MTU, Sandia to Cut Ribbon on New DOE Regional Test Center for Emerging Solar Technologies

Michigan Tech and Sandia National Laboratories will host a ribbon-cutting ceremony and tour of the U.S. Department of Energy’s newest solar energy Regional Test Center (RTC) in Calumet next Tuesday (Aug. 16) from 1 to 2:30 p.m.

Attendees will hear from congressional representatives, state and federal government officials and industry leaders before touring the solar research site. Multiple cutting-edge solar technologies will be on display, including experimental systems being evaluated for their ability to increase electrical generation from photovoltaic systems in northern regions.

Read more about the RTC program at Michigan Tech News.

Career Services Director Finalists To Give Public Presentation

Editor's Note: The public presentation by the second finalist, scheduled at 2 p.m. Monday (Aug. 15), has been canceled. 

Two finalists for the Career Services director position will be visiting campus today (Aug. 8) and next Monday (Aug. 15).

As part of their interview, each candidate will discuss:

  • The complex context of student diversity;
  • Generational and developmental differences within the student body;
  • Workforce demands; and
  • The realities, constraints and opportunities presented by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Additionally, they will share their plan for reimagining, transforming and assessing career and professional development services for Michigan Tech students.

The campus community is invited to participate in each candidate’s public presentation via Zoom. Each session will begin at 2 p.m. and last approximately 30 minutes, followed by a 15-minute Q&A session. Questions may be submitted via Zoom chat to the moderator.

Please visit the Career Services homepage to access the Zoom links and provide feedback on each candidate.

Summer Hours End Sunday

Summer hours will end on Sunday (Aug. 14). Beginning Monday (Aug. 15), the University will return to regular office hours.

Regular hours of operation are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. All offices must be staffed during these hours.

Change in Procedure for Training Temporary Employees

At Michigan Tech, it is everyone’s responsibility to create a welcoming environment and harassment-free campus. In addition, employees are often role models for students to learn appropriate professional habits, so it is essential to understand these issues and maintain professional standards of conduct. For short-term/casual/seasonal (temporary) employees, this is their responsibility too.

Equal Opportunity Compliance (formerly known as Institutional Equity) previously required an online training course for short-term/casual/seasonal (temporary) employees. Going forward, we will no longer require this online training and will instead send each new temporary employee an email briefly explaining the information that our office wants to share with this population. A link to the Employee Code of Conduct, which reviews University expectations in regard to employee conduct, is included in the email.

Please contact Equal Opportunity Compliance at eocompliance@mtu.edu or 906-487-3310 if you have questions, concerns, and/or require further assistance.

Request Spring 2023 Lab Software by Aug. 29

Michigan Tech IT is collecting lab software requests for spring 2023. If you still have not submitted a request for spring 2023, this needs to be done by Aug. 29. As a reminder, requests should be completed one semester in advance of intended use.

Please refer to the support article on requesting lab software for information about request guidelines and access to the submission form.

Please note that there is no need to request currently available software. These requests are for additional software that is not already installed in the labs.

If you have any questions, we can help. Contact it-help@mtu.edu or call 7-1111.

MTU's Beta Xi Chapter Honored by Alpha Sigma Tau National Council

Alpha Sigma Tau’s Beta Xi Chapter at Michigan Tech has been honored by the sorority's national organization for demonstrating excellence within the 2020-22 biennium.

Beta Xi received three awards at Alpha Sigma Tau’s 44th National Convention, held June 23-26 in Tampa, Florida — the Health and Safety Excellence Award, Academic Excellence Award and Financial Excellence Award.

The Health and Safety Excellence Award is presented to the collegiate chapters exhibiting excellence in risk prevention, reduction and management measures.

The Academic Excellence Award is presented to the chapter(s) with the highest average chapter GPA each semester.

The Financial Excellence Award is presented to the collegiate chapters exhibiting excellence in financial management and health.

From fall 2020 to fall 2021, Beta Xi averaged a 3.52 GPA and had completion rates of 87% or higher on members' health and safety courses – CommunityEdu, Mental Well-Being for Students, Prescription Drug Abuse Prevention and Sexual Assault Prevention.

Director of New Member Education Alayna Starll and Housing Corp Member Maria Walczyk were present at the convention to accept the awards. Faculty advisor and Beta Xi Chapter alumna Jeannie DeClerck (CTL) was also in attendance.

The Alpha Sigma Tau National Council congratulates the Beta Xi Chapter for their outstanding hard work, perseverance and commitment to the sorority and their community.

Sign Up for Virtual Workshop on Practical Problem Solving

The Office of Continuous Improvement is offering a virtual workshop, "Practical Problem Solving: Leveraging the Plan-Do-Check-Act Cycle (Virtual)," on Aug. 17 from 9 a.m. to noon.

Problem solving in a continuous improvement culture is highly participative, focusing on the problem, not the person, and involving the people who actually do the work.

To see the workshop description and register, complete the brief sign-up form or visit the Office of Continuous Improvement website. Once registered, we'll add you to a calendar event for the course.

This workshop will be taught virtually using Zoom and Miro. There will be a brief pre-work assignment before the workshop, and you'll receive a certificate after completing a post-work assignment.

This stand-alone workshop is part of the Lean Basics workshop series. It can be taken independently, or, if you complete all five workshops in the series, we’ll award you a Lean White Belt certificate! For more information, email improvement@mtu.edu.

GLIAC Nominates Laura De Marchi for NCAA Woman of the Year

Michigan Tech volleyball student-athlete Laura De Marchi has been selected as the GLIAC representative for the 2022 NCAA Woman of the Year Award.

Of the 156 conference-level nominees, 54 competed in Division I, 41 in Division II and 61 in Division III. The nominees represent 17 sports and have an average GPA of 3.8.

The Woman of the Year Selection Committee, made up of representatives from the NCAA membership, now will choose 10 nominees from each division for the national Top 30 honorees, who will be announced in October. From there, the selection committee will narrow the pool to three finalists from each division, for a total of nine student-athletes — one of whom will be named the 2022 Woman of the Year at the NCAA Convention in January 2023.

Read about De Marchi's many accomplishments at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

In the News

North American Clean Energy picked up a Michigan Tech News press release announcing the ribbon-cutting for the U.S. Department of Energy’s new solar energy Regional Test Center (RTC) in Calumet.

The ribbon-cutting will be hosted by MTU and Sandia National Laboratories at the University’s Advanced Power Systems Research Center (APSRC/APS LABS).

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Tom Monahan Smith (ATH) was interviewed by WJMN Local 3 about the impact of the U.S. Ski Championships coming to Houghton in January.

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Professor Emeritus Bill Sproule (CEGE) was mentioned by WLUC TV6 in a story about a series of train-themed history lectures being hosted at the Copper Range Depot in Houghton.

Sproule was the first speaker in the series. He presented Aug. 4 about the network of rail lines that once crisscrossed the area.

Reminder

CEO Continuing Transitioning Offices Today

The Center for Educational Outreach (CEO) will be transitioning from our temporary offices in Wadsworth Hall back to the second floor of the Administration Building as we conclude another successful year of Summer Youth Programs.

Today (Aug. 8), response times may be delayed as we move between spaces. We would like to thank everyone who helped make this summer's programming possible for the 900+ pre-college students we welcomed to campus.