July 1, 2021

The annual African-American Alumni Association (A4) picnic June 26 was a time to pull out photo albums and reminisce — and to welcome new and prospective Huskies into the fold. The picnic was originally set for the Detroit Riverwalk, but due to stormy June weather, was shifted to downtown Detroit’s Greektown (Huskies are nothing if not flexible).

Special guests at the picnic included Wayne Gersie, Michigan Tech’s first Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion.

Hear from picnic attendees in the last of a three-part Michigan Tech News series on University efforts to increase diversity and inclusion and foster a sense of belonging.

Read the story at mtu.edu/news.

The Center for Student Mental Health and Well-being is excited to offer telemental health services to Michigan Tech students through My SSP (student support program). 

In addition to the support the Center always provides, My SSP gives students access to free, confidential counseling services for crisis and ongoing support, providing effective and convenient means for students to access support via telephone, chat, video and mobile app. This service is being offered to currently enrolled Tech students at no additional charge.

My SSP offers significant benefits. Students have 24/7 access to crisis assistance and can schedule appointments at any time — day or night. Students can choose phone, video or assistance with referral to community resources to meet their time demands. Co-op? Study abroad? Out of state? No problem. Where on-campus appointments might be limited on a given day, My SSP appointments are always available to Michigan Tech students regardless of location.

Additionally, My SSP includes multilingual support options and identity and culture matching for students of all backgrounds.

It’s not just for students! Faculty and staff can call and speak with a counselor to get advice on how to help a student, or use the app to read about resources that can help with difficult student situations, like how to talk to a student about mental health or get an assisted referral.

Beginning today, students, faculty and staff can download the app in the Apple App Store or Google Play Store, or check out the program at myssp.app.

Learn more about this partnership or request a presentation or training for your department or organization.

Faculty, staff and graduate students can have their complementary professional portrait taken by University Marketing and Communications at the following sessions:

• Noon to 1:30 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 12, in the Rozsa Center Lobby
• 9:30 to 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, Aug. 18, outdoors on campus (specific location to be announced)

Additional sessions in September will be announced at a later date.

An appointment is required and can be scheduled online. On the calendar, go to Aug. 12 or Aug. 18, choose the time you want, then click Save. Please use your mtu.edu account when scheduling a time slot.

Portraits will be emailed to the attendee four to six weeks after the session. Alternatively, departments or individuals can contact Brockway Photography at 906-482-1900 to schedule a session and purchase portraits at any time.

Tech Today will not publish on Monday (July 5) in observance of the Independence Day holiday. 

Submissions for the Tuesday (July 6) issue of Tech Today are due by noon on Friday (July 2).

Alumni Reunion 2021 is coming up on Friday, Aug. 6. We encourage you to join us in celebrating with alumni!

To see a full schedule of events and register, visit our Alumni Reunion 2021 web page.

Thank you in advance for helping to make Reunion a memorable experience for our visitors.

A National Research Council (NRC) research associateship has been awarded to postdoctoral scholar Prasanth Prabhakaran (Physics).

Prabhakaran joined the Department of Physics in November 2018 after obtaining a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Goettingen, Germany. His research interests are broadly in cloud physics and atmospheric turbulence. During his time at MTU, he has studied aerosol-cloud interactions in the Pi Cloud Chamber, leading to first-author papers in Geophysical Res Lett and PNAS. He also assisted with the evaluation of face coverings and face shields for use at MTU during the pandemic.

As a NRC fellow at the NOAA Earth System Research Laboratories, Prabhakaran will investigate aerosol-cloud interactions in marine stratocumulus cloud systems, joining the group of leading climate scientist Graham Feingold.

The Department of Physics will not be the same without Andrea Lappi, who begins a new chapter in life this month.

Andrea has been a part of the Physics family for 21 years — from 1991 to 1998 and 2007 to 2021. She joined Michigan Tech in 1981, and initially worked in Employee Relations, Education and Public Services offices. Later, she worked with the Graduate School, the Vice President of the Michigan Tech Fund and the Vice President of Advancement.

Andrea has always gone above and beyond as a key person in helping students, staff and faculty in the department. We wish her an enjoyable retirement!

Job Posting for Thursday, July 1, 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. 

Cook (12 months/ 40 hours/ first shift) #21156, Dining Services (AFSCME posting July 1 to July 8, 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 for an interview, at Michigan Technological University, please notify the Human Resources office at 906-487-2280 or mtujobs@mtu.edu.

The Upper Peninsula Health Science and Medicine Summer Lecture, part of a quarterly series organized by Michigan Tech’s Department of Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology and the Health Research Institute, was the subject of a feature story in the Daily Mining Gazette and the Marquette Mining Journal. The lecture series aims to build stronger academic-clinical partnerships needed to improve rural health across the U.P. 

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The Michigan Association of State Universities press release announcing Thomas Werner as one of three professors recognized as Michigan Distinguished Professor of the Year was picked up by the Daily Mining Gazette.

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Michigan Tech alumnus Shawn Vij was the focus of a feature story on India’s conscious capitalism movement in The Statesman.

Adam Wellstead and Angie Carter (SS) are co-authors of a paper titled "Policy innovation lab scholarship: past, present, and the future — Introduction to the special issue on policy innovation labs" published in Policy Design and Practice.

The paper's third co-author is Anat Gofen of the Federman School of Public Policy, Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Wellstead, Gofen and Carter were special editors for a special issue on policy innovation labs, which included contributions from Australia, Canada, Brazil, Finland and the U.K.

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

UP & Moving Aerobic Exercise, Agility, and Balance Workout

Thursday, July 1, 9:30–10:15 a.m.

We are a group of Michigan Tech graduate students who are focused on improving the health of our community. We are contributing to the COVID-19 response by providing health...

Golf Junior League

Thursday, July 1, 10 a.m. | Portage Lake Golf Course

Golf Junior League

PhD Defense: William Lytle

Thursday, July 1, 3 p.m.–4 p.m.

Environmental & Energy Policy Advisor: Chelsea Schelly The Perceptions, Practices, and Policies that Govern Food, Energy, and Water Consumption in the U.S. Suburban Home ...

PhD Defense: William Lytle

Thursday, July 1, 3 p.m.–4 p.m.

Environmental & Energy Policy Advisor: Chelsea Schelly The Perceptions, Practices, and Policies that Govern Food, Energy, and Water Consumption in the U.S. Suburban Home ...

Music in Sacred Spaces: conScience

July 1, 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...