September 20, 2019

Nearly 130 students from six states have registered to attend the annual fall Open House from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow (Sept. 21).

We anticipate a total of more than 360 guests on campus for the day; walk-in guests are expected. Many visitors will arrive this afternoon to check in early and attend an optional campus tour. Guests can attend info sessions on admissions and financial aid and will also have access to representatives from every academic department and key student service areas at the Michigan Tech Showcase.

Many academic departments will provide hands-on demos, info sessions and tours of labs and facilities later in the day. Families will get a glimpse into student life through complimentary brunch in the residence halls and tours of each residence hall.

The admissions staff extends a huge thanks to everyone involved—both for supporting the program and showing our guests the exceptional experience students can have by selecting Michigan Tech. More than 86 percent of the students attending are current high school seniors or college transfer students of which over half have already applied for admission; other students attending are high school juniors or younger.

Local students interested in attending can arrive at the Rozsa Center by 8:45 a.m. on Saturday to check-in. Question? Call the admissions staff at 7-2335.

Attend this workshop through the Van Pelt and Opie Library to learn how to get the most relevant materials you need for a research paper or project in less time by utilizing the databases, journals, and other materials we have to offer.

We will cover services specific to Michigan Tech as well as a variety of searching techniques and strategies to help you get the most out of the library and your research, regardless of your discipline.

The workshop is  from 5 - 6 p.m. Tuesday, (Sept. 24) in Library 244. Register Here.

The invasive Emerald Ash Borer has caused extensive damage to the ash tree population on the Tech Trails, leaving behind dead trees which create a hole in the canopy allowing invasive shrub species to flourish and stunt native growth.

Michigan Tech has received funding through the U.S. Forest Service/Great Lakes Restoration Initiative (GLRI) to plant native trees in areas along the ski trails with the greatest loss of ash overstory. Young red maple, northern white cedar, white pine, red-osier dogwood, yellow birch, high bush cranberry and pussy willow trees will help reestablish the tree cover in areas once dominated by ash and preserve the beauty of the trails for future users.

Student and community volunteers will plant the young trees Sept. 27 - 29. Michigan Tech invites you to help preserve the beauty of the Tech Trails and give back to your community. All are welcome to assist as they are able.

Stop by the Tech Trails ready to plant. No experience required. Student coordinators will be present to organize volunteers. Work will involve digging, planting, weeding and mulching. Dress in long pants, close-toed shoes and bring a shovel if you are able. Gloves, water and snacks are recommended.

• Where: Tech Trails Warming Hut — Core Loop and Isle Royale Loop-- Sharon Avenue. Note: Signs will indicate the location of work each day
• When: Friday Sept. 27: 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.; Saturday, Sept. 28: 8 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, Sept. 29,  8 a.m. to noon and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Note: shifts are non-committal, join and leave as you wish 
• Questions? Sigrid Resh, 7-1139

To learn more attend a Lunch and Learn at noon Monday (Sept. 23) in MUB Ballroom A2. Find the Event on the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science Facebook Page.

The project is funded with U.S. Forest Service and GLRI Funding to Sigrid Resh (PI), and Jill Fisher, Rod Chimner, Chris Webster, Tara Bal, Jim Schmierer, and Andrew Storer (co-PIs).

The Institute for Policy, Ethics, and Culture (IPEC) invites applications for conference travel grants to participate in conferences, workshops, symposia, colloquia, or other similar programs in areas targeted by IPEC as relevant to the emerging technocultural environment.

This year, we invite applications that relate to one of our three focus areas for 2019-2020: algorithmic culture; designing the Anthropocene; and policy, ethics, and culture in curricular development relates to these areas. IPEC will support travel, accommodations, and registration fees with up to $1,000 for an activity in the continental U.S. or Canada or up to $2,000 internationally.

Michigan Tech faculty and professional staff may apply as can Michigan Tech faculty in support of graduate or undergraduate students to travel to an activity. The yearly limit per person is $2,000. Recipients are required, in coordination with the IPEC director, to offer a brown bag talk to the larger university to share what they have learned. Recipients are also asked to acknowledge IPEC in any resulting research product that results from the activity.

To apply, send a 200-word proposal with details of the event and an explanation of its relevance to one of the topic areas: algorithmic culture; designing the Anthropocene; or policy, ethics, and culture in curricular development that relates to these areas. Include a CV, budget for the event and a statement indicating willingness to organize a brown bag on your return agreement and acknowledge IPEC in any resulting research product.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis by IPEC’s director and executive committee for their relevance to the focus areas, appropriateness of the event, and willingness to share information with the University community and acknowledge IPEC when appropriate.

Decisions will be made within one month of application submission. Send applications to Jennifer Daryl Slack director, IPEC.

This year marks Michigan Tech's 90th homecoming. For the past three years, the students have been using homecoming to give back to their second home, the Keweenaw community. One way they do that is by exchanging gently used clothing, canned food, paper goods and feminine products for a homecoming t-shirt.

This homecoming, we will have TWO opportunities to donate for a shirt:

1. 2 p.m. Monday (Sept. 23) in the MUB Circle 
2. 7 p.m. Tuesday (Sept. 24) at the women's volleyball game against Northern Michigan.

The first 200 people to bring a donation to each event will get a limited edition 90th homecoming t-shirt to wear. All donations will go to the Barbara Kettle Gundlach Shelter Home, New Beginnings Angel Mission and the Husky FAN food pantry.

The MTU Sustainability Demonstration House will be open to the public from 4-6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26.

Stop by to learn about sizing a solar array for your house or business, aquaponics gardening, three different methods for household composting, energy efficient smart appliances, water usage and much more. All guests will receive free sustainable swag.

The house address is 21680 Woodland Rd. in Houghton. Direct any questions about this event to sdh@mtu.edu.

Be a part of the action and volunteer with 41 North Film Festival. This year’s festival will take place from Oct. 31 – Nov. 3, and we need your help to make it happen.

We welcome film enthusiasts, members of the campus community, and local area residents. Our volunteers help us keep 41 North free and open to the public. Volunteers are needed for any and all of the four days of the festival, Thursday through Sunday.

Volunteer for a few hours or volunteer for the whole festival—it’s up to you. Volunteers will attend a brief training prior to the festival and are provided with a free t-shirt. All volunteers will also be invited to attend a post-festival thank you reception. We couldn’t do it without you! The 41 North Film Festival spans four days and showcases award-winning independent films and filmmakers from around the region, country and world. Its mission is to provide Michigan Tech students and the surrounding community with an opportunity to critically engage films that are currently in distribution and under discussion, as well as the chance to interact with filmmakers, producers, and other industry professionals about the art and business of cinematic storytelling.

To sign up to volunteer at this year’s festival, please complete the volunteer interest form. If you have any questions or concerns regarding volunteering at the 41 North Film Festival, contact our volunteer coordinator, Allison Neely, or by phone at (906) 487-3206.

A representative from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan will be on campus for individual meetings. The representative will be available from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 2, in the Memorial Union Ballroom B2. The meetings will be drop-in, no appointment necessary.

 In my class, I’m feeling the stress amp up as we head into the first round of exams. Especially for the first exam, where student and instructor expectations don’t always match, there might be a need to search for ways for students to use the exam as a learning tool. There are many ways this can be done, but a group follow-up exam is one model suggested by MaryEllen Wiemer in her article Collaborative Testing Improves Higher Order Thinking,

I have seen instructors who were disappointed by the results of a first exam use this method as a way to revisit and improve understanding of topics on which future material will build. This method might also provide a “curve” associated with learning rather than just raising scores to an acceptable level in a case where student preparation and exam expectations were not aligned. It can be done once — with a clear expectation that no such redemption will happen in the future, or it can just become part of a system that routinely tries to make the exam a last-ditch learning opportunity.

I’ve found that such collaborative tests (or quizzes, if you prefer) can also be extremely useful as a review prior to an exam. In that instance, use of IF-AT forms can require groups to agree on an answer and thereby stimulate lots of debate and learning. If you’re interested in trying group exams, the William G. Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) can provide ideas, some sample IF-AT forms, or just an opportunity to talk through possible actions and consequences. Stop in and see us on the Library’s second floor.

Alex Sergeyev (CC) presented the conference article "University, Community College and Industry Partnership: Revamping Robotics Education to Meet 21st Century Workforce Needs – NSF Sponsored Project Final Report," at the 2019 American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) annual conference in Tampa, Florida.

Sergeyev received the Best Paper Award in the Engineering Technology Division. Co-authors of this publication are S.Kuhl, N.Alaraje, M. Kinney, M.HIghum, and P.Mehandiratta. As an additional benefit, this paper will be published in the fall issue of the in prestige Journal of Engineering Technology (JET).

The next biomedical engineering graduate seminar will take place at 3 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27 in M&M 610. Guohao Dai will present "3-D Bio-Printed Glioblastoma-Vascular Niche."

Dai is associate professor in the Department of Bioengineering at Northeastern University.

3D printing, a method to construct complex 3-D structures through layer-by-layer approaches, offers great power and flexibil-ity to allow on-demand control of material configurations thus has great potential in tissue engineering applications. Although 3D printing has been very successful in creating biomaterial scaffold (without cells) with custom designed geometries, its translation into creation of “live tissues” remains a significant challenge. In addition, maintaining the viability of thick tissue construct for tissue growth and maturation after the printing is challenging due to lack of vascular perfusion. In this talk, Dai will report on the development of the 3-D bioprinting technology capable of providing on-demand control of live cells, extracellular matrix and growth factors in pre-designed 3-D patterns.

 Job Posting for Friday, September 20, 2019

Staff and faculty job descriptions are available in Human Resources. For more information regarding staff positions, call 7-2280 or jobs@mtu.edu">email jobs@mtu.edu.

For more information regarding faculty positions, contact the academic department in which the position is posted. 

Creative Design Lead, University Marketing and Communications. Apply online.

System Administrator, Information Technology. Apply online.

Michigan Technological University is an Equal Opportunity Educational Institution/Equal Opportunity Employer, which includes providing equal opportunity for protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.

HR Office Closed Today

The Human Resources Office is closed today (Sept. 20) for a departmental retreat. The office will reopen Monday (Sept. 23). We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. 

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Banner Production System Maintenance Scheduled for Sunday

A production system maintenance window will be taking place from 8-10 a.m. on Sunday (Sept. 22). The following production services will be unavailable during that time:

• Banner
• BanWeb
• MyMichiganTech
• ASPIRE
• Confluence
• Course Tools
• Housing Apartments Wait List
• mtu.edu/tips
• OAP Rental System
• ODS/EDW
• Oracle Reports
• Perceptive Content (Imagenow)
• UC4/Appworx
• WebFocus

If you have any questions or concerns, we can help. Contact us at it-help@mtu.edu or call 7-1111.

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Coffee Hour Today

The Women in Natural Resources student organization will be meeting with Peg Gale and Karin Van Dyke at 10.30 a.m. today (Sept. 20) in the SFRES Atrium. This is a good opportunity for students to connect with two esteemed SFRES alumnae and PCA members. Together they have a breadth of experience in forestry, timber industry, natural resources leadership and academia.

Enjoy a cup of tea or coffee while engaging in an informal conversation. You are encouraged to bring a question or topic you would like to discuss. Stay after to discuss global climate justice with the Women in Natural Resources. As we gear up for a new semester, a global climate strike is taking strides and locally, Houghton is working towards green initiatives such as increased recycling capacity. Let’s collect ideas on reducing waste, conserving energy and preparing for the future at Tech, in your community, and at the global scale.

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Process Mapping Workshop

The Process Mapping Workshop is a hands-on session applying the process mapping tool to a process in your own workspace. You will receive one-on-one coaching from a Campus Lean Facilitator to map out the activities or steps involved in a process. Read the full Tech Today story.

The Alumni House has a large leather couch available to give away to another department on a first-come, first-served basis. It is approximately 83" long x 37" deep x 38"high.

There is some wear on the end of the cushions but still in good shape. Email Courtney Hohnholt or call 7-2400 if interested. As always, University property may only be transferred to other University departments. It may not be given away or sold to individuals.

Kristen Schmitt (SFRES/ESC) is the principal investigator on a project that has received a $119,271 other sponsored activities cooperative agreement with the U.S. Forest Service.

The project is entitled, "Digital Science Communication." This a potential five-year project.

Today, we are looking forward to the monthly report out for auxiliary services. This will be taking place at 2 p.m. in the Memorial Union Building on the 18th of the month. This is where Kaizen and improvement event teams talk about how they improved upon their system.

They will talk about the initial reasoning for the kaizen and then talk about the steps they went through to complete it. Some common tools talked about in the report out is swim lanes, 5s and fishbone diagrams. This month our report out will be done by GLRC Event management. If you would like more information about report outs or kaizens please stop by 136W Wadsworth hall.

Sarah Hoy (SFRES) was quoted in a National Geographic article on gray wolves in Minnesota. Read the article here.

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Michigan Tech alumnus Jamie Fiedrich '95 was featured in the article "Veteran IT leader will help manage high-growth demands" in Yahoo Finance. Fiedrich has been named vice president of Information Technology Operations at Bishop Fox, the largest private professional services firm focused on offensive security testing.

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The Michigan Tech News story "Mechanism Modeling for Better Forecasts, Climate Predictions," by Kelley Christensen was picked up by SC Online News.

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

MTRAC 2020 Funding Talk & Lunch

September 20, 11:00 a.m–1:00 p.m

Are you faculty member engaged in research at Michigan Tech with a goal to solve a problem that addresses a market need? Do you envision a path to commercialization in the...

C-Cubed Luncheon - Kansas City Style BBQ Ribs and and Pulled BBQ Eggplant Sandwich

September 20, 11:30 a.m–1:30 p.m

This week's C3 luncheons take place on Thursday and Friday from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m in the Memorial Union Alumni Lounge (#107). All faculty and staff, along with their...

Modified OU Tournament

September 20, 12:00 p.m–5:00 p.m

September Tournament: Smogon OU The Pokemon League at Michigan Tech is hosting the Smogon OU tournament this month on September 20 in Walker 109. Signups will start at noon,...

Kliakhandler Colloquium: Jensen–Polya Program for the Riemann Hypothesis and Related Problems

September 20, 4:05 p.m

Dr. Ken Ono, Thomas Jefferson Professor of Mathematics at the University of Virginia, and the Asa Griggs Candler Professor of Mathematics at Emory University In 1927 Polya...

Film Board Presents: Toy Story 4

September 20, 5:30 p.m–7:30 p.m

"When a new toy called "Forky" joins Woody and the gang, a road trip alongside old and new friends reveals how big the world can be for a toy." Tickets are $3 each and...

(Women's Volleyball) Michigan Tech at Davenport

September 20, 7:00 p.m–10:00 p.m

Women's Volleyball: Michigan Tech at Davenport

Range Day

September 20, 8:00 p.m–9:00 p.m

Come join us at the SDC range to learn firearm safety and have fun shooting our various pistols. First time down is free (besides ammo) and second time down is $15 for the...

Film Board Presents: Toy Story 4

September 20, 8:30 p.m–10:30 p.m

"When a new toy called "Forky" joins Woody and the gang, a road trip alongside old and new friends reveals how big the world can be for a toy." Tickets are $3 each and...

Film Board Presents: Toy Story 4

September 20, 11:30 p.m–1:30 a.m

"When a new toy called "Forky" joins Woody and the gang, a road trip alongside old and new friends reveals how big the world can be for a toy." Tickets are $3 each and...

(Women's Tennis) Michigan Tech vs. TBA

September 20, all day

Women's Tennis: Michigan Tech vs. TBA