September 7, 2021

To nurture a regional innovation ecosystem and move more discoveries from the research lab to the real world, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has established a Great Lakes Innovation Corps Hub, and Michigan Technological University plays a key role.

NSF announced the Great Lakes Hub on Aug. 26, to be led by the University of Michigan (U-M). It's one of five new hubs being added across the country as NSF continues to evolve the I-Corps program. Launched in 2011, the NSF Innovation Corps, or I-Corps, trains scientists and engineers to carry their promising ideas and technologies beyond the university and into the marketplace to benefit society.

In addition to Michigan Tech and U-M, the Great Lakes Hub includes Purdue University, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the University of Toledo, the University of Minnesota, Iowa State University, Missouri University of Science and Technology, the University of Akron, the University of Chicago, and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Read the full press release at mtu.edu/news.

Applications for Spring 2022 Portage Health Foundation (PHF) Graduate Assistantships are being accepted and are due to the Graduate School no later than 4 p.m. on Oct. 19. Instructions on the application and evaluation process are found online.

Students are eligible if all of the following criteria are met:

1. Must be a PhD student conducting a research or outreach project that will promote and/or improve the overall health of Houghton, Keweenaw, Baraga, and Ontonagon communities.
2. Must be a PhD candidate at the time of application.
3. Must be two years after starting the graduate program at the time of application.
4. Must not be a prior recipient of a PHF Graduate Assistantship.

Preference will be given to applicants with longstanding local connections to Houghton, Keweenaw, Baraga, or Ontonagon County.

Priority will be given to students originally from Houghton, Keweenaw, Baraga, or Ontonagon County. Nonresident students and international students are encouraged to apply if their health research is applicable to the health needs of and job shortages in our local community (obesity research, rural health, medical informatics, drug delivery and lab testing, physical therapy, etc.).

These assistantships are available through the generosity of the Portage Health Foundation. They are intended to recognize outstanding PhD talent in health-oriented research areas. Applicants should be a catalyst for promoting and improving the overall health of Houghton, Keweenaw, Baraga, and Ontonagon communities through one of the following:

• health research and technology development
• health education or preventive and wellness initiatives
• rural health care access, informatics, and assessment of care

Students who receive full support through a PHF Graduate Assistantship may not accept any other employment. For example, students cannot be fully supported by a PHF Graduate Assistantship and accept support as a GTA or GRA.

Transportation Services would like to remind everyone of the guidelines regarding visitor parking on campus. All vehicles, including those belonging to visitors, must have a valid permit or properly pay for their parking before leaving their vehicle and for the duration of their stay. Visitor parking locations include Lot 27 and all metered locations on campus.

Our enforcement hours are generally from 7 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday in most lots and meters. However, faculty/staff lots near the residential halls are enforced from 2 a.m.-4 p.m. every day. Student residential parking, including Daniell Heights, are enforced 24/7.

Departments that welcome visitors on campus may purchase daily or weekly permits in advance for their arriving guests from the Transportation Services Office or by emailing parking@mtu.edu. Please include the number of permits you need and your departmental index number to charge. Daily permits are $5 per day and weekly permits are $20 per week. We can provide quick and easy pickup at the Transportation Services Office or send them to you through Mail Services.

The Student Leadership and Involvement Office (SLI) will be closing at noon on Friday (Sept. 10) because we will be at Keweenaw Day (K-Day).

If you need us before then, please stop by MUB 112, email us at activities@mtu.edu, or call us at 906-487-1963.

On Sept. 19, from 7 a.m.-1 p.m., the following services will be unavailable during a maintenance window:

Banner
Banweb
MyMichiganTech
ASPIRE
Course Tools
Housing Apartments Wait List
OAP Rental System
Oracle Reports
UC4/Appworx
Virtual Cashiering
WebFocus

If you have any questions or concerns, we can help. Contact us at it-help@mtu.edu or call 906-487-1111.

A pop-up art exhibit has been installed in the McArdle Theatre.

The exhibit, "Evidence of Bias," is a continuation of research by Lisa Gordillo (VPA) on the 30-year Guatemalan civil war and U.S. involvement in international acts of violence. The exhibit’s sculptures are a memorial to villages and lives lost in the violence.

The gallery is open today until Friday (Sept. 7-10) from 1-5 p.m. Please use the theatre entrance by the VPA office, Walker 209.

Live events are back! After more than a year of a dark theatre stage, the
Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts joyfully announces that its doors will open to bring the U.P. incredible performances.

Once again, we will celebrate the togetherness we have all missed — complete with people scooting past you to get to their seats, the whispers of neighbors behind you and a theatre full of laughter. Tickets are available now through the Michigan Tech Ticket Office.

The Rozsa Center will prioritize health and safety in its reopening plans so we can all focus on the joy. The Rozsa will follow the latest public safety guidelines and release updates to its COVID policies to reflect changes.

The season will feature 70 performances and art exhibits on the Rozsa Stage and in the McArdle Theatre, Rozsa Gallery and community. This year has the whole community in mind: theatre productions, dance, community workshops, poetry, visual art exhibits and concerts ranging from country to classical to psychedelic indie rock.

“We’ve been looking forward to this season for two years,” said Mary Jennings, director of programming at the Rozsa. “A theatre is meant to have an audience, and I know that we’ve all been aching for live shows to come back to the Rozsa. This year is going to offer something for everyone. We’ve got a great lineup of musicians, starting with Erik Koskinen on Oct. 1. We’re showing ‘Rocky Horror [Picture Show]’ again, back by very popular demand. And of course, a highlight of this season is the return of ‘The Nutcracker,’ which is always a community favorite.”

View the full calendar of events at mtu.edu/rozsa.

A responsible conduct of research (RCR) course aimed at scholars, creators and researchers in staff or faculty roles will take place in four sessions this fall. While required for scholars, creators and researchers who joined Michigan Tech or stepped into their current roles after Dec. 1, 2020, it is open to interested others, no RSVP necessary.

The course provides critical information about conducting safe, successful and legally compliant research, scholarship and creative works while at Michigan Tech. The America Competes Act mandates that universities that receive federal funding require this training at all levels.

Please also note that the training is required in order for those who joined Michigan Tech or stepped into their current roles after Dec. 1, 2020, to be eligible for internal funding, including the Century II Campaign Endowed Equipment Fund (C2E2) and Research Excellence Funds (REF).

Sessions will be held in the Great Lake Research Center (GLRC) Room 202 on the following dates and topics:

• Sept. 15, 4-5 p.m. — Research Misconduct, Research-Related Agreements, Conflicts of Interest, Undue Foreign Influence
• Oct. 13, 4-5 p.m. — Animal Research Protection Program (ARPP, IACUC), Human Research Protection Program (HRPP, IRB), Biological Materials Research (IBC)
• Nov. 17, 4-5 p.m. — Proposals, Awards and Financial Management; Research Proposal Development
• Dec. 8, 4-5 p.m. — Laboratory Operations (required only for researchers with a research lab space)

To give attendees a chance to talk and network, light snacks and drinks will be available at 3:30 p.m. before each session in the atrium outside GLRC 202.

Please contact Associate Vice President for Research Development Kathy Halvorsen at kehalvor@mtu.edu or 906-487-3098 if you have any questions.

The CTL recognizes, from those nominated via the Deans’ Teaching Showcase, instructors who make contributions in large class teaching, out-of-class or innovative teaching, and curriculum development or assessment.

This year, Smitha Rao (BioMed) has been selected to receive the CTL Instructional Award for Innovative or Out of Class Teaching.

Rao will make her award presentation on Sept. 23 at 3:45 p.m. Her presentation is titled “Reaching out to Student Researchers: An ‘Old’ Mentor’s Journey.”

She will be recognized formally following the presentation. We hope you can join us for this event! Please register to attend.

From the abstract:
As a newly minted faculty, the harshest reality I had to face was that the students saw me as a "mentor." (I soon learned this was code for “old"!) I found that I had to remind myself (repeatedly) that my undergraduate students had only recently completed high school. Not only was I not a peer, but the age gap seemed to grow (sigh!) and become a huge problem. How would I reach across this chasm? In this presentation, I'll explore the solutions I have found. To seek common ground, I work to challenge student curiosity, engage them through opportunities in the lab and encourage them to take ownership of their work. I will share things I have tried and ideas I have learned as I work with graduate and undergraduate researchers. I hope the presentation stimulates dialog so we can all continue to learn and grow and rely on these combined experiences as we engage with more students.

Dennis Livesay (CC) will give a talk on "The Distance Constraint Model: A Flexible Approach to Understand Protein Thermodynamics"  on Thursday (Sept. 9) at 4 p.m. in Fisher Hall 139.

Read more about Livesay's research background and the presentation on the University Events Calendar.

The Michigan Tech CyberCorps Scholarship for Service program will accept CyberApplications for the 2022-23 cohort from Dec. 1 to Feb. 1. An information session for those interested in applying is planned on Sept. 30 from 4-5 p.m. in Rekhi 113. An additional session will be scheduled later this fall.

CyberCorps Scholarship for Service (SFS) is a national program to recruit and train the next generation of IT professionals, industrial control system security professionals and security managers to meet the needs of the cybersecurity mission for federal, state, local and tribal governments.

Yu Cai (AC) is the principal investigator of the five-year, $3.3 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant that funds this scholarship. The scholarship provides up to three years of full scholarship support for 20 undergraduate and graduate students.

Read more on the Computing News Blog.

Students who are interested in human-centered design and how understanding user experience can lead to team innovation are welcome to attend a free workshop hosted by Husky Innovate.

Developed at the Stanford d.school, design thinking walks teams through a user-centered process to tackle ambiguous problems.

This workshop will be facilitated by Husky Innovate and Cognitive and Learning Sciences (CLS) teams. We will meet from 5-7 p.m. on Sept. 15 and Sept. 23. Come to one or both events.

Register to attend online. After you register, we will follow up with a Google calendar invite. Plan to meet in person at The Alley Makerspace.

Join us as we kick off a new year of the VPR Research Series with a virtual presentation led by the Office of Innovation and Commercialization team on Sept. 14 from 11 a.m to noon.

 Learn how to take your research discoveries from the laboratory to the marketplace using funding programs, resources and insights from experts in our regional innovation ecosystem.

A Q&A session will follow the presentation for attendees to ask questions and engage with the presenters to dig deeper into specific topics of interest.

Join this virtual session via Zoom.

The Michigan Tech soccer team found the back of the net four times in the first 25 minutes to cruise to a commanding 4-0 victory over Minnesota Duluth on Sept. 2 to begin the 2021 season. 

Grace Shaw and Jesse Jacobusse each scored twice for the Huskies, picking up right where they left off from the spring season — and each tallying their 18th and 19th career goals.

The Huskies' hot start gave them a comfortable lead early. "That's something we've been talking a lot about, is coming out ready to go," said head coach Turk Ozturk. "We didn't do that well enough in the spring season. That is something we've planned for and our team executed it perfectly today."

Read more on the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

The Michigan Tech volleyball team kicked off the season with a 3-0 sweep of No. 7 Minnesota Duluth Sept. 2 at the SDC Gym. The Huskies controlled the first set 25-18 and held off late charges by the Bulldogs in the second 27-25 and third 25-23.

"I'm thrilled to start off the season with a big win here at home," Tech coach Matt Jennings said. "To have people in the stands, the pep band here — it was loud and I couldn't even hear myself talk — was fun."

Read more on the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Kristen Schmitt (CFRES/ESC) is the principal investigator (PI) on a project that has received a $47,077 other sponsored activities co-op agreement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service.

The project is titled "Outreach Support for Regional and National Hub Products."

This is a potential 13-month project.

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Patricia Leopold (CFRES/ESC) is the PI on a project that has received a $50,000 other sponsored activities co-op agreement from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Forest Service.

The project is titled "Mainstreaming climate adaptation in watershed management."

This is a potential two-year project.

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Molly Cavaleri (CFRES/ESC) is the PI on a project that has received a $283,024 research and development grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Biological and Environmental Research.

The project is titled "Interactive Effects of Press and Pulse Disturbances on Biogeochemical Cycling of a Wet Tropical Forest in Puerto Rico."

This is a potential three-year project.

Iosif Pinelis (Math) is the author of a paper accepted for publication in Mathematical Inequalities & Applications.

The paper is titled "Modulus of continuity of the quantum f-entropy with respect to the trace distance."

A preprint version of the paper is available for download. 

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Timothy Havens (CC/ICC) is a co-author of an article published in the September 2021 issue of IEEE Transactions on Fuzzy Systems.

The article is titled "A Generalized Fuzzy Extension Principle and Its Application to Information Fusion."

Read more on the Computing News Blog.

The work of Michigan Tech's Great Lakes Research Center (GLRC) and collaborators on Lake Michigan coastline erosion was highlighted in joint press releases from Sea Grant Illinois-Indiana, Michigan Sea Grant and Wisconsin Sea Grant.

Face Coverings Required Indoors on Campus

While Michigan Tech is at Health and Safety Level Two, face coverings must be worn indoors. This applies to all students, employees, and visitors, regardless of vaccination status.

In Level Two, students and employees are not required to monitor their symptoms daily prior to coming to campus. But, individuals should be mindful of their own symptoms. A useful monitoring tool is available from the CDC. 

During all Health and Safety Levels, no one with COVID-19 symptoms is allowed on campus. 

Michigan Tech strongly recommends that all employees and students receive the COVID-19 vaccine and continue with handwashing and hand-sanitizing practices, especially in light of the virulence of the COVID-19 delta variant.

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Graduate School Smart Start Seminar

New graduate students to Michigan Tech are invited to our virtual Smart Start. In Smart Start, we’ll introduce students to resources and policies to assist them to have a successful start to their graduate career. It will be especially useful for students in their first year, but all students are welcome to attend. 

The seminar will be tomorrow (Sept. 8) at 2 p.m. It will be held in person in the Alumni Lounges in the MUB and virtually via Zoom. Please register online to receive streaming information and reminders to attend.

A recording of the seminar will be available online for any students who cannot attend.

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Banner 9 Admin Pages System Maintenance Tomorrow

Tomorrow (Sept. 8) from 10-11 p.m., Banner 9 Admin Pages will be unavailable due to maintenance.

If you have any questions or concerns, we can help. Contact us at it-help@mtu.edu or call 906-487-1111.

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VPR Internal Grant Opportunity to Mitigate Pandemic Research Impacts, and More

Some Michigan Tech scholars, creators, and researchers experienced significant challenges completing their funded research, creative work, or scholarship due to the pandemic. To work toward addressing these issues, the Vice President for Research (VPR) is offering a one-time internal funding opportunity for fall 2021 to address pandemic-related research and scholarly productivity impacts.

Grants of up to $25,000 will be available to non-student scholars for a one-year period. Review of applications have begun and will continue until all funds are awarded. Additional information and proposal instructions can be found on the Michigan Tech Research website. Incomplete applications and those that do not follow the defined process will be returned without review. Please direct any questions to rd-l@mtu.edu.

In addition to this internal funding program, the University is also implementing several other initiatives aimed to help scholars post-pandemic. As networking was identified as a particular challenge in the last 18 months, research networking events will be scheduled during the 2021-22 academic year. The first will be an open house event for centers, institutes and shared facilities scheduled Friday (Sept. 10) from 1-5 p.m. in MUB Ballroom A.

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Application Support: NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program

The Graduate School is offering support services to graduate students applying for the National Science Foundation's Graduate Research Fellowship Program (NSF GRFP), including workshops and one-on-one writing support.

Fellowship recipients earn an annual stipend of $34,000. To be eligible, applicants must be a U.S. citizen, national or permanent resident; have never previously applied to GRFP while enrolled in a graduate degree program; and have never earned a master’s or professional degree in any field or completed more than one academic year in a graduate degree-granting program.

Applications are due Oct. 18-22. See the NSF GRFP website for more information and full benefits and eligibility details. 

Available application support includes:

• Workshop 2: Crafting Your Statements: Content and Organization
  Friday, Sept. 10 — 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
  Presented by Sarah Isaacson (NSF GRFP support coordinator). 
  Join Workshop 2 via Zoom.
  Sign in with your MTU account before joining the meeting to be admitted.
  
  
• Personalized Writing Support
  In addition to an NSF GRFP Canvas course, applicants will receive individual writing support on application drafts from qualified staff members.

Questions? Contact Sarah Isaacson, NSF GRFP support coordinator, at sisaacso@mtu.edu. 

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Preparing for a Classroom Emergency

Preparing for the evacuation of a building is an important component of being an instructor. Students, even in the University setting, will look to instructors for guidance during an emergency. Michigan Tech requires faculty and instructors to take a few minutes at the beginning of each semester to familiarize themselves and students with basic evacuation routes and emergency procedures.

What specifically should instructors do?

• Familiarize themselves with the building, floor and classroom they will be teaching in. Classrooms are equipped with emergency evacuation postings; use these to orient yourself to exit locations.
• Communicate evacuation routes and assembly areas outside of buildings to students in case of an emergency.
• Remind students that if they need assistance exiting a building during an emergency, it is up to them to self-identify (in private if desired).
• In the event of an emergency, provide leadership and follow established procedures for all building alarms and emergencies.

The University Safety Manual provides additional information regarding emergency action and fire prevention plans.

Please email ehs-help@mtu.edu if you would like your classroom evacuation maps in PDF format.

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Academic Integrity Module Now Available in Canvas

The Office of Academic and Community Conduct is pleased to announce the creation of an academic integrity module in Canvas. It can be found in the Canvas Commons by searching for "Michigan Tech Academic Integrity Module."

The module defines what academic integrity and academic misconduct are at Michigan Tech. It also covers the expectations of faculty and students regarding academic integrity. It contains an eight-question quiz that faculty can use to assess the students’ knowledge of academic integrity.

The second half of the module is an academic integrity tutorial created by the University of Maryland Global Campus. This tutorial contains six modules that cover various concepts related to academic integrity. Each module has built-in assessments to test the students’ knowledge. In order to receive a certificate of completion for each module, the student will need to get a score of 80% or better on the final assessment.

Please contact the Office of Academic and Community Conduct at 906-487-2951 if you need assistance finding the module.

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Office Supplies Available at the Campus Bookstore

The Campus Bookstore in the Memorial Union Building has your office supplies! We have: keyboards, mice, flash drives, USB cords, pens, pencils, folders, batteries, highlighters, sticky notes and more. We also have partnerships with vendors if you're looking to purchase in bulk and save some money!

Charge to a department index and receive a discount (excluding calculators and course materials) on most everything in our store.

To verify that your index is set up at the Campus Store, please feel free to contact us at campusstore@mtu.edu with the index and department name, and we'll work with Accounting to ensure the account is set up. We are also available at 906-487-2410.

The Campus Bookstore is open from 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 12-4 p.m. Saturday. Thank you and have a great semester!

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WebFOCUS System Maintenance on Sunday

On Sunday (Sept. 12) from 7-11 a.m., WebFOCUS will be unavailable due to production system maintenance.

If you have any questions or concerns, we can help. Contact us at it-help@mtu.edu or call 906-487-1111.

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

The Spirit of the Hunt: Ecological Art Exhibit & Public Wolf Discussion

Tuesday, September 7, 9 a.m.–4 p.m. | U. J. Noblet Forestry Building, Atrium and G002

Art Exhibit: August 30-October 15 Monday-Friday from 9:00am to 4:00pm Noblet Atrium, Michigan Tech College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science Opening...

Resume blitz with corporate recruiters

Tuesday, September 7, 3 p.m.–5 p.m. | J. Robert Van Pelt and John and Ruanne Opie Library, East Reading Room

Attend this event to meet with corporate recruiters and have them review your resume.

TKE - Open House Cookout

Tuesday, September 7, 5 p.m.–7 p.m. | TKE House

Join the brothers of Tau Kappa Epsilon for this awesome event. Stop by to learn more about how we can help you create lifelong relationships that enhance educational,...

Open Rock Climbing

Tuesday, September 7, 6 p.m.–8 p.m. | Student Development Complex (SDC), Multipurpose Room Climbing Wall

All ages (we can allow all ages to climb as long as we have the proper fitting equipment). No need to sign up, just stop by the Climbing Wall between 6 and 8 pm Monday through...