August 7, 2020

For the second consecutive year, StabiLux Biosciences was selected to be one of the Innovation Showcase finalists at the International CYTO convention.

CYTO, the premier meeting for the bioscience of cytometry, was held Tuesday and Wednesday (Aug. 4/5). Cytometry is a technique that detects cell structures for all biomedical fields. CYTO is organized by the International Society for Advancement of Cytometry (ISAC).

Top faculty and industry leaders showcased their innovation in various lectures, tutorials, workshops, frontiers and plenary sessions featuring cutting edge cytometry technology and applications.

Stabilux President and Chief Technical Officer Yoke Khin Yap (Physics) said CYTO, like most aspects of life, was impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The BioSciCYTO was originally planned to be held in Philadelphia during the summer, but biology threw us a curveball. Although SARS-CoV-2 may keep scientists from showcasing all the new developments in cytometry in person, CYTO Virtual 2020 filled in the gap as the first-ever virtual meeting from ISAC."

StabiLux BIosciences, an MTU spin-off company, showcased their new technology in the session of "CYTO Innovation Live Technology Showcase & Panel". CEO, Steve Tokarz, is one of top three finalists that pitched their new innovation. The new dye technology, SpectraLux and SpectraFluor, will allow scientist to detect biological molecules by the shapes of the fluorescent spectra, in addition to the peak positions of the signals. This novel feature is not found in any commercially available dyes.

The technology invented by Xiuling Liu (Physics) Nazmiye Yapici (Physics), and Dongyan Zhang (Physics) under the direction of Yap builds from their NovoLux® High-Brightness DyeTM technology licensed from the university.

The StabiLux/MTU team also presented two posters on the mechanism of NovoLux® High-Brightness Dye technology, as well as a new NovoLux® high-brightness violet dye. The company is truly enabling the next 50 years of biomedical Innovation.

 A new Fall course — UN 3990 "COVID-19 Impact & Response" is being offered through the Health Research Institute on campus.

Given the effects of the global pandemic, we encourage all undergraduate and graduate students to consider the course:

• Course: UN 3990-2 COVID-19 Impact & Response
• Credits: One credit
• CRN: 85111
• Semester: Fall 2020
• Time: Taught remotely and online
• Format: Seminar-based
• Pre-reqs: Open to all students
• Description: This course will provide a variety of perspectives on what is currently known about COVID-19 and its impact on health and society

Each week through a Town Hall style format faculty, public health officials, clinicians and other experts in our community will discuss topics including: the role of public health to protect community health, etiology of disease, virus spread globally and locally, mechanisms to interrupt and halt transmission, health disparities, impact of disease on physical and mental health, strategies for adapting to lifestyle change, and economic considerations.

This course will also highlight the current response efforts in the Western Upper Peninsula, including Michigan Tech’s involvement through the COVID-19 testing laboratory.

The course goal is to increase awareness about COVID-19 and encourage everyone to do their part to help during the pandemic. For information contact Kelly Kamm or Steve Elmer.

The Husky Food Access Network (HuskyFAN) is asking the Michigan Tech Community to support the pantry through food and/or monetary donations from Aug. 10-14, as we get ready to welcome our campus community back to Houghton.

Donations from our campus community help HuskyFAN to continue providing food to those in need. This summer we were able to provide 126 meal packs to students facing financial hardships. To make food donations, please drop them off between 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday outside of the HuskyFAN Food Pantry located on the first floor of Fisher Hall, down from Fisher 135 (previously the Aftermath Cafe).

A box with the sign ‘FOOD DONATIONS’ will be placed in front of the Food Pantry to receive donations. Some suggested items to donate include rice, canned vegetables, vegetarian soups, deodorant, shampoo, shave gel, feminine products and cleaning supplies. (Please check the expiration dates as we cannot accept items past their date.)

To make monetary donations, please use this link. If you have any questions about the food pantry, contact huskyfan@mtu.edu.

Thank you to everyone who has supported the HuskyFAN Food Pantry through food, monetary, or bag donations this summer! We greatly appreciate your support.

There will be a seminar at 1 p.m. Thursday (Aug. 13 via Zoom.

Traci Yu (BioSci) will present "Development of Optogenetic Brain Stimulation Device for Treatment of Parkinson’s Disease."

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that typically affects movement. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an effective device-based therapy for PD in the clinic. DBS applies an embedded electrode into a specific region in the brain and delivers electrode impulses through a battery-powered stimulator subcutaneously implanted in the patient’s chest.

The therapeutic effects of DBS are strongly dependent on the stimulation frequency. High frequency DBS alleviates PD motor symptoms, while the low frequency is ineffective. However, due to its non-selectivity of stimulation, high frequency DBS can cause adverse side effects.

Optogenetics takes advantage of cell-type specific manipulation of targeted neural elements and can overcome the challenges of nonselective modulation of DBS.

Summer Volleyball Tournament

An article written by Michigan Tech alumna Emily Prehoda, Joshua Pearce (MSE/ECE) and Chelsea Schelly (SS), "Policies to Overcome Barriers for Renewable Energy Distributed Generation: A Case Study of Utility Structure and Regulatory Regimes in Michigan"  was selected for the Editor's Choice in Energies as our service territory hit the artificial cap for distributed generation due primarily to local consumers scrambling for solar photovoltaic systems that slash their electric bills.

Graduate student Alexis Pascaris (SS) and Joshua Pearce (MSE/ECE) published "U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions Bottlenecks: Prioritization of Targets for Climate Liability," in Energies.

Joshua Pearce (MSE/ECE) is quoted in "Why Solar Panels in the UK Are a Great Option" on GreenMatch.

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The tent set up between Chem Sci and EERC which will be used as a COVID-19 testing facility during Move-In Weekend, was covered by WLUC TV6.

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Michigan Tech was mentioned in the article "Ancient mountains recorded in Antarctic sandstones reveal potential links to global events," in several outlets including Science Daily and Phys.org

Candidates “fit” with the job, the hiring unit and the campus is deemed critical yet this is a determination that can be quite subjective. Empirically, such determinations account for only 20-25% of the decision to hire or not. This week’s edition of the ADVANCE Weekly Roundup features a 2020 article from The Journal of Higher Education which looks at how the subjective preferences that largely govern the evaluative portion of faculty searches can perpetuate inequities. 

Today’s article was shared by Amy Marcarelli, associate professor in Biological Sciences. If you have an article you think we should feature, please email it and we will consider adding it to the ADVANCE Weekly Roundup. The ADVANCE Weekly Roundup is brought to you by ADVANCE at Michigan Tech, which is an NSF-funded initiative dedicated to improving faculty career success, retention, diversity, equity, and inclusion.

These articles are available on the ADVANCE Newsblog. To learn more about this week’s topic, our mission, programming efforts, and to check out our growing collection of resources, contact us at advance-mtu@mtu.edu) or visit our website.

Teaching Teachers in Detroit Online

Joan Chadde (CEE/CLS) is presenting this week as part of a four-day online summer teacher institute for 30 Detroit fifth grade science teachers.

The Institute, titled "Ignite Your Students' Interest in Science and STEM Careers" is co-sponsored by Michigan Tech, Wayne State University and Belle Isle Conservancy, as part of a four-year NSF-ITEST grant.

Chadde is presenting on 'how to teach 5th graders' about watersheds, water quality and bioaccumulation. More information is available online.

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

Sig Eps Reunion Outing

August 7, 10:00 a.m

Sig Eps Reunion Outing - Alum Only

Master's Defense: Basirat Tolulope Shittu

August 7, 1:00 p.m–2:00 p.m

Biological Sciences Advisor: John Durocher The Effect of Hibiscus Sabdariffa .L on Blood Pressure and Arterial Stiffness in Humans Attend Virtually:...

American Red Cross Lifeguard Certification Course

August 7, 2:00 p.m–6:00 p.m

Earn your American Red Cross Lifeguard Certification in this 3-day intensive training course located at the Michigan Tech SDC Pool. The certification includes...

APS Virtual Poster Showcase

August 7, all day

The Association for Psychological Science will be hosting a Virtual Poster Showcase from June 1, 2020 to September 1, 2020. Participants will be able to view the latest...

Kites and Community! Outdoor Sculpture 2020

August 7, all day

Kites & Community Outdoor Sculpture students spent last week making kites and holding a community (physically-distanced) picnic. Faculty member Lisa Gordillo designed this...

Outside – apart – together

August 7, all day

Online Sculpture Walk Outside – apart – together, the Outdoor Sculpture class’s online sculpture exhibit, opens today. The exhibit is an online sculpture walk, and it...