April 17, 2024

Michigan Technological University announces the selection of Michelle Scherer as the new dean of the College of Engineering (COE).

Scherer will begin her new role starting July 1. Her selection comes as the result of a national search that narrowed the field of applicants to four outstanding finalists.

“The search committee, led by Dennis Livesay and including faculty from each of the departments in the College, undergraduate and graduate students, College staff and representatives of the University Senate and other areas of campus, conducted an excellent search. The committee members brought diverse perspectives to the hiring process and attracted a strong pool of candidates that has resulted in this hire,” said Andrew Storer, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs.

Scherer comes to Michigan Tech from the University of Iowa, where she is a professor and former chair in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. She is also the director for the College of Engineering Hanson Center for Communication.

“Dr. Scherer brings a depth of experience to the dean of engineering role that will greatly benefit the College and the University,” said Storer. “She understands the role of a large engineering college in a technological university, and recognizes the positive impacts that the College brings to the University as a whole. I very much look forward to her leadership as the College charts its path as a leader in the Fourth Industrial Revolution through outstanding undergraduate and graduate education, and at the forefront of research.”

Scherer holds a Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Science & Engineering from the Oregon Graduate Institute, a Master of Science in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Connecticut, and a Bachelor of Science in Systems Engineering from the University of Virginia.

Summer Youth Programs (SYP) and the Department of Social Sciences (SS) at Michigan Tech have partnered with John and Patricia Case to provide $500 scholarships to 10 Upper Peninsula high school students to explore interests and experience college life at Michigan Tech this summer.

SYP is kind of like summer camp, but smarter. To be eligible for the award, U.P. students currently in grades 9-11 must enroll in one of three SYP courses: Climate & Sustainability, Discover Archaeology, or Model UN: Climate Change. Then, they must complete the additional scholarship application for the John & Patricia Case Scholarship.

During these SYP courses, students will be hands-on in the lab and out in the field designing, experimenting and discovering with students from around the world. Each program is one week long and will be held on campus at Michigan Tech between June 16 and July 26.

The McNair Scholars Program at Michigan Tech is excited to invite the campus community to an open house event on Friday (April 19) from 12-3 p.m. The event will be held in the west side of the Center for Diversity and Inclusion (Hamar House).

The open house provides an opportunity for students, faculty and staff to tour the McNair Scholars' new work and study space and learn more about the program. McNair Scholars Program staff will be available to answer questions and share information about the valuable resources and support the program offers to eligible students. Light refreshments will be served.

The McNair Scholars Program is a federal TRIO program that prepares undergraduate students from disadvantaged backgrounds for doctoral studies. By providing research opportunities, faculty mentoring and other academic support, the program aims to increase the attainment of Ph.D. degrees by students from underrepresented segments of society.

All members of the Michigan Tech community are welcome and encouraged to attend this open house event. For more information, please contact the McNair Scholars Program at 906-487-2513 or mcnair@mtu.edu.

The Fringe Benefits Committee (FBC) of Michigan Tech's University Senate would like to hear from you about your satisfaction regarding Michigan Tech’s fringe benefits. The FBC welcomes and encourages all benefits-eligible Michigan Tech employees to respond to our anonymous survey.

The FBC will use the survey results to guide the future work the FBC does on behalf of all University Senate constituents.

Additionally, the FBC will share the anonymous, aggregate survey results with MTU’s Benefits Advisory Committee, a group of faculty and staff members (three senate representatives sit on this committee) charged to review and make benefits recommendations to University leadership.

The survey is a comprehensive look at all our benefits. It is mostly multiple choice with some open-ended questions. We expect it to take approximately six minutes, depending how many comments you wish to share.

The survey will be live from today (April 17) through May 1. The FBC thanks you for your time.

Take the survey.

April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) and has historically been the time of year to complete the University-required annual employee training related to Title IX and sexual misconduct. Due to the delayed release of the new Title IX federal regulations and to better accommodate nine- and 10-month staff and faculty, the training will be released at the start of the fall 2024 semester. We anticipate that the new regulations will place a greater reporting responsibility on all employees and we want to best equip our community with the right training and resources.

In August, employees will receive an email with instructions to take the training.

This harassment and discrimination training is part of the University-wide training program, along with Safety Training and IT Security Training. Any questions concerning this training may be directed to titleix@mtu.edu or 906-487-3310.

While the training may be delayed, University-wide SAAM programming will continue as scheduled and there are several great events we encourage you to attend. For more information on events or Title IX, visit our website.

Ph.D. in Forest Science candidate Katherine Higdon will present her defense next Wednesday (April 24) at 10 a.m. The presentation will be in person in Noblet G004 and virtually via Zoom.

The title of Higdon's defense is "Silphid And Carabid Beetles In An Experimental Forest Trial: iDNA And Diets, And Insect-Human Relationships Can Better Inform Forest Management."

Higdon is advised by Tara Bal and Kristin Brzeski.

The Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) is hosting John and Virginia Towers Distinguished Lecturer Chao-Jun Li, professor, McGill University, tomorrow (April 18) from 1-2 p.m. in M&M 610.

The title of the presentation is "Inventing Reactions for Green and Sustainable Chemical Syntheses."

From the abstract:
The efficient making of new molecules is central to any chemical products in the pharmaceutical, agrochemical, fine chemical, material science and electronic industries. On the other hand, the state-of-art chemical productions are generally based on non-renewable fossil-resources, often require lengthy transformations, and have low overall efficiency. Towards future sustainability in chemical productions, innovations in chemical science and technologies are imperative, to transform readily available naturally abundant resources and functionality into high valued products directly, guided by the principles of Green Chemistry. C-C bond formation is the essence of chemical syntheses, among which organometallic reactions (nucleophilic addition, conjugate additions, and cross-couplings) play the central role. For over 30 years, we have been exploring various novel C-C bond formation reactions that can simplify synthesis, decrease overall waste generation and maximize resource utilization, directly using naturally abundant feedstocks and functionalities. In this talk, we will discuss our effort in this endeavor with a focus on more recent developments of this subject. 

Li received his Ph.D. at McGill University in 1992 and was an NSERC postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University. He was an assistant (1994), associate (1998) and full professor (2000) at Tulane University. Since 2003, he has been a Canada Research Chair (Tier I) in Green Chemistry and E. B. Eddy Chair Professor at McGill University. He has also served as the co-director for Quebec’s FQRNT Center for Green Chemistry and Catalysis since 2009.

Li was a pioneer in using water as a green solvent and a leader in developing green chemistry for chemical synthesis. He was listed as a highly cited researcher by Thomson Reuters (2014-17).  He received the National Science Foundation's CAREER Award (1997) and the U.S. Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award (2001), as well as the 2010 Canadian Green Chemistry and Engineering Award; the 2015 R. U. Lemieux Award and 2018 Alfred Bader Award of the Canadian Chemical Society; the 2020 Catalysis Award and the 2022 CIC Medal of CIC; the 2021 Alexander von Humboldt Research Award; and the 2018 Killam Research Fellow of the Canadian Council of Arts, among others.

Li was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada (2012), a Fellow of the U.K.'s Royal Society of Chemistry (2007), a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2012), a Fellow of the Chemical Institute of Canada (2013), a Fellow of the American Chemical Society (2015), a Fellow of The World Academy of Sciences (2016), and a Fellow of the European Academy of Sciences (2020).

The next Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics (ME-EM) Graduate Seminar speaker will present at 4 p.m. tomorrow (April 18) in MEEM 112.

Robert Wheeler will present “Engineering Finite Element Tires for Predicting Vibration Performance.”

Wheeler is a vice president in Hankook Tire and Technology currently managing a virtual technology engineering group at their America Technical Center. He has 40 years of engineering and management experience specializing in prediction and measurement methods to quantify and improve product vibration performance; the last 31 years in new tire development.

Michigan Tech hockey will be among four NCAA Division I men's hockey teams participating in the 1st Annual Coachella Valley Cactus Cup, being held Jan. 3-4, 2025.

The inaugural tournament will be hosted by Acrisure Arena in Riverside County, California — home to the AHL's Coachella Valley Firebirds, an affiliate of the NHL's Seattle Kraken. The Huskies will be joined by the University of Massachusetts Lowell, College of the Holy Cross and the University of Nebraska Omaha.

Read more at Michigan Tech Athletics.

USCHO's Final Poll Ranks Huskies No. 19
The Michigan Tech hockey team was ranked No. 19 in the final USCHO poll and No. 20 in the USA Hockey/The Rink Live poll. The Huskies finished the season with a 19-15-6 overall record and tied for second in the CCHA with a 12-10-2 mark.

Tech was ranked in the preseason poll and received votes in 22 of the 24 weeks. The Huskies entered the NCAA Tournament at No. 20. It's Tech's third year in a row ending in the top 20 and the fourth time under coach Joe Shawhan.

It's playoffs time for Michigan Tech Esports:

Thursday (April 18)
• Super Smash Bros: Ultimate vs. Lawrence Tech, 7 p.m. NACE Varsity Plus Division Championship.Watch the Twitch stream.

Times are subject to change. Check the Esports schedule for updates.

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Esports News
Read more in the MTU Esports weekly update.

Missed a game? All past streams are available on YouTube.

Charles Wallace (CS) was quoted by WLUC TV6 in a story about his selection as a 2024 Distinguished Professor of the Year by the Michigan Association of State Universities.

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DVIDS mentioned Michigan Tech in a story previewing the Aerospace Propulsion Outreach Program’s 15th annual symposium and poster session at the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Dayton, Ohio, on Friday (April 19). MTU students are participating in the event.

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WOOD TV8 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, mentioned Michigan Tech in a story about a record number of applications the University of Michigan received for fall 2024. MTU was named as one of only three public universities in Michigan — along with U-M and Michigan State University — where enrollment has increased in recent years. The story was picked up by Yahoo! News.

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The Keweenaw Report picked up the opening of the Parade of Nations’ 2024 essay contest for high school seniors who will become first-year Huskies this fall. The winning essayist will receive a $1,000 scholarship to MTU. The contest deadline is June 30.

Sustainability Film: 'Climate Sisu'

The 2024 Sustainability Film & Discussion Series, coordinated by the Michigan Tech Office of Sustainability and Resilience, will present April’s film “Climate Sisu” at 7 p.m. next Thursday (April 18) in Fisher 135. Film length is 55 minutes.

The film is free and everyone is welcome to attend. A suggested $5 donation is appreciated. The film will be followed by discussion and refreshments provided by the Keweenaw Land Trust.

“Climate Sisu” offers an urgent yet optimistic call for climate action. The solutions the documentary features range from planting new grape varietals in vineyards to promoting passenger train service to northwest Michigan to adapting city planning in the Upper Peninsula to prepare for environmental shifts.

“We’re looking for solutions. We want to learn from the community about what is already being done. We don’t want to fall into despair, which is becoming the prevailing theme when we speak about climate change,” said Elena Lioubimtseva, Grand Valley State University professor, who helped write and produce the film last spring.

The discussion facilitator will be Patricia Leopold, a climate adaptation specialist with the Northern Institute of Applied Climate Science (NIACS). She has led the creation of ecosystem vulnerability assessments, co-authored the Adaptation Workbook and trained numerous agencies, organizations and natural resources professionals on incorporating climate change into management and planning.

See a list of past films available for checkout from the Office of Sustainability and Resilience.

Film sponsors include the Keweenaw Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Keweenaw Land Trust, Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative, Keweenaw Co-Op, Friends of the Land of Keweenaw and WUP MiSTEM, as well as Michigan Tech’s Great Lakes Research Center, Department of Social Sciences, Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering, Center for Science and Environmental Outreach, College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, Sustainability Demonstration House, Students for Sustainability and Keweenaw Youth for Climate Action.

Sustainability Film & Discussion Series Details:

• When: Third Thursday of each month at 7 p.m., through May
• Where: Fisher 135 or 138 (refreshments in lobby)
• Cost: Free! $5 donations are greatly appreciated — make a donation.

Upcoming Film:

• "The Engine Inside" — May 16, Fisher 138
  Follow the lives of six individuals from around the globe who have devoted themselves to a simple, age-old machine — the bicycle. Witness how bicycles have the potential to transform lives and contribute to a better world.

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Fall 2024 TRIP Forms

Benefits Services and Financial Aid encourage students to submit their TRIP forms for the fall 2024 semester by Friday (April 19).

Students are encouraged to turn these forms in as soon as they have them completed, and no later than July 1.

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HU Hosting Distinguished Speaker Lisa Guenther

Please join the Department of Humanities (HU) as we host distinguished speaker Lisa Guenther for her presentation "Collective Memory at Canada's Prison for Women."

This event will be held today (April 17) from 3-5 p.m. in GLRC 202.

View the event flyer.

From the abstract:
What does it mean to remember a past you did not experience personally, but which haunts the place where you live and the people with whom you share this place? I reflect on this question as a supporter of the P4W Memorial Collective, a group of women who did time in the Kingston Prison for Women (P4W). The prison closed in 2000, and it is now owned by a private developer who is turning it into luxury condos and a retirement home. In the midst of this development, the Collective is creating a memorial garden and outdoor gallery in honour of those who died in the prison, and those who continue to live and die in prisons across so-called Canada. The aim of this memory work is not only to preserve the past, but also to change the future, so that people will never again die in the name of justice.

Guenther is a philosopher from Queen's University in Canada. She has been doing work on prison abolition, mass incarceration and decolonization, and is working as a supporter for a group of former inmates at a women's prison (P4W Memorial Collective) in Kingston, Ontario. The group is working on ways to memorialize the women (many of them Indigenous) who died in that prison. Guenther will be speaking about that work and more broadly about the issues of memory and place, and the structural violence of the prison system.

Guenther is the Queen’s National Scholar in Political Philosophy and Critical Prison Studies at Queen’s University in Canada. She is the author of “Solitary Confinement: Social Death and its Afterlives” (University of Minnesota Press, 2013) and co-editor of “Death and Other Penalties: Philosophy in a Time of Mass Incarceration” (Fordham University Press, 2015). From 2012-17, she facilitated a discussion group with men on death row in Tennessee called REACH Coalition, and she is currently a member of the P4W Memorial Collective Advisory Board. She is working on a critical phenomenology of prison abolition and decolonization on Turtle Island.

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Women in Natural Resources Plant Sale

Women in Natural Resources will be holding our annual plant sale today and tomorrow (April 17 and 18) from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the U. J. Noblet Forestry Building's atrium.

We will be selling houseplants, succulents, herbs, pots, handmade macrame and more! Items will be available for purchase in person during the time of the event, or you may pre-order on our website. A link is also available in our Instagram bio: @winr_at_mtu.

Hope to see you there!

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CLS Hosting End-of-Year Student Awards and Graduation Celebration

The Department of Cognitive and Learning Sciences (CLS) is excited to announce that we are hosting our annual End-of-Year Student Awards and Graduation Celebration tomorrow (April 18) from 6-7:30 p.m. in the Harold Meese Center.

All psychology and human factors students are encouraged to attend! Don't forget to collect your goodie bag!

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

Spring 2024 Little Huskies Boys' Basketball Camp

Wednesday, April 17, 4–6 p.m. | Student Development Complex (SDC), Varsity Wood Gym

Learning skills, working as a team, and having fun: that’s Michigan Tech’s Little Huskies Boys’ Basketball Camp! It’s about the best introduction to basketball you can...

Students For Life General Meeting

Wednesday, April 17, 5–6 p.m. | Fisher 230

Students For Life general meeting