June 25, 2025

Researchers at the Michigan Tech Research Institute (MTRI) and Advanced Power Systems Laboratories (APS Labs) are helping to answer critical questions about how connected autonomous vehicles will perform in less-than-perfect operating conditions. In doing so, they are pushing the boundaries of what vehicles can achieve.

Michigan Tech is home to a federally funded initiative to develop, validate, and demonstrate a suite of energy-saving technologies on connected electric vehicles. The project is led by Bill Buller, senior research scientist at MTRI, and Jeffrey D. Naber, director of APS Labs — and is rooted in both labs’ innovation and technical expertise.

“The whole idea here is that we’re mixing the digital and physical worlds,” said Buller. “We don’t have a fleet of connected vehicles, but with digital simulations, we can still see how these technologies interact with real cars.”

“Connected vehicles can save energy through cooperation,” said Naber. “In simulations, they work together to coordinate speeds and actions to reduce fuel consumption, but the goal is to see how this translates into real-world energy savings.”

Read about the research in our 2025 Michigan Tech Magazine.

Ph.D. candidate Don Lee (environmental and energy policy) and Chelsea Schelly (SS) are the authors of a paper recently published in the journal Energy Policy.

The paper is titled “The Inflation Reduction Act: Implications for energy development, energy sovereignty, and self-determination for federally recognized Tribal Nations in the US.”

The paper discusses the divergence of Western and Indigenous concepts of sovereignty and analyzes federal tribal law and policy and its implications for tribal energy development. The research shows that the IRA encouraged de facto tribal energy sovereignty, advancing tribal self-determination by reducing dependence, increasing benefits, and empowering decision-making for tribal nations in the U.S.

Pengfei Xue (CEGE/GLRC) and Michigan Tech alum Miraj Kayastha ’21 ’25 (M.S. Ph.D. Civil Engineering) were quoted by the Daily Mining Gazette in a story about their research modeling regional climate systems in the Great Lakes. Their work, which earned Michigan Tech’s 2025 Bhakta Rath Research Award, focuses on understanding water levels and lake-effect snow to help communities and policymakers build climate resilience. A Q&A with the pair was recently published by Michigan Tech News.

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My UP Now mentioned Michigan Tech wildlife ecologist Rolf Peterson (CFRES) in a story about his recognition as a 2025 Michiganian of the Year by the Detroit News. Peterson continues to co-lead the Isle Royale Wolf-Moose project, the longest-running predator-prey study in history.

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WLUC TV6 quoted Mariana Nakashima (IPS) in a story about Michigan Tech's upcoming Parade of Nations, which will feature a multicultural parade and food festival. This year’s theme is "Games Around the World," and volunteers and local businesses are encouraged to participate in the event on Sept. 20. The Daily Mining Gazette also covered organizers' call for community involvement in the parade.

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The Detroit News mentioned Michigan Tech in an opinion piece about Michigan’s higher education funding.

Make Space for Mental Health: Host a 'Let's Talk' Drop-In Session This Fall

The Center for Student Mental Health and Well-being invites academic departments to consider hosting a Let’s Talk session in their space this fall.

Let’s Talk is a program that provides easy access to free, informal and confidential individual consultations with a Michigan Tech counselor. It is open to all currently enrolled undergraduate and graduate students. These brief conversations are a great way for students to get support around a specific concern, ask questions about mental health and learn more about campus resources.

Hosting a Let’s Talk session in your department can help lower barriers to care and promote student well-being in a familiar and accessible environment. A counselor will be available on-site to listen, offer support, explore possible solutions and connect students to additional resources if needed.

If your department is interested in hosting a Let’s Talk session, please fill out our Let's Talk Host Interest Form.

Let’s work together to bring mental health support directly to students — where they are.

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Help Save Our Forests! Come to KISMA's Barberry Trade-Up Days

Japanese barberry (Berberis thunbergii) is a harmful invasive species in our Keweenaw forests. These shrubs spread rapidly, harbor Lyme disease-carrying ticks, and are still sold at many nurseries. Now, area residents can help curb their spread — and save $10 on a native shrub — during the Keweenaw Invasive Species Management Area's Barberry Trade-Up Days.

KISMA works to prevent and manage invasive species in Baraga, Houghton and Keweenaw counties. Residents can dig up a Japanese barberry, roots and all, from their yards and bring it to one of our four trade-up locations in exchange for a coupon good for $10 off a native shrub.

Barberry Trade-Up Days will be held at the following times and locations:

• Saturday, June 28
  • 9-11 a.m. — Houghton High School Parking Lot
  • 12-2 p.m. — Calumet burn site off No. 4 Road
    
    
• Saturday, July 12
  • 10 a.m. to noon — L’Anse Department of Public Works
  • 10 a.m. to noon — Eagle Harbor solid waste facility

Coupons can be redeemed at Flowers by Sleeman in Houghton, Kismet Gardens in Baraga, and Designs by Nature U.P. Native Plants in Marquette. All participating members of KISMA’s Go Beyond Beauty program have agreed not to sell Japanese barberry and 13 other invasive garden plants.

About Japanese Barberry
This highly invasive shrub found its way into our forests through the garden nursery trade. Its red oval-shaped berries are eaten by birds and other wildlife and dispersed from gardens into wild areas, where they can sprout and then spread from their roots to form vast colonies. Barberry thickets are so dense they outcompete native vegetation, reduce biodiversity and prevent public access.

Barberry and Ticks
Studies have shown that areas with barberry harbor almost 10 times the number of ticks that carry Lyme disease than barberry-free areas. These shrubs provide high humidity, which ticks need to survive during dry spells, and shelter for the small mammals that transfer Lyme disease bacteria to ticks.

How to Identify Barberry:

• Small, oval-shaped leaves are one to two centimeters long with smooth edges.
• Leaves are green during the summer and turn purple in the fall (some ornamental varieties are purple year-round).
• Stems grow sharp spines (about one centimeter long).
• Small yellow flowers bloom from April to May, singularly or in clusters.
• Berries look like red Tic Tac candies.
• Stems turn from reddish-brown to gray as they age.
• Stem interiors and roots are bright yellow.

How to Remove Barberry
Always wear thick gloves and protective clothing. Small plants can be pulled by hand, while larger plants should be dug up. Be sure to remove as much of the root system as possible to prevent regrowth, and occasionally monitor the area throughout the season for any new sprouts. For disposal, you can hang shrubs to dry in trees, burn them or bring them to Barberry Trade-Up Days for free. It is best to remove barberry before berries have developed, but you can collect them on a tarp and bag them for landfill disposal, or burn them to prevent new seedlings.

For more information, visit KISMA's website or contact KISMA Assistant Coordinator August Camp at KISMA.up@gmail.com.

Authored by the KISMA Barberry Trade-Up Days Committee: KISMA Coordinator Sigrid Resh (CFRES), KISMA Assistant Coordinator August Camp (CFRES), and Marcia Goodrich of the Wild Ones Keweenaw Chapter.

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Facilities Management Billing Rate Adjustments

Facilities Management is adjusting billing rates for our technical staff, effective next Tuesday, July 1.

Facilities Management receives an allocation from the University's General Fund on an annual basis to perform a wide range of routine services on campus. Nonroutine or nonfunded services require Facilities Management to recover costs by billing the campus department or organization requesting services. More information related to funded and nonfunded services can be found on the Facilities Management website.

Rate changes for specific technical staff classifications can also be found on our website.

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Author Event with Stephanie Carpenter

Stephanie Carpenter (HU) will be in conversation with author Thomas C. Foster (author of the "How to Read Literature Like a Professor" series) at Schuler Books in Okemos, Michigan, tomorrow, June 25, at 6:30 p.m.

Carpenter will read excerpts from her recent novel, "Moral Treatment," before a discussion led by Foster.

RSVPs are suggested and can be made using the RSVP form.

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Don't Forget to Use Dining Services' Updated Meal Request Process

MTU Dining Services would like to remind the campus community about our new process for requesting residential meals on campus. This includes meals that are added to existing Husky ID cards or a paper ticket for visitors. Forms can be found on the Husky Eats website.

Group Meal Card/ID Order Form
If you are planning to host a group in the dining halls, you would use the Dining Hall Meal Passes Group ID Order Form.

Meals requested through this form can be added one of two ways:

• Add meals directly to existing Husky ID cards by uploading a list of names and M#’s. This is helpful when you have a group of students who need the option to eat meals at unscheduled times (for example, student-athletes, SYP staff, RAs or OTLs). To use this form to request meal passes, all participants need to have an active Husky ID.
• Add meals to a Department Dining Card for staff from your department to use as needed (IT charges a $10 fee to cover the cost of a new card or provide an existing card number to reload meals). This is a great option for faculty and staff to use for team meals or when a guest is joining you for a meal.

Visitor Group Order Form
If you are hosting a group of 10 or more in the dining halls for a meal, please use the Dining Hall Meal Passes Visitor Group Order Form at least two weeks in advance of your event to request the proper number of meal passes for your group.

These meal passes will be a physical paper ticket for attendees to use for access to the dining hall. Once the form is completed, your request will be processed by University Marketing and Communications, who will design and print the passes specific to your event. Passes can be delivered by campus mail or picked up from the University print shop. If a visit is scheduled with less than two weeks' notice, please contact Dining Services at huskyeats@mtu.edu to discuss your specific situation.

Additionally, residential dining hall meal passes may be purchased at the door with a credit card (cash not accepted and University Purchasing Cards are prohibited). lf you have any questions or special requests around residential meal passes, please email huskyeats@mtu.edu.

Retail Meal Tickets
If you would like to order campus retail meal tickets for a group, this is also an option. Please contact our team directly at huskyeats@mtu.edu to coordinate the details of the paper ticket and allow at least two weeks for printing.

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

Football Skills Camp

Wednesday, June 25, 10 a.m.–12 p.m. | Student Development Complex (SDC), Sherman Field

Michigan Tech's Huskies Skills Camp combines fundamental skill-building with light, competitive play to help players develop a more complete understanding of the game. Helmets are required for the Skills Camp. The Skills Camp is designed for students in grades 9 through 12 (Fall 2025). High school graduates are not permitted to enroll. ALL MHSAA guidelines and rules for sports camps and clinics will be observed.

Girls' Basketball : Summer Middle School Development Camp

Wednesday, June 25, 10–11 a.m. | Student Development Complex (SDC), Multi-Purpose

What could be better than three days spent learning basketball moves from one of the top women’s college basketball coaches in the country and getting to play in the SDC Varsity Gym and Multipurpose Room? Our girls’ basketball Development camp is what comes after the basics; you’ll learn ways to improve your game, both as an individual and in a team, and put your skills to the test in games and competitions.

Strength and Conditioning : Summer Middle School Program

Wednesday, June 25, 10–10 a.m. | Student Development Complex (SDC), Multi-Purpose

Lead by the MTU Strength and Conditioning Staff, this 8-week summer program is for athletes looking to improve their performance and fitness level to prepare for the upcoming season. Program includes (3) sessions per week in a varsity collegiate setting and SDC membership access for the duration of the program.

NSF CAREER Writing Group

Wednesday, June 25, 11–11 a.m. | J. Robert Van Pelt and John and Ruanne Opie Library, Conference Room 103

Join us in person in Library 103 or virtually over Zoom to work on elements of the NSF CAREER proposal. We will run these weekly meetings as writing sprints to support your productivity. The general timeline will be: Check-in (5-10 min): Share what you will focus on in the sprint.Focus (45 min): Find a state of flow. A facilitator will run a timer so you can ignore the clockCheck-out (5-10 min): Share your wins, stretch, move, and discuss.

Strength and Conditioning : Summer High School Program

Wednesday, June 25, 11–11 a.m. | Student Development Complex (SDC), Multi-Purpose

Lead by the MTU Strength and Conditioning Staff, this 8-week summer program is for athletes looking to improve their performance and fitness level to prepare for the upcoming season. Program includes (3) sessions per week in a varsity collegiate setting and SDC membership access for the duration of the program.

West Michigan Alumni Social

Wednesday, June 25, 6 p.m.–8 p.m. | The Mitten Brewing Company

Join volunteer host and current member of the Alumni Board of Directors Emma Zawisza '12 '16 for a West Michigan Alumni Social on Wednesday, June 25 at 6 p.m. at the Grand Rapids location of The Mitten Brewing Company. Enjoy a variety of specialty pizzas while reconnecting with fellow alumni and friends, reminiscing about your time in Houghton, and forging new connections! The cost to attend is $20 per person, which includes a delicious pizza feast. Beverages will be available for individual purchase. The Mitten Brewing Company is located at 527 Leonard St, Grand Rapids, MI 49504. Alumni and friends will also have the opportunity to bring home some Michigan Tech swag, courtesy of the Office of Alumni Engagement. Advance online registration is required to ensure an accurate food count. The deadline to register is noon on Wednesday, June 18.