March 25, 2022

All students are invited to contribute to the fifth International Conference of the Youth Environmental Alliance in Higher Education (YEAH). The virtual conference will take place from 5-8 p.m. on April 21.

This year's theme is "Global Actions for Environment, Justice and Sustainability." We invite contributions from classes, teams or individuals; multiple types of delivery are welcome, e.g., short talk, e-poster, video, slides or other modes. Topics can relate to any of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals and can take any disciplinary lens.

Please submit your abstract and register to participate by April 13.

Michigan Tech is a YEAH participating institution. Find more information and a registration link at YEAH-net.org.

Michigan Tech Preschool is a nonprofit, fully licensed institution for early childhood education. We are looking forward to enrollment for next year! We will be opening the 2022-23 registration for returning families on April 4, and for all other interested families on April 11.

Eligible children must be 3 or 4 years old by Dec. 1, 2022, and be fully toilet trained by the first day of school. For more information or to register, please visit our website.

For questions, please contact the preschool via Facebook Messenger, or call 7-2720.

In this essay, a group of scientists advocate for paradigmatic change in the academic scientific enterprise. Specifically, they point to biases in STEMM measures of success, normative standards that support a subset of scholars and narrow the career pathways for others, and call out those in positions of power for engaging in advocacy performances rather than substantive change. They offer several ways to “pivot the paradigm.”

First, address the gendered, raced and classist biases in the “publish or perish” model that relies on impact scores to assess value. Second, expand measures of scientific value to encourage nonpublishing pathways (i.e., applied sciences, public dissemination, podcasts) that acknowledge the critical need for researchers with expertise to engage in broader communities (i.e., policy, training). Third, implement multidimensional and networked mentorship to support a ”publish and flourish” model of STEMM excellence. Fourth, engage in creative, innovative ways to dismantle discriminatory systems to instead promote equity, diversity and inclusion with effective accountability mechanisms. Finally, invest the resources to promote belonging, safety and well-being at the research group, departmental, institutional and funding levels.

We applaud this far-reaching call for transformative change to realize justice, diversity, equity and inclusion throughout the academy.

Today’s feature was shared with us by Amy Marcarelli (BioSci). If you have an article you think we should feature, please email it to advance-mtu@mtu.edu and we will consider adding it to the ADVANCE Weekly Roundup.

The ADVANCE Weekly Roundup is brought to you by ADVANCE at Michigan Tech, an NSF-funded initiative dedicated to improving faculty career success, retention, diversity, equity and inclusion. Past articles are available on the ADVANCE Newsblog.

To learn more about our featured topic, our mission, programming efforts, and to check out our growing collection of resources, contact us or visit our website.

All Michigan Tech students and community members are invited to try sled hockey at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena on Saturday (March 26) from 1-5 p.m.

Sled hockey is the Paralympics version of standing ice hockey, and although it's designed to give those with disabilities an opportunity to play hockey, it is a sport anyone can play. You do not need know how to skate or play hockey, and you don't need to bring any equipment except winter gloves.

To play, please preregister at EquipmentLoansForKids@gmail.com for a chance to win a University Images gift card or other prizes.

This week, the Film Board presents "Spider-Man: No Way Home," rated PG-13 for some language, sequences of action/violence and brief suggestive comments.

Summary: With Spider-Man's identity now revealed, our friendly neighborhood web-slinger is unmasked and no longer able to separate his normal life as Peter Parker from the high stakes of being a superhero. When Peter asks for help from Doctor Strange, the stakes become even more dangerous, forcing him to discover what it truly means to be Spider-Man.

Showings:

• Friday, March 25 — 5:30 p.m.*, 8:30 p.m., 11:30 p.m.
• Saturday, March 26 — 5:30 p.m.*, 8:30 p.m., 11:30 p.m.

* 5:30 p.m. showtimes will be shown with subtitles! 

Located on Michigan Tech's campus in Fisher 135.

Tickets are $3 and concessions are $1. We hope to see you at the movie this weekend — and have a great day.

Andrew Storer, dean of the College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science (CFRES), has selected Kristin Brzeski, assistant professor of wildlife science and conservation, as this week’s 2022 Deans’ Teaching Showcase member.

Brzeski will be recognized at an end-of-term event with other showcase members and is also a candidate for the CTL Instructional Award Series.

Brezski was selected for her role in innovative or outside the classroom teaching methods, and curriculum development. She teaches Mammalogy and in Conservation Genetics, which provide strong support for the growth of the wildlife ecology and conservation program. “Dr. Brzeski takes every opportunity to develop her classes, from CTL lunch and learns to the Upper Peninsula Teaching and Learning Conference, and transforms the classroom experience for students,” says Storer.

Brzeski redeveloped the Conservation Genetics class to include a wet lab. To achieve this, she needed to develop a fully operational molecular genetics wet lab and acquire animal tissue to work with. For the wet lab, she applied for competitively awarded funds contributed by alumni and friends specifically to support both field and lab teaching. For the animal tissue, she developed a collaboration with the Department of Natural Resources to acquire Upper Peninsula wolf tissues for teaching purposes. Students extract and work with DNA from these samples for species identification and phylogenetic analyses. The data are shared with the DNR in reports and student presentations, so class-generated data is integrated with applied management questions. The student response to this experience was very positive. “It was great to work on a relevant class project that resulted in actual data to be used in conservation,” comments one student. It was not surprising when the second time the class was offered, the enrollment
more than doubled!

For her Mammalogy class, Brzeski acquired funding to build a world-class osteology teaching collection at CFRES for use in labs that enhance student's global understanding of mammalian taxonomy. She has also included field labs using camera traps to document mammal activity in forests and other lands, including land managed by the College. “This is the greatest course I have taken," says one student. "I feel more prepared as a professional from this class than any other I have taken before.”

Brzeski thinks beyond the classroom in her course planning. She invites outside speakers to her classes with an intentional goal of having the speaker meet our students, and this strategy aims to have speakers return to the College for our annual Natural Resources Career Fair. Storer notes: “Dr. Brzeski brings her professional networks and research experience to enhance the student experience and develop new meaningful lab exercises that engage students. She does this in the context of the entire curriculum and the preparation of our students for successful careers.”

Industrial heritage and archaeology Ph.D. students Emma Wuepper and Timothy Maze, alongside Mark Rhodes (SS), Deondre Smiles of the University of Victoria and Christabel Devadoss of Middle Tennessee State, have organized two sessions at the 2022 Dimensions of Political Ecology (DOPE) Conference, being held virtually from Thursday to Saturday (March 24-26).

The sessions revolve around the emerging concept of solarpunk and its intersections with power, transformation, pedagogy and imagined landscapes. They include three MTU contributions:

• A paper by Timothy Maze titled "Archeology, Science Fiction, and The Friction Between"
• A paper by Emma Wuepper, Mark Rhodes and senior anthropology student Cally Quayle titled "Imagined Landscapes of Industrial Heritage: Solarpunking Miyazaki’s Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind"
• A panel contribution by Cally Quayle, Mark Rhodes and Emma Wuepper on "Socio-ecological Pedagogies of Solarpunk Worldbuilding: Musings from Geographies of Science Fiction and Fantasy at Michigan Technological University"

To learn more about DOPE 2022, please visit the Political Ecology Working Group website.

Michigan Tech students Eugene Brown Agyei, Elise Rosky and Arlethia Bell moderated sessions during Youth Dialogues on the Fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA5), an event hosted by Michigan Tech, Rutgers University and the Youth Environmental Alliance in Higher Education (YEAH).

NCA5 is a major U.S. government report on how climate change affects people and places in the United States. More than 150 university and high school students from around the U.S. (and several other countries) participated in these youth dialogues, hearing from authors of the assessment and discussing how the report can reflect the concerns of young people.

The next Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) Seminar will be presented at 10 a.m. Tuesday (March 29) in M&M 610 and via Zoom.

The seminar speaker will be Sriram Vijayan, research associate in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Ohio State University.

Vijayan's presentation is titled "In situ TEM observations of thermally activated phenomena in materials under far from equilibrium conditions."

Read the abstract and more about Vijayan's research background on the University Events Calendar.

Job Posting for Friday, March 25, 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.

Professor of Practice – Construction Management, College of Business and Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering. 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.

A team from the Department of Chemistry, led by Tatyana Karabencheva-Christova and including Ph.D. students Ann Varghese and Shobhit Chaturvedi and undergraduate students Bella DiCastri and Emerald Mehler, has published an article in ChemPhysChem.

The article, titled "Effects of the Nature of Metal Ion, Protein and Substrate on the Catalytic Center in Matrix Metalloproteinase-1: Insights from Multilevel MD, QM/MM and QM Studies," was featured on the front cover with an author cover profile. 

The study is funded by National Institutes of Health grant GM132873.

Future of Forests Symposium

Xi Sigma Pi presents its annual symposium with the theme "Future of Forests." The event will take place from 3-6 p.m. today (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.

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

Future of Forests, Xi Sigma Pi Symposium

Friday, March 25, 3 p.m.–6 p.m. | U. J. Noblet Forestry Building, G002

The Future of Forests: Xi Sigma Pi's annual symposium Forestry leaders will discuss their work and the future of forests. SPEAKERS Maria Janowiak, Acting director of...

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

Friday, March 25, 3:30 p.m.–5:00 p.m. | Advanced Technology Development Complex (ATDC), 101

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...

Film Board Presents: Spider-Man: No Way Home

Friday, March 25, 5:30 p.m.–8:00 p.m. | Fisher 135

With Spider-Man's identity now revealed, our friendly neighborhood web-slinger is unmasked and no longer able to separate his normal life as Peter Parker from the high stakes...

Monthly General Meeting _ Spring 2022

Friday, March 25, 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...

Sinkane

Friday, March 25, 7:30 p.m. | Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts

Sudanese-American musican Sinkane Sinkane manages to create, “funky, lighter-than-air global pop,” as Indy Week describes it, by blending krautrock, prog rock, electronica,...

Film Board Presents: Spider-Man: No Way Home

Friday, March 25, 8:30 p.m.–11:00 p.m. | Fisher 135

With Spider-Man's identity now revealed, our friendly neighborhood web-slinger is unmasked and no longer able to separate his normal life as Peter Parker from the high stakes...

Comedian Mary Santora

Friday, March 25, 10 p.m.–11 p.m. | MUB Ballroom

*Replacing Reggie Conquest* FREE ADMISSION!Get ready for a night of laughter and grab your friends for a show won’t want to miss! Mary Santora is quickly making a name for...

Cricket Tournament Spring 2022

Friday, March 25, 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,...

Cricket Tournament Spring 2022

Friday, March 25, 10:00 p.m.–11:59 p.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,...

Reggie Conquest

Friday, March 25, 10 p.m.–11 p.m. | MUB Ballroom

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...

Film Board Presents: Spider-Man: No Way Home

Friday, March 25, 11:30–2:00 a.m. | Fisher 135

With Spider-Man's identity now revealed, our friendly neighborhood web-slinger is unmasked and no longer able to separate his normal life as Peter Parker from the high stakes...

Undergraduate Research Symposium

March 25, all day | Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts, Lobby

The tenth annual Undergraduate Research Symposium will take place on Friday, March 25, 2022, in the Rozsa Center Lobby. The Symposium will highlight the cutting-edge research...