March 24, 2022

Michigan Tech’s Planetary Surface Technology Development Lab works to make science fiction into reality. It's dedicated to prototyping, building, testing and increasing the technology readiness level of tech being developed for lunar and Mars missions.

Paul van Susante’s (ME-EM) startup funding was used largely to create the lab's Dusty Thermal Vacuum Chamber, a vacuum-sealed room partially filled with a simulated lunar dust that can be cooled to minus 196 degrees Celsius and heated to 150 degrees Celsius — essentially, a simulated moon environment. In the chamber, researchers can test surface exploration systems (i.e., rovers) in about as close to moon conditions as one can get on Earth.

Find out more about the lab and how its mission dovetails with plans to put humans back on the moon in 2024. Read the details in Michigan Tech's 2022 Research Magazine.

The Commencement Team is seeking volunteers for the Spring Commencement ceremony. We need volunteers to help with pre-ceremony setup, serve as greeters and ushers, coordinate graduate check-in, collect tickets at the door and assist guests with special seating accommodations. 

The ceremony is April 30. There are multiple shifts available. More information regarding the ceremony may be found on the Commencement website. An optional volunteer training will be scheduled during the week of commencement.

Please sign up by April 15 if you would like to volunteer. Contact Chad Arney at caarney@mtu.edu if you have any questions.

This special weekend cannot happen without the help of our amazing Michigan Tech community!

Save the date for the 13th annual Feminists Reading Feminists event hosted by the Department of Humanities' Rhetoric, Theory, and Culture (RTC) graduate program. Help us pay homage to the contributions of diverse feminist scholars and activists who have inspired us and continue to shape our world.

The event will be held at noon Monday (March 28) via Zoom. If you would like to share a favorite passage from a text or a short media clip (around five minutes), please sign up through our Google form. We also welcome anyone interested in listening and engaging with those sharing. Inspired by Women’s History Month — all are welcome.

Modern Languages is showing the third and last film of the Modern Languages Film Series, a French film from 2019. The film will be shown in Fisher 135 with English subtitles. The screening is free and open to everyone — bring a friend!

Tonight's Film:
The film series concludes at 7 p.m. tonight (March 24) with "Portrait de la Jeune Fille en Feu" (Portrait of a Lady on Fire), a French film directed by Céline Sciamma.

Synopsis: On an isolated island in Brittany at the end of the 18th century, the daughter of a countess develops an intimate relationship with the female artist commissioned to paint her wedding portrait.

Xi Sigma Pi presents its annual symposium with the theme "Future of Forests." The event will take place from 3-6 p.m. tomorrow (March 25) in U. J. Noblet Forestry Building G002 and via Zoom for those wanting to attend virtually.

There will be three guest speakers — Maria Janowiak, Rachel Tarpey and Jerry Jondreau — who will be covering topics consisting of Indigenous forestry practices and adapting land management and forestry techniques to a changing climate.

Read more on the University Events Calendar.

The Alley Makerspace student managers and coaches are holding Donation Night from 5-8 p.m. April 6 in the Alley Makerspace.

If you want to get a jump-start on spring cleaning and have making supplies to share, please consider donating them to the Alley Makerspace.

Student makers are looking for wood, fabric, crafting supplies and 3D printer filament. To make donation easier, please register your materials in advance. Thank you!

The next Environmental Engineering Graduate Seminar will take place at 3 p.m. Monday (March 28) in the Great Lakes Research Center, GLRC 202.

Seth Moore, director of biology and environment for the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, will present "Chemicals of emerging concern in waters, sediments, and subsistence fish used by the Grand Portage Band of Chippewa."

Read the abstract on the University Events Calendar.

The Office of the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs will host a workshop, "Preparing a Lecturer Promotion Packet," on April 7 from 3-5 p.m. The event will take place in MUB Ballroom B.

The first half of the session will focus on the mechanics of preparing a lecturer promotion packet and will include insights from senior and principal lecturers who have gone through the promotion process. The second half of the session will focus on how to input data and narratives into Digital Measures to produce a Faculty Activity Report (FAR) for the promotion packet.

All faculty are welcome; those who plan to submit a lecturer promotion package in the next couple of years are especially encouraged to attend. Faculty are welcome to attend just one part of the session as their schedule allows.

Questions can be directed to Shari Stockero, assistant provost for faculty development, at stockero@mtu.edu.

The Office of the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs will host a workshop, "Preparing a Tenure and Promotion Packet," on April 8 from 2-4 p.m. The event will take place in the MUB Alumni Lounge.

The first half of the session will focus on the mechanics of preparing a well-presented promotion and/or tenure packet and will include insights from faculty members who have served on P&T committees. The second half of the session will focus on how to input data and narratives into Digital Measures to produce a Faculty Activity Report (FAR) for the tenure and promotion package.

All faculty are welcome; those who plan to submit a tenure/promotion package in the next couple of years are especially encouraged to attend. Faculty are welcome to attend just one part of the session as their schedule allows.

Questions can be directed to Shari Stockero, assistant provost for faculty development, at stockero@mtu.edu.

Michigan Tech track and field distance runners Clayton Sayen and Drew Kolodge are competing in the Raleigh Relays, a three-day event starting today (March 24) hosted by North Carolina State.

Sayen and Kolodge both hit qualifying marks to earn entry to the meet and will compete against a massive field of distance runners, many of whom compete at the Division I level.

"This is one of the premier events in the country, for distance runners especially," said head coach Kristina Owen. "We are bringing Clayton and Drew there because it is their best early opportunity to set national qualifying marks."

Read more at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Samantha Smith (CLS) is the co-author of a paper published in Applied Ergonomics.

The paper, titled "The impact of cognitive load on kayaking and kayaking on cognitive performance," examines the impact of performing a cognitive task of varying loads and kayaking simultaneously, compared to performance on the same tasks individually.

A Michigan Tech Research Magazine story highlighting work by Steven Techtmann (BioSci) and collaborators to turn plastic waste into edible protein powder was picked up by One Green Planet.

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World Water Day celebrations and education led by Michigan Tech and the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community were featured by WLUC TV6. MTU sustainability science and society major Clare Fidler was quoted in the story.

Comedian Reggie Conquest

Reggie Conquest is an actor and comedian from West Philadelphia, where he started his comedy career at the legendary Laff House. He has written for TruTV’s "Impractical Jokers" and has been featured at a wide variety of comedy festivals.

Get ready for a night of laughter and grab your friends for a show you won’t want to miss! This event will take place tomorrow (March 25) at 10 p.m. in the MUB Ballroom and contains college humor.

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Presentation: 'Conservation is Conservative'

Gabriella Hoffman from the Leadership Institute will present "Conservation is Conservative" at 7 p.m. today (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.

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Human Factors in Healthcare Keynote: 'Creating Systems That Promote Equity'

Please join us tomorrow (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.

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Physics Colloquium

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 today (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.

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CEGE Academy Inductee Talks

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. today (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

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CFRES Seminar

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. today (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.

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Menu for Today's C-Cubed Luncheon

• Korean Fried Chicken (Gluten Free)
• Korean Fried Rice (Gluten Free, Vegetarian)
• Steamed Eggplant (Gluten Free, Vegan)
• Spicy Cucumber Salad (Gluten Free, Vegan)
• Korean Coleslaw

Dining Services presents this week's C-Cubed Luncheon being held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. today (March 24) in the Memorial Union Alumni Lounge (MUB 107). All faculty and staff, along with their guests, are invited.

The C-Cubed lunch buffet menus are created by executive chef Eric Karvonen and prepared by Karvonen and his culinary team. As the name suggests, the meals are meant to foster conversation, community and collegiality. Attendees may bring their lunch instead of purchasing the buffet. Fruit-infused water, coffee, tea, cookies and fruit are available free to all attendees.

The buffet lunch is $12 per person. Cash, credit cards and gift cards are accepted. Gift cards can be purchased in the Memorial Union office, MUB 101. You can submit C-Cubed feedback using this Google form. To join the C-Cubed Google group and receive weekly menus, email business-support@mtu.edu.

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BioSci Seminar: 'Cellular Models'

The Department of Biological Sciences (BioSci) will host a virtual seminar by Smitha Rao (BioSci) today (March 24) via Zoom.

Rao's presentation is titled "Cellular models: In vitro studies to assess cellular responses."

From the abstract:
Cellular responses provide us with an understanding of pathways impacting the cells and differences in responses to specific treatments. For example, ongoing work in Dr. Rao's lab in Biomedical Engineering at Michigan Tech uses cellular models to study fructose uptake in cancer cells. Through the use of breast cancer cells, proliferation, migration, and protein expression changes related to cancer have been assessed. The studies have been extended to 3D cultures to better represent the in vivo conditions. More recent studies have focused on cellular models to assess the risk of exposure to arsenic contained in soils through contact exposure. In this seminar, Dr. Rao will present an overview and progress in both these research areas.

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MS Defense: Kassidy O'Connor, GMES

Kassidy O'Connor, a geophysics master's student, will present her defense at 11 a.m. today (March 24) in Dow 610 and virtually on Zoom.

O'Connor's defense is titled "Using Sentinel-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar to Detect Burn Area and Burn Severity in Coastal Areas, California."

From the abstract:
Wildfires are a common threat to the western United States leading to economic, environmental, and human losses if they are not monitored quickly and efficiently. Optical imagery is a common method of mapping wildfires but is hindered by cloud cover and extreme weather events. Therefore, Sentinel-1s radar imagery will be tested to replace optical imagery. Radar uses long microwaves, which allow it to penetrate cloud cover, collecting data regardless of weather and time of day. Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 satellite images are compared to understand if radar can detect wildfires in a time series analysis and if different backscatter values correspond to different burn severity levels. After using different mathematical indices and polarizations, Sentinel-1 successfully detected the fire extents and the backscatter changes of a wildfire. The positive results from the area calculation prove that radar can be a reliable and efficient tool for mapping wildfires.

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

Building Emotional Strength

Thursday, March 24, 11 a.m.–12 p.m.

Unhappy and don't know what to do about it? Life is messy, but you can rise above it all. In this three-week workshop, learn how to understand your emotions and keep them from...

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Digital Movement of Joy Workshop with Naila Ansari

Thursday, March 24, 11 a.m.–1 p.m.

Each Movement of Joy workshop curates and facilitates conversations for social change through the art and research of joy developed by founder Naila Ansari. Through works...

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Master's Defense: Kassidy O'Connor

Thursday, March 24, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. | Dow Environmental Sciences and Engineering Building, 610

Geophysics Advisor: Thomas Oommen Using Sentinel-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar to Detect Burn Area and Burn Severity in Coastal Areas, California Attend Virtually:...

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Pre-Game Gathering for NCAA D1 Hockey Regionals- Loveland, CO

Thursday, March 24, 11 a.m.–1 p.m.

Cheer On the Huskies at the NCAA D1 Hockey Regionals Pre-Game Social An unstructured pre-game social for the 2022 NCAA D1 Hockey Regionals will be held on Thursday, March...

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Live at Lunch ft. Austin Cain

Thursday, March 24, 12:00 p.m.–1:30 p.m. | MUB Commons

Come join us in the MUB Commons and listen to live music featuring Austin Cain while you enjoy a meal and work on homework. In Austin's own words, "I write songs about life...

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"An Introduction to Quiver Representations"

Thursday, March 24, 1 p.m.–2 p.m.

Abstract: This expository talk will provide an introduction to the abstract algebra associated with directed graphs (quivers). We will indicate the relationship to other...

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Master's Defense: Sonali Mohan

Thursday, March 24, 2 p.m.–3 p.m. | Fisher Hall, 230

Physics Advisor: Petra Huentemeyer Comparative Studies of Water Cherenkov Detectors of Southern Wide-Field Gamma-Ray Observatory with High Altitude Water Cherenkov Detector...

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Biological Science Seminar Series - Dr. Smitha Rao

Thursday, March 24, 3 p.m.–4 p.m.

Dr. Smitha Rao Assistant Professor Biomedical Engineering Michigan Technological University Cellular models: In vitro studies to assess cellular responses Abstract:...

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NCAA Watch Party- Traverse City, MI

Thursday, March 24, 3 p.m.–5 p.m. | Thirsty Fish Sports Grille

MTU Huskies Go To NCAA Tournament Come and join fellow Huskies cheer on the Hockey team as they play the University of MN Duluth in the NCAA D1 Regional Hockey Tournament in...

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Workplace Excellence Training - Time Management

Thursday, March 24, 3:00 p.m.–3:50 p.m. | Administration and Student Services Building, 220 Career Services

Get ready to win at one of our five free workshops. These workshops are presented by MichiganWorks! and will cover communication, time management, understanding the employer's...

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CEGE Academy Inductee "TedTalks"

Thursday, March 24, 3:30 p.m.–5:00 p.m. | Dow Environmental Sciences and Engineering Building, 642

Please join us to hear "TedTalk" style presentations from the CEGE 2021-2022 Academy Inductees on March 24th from 3:30 to 5:00 in Dow 642. The Distinguished alumni are: Russ...

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Physics Colloquium - Dr. Ahmed Dorrah

Thursday, March 24, 4 p.m.–5 p.m.

Dr. Ahmed Dorrah of Harvard University will be presenting at this week's physics colloquium. Please join the presentation on Thursday, March 24th at 4:00pm via Zoom. 3D...

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LinkedIn - Build a Compelling Profile Virtual Session

Thursday, March 24, 4:30 p.m.–5:15 p.m.

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Adult Huskies Swim Lessons Spring 2022 Session 3

Thursday, March 24, 5:30 p.m.–6:20 p.m. | Student Development Complex (SDC), Pool

Adult Huskies Swim Lessons provides aquatic education for the beginner to the intermediate swimmer who is looking to become more comfortable in the water and learn the...

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Adult Huskies Swim Training Spring 2022 Session 3

Thursday, March 24, 5:30 p.m.–6:20 p.m. | Student Development Complex (SDC), Pool

Adult Huskies Swim Training provides additional attention and competitive guidance to swimmers ages 18 and older who are looking to improve their swimming skills and fitness...

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The Lode - Weekly Meeting

Thursday, March 24, 5:30 p.m.–6:30 p.m. | Fisher 126

Join the Lode (Michigan Tech's student newspaper) for our weekly general meeting! This is a great way to see if the Lode is a good fit for you. We are always looking for...

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Monthly General Meeting _ Spring 2022

Thursday, March 24, 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...

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Open Rock Climbing

Thursday, March 24, 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...

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Portrait of a Lady on Fire Film Screening

Thursday, March 24, 7 p.m.–9 p.m. | Fisher Hall, 135

The Modern Languages Film Series concludes with the French film, Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Portrait de le Jeune Fille en Feu, Sciamma, 2019). On an isolated island in...

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Raleigh Relays

March 24, all day

Raleigh Relays, NC State - Raleigh, N.C., Three Days