September 20, 2021

The start of a semester often brings a mix of bright-eyed, bushy-tailed, overcaffeinated and overwhelmed enthusiasm. This year, our overflowing cups are tinged with many other flavors — some bitter, some sweet. With all of us breathing our own coffee breath filtered through masks and patience while we continue to navigate the pandemic, it’s a good opportunity to take a moment, breathe and reflect.

Throughout the semester, we are dedicating Unscripted space for community members to share their personal stories about the challenges they face and the solutions they’re working on to uplift their research, scholarly work and creative endeavors. Some of our guest writers are principal investigators and some are staff who support the academic ecosystem.

Watch for their stories in Tech Today, follow @mturesearch on Twitter, and get a list of deep reads for context in the series intro on the Unscripted research blog at mtu.edu/unscripted.

Michigan Tech Athletics and Recreation are adjusting facility guidelines in keeping with the University's recently announced move to a modified Health and Safety Level Two, effective Sept. 18.

At this modified Health and Safety Level Two:

• Face coverings will be encouraged but not required in the Student Development Complex (SDC), MacInnes Student Ice Arena, Gates Tennis Center, Nordic Ski Wax Center, and other Athletic and Recreation facilities.
• Face coverings will still be required in SDC classrooms and laboratories during classes and lab courses.
• Face coverings may also be required during faculty office hours at the discretion of the individual faculty member.
• Face covering requirements for fully vaccinated close contacts, as listed in Tech's Quarantine Guidelines, will remain in place. 

Please reference and adhere to all posted signage in Athletic and Recreation facilities. The MTU Flex plan is structured to be responsive to fluctuations in case count and other factors related to COVID-19.

We encourage all fans to please continue frequent handwashing (especially before and after meals), hand sanitization, monitor symptoms and to receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

A new pre-proposal form has been developed in consultation with the University deans. This form will help start discussions and allow for feedback earlier in the approval process.

Academic proposals require several levels of review and approval (both internally and potentially externally) before implementation. Pre-proposal forms should be submitted before Nov. 1 for the best chance of program approval this academic year.

If you or your unit are planning on developing an academic program proposal (new degree, minor, certificate, program name change, etc.), please use the new pre-proposal form while you are in the planning stage and before spending significant effort on drafting a full proposal following University Senate guidelines.

Please see the Provost’s Academic Program Proposal web page for more information, including relevant policies and approval flowcharts by proposal type.

Last week's complimentary professional portrait session for faculty, staff and graduate students, which was canceled due to inclement weather, has been rescheduled for 8:30-10 a.m. Oct. 1. It will take place in the University Marketing and Communications (UMC) studio in the Administration Building, Room G37.

An appointment is required and can be scheduled online. On the calendar, go to Oct. 1, 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.

Celebrate the first day of fall at the A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum! All fall-colored minerals (orange, red and yellow) will be 15% off on Wednesday (Sept. 22).

Admission to the museum is waived for all MTU students, staff and faculty with their Tech ID.

We are open from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Valid only on Sept. 22. Cannot be combined with other discounts.

Nathan Manser (GMES) has won an engineering challenge to innovate new methods of reducing impurities in mine tailings.

The competition, sponsored by Ennomotive, tasked solvers with recovering quartz from iron ore tailings. Manser's winning innovation incorporated biologically mediated surfactants to enhance the settling properties of iron-bearing minerals so they can be more effectively separated from the quartz — effectively creating two concentrated streams of raw materials from an exiting waste stream.

Ennomotive listed Manser as a Top Engineer and interviewed him as part of a series on top challenge winners. Watch the interview on YouTube.

Aditi Chakrabarti, postdoctoral fellow at Harvard University, will give a talk at the next Physics Colloquium.

Chakrabarti's talk is titled "Singularities in the Morphogenesis of an Apple Cusp."

Please join the presentation on Thursday (Sept. 23) at 4 p.m. in Fisher Hall, Room 139.

Read about Chakrabarti's background on the University Events Calendar.

From the abstract:
Singularities are ubiquitous in diverse physical systems and lead to universal structures, from black holes in gravity to caustics in optics, from wave breaking at interfaces to cusps in viscous fluids. This universality suggests they should also naturally arise in biological systems, where active growth and self-motion focus deformations in space-time. A familiar example of a morphogenetic singularity is seen in the humble apple, which forms in the neighborhood of its stalk as the apple grows. We have studied the geometry and morphogenesis of this singular apple cusp by combining observations of apple growth with a simple theory, finite element simulations and controlled swelling experiments using a physical gel simulacrum. I will discuss our results and show that axisymmetric cusps can also lose stability and become lobed, which are also seen naturally in drupes.

As announced in Friday’s Tech Today, all faculty are asked to include a COVID Impact Statement as part of their annual Faculty Activity Report (FAR) for the 2021-22 academic year. A checklist has been developed to support faculty in drafting their impact statement.

Help sessions to discuss the checklist and use it to prepare a COVID Impact Statement will take place this week at the following times:

• Tuesday (Sept. 21) at 3 p.m.
• Wednesday (Sept. 22) at 2 p.m.

Both sessions will take place in MUB Ballroom A1. Please wear a face covering and bring a laptop or other device to practice drafting impact statements.

Former Michigan Tech hockey forward Lou Angotti passed away Sept. 16 at Holy Cross Health in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, surrounded by his family. Angotti was 83.

Originally from Toronto, Angotti was a three-year letter winner for the Huskies from 1959-62 and was instrumental in Michigan Tech winning the 1962 NCAA Championship. He was a first-team All-American in 1962 and remains the only player to ever be named the NCAA Tournament's Most Valuable Player twice, in 1960 and 1962. The Huskies also won the WCHA title in 1962. In 89 career games, Angotti scored 71 goals and added 61 assists.

Angotti was inducted into the Michigan Tech Sports Hall of Fame as an individual in 1991 and with the 1962 NCAA Championship Team in 2012.

Read more on the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) announced its cross-country Preseason Coaches Poll on Thursday. Michigan Tech men's cross-country claimed the third spot with 61 points, behind Grand Valley State (81 points) and Saginaw Valley State (73 points). Husky women's cross-country took fourth in the poll, tied with Northern Michigan at 68 points. No. 1 nationally ranked Grand Valley State seized the top position.

In addition, both Tech cross-country teams received national rankings in the USTFCCCA week one NCAA Division II poll. The Husky women were tabbed No. 26 in the nation and eighth in the Midwest region while the men came in fifth in the region and No. 27 nationally. The last time the Huskies were nationally ranked was Nov. 13, 2019, when both men's and women's cross-country received No. 9 rankings in their respective polls.

Read more at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Michigan Tech fell 3-2 to Grand Valley State at the SDC Gym on Sept. 17. The teams traded sets all the way through, with the Lakers pulling out the win 15-12 in the fifth.

"It was a hard-fought match," Tech coach Matt Jennings said. "Credit to Grand Valley for being the better team tonight, especially in crunch time. Both teams played pretty well, but we broke down in some areas that we know better."

Read more on the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

The Michigan Tech soccer team got goals from Grace Shaw and Jesse Jacobusse on their way to a 2-0 victory over Davenport on Sept. 17.  

The Huskies went into halftime with a scoreless tie. In the second half, co-captain Grace Shaw scored on a corner kick from fellow co-captain Stephanie Yeager — Shaw hit one off the post, got the rebound and found the back of the net for the game-winning score. 

"We talked about crashing every ball and every deflection so it was nice to finally get one in," Shaw said of her goal. "We wanted to start GLIAC play 1-0. We maintained our composure and got the win."

Read more on the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Russell Stein (MSE) is the principal investigator (PI) on a project that has received a $84,500 research and development contract from the University of Michigan.

The project is titled "Low Cost 3-D Printing of Conformally Cooled Die Casting Tools."

Gerald Anzalone (URE) is a co-PI on this project.

Face Coverings Required in Classrooms, Labs, Library

Michigan Tech remains at Health and Safety Level Two. Face coverings are required in certain locations — classrooms and laboratories during classes and lab courses, and in the library — and may also be required during instructors' office hours. In all other settings, face coverings are encouraged but not required. This applies to all students, employees, and visitors, regardless of vaccination status.

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. Please be aware that if you are exposed to COVID-19, quarantine guidelines vary depending on 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. 

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On-Demand COVID-19 Testing Available on Campus

Walk-in, on-demand COVID-19 testing is available to Michigan Tech students and employees during the fall 2021 semester.

Testing is located in the Datolite Room at the MUB on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday from 9 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. There is no cost to be tested, and no appointment is needed. 

Read more COVID-19 Testing Information on the MTU Flex website.

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Husky Bites Challenge for Grades 9-10

The College of Engineering (CoE) and the Michigan Tech Center for Educational Outreach have teamed up for a six-week virtual design challenge for ninth- and 10th-grade students.

Students will hear from leaders in sustainability design and sustainability engineering via Husky Bites, free 20-minute (or so) interactive Zoom webinars hosted by CoE's dean, Janet Callahan. Mentored by current Michigan Tech students, they'll work as a team to put forward a design proposal for a U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) LEED-certified school.

Register for the Husky Bites Challenge. Registration is free, with great prizes, and students are welcome to register individually or as a team. Get more info and register soon! The deadline is today (Sept. 20) — but it may be extended a few days.

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Abstracts Wanted: Student Research Symposium

Abstracts are being sought for the 7th annual American Chemical Society (ACS) Upper Peninsula Student Research Symposium.

The symposium, which will be held at Northern Michigan University on Oct. 23, is a venue for students to present their research in chemistry, chemical engineering and related fields. It is open for undergraduate, graduate, high school and community college students from the Upper Peninsula. ACS President-elect Angela Wilson will be our guest speaker this year! 

There is no cost to present and lunch will be provided. Prize money will be awarded for best posters and presentations.

For more information and to register for the symposium, visit the Student Research Symposium web page. The registration deadline is Oct. 8 at 5 p.m.

Contact Momoko Tajiri at mtajiri@mtu.edu with any questions.

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Joint EPSSI-Environmental Engineering Seminar

Gabriel Isaacman-Van Wertz, assistant professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Virginia Tech, will present a virtual seminar today (Sept. 20) at 4 p.m. via Zoom.

Isaacman-Van Wertz’s presentation is titled "How do differences in chemical structure change the atmospheric impacts of a molecule?"

This virtual seminar is sponsored by the Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences Institute (EPSSI). Read the abstract at the University Events Calendar.

Register in advance for the Zoom seminar. Please register early!

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NSF Proposal Submission Updates

Researchers who are submitting proposals to the National Science Foundation (NSF) should be aware of several recent and upcoming changes and clarifications that may impact proposal submission.

Below, we highlight two changes that we think affect all NSF proposers. However, the full list of changes — which will go into effect Oct. 2 — can be found on the NSF Proposal & Award Policies and Procedures Guide Significant Changes and Clarifications web page.

The biographical sketch page limit is changing from two pages to three pages. This will apply to all biosketches, which are currently required to be created in either the NSF fillable PDF or with the online tool SciENcv. These will continue to be the only two methods available to create NSF biosketches.

The NSF is providing more clarity on what should be disclosed on the current and pending support document and biosketch, as well as describing any overlap with other projects. There is a helpful new table titled NSF Pre-award and Post-award Disclosures Relating to the Biographical Sketch and Current and Pending Support that was highlighted in a previous Tech Today article.

The NSF plans on holding a webinar to review changes to the Proposal & Award Policies and Procedures Guide; however, we do not have a date or time yet. If you are interested in a direct notification when the webinar is announced, you can sign up at the NSF policy outreach web page.

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This Week in The Lode

Featured this week in the Michigan Tech Lode:

News
US-41 detour pushed until Sept. 27

Pulse
Drag show (and more!) return for Pride Week
Celebrate MTU’s vibrant cultures with this weekend’s Parade of Nations

Opinion
Are hobbies worth it anymore?
The amazing spider

Tech
Upcoming events in science and technology at Michigan Tech

Read more at the Michigan Tech Lode website.

P.S. — Do you enjoy writing, editing, photography or graphic design? We are currently in need of new individuals to join our staff! For more information, attend our general meeting (Thursdays at 5:30 p.m. in Fisher 126) or email us at lodesubmit@mtu.edu. 

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Perceptive Content System Maintenance on Sunday

On Sunday (Sept. 26) from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., Perceptive Content will be unavailable due to maintenance.

After this maintenance is complete, Webnow, the web-based version of Perceptive Content, will no longer be available. To continue using Perceptive Content, please contact IT to have the Perceptive Content client installed on your computer.

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.

Hyperconnection: A New Series by Tiffany Lange

Monday, September 20, 8 a.m.–8 p.m. | Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts, Gallery: A-Space

Tiffany Lange’s newest series “Hyperconnection”, examines overstimulation and anxiousness through abstraction. After a year of increased screen time during quarantine and...

New Husky Orientation

Monday, September 20, 8:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m. | Lakeshore-comm-rm123

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

Monday, September 20, 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...

Mid-Career Faculty Mentoring Orientation

Monday, September 20, 1 p.m.–2 p.m. | Memorial Union Building (MUB), Alumni Lounge A (Room 107A)

Are you an associate professor? Post-tenure faculty face unique career challenges and opportunities. Advanced Career Management (ACM) is a peer-mentoring program designed to...

EPSSI Seminar: Gabriel Isaacman-Van Wertz, Virginia Tech

Monday, September 20, 4 p.m.–5 p.m.

A joint EPSSI/Environmental Engineering Graduate Seminar How do differences in chemical structure change the atmospheric impacts of a molecule? Reactive organic carbon is...

Summer 2021 Michigan Tech I-Corps Site Program

Monday, September 20, 4 p.m.–8 p.m.

Are you interested in taking your innovative idea, technology, or processes commercial? Husky Innovate is hosting the summer 2021 I-Corps NSF workshop series designed to help...

Corteva Agriscience Information Session

Monday, September 20, 5 p.m.–6 p.m.

The information session will give students a chance to learn about Corteva as a company, and our existing opportunities within the upcoming student program. There will be time...

Strength Training and High Intensity Interval Training ("HIIT")

Monday, September 20, 5:30 p.m.–6:15 p.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...

Drilling Wells in the Keweenaw—Needles in a (Geologic) Haystack

Monday, September 20, 6 p.m.

Husky Bites presents Special Guest John Gierke Professor, Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences Michigan Technological University Co-host Eric Seagren Professor,...

Open Rock Climbing

Monday, September 20, 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...

Whirlpool DEI & Allies

Monday, September 20, 6:00 p.m.–6:45 p.m.

We are excited to announce a Whirlpool Info Session for DEI teams and Allies! Join representatives from Whirlpool to learn more about their company and what they're doing to...