March 21, 2022

Trace the meteoric rise of Brad King's (ME-EM) leading space industry startup in "Origins of Orbion." 

Follow along as Caryn Heldt (ChE) narrates the "Sequence of Events" that established Michigan Tech’s public health prowess. 

See how Steve Techtmann's (BioSci) lab creates a win-win in "Turning Trash Into Treasure."

Visit the lab that Paul van Susante (ME-EM) built in "To the Moon—and Beyond."

These stories — and more achievements to celebrate — are now online in the latest Research Magazine.

The Friends of the Michigan Tech Library (FMTL) Book Sale is returning for 2022 on March 31 and April 1 in the MUB Ballroom.

March 31 is the presale from 5–7 p.m., with free entry to all students and FMTL members ($20 memberships available at the door).

The sale opens to the general public April 1 with free entry from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and closes with a $5 brown paper sack sale from 3-4 p.m.

Book prices are $2 for hardbacks and $1 for paperbacks — and all fiction is half price this year (we have lots!). There will also be some higher-priced rare and local items. Come indulge your passion for reading!

Please join us to hear short, impactful talks from the Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering's (CEGE) 2021-22 Academy inductees from 3:30-5 p.m. Thursday (March 24) in Dow 642.

The distinguished alumni inductees are:

• Russ Becker — CEO and president, APi Group
• Mike Drewyor — Retired, civil engineer and professional land surveyor; board member of National Society of Professional Surveyors
• Jenny Hartfelder — Vice president, Stantec; past president of the Water Environment Federation
• Michael Paddock — United Nations Development Program; chief engineer, Engineers Without Borders
• Amy Trahey — President, Great Lakes Engineering Group
• John Van Huis — Vice President, Alfred Benesch & Company

Please join us Friday (March 25) for a Human Factors in Healthcare Keynote presented by Rupa Valdez: "Creating Systems That Promote Equity: A Journey Across Disciplines.”

The keynote will be given from 3:30-4:30 p.m. in ATDC Conference Room 101 and via Zoom. Interactive discussion will follow from 4:30-5 p.m.

Valdez is an associate professor at the University of Virginia with joint appointments in the School of Medicine and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. She is also a core faculty member of Global Studies and the Disability Studies Initiative. Valdez merges the disciplines of human factors engineering, health informatics and cultural anthropology to understand and support the ways in which people manage health at home and in the community.

We encourage faculty and graduate students with any overlap in research, interest in collaboration, or just interest in learning more about Valdez's work/journey/activism to join us!

Read the abstract and more about Valdez on the Cognitive and Learning Sciences News blog.

This event is co-sponsored by the Departments of Cognitive and Learning Sciences (CLS) and Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology (KIP), and the College of Sciences and Arts (CSA). It is also sponsored in part by the Michigan Tech Visiting Professor Program, which is funded by a grant to the Office of the Provost from the state of Michigan’s King-Chávez-Parks Initiative.

Ahmed Dorrah of the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Harvard University will be presenting at this week's Physics Colloquium. Please join the virtual presentation Thursday (March 24) at 4 p.m. via Zoom.

Dorrah's presentation is titled "3D Structured Light with Dielectric Metasurfaces."

Register in advance for this event. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the event.

Read the abstract and find out more about Dorrah's research background on the University Events Calendar.

The College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science (CFRES) is hosting a seminar with Erin Cameron, assistant professor, Department of Environmental Science, Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, at 12:30 p.m. Thursday (March 24) via Zoom.

Cameron will present a talk titled "Macroecology belowground: earthworm biodiversity patterns and conservation." 

From the abstract:
Soil organisms, including earthworms, are important in many terrestrial ecosystems. However, little is known about their diversity and distributions at large scales. In this talk, I will first discuss a global dataset (>9000 sites from 57 countries) we compiled to examine patterns of earthworm diversity and abundance. We found that local species richness and abundance typically peaked at mid-latitudes and that climate-related variables were especially important drivers of diversity. Secondly, I will discuss a smaller analysis focused on earthworm species richness on islands. Overall species richness significantly increased with area, while peregrine species richness was also positively associated with human modification. Finally, I will discuss work we are doing on red list assessments and invasive species impact assessments of earthworms in Canada, and in particular, the challenges associated with applying frameworks that have not necessarily been developed with soil taxa in mind.

Rich Canevez, candidate for assistant professor of digital media in the Department of Humanities (HU), will give a rescheduled research presentation on campus today (March 21) from 1-2:30 p.m. in Walker 120C and via Zoom.

Canevez's originally scheduled presentation was canceled.

His talk is titled “Towards an Informatics of Protest and Resistance: Dissent in the Transnational Digital Age.”

From the abstract:
While a social informatics perspective captures much of the socio-technical considerations within resistance, they do not represent general themes of conflict and justice within resistance explicitly. ... To contribute to this much needed understanding, I propose the concept of “protest informatics” as a perspective lens for understanding socio-technical systems in acts of resistance as contextualized within particular conflicts and animated towards action through an underlying theory of justice. In this talk, I will present my background and research trajectory that has taken me to this research perspective, highlight the future possible research developments, potential collaborations, and my teaching philosophy and outlook.

Canevez is a postdoctoral researcher through the Computing Innovation Fellows (CIFellows) program, with funds from the National Science Foundation, at the University of Hawaii - Manoa’s School of Communications. He received his Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University’s School of Information Sciences and Technology in 2020, and his B.A. in Philosophy with a minor in computer science from the University of Michigan.

Job Postings for Monday, March 21, 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.

Marketing and Communication Specialist, Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education. Apply online.

Climate Change Specialist – Research Scientist I, College of Forest Resources and Environmental Sciences. Apply online.

Software Developer*, Center for Technology and Training. Apply online.
* Two positions available.

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.

A Q&A with Michigan Tech alumnus Wesley Davis (civil engineering) was published by Civil Engineering Magazine. Davis is the principal engineer at Bogart, Pederson & Associates, a 25-person transportation firm in Becker, Minnesota.

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Michigan Tech's planned undergraduate Anatomy and Physiology Learning Lab was featured by Lab Manager in a story about lab planning teams helping colleges, universities and high schools reimagine their STEM space needs. The lab will debut as part of the newly constructed H-STEM Complex in 2024.

Annual Steam Shutdown

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.

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Computing[MTU] Showcase Needs Student Volunteers

The Computing[MTU] Showcase, April 4-6, is seeking student volunteers to help with registration, direct people to events, print name tags and other activities to help the event go smoothly.

Students may sign up for one or more time slots on April 5 and April 6 starting daily at 9 a.m. and ending at 5:15 p.m. Volunteers will receive a Computing[MTU] T-shirt.

Sign up to volunteer.

For more information, please contact Amanda Stump at ajstump@mtu.edu.

Read more on the Institute of Computing and Cybersystems Blog.

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TIAA On-Campus Retirement Counseling Sessions

The Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA) financial consultants will be on campus in the Memorial Union Building this week for individual retirement counseling sessions on the following days:

• Tuesday, March 22
• Wednesday, March 23
• Thursday, March 24

To schedule an appointment, call 800-732-8353 or book an appointment online. (To see available appointment times on TIAA's website, click Schedule under the Your Employer category and select Michigan Tech from the dropdown menu.)

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Entries Needed for Computing[MTU] Pitch Competition!

Team or individual entries are requested for the Computing[MTU] Showcase Pitch Competition, which will be held April 6 from 9-10:15 a.m.

Prize money will be awarded for top entrants! Eric Roberts from 20 Fathoms will also meet with students during the competition to strategize on how to deliver pitches with impact.

Register at the Computing[MTU] Showcase website.

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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 Library 244 at noon today (March 21). Registration is required.

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Presentation: 'Conservation is Conservative'

Gabriella Hoffman from the Leadership Institute will present "Conservation is Conservative" at 7 p.m. Thursday (March 24) in M&M U115.

The presentation is organized and sponsored by Young Americans for Freedom and Huskies for America.

Hoffman is a freelance media strategist, award-winning writer and Townhall.com political columnist with areas of interest in energy and environment, gun rights, and taxes and regulations. She hosts the "District of Conservation" podcast and CFACT original video series “Conservation Nation” and has published columns and articles in Richmond Times-Dispatch, the Hill, Washington Times, Field & Stream, Sporting Classics, Outdoor Life, The Virginia Sportsman and more.

Additionally, Hoffman has been quoted/featured in notable publications including The Washington Post, Fox News, NPR, Marie Claire and Time Magazine’s Guns in America cover. In May 2021, she was elected to the Professional Outdoor Media Association’s Board of Directors. She is the 2019 POMA Pinnacle Conservation Award recipient for her reporting work on grizzly bear conservation in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.

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

Glasgow—Michigan Tech Agents of Change

Monday, March 21, 6 p.m.

Husky Bites presents Special Guest Sarah Green Professor and Interim Department Chair, Chemistry Michigan Technological University Co-hosts COP26 attendees Jessica...

Monthly General Meeting _ Spring 2022

Monday, March 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, March 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...

Weekly Meeting

Monday, March 21, 7:00 p.m.–8:30 p.m. | Wadsworth Hall Annex

Chess Club Weekly Meeting. Come learn and play some casual games.

College of Business Hangout

Monday, March 21, 8 p.m.–9 p.m.

Calling all College of Business students—join us to virtually hangout! This event is a great opportunity for you to meet other future Huskies with a similar interest. You'll...

College of Business Hangout

Monday, March 21, 8 p.m.

Calling all College of Business students—join us next week to virtually hangout! This event is a great opportunity for you to meet other future Huskies with a similar...

Cricket Tournament Spring 2022

Monday, March 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,...

World Water Day and Tribal Water Day

March 21, all day

Michigan Tech will celebrate World Water Day 2022 March 17-22 with virtual events related to the United Nations theme, “Groundwater - Making the Invisible Visible”....