June 2, 2025

Michigan Tech's corporate discount number for National and Enterprise has changed, effective yesterday, June 1. The new number is available on the Ground Transportation webpage.

What You Need to Know:

• Use the new number for all future business rentals to ensure you receive MTU’s discounted rate.

• Update your profiles on the National and Enterprise websites/apps with the new number.

• Notify travel arrangers so they use the updated number going forward.

30-Day Transition:

• The old number remains valid for 30 days to cover existing reservations.

• After 30 days, using the old number may result in higher rental costs.

For questions, contact Purchasing at 906-487-2510 or purchasing@mtu.edu. Thank you for your prompt attention.

Fifteen Great Lakes Research Center (GLRC) members and their students will give either a poster or oral presentation at the 68th Annual Conference of IAGLR (International Association for Great Lakes Research). Being held June 2-6 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the conference focus is “Creating Great Lakes Resilience.”

Oral Presentations:

• Evan Lucas (ICC/GLRC) will present “High Frequency Radar in the Straits of Mackinac: a unique system, what it offers, and how we're working with it.” Co-authors include Timothy Havens (CS/GLRC/ICC).

• Ph.D. candidate Esther Acheampong (environmental and energy policy) will present “A Geospatial Model for Advancing Coastal Vulnerability Indices in the Great Lakes.” Co-authors include Don Lafreniere (SS/GLRC), Ryan Williams (GLRC) and Guy Meadows (GLRC).

• Ph.D. candidate Ara Hakim (environmental engineering) will present “Lake Superior Compensating Works Operation and Potential Adaptation for Changing Hydroclimatic Conditions.” Co-authors include David Watkins (CEGE/GLRC).

• Ryan Williams (GRF/GLRC) will present “A Cyberinfrastructure for Visualizing Current-Related Incidents on the Great Lakes.” 

• M.S. student Cailin Bishop (environmental engineering) will present “Passive Samplers for Assessing Lake Remediation and PCB Variability Across Freshwater Ecosystems.”

• Postdoctoral Fellow Yi Chen (GLRC) will present “Dual-Transformer Deep Learning Framework for Seasonal Forecasting of Great Lakes Water Levels.” Co-authors include Congling Zhang (GLRC) and Pengfei Xue (CEGE/GLRC).

• Ph.D. candidate Thi Mai Anh (forest science) will present “Climate-Related Changes Impact Forest Relationships: A Tribal-Led Comparative Community Assessment.” Co-authors include Valoree S. Gagnon (CFRES/GLRC), Chelsea Schelly (SS/GLRC/CISR), Erin Johnston and Karena Schmidt of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Natural Resources Department, and Rachel Tarpey of the USDA Forest Service.

Poster Presentations:

• Ph.D. candidate Libia Hazra (environmental engineering) will present “Spatial Variation in PCB Accumulation in Southern Lake Superior Fish: Role of Food Web Structure.” Co-authors include Azmat Naseem (CEGE), Enid Partika (CEGE), Judith Perlinger (CEGE/GLRC) and Noel Urban (CEGE/GLRC).

• Ph.D. student Hong An Nguyen (biological sciences) will present “Microbial Carbon Biogeochemistry and Vertical Dynamics in the Great Lakes.” Co-authors include Noel Urban (CEGE/GLRC), Hayden Henderson (GLRC), Pengfei Xue (CEGE/GLRC), Reagan Errera of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and Trista Vick-Majors (BioSci/GLRC).

• Ph.D. student Omowunmi Aworinde (chemistry) will present “PFAS Contamination of Smelt from Keweenaw Bay in Lake Superior.” Co-authors include Mindula Wijayahena of the University of Buffalo, Judith Perlinger (CEGE/GLRC), Noel Urban (CEGE/GLRC) and Diana Aga of the University of Buffalo.

• Ph.D. student Greyson Wolf (biological sciences) will present “Assessing the role of burbot in coupling nearshore and offshore habitats of Lake Superior.” Co-authors include Ph.D. student Grant Dlesk (biological sciences), Gord Paterson (BioSci/GLRC), Shawn Sitar of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Brandon Gerig of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Kristin Brzeski (CFRES) and Jill Olin (BioSci/GLRC).

• Ph.D. student Grant Dlesk (biological sciences will present “Assessing genetic population structure among Lake Superior burbot (Lota lota).” Co-authors include Ph.D. student Greyson Wolf (biological sciences), Jill Olin (BioSci/GLRC), Shawn Sitar of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources, Kristin Brzeski (CFRES), Brandon Gerig of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Gord Paterson (BioSci/GLRC).

• Ph.D. student Connor O’Loughlin (biological sciences) will present “Seasonal variation in microbial community dynamics and organic matter in the Great Lakes.” Co-authors include Gord Paterson (BioSci/GLRC), Nicole Wagner of Oakland University, Hunter Carrick of Central Michigan University, Jonathan Doubek of Lake Superior State University, Donald Uzarksi of Central Michigan University and Trista Vick-Majors (BioSci/GLRC).

• Ph.D. student Mari E. Leland (biological sciences) will present “A Winter-based Approach to Microbial Community Structure in a Lake Superior Connected Channel.” Co-authors include Trista J. Vick-Majors (BioSci/GLRC).

• Shadi Moradi (GLRC) will present “Mapping Submerged Aquatic Vegetation in the Great Lakes Using Artificial Intelligence.” Co-authors include Peter Esselman of the U.S. Geological Survey, Angus Galloway of Engineering Technologies Canada LTD, Alden Tilley of the U.S. Geological Survey and Anthony Geglio (GLRC).

WLUC TV6 quoted Zhanping You (CEGE) in a story about a $78,000 grant from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy to help recycle scrap tires in the Upper Peninsula. You discussed his research on using recycled rubber in asphalt, explaining that rubberized asphalt lasts longer and is less prone to cracking.

*****

Lake Superior Magazine mentioned Steven Voelker (CFRES) in a story about the Keweenaw Peninsula being recognized as the sunniest summer spot east of the Mississippi River thanks to its northern location and its proximity to Lake Superior, which helps diffuse storms and prevent cloud formation.

*****

The Iron Mountain Daily News mentioned Michigan Tech in a story about the County Road 573 paving project, a collaboration with the Dickinson County Road Commission and MTU funded by a $1 million state grant. The project incorporates recycled rubber from scrap tires into the asphalt mix, a technique supported by MTU research to improve cold weather crack resistance.

Use Your Staff Service Award Days

Benefits Services would like to remind you to use your staff service award days so you don't lose them. The deadline to use them is the end of the current fiscal year, June 30.

To see your current available balance, log into Banweb. Under the Employees tab, click Leave Balances. Your hours will be listed as "Service Award Recognition." They can be entered as Payroll Earn Code 430 or listed as "Service Award Day" on your timesheet.

*****

Campus Invited to Celebrate Linda Ott

The Department of Computer Science and College of Computing invite the campus community to a retirement reception to honor Professor Linda Ott, who retires June 30.

We’ll send out more details as they become available, but please save the date! The reception will be held from 3-5 p.m. on June 30 in the lobby of the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts. Hors d'oeuvres and refreshments will be served.

We hope you can join us in celebrating Linda’s 47-year career at Michigan Tech.

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

No events are scheduled for today. Visit the University Events Calendar.