July 2, 2021

Applications are now being accepted for the Lake Superior Climate Action Field School. Participants will take part in an experiential training program of virtual workshops, community site visits and events in coastal communities around the Lake Superior Watershed in summer 2021.

The field school is being developed in partnership with the Lake Superior Living Labs Network, Lakehead University, University of Minnesota Duluth, Michigan Technological University, Algoma University and community partners and scholars across the Lake Superior Watershed. 

It will support a diverse group of people poised to become regional and national climate leaders, and will be implemented using a hybrid, virtual and on-site design that will consist of hubs in four locations:

• Thunder Bay, Ontario
• Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
• Houghton, Michigan
• Duluth, Minnesota

Participants in each hub will join together in person daily for field trips, conduct independent site visits, digitally document their experiences and connect and share across hubs virtually for workshops.

This is a free, in-person program open to ages 18 and older. Details about the field school and the application process are available online. Applications are being accepted until July 16.

For more information about the field school or the Lake Superior Living Labs Network, contact Erika Vye (GLRC) at ecvye@mtu.edu.

A delegation is forming to attend the 26th Conference of the Parties (COP26), the negotiation session for global climate agreements. As an accredited observer organization, Michigan Tech can send a limited number of attendees.

Anyone with any interest in going, please contact Sarah Green immediately at sgreen@mtu.edu.

Michigan Tech’s Portage Lake Golf Course will be holding two golf clinics for adults this July.

A Duffing N Dinner Clinic will be held July 13 and July 14 from 6-7 p.m. each evening. The clinic will emphasize all the basic shots in golf with a delicious Par and Grill meal thereafter. The cost of the Duffing N Dinner Clinic is $50 per participant.

The Summer Heat Clinic is a four-session class taught Mondays and Wednesdays from 5:30-7 p.m. The clinic begins July 19 and ends July 28. The sessions will go over fundamentals of the game, with on-course instruction during the last class. The cost of the Summer Heat Clinic is $80 per participant.

Clubs will be provided should a student not have their own. Both clinics will be instructed by a PGA professional and are limited to eight participants.

Registration forms can be found on the Portage Lake Golf Course website  — or call the golf course at 906-487-2641 to register.

Please join the Friends of the Michigan Tech Library on Wednesday (July 7) from noon to 1 p.m. for the virtual book launch of "Oil Palm: A Global History" by Jonathan E. Robins (SS).

During the book launch, Robins will provide an overview of the book and discuss his research process, which took him to archives and four continents — and finally back to historic collections on the shelves of Michigan Tech’s Van Pelt and Opie Library.

For more information and to register and get the Zoom link, please visit the Friends of the Michigan Tech Library website.

Students and faculty from the Department of Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology and Department of Biological Sciences recently participated in the eighth annual Michigan Physiological Society (MPS) Meeting, held virtually June 24-25.

Graduate students Jessica Bruning, Xingqian Chen, Carmen Scarfone and Isaac Wedig (KIP), along with Aditi Vyas and Manas Warke (BioSci), presented their research-, teaching- and outreach-focused projects.

A highlight of the meeting was the distinguished lecture given by James Pawelczyk, associate professor of kinesiology and medicine at Pennsylvania State University, whose presentation was titled “Human Limits to Exploring Mars.” Pawelczyk discussed long-term plans for extended space flight and some of the physiological challenges that astronauts will face.

Steven Elmer (KIP) co-organized the featured symposium, titled “Research and Teaching during COVID-19: Challenges, Opportunities, and Lessons Learned,” with help from Greg Miodonski and Carmen Scarfone (KIP), who served as moderators for two oral presentations.

Travis Wakeham (BioSci) also presented during this session, and the Michigan Tech “UP and Moving” team helped break up the sitting time by leading the audience through a movement activity.

All students did a great job with their presentations, and Wedig earned a student award for his oral presentation.

Finally, Elmer was elected as the next MPS president-elect and will serve on the executive leadership committee for the next three years.

Emily Street, a fourth-year mining engineering student at the Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences, has received the prestigious, highly competitive Copper Club Lord Bagri Scholarship.

Street's essay, titled “The Importance of Copper in the 21st Century,” presents the reader a passionate viewpoint, written by an outstanding, hardworking student ancestrally connected to the industry.

The Copper Club Inc., formed in 1944, is the leading organization for networking, educational grants and events for those who support the copper industry. The Copper Club Scholarship Fund provides scholarships to students majoring in geoscience or other fields related to the production of copper or copper products. A $15,000 award goes to one student who shows exceptional merit, demonstrated by excellent grades, with a necessity for financial aid.

In letters of recommendation, Michigan Tech faculty spoke highly of Street, stating, “she will be a role model for the next-generation mining and geosciences students,” and “Ms. Street will have a transformative impact on the mining industry as she transitions from student to professional.”

Read more on the Geological and Mining Engineering and Science News blog.

The Graduate Student Government (GSG) is pleased to announce a hybrid poster presentation session at Alumni Reunion 2021, which will be held Aug. 6.

Due to the ongoing pandemic, GSG has decided to combine physical posters with prerecorded presentations from participants. This has been decided to keep in mind the health and safety of everyone who is going to be a part of this event, since the COVID-19 pandemic is still ongoing.

The Alumni Reunion poster presentation session is a continued tradition designed to increase interaction between graduate students and MTU alumni. It is a unique opportunity for graduate students to share their research work and expand network connections. This event is also a great opportunity for students to work on their presentation skills and prepare for upcoming conferences. Alumni will be able to give valuable insight and feedback on the videos that appeal to them.

Participation is open to graduate students from all departments. The event will consist of elevator-pitch-style poster presentations, with physical posters and prerecorded presentations by participants. This hybrid setup will allow alumni to take a closer look at the physical posters and everyone to view the video presentations for the respective posters. Registration closes on July 16 at 11:59 p.m. Limited seats only. Don’t wait — register today.

Detailed instructions and guidelines for recording your presentation will be sent out to you once you have registered. Alternatively, you will also be able to find the instructions on the GSG website. The deadline for participants to submit their presentation videos is July 30.

For more information, please contact Shreya Joshi at gsg-research@mtu.edu.

Job Posting for Friday, July 2, 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. 

Coordinator, Student Leadership and Involvement. 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.

Shan Zhou (SS) published a paper titled "The interplay between renewable portfolio standards and voluntary green power markets in the United States" in Renewable Energy.

The paper uses a panel dataset for 49 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., from 2001 to 2013 to evaluate the efficacy of voluntary green power programs implemented in conjunction with government-led renewable energy policies.

Results suggest that competing effect is dominant between the voluntary green power market and the renewable energy regulatory regime: State renewable portfolio standards tend to crowd out cheap renewable-sourced electricity that is available for sale through utility green power programs.

Evan Kane (CFRES/ESC) is the principal investigator (PI) on a project that has received a $70,000 other sponsored activities agreement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service.

The project is titled "Belowground Ecosystem Ecologist."

This is a potential five-year project.

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Ian Gannon (GMES/EPSSI) is the PI on a project that has received a $5,000 student fellowship grant from the University of Michigan - Michigan Space Grant Consortium.

The project is titled "Critical Mineral Potential in the Vulcan Quadrangle and Adjoining Areas, Dickson County, Upper Peninsula of Michigan."

James DeGraff (GMES/EPSSI) is a co-PI on this potential one-year project.

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Kristen Schmitt (CFRES/ESC) is the PI on a project that has received a $22,000 sponsored activities joint agreement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service, Northern Research Station.

The project is titled "Forest Climate Adaptation Online Short Course for Latin America and/or the Caribbean."

This is a potential 15-month project.

Nancy Barr (ME-EM) presented a talk titled "Stop Wasting People's Time: How to Deliver Meaningful and Relevant Training Sessions" to the Philadelphia chapter of the IEEE Professional Communication Society on June 29.

Barr's talk was invited by the chapter.

Get Vaccinated, Continue Washing and Sanitizing Hands

While Michigan Tech is at Health and Safety Level One, face coverings and daily symptom monitoring are no longer required. However, those who wish to continue wearing a face covering are encouraged to do so.

The MTU Flex Task Force also encourages University community members to get their vaccinations and continue with handwashing and hand-sanitizing practices.

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No Tech Today Monday

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 today (July 2).

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

PhD Defense: Aaron Krieg

Friday, July 2, 9–10 a.m.

Chemical Engineering Co-advisors: Julia King and Gregory Odegard Mechanical Properties and Characterization of Epoxy and Carbon Fiber/Epoxy Composites Modified with Highly...

Music in Sacred Spaces: conScience

July 2, 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...