September 25, 2020

The Department of Visual and Performing Arts, the Rozsa Center and Pavlis Honors College announce the fall gallery exhibition, Hero City: Documentary Photography by Meghan Kirkwood. The exhibit features a collection of silver gelatin and inkjet photographs of modern Mongolia.

The images capture the unique and storied history of Mongolia’s capital city, Ulaanbaatar, its transition through economic and cultural change – and the rich and thriving culture that animates this young Asian nation.

This exhibit is presented in collaboration with Michigan Tech’s Pavlis Honors College and the D80 Conference, where Kirkwood will give the keynote address.

The title “Hero City,” refers to the chosen name for this urban center before pressure from soviet activists led to its renaming, Ulaanbaatar (city of the Red Hero). Mongolia’s history is long and complex, and most recently marked by its transition from communism to democracy following the fall of the Soviet Union. This transition was guided by international agencies such as the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and the Asian Development Fund, but the nation’s swift entry into a market economy has brought many challenges for its citizens, in spite of optimism from outside economists who view the country as a “global growth generating” nation. Mongolia offers a prescient look at the disconnect between prescriptive policies and the cultural and political realities that limit their success. Kirkwood’s images seek to capture these tensions, and to draw attention to Mongolia’s vibrant culture.

Kirkwood is an assistant professor at Washington University in St. Louis, MO. Her photography has been exhibited throughout the United States, Europe, and South Africa. She holds an MFA in Photography from Tulane University, and a PhD in Art History from the University of Kansas. w ww.meghankirkwood.com.

The exhibit will run from Monday (Sept. 28) through Saturday, Nov. 14. Works of art are also hung in several campus buildings and can be seen through a self- guided walking tour.

Gallery hours:

• Monday - Friday — 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
• Saturday — 1 to 8 p.m.

Walking tour hours:

• Monday - Friday — 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Kirkwood will give her online D80 keynote address at noon on Friday, Oct. 2, and an online gallery talk on at 5 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3. A tour map, Zoom links, and more details to all related Hero City and D80 Conference events can be found on the Rozsa Center website.

This program is partially funded/sponsored by the Visiting Professor Program which is funded by a grant to the Office of the Provost from the State of Michigan's King- Chavez-Parks Initiative. 

For the latest news and events, please join our Rozsa newsletter, check our website and Facebook page frequently, and stay informed as we announce new events each week.

Zoom has canceled its plans to require all meetings on paid accounts to have a waiting room or passcode. If you have current Zoom meetings scheduled, they will not be changed.

Waiting rooms and passcodes continue to be options if you’d like to add them to your meeting. Visit our knowledge base article on Zoom meeting security for more information.

If you have questions about Zoom, we can help. Contact IT at it-help@mtu.edu or call 7-1111.

The next Environmental Engineering Graduate Seminar takes place at 3 p.m. Monday (Sept. 28) via Zoom.

Andy Erickson will present "Urban Stormwater Runoff Research: Innovating Practice to Improve Water Quality.

Erickson is a research associate in the St. Anthony Falls Laboratory, at the College of Science and Engineering, University of Minnesota.

All are welcome.

Job Postings for Friday, September 25, 2020

Staff and faculty job descriptions are available in Human Resources. For more information regarding staff positions, call 487-2280 or email jobs@mtu.edu. For more information regarding faculty positions, contact the academic department in which the position is posted.

Custodian (12 months/ 40 hours/ 1st Shift) #20166, Facilities. AFSCME posting 9/25/2020 - 10/1/2020. External applicants will not be reviewed until after all internal applicants. Apply online.

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Office Assistant 6 (12 months/ 40 hours/ 1st Shift), Human Resources.  UAW posting 9/25/2020 - 10/1/2020. External applicants will not be reviewed until after all internal applicants. Apply online. 

Michigan Technological University is an Equal Opportunity Educational Institution/Equal Opportunity Employer that provides equal opportunity for all, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities. Accommodations are available. If you require any auxiliary aids, services, or other accommodations to apply for employment or an interview at Michigan Technological University, please notify the Human Resources office at 906-487-2280 or mtujobs@mtu.edu.

Fill Out the COVID-19 Symptom Tracking Form Before Coming to Campus

A reminder that no one is permitted to come to campus with symptoms consistent with COVID-19. All employees are required to monitor their symptoms daily before coming to campus. The Daily Symptom Tracking Form is a short form that will help you determine if you have COVID-19 symptoms. 

 In addition, all visitors must fill out the Visitor Symptom Tracking Form each day before coming on campus. 

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Sale at Campus Store and University Images

Come join us online or in-store for our 20% sale on all Michigan Tech apparel and souvenirs now through tomorrow (Sept. 25-26).

Some exclusions may apply and the discount may not be combined with any other coupons. Visit us online.

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KIP Fall Seminar Series 

The KIP Fall Seminar Series will take place from 3 to 4 p.m. today (Sept. 25) via Zoom. The seminar is titled "Pushing the Limits of the Human Body to Explore the Moon, Mars and Beyond."

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ME-EM PhD Defenses Today

There will be two defenses by Mechanical Engineering - Engineering Mechanics PhD students today (Sept. 25).

Jon Furlich will present his PhD defense at 11 a.m. via Zoom. The title of his defense is "Experimental Evaluation of a RWD Vehicle with Parameter Extraction for Analytical Modeling and Evaluation." 

Xin Wang will present his PhD Defense at noon via Zoom. The title of his defense is "A Study of Model-based Control Strategy for a Gasoline Turbocharged Direct Injected Spark Ignited Engine."  

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Copper Country Coders Meets Tomorrow

The Copper Country Coders program is back for the 2020-2021 academic year — in a new all-online format. Michigan Tech students lead small courses in programming and computer science for all levels of expertise. All local middle and high school students are welcome to join us. We have an enthusiastic and creative team of tutors, and we are looking forward to another year of learning and having fun.

Our meeting times will be Saturdays 1 to 2:30 p.m, in the fall and spring semesters. We will be using the Zoom videoconferencing application for all of our meetings this year. We ask parents to make a contribution to help support our MTU student tutors.

Our suggested minimum donation is $60 per semester, but parents should feel free to contribute whatever they can afford. Our kickoff meeting is 1 p.m. Saturday (Sept. 26).

We ask that both students and their parents attend the first meeting. Here is the Zoom link to the meeting: Our website has more information on the program and students and parents are welcome to contact Charles Wallace if they have any questions. We hope to see you online at the Coders kickoff.

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Jill Olin (GLRC) and colleagues from Stony Brook University, University of Maryland and NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center published the paper titled " Separation of realized ecological niche axes among sympatric tilefishes provides insight into potential drivers of co-occurrence in the NW Atlantic" in Ecology and Evolution.

Their findings indicate that tilefish species use similar prey resource pools but separate on fine-scale depth preferences; a potential mechanism to alleviate interspecies competition in resource-limited systems. This study provides new insight into the potential drivers of tilefish co-occurrence, knowledge that may be consequential for maintaining both ecosystem function and fishery sustainability.

Raymond Shaw (Physics) is the principal investigator on a project that has received a $270,735 research and development grant from the National Science Foundation.

The project is entitled, "Collaborative Research: Experiment of Sea Breeze Convection, Aerosols, Precipitation and Environment (ESCAPE)." This is a three-year project.

Lack of transparency is a primary complaint nationally among faculty who experience inequitable workloads. A potential solution is the development of faculty work activity dashboards organized at the departmental or college level. These dashboards can assist in identifying and correcting equity issues within your unit.

Today’s Weekly Roundup features research from ADVANCE programs at the University of Maryland and the University of Massachusetts, Amherst that breaks down the development and execution of these faculty work activity dashboards.

ADVANCE at Michigan Tech supports the development of faculty work activity dashboards, such as providing assistance in identifying appropriate content, identifying areas of inequity, or resolving inequities that may be identified as a result of implementing these dashboards. 

Today’s article was shared by Patty Sotirin, professor of communication in the Department of Humanities. If you have an article you think we should feature, please email it to advance-mtu@mtu.edu 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 or visit our website.

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

PhD Defense: Jon Furlich

Friday, September 25, 11 a.m.–12 p.m.

Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics Advisor: Darrell Robinette Experimental Evaluation of a RWD Vehicle with Parameter Extraction for Analytical Modeling and...

PhD Defense: Xin Wang

Friday, September 25, 12 p.m.–1 p.m.

Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics Co-advisors: Bo Chen and Jeffrey Naber A Study of Model-based Control Strategy for a Gasoline Turbocharged Direct Injected Spark...

Study abroad with ISA

Friday, September 25, 12 p.m.–1 p.m.

Ready to explore the world? Learn about your study abroad options with International Studies Abroad (ISA), how to take the next step and find the program that's right for...

Mathematical Sciences Colloquium

Friday, September 25, 1 p.m.

Dr. Beatrice Riviere, Rice University

KIP Fall Seminar Series

Friday, September 25, 3 p.m.–4 p.m.

Pushing the Limits of the Human Body to Explore the Moon, Mars, and Beyond