subducting slab, and a high-attenuating, low-velocity mantle wedge. We finally used these observations of QS and VS to establish 3-D models of the likely distribution of temperature (T), melt fraction (Ï•), and grain size (d) of the upper mantle by applying a joint Bayesian inference framework using the Very Broad Rheology calculator (VBRc). As a key part of a multidisciplinary initiative, these new results will significantly contribute to understanding the full spectrum of the Earth's rheological response.

An article written by junior Benjamin Amat (medical laboratory science) was published by ASCLS Today, the newsletter of the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science. In the article, Amat discussed the benefits of a clinical laboratory science curriculum for aspiring pre-health college students. The story of how Amat chose his major was recently featured by Stories from Husky Nation.

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The National Park Service mentioned the Michigan Tech Archives as the recipient of a $15,000 Keweenaw Heritage Grant for a digital asset improvement project. The grant amount was the maximum awarded by the program in 2025. The announcement was picked up by the Keweenaw Report.

Submission and Formatting 101: Master the Dissertation, Thesis and Report Process

Students who are completing a dissertation, thesis or report are invited to join the Graduate School to learn about the resources available to them to assist in scheduling their defense, formatting their documents, and submitting their documents. In one afternoon, you can learn everything you need to be successful and complete your degree in a timely fashion! Faculty and staff who assist students with submissions are also welcome to attend. Attend the entire event, or stop in for the seminar that interests you.

• When: Thursday, May 29, from 2-4:30 p.m. (see a detailed schedule on our blog)
• Who: Students completing a dissertation, thesis or report; faculty and staff who assist students with submission.
• Where: Virtually via Zoom (please register to attend online and receive participation instructions) and in person in Admin 404 (room capacity is 30).
• Registration: Please register to receive handouts via email or attend online. The seminar will be available online as well as on campus.

If you are unable to join us, the event will be taped and available online after the event. The previous semester’s seminars are always available online.

Information on submitting, formatting and more can be found online for dissertations and theses or reports.

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On-Campus Dining This Summer

The Food Hall at Wadsworth Hall has begun renovations to update food service and seating areas within the dining hall space. The project is scheduled to be completed for the fall 2025 semester. During these renovations, The Eatery at McNair Hall is open and is serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner during weekdays, and lunch and dinner on weekends. Their hours of operation can be found on the Dine on Campus website, and daily menus, nutritional, and allergen information can be found on the What’s on the Menu webpage.

Located in the Memorial Union Building, Brkfst & Co. is also open this summer on weekdays from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. They offer a variety of breakfast foods, burgers, sides, beverages, milkshakes and slushies, along with quick grab-and-go options like fruit, salads, sandwiches, wraps, snacks and desserts. They offer quick service with self-ordering kiosks and the option of ordering through Boost Mobile ordering service.

The Portage Lake Golf Course is also open for the season, with food options available at the Par & Grill. They offer a variety of burgers, hot dogs, paninis, quesadillas, grab-and-go options, beverages, and more for golfers or visitors.

Velodrome Coffee Company in the Van Pelt and Opie Library is also open this summer. Their hours are Monday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 12-5 p.m. They carry an assortment of seasonal beverages, hot foods, desserts, grab-and-go options, local bakery items, candy and snacks.

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

Staff Council Meeting

Tuesday, May 20, 12 p.m.–1 p.m. | J. Robert Van Pelt and John and Ruanne Opie Library, 216

Join us for the monthly Staff Council meeting! Staff Council exists to support Michigan Tech staff: full-time, part-time, nine-month, or ten-month; non-student, non-faculty. Membership on Staff Council is voluntary, open and available to any eligible staff member. Our Charge To assist the University in recognizing outstanding performance and ongoing dedicated service by staff membersTo maximize the use of talents and resources of the staff to support educational programs and to develop and strengthen skills and professionalism among staffTo provide events and opportunities to enhance the working environment of Michigan Tech.

Alaska Alumni Social

Tuesday, May 20, 6 p.m.–8 p.m. | Odd Man Rush Brewing

Looking for an evening of Husky camaraderie with fellow Alaska-based alumni and friends? Join volunteer hosts Mark '80 and Sally Coburn for an alumni social on Tuesday, May 20, from 6-8 p.m. (local time) at Odd Man Rush Brewing. Come ready to share stories, reminisce about your time in Houghton, and forge new connections that will last a lifetime! Odd Man Rush Brewing is located at 10930 Mausel Street, Eagle River, AK 99577. There will be a food truck on site and beverages will be available for individual purchase. Attendees will also have the chance to score some Michigan Tech swag, courtesy of the Office of Alumni Engagement. There is no cost to attend but please RSVP in advance to ensure we have an accurate headcount.