ADVANCE Weekly Roundup: Public Statements are Not Actions

This is Black History month; next month is Women’s History month. We celebrate by highlighting the first black woman to earn her Ph.D. in physics in the U.S., Willie Hobbs Moore, who was also an electrical engineer and received her degree in physics from the University of Michigan in 1972. Moore is known for a number of achievements including bringing Japanese manufacturing practices to Ford in the 1980s, working in the field of molecular spectroscopy and supporting STEM education for minority students. Moore was able to break through a glass ceiling but, unfortunately, 50 years later this glass ceiling remains for many minorities. This IEEE article suggests institutions need to move beyond public statements expressing solidarity with the Black community to examining the different types of anti-Black violence that are tolerated within their own campuses, for example, examining engineering education and practice. This examination should include what the authors call the “engineering ecosystem” and the “three realms of experience” that Black students must navigate within this ecosystem (mainstream culture, Black culture and the status of the oppressed minority).

Today’s feature was shared with us by The ADVANCE PI Team. If you have an article you think we should feature, please email it to advance-mtu@mtu.edu and we will consider adding it to the ADVANCE Weekly Roundup.

The ADVANCE Weekly Roundup is brought to you by ADVANCE at Michigan Tech, which is an NSF-funded initiative dedicated to improving faculty career success, retention, diversity, equity, and inclusion. These articles are available on the ADVANCE Newsblog. To learn more about this week’s topic, our mission, programming efforts and to check out our growing collection of resources, contact us at (advance-mtu@mtu.edu) or visit our website.

 

Candidates for Assistant Professor of Communication Visit Campus

Three candidates for an assistant professor of communication position (HU) will make research presentations on campus next week (Feb. 21-25).

Austin Beattie: 1-2:30 p.m. Monday (Feb. 21), Walker 120C, “I Get by With a Little Help From My Bots: Implications of Machine Agents in the Context of Social Support."

Beattie is a Ph.D. Candidate at The University of Iowa and a member of two labs that explore elements of computer-mediated and human-machine communication (HMC) through mixed methods and community partnership. His most recent work centers on HMC in the context of social support.

Joo-Wha Hong: 1-2:30 p.m. Wednesday (Feb. 23), Walker 120C, "Living With The Most Humanlike Nonhuman." 

Hong is a doctoral candidate at USC Annenberg. His research examines human-machine communication, mainly focusing on how people perceive AI agents and their performance. His work has been published in major journals such as New Media & Society, Computers in Human Behavior and International Journal of Communication.

Jason Archer: 1-2:30 p.m. Friday (Feb. 25), Walker 120C, "The Engineer, the Robot, and the Surgeon: Centering Touch in Human-Machine Communication."

Archer, who earned his Ph.D. in Communication from the University of Illinois at Chicago, focuses on human-machine communication, human augmentics and haptics. The recipient of a National Science Foundation IGERT fellowship in electronic privacy and security, Archer is published in New Media & Society, proceedings of CHI and the forthcoming Sage Handbook on Human-Machine Communication.

Party in Your Jammies: Family Friendly Films, Food and Fun

Campus and community are invited to join the Michigan Tech Film Board and the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts at the Rosza Center on Sunday (Feb. 20) for a screening of Disney's Frozen and Frozen II. Wear a costume or your jammies and enjoy crafts, lobby activities and a photo op with your favorite characters before and between shows. Tickets are available day-of for $3 for one show or $5 for a double feature.

Frozen is at 1 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Frozen II is at 3:30 p.m. and 9 p.m.

Box Office and lobby activities begin at 12 p.m. Hope to see you there!

Film Board Presenting 'Venom: Let There Be Carnage'

This week, the Film Board presents "Venom: Let There Be Carnage," rated PG-13 for intense sequences of violence and action, some strong language, disturbing material and suggestive references.

Showings:

  • Friday, Feb. 18 — 5:30 p.m.*, 8:30 p.m., 11:30 p.m.
  • Saturday, Feb. 19 — 5:30 p.m.*, 8:30 p.m., 11:30 p.m.

* 5:30 p.m. showtimes will be shown with subtitles! 

Located on Michigan Tech's campus in Fisher 135.

Tickets are $3 and concessions are $1. We hope to see you at the movie this weekend — and have a great day.

SENSE Enterprise to Compete in MECC (You Can Help!)

This May, Michigan Tech's SENSE Enterprise will compete in the U.S. Department of Energy's 2022 Marine Energy Collegiate Competition (MECC). For the past five months, the team has been hard at work designing a clean and effective marine energy device that's designed for deployment in Lake Superior. The aim of the project is to begin formulating ideas for reducing energy costs in the Western Upper Peninsula.

The MECC Team needs help gathering data to make this device work for the Keweenaw. We are asking students, faculty and local residents to take a short survey to help us begin shaping a new future for energy in the Keweenaw.

Josue Reynoso Selected for Deans' Teaching Showcase

Dean Johnson, dean of the College of Business (COB), has selected Josue Reynoso, an assistant professor of entrepreneurship and management, as the sixth spring 2022 Deans’ Teaching Showcase member.

Reynoso will be recognized at an end-of-term event with other showcase members and is also a candidate for the CTL Instructional Award Series

Reynoso was selected for his role in curriculum development within the College of Business. As a new assistant professor, Reynoso took an active leadership role in the design of the COB's new minor in entrepreneurship, technology, and innovation, which was approved by the University Senate and Administration in fall 2021. To support this minor and update the entrepreneurial course offerings within the COB, Reynoso developed and introduced two new courses: Developing Entrepreneurial Ventures and Commercialization of Advanced Technologies. As part of his selection process, Johnson acknowledged this work was a team effort, but said, “While Dr. Reynoso is quick to give credit to the collaborations with his COB colleagues, he was at the heart of these curriculum innovations.”

Reynoso’s teaching interests in technology entrepreneurship, innovation management, corporate entrepreneurship and commercialization of advanced technologies have put him squarely in the center of many of the new directions within the COB. As a new Ph.D. with a distinguished background, Johnson sees Reynoso as uniquely positioned to promote the entrepreneurship major and minor on MTU's campus. He has risen to the occasion with varied activities within MTU's entrepreneurship ecosystem, including his work within the Bob Mark Elevator Pitch Competition.

Johnson sees Reynoso’s contribution as especially important considering that new faculty have faced unusual adversity in the past few years. "The COB is very proud of the contributions and progress of Dr. Reynoso," Johnson said. "Despite COVID being a major disruption, especially for new faculty, it is exciting to see Dr. Reynoso contributing to the development of our curriculum and Michigan Tech's focus on entrepreneurship and innovation. These developments are a priority for the COB and many MTU alumni."

Seminars and Workshops

ECE Hosts Lunch and Learn with Milea Kammer

The ECE department will host a lunch and learn at 12 p.m. Tuesday (Feb. 22) with visiting guest speaker Milea J. Kammer. A recognized and sought-after resource for her metallurgy knowledge and understanding of aerospace electronics materials and manufacturing processes, Kammer's talk will focus on promoting the success of women engineers, as well as some of her technical work in industry. Lunch is provided, or attendees can bring their own — for accurate lunch ordering, please RSVP by Friday (Feb. 18).

Kammer, a materials engineering manager at Honeywell Aerospace, holds a Ph.D. from the School of Materials Science and Engineering at Purdue University. She manages the Honeywell Aerospace electronics failure analysis labs supporting failure investigations for hardware ranging from cockpit displays to satellite navigation controls. Along with her technical contributions to Honeywell, Milea has played an active role in multiple IPC committees, the IPC Emerging Engineer program and is a recipient of the IPC Rising Star Award. Through her industry engagement, she is driving the industry toward incorporation of new technology requirements, while managing a committee of more than 100 active participants. Kammer is also a regular contributor on the Pb-free electronics risk management council (PERM), providing technical input for document creation and research studies.

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Chemistry Seminar Series presents Philip Yangyuoru

Philip Yangyuoru, assistant professor of practice at Northern Michigan University, presents “The Mechanism of action of the G-quadruplex Resolvase DHX36 on Nucleic Acid Structures” at 3 p.m. Friday (Feb. 18). You can join the seminar via Zoom.

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Career Navigation for Scientists Panel is Feb. 23

The Professional Development Committee at the Graduate Student Government and MTU Career Services are collaborating to bring you a three-part seminar dedicated to navigating careers for scientists. Panels are composed of professionals across academia and industry from different departments and disciplines. Panels will feature brief speaker introductions, questions about their backgrounds, public Q&A and breakout rooms for discipline-specific questions.

The second seminar panel, at 6 p.m. Wednesday (Feb. 23), features MTU graduates from the departments of forestry, biology, geology and mining, and chemistry. Our prestigious panelists include:

Adam Coble earned his Ph.D. in forest science and is now manager of forest health and monitoring for the Oregon Department of Forestry.

Kelsey Carter earned her Ph.D. in forest science and is now a post-doctoral associate at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in the U.S. Department of Energy.

Rapsa Basu earned her Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular Biology and is now lead scientist in precision immunotherapy at Humane Genomics.

Aparupa Sengupta earned her master's in molecular genetics and biotechnology and her Ph.D. in biological sciences, worked as a biosafety officer at Rutgers University and is now a biosafety officer at U of C-MERCED.

Matthew Songer earned a bachelor's in biological sciences from MTU and an MD from University of Illinois, Chicago and is now an orthopedic spine surgeon and entrepreneur. He also earned a master of business administration from Northwestern University and taught at MTU and MSU.

Elisa Piispa earned a Ph.D. in geophysics from MTU, was an assistant professor at Yachay Tech University and is now research specialist and lab manager at the Paleomagnetism Laboratory of Institute of Earth Sciences at the University of Iceland.

Chet Hopp earned a master's in geophysics from MTU, a Ph.D. in Geophysics from Victoria University of Wellington and is now a post-doctoral scholar at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in the Energy Geoscience Division.

Bhaskar Halami earned his Ph.D. in chemistry, worked as a senior scientist at PPD in Thermo Fisher Scientific and is now a senior scientist at Sirnaomics, Inc.

Chelsea Nikula earned her Ph.D. in chemistry from MTU and now works as a higher research scientist in the U.K.'s National Physical Laboratory.

Don’t miss this opportunity to discuss careers with these knowledgeable people! Register for the event.

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Graduate Research Colloquium Registration is Open

GSG is pleased to announce this year’s Graduate Research Colloquium (GRC) will be held on Tuesday, March 29 and Wednesday, March 30. Registration is open now through 11:59 p.m. Monday, Feb. 28.

GRC offers a unique opportunity for graduate students to showcase their research across the campus-wide community and work on their presentation skills for upcoming conferences. Students can give oral presentations, present posters or do both. The event will be held in a pseudo-hybrid mode. Many conferences have adopted a hybrid model due to the pandemic; this will be an excellent opportunity for participants to get familiar with that scenario. Poster presentations will be in person and the oral presentations will be virtual. Judges from a similar field will score presentations and provide valuable insight and feedback on how the students can improve.

Cash prizes are available for the top three places in both oral and poster presentations: $300 for first place, $200 for second and $100 for third. 
Poster presentations are from 5-7 p.m. Tuesday, March 29 in the MUB ballroom. GSG will cover the cost of printing posters for this year’s event so don’t let that prevent you from participating! Virtual oral presentations — a 12-minute live talk followed by a Q&A session (no pre-recorded video presentations) — will take place on both days of the colloquium.
The event will be capped off with the annual GRC Awards Banquet. All participants and judges are invited. The banquet will also be held in the hybrid mode so that people may join the awards ceremony virtually on Wednesday, March 30, following the closing of GRC.

Fill out your registration form today. If you need more details, find them on our website. If you have questions, please contact GSG, gsg-research@mtu.edu.

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ACSHF Forum: Kyle Wilson, Seeing Machines

The Applied Cognitive Science and Human Factors (ACSHF) Forum will be held from 2-3 p.m. Monday (Feb 21) virtually via Zoom. Our speaker is Kyle Wilson, Ph.D. Wilson is a Human Factors Senior Scientist and Team Lead at the company Seeing Machines in Canberra, Australia.

Wilson will discuss three human factors studies he was involved with in the transport space – each with a focus on how people experience new technology and related implications on safety and performance.

Reminders

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 make choices to protect themselves, such as getting vaccinated, wearing high-filtration face coverings, and practicing enhanced sanitation and physical distancing where possible — especially in light of the increased transmissibility of the COVID-19 omicron 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 spring 2022 semester.

Testing is available every week in the Rozsa Center basement Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. There is no cost to be tested, and no appointment is needed. 

The consent form is now online and can be completed anytime between 8:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. on the day of your visit.

More COVID-19 Testing Information for the Michigan Tech community is available on the MTU Flex website.

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Request Assistance to Improve a Process

Do you have work that takes too long or doesn’t get the results you want? Or fires you’re putting out every day? A process improvement event might be the answer.

The Office of Continuous Improvement can connect you with trained facilitators who will work with you to define the problem, form a team and run an improvement event to resolve it. Your team will be guided by the facilitator using Lean methods and tools to tackle even the most stubborn issues. We specialize in processes that span office and department boundaries, and our service is free!

Contact us with your improvement challenges. Email us at improvement@mtu.edu or submit the Request a Process Improvement form on our website.

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Computer Science Lecture Series

Xiaoyong "Brian" Yuan, assistant professor in both the Computer Science and Applied Computing departments, will present a Computer Science department lecture at 3 p.m. today (Feb. 18) in Rekhi 214.

The lecture can also be attended virtually via Zoom.

Yuan’s research interests span the fields of deep learning, machine learning, security and privacy, and cloud computing.

Read the abstract on the Computing News Blog.

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Board of Trustees Meeting is Feb. 25

The Board of Trustees will meet from 9-11 a.m. next Friday (Feb. 25) in  Memorial Union Ballroom B. The public is welcome to attend.

Members of the public are invited to make public comments to the board in accordance with the Board of Trustees Bylaw 1.14. Those who wish to address items in the agenda, and who have filed their intent with the secretary of the board as required by Bylaw 1.14, will be limited to five minutes. Those addressing general topics are limited to three minutes.

If you wish to provide public comments to the Board of Trustees, please submit your intent to Sarah Schulte, secretary to the Board of Trustees, at shschult@mtu.edu. The deadline to submit your intent is today (Feb. 18).

Job Posting

Job Posting for Friday, February 18, 2022

Staff and faculty job descriptions are available in Human Resources or the Human Resources website. For more information regarding staff positions, call 487-2280 or email mtujobs@mtu.edu. For more information regarding faculty positions, contact the academic department in which the position is posted.

Professor of Practice, Construction Management
College of Business and Civil, Environmental and Geospatial Engineering

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.

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Assistant Research Engineer/Scientist (two positions)
Chemical Engineering

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.

Today's Campus Events

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

"Bayesian Analysis of Longitudinal Ordinal Data Using Non-Identifiable Multivariate Probit Models"

Abstract: Multivariate probit models have been explored for analyzing longitudinal ordinal data. However, the inherent identification issue in multivariate probit models...

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Career Closet

The Career Closet is back! The Career Closet is a give-away of gently worn business clothing to assist students in preparing for Career Fair and other career...

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Molecular Design using Molecular Dynamics Simulations and Machine Learning

Chemical Engineering Seminar proudly presents Dr. Camille Bilodeau Massachusetts Institute of Technology Faculty Candidate Research Abstract Molecular dynamics...

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CS Dept. Lecture: Dr. Brian Yuan and Dr. Susanta Ghosh, February 18

Dr. Xiaoyong (Brian) Yuan, assistant professor in both the Computer Science and Applied Computing departments at Michigan Tech, will present a lecture on Friday, February 18,...

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Film Board Presents: Venom: Let There Be Carnage

Eddie Brock is still struggling to coexist with the shape-shifting extraterrestrial Venom. When deranged serial killer Cletus Kasady also becomes host to an alien symbiote,...

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Monthly General Meeting _ Spring 2022

Hi folks, This mail serves to notify us that we will be having our monthly general meeting on the last Wednesday of the month 6 - 7 PM at Chem Sci. 211 or via Zoom. Feel...

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Speed Board Games

Come play speed board games and have some snacks in the MUB Ballroom! You have five minutes to play a game, and you'll be switched to a new game when the time's up. Pick up...

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(Men's Ice Hockey) Michigan Tech at Ferris State

Men's Ice Hockey: Michigan Tech at Ferris State

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An Evening of 1 Acts: Show B

Buckle in for an evening of one-act plays written by female writers and dealing with the diverse elements of female identity. This inter-collegiate will include original plays...

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Centurious

Michigan Tech Music presents Centurious Performed by the Superior Wind Symphony Let's go on a time-traveling treasure hunt. Head back in time to uncover rare musical...

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Film Board Presents: Venom: Let There Be Carnage

Eddie Brock is still struggling to coexist with the shape-shifting extraterrestrial Venom. When deranged serial killer Cletus Kasady also becomes host to an alien symbiote,...

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Cricket Tournament Spring 2022

Cricket Club MTU in partnership with Indian Students Association (ISA) has organized Tennis Ball Cricket Tournament for boys. DEADLINE FOR REGISTRATION: Sunday January 30,...

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Film Board Presents: Venom: Let There Be Carnage

Eddie Brock is still struggling to coexist with the shape-shifting extraterrestrial Venom. When deranged serial killer Cletus Kasady also becomes host to an alien symbiote,...

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(Men's Tennis) Michigan Tech at Lewis

Men's Tennis: Michigan Tech at Lewis

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(Women's Tennis) Michigan Tech at Lewis

Women's Tennis: Michigan Tech at Lewis

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Searching Sideways Week

At the VPOL our aim is to help make you efficient and effective searchers so we are dedicating the week to sharing tools and methods that will elevate how you find...