New Dissertations, Theses and Reports Available in Digital Commons

The Graduate School is proud to announce the publication of 55 new dissertations, theses and reports in Digital Commons, the University’s institutional repository. These works represent the culmination of scholarly research for 18 Ph.D. students, 37 master’s students and 52 faculty advisors, and represent 15 academic departments and colleges across campus.

We hope you take time to explore the work of Michigan Tech’s newest scholars. The rest of the world certainly is. With nearly 1.5 million downloads from across the globe since Digital Commons was launched in 2014, it stands as the most popular collection in the repository.

Michigan Tech alumni can be confident that their dissertation, thesis or report on Digital Commons will be easily findable into the future thanks to Digital Object Identifier (DOI). Increasingly standard for scholarship published online, these unique, persistent numbers operate like URLs and ensure reliable sharing and access to the work over time, even in the event of website and platform updates. 

New for this semester’s student authors is the incorporation of Open Researcher and Contributor IDs (ORCID) into their dissertation, thesis or report’s record on Digital Commons @ Michigan Tech. These unique, persistent identifiers disambiguate author/researcher names and connect individuals with their scholarly activities online. Thirteen graduates have taken advantage of this new feature and any Michigan Tech researcher is eligible to sign up for an ORCID.

ChemStores Inventory Closure

ChemStores will be closed June 23 through June 29 for our annual inventory.

Except for ​critical needs (such as liquid nitrogen), no transactions will be made during this time, and no items will be delivered to labs.​ Any submitted orders will be held for processing until June 30. Please plan accordingly ​to receive your items prior to our closure​.

Contact us at chemstores@mtu.edu if you have any questions or concerns.

Women in Physics Visits Gwinn High School

Michigan Tech’s student group, Women in Physics, is reaching out to the next generation of scientists and inspiring women to pursue physics as their career choice. They recently organized activities for high school students at Gwinn High School, presenting their research and providing activities on physics principles — from friction and angular momentum to optics and magnetism. 

Approximately 100 students attended to hear what it is like to do research and ask questions about pursuing science after high school.

Michigan Tech Physics graduate students gave brief talks on their research projects. Their presentations included:

  • Oindabi Mukherjee (advised by Robert Nemiroff) presented a video animation featuring NASA’s Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD).
  • Tong Gao (advised by Issei Nakamura) talked about the next generation of lithium-ion batteries.
  • Elise Rosky (advised by Will Cantrell and Raymond Shaw) described her experience of collecting aerosol samples from an airplane. 

Women in Physics received terrific reviews from the students. They will continue visiting local high schools to inspire young scientists and be role models to budding science enthusiasts in hopes that some of them will soon attend Michigan Tech.

Read some of the student reviews and see photos from the visit on the Physics Newsblog.

GSG 2022 Softball League Registration Now Open!

Summer is on its way and so is Graduate Student Government's (GSG’s) summer softball league! This no-holds-barred extreme slow-pitch softball league will be held over the summer 2022 semester from June 9 to Aug. 6! Games will be held weekly on Thursday evenings from 5-9 p.m., with Tuesday reserved for makeup games.

Want to play? Register on our sign-up form.

Don’t have any softball equipment, you say? Well, no worries here! GSG will provide bats, balls and gloves for every registered player. Of course, if you do have your own equipment, you are more than welcome to use them.

Also, feel free to start recruiting for your team. Those who are not affiliated with a team but are interested in playing are welcome to register solo. We will find a team for you. If you don’t have enough players for a team, still register! We will help you to fill your team with available solo players.

For more information, visit the GSG Summer Softball League webpage.

Benefit for Ukraine: An Evening of Art and Cinema

An Evening of Art and Cinema will be held at the Rozsa Center on Thursday (May 26) at 6 p.m. to raise funds to benefit Ukraine.

The event offers the public an engaging art auction and film screening.

Event Schedule

  • 5:30 p.m. — Doors open, art bidder check-in
  • 6 p.m. — Live lobby music by Bryan Matkin, silent art auction begins
  • 6:30 p.m. — Opening remarks and film screenings (short film by Odesa Photo Days Festival and documentary "Baba Babee Skazala")
  • 8:10 p.m. — Lobby music, final art bids (silent auction closes at 9 p.m.)
  • 9 p.m. — Q&A with film directors, final remarks
  • 9:45 p.m. — Art bidders purchase and collect their art

Find out more on the University Events Calendar.

Find more ways to support Ukraine by visiting UNITED24, a global initiative launched by the president of Ukraine, and RazomForUkraine.org

Also see the Yoopers for Ukraine Facebook group.

Bill Rose, Simon Carn Ranked as Top Scientists in 2022

Research.com compiles and analyzes publication data, including citations and h-indexes of scholars worldwide. In the earth science field, over 6,400 scientists were evaluated, and two Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences (GMES) professors ranked as top scientists for 2022:

No. 97: Bill Rose
GMES Professor Emeritus Bill Rose is ranked 97th in the U.S. and 179th globally. After earning his Ph.D. in geology from Dartmouth College, Rose joined Michigan Tech, where he has continued his career, having supervised 23 Ph.D. and 57 M.S. students.

No. 849: Simon Carn
GMES Professor Simon Carn is ranked 849th in the U.S. and 1,929th globally. Carn joined MTU in 2008. His work has 8,019 citations, yielding an h-index of 51.

Read more on the Geological and Mining Engineering and Science News blog.

ECE Guest Speaker: Creator of the Open-Source 3D Printer

The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) invites you to attend a talk with Adrian Bowyer this Thursday (May 26). Bowyer is the creator of the first open-source 3D printer, an event that (arguably) revolutionized the way engineers and makers think about prototyping. We encourage faculty, staff and students to join us for what is sure to be an interesting discussion.

In 2009, the patent for fused deposition modeling (FDM), the most common form of 3D printing, expired. That same year, Bowyer and his team at Bath University published their paper on the RepRap project, an open-source 3D printer capable of manufacturing a majority of its own parts using FDM. This work ignited countless successful 3D-printing startups, and enabled a whole new way of making and engineering for the masses.

Bowyer's talk will take place from 10-11 a.m. Thursday via Zoom.

Anabel Needham Named to CoSIDA Academic All-District First Team

Michigan Tech Nordic skier Anabel Needham has been named to the CoSIDA Academic All-District At-Large First Team.

The team recognizes the nation's top student‐athletes for their combined performances in athletic competition and in the classroom.

Needham holds a 3.94 GPA in environmental engineering. She now advances to the CoSIDA Academic All-America ballot. First‐, second‐ and third‐team Academic All‐America honorees will be announced in mid‐June. 

Read more about Needham's season at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Webinar: History of Competitive Skiing at Michigan Tech

Doug Oppliger will be hosting a presentation today (May 23) titled "The History of Competitive Skiing at Michigan Tech."

Oppliger is a Michigan Tech Nordic ski team alum, a member of the Nordic Race Organizing Committee and a lifelong fan of the Huskies. His two-year project researches the history of competitive skiing at Michigan Tech, starting with the first documented ski race on campus in 1928 to present day, and includes all forms of competitive skiing, including Nordic, alpine and ski jumping. Primary information sources include athletic department records, items from newspapers and yearbooks, and most importantly, firsthand accounts from former skiers and their relatives.

The presentation will begin at 6 p.m. on Zoom. Register to attend to receive a link to join the Zoom webinar.

The presentation will be recorded and posted for on-demand users at a later date.

In Print

Iosif Pinelis (Math) is the author of a paper accepted for publication in Theory of Probability and Its Applications.

The paper is titled "Exact lower and upper bounds for shifts of Gaussian measures."

A preprint version of the paper is available for download.

In the News

Roman Sidortsov and Tim Scarlett (SS) were quoted by the Ludington Daily News in a story about how pumped underground storage hydropower, or PUSH, could be the key to a completely renewable energy grid.

The story details how, according to Sidortsov and Scarlett’s research, converting abandoned mines across the country into hydro-powered batteries would stabilize a grid powered by wind and solar, absorbing excess power and making up for shortfalls.

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Angie Carter (SS) was quoted in a Center for Rural Affairs blog post highlighting two Nebraska women landowners' work to adopt more conservation on their land.

A project led by Carter and a University of Nebraska-Lincoln researcher has followed the women's progress since 2019.

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Chris Middlebrook (ECE) and the printed circuit board design course at Michigan Tech were mentioned in an I-Connect007 interview with Rea Callender, vice president of education at Altium, and Zach Peterson, founder of Northwest Engineering Solutions.

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Jonathan Robins (SS) was mentioned by Inventiva in a story on an expected drop of Indonesia’s restrictions on the export of palm oil.

The story credited Robins in an explanation of the quadruple increase in palm oil’s production between 1995 and 2015.

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ABC 10 and the Keweenaw Report ran stories on an upcoming benefit event being held at Michigan Tech’s Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts to raise funds for Ukraine.

Reminders

Reunion Weekend 2022: Registration Now Live!

Registration for Alumni Reunion 2022 is now live! Check out the full schedule of weekend events.

The Office of Alumni Engagement is excited to offer a full weekend of celebration for alumni, with treasured traditions like the Pasty Dinner (this year with delicious pasties from the Suomi), plus new events like the Keweenaw Mountain Lodge Picnic and Hike, and Coffee Time with the Alumni Board of Directors. We will also host a 50th birthday celebration for our Husky mascot before the Alumni Hockey Game.

Registration is required for all activities. We encourage all alumni to RSVP soon to ensure a spot in popular events or those with limited space.

Please note: Hockey alumni have a separate registration that includes hockey alumni-only functions, in addition to the general Reunion activities. They receive additional communications from Calvin Larson around this.

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SDC Building Hours for Summer 2022

The SDC building hours for summer officially began May 16, and will run through Aug. 28. Each facility’s hours are listed below.

Please note that the SDC will be closed next Monday (May 30) for the Memorial Day holiday and July 4 for the Independence Day holiday.

For more information about each facility's hours, please visit the Michigan Tech Recreation website.

  • Fitness Center, Multipurpose Room and Racquetball Courts
    • Monday-Friday: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
    • Saturday: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
    • Sunday: noon to 5 p.m.

  • SDC Locker Rooms | Please note: The sauna in Locker Room 110 will not be open until further notice due to continued renovations.
    • May 16 to June 19
      • Monday-Friday: 5:45 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
      • Saturday: 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
      • Sunday: 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
    • June 20 to Aug. 7
      • Monday-Friday: 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
      • Saturday: 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
      • Sunday: 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
    • Aug. 8-28
      • Monday-Friday: 5:45 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
      • Saturday: 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
      • Sunday: 11:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

  • Pool | Please note: Times beginning with an asterisk are lap swim only.
    • May 16 to June 19
      • Monday-Friday: *6-9 a.m., 11:30 to 1:30 p.m., 5-7 p.m.
      • Saturday-Sunday: noon to 4 p.m.
    • June 20 to Aug. 7
      • Monday and Wednesday: *6-7:45 a.m., 12:30-2:30 p.m., 6-8 p.m.
      • Tuesday and Thursday: *6-8:45 a.m., 12:30-2:30 p.m., 6-8 p.m.
      • Friday: *6-7:45 a.m., 12:30-2:30 p.m., 5-7 p.m.
      • Saturday-Sunday: noon to 4 p.m.
    • Aug. 8-28
      • Monday-Friday: *6-9 a.m., 11:30 to 1:30 p.m., 5-7 p.m.
        Saturday-Sunday: noon to 4 p.m.