May 25, 2021

Following guidance from the CDC, the Michigan Occupational Safety and Health Administration (MIOSHA) issued updated workplace guidelines yesterday (May 24). In light of this guidance, the University moved to Health and Safety Level Two today (May 25) at 12:01 a.m. 

At Health and Safety Level Two:

• Students, employees, and visitors who received their final dose of an FDA-approved or authorized COVID-19 vaccine at least two weeks ago do not need to wear a face covering or practice six-foot distancing. This applies both indoors and outdoors.
• Those not fully vaccinated are required to wear a face covering only when they are unable to maintain six feet of distance from others on campus, whether indoors or outdoors.
• In compliance with state regulations, daily symptom monitoring via the MTU Flex Portal is still required for all members of the campus community before coming to campus. 
• Group capacity limits, as dictated by the state of Michigan, also remain in place.

Vaccinations are a personal choice. For this reason, employees and students should not ask one another for vaccination status. Those who are fully vaccinated who wish to continue wearing a face covering are encouraged to do so.

Governor Whitmer announced last week that Michigan plans to lift all capacity restrictions and face covering mandates on July 1. Michigan Tech intends to move to Health and Safety Level One at that time.

Michigan Tech has relied on public health guidance from the CDC, public health professionals, and state government authorities as our primary navigational waypoints in making these decisions, just as we have during the past 15 months. We thank you for your continued support and cooperation.

Congratulations to lecturer Fei Long (ME-EM) for winning the department's 2021 Mechanical Engineering Teacher of the Year Award.

Long has been with the ME-EM department since 2013, first as a postdoctoral research associate for one year, and then as an instructor. He was hired as a lecturer in 2020. His areas of research expertise include nanomaterials and scanning probe microscopy (SPM). He earned his Ph.D. from Shanghai Jiaotong University in China in 2011, then served as an application scientist for two years in the Nano Surfaces Division, Bruker Co., which manufactures scientific instruments.

The ME Teacher of the Year Award is selected solely by mechanical engineering students and conducted by the Mechanical Engineering Student Advisory Committee (MESAC). It is a two-step process, similar to the process employed by the University teaching award. The first stage is the selection of the top three, voted upon by ME students. In the second stage, MESAC students go into all the spring classes of the three finalists with a questionnaire, which contains several questions about their teaching, including why students believe they should be the ME Teacher of the Year.

Long received a certificate and his name is on the ME Teacher of the Year plaque with past winners in the lobby of the R. L. Smith ME-EM Building.

The award was announced during the recent 2021 ME-EM Department Order of the Engineer virtual ceremony. Runners-up were ME-EM senior lecturers Jaclyn Johnson and Aneet Narendranath.

Job Posting for Tuesday, May 25, 2021  

Staff and faculty job descriptions are available on the Human Resources website. For more information regarding staff positions, call 906-487-2280 or email mtujobs@mtu.edu.

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

Department Coordinator, Chemical Engineering. Apply online.

HVAC Technician (12 months/ 40 hours/ first shift) #21114, Facilities (AFSCME posting May 25 to June 1, 2021 — external applications will only be reviewed after internal applications). 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.

Michigan Tech alumna Roxane Gay was featured in a Buzzfeed article about celebrities who still struggled with student loan debt after finding success.

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Ken Vrana (CFRES, retired) was quoted by WDET in a  feature story on what could potentially be the remains of Le Griffon, a 17th-century French ship that disappeared during its maiden voyage through the Great Lakes in 1679.

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MTU women’s basketball junior guard Ellie Mackay was the focus of an ABC 10 feature story after she was named NCAA Division II All-America Honorable Mention by the Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Association (WBCA). The teams are selected and voted on by WBCA member coaches of NCAA Division II.

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The 2004 MTU football team was the subject of the most recent installment in the Daily Mining Gazette’s Legends series.

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

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

Employees are required to monitor for symptoms daily before coming to campus using the Daily Symptom Monitoring Form.

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

PhD Defense: Cheng Gao

Tuesday, May 25, 1 p.m.–2 p.m.

Statistics Advisor: Kui Zhang Statistical Methods In Genetic Studies Attend Virtually: https://michigantech.zoom.us/j/84633604180

Alumni Virtual Book Club

Tuesday, May 25, 2:00 p.m.–2:30 p.m.

Join alumni and friends as we make our way through the book, "Bridging Barriers" written by alum Michael Paddock, PE, PS '87, '88. Zoom in for one event or all! Each...

Music in Sacred Spaces: conScience

May 25, all day

conScience: Michigan Tech Chamber Singers, under the direction of Dr. Jared Anderson, present a series of three recorded mini-concerts in historic sacred spaces in the Copper...

Superior Wind Symphony: Reparations

May 25, all day

The Superior Wind Symphony, under the direction of Dr. Michael Christianson, use the unique setting of the 2020-21 academic year to explore the music of Black composers in a...