CTL Personnel Changes

Provost Jacqueline Huntoon announces a number of personnel changes in the William G. Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL). Effective July 1, Mike Meyer has requested to step down as director, initiating a transition year that will end with his return to full-time teaching in the Department of Physics.

“It has been an honor and a pleasure to support all of the amazing teachers at Michigan Tech,” said Meyer. “But as teaching continues to evolve, it’s time for new ideas and leadership. I’m anxious to return my primary focus to teaching physics, which has been my persisting passion.”

Jeff Toorongian will step into the CTL director role, bringing 33 years of broad experience supporting face-to-face, blended and online teaching at Michigan Tech. In addition to assuming staff supervision responsibilities for the CTL (eLearning support, instructional design and testing center staff), Toorongian will continue to lead teaching support, promote best practices for instructional tools and techniques, and oversee the teacher recognition awards processes. He will also continue in his campuswide role as information and communication technologies (ICT) accessibility coordinator.

“I’m excited to continue working with the great team of professionals in the CTL to support the teaching mission of Michigan Tech,” said Toorongian. “We are blessed with amazing instructors on our campus and the CTL will continue to be there to support their efforts. I’m also eager to continue the important work of monitoring our campus ICT, including our instructional materials, to ensure they are available to everyone, including those with a disability.”

Linda Wanless (CTL), who holds a Ph.D. in post-secondary and adult education, has agreed to serve as CTL associate director, sharing her 17-plus years of teaching experience and knowledge of adult education to orient new faculty, manage student ratings of instruction, work with graduate teaching assistants and expand her role in consultations around classroom instruction.

“It has been a pleasure to learn and grow under Mike’s leadership of the CTL,” said Wanless. “I am honored to have the opportunity to continue to advance and guide the teaching efforts at Michigan Tech and I am especially humbled to be able to work with such an inspiring group of instructors from across our campus.”

The CTL will immediately begin a search for a new educational technologist to provide frontline support for eLearning teaching tools including Canvas, Panopto, Zoom, iClicker, Turnitin and Gradescope, as well as classroom-based technologies.

Meyer will split his time between the CTL and Physics during the 2022-23 academic year. This gradual transition will help maintain the high-quality support instructors have come to expect from the CTL.

As always, instructors can contact the CTL at 906-487-3000 or elearning@mtu.edu for technology and teaching support.

PhD Defense: Tahiyat Alothaim, BioSci

Ph.D. in Biological Sciences candidate Tahiyat Alothaim will present their doctoral defense today (May 27) from 11 a.m. to noon. This virtual defense will be presented online only. Attendance is invited via Zoom.

Alothaim's defense is titled "Targeting cysteine metabolism to eradicate Triple-Negative Breast Cancer (TNBC)."

From the abstract:
Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women globally. Particularly, triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is a highly aggressive subtype and lacks effective therapy. Metabolic deregulation is a hallmark of cancer and targeting metabolic vulnerabilities in cancer is an emerging strategy. Targeted cysteine therapy, implemented by blockage of cysteine uptake and metabolism, can effectively kill some TNBC via rapid ferroptosis. However, not all TNBC respond effectively in a similar manner. We investigated the underlying disparities of TNBC subgroups by transcriptomic analysis and identified that epigenetic sensitizers can optimize the targeted cysteine therapy applicable for all subgroups of TNBC. ... Our findings suggested that targeted cysteine therapy with optimizations could be an efficacious treatment for all TNBC with a low possibility of recurrence.

PhD Defense: Zhihong Wang, BioSci

Ph.D. in Biological Sciences candidate Zhihong Wang will present their doctoral defense Tuesday (May 31) from 2-3 p.m. This virtual defense will be presented online only. Attendance is invited via Zoom.

Wang's defense is titled "MicroRNA-483 Protects Pancreatic Beta-Cells by Targeting ALDH1A3."

From the abstract:
Type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disorder that causes hyperglycemia in patients. Pancreatic β-cell dysfunction is central to the development and progression of type 2 diabetes. New evidence indicated that altered β-cell identity due to β-cell dedifferentiation is believed to be a new mechanism for β-cell dysfunction and loss during the development of T2D. However, the precise mechanisms involved in β-cell dedifferentiation are still under investigation. MicroRNAs (miRNA) are a group of small non-coding RNAs known to negatively regulate target gene expression in response to metabolic changes in pancreatic islets. Dysregulation of miRNAs has been associated with pancreatic islet dysfunction in type 2 diabetes. Our previous studies have shown that miR-483 expression is much higher in β-cells than α-cells. Elevated miR-483 is also observed in the islets of prediabetic db/db mice, indicating that miR-483 plays an important function in β-cells.

Job Postings

Job Postings for Friday, May 27, 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.

Assistant Registrar – Curriculum Services, Registrar's Office. Apply online.

Advising Coordinator, Registrar's Office. Apply online.

Research Coordinator, Institute of Computing and Cybersystems. Apply online.

Research Engineer I, 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.

In the News

Michigan Tech was mentioned by MLive in a story revealing that Michigan’s college enrollment for the spring 2022 semester took the steepest dive in the nation, falling 15% overall from spring 2021 numbers.

Michigan Tech and the University of Michigan were the only public universities in the state to avoid enrollment drops.

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WJMN Local 3 ran a story on the first CyberBoat Challenge hosted by the Great Lakes Research Center at Michigan Tech. The event included three days of intensive hacking into maritime navigational and operational systems.

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Michigan Tech’s Department of Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) was mentioned by NewsBreak in a story on a concert being performed by the American Wild Ensemble on Saturday (May 28) in New York City. VPA joined the ensemble to co-curate and commission the concert.

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The Daily Mining Gazette mentioned Marika Seigel (HU) in a story on the art and cinema gala held May 26 at the Rozsa Center to benefit Ukraine. 

According to the story, event proceeds in excess of $20,000 will be sent to Seigel, who is currently in Estonia helping Ukrainian refugees.

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Michigan Tech was mentioned in a WLUC TV6 story about paid summer internships available for college students in the Upper Peninsula.

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Grunge mentioned Michigan Tech in a story about TRAPPIST-1, a planetary system with seven Earth-sized planets notable for its tiny size. The story referenced a Keweenaw Geoheritage webpage when comparing the amount of water in the TRAPPIST-1 system versus on Earth.

In Print

Iosif Pinelis (Math) is the author of a paper accepted for publication in Constructive Mathematical Analysis.

The paper is titled "Approximating sums by integrals only: multiple sums and sums over lattice polytopes."

A preprint version of the paper is available for download.

Reminders

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.

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PhD Defense: Adambarage Chathura de Alwis, Chem

Ph.D. in Chemistry candidate Adambarage Chathura de Alwis will present their doctoral defense virtually at 10 a.m. today (May 27) via Zoom.

De Alwis' dissertation is titled "Interfacial Oxidation Reactions and Film Nucleation on Iron Surfaces in Complex Environments Using Spectroscopy at the Liquid/Solid and Gas/Solid Interface."

De Alwis is advised by Kathryn Perrine.

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SYP Staff Positions Available

Summer is almost here! Do you know a college student who is looking for a summer job where they can make an impact? Summer Youth Programs (SYP) is seeking counselors who are excited about helping youth explore their passions for learning!

SYP hosts weeklong residential and commuter programs for students in grades 6-11 here at Michigan Tech. We have several different positions available, both full-time and part-time, some including room and board. SYP is sure to have a position that is the right fit and offers a rewarding experience that builds leadership and interpersonal skills. Applicants do not need to be enrolled at Michigan Tech to apply! Dates of employment are June 12 to Aug. 6.

Please share this opportunity and have interested applicants check out our employment page for position descriptions and an application.

Applications close Wednesday (June 1)!

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No Tech Today on Monday

Tech Today will not publish on Monday (May 30) in observance of the Memorial Day holiday. 

Submissions for the Tuesday (May 31) issue of Tech Today are due by noon today (May 27).

Today's Campus Events

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

PhD Defense: Chathura De Alwis Adambarage

Chemistry Advisor: Kathryn Perrine Interfacial Oxidation Reactions and Film Nucleation on Iron Surfaces in Complex Environments Using Spectroscopy at the Liquid/Solid and...

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PhD Defense: Tahiyat Alothaim

Biological Sciences Advisor: Xiaohu Tang Targeting Cysteine Metabolism to Eradicate TNBC Attend Virtually: https://michigantech.zoom.us/s/88156043700