October 14, 2022

The Office of Alumni Engagement is excited to announce a new Michigan Tech alumni event tradition: Traveling Tech Talks. This new series will be hosted in different locations, showcasing the personal and professional journeys of alumni thought leaders in a variety of fields, and will offer attendees professional networking opportunities within the Husky network.

The inaugural Traveling Tech Talks event will be hosted Nov. 3 in Seattle, Washington, with the theme “A Conversation on Human Factors Engineering and User Experience.” The event will feature a panel of alumni subject matter experts. Our very own department chair and associate professor of cognitive and learning sciences, Kelly Steelman, will moderate the discussion.

The cost to attend is $15 per person, and registration in advance is requested. We encourage all MTU faculty, staff and friends to spread the word to Huskies within their personal networks currently living in the Seattle area. Registration for the Seattle event closes Oct. 26.

Please reach out to Jennifer Lucas, associate vice president of alumni engagement, with any questions or concerns, and keep an eye out for future Traveling Tech Talks locations and topics to be announced.

Do you know a student who might be interested in learning more about Enterprise at Michigan Tech? Or a student who wants to join an Enterprise, but is not sure which team is right for them? Please take a moment to invite any and all students to Enterprise Day, happening next week on Tuesday (Oct. 18) from 6-8 p.m. in the Rozsa lobby.

During this time, students will learn more about Enterprise by talking with program staff and students from various Enterprise teams, all in one place. Teams will be spread out across the Rozsa lobby.

Students will be able to visit with:

Advanced Metalworks • Aerospace • Alternative Energy • Blizzard Baja • Blue Marble Security • BoardSport Technologies • Built World • Clean Snowmobile Challenge • Consumer Product Manufacturing • Formula SAE • Green Campus • H-STEM • Hotforest • Humane Interface Design Enterprise • Husky Game • Innovative Global Solutions • ITOxygen • Multiplanetary Innovation Enterprise (MINE) • Open Source • Robotic Systems • Strategic Education through Naval Systems Experiences (SENSE) • Supermileage Systems • Velovations • Wireless Communication

For more information about each team, please visit our Enterprise Day webpage. Registration is not required for interested students who would like to attend. Apple cider and donuts will be provided on a first-come, first-served basis during this event.

This week’s article spotlights disability as an axis of diversity. According to an Inside Higher Ed article, 26% of adult Americans have at least one disability, yet data from 2004 suggest that only 4% of faculty members report a disability. Stigmas or biases, inability to fund graduate education while maintaining necessary medical care, lack of role models and flawed application and hiring practices may all contribute to this lack of diversity among faculty.

Lack of medical support and livable wages can make it especially challenging for disabled individuals to pursue their graduate studies. Indeed, one student reported that they spent a third of their stipend on medical care each term.

Also, the barrier of the interview process for academic candidates can be particularly grueling, with constant activity and limited breaks. As Jay Dolmage, author of the book "Academic Abelism," observes, “There are definitely ways to plan interviews that are much more humane for everybody and also much more accessible.” Such revisions would be useful for all involved in the selection process.

Ultimately, there is a critical need in academia to acknowledge disability as a measure of diversity to be celebrated and not simply accommodated. Designing more equitable practices has the potential to benefit everyone.

Today’s feature was shared with us by the ADVANCE Advocates and Allies Advisory Board. If you have an article you think we should feature, please email it to advance-mtu@mtu.edu and we will consider adding it to the ADVANCE Weekly Roundup.

The ADVANCE Weekly Roundup is brought to you by ADVANCE at Michigan Tech, an NSF-funded initiative dedicated to improving faculty career success, retention, diversity, equity and inclusion. Past articles are available on the ADVANCE Newsblog.

To learn more about our featured topic, our mission, programming efforts, and to check out our growing collection of resources, contact us or visit our website.

The Tech Theatre Company will perform the 1920 dystopian play "R.U.R: Rossum's Universal Robots" in McArdle Theater at 7:30 p.m. next Thursday, Friday and Saturday (Oct. 20-22). Witness a world of robots revolting against the limited human population in this semi-staged radio drama. A post-performance discussion will take place following the performance on Saturday.

Limited Student Rush tickets are available 30 minutes prior to the performance and are included with the Experience Tech fee. Public tickets are on sale now at mtu.universitytickets.com.

Most ROBOT101 events are held both in person and via Zoom webinar. Find more information and register for the webinars at the ROBOT101 website.

ROBOT101 events are supported by:

Institute of Computing and Cybersystems | College of Computing | College of Sciences and Arts | College of Engineering | College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science | Department of Cognitive and Learning Sciences | Department of Computer Science | Department of Engineering Fundamentals | Department of Humanities | Department of Social Sciences | Department of Visual and Performing Arts | 41 North Film Festival | Institute for Policy, Ethics, and Culture | Pavlis Honors College

Diwali Night is one of the mega events hosted by the Indian Students Association (ISA), and it is widely acclaimed around Michigan Tech and the Houghton area in general. We would like you to be a part of this event — to celebrate and enjoy our most well-known festival.

We will be having delicious Indian cuisine in the MUB Commons and MUB Ballroom at 5 p.m. We will also have a Cultural Show in the Rozsa Center at 7 p.m.

Details:

• Event: ISA Diwali Night 2022
• Date/Time: Sunday, Oct. 23 — Dinner from 5-6:45 p.m. and Cultural Show from 7-9 p.m.
• Location: Dinner in the MUB Commons and MUB Ballroom and Cultural Show in the Rozsa Center
• Get Tickets: Tickets are available online at mtu.universitytickets.com.

Next Saturday (Oct. 22), the MTU Department of Military Science Cadets will be hosting a 5K and 10K trail run to raise money for our program and the Keweenaw Family Resource Center. The fifth annual Husky Autumn Mountain Run, cordially known as the HAMR, is the program's largest fundraiser. The HAMR is held at Mont Ripley and Quincy Mine in the peak autumn colors. Participants of all ages and abilities will run through the gorgeous red, orange and yellow hues while getting a unique tour of Quincy Mine and the surrounding area.

A portion of the funds raised from the event will be donated to the Keweenaw Family Resource Center. The KFRC strives to provide support and resources to developing families in the Copper Country area. Donations will be used to fund activities and mentorship for both children and parents. Within the Department of Military Science, donations will be used to upgrade gear, fund cadet training experiences and renovate the cadet facilities.

To sign-up or donate, or for more information, please visit the Husky Autumn Mountain Run website.

The PBS show "A Taste of History" recorded an episode in the Upper Peninsula last year featuring the Harbor Haus restaurant, Quincy Mine and a lot of footage at the A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum.

Watch the 26-minute episode, titled "Copper Country," online at PBS.org. 

Last Friday (Oct. 7), against the backdrop of beautiful fall colors, the Chemistry Graduate Safety Committee (CGSC), a student-led lab safety team, had its second annual fire extinguisher training event at the Sharon Avenue Tech Trails access. The training was provided by Lammi Fire Protection, a professional fire safety company based in Marquette.

Participants learned about the different extinguisher types and uses, and then received hands-on training putting out a real controlled fire. Snacks and drinks were provided for all participants on the side. This event was funded by the Department of Chemistry office.

The CGSC meets every third Monday of the month during this fall semester. If you are interested in conversations about keeping a safe lab environment and having fun safety-related events, feel free to join the meetings. The group can be reached at chemsafetycom-l@mtu.edu.

Jindrich Toman, professor of Slavic languages and literatures at the University of Michigan, will speak about the historical influences of Karel Čapek’s 1920 dystopian play, "R.U.R." The talk takes place Thursday (Oct. 20) at noon in Michigan Tech's Van Pelt and Opie Library.

Most ROBOT101 events are held both in person and via Zoom webinar. Find more information and register for the webinars at the ROBOT101 website.

ROBOT101 events are supported by:

Institute of Computing and Cybersystems | College of Computing | College of Sciences and Arts | College of Engineering | College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science | Department of Cognitive and Learning Sciences | Department of Computer Science | Department of Engineering Fundamentals | Department of Humanities | Department of Social Sciences | Department of Visual and Performing Arts | 41 North Film Festival | Institute for Policy, Ethics, and Culture | Pavlis Honors College

The Department of Cognitive and Learning Sciences (CLS) will host applied cognitive science and human factors (ACSHF) graduate students Lisa Casper and Betsy Lehman at the next ACSHF Forum on Monday (Oct. 17) from 2-3 p.m. in Meese 109 and via Zoom.

Casper will present her research, titled "Does Design Thinking Support Innovation: Empirical Evaluation," and Lehman will present her research, titled "Counterfactual Thinking as a Strategy for Questioning a Frame: Experimental Results."

Full abstracts can be found on the Cognitive and Learning Sciences News blog.

Michigan Tech volleyball wraps up nonconference play this weekend with the 14th annual Midwest Region Crossover Tournament featuring teams from the GLIAC, GMAC and GLVC.

Tech plays twice today (Oct. 14), against Ashland at 3 p.m. ET and Indianapolis at 8 p.m. ET, to begin the tournament.

The Huskies will wrap up the weekend tomorrow (Oct. 15) against an opponent to be determined after today's results.

Tech is 12-6 overall and 6-5 in the GLIAC.

Read more about the Crossover at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Stephen Techtmann (BioSci) was interviewed by VICE for a lengthy story on his lab’s BioPROTEIN project, which recycles waste plastics into edible protein powder using bacteria.

The research was also the subject of a story in Michigan Tech’s 2022 Research Magazine.

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Libby Meyer (VPA) was quoted by the Daily Mining Gazette in a story covering the sold-out Music in the Mine concert, which was held in the former Quincy Mining Company’s 1918 hoist house on Oct. 7.

Mike Christianson (VPA) and Professor Emeritus Bill Rose (GMES) were also mentioned in the story.

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MLive mentioned Michigan Tech in a story delving into the statistics of the 45,000-student enrollment decline at the 15 public universities in Michigan over the past decade. A visual display accompanying the story shows enrollment, tuition, student debt, and staffing statistics for each school between 2002 and 2022.

Tech, along with the state’s other flagship universities, was called out for maintaining or increasing enrollment since 2011.

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The Daily Mining Gazette picked up a Michigan Tech Athletics press release about MTU volleyball’s Carissa Beyer being named the GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week.

Scott Miers (ME-EM) is the principal investigator on a project that has received a $20,000 research and development agreement from Michigan State University.

The project is titled "Gen2 Mini-PEMS Prototype Development."

Brian Eggart (APSRC) is a co-PI on this project.

Kari B. Henquinet (SS) is the author of a research article published in Economic Anthropology.

The article is titled "Missionary, citizen, and consumer: Evangelical American child sponsorship and humanitarian marketing in the 1950s and 1960s."

The article is currently available online.

Erika Vye (GLRC/GMES) delivered an invited presentation (virtually) titled "Place, Partnerships, and Practice – Geoheritage Education Initiatives in Michigan’s Keweenaw Region" during the Geological Society of America’s annual meeting, held Oct. 9-12.

Vye and co-author Bill Rose (GMES) were invited to present as part of a Pardee Keynote Symposia titled “Geoheritage: Connecting Our Stories to Earth’s History.”

Pardee Keynote Symposia are special events of broad interest to the geoscience community. Examples of topics include those on the leading edge in a scientific discipline or area of public policy and those that address broad fundamental problems, provide new interdisciplinary insights, or focus on global problems.

MSGC Applications Due Soon!

Proposals for funding through the Michigan Space Grant Consortium (MSGC) are due soon:

• Wednesday, Oct. 19, by noon — Internal deadline for pre-college education, public outreach, teacher training and research seed grant proposals.
  
  
• Wednesday, Nov. 9, by noon — Internal deadline for undergraduate and graduate fellowship proposals.
  
  
• Wednesday, Nov. 16, by 5 p.m. — Final materials, after review and approval by SPO, must be uploaded to MSGC by the applicant.

Proposals exceeding stated page limits or submitted without prior review by Michigan Tech will not be considered for funding. Women, underrepresented minorities and persons with disabilities are strongly encouraged to apply to all MSGC funding opportunities.

For instructions detailing proposal submission procedures and requirements, visit the Graduate School's MSGC page.

For more information, contact MSGC Coordinator Mia Kemppainen in the Graduate School at miaw@mtu.edu or call 906-487-2326.

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Help Us Make a Difference!

Michigan Tech is just a couple short weeks away from our largest annual day of service — Make a Difference Day! Last year, nearly 500 Huskies gave back at service sites across the Keweenaw region. We anticipate an even higher number of volunteers for this year’s event, which will take place next Saturday (Oct. 22) from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Do you know of an organization, agency or community member who could use the assistance of volunteers? We can help! Request support yourself by completing our site registration form or pass it on to others who would benefit from having some Husky Helpers. Past activities completed by our volunteers include organizing donations, chopping wood, cleaning storage facilities, fall lawn cleanup, trail maintenance and more.

Our entire community — faculty, staff and students — are also invited to volunteer. Volunteers can register on GivePulse, our community service website. If you would like to register with members of a group, please include the group name when signing up.

The final deadline to register is Monday (Oct. 17) at 8 a.m. Every registered volunteer will receive a free Make a Difference Day T-shirt!

Check-in for volunteers will begin at 8:45 a.m. Saturday in the MUB Ballroom, where information will be distributed before groups travel to their service locations. Most locations will require your group to drive.

Want to learn more about the event? Check out our website. Thank you for your help to make a difference in our community!

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Chemistry Seminar: Multitasking Catalysts

Ana C. Alba-Rubio will be presenting the next seminar in the Chemistry Seminar Series.

Alba-Rubio's seminar is titled "Catalysts Can Be Good at Multitasking: Two Practical Examples." She will present virtually at 3 p.m. today (Oct. 14) via Zoom.

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Safety Skills Upgrade Shutdown

The Safety Skills training platform will be unavailable from today (Oct. 14) until Monday (Oct. 17) for system upgrades.

The upgraded system will feature many new modules, including Job Hazard Analysis, Audits and Inspections, and Incident Investigation Tools. These offerings greatly expand the Safety Management capabilities available to all MTU faculty, staff and custom groups.

There will also be noticeable visible changes to your Safety Skills experience, including new login pages, modified user dashboards and expanded functionality option menus. The URL will also change to mtu.mysafetyskills.com — but don’t worry! Old links will be redirected automatically.

We apologize for any inconveniences during this time, but are excitedly looking forward to the launch of our expanded safety platform!

To learn more about the upgrades, please visit the Safety Skills EHS Management Tools page.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to email us at EHS-Help@mtu.edu.

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October KIP Seminar: 'Improving Community Health and Wellness'

Join us today (Oct. 14) in ATDC 101 from 3-4:30 p.m. for the Department of Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology's (KIP's) October Seminar.

The seminar will include a symposium focused on “Improving Community Health and Wellness.” It will also continue to support our "Promoting Women in Health Science, Medicine, and Physiology" semester theme.

Find details about the speakers on the KIP Newsblog.

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Donation Drive for the Barbara Kettle Gundlach Shelter Home

Please join the student organization SAVE (Sexual Assault and Violence Education) in a donation drive for the Barbara Kettle Gundlach Shelter Home during the month of October.

SAVE is hosting this event in recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month (DVAM) and in support of community organizations. Donation bins are located in the Help Desk area of the Van Pelt and Opie Library, in the front lobby of the Administration Building, in the front lobby of the Memorial Union Building and in the front entrance of the ROTC Building.

The wish list includes:

• New bed pillows
• Hair conditioner
• Women’s underwear and pajamas (all sizes)
• Dryer sheets
• Hairbrushes and nail clippers
• Plastic shower caddies
• Disposable hot/cold cups, paper towels, paper plates and napkins
• Toilet paper and Kleenex
• Storage bags (sandwich, quart, and gallon sizes)
• Trash bags
• Notebooks and two-pocket folders
• Postage stamps
• Econo Foods receipts

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Registration Extended for ACS Student Research Symposium

Registration/abstract submission for the eighth annual American Chemical Society (ACS) Upper Peninsula Student Research Symposium has been extended until Monday (Oct. 17). We welcome poster presentations from any departments that relate to chemistry!

The student research symposium will be held at Northern Michigan University in Marquette next Saturday (Oct. 22) from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

• Presenters — Submit your abstract! Be sure to request travel support using the separate form on the same page.
• Judges — Register and let us know we can count on you!
• Visitors — Register to make a lunch selection.

Event details can be found at the ACS Upper Peninsula Local Section's Student Research Symposium webpage. Contact Momoko Tajiri at mtajiri@mtu.edu with any questions.

Looking forward to seeing you all at Marquette!

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

The Rozsa Galleries Present: Arabesque

Friday, October 14, 8 a.m.–8 p.m. | Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts, Rozsa Galleries A-Space

THE ROZSA GALLERIES PRESENT ARABESQUE AN ART EXHIBITION OF THE WORKS OF CLEMENT YEH AND TOMAS CO FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23 THROUGH FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 2022 GALLERY HOURS: M-F 8...

“Life … finds a way”: Degrading and Upcycling Recalcitrant Polymers via Microbial Systems

Friday, October 14, 10–11 a.m. | Chemical Sciences and Engineering Building, 211

Chemical Engineering Research Seminar Kevin Solomon University of Delaware Abstract Microbial chemical factories are sustainable biomanufacturing platforms that complement...

KP Pride Week - Ally Pledge

Friday, October 14, 12 p.m.–2 p.m. | CDI Lawn

Come pledge your support to the LGTBQIA+ community at MTU!

Linkedin

Friday, October 14, 12 p.m.–1 p.m. | Administration and Student Services Building, 220 Career Services

Master's Defense: Tino Moore

Friday, October 14, 2 p.m.–3 p.m. | Rekhi Hall, 101

Computer Science Advisor: Soner Onder Poor Man's Trace Cache A Variable Delay Slot Architecture

MS Thesis Defense: Tino Moore, Computer Science

Friday, October 14, 2 p.m. | Rekhi Hall, 101

Graduate student Tino Moore, Master of Science in Computer Science, will present his thesis defense on October 14, 2022, in Rekhi 101 and via Zoom. The title of his...

Computer Science Colloquium: Zhiqiang Lin, Ohio State

Friday, October 14, 3 p.m.

Zhiqiang Lin, Distinguished Professor of Engineering in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at The Ohio State University, will present a lecture on Friday,...

Weekly Workshop

Friday, October 14, 4 p.m.–5 p.m. | MEEM 0402

A weekly workshop to dive in and discuss the various concepts underlying LEAN and Continous Improvement. The workshop typically begins with assigning different concepts and...

ASO October General Forum

Friday, October 14, 6 p.m.–8 p.m. | Fisher Hall

Topic: “Positioning yourself beyond the gowns in the modern world”. Context: People tend to fantasize about realities, especially about what to expect after completing a...

(Women's Soccer) Parkside vs. Michigan Tech

Friday, October 14, 7 p.m.–10 p.m. | Sherman Field

Women's Soccer: Parkside vs. Michigan Tech

Michigan Tech Sound and Michigan Tech Theatre Present: R.U.R.

Friday, October 14, 7:30 p.m. | McArdle Theatre

MICHIGAN TECH SOUND AND MICHIGAN TECH THEATRE PRESENT R.U.R. by Karel Čapek Adapted for Audio Drama by Lee Eric Shackleford The seating for this show is general admission....

(Men's Ice Hockey) Michigan Tech at Alaska

October 14, all day

Men's Ice Hockey: Michigan Tech at Alaska