CS Welcomes New Chair Andy Duan

Andy Duan has joined the Department of Computer Science (CS) as chair and professor. He comes to Michigan Tech from the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, University of Missouri at Columbia, where he was an associate professor and director of the Computer Graphics and Image Understanding Lab. Duan replaces Linda Ott, who is now emerita chair; she remains in the department as a professor of computer science.

"I am extremely excited to have Andy join our team,” says Dennis Livesay, Dave House Dean of Computing. “The Department of Computer Science is doing really well right now, with significant growth in enrollment, faculty and externally funded research. I'm confident that the future will be even brighter under Andy's leadership."

Duan holds a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. His research follows two tracks: computer vision, machine learning and biomedical imaging; and computer graphics, virtual reality and augmented reality. Duan is the principal investigator of research projects with active awards exceeding $1 million, and over $16 million in total external funding.

At the University of Missouri at Columbia, Duan was a college-level diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) faculty fellow for close to two years. “That prepared me to do more," said Duan. "A lot of good things are going on at Michigan Tech to address these challenges. I’m hopeful we can work together to find good solutions.”

“As the department chair, I will work to build a strong team focused on a sustainable and strong program and pursue efforts to enhance the ranking and the standing of the department among our peers,” Duan continued. “The College of Computing inspired me. As one of only a few academic colleges in the nation dedicated to computing, it’s a unique opportunity.”

Read more about Duan on the Computing News Blog.

Request for Proposals: Research Excellence Fund

Proposals are being solicited for the Research Excellence Fund (REF) program, an internal award of the Vice President for Research Office.

Proposals are due no later than 5 p.m. Oct. 6, and must be submitted electronically per the program guidelines. This due date will be strictly enforced based on the timestamp marked on the University's email system. Early submission is encouraged.

Please note that the program has changed in a number of respects in recent years, so be sure to download the current documents and review the current guidance carefully. Those scholars, creators and researchers who started with Tech or moved into a new research role after Dec. 1, 2020, must be enrolled in the Responsible Conduct of Research course for new researchers taking place this fall.

For additional information, see the Research Excellence Fund webpage. Questions can be directed to REF-l@mtu.edu.

Spring 2023 PHF Graduate Assistantship Nominations Open

Applications for Spring 2023 Portage Health Foundation (PHF) Graduate Assistantships are being accepted and are due no later than 4 p.m. Oct. 18 to the Graduate School. Instructions on the application and evaluation process are found online. Students are eligible if all of the following criteria are met:

  1. Must be a Ph.D. student conducting a research or outreach project that will promote and/or improve the overall health of the Houghton, Keweenaw, Baraga and Ontonagon communities.
  2. Must be a Ph.D. candidate at the time of application.
  3. Must be two years after starting the graduate program at the time of application.
  4. Must not be a prior recipient of a PHF Graduate Assistantship.
  5. Preference will be given to applicants with long-standing local connections to Houghton, Keweenaw, Baraga or Ontonagon county.

Priority will be given to students originally from Houghton, Keweenaw, Baraga or Ontonagon counties. Nonresident students and international students are encouraged to apply if their health research is applicable to health needs and job shortages of our local community (obesity research, rural health, medical informatics, drug delivery and lab testing, physical therapy, etc.).

These assistantships are available through the generosity of the Portage Health Foundation. They are intended to recognize outstanding Ph.D. talent in health-oriented research areas. Applicants should be a catalyst for promoting and improving the overall health of Houghton, Keweenaw, Baraga and Ontonagon communities through one of the following:

  • Health research and technology development
  • Health education or preventive and wellness initiatives
  • Rural health care access, informatics and assessment of care

Students who receive full support through a PHF Graduate Assistantship may not accept any other employment. For example, students cannot be fully supported by a PHF Graduate Assistantship and accept support as a GTA or GRA.

Career Mentoring for Associate Professors

Advanced Career Management (ACM) is a peer mentoring program focusing on career plans and strategies for midcareer faculty. Associate professors are invited to an orientation session Sept. 23 from noon to 1 p.m. in MUB Ballroom B. Lunch will be provided. Please complete the ACM Interest Form and RSVP for the orientation. If you are interested but cannot attend the orientation session, you will be contacted by email.

The session will introduce the ACM program, provide tools for career self-development and explain the career affinity groups. All participants in this session will receive professional development credit in Digital Measures.

If you have any questions, please check the ACM website for information or send an email to Shari Stockero at stockero@mtu.edu.

The ACM program was developed by ADVANCE at Michigan Tech, an NSF-funded initiative dedicated to increasing faculty retention, improving campus climate and enhancing the career success of our faculty, and is now supported by the Provost’s Office.

Husky Emergency Assistance Funds Available

The Husky Emergency Assistance Fund (HEAF) was established to help members of our campus community who are experiencing financial hardship. All current students, faculty and staff who have incurred emergency-related expenses and can demonstrate need are welcome to apply. The fund is supported by the generous donations of Michigan Tech alumni and friends.

To complete an application for financial assistance or donate to the fund, visit the Husky Emergency Assistance Fund website, email heaf@mtu.edu or call 906-487-1567.

Library and CDI Hosting Study Hours

The Center for Diversity and Inclusion (CDI) and the J. Robert Van Pelt and John and Ruanne Opie Library are working together this semester to promote academic excellence. The library will hold open library research help hours every other Tuesday and Wednesday from 2-5 p.m., starting today (Sept. 6) in Library 244. Librarians will be available during these study sessions and look forward to helping students make the most of the library’s resources.

All students are encouraged to attend to build community, support one another academically and achieve academic success.

For more information, please contact cdi@mtu.edu or library@mtu.edu.

Cafe Francais Resumes Activities

We are very happy to announce that Café Français is resuming its activities this week.

Please join us for an hour of laid-back Francophone setting with French natives and other Francophiles. All levels welcome. Walker 120C, from 5-6 p.m.

Note that we meet every second Tuesday. Friends and family are welcome!

Upcoming dates: Sept. 6, Sept. 20, Oct. 11, Oct. 25, Nov. 8 and Nov. 29.

Registration Open: PADI Open Water SCUBA Course

Registration is now open for the Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) Open Water SCUBA Course!

The course is conducted over two weekends and includes:

  • Ten hours of academic instruction (some coursework to be completed independently),
  • Ten hours of confined water training (SDC Pool), and
  • Four certification dives in Lake Superior (Marquette).

Upon registration, students will be given all required reading material and paperwork to complete prior to the start of the course. Students must be 18 years old and be able to swim 200 yards comfortably.

Course Dates and Times:

  • Friday, Oct. 14 — 5-10 p.m., SDC
  • Saturday, Oct. 15 — 8 a.m. to 10 p.m., SDC
  • Sunday, Oct. 16 — 8 a.m. to noon, SDC
  • Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 22-23, or Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 29-30 — Open Dives in Marquette (exact location and time TBA)

Cost is $575 per person (includes all instruction, fees and training materials). The deadline to register is Oct. 7.

For more information, visit our PADI Open Water SCUBA Course page.

Register for Fall Little Huskies Basketball League

Michigan Tech men's and women's basketball are excited to offer two fall Little Huskies basketball leagues — and registration is open now.

For girls in grades 2-5, camp will take place over four days beginning in September. Boys in grades 3-6 have camp on three days starting Sept. 26. Participants will leave with fundamental basketball skills like ball handling, shooting, team play and defensive play.

There will also be an opportunity to play basketball scrimmages at halftime of select Michigan Tech home basketball games with free admission.

The deadline to register for the girls camp is tomorrow (Sept. 7). The last day to register for the boys camp is Sept. 21.

Participants can expect top-level instruction from head women's basketball coach Sam Clayton and head men's basketball coach Josh Buettner, along with current Michigan Tech student-athletes. Learning skills, teamwork, making friends and having fun are goals of both camps.

Find out more at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Presentation: 'How Entrepreneurism, Not Big Government, Built America'

Burt Folsom will be giving a presentation titled "How Entrepreneurism, Not Big Government, Built America" on Sept. 13 at 7 p.m. in Fisher 139. The public is encouraged to attend.

Folsom is a native of Lincoln, Nebraska, and has been a college professor at many places, including Hillsdale College in Michigan, where he still serves as a distinguished fellow. He received his B.A. from Indiana University and his Ph.D. in history from the University of Pittsburgh.

A distinguished economic historian, Folsom appears regularly on Fox News and is the author of 10 books, including "The Myth of the Robber Barons," which is published by Young America’s Foundation and will soon be in its ninth edition, "Uncle Sam Can’t Count," "FDR Goes to War" and "New Deal or Raw Deal?"

Young Americans for Freedom at Michigan Tech is hosting the event.

Football Wins with Willis

Michigan Tech football's Darius Willis pulled down two second-half touchdown receptions and lifted the Huskies to a season-opening victory over Wisconsin-Platteville on Thursday (Sept. 1)

The game began as a defensive showdown. At halftime, MTU held a 7-0 lead thanks to Steele Fortress on a three-yard quarterback keeper. After the break, Willis came alive with a 31-yard end zone catch in the third quarter that electrified the crowd. 

"Darius is a dynamic player," said head coach Steve Olson. "We need him to go out and make some big plays. He got behind the defense a couple of times tonight and the catch he made in the back of the end zone on the pass from Will (Ark) was tremendous. We have to continue to find different ways to get him the ball."

It was the first game under the lights at Kearly Stadium since the Miner's Cup game in 2017.

Read more at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Job Postings

Job Postings for Tuesday, Sept. 6, 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.

Custodian (12 months/ 40 hours/ first shift) #22202RP, #22165RP, Facilities (AFSCME posting dates Sept. 6 to Sept. 12, 2022 — external applicants are encouraged to apply; however, internal AFSCME applicants are given first consideration if they apply during the internal AFSCME posting dates). Apply online.

Administrative Aide 7 (12 months/ 30 hours/ first shift) #21232RPx3, Financial Services and Operations (UAW posting dates Sept. 6 to Sept. 12, 2022 — external applicants are encouraged to apply; however, internal UAW applicants are given first consideration if they apply during the internal UAW posting dates). 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 Air Force ROTC Squadron Cmdr. Lily Bollinger was quoted by ABC 10 in a story about the squadron’s annual POW/MIA 5K Run/Walk. 

The event is planned for Oct. 1 at 11 a.m., with the route running from the ROTC Building on campus to the Portage Lake Lift Bridge and back again.

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Lake Superior Magazine mentioned Michigan Tech in an entry in “Around the Circle This Week” describing a partnership between MTU, the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community and the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, with funding from Michigan Sea Grant, with a goal of synthesizing, honoring, and sharing Indigenous community knowledge about natural resources and environmental science.

The project will be part of the Indigenous Knowledge Symposium being held Oct. 24-25 at Tech.

Reminders

Institutional Equity Name Change

Institutional Equity has a new name: Equal Opportunity Compliance and Title IX. Our new office name more accurately identifies the office’s compliance responsibilities of implementing the University's equal opportunity, discrimination, harassment and Title IX policies, which are guided by state and federal laws and regulations. Our services, functions and staff members are not changing.

Our new email address is eocompliance@mtu.edu. All website URLs will have redirects created and the old email address will be rerouted to the new address.

If you have any questions, please contact eocompliance@mtu.edu or call 7-3310.

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Seeking Stories: Open Access Dissertations, Theses and Reports

The Graduate School and J. Robert Van Pelt and John and Ruanne Opie Library are celebrating Open Access Week 2022 by highlighting 10 years of Michigan Tech graduate student scholars sharing their work on Digital Commons @ Michigan Tech. Digital Commons is the University’s institutional repository. We want to include you in the celebration!

Publishing open access helps scholars access your work and share the results of your research globally. We can see how this process happens through the usage statistics available from the Digital Commons platform and the PlumX dashboard embedded in individual submissions. We can’t wait to share our findings!

We also want to hear from you. Do you have an open access story to share about your student’s work or an interesting connection you have made? We’re gathering photos and stories to share with the campus. Please share your photos (JPG and PNG) and stories by Friday (Sept. 9) with gradschool@mtu.edu to be included in our celebration of graduate student scholars at Michigan Tech.

Michigan Tech will celebrate Open Access Week 2022 the week of Oct. 17. We look forward to sharing more information with you about this milestone on our campus.

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Preparing for a Classroom Emergency

Preparing for the evacuation of a building is an important component of being an instructor. Students, even in the university setting, will look to instructors for guidance during an emergency. Michigan Tech requires faculty and instructors to take a few minutes at the beginning of each semester to familiarize themselves and students with basic evacuation routes and emergency procedures.

What specifically should instructors do?

  • Familiarize themselves with the building, floor and classroom they will be teaching in. Classrooms are equipped with emergency evacuation postings; use these to orient yourself to exit locations.
  • Communicate evacuation routes and assembly areas outside of buildings to students in case of an emergency.
  • Remind students that if they need assistance exiting a building during an emergency, it is up to them to self-identify (in private if desired).
  • Provide leadership and follow established procedures for all building alarms and emergencies.

The University Safety Manual provides additional information regarding emergency action and fire prevention plans.

Please email ehs-help@mtu.edu if you would like your classroom evacuation maps in PDF format.

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Registration Open: Intro to Design Thinking Workshop

Get your creative energy flowing and join us for a design thinking activity in which student teams practice innovation skills. Design thinking is a human-centered design process used to solve ambiguous problems. Innovation skills are sought by companies worldwide. This interactive workshop will be held in the Alley Makerspace (MUB Basement).

To accommodate schedules, we will host this workshop twice:

  • Wednesday, Sept. 7 — 4-6 p.m., Alley Makerspace
  • Tuesday, Sept. 13 — 4-6 p.m., Alley Makerspace

Register for the workshop by the end of today (Sept. 6).

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MSGC Graduate Fellowship Application Support

The Graduate School is offering support services to assist graduate students in applying for the Michigan Space Grant Consortium’s (MSGC's) Graduate Fellowship, including a workshop and one-on-one writing support.

MSGC’s Graduate Fellowship opportunity supports graduate students from affiliate institutions who are conducting research and public service projects relevant to NASA’s strategic interests as expressed in NASA’s 2014 and 2018 Strategic Plans — specifically, research focused on aerospace, space science and earth system science.

Graduate students working in these fields and related science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields are eligible to apply. MSGC is also piloting an expanded definition of STEM to include support for interdisciplinary projects that include art, so graduate students conducting research and projects relevant to NASA’s strategic interests in disciplines not traditionally considered STEM, such as the humanities or social sciences, are likewise encouraged to apply.

Fellowship recipients are awarded $5,000. To be eligible, applicants must identify a mentor, be U.S. nationals, have a good academic record and be in good academic standing. Women, underrepresented minorities and persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply. Students currently receiving MSGC Fellowships are eligible to reapply.

Workshop information:

  • MSGC Graduate Fellowship Workshop: Overview and tips from a reviewer
    • Date and time: Monday, Sept. 12, 12-12:50 p.m.
    • Location: Admin 404
    • Presenter: Will Cantrell, associate provost and dean of the Graduate School
    • Host: Sarah Isaacson, GLAS program director, sisaacso@mtu.edu
      Register for the workshop.

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