Rich History, Unique Design Make Lift Bridge a National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark

by Kimberly Geiger, College of Engineering

Lift Bridge in fall from the water

In 2019, the Portage Lake Bridge was recognized as an American Society of Civil Engineers National Historic Civil Engineering Landmark thanks to the efforts of Tess Ahlborn (CEGE) and two former students: Michael Prast ’19 and Emma Beachy ’19. This Bridgefest, the public is invited to a dedication and celebration ceremony Friday (June 17) at Bridgeview Park in Houghton.

“The lift bridge” links Houghton and Hancock and is the only structure spanning the Keweenaw Waterway. At 4,584,000 pounds, built with more than 35,000 tons of concrete and 7,000 tons of steel, the bridge was the heaviest double-decked vertical-lift span in the world at the time of its construction in 1959. It was also the first bridge in the United States to use an intermediate lift span position.

Ahlborn, Prast and Beachy explain what makes the bridge unique at Michigan Tech News.

Astronomy Outreach Prize Winners

by Physics

Bob Nemiroff (Physics) and his collaborator, Jerry Bonnel, have won the Astronomy Outreach Prize, awarded by International Astronomical Union, for their more than 25 years of curating the daily Astronomy Picture of the Day (APOD), which is now available in more than 20 languages, seen by millions each day and used in classrooms throughout the world.

APOD has been influential in encouraging interest in astronomy around the world: each of the images is accompanied by explanatory captions, which is one reason it is widely adopted in primary/secondary school and university-level courses.

Pictures are contributed by professional and amateur astronomers, and also increasingly by astrophotographers, for whom an APOD publication is a gold standard. Featured images cover a wide range of topics from the Cosmic Microwave Background and the most distant galaxies to aurorae on Earth.

The awards will be presented at the IAU XXXI General Assembly (IAUGA2022) in Busan, South Korea, in August this year.

Nancy Barr's Farewell

by Mechanical Engineering - Engineering Mechanics

Please join us for a farewell to Nancy Barr (ME-EM), who is leaving the University to take a faculty position with the University of South Florida's Department of English. Her farewell will be held in the Alumni Lounge (107C in the MUB) from 1-3 p.m. Thursday (June 16).

Nancy joined the mechanical engineering department as an office assistant in 2007 and earned her Master of Science in Rhetoric and Technical Communication and Doctor of Philosophy in Rhetoric, Theory and Culture from Michigan Tech. She leaves the University as a ME-EM professor of practice - engineering communication.

Sidike Paheding, Ashraf Saleem Are Guest Editors for Remote Sensing Special Issue

by Department of Applied Computing

Sidike Paheding and Ashraf Saleem (AC) are guest editors for a special issue of Remote Sensing, an open-access journal published by MDPI.

The special issue's objective is to provide a forum for cutting-edge research that addresses the ongoing challenges in remote sensing image classification.

The deadline for manuscript submissions is Jan. 31, 2023. Manuscripts can be emailed to Paheding at spahedin@mtu.edu and Saleem at ashraf@mtu.edu.

More information can be found on the Computing News Blog.

Reminders

Seeking Research Participants

The Aging, Cognition, and Action Lab is seeking healthy older adults and those with Parkinson's disease to participate in a remote research study investigating the validity of a newly developed web-based application of motor learning.

Eligibile participants:

  • Are free from medical conditions other than Parkinson's that affect movement of the hands or arms.
  • Are free from medical conditions other than Parkinson's that affect cognitive functioning.
  • Are age 60-90 years old.
  • Are familiar with using a computer and the internet.
  • Have access to a desktop or laptop computer and the internet.

The entire study will be conducted in one session lasting approximately two hours, scheduled at your convenience. You will receive monetary compensation for your time.

For more information and to see if you qualify, please contact Alexandra at agingcognitionlab@mtu.edu or 906-487-2378.

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Registration Still Open for Summer Aquatics Programs

Registration for our summer aquatics programs is still open! Each of the aquatic programs below will begin its first session next Monday (June 20), and registration will close for the first session Thursday (June 16) at 11:59 p.m.

  • Huskies Summer Swim provides additional attention and competitive guidance to proficient swimmers ages 6-17 looking to improve their swimming skills and fitness levels.

  • 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 fundamental four strokes.

  • 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 levels in a group setting.

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Register, Volunteer for Thatcher Markham Memorial Run

During Bridgefest, we are proud to honor the memory of Thatcher Markham with a 5K run/walk event from Hancock to Houghton on Friday (June 17) at 7 p.m. The race supports the Copper Country Junior Hockey Association (CCJHA) and Pigs 'N Heat (the Copper Country Police and Fire Relief Fund) in their missions to promote youth sports and support local fire/crime victims.

Thatcher's family and our community tragically lost Thatcher at 12 years old in the 2018 Father's Day flood in northern Houghton County. His memory has lived on through many local events and remembrances, and this race is another way to make sure he is never forgotten in the Copper Country. It is also fitting that remembering Thatcher will help us with assisting local youth sports — Thatcher himself was a longtime CCJHA player — and local first-responders in their charitable work.

If you’d like to register to run or walk, please see details at the Thatcher Markham Memorial Run website.

It takes many great volunteers to have a great event. If you can’t run/walk or aren’t up to it, but still want to help out a great cause, please email us to express your interest in assisting with the race at thatchermarkhammemorialrun@gmail.com. 

We need volunteer help with tasks including:

  • Organization prior to race day
  • Race-day and day-before registration and check-in
  • Organizing the start and finish areas
  • Transporting racers' gear
  • Helping with timing (splits)
  • Helping at the aid station
  • Leading and sweeping the race
  • Controlling traffic
  • Setting up the course  

Even if you’re participating in the event, we still need your help. And with most volunteer positions, you can still catch the parade in Houghton. Let us know what position preference you may have when emailing. Volunteers will need to sign a release form.

Bridgefest Needs Volunteers!
Many volunteers are needed each year to make Bridgefest possible. Please consider signing up for a shift helping to supervise kids' bounce houses, obstacle courses and games Saturday (June 18) from noon to 7 p.m. at the Kestner Waterfront Park, aka Chutes ‘N Ladders (10 a.m. setup). Please email Ryan Towles at ratowles@mtu.edu to volunteer if you can.

Bridgefest is a Michigan Tech sponsored event.