March 7, 2022

Weather permitting, Michigan Tech's annual steam shutdown will take place during the week following Spring Commencement, from May 1 to May 6.

This outage is required to provide maintenance and service of the boilers and steam distribution system on campus. This planned maintenance improves the reliability of our system and reduces the likelihood of an unplanned failure during the winter heating season.

Please note: There will not be heat or hot water in the affected buildings during the steam shutdown. There will be no distilled water available from the steam-driven stills. Steam-driven autoclaves/sterilizers will not be operational.

The annual steam shutdown:

• Begins: Sunday, May 1, at noon.
• Ends: Friday, May 6, at noon.

Buildings affected are:
Administration Building
Annex
Academic Office Building (AOB)
Chemical Sciences
Central Heating Plant
Douglass Houghton Hall
Dillman
DOW
Electrical Energy Resources Center (EERC)
Facilities
Fisher
Forestry
Great Lakes Research Center (GLRC)
Hillside Place
Library
McNair Hall
Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics (ME-EM)
Memorial Union Building (MUB)
Minerals and Materials Engineering (M&M)
Rekhi
ROTC
Rozsa
Student Development Complex (SDC)
Wadsworth Hall
Walker

You can find more details and updates on the Facilities Management website. If you have questions or concerns with this plan, contact Energy Management or Facilities Management at 7-2303.

You are invited to take a look at the newly revised webpages for the faculty hiring process. Many improvements were made, such as streamlining the workflow and providing clarity in all steps of the hiring process with an increased emphasis on search committee preparatory steps. In addition, compliance requirements were updated, tools for conducting non-biased searches were added and a robust list of resources are now available.

The revisions were a collaborative effort from many departments across campus, including Human Resources, ADVANCE, University Marketing and Communications, and Institutional Equity. We hope these revisions will assist in recruiting and hiring exceptional faculty members. Using this model, the staff hiring process webpages will be updated soon.

If you have any questions, please contact Renee Ozanich at rozanich@mtu.edu or 906-487-2509.

The Michigan Tech Archives reading room will be closed to patrons over spring break. The closure begins today (March 7) and runs through Friday (March 11). Normal appointment hours will resume Monday (March 14).

Remote research requests may be submitted via copper@mtu.edu, but responses may be delayed during the closure.

On behalf of the entire Archives team, have a safe and happy break!

In response to the recent change in CDC recommendations for counties with low COVID-19 community levels, the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts will be shifting its COVID-19 policies, effective Monday (March 14) following Michigan Tech’s spring break.

The policy will switch from requiring face coverings to strongly recommending them at all performances in the James and Margaret Black Auditorium or McArdle Theatre while Michigan Tech is at Health and Safety Level One. If the campus Health and Safety Level is set above Level One, face coverings are required for all events at the Rozsa.

This change reflects Rozsa’s commitment to aligning with CDC recommendations. Please visit the Rozsa COVID-19 Policies webpage to see the most up-to-date policies.

All current ticket holders have been sent an email with information regarding this change. If you are a ticket holder and this policy affects your plans, please email rozsa@mtu.edu for a refund or exchange.

Save the date: Alumni Reunion Weekend 2022 is set for Aug. 4-6. The Alumni Engagement team is actively working on the schedule, which will soon be publicly shared, and is looking forward to hosting a fun weekend of on-campus activities for our alumni.

A highlight for our alumni guests each year is visiting their academic departments and service areas. All departments are invited to host visitors during afternoon campus open houses Aug. 5 from 1-4 p.m. If your department would like to host an open house during that time, please notify Jen Lucas at jjlucas@mtu.edu by March 18.

Please reach out to the Alumni Engagement team with any questions or concerns at 906-487-2400 or email alumni@mtu.edu.

Local middle school and high school students who want to learn more about cybersecurity and computers are invited to join the Husky Cyber team coached by Michigan Tech faculty and students. Membership is free to all participants.

The team will meet from 7-8:30 p.m. every Saturday night at Michigan Tech. Students will learn in-depth knowledge on topics including Linux, Windows, network, cybersecurity, coding and hacking. Students will also be prepared to participate in cyber competitions such as CyberPatriot.

For more information and to apply, visit the GenCyber Camps website.

In recognition of the theme for 2022 World Water Day — "Groundwater - Making the Invisible Visible" — the film discussed for this month's 2022 Sustainability Film Series will be "Pumped Dry: The Global Crisis of Vanishing Groundwater."

The film is available on Netflix and YouTube at no charge. The facilitated discussion led by John Gierke (GMES) will be from 7-8 p.m. on March 17. There is no charge to participate. A $5 suggested donation per film to support the film series is appreciated. Make your donation online.

Please register to receive the Zoom link to participate in the facilitated discussion.

Film Description
Around the world, so much water is pumped from the ground that aquifers are being rapidly depleted and wells are going dry. Released in 2018, "Pumped Dry" investigates the consequences of this emerging crisis in several of the world’s hotspots of groundwater depletion. These are stories about people on four continents confronting questions of how to safeguard their aquifers for the future — and in some cases, how to cope as the water runs out. Film Warning: Some viewers may want to fast forward past a disturbing image at the 10- to 11-minute mark during talk of farmer suicides triggered by crop failures due to drought.

Discussion Facilitator
John Gierke (GMES) grew up in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, within a mile of the St. Mary’s River. The river likely played the largest role in his environmental interests, as he spent countless hours trolling, casting, and spearing for fish. Since 1990, he has been teaching and researching groundwater hydrology in the Keweenaw; aquifer systems in Nicaragua and Ecuador; and studies of groundwater contamination in Lower Michigan, Ohio, Utah and Delaware. He has advised graduate students who served in the Peace Corps and conducted groundwater projects in Central America, Africa and the Philippines. He is the principal investigator on a project focused on adaptations to climate change in the Dry Corridor region of El Salvador. In addition, he and his wife operate a commercial blueberry farm that utilizes groundwater for drip irrigation using solar power.

Film Series
The Sustainability Film Series and Facilitated Discussions are cosponsored by MTU's Sustainability Demonstration House; Great Lakes Research Center; College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science; Department of Social Sciences Sustainability Sciences Program; Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering; Students for Sustainability; and Tech Forward Initiative on Sustainability and Resilience. Cosponsors outside MTU include the Friends of the Land of Keweenaw, Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative, Keweenaw Land Trust, Keweenaw Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, and Refill UP.

Questions? Contact film series coordinator Joan Chadde at jchadde@mtu.edu or 906-487-3341.

Labs are our scientific homes — the front lines where either inclusion and belonging are fostered, or where exclusion, marginalization and discrimination occur. As scientists are increasingly acknowledging the lack of racial and ethnic diversity in science, there is a need for clear direction on how to take antiracist action. 

Bala Chaudhary is an assistant professor of environmental studies at Dartmouth College. She was awarded a National Science Foundation CAREER Award to study microbial dispersal and ways to promote racial equity in the environmental sciences. In this webinar, Chaudhary will present guidelines for developing antiracist policies and action, and discuss efforts to promote racial and ethnic diversity, equity and inclusion.

Join us for this webinar presentation and Q&A from noon to 1 p.m. April 6.
Please RSVP online.

Michigan Tech employees are invited to join the Benefits Office for these free, live financial health webinars offered through Fidelity and TIAA this spring:

• Looking to Turn your Retirement Savings into a “Paycheck” for Life?
  Thursday, March 10 — 1 p.m.
  Join TIAA Senior Director Miguel Shefferson as he teaches you to diversify your investment portfolio before retirement to help offset risk. A similar strategy can help see you through retirement. Learn how creating a diversified income plan — one that uses a combination of income sources and includes annuity income that’s guaranteed for life — can help reduce the risks you may face in retirement and ensure you have income that never runs out. Register for the March 10 webinar.
  
  
• Learn the Basics: When and How to Claim Social Security
  Friday, April 15 — Noon
  This webinar will cover:
  
  • Understanding Social Security.
  • Considerations for claiming Social Security benefits.
  • Deciding when to take Social Security benefits.
    Register for the April 15 webinar.
    
    
• Prepare for the Reality of Health Care in Retirement
  Friday, April 29 — Noon
  This webinar will cover:
  
  • Estimating retirement health care costs.
  • Understanding available options before and after age 65.
  • Planning for retirement health care costs.
    Register for the April 29 webinar.

These webinars count toward Option 2 in your Husky Health Checklist. Follow Michigan Tech Wellness on Facebook for upcoming health and wellness initiatives supported by the Benefits Office, which may count toward your 2022 Husky Health Checklist.

The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference has recognized two Michigan Tech women's basketball players with all-team honors and one with a special award:

• Ellie Mackay was named First Team All-GLIAC for the second straight year.
• Alex Rondorf was named Second Team All-GLIAC and All-GLIAC Defensive Team.
• Isabella Lenz earned GLIAC Freshman of the Year.

Read more at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Three Michigan Tech men's basketball players and head coach Josh Buettner have been recognized by the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference:

• Owen White was named GLIAC Player of the Year, First Team All-GLIAC and GLIAC All-Defensive Team.
• Trent Bell earned First Team All-GLIAC and All-GLIAC Defensive Team.
• Carter Johnston was named to the All-GLIAC Defensive Team.
• Head coach Josh Buettner was named the 2021-22 GLIAC Coach of the Year.

Read more at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Daniel Lizzadro-McPherson (GLRC) is a principal investigator (PI) on a project that has received a $1,330 other sponsored activities contract from the U.S. Department of the Interior.

The project is titled "NPS Quincy Unit Site Plan Maps."

Don Lafreniere (SS/GLRC) is a co-PI on this project.

Michigan Tech's role in developing the Mi-STAR science curriculum was mentioned in a Daily Mining Gazette article on Jeffers teacher Jennifer Pera, a Mi-STAR professional learning facilitator and the recipient of the Michigan Science Teachers Association's 2022 Middle School Science Teacher of the Year Award.

MTU is at Health and Safety Level One

Michigan Tech is at Health and Safety Level One. At Level One, face coverings are not required to be worn on campus. However, they continue to be encouraged.

Michigan Tech also continues to strongly recommend 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. 

If you are exposed to COVID-19, follow guidance for quarantine and isolation from the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

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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: Technology Commercialization, Part II

Join us as we present our next session of the VPR Research Series featuring a virtual presentation by the Office of Innovation and Commercialization team and featured guests.

We’ll be continuing the conversation from our last session, further exploring opportunities to help move your research discoveries from the laboratory to the marketplace. We'll be sharing information about available funding programs, resources and insights from experts in our regional innovation ecosystem.

 Please note: This session is open to all — you do not need to have attended Part I in order to participate in this session. Each part is being presented independently with complementary, distinct content. 

The session will be held tomorrow (March 8) from noon to 1 p.m. via Zoom (passcode: 985143).

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.

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Scholarships Available

Michigan Tech Employee Children Endowed Scholarships
A reminder that Michigan Tech Employee Children Endowed Scholarship applications, valued at $100 each, are available for the 2022-23 academic year. Applicants must be children of Michigan Tech employees. Applications must be submitted by March 15 and are available online.

LeAnn Becia Family/AFSCME Scholarships
Two $250 LeAnn Becia Family/AFSCME Scholarships are available for 2022-23. Applicants must be the son, daughter or spouse of a current AFSCME Local 1166 member. Applications must be submitted by March 15 and are available online.

Both scholarships require applicants to be either full-time Michigan Tech undergraduates in their first four years of study or high school students planning to enroll for fall 2022.

For more information, contact the Student Financial Services Center at finaid@mtu.edu or 7-2622.

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

Monthly General Meeting _ Spring 2022

Monday, March 7, 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...

Cricket Tournament Spring 2022

Monday, March 7, 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,...

(Men's Tennis) Michigan Tech at Concordia (Cal.)

March 7, all day

Men's Tennis: Michigan Tech at Concordia (Cal.), CUI Tennis Courts

(Women's Tennis) Michigan Tech at Concordia (Cal.)

March 7, all day

Women's Tennis: Michigan Tech at Concordia (Cal.), CUI Tennis Courts