March 9, 2022

The concentric eyespots on butterfly wings are more than ornamentation.

“The eyespots are known to function in predator avoidance as well as sexual signals to their mates,” explains Thomas Werner (BioSci), co-author of a journal article on the evolution of butterfly wing eyespots. “It turns out that the gene-regulatory network that places the antennae on the head of butterflies (and other insects) has been co-opted on butterfly wings to decorate them with concentric eyespots.”

Werner joined the research team during a one-year sabbatical at the National University of Singapore, and working in a fully operational butterfly lab was his dream come true.

Read the full story on Unscripted, the University’s research blog.

The Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics (ME-EM) is pleased to announce a new facility for campus and external users, the Advanced Metal 3D Printing Center.

The center houses a powder bed fusion 3D Systems DMP Flex 350 Metal Printer and is staffed by research engineers Russell Stein of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) and Jacob Lundin of ME-EM. The new printer will allow for manufacturing of complex geometries from several metal options.

The center is open for print project requests and general inquiries. Users do not need to operate the printer. They need only submit a 3D model in one of various standard formats. Best practices are posted for those learning additive manufacturing, especially in the use of metals. Use rates are posted, and the staff are available for project consultations.

The printing center is located on the first floor of the Minerals and Materials Building (M&M), but most print project requests will be handled remotely.

The Polymeric Additive Manufacturing Facility is nearby, operated as part of the Department of Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering Technology (MMET) machine shop. That 3D polymer printer is available for student and faculty research as well.

The metal printer acquisition was made possible by the generosity of ME-EM alumni, including a discount on the system from full service supplier Scarlett Inc. The owner of Scarlett Inc., Jim Scarlett, is a mechanical engineering technology alumnus.

ME-EM, MSE and MMET together operate the metal 3D printing center in the College of Engineering. All are welcome to submit a print request.

Have you ever needed information about the University but didn’t know where to look? Perhaps it’s on the recently developed University Dashboards.

As part of an initiative to make University data more accessible and transparent to all MTU faculty and staff, Information Technology and the Office of Institutional Research have created five new University Dashboards displaying information on student enrollment, employee demographics, research activities and financial metrics. You can access these dashboards on Michigan Tech's website anywhere at any time — all you need is a valid MTU ISO user ID and password. Please take a moment to explore each dashboard.

And don’t forget about the University Data Resource Index. Here you will find additional information about the University, including the contact information for people who are ready to help.

The Graduate Student Government (GSG) is seeking judges for this year's Graduate Research Colloquium (GRC). The GRC is an annual event where graduate students from across campus present their research in either an oral or poster presentation. These presentations are judged by faculty whose field of expertise matches the research topic in order for grad students to get feedback on how to improve presentation skills and help them prepare for upcoming conferences.

This year, the GRC will be held March 29 and March 30. Poster presentations will occur March 29 in the MUB Ballroom from 5-7 p.m. Oral presentations will be given virtually on both days of the colloquium; all 12-minute talks will be livestreamed (no pre-recorded video presentations) and followed by a Q&A session. All judges are also invited to attend the awards banquette on March 30 starting at 6 p.m. Please help us in making this event a success!

Sign up for judging. You will be assigned to an hour-long judging session based on your form responses once scheduling starts.

If you have any questions, please contact Shreya Joshi at gsg-research@mtu.edu.

A system error with the calculation for the life insurance premium occurred again on Michigan Tech employees' Feb. 25 paycheck.

This is similar to the system error with the calculation which was first identified on the Jan. 28 paycheck. Most employees were overcharged by $10, but some were charged more, dependent upon the total amount of the life insurance coverage. These amounts have been identified and the corrections have been entered to be dispersed on employees' March 11 paycheck.

Please contact Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS) at hris@mtu.edu if you have any questions.

The Center for Diversity and Inclusion (CDI) will be closed from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday (March 10) so staff may attend a department retreat.

CDI is very sorry for this inconvenience and will reopen Friday (March 11) at 8 a.m.

M.S. in Electrical Engineering candidate Matthew Spencer will hold their master's defense at noon next Wednesday (March 16) in EERC 214.

The title of their defense is "Off Road Autonomous Vehicle Modeling and Repeatability Using Real World Telemetry Via Simulations."

Spencer is advised by Jeremy Bos.

Jason A. Engerman, assistant professor in the digital media technologies department at East Stroudsburg University, along with Manjuli Gupta, a graduate student studying professional and secondary education at East Stroudsburg University, will present a virtual lecture at 2 p.m. next Wednesday (March 16) via Zoom.

Engerman and Gupta will discuss the results of a research project exploring technologically advanced living-learning spaces for enhanced educational growth. Their talk is titled “ESportU’s Digital Warrior Camp’s Culturally Relevant Computing Living Learning Community: Impacting Learner Attitudes, Awareness, and Motivation Towards STEM Careers.”

The talk is sponsored by the Institute of Computing and Cybersystems (ICC) and the ICC’s Human-Centered Computing (HCC) research group.

Read more on the ICC Blog.

The next Environmental Engineering Graduate Seminar will take place at 3 p.m. Monday (March 14) in GLRC 202.

Bailey Papes, environmental engineering MS student at Michigan Tech, will present "PFAS Mitigation from Brackish Groundwater Using Halophyte and Cow Bone Biochar."

Read the abstract on the University Events Calendar.

Thursday (March 10)
• Overwatch vs. Bethel University Indiana, 8:30 p.m.

Saturday (March 12)
• Rocket League A CCA Open
• Overwatch vs. Unannounced (two matches)

Sunday (March 13)
• Rocket League B vs. Unannounced, 7 p.m.
• Rocket League A CCA Open

Job Postings for Wednesday, March 9, 2022

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.

Administrative Aide 8 (12 months/ 40 hours/ first shift) #22054, Registrar's Office (UAW posting March 9 to March 15, 2022 — internal UAW applicants are given first consideration if they apply during the internal UAW posting dates). Apply online.

Senior Administrative Aide (12 months/ 40 hours/ first shift) #22055, Registrar's Office (UAW posting March 9 to March 15, 2022 — internal UAW applicants are given first consideration if they apply during the internal UAW posting dates). Apply online.

Administrative Aide 8 (12 months/ 40 hours/ first shift) #22056, Financial Services and Operations (UAW posting March 9 to March 15, 2022 — internal UAW applicants are given first consideration if they apply during the internal UAW posting dates). Apply online.

Assistant, Associate or Senior Research Scientist in STEM Education, Great Lakes 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.

Iron Mountain's Daily News ran an editorial calling the rallies on MTU's campus in support of Ukraine "inspiring." The piece includes URLs for aid funds raising money to support Ukraine.

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A Washington Commanders press release announced the promotion of former Michigan Tech football student-athlete Todd Storm to assistant tight ends coach. Storm '12 (marketing) played four seasons as a defensive lineman for the Huskies from 2008 to 2011.

Ana Dyreson (ME-EM/APSRC) is the principal investigator (PI) on a project that has received a $29,422 research and development contract-cost from Sandia National Laboratory.

This potential three-year project is titled "Enhancing the Efficiency and Resilience of PV Systems at Northern Latitudes."

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Paul Dice (ME-EM/APSRC) is the PI on a project that has received a $20,000 research and development contract cost from Sandia National Laboratory.

This project is titled "Operational Support for Meteorological Instrumental at the Michigan Regional test Center (MI RTC)."

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

Monthly General Meeting _ Spring 2022

Wednesday, March 9, 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

Wednesday, March 9, 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,...

NCAA Championships (Soldier Hallow - Utah)

March 9, all day

NCAA Championships (Soldier Hallow - Utah), Classic 5/10K