October 20, 2020

StabiLux Biosciences, a spin-out company from research conducted at Michigan Tech, has received an additional $500,000 supplementary grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

This new NSF Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase IIB project, led by Nazmiye Yapici, Ph.D. ‘13, and Dongyan Zhang (Physics), will support the commercialization of high-brightness dyes for medical uses. StabiLux fluorescent dyes were developed by Yapici, Zhang, and Yoke Khin Yap (Physics).

Read the press release on mtu.edu/news.

Join Sarah Schulte (general counsel), Kellie Raffaelli (director, Center for Diversity and Inclusion), and Audrey Mayer (interim vice president for diversity and inclusion) on from noon to 1 p.m. tomorrow (Wednesday, Oct. 21) for a webinar reviewing how state law informs free speech policy at Michigan Tech.

We will discuss how and when employees can promote political candidates, and how to ensure that personal statements are not construed as institutional statements.

The webinar will be recorded and posted for later viewing if you are unable to attend in person.

Questions can either be asked during the webinar or emailed ahead of time to Audrey Mayer.

The Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) has awarded Michigan Tech a Sustainability Tracking, Assessment and Rating System (STARS) Silver rating.

AASHE Executive Director Meghan Fay Zahniser said STARS measures and encourages sustainability in all aspects of higher education. With more than 900 participants in 40 countries, the program is the most widely recognized framework in the world for publicly reporting comprehensive information related to a college or university's sustainability performance. 

To qualify for STARS rankings, participants report achievements in five areas:

• Academics
• Engagement
• Operations
• Planning and administration
• Innovation and leadership

“STARS was developed by the campus sustainability community to provide high standards for recognizing campus sustainability efforts,” Zahniser said.  “Michigan Technological University has demonstrated a substantial commitment to sustainability by achieving a STARS Silver Rating and is to be congratulated for their efforts.”

Jay Meldrum, director of the Keweenaw Research Center and advisor for the Alternative Energy Enterprise said a little more than three years ago the decision was made to see just how sustainable Michigan Tech was. 

"After some searching, it was obvious that the AASHE STARS reporting tool was a fair and accurate way to grade ourselves in the different aspects of sustainability. With help from many faculty, staff, and students  we were able to create a submission that has earned us the Silver rating.  We also uncovered areas of opportunity that will lead us to the next higher levels, Gold and Platinum.  The process not only gave us a respectable grade but it has sparked a wildfire of enthusiasm in the student body and amongst staff and faculty.  I am proud to be a part of this process and watch as we grow our Sustainability footprint across all departments of the University," Meldrum said. 

Unlike other rating or ranking systems, STARS is open to all institutions of higher education, and the criteria that determine ratings are transparent and accessible to anyone. 

Staff Council invites the campus community to submit nominations for the 2020 Making a Difference Awards. Nominations are now open and regular full-time and part-time staff are eligible. All faculty and staff are invited to submit a nomination of a deserving colleague or write a letter in support of a nomination.

The categories are:

• Above and Beyond
• Behind the Scenes
• Legacy Award
• Outstanding Leader
• Rookie Award
• Serving Others
• Unsung Hero

Award recipients will receive $500, after taxes. Past recipients are not eligible again until five years after their award year and are listed on the Staff Council webpage.

Please follow these steps:

1. Review and choose the award criteria
2. Create your nomination letter
3. Collect your letters of support (no more than three, one-page letters)
4. Complete the nomination form located here

Please note that you will need to be prepared to upload your nomination letter and each letter of support as individual files in the nomination form before exiting it. Otherwise, it will be lost as the system will not automatically save it.

Nominations will be accepted until 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13.

Despite being decades old, myths and misconceptions still surround open access publishing. Credibility and author processing charges (APCs) are frequently perceived as barriers to publishing in open access journals.

Here are some facts to consider about these myths: A journal’s credibility is not defined by its publishing model, but rather by its peer review or editorial processes. There is no evidence that open access journals are less credible than traditionally published journals. Most open-access journals are peer-reviewed, frequently cited, and impactful.

While APCs do present challenges for authors there are many open access journals that do not charge APCs. Options exist for journals that do charge APCs. Many federally funded grants allow for the inclusion of APCs in their budgets. In addition, many open-access publishers offer APC waivers for authors who do not have financial support. See our Open Access guide for more busted myths about OA publishing.

Michigan Tech, to maintain compliance with federal and state regulations, conducts annual information security awareness training. This mandatory training program is designed to assist our employees in understanding the importance of information security and privacy and their role in keeping the University's sensitive information safe.

This training contains multiple modules (ranging from one to five minutes in length) and should take about 30 minutes to complete. The modules do not all need to be completed in one sitting, so this can be spread out over time. Each individual module must be completed in a single viewing.

Starting tomorrow (Oct. 22), employees will receive an enrollment email, after which they’ll have 30 days to complete the training program. A link in the email will direct them to the security training website.

The site will authenticate employees through Michigan Tech’s Secure Sign-On Site where they can sign in with their Michigan Tech ISO credentials and proceed with the training.

If you have any questions, we can help. Contact IT or call 7-1111.

Three student members of the Michigan Tech chapter of the American Marketing Association (AMA) — Ryan Calkins (Management), Emily Kughn (Marketing) and Jaxon Verhoff (Marketing) — recently demonstrated their marketing strategy competence at the 2020 AMA regional conference hosted virtually by the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater.

The students were selected as top 10 finalists at the online conference where more than 800 students from 64 universities participated. They went on to place third on Oct. 9, winning a cash award of $250.

In addition to this achievement, Michigan Tech was represented in the AcuRite Digital Marketing Strategy Competition and Gartner Sales Competition, where managers from the sponsoring companies served as judges.

Although COVID-19 disrupted the learning environment, Associate Professor of Marketing, Jun Min, who advises the marketing organizations on campus, states, "I am continually impressed with our students' willingness to try something new."

The on-campus art walk "Hero City" is open and welcoming visitors. "Hero City" showcases images of modern Mongolia by documentary photographer Meghan Kirkwood. The art walk includes portraits, landscape photos, and city snapshots.

The walking tour is being held within five campus buildings:

• The Van Pelt and Opie Library, first floor
• The Center for Diversity and Inclusion
• The Pavlis Honors College
• Walker, third floor – Humanities
• The Rozsa Center Gallery

Visitors can take the self-guided tour from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday. The Rozsa Gallery is also open on Saturdays between 1 - 8 p.m.

There are maps at each site to guide viewers on their tour. Viewers can also download a pdf of the map from the Rozsa Center webpage. The tour is available through Nov. 14.

"Hero City" was created as a collaboration between the Department of Visual and Performing Arts and The Pavlis Honors College. The event is partially 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."

The Carnegie Museum of the Keweenaw is hosting a live-stream Zoom presentation by Professor Emeritus Bill Sproule (CEE) at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27.

Sproule's presentation is "The Spanish Flu . . . and Hockey." In this live-stream Zoom presentation, Sproule will discuss the 1918 Flu Pandemic, and hockey — why it was called the Spanish Flu, the three waves, and its impact on sports.

The 1919 Stanley Cup playoffs were canceled before the deciding game of the final series and one player, Joe Hall, who had played for Portage Lake earlier in his career, died.

There are many fascinating stories and it is interesting to see the similarities to today's pandemic. To view this live presentation, click on the following Zoom link up to ten minutes prior to the presentation. before 7:00 pm. 

You will be prompted to download the free Zoom app, if you do not already have it. For those with a Zoom app, the Meeting ID is: 859 0538 5876.

During the presentation, you may send questions and/or comments via Zoom Chat to be addressed at the end.

The Graduate Student Government is pleased to announce this year's Three Minute Thesis (3MT) competition. The competition is being held on Thursday, Nov. 5. Registration will close on Friday (Oct. 23). Participants are required to present their research within three minutes, hence the name ‘Three Minute Thesis’.

This contest is open to all graduate students at any stage/path of their graduate studies. They are not required to have a finished thesis, or even a proposal to present — even MS coursework students can participate.

Participants are judged on their communication and presentation skills while delivering their content in just three minutes with one static PowerPoint slide. This competition offers a great opportunity for graduate students to present their research to a general audience. It is divided into two phases: preliminary rounds and a final round.

The preliminary round will be held virtually on Nov. 5. Finals will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 6 at the Rozsa Center for Performing Arts.

The winner and runners-up will receive cash prizes of $300 and $150 respectively. Additionally, a People’s Choice award will be given to a speaker selected by the event’s audience, with a cash prize of $100.

A training workshop for the participants is provided on Wednesday, Oct. 28. You can attend/ register for one or both sessions using the same registration link and Zoom link to participate in the event. It is not mandatory to be a participant to attend this workshop.

This will be a good point if you are looking forward to creating an effective elevator pitch for your project.

The workshop is divided into two sessions:

• Session 1 (4 - 5 p.m.) Story-telling and creative communication Workshop by Marie Peasley (CEO of First position Marketing)
• Session 2 (5 - 6 p.m.) Panel Discussion with past 3MT winners from the regional and local competition

The 3MT competition was started by the University of Queensland, Australia in 2008. Success and the growing popularity of the competition spread the idea across more than 200 universities around the globe. The winner of the local Michigan Tech competition will earn the opportunity to present at the regional 3MT competition. GSG invites and encourages all graduate students to take advantage of this amazing competition. For full event information and the registration see this link. 

The Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts and the Department of Visual and Performing Arts present “Jazz in New Formations,” a live-streamed concert that will be performed live and broadcast from the Rozsa stage at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday (Oct. 23/24)

The show which is free and broadcast live will have the energy of a live performance without an in-person audience. Access the video stream from the Rozsa website by clicking the "View/Stream" button, or for a more interactive experience, visit the Rozsa facebook page and look for the Jazz in New Formations livestream 30 minutes before the start of the event.

According to the Director of Jazz Studies at Miching Tech, Adam Meckler, “The reality is that all music has been happening in "new formations" lately. Musicians all over the world are collaborating remotely, making videos and recordings with musicians they might not have otherwise worked with, in groups they might not have otherwise played with. MTU jazz students can relate."

We hope you will join us via live stream. 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.

There will be a ME-EM master's defense at 3 p.m. tomorrow (Oct. 21) via Zoom.

MS student Brandon Narodzonek will present "Development of an Eco Approach and Departure Application to Improve Energy Consumption of a Plug-In Hybrid Vehicle in Charge Depleting Mode."

His advisor is Jeff Naber (ME-EM).

The Department of Biomedical Engineering will host a graduate seminar at 3 p.m. Friday (Oct. 23) via Zoom.

Shu Qian Liu, of Northwestern University, will present "Protective Engineering."

Computer Engineering doctoral candidate Zhiqiang Zhao will defend at 4 p.m. Friday (Oct. 23) via Zoom.

The title of his presentation is “High-Performance Spectral Methods for Computer-Aided Design of Integrated Circuits.”

Co-advisors are Zhuo Feng (ECE) and Glen Archer (ECE).

As a community, we disagree on matters of public interest. Stating our opinions and listening to the opinions of others are essential practices in a healthy community. We all know that right now there are unhealthy conflicts in communities across the country.

The Copper Country has wonderful examples of our community working together for the benefit of all. In the coming weeks, how will we keep our disagreements civil? Let's start by talking with one another.

Join us at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27 for a webinar as local law enforcement, clergy and lay leaders start the discussion on Keeping Our Disagreements Civil. 

Michigan Tech is currently selling surplus items online to the general public on Public Surplus, a government auction site.

There is no cost to the University for the listings as Public Surplus charges a premium to the buyer.

Individuals can register to bid on current auctions and receive future notifications of Michigan Tech surplus available at publicsurplus.com.

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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CTL Presents: Canvas Course Showcase

The current remote instruction environment has required many instructors to develop new approaches to using Canvas. Providing students with organized and intuitive course design, opportunities to engage with peers, and workflow to efficiently complete course activities is critical.

Make plans to attend a Canvas Course Showcase, hosted by the Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning at 3 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 27. This Zoom event will feature three Michigan Tech instructors who will showcase their Canvas courses and highlight some of the organizational features that help support their students. To register for this event, please click here.

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Sustainability Living Webinar Series

Since we are unable to open the MTU Sustainability Demonstration House (SDH) to the public this semester, we are bringing our house and all of its sustainable systems to you.

You are invited to join us for a series of Zoom webinars centered around various aspects of sustainable living:

• Today (Oct. 20), 6 p.m. Harnessing Solar Energy for Your Home & Vehicle. You will learn how to size a solar array for your home.
• Tomorrow (Oct. 21), 6 p.m.  Bite Down on Emissions by Changing Your Diet. Learn how to save 700 kg of CO2 emissions per year by changing what you eat. 
• Thursday (Oct. 22), 6 p.m. Striving for a Zero-Waste Lifestyle. Learn practical steps to take to achieve a zero-waste lifestyle while saving money. 

You won't want to miss out on these talks. View live demos of the MTU SDH sustainable systems Gain access to valuable tools & resources Learn practical and efficient ways to reduce your impact right now.

Email sdh@mtu.edu with any questions or concerns. We hope to see you there.

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IDEA Hub/CTL Session on KEEN and Entrepreneurial Minded Learning

Join us for our next IDEA Hub/CTL Online Education Session from 4 to 5 p.m. Wednesday (Oct. 21) via Zoom. In this session, we will share information about the KEEN partnership and Entrepreneurial Minded Learning (EML).

In 2019, Michigan Tech was invited to become a partner of KEEN - the Kern Engineering Entrepreneurial Network. As a partner institution, Michigan Tech gains access to a large network of institutions across the country that are working to educate their students about the mindsets and skillsets of Entrepreneurial Minded Learning.

With a focus on Curiosity, Connections and Creating value (the 3 C's of EML) KEEN also provides faculty professional development training, as well as teaching resources that can be found on engineeringunleashed.com. Read the full Tech Today story.

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October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month

October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month. This month Title IX Prevention Education along with student groups Sexual Assault and Violence Education (SAVE) and the Society of African American Men (SAAM) have a few educational events of interest happening to bring awareness to and to prevent intimate partner violence.

Read the full Tech Today story.

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

Walking Gallery Tour: Hero City: Documentary Photography by Meghan Kirkwood

October 20, 8:00 a.m–8:00 p.m

Hero City: Documentary Photography by Meghan Kirkwood features a collection of silver gelatin and inkjet photographs made as part of a documentary project about modern...

MTU Graduate Health Program Fair 2020 - Day 2

October 20, 8:30 a.m–7:00 p.m

MTU Graduate Health Program Fair 2020 Michigan Tech will be hosting a virtual graduate health fair, October 19th-October 23rd! We have invited 31 different graduate health...

Mindful Living Workshop

October 20, 10:00 a.m–11:00 a.m

Tired of being tired, overwhelmed and behind? Mindfulness can increase joy and help eliminate the negative cycle of anxiety and connect you with your inner-self, even in the...

CTL Presents - Talking Testing

October 20, 3:00 p.m–4:00 p.m

Tuesday October 20, 2020 at 3:00 PM https://mtu.libcal.com/event/7194037

Husky Hour- Recognizing and Recovering from Failure

October 20, 4:00 p.m–5:00 p.m

Are you ready to relearn everything you know about failure? Husky Hour presents "Recognizing and Recovering from Failure", a Husky How that will challenge your way of thinking...

Harnessing Solar Energy for Your Home & Vehicle

October 20, 6:00 p.m

Learn how to size a solar array for your home! The MTU Sustainability House wants to invite you to their upcoming Sustainable Living webinar series! -- Since we are unable...

Humanities Portfolio Workshop

October 20, 6:00 p.m–7:00 p.m

Come learn from Humanity's Dr. Bergstrom, Dr. Fiss and Dr. Seigel about senior portfolios! This is a great opportunity to learn how prepare a hard copy and online portfolio...

HuskyLead: Meeting Management

October 20, 6:00 p.m–7:00 p.m

Attend this HuskyLEAD and develop valuable skills to be able to be effective when facilitating discussions, lead meetings, and navigate conflict. Presented by Residence...

Adult Huskies Swim Clinic Session 1

October 20, 7:00 p.m–7:50 p.m

Adult Huskies Swim Clinic provides additional attention and competitive guidance to swimmers ages 18 and up who are looking to improve their swimming skills and fitness levels...

Young Americans for Freedom Meeting

October 20, 7:00 p.m–8:00 p.m

Meeting will be outdoors in the campus rock garden as weather permits, and in M&M U113. As we discuss the ideas of individual freedom, limited government, free enterprise,...

Creating a Culture of Consent Keynote Address with Dr. Keith E. Edwards Virtual Watch Party

October 20, 7:30 p.m

Michigan Technological University is hosting a virtual campus visit with Dr. Keith Edwards, PhD. Title IX prevention will be hosting a virtual watch party and short debrief to...

Celebrating the Creative Mind

October 20, all day

In Conversation with choreographer Yoshito Sakuraba and composer Na’ama Zisser Featuring performances by Abarukas Dance Co. with original music by Na’ama...

Open Access Week

October 20, all day

International Open Access Week celebrates opening research results and data to the consumer without subscriptions or paywalls. This year's theme is Open with a Purpose: Taking...