November 2, 2021

Michigan Tech has finalized a secure and confidential process for fully vaccinated employees to show proof of vaccination in compliance with the federal vaccination/exception mandate.

The mandate affects all University employees who work in the United States, even if they work remotely. At Michigan Tech, this mandate will go into effect Jan. 10, 2022. It will apply to full-time, part-time, and temporary employees. It will also include student employees.

Fully vaccinated employees may submit proof using these methods: 

• Online — MTU Flex Portal
  You may submit a picture of your vaccination card or other valid proof of vaccination using the Vaccination Upload Form. The form is now available on the MTU Flex Portal. You will need to log in securely using your ISO. Please follow the upload instructions — you will only be able to upload once. All documentation must be clear and legible. Once you log in through the secure site, you’ll be asked to upload and submit a picture of your vaccination card or other valid proof of vaccination. Supported file types are JPG, JPEG, GIF and PNG. Once you submit your proof, it will be reviewed and you will be notified via email when it has been accepted or declined.
  
  
• In Person — Rozsa Lobby
  You may submit your proof of vaccination in person. Human Resources will verify vaccination at the Rozsa Lobby ticket window at the times listed below. Please note: You will need to provide identification in addition to the proof of vaccination.
  
  
  • Friday, Nov. 5 — 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
  • Monday, Nov. 8 — 8-10 a.m.
  • Tuesday, Nov. 9 — 3-5 p.m.
  • Monday, Nov. 15 — 12-2 p.m.
  • Thursday, Nov. 18 — 9-11 a.m.
    
    
• In Person — Human Resources Office
  Employees are also welcome to stop in at the Human Resources Office on the second floor of the Lakeshore Center, Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., to show identification and proof of vaccination. Please bring the original documents that show vaccination and not copies (i.e., bring your vaccination card, not a photocopy). 

If you intend to apply for a medical or religious exception, please refer to the Vaccination for Federal Contractors page on the MTU Flex website for information on how to do so. Applications for exceptions will not be collected through the MTU Flex Portal, Rozsa Lobby, or Human Resources Office.

Six Michigan Tech students and three alumni will help lead events and a press conference at the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland.

As part of the Youth Environmental Alliance in Higher Education (YEAH), a multidisciplinary research and education network of students and faculty from 10 universities across four continents, MTU representatives will help showcase the “Voices of Optimism, Agents of Change” event and exhibit. They will also participate in a press conference tomorrow (Nov. 3) at 11:30 a.m.

Read more at mtu.edu/news/press.

Dining Services presents this week's C-Cubed Luncheon being held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. on Thursday (Nov. 4) in the Memorial Union Alumni Lounge, Room 107. All faculty and staff, along with their guests, are invited.

The C-Cubed lunch buffet menus are created by executive chef Eric Karvonen and prepared by Karvonen and his culinary team. As the name suggests, the meals are meant to foster conversation, community and collegiality. Attendees may bring their lunch instead of purchasing the buffet. Fruit-infused water, coffee, tea, cookies and fruit are available free to all attendees.

The buffet lunch is $12 per person. Cash, credit cards and gift cards are accepted. Gift cards can be purchased in the Memorial Union office, Room 101. You can submit C-Cubed feedback using this Google form. To join the C-Cubed Google group and receive weekly menus, email business-support@mtu.edu.

Menu for Thursday (Nov. 4):

Lebanese Lamb Stuffed Peppers (Gluten Free)
Lentil Stuffed Peppers (Gluten Free, Vegan)
Spicy Lebanese Potatoes (Vegan, Gluten Free)
Tabbouleh (Vegan)
Warm Pita Bread (Vegetarian)

Newly added to the 41 North Film Festival is "The Rescue" — a film by Academy Award–winning filmmakers Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi ("Free Solo", "Meru") that tells the story of the daring 2018 rescue of 12 boys and their coach from a flooded cave in Thailand.

"The Rescue" shines a light on the high-risk world of cave diving and the courage and compassion of the international rescue team that united to save the boys. The film will screen at 4:30 p.m. on Sunday (Nov. 7) in the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts.

See the full lineup of films and events at 41northfilmfest.org. The festival is free and open to the public. Students will need to bring their HuskyCard. Tickets for everyone else can be reserved at tickets.mtu.edu or by calling 906-487-2073, and will also be available in the Rozsa lobby prior to each film.

Major sponsorship for the festival is provided by the Department of Humanities, the Department of Visual and Performing Arts, the College of Sciences and Arts, and the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts.

You are cordially invited to join us today (Nov. 2) from 5-6 p.m. in the Humanities Digital Media Zone (HDMZ) in the Walker Arts and Humanities Center (Walker), Room 120C.

We will chat and play board games in Spanish. All levels of Spanish speakers are welcome. Please pass the information along, and bring someone as well!

Last Peña date: Nov. 30.

For any questions regarding La Peña conversation hours, please contact Leyre Alegre at lalegref@mtu.edu.

We'd like to thank all who participated and encourage students to present at the ACS Upper Peninsula Local Section Student Research Symposium. This year's event was held Oct. 23 at Northern Michigan University. We ended up having the largest crowd!

Here are the award winners from the symposium.

Undergraduate students receiving awards were:

• First — Steven Beuther (MTU, chemistry)
• Second — Ethan Burghardt (MTU, chemistry)
• Third — Tyler Watson and Gino Gregor Pacifico (joint presentation — NMU, chemistry)

Graduate students receiving awards were:

• First — Shobhit Sanjeev Chaturvedi (MTU, chemistry)
• Second — Sodiq O Waheed (MTU, chemistry)
• Third — Seth Kriz and Natalie Nold (joint presentation — MTU, chemical engineering)

Please congratulate the students — and we hope to see you at next year's events!

Joerg Schumacher, University Professor for Fluid Mechanics at TU Ilmenau, Germany, will be presenting at this week's Physics Colloquium. Please join the presentation on Thursday (Nov. 4) at 4 p.m. via Zoom.

Schumacher will present "Large-Scale Order in Turbulent Convection: From Supercomputer Simulations to Machine Learning Models."

Read the abstract and Schumacher's bio at the University Events Calendar.

Please register in advance to attend this colloquium. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the event.

Tuesday (Nov. 2)
• Huskies Drive Time, 7:30-8 a.m. on Mix 93 WKMJ

Wednesday (Nov. 3)
• Men's Basketball at Ball State, 7 p.m.

Thursday (Nov. 4)
• Women's Basketball vs. UW-Oshkosh, 6 p.m. at SDC Gym on Mix 93 WKMJ

Friday (Nov. 5)
• Soccer at Purdue Northwest, 3:30 p.m.
• Volleyball vs. Northwood, 5 p.m. on Mix 93 WKMJ
• Hockey vs. Lake Superior State, 7:07 p.m. at MacInnes Student Ice Arena on Mix 93 WKMJ

Saturday (Nov. 6)
• Cross Country at NCAA Regional, 11:30 a.m. in Evansville, Indiana
• Football at Northwood, 1 p.m. on Mix 93 WKMJ
• Volleyball vs. Lake Superior State, 2 p.m. at SDC Gym
• Hockey vs. Lake Superior State, 6:07 p.m. at MacInnes Student Ice Arena on Mix 93 WKMJ

Sunday (Nov. 7)
• Soccer at Northern Michigan, 1 p.m. on WLUC TV6

The No. 18 Michigan Tech hockey team split a series at Clarkson over the weekend.

The Huskies shut out Clarkson 3-0 Friday (Oct. 29) at Cheel Arena, defeating the Golden Knights for the first time since 1966. Brian Halonen had a pair of goals and Blake Pietila made 23 saves for his fourth career shutout. 

"I thought our guys executed well," Tech coach Joe Shawhan said. "The penalty kill was outstanding, our goaltending was tremendous and every guy that dressed tonight certainly contributed and left it all on the ice. We were strong on the puck in our zone. We did a good job challenging all loose pucks and not giving them easy shots to the net."

The Golden Knights defeated the Huskies 2-1 Saturday (Oct. 30). Brian Halonen scored the lone goal for the Huskies for his third of the weekend.

"We knew it was going to be a grind when we came in here and came out with a split," Shawhan said. "Other than four and a half minutes tonight we were very good. We'll grow from this, watch some film, have a good practice on Monday, and put this behind us."

Read more and see game highlights at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

The No. 20 Michigan Tech volleyball team picked up their 18th win of the season with a 3-0 sweep of Northern Michigan on Saturday (Oct. 30), winning 25-12, 25-17, and 25-16 at Vandament Arena to improve to 18-5 overall and 10-1 in the GLIAC.

"We played well and we're certainly very happy to come in and pick up a key win here on the road," Tech coach Matt Jennings said. "It's always a battle when these teams face off, and I'm very pleased that we came out on top."

Read more at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Following a valiant second-half comeback try, Michigan Tech football fell 14-9 to No. 7 ranked Grand Valley State Saturday (Oct. 30) in front of 8,652 at Lubbers Stadium.

The Huskies trailed 14-0 at halftime, but Drew Wyble made a third-quarter field goal and Justin Davis hauled in a 14-yard one-handed catch in the end zone to Tech get within striking distance. After a failed 2-point conversion and kickoff, the Lakers ran out the clock on offense to beat the Huskies for the second time this season.

"You always want to try and get off to a fast start against these highly ranked football teams, but it's not easy," said head coach Steve Olson. "Our guys came out and competed hard. We didn't get going as explosively as we wanted right away, but we were better in the second half against a difficult opponent. I was proud of how our team competed hard today." 

Read more at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

The Michigan Tech soccer team got a goal in each half en route to a 2-0 victory over Saginaw Valley State on Sunday (Oct. 31). The Huskies improved to 11-5 overall on the season with an 8-4 mark in GLIAC competition. 

"It was a great win and to do it on senior day today was extra special," coach Turk Ozturk said. "I am incredibly proud of our team and to see how we come out in these big games and grind them out is special."

Read more and see game highlights at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Michigan Tech Athletics and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Michigan have teamed up to promote the #MIKidsCan Campaign. Local Copper Country youth will have an opportunity to be a part of the pregame ceremony for hockey and basketball.

Each lucky participant will be announced with the Huskies starting lineup and either lead the Huskies out on the ice and join them for the National Anthem or give the game ball to the referee to start the basketball game and sit on the bench with the team.

Please fill out the registration form to have your chance (or enter your child) to become a Huskies #MIKidsCan Player of the Game. Participants must be in kindergarten through eighth grade and will be randomly selected.

Job Postings for Tuesday, Nov. 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. 

Cook's Helper (nine months/ 40 hours/ first shift) #21287, Dining Services (AFSCME posting Nov. 2 to Nov. 8, 2021 — internal AFSCME applicants are given first consideration if they apply during the internal AFSCME posting dates). Apply online. 

Office Assistant 6 (12 months/ 40 hours/ first shift) #21288, Sports and Recreation (UAW posting Nov. 2 to Nov. 8, 2021 — internal UAW applicants are given first consideration if they apply during the internal UAW posting dates). Apply online. 

Office Assistant 5 (12 months/ 40 hours/ first shift) #21289, Sports and Recreation (UAW posting Nov. 2 to Nov. 8, 2021 — internal UAW applicants are given first consideration if they apply during the internal UAW posting dates). Apply online. 

Office Assistant 6 (12 months/ 40 hours/ first shift) #21290, Student Financial Services Center (UAW posting Nov. 2 to Nov. 8, 2021 — internal UAW applicants are given first consideration if they apply during the internal UAW posting dates). Apply online.

Operations Manager, Transportations Services. Apply online.

Research Security Specialist 2, Keweenaw Research Center. 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 installation of the first monitoring buoy in Grand Traverse Bay, a result of the partnership between Michigan Tech and Northwestern Michigan College, was covered by 9&10 News and The Ticker.

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The upcoming return of Michigan Tech’s 41 North Film Festival was covered by WLUC TV6 and WJMN Local 3.

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Michigan Tech’s H-STEM Engineering and Health Technologies Complex and the Center for Convergence and Innovation proposed in the University’s FY2023 Five-Year Capital Outlay Plan were the subject of a Daily Mining Gazette feature story.

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Nathan Bildeaux, co-founder of Traverse Solar, discussed his research collaboration with the Keweenaw Research Center in a Traverse City Business News profile of Bildeaux as one of Northern Michigan’s 11 environmental leaders to watch.

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.

Michigan Tech strongly recommends that all employees and students 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. There is no cost to be tested, and no appointment is needed. 

This week, testing will be available only on Thursday (Nov. 4) from 9 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. The regular testing days (Monday, Tuesday and Thursday) will resume next week on Monday (Nov. 8).

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

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CTL Coffee Chat: Computerized Classroom Testing

During remote teaching, many instructors learned how to leverage Canvas or other computerized tools for quizzes and exams. These tools offered advantages like automatic grading, the use of question banks and the ability to easily randomize correct answers to increase integrity. Remote proctoring, meanwhile, offered significant challenges.

As we’ve returned to the classroom, infrastructure has been put in place to allow computerized testing in university classrooms. This allows more conventional proctoring while taking advantage of the efficiencies and higher integrity of computerized exams.

In this Coffee Chat session, planned for Thursday (Nov. 4) from 3:30-4:30 p.m. in Grover C. Dillman Hall (Dillman) Room 204, we’ll explore that computerized testing infrastructure, along with ideas and best practices for giving computer-based exams and quizzes in classrooms.

Register for the session.

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TIAA Virtual Retirement Counseling Sessions Available

The Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA) is offering virtual retirement counseling sessions on the following days:

• Tuesday, Nov. 2
• Wednesday, Nov. 17
• Thursday, Nov. 18
• Wednesday, Dec. 1
• Thursday, Dec. 9
• Friday, Dec. 17

If you'd like to schedule an appointment with TIAA, call 800-732-8353 or book an appointment online.

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Lunch and Learn: Celebrating Women's Health

Join us tomorrow (Nov. 3) at noon in the MUB Ballroom, B3, as physical therapist Dr. Anne Cooke and licensed massage therapist Kristi Kirkpatrick celebrate women's health.

Cooke and Kirkpatrick will explore many aspects of women's health including: mental health, self-care, physical health and nutrition.

Learn how these all merge to make us our optimal selves at work and at home.

This Lunch and Learn will count toward Option 2 on your Husky Health form for 2021!

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Copyright Workshop for Graduate Students

What’s copyright and what does it have to do with your dissertation? Do you need permission to use someone else's figure or image, or an article you wrote? Should you make your thesis open access? And what is a Creative Commons license? Get the answers to these and other questions at the library workshop: "Copyright and Your Dissertation, Thesis, or Master’s Report."

In this workshop, you’ll learn the role U.S. copyright law plays in writing and publishing your report, thesis or dissertation. We will explore the legal use of copyrighted material, publishing agreements, Creative Commons licensing and the role of Michigan Tech’s institutional repository, Digital Commons @ Michigan Tech. After this workshop you will be prepared to make informed decisions about using copyrighted material and the publishing options for your dissertation, thesis or master’s report.

Please join us in the Van Pelt and Opie Library, Room 244, at noon tomorrow (Nov. 3). Registration is required.

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Search Like a Fact Checker

Not sure if your news is fake? Not even sure what that means anymore? Join us to talk through some lateral reading strategies that can be helpful when evaluating your sources. This workshop will feature discussion and hands-on exploration of real-life examples!

The workshop will take place today (Nov. 2) at 3 p.m. in the Van Pelt and Opie Library, Room 244.

Register to attend.

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

Hyperconnection: A New Series by Tiffany Lange

Tuesday, November 2, 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...

PhD Defense: Xiang Zhou

Tuesday, November 2, 8–9 a.m.

Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics Co-advisors: Wayne Weaver and Ossama Abdelkhalik Electrical Power Take-Off System Design and Performance Assessment for Point...

The Misinformation Edition Exhibition

Tuesday, November 2, 8 a.m.–8 p.m. | J. Robert Van Pelt and John and Ruanne Opie Library

Glass Room: Misinformation Edition explores how social media and the web have changed the way we read information and react to it. It exposes new types of influencers, the new...

CTL Technical Workshop: Creating Accessible Documents in Microsoft Word or Google Docs

Tuesday, November 2, 2 p.m.–3 p.m. | Library, 242

CTL Technical Workshop: Creating Accessible Documents in Microsoft Word or Google Docs https://mtu.libcal.com/event/8423020

Open Rock Climbing

Tuesday, November 2, 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...