Tim Colling (Civil and Environment Eng/CTT) is Principal Investigator on a project that has received a $30,504 other sponsored activities contract with the Michigan Department of Transportation. The project is titled, "MIRE Upgrades in Roadsoft." Gary Schlaff (Civil and Environmental Eng) and Nick Kozykowski (Civil and Environmental Eng) are Co-PI's on this approximate three-month project.
Each department on campus has an Employment Services Representative (ESR) within Human Resources (HR) to collaborate with for hiring needs, departmental reorganizations, employment-related concerns, and guidance on employment-related policies and procedures. The ESR serves as an initial point of contact for departments with employment-related questions. Given several organizational changes over the past year, Human Resources has updated the ESR guide. Please visit our online guide to see who your ESR is effective July 15, 2019.
Concur users, continue to submit your international travel requests in Concur. For those not using Concur, please email a scanned copy of the completed form to FSO@mtu.edu. No other submission is necessary. Please remember that a completed International Travel Request Form must be submitted prior to the travel and must show the funding source for the trip (e.g., University index, external, or personal). If general funds are used, appropriate Vice President approval is required in addition to Dept Chair/Director approval. Find the form online. If you have any questions about international travel requests, please contact Mo Anton @ 487-2436
1-4 p.m., Sunday, July 21 ~ Celebrate Lake Superior Day in Copper Harbor!!
Celebrate the beauty and bounty of Lake Superior! Copper Harbor community volunteers, along with the Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative, are organizing the 7th annual Lake Superior Day Festival with lots of special activities at the 6th Street Dock along the Copper Harbor Boardwalk (near Isle Royale Queen boat dock):
• Enjoy fish stew (Kalamojakka), homemade pies, rieska (Finnish flatbread), and more at a community picnic ($5 donation suggested).
• Canoe races and kayak demonstrations
• Interactive art (paint the model freighter!)
• Learn about Lake Superior’s geoheritage from a presentation by Dr. Erika Vye from Michigan Tech’s Center for Science and Environmental Outreach
• Celebrate the beauty of Lake Superior with photographer George Bailey
• Logrolling demonstration from 3–4 p.m. by the Michigan Tech Log Rolling Club
From 1:00-4:00 p.m. a special highlight is an opportunity for festival attendees to find out how scientists study the Great Lakes by taking a 40-minute scientific excursion in the harbor aboard Michigan Tech’s research vessel the Agassiz. These excursions will be led by chief scientist, Kenny Larsen (PhD student in Environmental Engineering at Michigan Tech). The excursions are offered as part of the Ride the Waves Program funded by a grant from General Motors.
The Agassiz will depart every 45 minutes from the Isle Royale Queen dock beginning at 1 p.m. Participants must be at least 7 years old and children must be accompanied by an adult. All participants should wear closed-toe shoes. Space is limited. Interested participants may pre-register for a scientific excursion aboard the Agassiz by calling (906) 487-3341 or email Lloyd Wescoat at lwescoat@mtu.edu. You may also register online using this link. For more information about the event, contact lead organizer, Don Kilpela, Captain of the Isle Royale Queen, at (906) 289-4735.
Lake Superior Day is celebrated throughout the Lake Superior basin on or close to the 3rd Sunday in July in many communities around Lake Superior. The event highlights the special connections people have to this unique world treasure. All residents who live, work, play, and worship around the lake are invited to organize events in their communities or take action in their homes, at their places of employment or in community groups to help protect Lake Superior.
Learn more about Lake Superior Day events around the lake by visiting the event website. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality also provides information on Lake Superior and the other Great Lakes or visit EPA’s website.
Four former Michigan Tech hockey players inked new contracts and one was traded over the last month. Visit Michigan Tech Athletics to read the story.
Panopto-Huskycast Required Upgrade
On Thursday, July 18, at 8:00 p.m. EDT the Panopto-Huskycast system will require all Panopto recorder clients to be upgraded to version 6.0 or above. Users on earlier recorder versions will be prompted to upgrade and will be unable to upload new recordings until they have upgraded. You can upgrade your Panopto recorder application any time before the deadline. Administrator rights to install software are required for this upgrade. Review this Panopto support article for additional information.
Contact Michigan Tech IT (it-help@mtu.edu, 487-1111) with questions or if you need assistance in upgrading Panopto recorder on your computer.
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Call for Collaborators for Fall Social Justice Education Series
The Center for Diversity and Inclusion (CDI) seeks Michigan Tech faculty, staff, and graduate students interested in collaborating on the upcoming campus-wide Fall 2019 Diverse Dialogues series hosted and presented by CDI. This collaboration is to highlight and elevate the collective knowledge and voices on our campus, as well as highlighting the expansive work of diversity and inclusion within respective fields (both of personal and professional interest to our community members).
Interested collaborators should submit information pertaining to a holistic program, training, or discussion previously hosted, or propose a concrete working idea using the Fall 2019 Diverse Dialogues Collaboration Interest Proposal Form.
Additionally, consider the following intentions of Diverse Dialogues series before submitting a proposal: The Diverse Dialogues series aims to provide opportunities for students, faculty, and staff to have conversations about relevant issues of equity, diversity, inclusion, social justice, and much more. Be part of crucial campus conversations, help to highlight underrepresented voices, elevate the social justice work being done by our Michigan Tech community and engage and learn from difficult diversity and inclusion issues that affect us all. If you’re part of the dialogue, you’re part of the solution.
While each dialogue in the series has a centralized theme, we want to encourage participants to determine where the conversations go. This series is meant to start the discussion on difficult topics and implore individuals to push their awareness, knowledge, and action related to themes of diversity and inclusion.
The form will close at 5 p.m. July 22 (Monday) and review of submissions will be ongoing through the closure of the form and all interested collaborators will be notified about the status of their proposal no later than the last week of July.
Direct all questions to Amy L. Howard, Assistant Director of Campus Diversity Initiatives.
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Torch Lake Public Action Council Hosts Statewide Meeting at Michigan Tech July 16 and 17
The Torch Lake Area of Concern Public Action Council (TLPAC) will host the Statewide Public Advisory Council (SPAC) meeting in Houghton, Michigan on July 16 and 17, 2019 at Michigan Technological University's Great Lakes Research Center in Room 202. Sessions are scheduled for 8:30 a.m. to 12 p.m. both days. In addition, there will be a tour of Torch Lake on July 16 after the end of the morning session. The Office of Great Lakes (OGL) staff who assist the SPAC will be in attendance to update the Council on Michigan and federal actions which affect the progress of cleanups in the Great Lakes.
Areas of Concern (AOCs) are highly polluted sites on bodies of water that pose a danger to their communities. There were originally fourteen AOCs in Michigan. The pollution problems of AOCs are specifically identified as Beneficial Use Impairments (BUIs) for each AOC. The role of a public advisory council is to identify the problems, do community outreach and develop a network of government and non-governmental groups to address the concerns of their communities. Torch Lake has recently been active in seeking solutions to the stamp sands dumped into the lake by former mining companies which have made it difficult to have healthy benthos, or aquatic life, due to the spread of sands throughout the bottom of the lake. New efforts are underway to revive Torch Lake’s benthos that could lead to a major clean up within the next decade. Along with the work being done by the state’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy Remediation Division to remove toxic chemicals along the west shore of Torch Lake, funding is being sought from the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative to find ways to repair the damage created by copper mining companies since the latter part of the nineteenth century.
The public is invited to the SPAC meeting on both days to hear about progress being made by the advisory councils in the entire state. The OGL and the Great Lakes Commission will update council members on state, federal and international activities. Research currently being conducted at the University of Michigan and Michigan Technological University will also inform council members of effective ways to engage their communities. The Keweenaw Bay Indian Community will have its President, Chris Swartz, explain the importance of Torch Lake to their community under their treaty rights and the work they have done to improve water quality on their reservation. SPAC meetings are an opportunity for members to network and to find out not only what concerns an AOC has, but also to see the host community and its attractions.
For information, contact Horst Schmidt, Vice-Chair of the SPAC at horsthear@yahoo.com or 906-369-3797.
Kelley Christensen's July 15th news story was picked up by Phys.org.
Michigan Tech is No. 8 of 50 US colleges that pay off the most, as tabulated by CNBC.
Sarah Green (Chemistry) featured in a story on Yahoo News and Mashable.
Alumni Mauri Pelto ('83) featured in Hakai Magazine for his 35-year research on the pulse of 10 coastal glaciers.
Alumni Brad Sankey (mechanical engineering) featured for being one of the younger competitors at Diesel Power Challenge 2019, according to Truck Trend Network.
Mark Wilcox's July 2 news story about Michigan Tech's Summer Youth Programs picked up by Michigan Ag Connection.
