June 4, 2021

The Michigan Translational Research and Commercialization (MTRAC) Innovation Hub for AgBio at Michigan State University recently highlighted two grants awarded to a Michigan Tech researcher.

Ezra Bar-Ziv (ME-EM) received his first MTRAC AgBio grant in 2018 through a competitive grant proposal submission. This $50,000 matching fund grant supported his research that uses biological materials as feedstocks for petroleum refineries. In 2019, he submitted a proposal for a second technology that resulted from previous MTRAC awarded research. This new technology is able to remove chlorine from solid plastic waste streams. Chlorine is an undesirable byproduct of burning plastics, and by removing it, the plastic can be cleanly used for combustion energy. The chlorine is recycled, as the system uses the chlorine gases to heat itself. Bar-Ziv was awarded a larger $100,000 MTRAC AgBio match grant for this second project.

MTRAC grants are awarded to assist with the commercialization of new technologies. Bar-Ziv’s research looks at environmentally friendly solutions to combustion energy, in which materials are burned to produce heat energy. He is specifically researching ways waste materials can be utilized in this manner. Instead of sending plastic waste material, such as food wrappers, to the landfill, they can be sent to facilities with Bar-Ziv’s technology.

“Feedback from the oversight committee through the MTRAC process is extremely encouraging,” Bar-Ziv said. “They have one thing in mind: They want you to focus and bring a product to the market. Without the MTRAC support, it would have been hard to do the commercialization.”

Convergen Energy, an energy company in Wisconsin, wants to commercialize Bar-Ziv’s design. Together, they are working on the pre-design, which will help the company determine how to move forward with the technology. They are exploring what the system will look like, the cost of the system and the business benefits. The system will then be used to create this clean combustion energy.

“One of the key objectives of the MTRAC statewide program is to support technology commercialization within all of our universities, hospital systems and nonprofit research centers,” said Denise Graves, university relations director at the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC). “This project is a great example of that collaboration — using the expertise of the AgBio Innovation Hub at Michigan State to support research and commercialization activities at Michigan Tech.”

The MSU Innovation Center MTRAC team has been working with Bar-Ziv since he was awarded the first MTRAC grant. “Dr. Bar-Ziv and the team have set a great example of how to use scientific rigor and technical ingenuity to deliver high-value solutions to real customers,” said Joseph Affholter, the commercialization program director for the MTRAC AgBio Innovation Hub, which runs under the MSU Innovation Center.

This is the spirit of translational research, Affholter explained. “They have navigated a complex innovation process. Their curiosity, flexibility and commitment to value creation has delivered a commercialization-ready technology to customers and is a timeless example to other academic researchers seeking to solve practical problems through innovation.”

“There is the so-called ‘Valley of Death’ between discovery and user adoption,” said Jim Baker, associate vice president for research at MTU. “Equally as important is the feedback from the MTRAC oversight committee as well as the program management to accomplish the core goals. MTRAC fills an essential gap between laboratory research and use.”

The MTRAC Innovation Hub for AgBio at MSU is dedicated to the commercialization of technologies that advance the competitiveness of Michigan’s food, agriculture and industrial bioeconomy. The program is co-funded by MSU and the MEDC through the Michigan Strategic Fund.

The AgBio hub is part of a network of statewide innovation hubs — including the MTRAC Advanced Applied Materials Innovation Hub at Michigan Tech, which announced funding for projects in May. Located strategically at universities strong in the sector, each hub further increases the quality and quantity of resources available. 

The Office of Naval Research recently approved Michigan Tech’s Facilities & Administrative (F&A) cost rates. The rate agreement can be found online.

The rates that have been in effect since July 2020 will remain unchanged through June 30, 2021. New rates are effective from July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2024, and will be used immediately in proposal budgets for both new proposals and for additional funding requests on currently awarded projects. For existing awards, including incrementally funded projects, the rate in effect at the time the project was awarded will continue to be charged for the life of the sponsored project.

The F&A rates in effect from July 1, 2021, to June 20, 2024, are:

• 56.50% — On-Campus Research
• 78.00% — On-Campus Uncapped Research – DOD Contracts & Industrial Sponsors
• 26.00% — Off-Campus Research
• 46.00% — Off-Campus Uncapped Research – DOD Contracts & Industrial Sponsors
• 54.00% — On-Campus Instruction
• 26.00% — Off-Campus Instruction
• 35.75% — On-Campus Other Sponsored Activities
• 26.00% — Off-Campus Other Sponsored Activities
• 56.50% — On-Campus MTRI Research
• 90.00% — On-Campus Uncapped MTRI Research – DOD Contracts & Industrial Sponsors
• 26.00% — Off-Campus MTRI Research
• 57.00% — Off-Campus Uncapped MTRI Research – DOD Contracts & Industrial Sponsors

If you have any questions regarding proposal budgeting, please contact Kelly Kallio at 487-2226 or kmkallio@mtu.edu. For questions regarding expenditures on sponsored projects, please contact Tammy LaBissoniere at 487-2244 or tklabiss@mtu.edu.

The Michigan Translational Research and Commercialization (MTRAC) Advanced Computing Technologies Innovation Hub, hosted at Wayne State University, has opened a Request for Proposal period lasting from June 1 through Aug. 31.

Commercialization-focused MTRAC grants provide funding to address the "valley of death" and guidance from an experienced oversight committee comprised of venture capitalists, seasoned entrepreneurs and industry experts. Eligible technologies include cognitive technologies, immersive technologies, cybersecurity, internet of things, industry x.o, blockchain and next-generation computing.

If you have questions about specific project eligibility or the proposal process, please reach out to Nate Yenor at nryenor@mtu.edu. 

For additional information about the program, please visit Wayne State's MTRAC Advanced Computing Technologies web page.

Four finalists for the University's Director of Sustainability and Resilience position will interview on campus beginning Monday (June 7).

As part of their on-campus interview, each candidate will discuss the top issues facing the future of sustainability and resilience and share their ideas on ways to address these issues at Michigan Tech.

The campus community is invited to participate in each candidate's public presentation via Zoom. Each session will last approximately 20 minutes, followed by a 25-minute Q&A session.

Our first candidate's interview will be held Monday at 2 p.m. To attend, please access the Zoom information.

Two faculty members in the Department of Social Sciences, Hugh Gorman and Patrick Martin, have been awarded emeritus status by the Michigan Tech Board of Trustees.

Gorman, who will be retiring June 30, began his career at Michigan Tech in 1996 as an assistant professor. Trained as a historian, his research has focused on using historical cases to examine what happens when innovation pushes society into new ethical and legal territory. He has served as the chair of the department since 2015.

Martin began his career at Michigan Tech in 1977 and was instrumental in the development of the department’s Industrial Heritage and Archaeology graduate program. He retired in 2015 after serving as the department chair for six years and currently holds an appointment in the department as a research professor.

The Michigan Tech volleyball team announced its 2021 schedule yesterday (June 3). The Huskies will play 24 matches in the fall with 15 GLIAC contests and 12 games at the SDC Gym.

Tech will begin the season by hosting the Keweenaw Classic at the SDC on Sept. 2-4. In its fourth year, the tournament will see four GLIAC teams (Tech, Northern Michigan, Lake Superior State, Parkside) competing against four teams from the NSIC.

The Huskies then travel to the University of Illinois-Springfield for another nonconference tournament Sept. 10-11. The GLIAC schedule gets underway the following weekend at home.

Read more and see the schedule at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Job Postings for Friday, June 4, 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. 

Administrative Aide 7, Electrical and Computer Engineering (UAW internal and external posting June 4 to June 10, 2021 — external applications will only be reviewed after internal applications). Apply online.

Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, Athletics. 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.

Supporting Colleagues with Disabilities

Although navigating life through a pandemic has been difficult, ever wonder what navigating life with disabilities is like? Want to support colleagues with disabilities, but felt uncomfortable asking how? 

This Forbes article contains five questions answered by those with physical, cognitive or mental disabilities as they navigate daily life. The article highlights the pressures disabled individuals experience as they navigate mobility challenges in the world around them, respond to ableism and share the impact of the disability on their daily existence.

The article speaks to a person’s internal debate in seeking assistance and accommodations when needed. Stereotypes of “hard work” and “toughness” are addressed, which may be incorrectly related to “overcoming” the disability with the tradeoffs from stamina used for visible acknowledgement versus useful achievements.

Today’s feature was shared with us by the Advocates and Allies Advisory Board. 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, an NSF-funded initiative dedicated to improving faculty career success, retention, diversity, equity and inclusion. Past 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.

Mark Rhodes (SS) has published an article in the American Association of Geographers' journal, GeoHumanities.

The article, titled "The Nation, the Festival, and Institutionalized Memory: Transoptic Landscapes of the Welsh National Eisteddfod," examines the ways memory is not only embedded into the visual and material landscape, but how it is also produced, consumed and performed, and the impacts that may have on national politics and social and cultural equity.

Bartley Seigel (HU) is one of 23 poets laureate to be named a 2021 Poet Laureate Fellow by the Academy of American Poets. Seigel will receive $50,000 to launch the Upper Peninsula Young Poets Program, in collaboration with regional public and tribal high school teachers. The program will introduce high school-aged students in the Upper Peninsula to the diversity and transformative power of poetry, encourage their own emerging voices and provide them with a free college-level writing workshop. 

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Michigan Tech women’s soccer captains Grace Shaw and Stephanie Yeager talked with ABC 10 about their roles inside and outside the classroom.

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Michigan Tech was listed as one of the universities and colleges participating in the COVID-19 College Vaccine Challenge, organized by the White House and U.S. Department of Education.

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.

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Fiscal Year-End 2021 Closing Information

Financial Services and Operations has posted the 2021 Fiscal Year-End Closing Schedule on its website.

The schedule is located on the Controller's Office web page under the Closing Schedules subheading.

The year-end closing schedule lists deadlines and other important dates and should be distributed to appropriate employees.

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

Music in Sacred Spaces: conScience

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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...