June 5, 2025

Glossy buckthorn, one of the Keweenaw’s most aggressive invasive species, is currently taking over portions of our favorite local trail networks. Luckily, the Keweenaw Invasive Species Management Area (KISMA) and the Swedetown Trails Club are partnering with local volunteers and working to stop the spread of invasive buckthorn this summer.

The botanically inclined may recognize glossy buckthorn as the rapidly growing, shrubby tree that is trying to take over local trail networks, such as the Swedetown Recreation Area in Calumet. However, many recreationists don't even notice the buckthorn as they ride, ski and hike through these trails. We think it's time to pay attention to the health of the woods around us.

You see, glossy buckthorn is highly invasive in our northern forests, especially in wooded areas that have soggy soils, lots of human traffic and a history of land disturbance. These European shrubs cause a myriad of ecological problems. Spreading rapidly, they suppress the growth of our native shrubs that are important food sources for nesting birds. While buckthorn makes loads of berries, they lack the important protein and fats that our fruit eating birds require, and these shrubs don't support native caterpillars for our carnivorous birds to eat either.

To make matters worse, these thick understories of buckthorn can completely smother forest regeneration. A forest with an aging canopy and an invaded understory slowly loses its mature trees without the recruitment of new ones to take their place. What’s left in the end is a short, shrubby forest, almost entirely composed of invasive buckthorn. This is why a hike through pockets of forest invaded by buckthorn lacks the diversity and beauty of our native forests. More importantly, these are wounded ecosystems that need our help to heal.

To address these problems, the Swedetown Trails Club is partnering with KISMA and local outdoor enthusiasts like yourself to help remove buckthorn and restore the forest. As part of our new volunteer-based management program, “Healthy Forests, Healthy Communities,” the club and KISMA are hosting weekly volunteer days at the Swedetown Trails. Starting in June, these family-friendly and educational events will be held every Friday from 1-3:30 p.m. We would love to see you there — and we will need all the help we can get in cutting, pulling and snipping buckthorn, and hauling it out of the woods and into our trailer to be burned!

Learn about this important restoration and conservation work while getting hands-on experience managing invasive species. Tools and equipment will be provided. This is a great way to give back to your local community, and the Earth as well. We hope to see you there!

For questions, contact info@swedetowntrails.org or KISMA.up@gmail.com, or visit the KISMA Projects webpage.

Event Details:

• What: “Healthy Forests Healthy Communities” Weekly Volunteer Days
• When: Every Friday, June 6 to Aug. 15, from 1-3 p.m.
• Where: Meet at the Swedetown Trails Chalet

Authored by KISMA Assistant Coordinator August Camp (CFRES) and KISMA Coordinator/MTU Research Assistant Professor Sigrid Resh (CFRES).

Save the Date: Learn more about Michigan Tech’s online graduate certificate, master’s degree and doctorate in manufacturing engineering by attending a virtual interest session on June 19 at 11:30 a.m. ET.

As of 2025, there are only 25 online manufacturing engineering graduate programs in the United States — and Michigan Tech has one of them. With a practical curriculum based on the Four Pillars of Manufacturing Knowledge, MTU’s online graduate programs in manufacturing engineering prepare students for both challenges and leadership roles in Industry 4.0 manufacturing.

The session is being hosted by the Michigan Tech Global Campus team and a representative from the Department of Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering Technology (MMET). Bring your curiosity and your questions!

Event Details:

• What: Virtual Interest Session for MTU’s Online Manufacturing Engineering Program
• When: Thursday, June 19, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET
• Where: Online via Zoom (register to receive the Zoom link)
• Registration: Register to attend the Online Manufacturing Engineering Program Interest Session.

Michigan Tech faculty and staff should be aware that students and employees under the age of 18 with University-issued Google Workspace for Education accounts are subject to specific restrictions. These include limited access to services such as YouTube, Google Play, Google Photos, Google Maps and Google Earth.

For instance, users under 18 cannot create or interact with YouTube content, access certain features in Google Play or share photos in Google Photos. Additionally, they are automatically enrolled in SafeSearch, restricting explicit content in Google Search results.

Some services, like Notebook LM, Search Labs and Search Generative Experience, are entirely inaccessible to under-18 users. For a more detailed list of the services affected, please refer to Google's article on access to Google services by age.

If you have questions, we can help. Email IT at it-help@mtu.edu or call 906-487-1111.

The Human Resources office will be closed tomorrow, June 6, from 2-4 p.m. The office will resume full services on Monday, June 9.

Questions during this time can be directed to hr-help@mtu.edu. We appreciate your understanding.

Michigan Tech Athletics has named Gabe Frontuto the manager of ticketing operations for the Huskies. Frontuto was originally hired in July 2024 as the recreation program manager. In his new role, he will oversee the operation of the SDC Central Ticket Office.

"We're excited to welcome Gabe into his new role," said Curtis Wittenberg, assistant athletic director for business operations. "His deep understanding of our ticketing systems, coupled with his organization and attention to detail, make him a perfect fit for this position. Gabe has already proven himself to be a valuable member of the team, and I look forward to continuing our work together."

Read about Frontuto's background at Michigan Tech Athletics.

Michigan Tech head hockey coach Bill Muckalt has named Benton Maass (pronounced "mass") an assistant coach with the Huskies. Maass comes to Houghton after one season as an assistant coach at Lindenwood. He played collegiately at New Hampshire and Minnesota State, and appeared in 122 professional games in the AHL and ECHL.

"I developed a great relationship with Benton over the past year and know that he will be a great fit and valuable asset to Michigan Tech," Muckalt said. "Benton is a tireless worker and has developed a skill for identifying top talent. He has demonstrated that he can relate and communicate effectively with today's student-athlete and will work with our defense and penalty kill."

Read about Maass’ background at Michigan Tech Athletics.

Job Posting for Thursday, June 5, 2025

Staff and faculty job descriptions are available on the Human Resources website. For more information regarding staff positions, call 906-487-2280 or email humanresources@mtu.edu. For more information regarding faculty positions, contact the academic department in which the position is posted.

​Digital Project Manager, University Marketing and Communications. Apply online.

Michigan Technological University is an Equal Opportunity Educational Institution/Equal Opportunity Employer that provides equal opportunity for all, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.

Accommodations are available. If you require any auxiliary aids, services, or other accommodations to apply for employment, or for an interview, at Michigan Technological University, please notify the Human Resources office at 906-487-2280 or humanresources@mtu.edu.

A large, interdisciplinary team of researchers from Michigan Technological University have published a study in Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical describing a powerful new fluorescent dye that allows scientists to monitor how living cells produce and use energy with unprecedented accuracy and clarity.

The study, titled “A quinolinium-functionalized hemicyanine dye for ratiometric NAD(P)H sensing in live cells, kidney tissues, and Drosophila melanogaster,” introduces a novel dye capable of detecting NADH and NADPH — molecules that play a central role in cell metabolism and antioxidant defense. These molecules are especially important in fast-changing environments such as growing tissues, stressed cells and diseased organs. The dye may transform how scientists study cellular metabolism and could lead to better ways of diagnosing and treating diseases such as cancer, diabetes and polycystic kidney disease.

The team was led by Haiying Liu (Chem). Key contributors included research scientist Sushil K. Dwivedi (Chem); Ph.D. candidates Henry Lanquaye, Peter Agyemang and Adonis Amoli and Ph.D. student Omowunmi Rebecca Aworinde (all chemistry); master's student May Waters (chemistry); undergraduate students Crystal Wang (dual-enrolled), Tyler Gregersen (biological sciences) and Micaela Geborkoff (medical laboratory science); and faculty members Yan Zhang (BioSci), Athar Ata (Chem) and Thomas Werner (BioSci).

The new dye has the unique ability to track NADH and NADPH molecules in real time without interference. In the past, fluorescent sensors were often disrupted by NADH's own natural glow, making it difficult to get clear results. The new dye overcomes this by using a different wavelength of light — excited at 470 nanometers, well beyond NADH’s glow — allowing researchers to measure changes in metabolism without the background noise. When the dye binds to NADPH, it triggers a shift in fluorescence: green light increases, and near-infrared light dims. By comparing these two signals, scientists get a stable and accurate "ratiometric" measurement that doesn't depend on how much dye is present or how bright the light is. This makes the sensor highly reliable across different experimental conditions.

In the study, the team demonstrated the sensor’s effectiveness across a wide range of biological systems: in live human cells exposed to sugars and chemotherapy drugs, in kidney tissues from both healthy and disease models, and even in developing fruit fly larvae. The dye naturally targets mitochondria, the energy-producing centers of the cell, making it ideal for studying how cells respond to energy demands and stress.

This research was made possible by generous support from several funding agencies. Zhang’s work received funding from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (Award R15DK137195) and the PKD Foundation (Grant 1021264). She also acknowledges the Kansas PKD Research and Translation Core Center at the University of Kansas Medical Center and the Polycystic Kidney Disease Research Resource Consortium (PKD-RRC) for providing critical human kidney tissue samples.

Liu’s research was supported by the National Institute of General Medical Sciences through grants 2R15GM114751, R15GM114751 and R15GM146206-01, along with its two supplementary grants, 1R15GM146206-01S1 and 3R15GM146206-01S2 .

In addition, the National Science Foundation funded the acquisition of a high-performance NMR spectrometer (Award 2117318), essential for analyzing the structure of the new sensors. Liu was a co-principal investigator on this NSF grant.

The Associated Press quoted Travis White (GLRC) in a story about the ongoing search for a missing 1968 NCAR plane in Lake Superior. No wreckage has been found, though the search validated the use of advanced sonar and remote technology, which identified multiple natural objects as targets of interest. The story was picked up by MLive, Phys.org, the Wisconsin State Journal and Iron Mountain Daily News, and 113 other outlets nationwide.

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Steven Voelker (CFRES) was interviewed by WZMQ 19 News in a segment about the Keweenaw being one of the sunniest places in the eastern U.S. and the factors behind its high levels of sunshine.

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Water Finance & Management mentioned Michigan Tech in a story about a $7 million U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant awarded to the Southwest Environmental Finance Center at the University of New Mexico. MTU is one of several universities collaborating on the grant, which supports small water systems, improving water system performance and compliance with the Safe Drinking Water Act.

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Crain’s Detroit Business mentioned Michigan Tech alumni Derek Bradway ’93 (B.S. Environmental Engineering), Heather Bradway, and Jennifer Julien ’12 ’15 (B.S. Civil Engineering, M.S. Environmental Engineering) in a story about new high-end lodging developments in the Upper Peninsula, including the Keweenaw Waters Resort and The Vault Marquette.

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Rental Management featured Michigan Tech alum Jenelle Strawbridge ’03 (B.S. Civil Engineering) in a story about her career journey and her current role as vice president of sales for Sunbelt Rentals, highlighting her family’s rental business legacy and her dedication to mentorship and hard work.

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PhD Defense: Eileen Reeves

Thursday, June 5, 8:30–9:30 a.m. | U. J. Noblet Forestry Building, 144

Forest Science Advisor: Andrew Burton Rotten Through the Cores: What Decomposition Can Tell Us About Carbon Cycling Attend Virtually: https://michigantech.zoom.us/j/81312601442