February 9, 2021

Beyond the environmental benefits and lower electric bills, it turns out installing solar panels on your house actually benefits your whole community.

For years some utility companies have worried that solar panels drive up electric costs for people without panels.

Joshua Pearce (MSE/ECE) and graduate student Koami Soulemane Hayibo (ECE) have shown the opposite is actually true — grid-tied solar photovoltaic (PV) owners are actually subsidizing their non-PV neighbors.

Read more at mtu.edu/news.

Michigan Technological University has appointed Dennis Livesay to hold the inaugural Dave House Deanship in the College of Computing effective Feb. 1, 2021.

Michigan Tech launched the College in 2019 to meet the technological, economic and social needs of the 21st century, and answer industry demand for talent in artificial intelligence (AI), software engineering, data science and cybersecurity. In doing so, Tech became the first University in the state with a college of computing.

The gift from Dave House ’65 to endow the dean position reinforces the University’s commitment to computing.

“The College of Computing is central to the future of Michigan Tech. Thanks, in part, to Dave’s visionary gift and Dennis’s leadership, the college is poised for tremendous success on both the national and international stage,” said Rick Koubek, President. 

House, whose many career accolades include growing Intel’s microprocessor product business from $40 million to $4 billion per year, has championed Michigan Tech’s efforts in computing.

“Computing is centric to all disciplines, and Michigan Tech has been wise to move forward with a focus on computing,” said House. “This endowed position will allow the new college to attract the best faculty and the brightest students and the University to continue to be the leader in computing education.”

Livesay, who most recently served as dean of the College of Engineering at Wichita State University, brings 20 years of experience in higher education to Michigan Tech. With a diverse background spanning the biomedical sciences, computing and engineering, he plans to work with partners across campus to address the digital transformation happening in every discipline.

Provost Jackie Huntoon stated she is very happy that Livesay is joining Michigan Tech. “His deep understanding of computing and its impact on all aspects of modern life make him well suited for the deanship of the College of Computing,” she said. “He brings an entrepreneurial perspective to the dean's role that will enhance efforts currently underway in the College of Computing and across campus.” 

Livesay shares House’s conviction that computing is fundamental to all disciplines.

“Every discipline is a computing discipline,” said Livesay. “When I first started saying this a decade ago, it was more of a tagline, but it is absolutely true today. The modern economy is defined by our ability to create data, transmit it in a secure way and then translate it into action. This is particularly true in science, engineering and business, but also in the social sciences, humanities and the arts. Going forward, we want to be a critical partner in all of those areas.”

The Dave House Dean of Computing is Michigan Tech’s first endowed deanship. The University has nine endowed department chairs and dozens of endowed faculty positions, allowing it to maintain a world-class faculty.

“We thank Dave again for his vision and commitment to Michigan Tech’s future. We are indeed fortunate to have alumni like him who care so deeply for our students,” said Bill Roberts, Vice President for Advancement and Alumni Engagement.

Registration for this year's virtual Graduate Research Colloquium (GRC) is open. Due to the continuation of the SARS-CoV-19 pandemic, the GRC will be held virtually on Thursday and Friday, April 1and 2.

The GRC is a great opportunity to work on your presentation skills and prepare for upcoming conferences. Students are free to give an oral presentation, a poster talk, or both. All talks will be scored by judges from the same field as the presenter.

Cash prizes are available for the top three places in both oral and poster presentations (1st - $300, 2nd - $200, and 3rd - $100). Registration closes Tuesday March 2, at 11:59 PM. Register today.

Poster presentations will take place in a pre-recorded video style. The deadline for video submission is Monday, March 22. A short Q&A session will take place with judges between 4-6 p.m. on April 1. Oral presentations are limited to 12 minutes plus a Q&A session.

The GRC will be capped off with a virtual awards ceremony. All participants and judges are invited to attend. The ceremony will be held on April 2, from 5-7 pm. Full information can be found on our website.

Feel free to contact Sarvada Chipkar if you have any questions or concerns.

The Michigan Tech Rail Transportation Program (RTP) and the Rail Transportation Advisory Board (RTAB) are proud to announce the winners of the 2020-2021 scholarships to support students with their studies at Michigan Tech.

We had several great applications that complicated the work of our selection committee. In addition to the two scholarships funded through a generous endowment by CN Railway, RTP awarded one scholarship funded by the RTP Alum/Friends for the first time in the program's history.

CN Railway Scholarship winners ($1,500 each) are:

• Justin Micillo, Civil and Environmental Engineering
• Stanton Schmitz, Civil and Environmental Engineering RTP

Alumni/Friends winner ($1,500) is:

• BoFa Saldana, Electrical and Computer Engineering

"I would like to thank you all for selecting me as a recipient of the 2021 Rail Transportation Program Scholarship. I was thrilled to find out that I had been picked to receive this award. I am grateful and extremely appreciative of this support. This is something that will help me complete many goals as a student here at Michigan Tech as well as in my future career in the rail industry. This scholarship gives me that much more motivation to complete these goals! Again, thank you for this generous contribution" Saldana said.

Congratulations to the winners. For more information on current and past RTP scholarship winners and RTP Scholarships (including how to donate to the program/scholarships), click here.

Are you dreaming of summer and those wonderful paddling months? We can’t get you out on the open water, but we can help you work on your skills in the pool.

Sign up now for the OAP Kayak Safety Clinics and refine those skills to keep you safe on the water. We try to meet each participant at their level and encourage them to challenge themselves.

Topics covered include kayak re-entry, de-watering your kayak, and wet exits. The focus will be on practice and improving technique — the more you do it the better you will get.

All equipment will be provided including PFD’s, kayaks, paddle and paddle floats. Appropriate swimwear required. We will be in water between 4-9 feet deep, with lifeguards on duty during the event.

Clinics will be held from 8 to 10 p.m. Wednesdays, Feb. 17, March 24, and April 21 in the SDC Lap Pool.

No kayaking experience is necessary. You must be at least 8 years old and able to swim at least 15 yards unassisted. A parent must be present for participants under age 14.

There is no fee for Michigan Tech Students Free, SDC Members $5 per clinic and the general public is $10 per clinic.

Visit OAP Kayak Safety Clinics for more information or to register.

Michigan Tech, in collaboration with Iowa State University, Western Michigan University and North Dakota State University, is hosting a film and panel discussion to enhance awareness of gender bias and continued lack of diversity in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.

This virtual event will take place at 6 p.m. (EST) Thursday, Feb. 25. A screening of the film, “The Bearded Lady Project: Challenging the Face of Science," will be followed by a panel discussion. The short documentary film demonstrates the competencies and passions of female paleontologists and how this unfair, gendered stereotype can be easily diminished with the donning of a beard. How, with some well-placed facial hair, any female scientist can be perceived as equally rugged, tough and determined.

With insights into the benefits of scientific careers for women, a glimpse at professional role models, and a positive dose of wit, the Bearded Lady Project is invested in changing the face of science, and encouraging a new generation of women to focus on a career in this field of study. RSVP and watch the trailer.

Please join us as we introduce the members of the Innovation & Commercialization team and present an overview of the technology commercialization process here at Michigan Tech. Topics will include the NSF Innovation Corps and Michigan Translational Research & Commercialization programs.

We are very pleased to be joined by Professors David Shonnard (ChE) and William Endres (ME-EM/VPR Faculty Fellow for Commercialization), who will share a bit about their experiences engaging in translational activities with the I&C team, and how their participation in these programs have helped to enhance their research programs.

We’ll conclude with a Q&A period to wrap-up the session. Join via Zoom (password: 356205) from PC, Mac, Linux, iOS or Android.

Michigan Tech forward Arvid Caderoth has been named the WCHA Rookie of the Week.

Caderoth led all WCHA rookies with a goal, three assists, four points, a game-winning goal, and three points on the power play over the past week. He was second amongst WCHA newcomers with 21 faceoff wins and eight shots on goal. The Gothenburg, Sweden scored the game-winning goal Friday at Alabama Huntsville. He also tallied a pair of assists last Tuesday at Ferris State, including on the game-winning goal.

Caderoth is currently on an eight-game point streak where he has two goals and nine assists. He leads WCHA rookies this season with 12 points, 10 assists, six points on the power play, and 100 faceoff wins. It is the second time this season he has received a weekly honor. He was also named WCHA Rookie of the Month for January.

The Huskies are 11-5-1 overall and 3-2 in the WCHA. Tech has won three straight games and eight of the last 10. The Black and Gold wrap up a WCHA series at Ferris State today (Feb. 9) before coming home to host the Bulldogs in non-conference action over the weekend.

The Hockey Huskies conclude a seven-game road trip at Ferris State this afternoon (Feb. 9) to finish off a WCHA series with the Bulldogs. The puck drops at 4:07 p.m. at Ewigleben Ice Arena.

Tech defeated FSU 6-4 in the front end of the series one week ago (Feb. 2). The two teams will meet for the third and fourth time this weekend in Houghton.

The game will be broadcast on 93.5 FM, and live-streamed on TheMix93.com or Pasty.com or by using your favorite radio streaming app.

All Michigan Tech hockey games during the 2020-21 season will be live-streamed on FloHockey.tv.

Angie Carter (SS) has published an invited essay "Thinking Downstream" in Compelling Ground: Landscapes, Environments, and Peoples of Iowa, a book documenting the exhibit of the same name that has recently opened at the Brunnier Art Museum in Ames, Iowa.

She will take part in a panel "The Changing Face of Iowa Farming" on Tuesday, April 13 as part of the exhibit's virtual events.

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

If you are working on campus while the University is at Health Safety Level Three, remember that no one is permitted to come to campus with symptoms consistent with COVID-19.

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.

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Upper Peninsula Teaching and Learning Conference

The Upper Peninsula Teaching and Learning Conference (UPTLC) will return this Spring in a virtual format, offering three sessions. On Tuesday Feb. 16, Jillian Rose, from Bay College will present on "Our Evolving Co-Advising Model" and Liz Breed from the Library of Michigan, Michigan Department of Education will present "Building a Bridge to Information Literacy with Michigan eLibrary Content." To register for this event, follow this link.

All sessions will start at 3:30 p.m. and consist of two 20-minute presentations, followed by time for Q&A.

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This Week in The Lode

Michigan Tech's Winter Carnival was covered in the story "Statues Come Together," in the Daily Mining Gazette. The Gazette also covered the Winter Carnival All-Nighter.

Winter Carnival was also covered by the Marquette Mining Journal.

The snow statue competition was covered in the story "Phi Kappa Tau Wins MTU Winter Carnival Statue Competition," on WJMN TV3.

The statues were also covered by Lake Superior Magazine.

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Mass at the Ice Chapel at St. Albert the Great University Parish was covered by Gloria TV and by WLUC TV6. The outdoor mass and other aspects of Winter Carnival were featured in the story "Michigan College Students Navigate COVID-19 Restrictions By Building Ice Chapel To Celebrate Mass Outdoors," in The Daily Caller.

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A report by Daniel Trepal (SS) was referenced in the story "Minong Mine Copper Mining District designated as National Historic Landmark," on ABC10.

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Michigan Tech alumnus John Matonich, was recently appointed to the Gogebic Community College Foundation Board of Directors. The story was covered in the Daily Mining Gazette.

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Rolf Peterson (CFRES) was quoted in the story "Wolf that left Michigan’s Isle Royale has had amazing 2-year journey, GPS data shows," in MLive.

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

DENALI: Artists Respond to Music Inspired by Wilderness

Tuesday, February 9, 8 a.m.–8 p.m. | Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts, Rozsa Gallery A-Space

Friday, Jan. 22 - Saturday, April 17. Art and music inspired by Alaska's wild places. This gallery exhibit features new musical compositions and works created in response to...

Meet the IC Team + Commercialization Overview, I-Corps & MTRAC Programs (VPR Research Series)

Tuesday, February 9, 11 a.m.–12 p.m.

Please join us as we introduce the members of the Innovation & Commercialization team and present an overview of the technology commercialization process here at Michigan...

Youth Huskies Group Tennis Lessons Spring Session 1

Tuesday, February 9, 4:30 p.m.–5:30 p.m. | Gates Tennis Center

Youth Huskies Group Tennis Lessons are now being offered all spring. The first session is 5 weeks, January 19 - February 20. Options for participating 1 or 2 days a week. Our...

Helen Zia: Last Boat out of Shanghai: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Fled Mao's Revolution

Tuesday, February 9, 6:00 p.m.–7:15 p.m.

Helen Zia is an activist, author, and former journalist. Her latest book, Last Boat out of Shanghai: The Epic Story of the Chinese Who Fled Mao's Revolution, was twelve years...

UP and Moving - High Intensity Interval Training "HIIT"

Tuesday, February 9, 6 p.m.–7 p.m.

Michigan Tech students in the Department of Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology are offering an "UP and Moving" initiative for campus and community members. UP and Moving...

Adult Huskies Swim Clinic Spring Session 2

Tuesday, February 9, 7:00 p.m.–7:50 p.m. | Student Development Complex (SDC), Pool

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

Visual and Performing Arts Undergraduate Overview

Tuesday, February 9, 7 p.m.–8 p.m.

Thinking about Audio Production and Technology, Sound Design, Theatre and Electronic Media Performance, or Theatre and Entertainment Technology? See how our majors stay on the...

Open Log Rolling

Tuesday, February 9, 8 p.m.–10 p.m. | Student Development Complex (SDC), Pool

Looking for something new to stay active? Sign up now for the OAP Open Log Rolling and test your skills on the log! Instruction and materials provided. We will be in the...

DENALI: Music and Art Inspired by Wilderness

February 9, all day

What do you get when you set nine composers loose in Denali National Park? You get nine great pieces of music! Give this music to artists as inspiration and you get eighteen...