February 21, 2022

You're invited to participate in the MTU Civic Innovation Community Resilience Survey.

The University of Washington and Michigan Technological University, together with civic partners at the Western Upper Peninsula Planning and Development Region (WUPPDR), are collaborating to develop innovative methods that use remote sensing data resources and community member engagement (crowdsourcing) to address current data gaps for improved flood hazard modeling and enhancing community resilience in rural communities of the western U.P. Through this survey, we are seeking information on your perspective on community resilience and associated indicators.

The survey takes about eight minutes to complete and is part of the National Science Foundation (NSF) project titled "Helping rural counties to enhance flooding and coastal disaster resilience and adaptation," focused on Baraga and Houghton counties in Michigan.

The campus community is invited to join representatives from the College of Business and the Graduate School to learn about the TechMBA® and Master's in Engineering Management from 5 to 6 p.m. this Thursday (Feb. 24), in Academic Office Building, Room 101. Complimentary pizza provided.

Due to a system error caught by HRIS, the life insurance premium deduction on the January 28, 2022 paycheck calculated incorrectly for employees with life insurance over $50,000. This error has been corrected and employees that were overcharged for their life Insurance premium will see a reimbursement of their overcharge on their February 25, 2022 paycheck. Employees with life insurance coverage of 4 times their annual salary will see a one-time additional charge for the undercharged life insurance premium on their February 25, 2022 paycheck.

Please contact Benefit Services at benefits@mtu.edu or 7-2517 if you have any questions.

Real money, real investments, real business — that’s the Applied Portfolio Management Program (APMP) at Michigan Tech.

There’s no better way to prepare for a career in finance or wealth management than to gain firsthand experience. This is what APMP provides — the opportunity to invest over $2 million of real money. Students involved with the program have access to Michigan Tech’s cutting-edge investment software and spend time in our trading lab analyzing real-time market data, researching price quotes and placing trades.

Students can apply to the program online. 

Students from all majors and departments are encouraged to submit research posters for the Computing[MTU] Showcase happening April 4-6. The poster walk/session takes place April 5. Prizes will be awarded in undergraduate and graduate categories. 

Students do not need to be present at the event to enter a poster. Posters do not need to be unique to this event — those that have appeared or will appear elsewhere are welcome. Titles and abstracts are due Thursday, March 10. Please visit the computing showcase website for more information or contact Amanda Stump, ajstump@mtu.edu.

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

Austin Beattie: 1-2:30 p.m. today (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.

The Society of Women Engineers is hosting a snowshoe fundraiser for the Keweenaw Spay and Neuter Assistance Group (KSNAG). Come have fun outdoors at the Tech Trails and help support a great cause! The event takes place from 1-4 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 26. Tickets are $15 for the general public or $10 for MTU students and season pass holders. There will also be free hot cocoa and stickers! Register to attend.

Michigan Tech Theatre and U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance present

An Evening of One Acts. Buckle in for an evening of one-act plays written by women that deal with the diverse elements of female identity. This inter-collegiate event includes original plays by University of Michigan students directed and performed by Michigan Tech students.

An Evening of One Acts Show A is at 7:30 p.m. Friday (Feb. 25) in McArdle Theatre. 
An Evening of One Acts Show B is at 7:30 p.m. Thursday (Feb. 24) and Saturday (Feb. 26) in McArdle.
Masks are required.

Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for youth. Michigan Tech students can attend for free and bring a friend with the Experience Tech Fee.
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Michigan Tech Music Presents a Celebration of Concertos at 7:30 p.m. Saturday (Feb. 26). 

Join Michigan Tech Music's Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra as they perform alongside their second Concerto Competition winners: Elizabeth Bergstrom, Eleanor McKinney, Jeremy Brown, David Olson and Jeremy Brown, Grant Fredrickson, Danielle Simandl, Adam Hall, and Brian Wall.
Masks are required.

Tickets are $19 for adults and $6 for youth. Michigan Tech students can attend for free and bring a friend with the Experience Tech Fee.

Please join us for an hour of laid-back Francophone setting with French natives and other Francophiles. All levels welcome.

Café Français meets from 5-6 p.m.Tuesday (Feb. 22) in Walker 120C. Future dates (every second Tuesday) are March 15 and April 12.

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.

Dede Subakti, vice president of system operations for California ISO, will present a seminar from 3-4 p.m. March 1 in Rekhi 217.

The seminar, titled "Employment at California Independent System Operator (ISO)," will provide an overview of California ISO energy and ancillary services markets and the integration of large-scale energy storage in California.

The seminar is sponsored by the Institute of Computing and Cybersystems (ICC) and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Learn more on the ICC Blog.

"Lives in Transition" Series Begins This Week

The Institute for Policy, Ethics, and Culture, partnered with the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts, the Michigan Tech Vice President’s Office for Diversity and Inclusion, the Portage Lake District Library and the Michigan Humanities Council is presenting "Lives in Transition," a virtual speaker series on how technocultural changes are transforming lives.

The virtual series debuts at 7 p.m. Tuesday (Feb. 22) via Zoom webinar.

Suzanne Simard kicks off the series tomorrow evening with her presentation "Finding the Mother Tree." A professor of forest ecology at the University of British Columbia and the author of the Book "Finding the Mother Tree," Simard will share her moving and deeply personal journey of discovering the interconnectedness of trees, explaining how they behave in many ways with characteristics ascribed to human intelligence and civil societies. In understanding these complex ecosystems, Simard emphasizes the critical need to rethink our relationship with our natural world so we can begin to heal our climate.

Register here. 

On Thursday (Feb. 24), Chanda Prescod-Weinstein will present "Black Feminist Technoscience in the Cosmos." Dr. Weinstein is a cosmologist and author of the book "The Disordered Cosmos." Her presentation will focus on how Black feminism illuminates our relationship with the night sky and what it means to take Black feminism into space with us.

Register here. 

See the complete line-up of speakers and register for other talks in the series on IPEC's website.

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Environmental Engineering Graduate Seminar

The next Environmental Engineering Graduate Seminar will take place at 3 p.m. today (Feb. 21) in the Great Lakes Research Center (GLRC) Room 202.

U.S. Geological Survey research ecologist Ted Stets will present "USGS Studies on Water Availability: Trends and Integrated Assessments."

Light refreshments will be served.

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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. today (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.

Read the abstract on the University Events Calendar.

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Archives and Questions of Truth

How do we know what happened in the past? Our understanding of history can be clouded by assumptions, preconceptions and legends innocently passed through the generations. Going back to basics and investigating original sources can clarify — and complicate — knowledge of the truth of the past. Learn more in a session by the Michigan Tech Archives from 6-7:30 p.m. Thursday (Feb. 24) in the Archives Reading Room on the Garden Level, Van Pelt and Opie Library.

Participants will investigate some of the Copper Country’s most contested stories using original materials and maybe even question what they thought they knew. The event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served. Due to reading room seating capacity, the session is limited to 20 attendees. Please sign up to guarantee your seat.

Archives and Questions of Truth is part of the Bad Information Project  made possible in part by a grant from the Michigan Humanities, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and by funding from the MTU Humanities Department.

Physics graduate students Jeff Kabel (advisor Yoke Khin Yap) and Neerav Kaushal (advisor Elena Giusarma) will present their research progress at this week's Physics Colloquium at 4 p.m. Thursday (Feb. 24) in Fisher 139.

The event offers a hybrid format. Attend in person or participate via Zoom. Please register in advance to attend virtually; you'll receive a confirmation email containing details to join the session.

Find more information, including the students' presentation titles and abstracts, on the University Events Calendar. 

The Michigan Tech Nordic ski team heads to Duluth, Minnesota for the NCAA Central Region Championships this weekend. The Huskies will compete in the classic 5/10K Saturday and the skate 15/20K Sunday.

Read more at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference announced the All-Academic and All-Academic Excellence Teams for the fall 2021 semester on Friday. A total of 156 Huskies earned recognition with 105 on the All-Academic Excellence Team and 54 on the All-Academic Team.

Read more at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Sloane Zenner posted a career-high 16 points and Michigan Tech held off Saginaw Valley State 65-54 for a critical conference win Thursday night at SDC Gymnasium. The Huskies had a slow start but charged into the lead in the second quarter and never looked back to improve to 14-9 overall (9-6 GLIAC). Saginaw Valley State dropped to 13-9 overall (8-7 GLIAC). MTU plays Wayne State at home on Saturday before a rematch with the Cardinals on the road Tuesday night.

Read more at the Michigan Tech Athletics website. 

With 19 points and seven rebounds, senior Trent Bell assisted Michigan Tech men's basketball to its eighth straight victory Thursday night, 77-71 over Saginaw Valley State University. Along the way, Bell became the 32nd Husky player to reach 1,000 career points. Tech improved to 18-5 overall (14-3 GLIAC) and remained in second place in the conference standings behind Ferris State (20-5, 15-2).

Read more at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Michigan Tech men's tennis picked up a pair of wins in singles but ultimately fell 5-2 to Lewis University at Five Star Tennis Center Friday morning. Siddhesh Mahadeshwar and Ricardo Nunez teamed up to win 6-1 at No. 2 doubles, but the Flyers took the team doubles point with wins at No. 1 and No. 3, then picked up four singles spots.

Michigan Tech (0-1, 0-0) continues non-conference play on Saturday at 10 a.m. at Illinois Springfield. The Flyers continued their strong start and moved to 3-0 on the season.

Adam Fenjiro started at No. 1 singles for the Huskies and fell in straight sets to Juan Ramirez Mejia 6-2, 6-4. After a slow start, Vitor Jordao rebounded in the second set but succumbed to Oskar Lundi 6-0, 6-4.

Nikolai Prosjankyov scored a point for the Huskies at No. 3 after defeating Pedja Trifunovic 6-4, 7-5. Andrew Freel also found success at No. 5 singles with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Oliwer Wierzbicki. 

"It was a really good fight today," said head coach Kristin Yep. "There were some jitters being the first match of the season, but a lot can be learned from this match. It really could have gone either way with just a few points. Overall, the team energy and support was really strong."

The Huskies are in the first weekend of a nine-match road swing to start the season. Learn more on the Michigan Tech Huskies website.

Trista Vick-Majors (BioSci) and her team were interviewed by WLUC TV6 while conducting lake sampling on the Keweenaw Waterway as part of the Great Lakes Winter Grab, a collaborative effort of more than a dozen U.S. and Canadian institutions to collect samples during the winter. 

A collaborative research team's work on energy sovereignty has recently been published in the Routledge Handbook of Energy Democracy. Co-authors of "Energy democracy in practice: Centering energy sovereignty in rural communities and Tribal Nations" include Chelsea Schelly, Valoree Gagnon, Andrew Fiss, Elise Matz, Rebecca Ong and Kathy Halvorsen of Michigan Tech, along with Douglas Bessette, Laura Schmitt Olabisi and Kristin Arola of Michigan State University.

Learn more about the work via the Michigan Tech Digital Commons.

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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VPR Research Series: Creating SciENcv Biosketches

The National Science Foundation (NSF) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) require personnel biographical sketches to be submitted in a very specific format. The format and specific instructions have changed for both agencies in the last two years. One way to ensure your biosketch is always in compliance when you submit a proposal to these agencies is to use their approved system, SciENcv.

Join us on Zoom from noon to 1 p.m. on Thursday (Feb. 24) to learn how you can create and maintain your biographical sketch and current and pending support documents so they are available when needed for a proposal submission. Once you get the initial setup done, you'll be able to easily generate biosketches and current and pending documents that are always current with the agency rules.

This session will include basic instruction in the system, information on how to link data sources for publication entry, tips and tricks and time for individual Q&A.

Any questions should be addressed to rd-l@mtu.edu.

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Minimum Supported Version of macOS Required by Feb. 28

Next Monday (Feb. 28), Michigan Tech IT will remove all Mac computers from the network that are not running macOS Catalina (10.15.7) or higher. Apple is no longer supporting operating systems older than 10.15.7, making those computers vulnerable to security threats and posing a risk to our network.

If your Mac falls in this category, you will need to upgrade your operating system. If your computer is unable to meet the hardware requirements for the upgrade, our IT procurement staff can help you explore other options.

For more information, please review our KB article on the minimum supported version of macOS. If you have any questions, we can help. Contact us at it-help@mtu.edu or call 906-487-1111.

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Call for Judges: 2022 Undergraduate Research Symposium

The 10th annual Undergraduate Research Symposium (URS) will take place March 25 in the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts lobby. We need faculty, staff and community members to serve as distinguished judges.

Judging entails reviewing the posters and accompanying presentations of up to five undergraduate researchers on the day of the symposium in the Rozsa Center lobby. We will match faculty with a mixture of posters, some from their home department and others from departments across campus. If you would like to serve as a judge, please submit our judge registration form.

About URS
The symposium highlights the cutting-edge research conducted on Michigan Tech’s campus by some of our best and brightest undergraduates. The students represent a wide array of scientific and engineering disciplines from across campus and highlight the diversity of research areas being explored.

The symposium coincides with Tech's Preview Day and is a great way to share the exciting research projects going on across campus with high school students considering attending Michigan Tech. We encourage all faculty, staff and students to attend and support our excellent undergraduate researchers.

Visit the URS website for more information. Questions can be directed to honors@mtu.edu.

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Spring Blood Drive

The need is constant. The gratification is instant. Give blood.

Currently, there is a critical need for blood donors. Please join us in the Rozsa Lobby and donate blood at the following times:

• Tuesday, Feb. 22 — 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Wednesday, Feb. 23 — 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Our location allows for social distancing while donating. We ask that everyone wear a face covering and reserve your appointment slot online ahead of time if possible. Please bring a photo ID with you. Donors will receive a free shirt and $10 Amazon gift card while supplies last.

For more information, visit the American Red Cross website or email Rochelle Spencer at raspence@mtu.edu.

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

ICC Lecture: Dr. Ajit Yoganathan, Georgia Tech, February 21 (POSTPONED)

Monday, February 21, 12 p.m. | Rekhi Hall, 214

This lecture has been postponed. Dr. Ajit Yoganathan, Georgia Tech, will present a lecture Monday, February 21, 2022, at 12:00 pm, in Rekhi Hall Room 214. The lecture can...

USGS Studies on Water Availability: Trends and Integrated Assessments

Monday, February 21, 3 p.m. | Great Lakes Research Center (GLRC), 202

Environmental Engineering Graduate Seminar Ted Stets, Research Ecologist, US Geological Survey Abstract Sustaining the quality of the Nation’s water resources and the...

Youth Indoor Rock Climbing Spring 2022 Session 2

Monday, February 21, 4:00 p.m.–4:50 p.m. | Student Development Complex (SDC), Climbing Wall

Is your child looking for a new challenge? Sign up now for the OAP Youth Indoor Rock Climbing Class and let them climb our wall! We try to meet each participant at their level...

Consolidated Nuclear Security Y12 Student Information Session

Monday, February 21, 5 p.m.–6 p.m.

Come learn more about Consolidated Nuclear Security, operators of the Pantex Plant and Y-12 National Security Complex, for the Department of Energy. Join from the meeting...

Monthly General Meeting _ Spring 2022

Monday, February 21, 6 p.m.–7 p.m. | Chem Sci. 211

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...

Open Rock Climbing

Monday, February 21, 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...

Where the Rubber Meets the Road

Monday, February 21, 6 p.m.

Husky Bites presents Special Guest Zhanping You Distinguished Professor, Transportation Engineering Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering Michigan Technological...

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering Hangout

Monday, February 21, 7 p.m.–8 p.m.

Michigan Tech's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering is excited to meet you! Join us (virtually) to hear faculty share more about the department, the majors...

Cricket Tournament Spring 2022

Monday, February 21, 10–12 a.m. | SDC Multipurpose Room

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