Veterans Day Message from the Department of Military Science

Veterans are those who have served in our armed forces, but have now taken off the uniform. Veterans can be found in all facets of study and work on Michigan Tech’s campus and in our community.

In the latest U.S. Census, it was determined that 7% of the U.S. population, or 18 million citizens, have served in our armed forces. The number of veterans and the average age of veterans have decreased significantly, as those from the “Greatest Generation” from WWII have started to leave us with only memories. Today, the composition of our veterans has an average age of 37 and represents all demographics of our American society.

To serve in the U.S. armed forces is a commitment, an oath and affirmation to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic. Following the draft during the Vietnam War, the United States moved to a volunteer military system, which is a military service system that maintains the military only with applicants and without compulsory conscription.

As an Army officer less than 45 days from my own retirement, it is a great honor to see the patriotism of the Army and Air Force cadets on campus, those serving in the National Guard and Reserves locally, and those that have aspirations to serve after their time at Tech. Each has their own reasons to serve, but it is inspiring to see the next generation take that oath to support and defend.

Veterans Day is a celebration to honor America's veterans for their patriotism, love of country and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good. Today, if you know a veteran in our community, please take a moment to say thank you.

Veterans Day: Honoring All Who Have Served

Veterans Day is celebrated annually on Nov. 11. In recognition of this day, Equal Opportunity Compliance would like to highlight Michigan Tech’s commitment to employing and advancing veterans in the workforce.

A resource available to assist search committees when reviewing application materials that include military service is the Veteran Hiring and Translating Skills webpage. We strongly encourage the use of the Civilian-to-Military Occupation Translator to evaluate the experiences of veterans. It may require spending extra time to review the application materials, but veterans often have the same skills, or more, than civilian workers. The biggest difference may be the environment in which the skills were obtained, which should not discount veterans’ skill sets or hinder their employment opportunities when they are returning to the civilian workforce. In addition, using resources like this helps fulfill the University's federal requirement to recruit, hire, promote and retain veterans.

As the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs states, Veterans Day is “a celebration to honor America’s veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.” Thank you to all veterans and their families, today and every day.

2022 Seasonal Day

Michigan Tech will provide a paid seasonal day on Dec. 28 in addition to the University's regularly scheduled holidays (Dec. 26-27 and Dec. 29-30) for employees.

Employees whose services are necessary on campus on Dec. 28 will receive equal time off at a later date in coordination with their supervisors.

The University will resume its regular holiday schedule in 2023.

Time Reporting Instructions
Both hourly and exempt employees should use Earn Code 320 "Seasonal Day" for Dec. 28 when completing their timesheets for Biweekly 01, 2023 (from Dec. 25 to Jan. 7, 2023). This earn code will become available for use within the time reporting systems for BW 01. Employees who are using equal time off at a later date should also report those hours under the Earn Code 320.

General questions regarding the seasonal day can be directed to humanresources@mtu.edu or 906-487-2280.

Time reporting questions for the seasonal day can be directed to payroll@mtu.edu or 906-487-2130.

ADVANCE Weekly Roundup: Respect and Representation for Indigenous Scientists

Indigenous scientists seek inclusion for their knowledge and for themselves.

November is Native American Heritage Month, and this week’s Roundup is focused on Indigenous researchers in academia, who remain poorly represented, particularly in STEM fields. In the Second Nature article “Respect and Representation,” four Indigenous scientists speak about the challenges early-career researchers face, and how scientists can respectfully and effectively bring together traditional knowledge and Western science.

The article offers guidance for equitable and respectful collaborations with Indigenous researchers and community partners. It takes time, often years, to build such relationships. Indigenous partners should be involved early and significantly in the research process rather than simply treated as a diversity checkbox. This includes delineating the research, determining how the research will matter to Indigenous communities and ensuring tribal data sovereignty. The goal is not merely to incorporate but to “uplift and center” Indigenous communities, their strengths, struggles and knowledge.

Recruitment and retention of Indigenous scientists is another issue in academia. As one of the four scholars noted, “Being an Indigenous scholar is often a series of firsts,” such as the first in their family to pursue higher education and the first Indigenous graduate from their university. Also, being one of few (if any) Indigenous scholars in an organization “can be difficult, exhausting, and dangerous, culturally and spiritually.”

The article ends by emphasizing that Indigenous people are not the ones who have work to do. Those with power need to change how they think and what they do to ensure that mechanisms are in place to retain and support Indigenous early-career researchers. As one researcher stated, “There is a fine line between creating spaces in institutions for Indigenous people and taking up those spaces.”

Today’s feature was shared with us by the 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.

Ramy El-Ganainy Selected as Optica 2023 Fellow

Professor Ramy El-Ganainy (Physics) has been selected as a Fellow of Optica (formerly Optical Society of America) for seminal contributions in the fields of non-Hermitian photonics, parity-time symmetry and optical supersymmetry.

Optica Fellows are selected based on several factors, including outstanding contributions to business, education, research and engineering, and service to Optica and our community.

It is a distinct honor signifying recognition by one's professional peers.

Previous faculty recognized by the Optical Society of America include Professor Miguel Levy in 2012 for outstanding and fundamental contributions in the areas of magneto-optic and opto-electronic films, and extensions of the theory and applications of magneto-optic photonic crystals.

PhD Defense: Emily Shaw, CEGE

Ph.D. in Environmental Engineering candidate Emily Shaw will defend her doctoral dissertation at 1 p.m. today (Nov. 11) in GLRC 201.

Shaw's dissertation is titled "Rebuilding fish-human relationships by quantifying combined toxicity and evaluating policy related to legacy contamination."

She is advised by Noel Urban (CEGE/GLRC) and Valoree Gagnon (CFRES/GLRC).

From the abstract:
... In partnership with the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community Lake Superior Band of Chippewa Indians (KBIC), this dissertation focuses on rebuilding fish-human relationships within the context of chemical contamination using approaches and building frameworks that empower people to maintain practices and knowledges related to fish. First, this work discusses the co-creation of a research guidance document with KBIC that provides holistic guidance and specifies support that enriches their efforts to protect and restore land and life. Second, with the primary objective of establishing an effective strategy for quantifying combined toxicity I theorize about the future of chemical mixture toxicity research. .... Third, evaluating Canada’s SOR 2008-273 PCB reduction policy in the Great Lakes basin, ... I suggest that fish tissue, as the primary exposure pathway, should be the strategy for evaluating policy efficacy. Finally, the conclusion argues that more creative, innovative questions need to be, and can be, asked when research is community-directed, centers relationships, and prioritizes justice for current and future generations.

ROBOT101 Event: 'Robots at Work' Panel Discussion

On Thursday (Nov. 17) at 12 p.m. in the Memorial Union, Michigan Tech faculty members Jason Archer (HU), Tan Chen (ECE) and Vinh Nguyen (ME-EM) will share their research on robots at work and consider the ways robots are radically redefining our conception of the workplace.

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

ICC Distinguished Lecture with Khalid Saqr

The Institute of Computing and Cybersystems (ICC) will present a virtual Distinguished Lecture by Khalid Saqr next Friday (Nov. 18) from 10:30-11:30 a.m.

Saqr is a visiting associate professor in the Biomedical Flow Dynamics Laboratory (Ohta Lab) at Tohoku University, Sendai, Japan.

Since 2014, Saqr has been working on biomedical applications of fluid mechanics. In 2020, he and his team discovered non-Kolmogorov turbulence in physiologic blood flow and subsequently identified five new mechano-miRNAs associated with endothelial dysfunction.

Join the Zoom meeting.

Read more on the Computing News Blog.

ACSHF Forum with Briana Bettin

The Department of Cognitive and Learning Sciences (CLS) will host Department of Computer Science and CLS Assistant Professor Briana Bettin at the next Applied Cognitive Science and Human Factors (ACSHF) forum Monday (Nov. 14) from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. in Meese 109 and via Zoom.

Bettin will present her research, titled "Faceting Futures: Making Change With Programming, Pedagogy, and Punks."

The full abstract and Bettin's bio can be found on the Cognitive and Learning Sciences News blog.

Environmental Engineering Graduate Seminar with Tianqi Zhang

The next Environmental Engineering Graduate Seminar will take place at 3 p.m. Monday (Nov. 14) via Zoom (use passcode 843781).

Tianqi Zhang, EPFL, Switzerland, will present "Hygienic safety of recycled handwashing water: disinfectant stability and disinfection efficiency."

Read the abstract on the University Events Calendar.

Volleyball Sweeps Wayne State, Advances to Semifinal vs. Ferris State

Michigan Tech volleyball advanced to their sixth straight GLIAC Volleyball Tournament Semifinal after making quick work of Wayne State on Wednesday (Nov. 9) at Matthaei Gym. They'll face No. 1 Ferris State during the early semifinal game today (Nov. 11) at 4 p.m.

The Huskies swept the Warriors 25-21, 25-19 and 25-19 to win their fourth straight.

"We couldn't have been more together as a unit than we were tonight," Tech coach Matt Jennings said. "I'm so proud of our team and the way we brought it out there. Our energy was a huge factor — you never would've thought we were the ones playing so far from home."

The Huskies won their 20th match of the season for the fifth time under Jennings and will travel to Ferris State to take on the top-seeded Bulldogs. First serve for the early semifinal is today at 4 p.m. at Jim Wink Arena.

Tech lost both games against Ferris during the regular season.

No. 2 Northern Michigan and No. 6 Grand Valley State will meet in the other semifinal at 6:30 p.m. today, with the semifinals winners advancing to the GLIAC Championship tomorrow (Nov. 12) at 4 p.m.

All GLIAC matches will be streamed on FloSports, which is available on iOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire and Chromecast.

Read the full semifinal preview at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Football Closing Regular Season at Saginaw Valley State

Michigan Tech football meets Saginaw Valley State in the final week of the regular season tomorrow (Nov. 12) at 1 p.m. at Harvey Randall Wickes Memorial Stadium.

The Huskies aim to spoil SVSU's senior day and avenge a loss in week four to the Cardinals in Houghton. 

Fans can tune in to the game on Mix 93.5 FM WKMJ or online at Pasty.net with the voice of Husky football Josh Ylitalo.

Read the preview at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Hockey Hosting LSSU for CCHA Series

Michigan Tech hockey is hosting Lake Superior State for a CCHA series at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena this weekend.

The puck drops at 7:07 p.m. tonight (Nov. 11) and 6:07 p.m. tomorrow (Nov. 12).

Tech is 5-3-1 overall and the Lakers are 1-6-0. The Huskies and Lakers will also meet Dec. 16-17 in the Soo.

In honor of Veterans Day, all veterans and active military personnel will be recognized during tonight's Michigan Tech hockey game. Tickets for veterans and active military personnel are $5 off with Military ID at the Central Ticket Office, and vets can purchase tickets online using promo code: Military05.

Fans can listen live on the radio at Mix 93.5 FM WKMJ or online at TheMix93.com or Pasty.net. The games will also be livestreamed on FloHockey.tv.

Read the preview at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Men's Basketball Hosting Crossover Tourney to Start Season

Michigan Tech men's basketball hosts the GLIAC/GLVC Crossover men's basketball tournament this weekend as the Huskies tip off their regular season slate of nonconference games at SDC Gymnasium.

The action begins tomorrow (Nov. 12) with Northern Michigan facing McKendree at noon, followed by Michigan Tech versus Lewis at 2 p.m. On Sunday, it will be Northern Michigan against Lewis at noon, followed by Michigan Tech versus McKendree at 2 p.m.

For tickets, call the SDC Ticket office or visit mtu.universitytickets.com.
Games will be streamed via FloSports, and MTU's contests will be on Mix 93.5 FM WKMJ and online at Pasty.net.

Read the preview at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Job Postings

Job Postings for Friday, Nov. 11, 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.

Food Service Helper (nine months/ 40 hours/ first shift) #22328, #22329, Dining Services (AFSCME posting dates Nov. 11 to Nov. 17, 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/ 40 hours/ first shift) #22327, Sponsored Programs Office (UAW posting dates Nov. 11 to Nov. 17, 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.

Office Assistant 6 (12 months/ 40 hours/ first shift) #22330, Graduate School (UAW posting dates Nov. 11 to Nov. 17, 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

The EagleHerald of Marinette, Wisconsin, and Menominee, Michigan, mentioned Michigan Tech foundry students’ visit to the Winsert Inc. facility in Marinette in a story about a hiring boom at the company.

Winsert develops patented alloys and manufactures alloy metal components for companies like John Deere, Harley Davidson, Cummins, Caterpillar and General Electric. And, nearly every Winsert employee presenting during the Nov. 3 visit was a Tech graduate.

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The Mining Journal mentioned Michigan Tech in a story about this year’s “Fight the Flu” flu shot competition. The contest challenges Upper Peninsula colleges and universities to see which school can get the highest percentage of students, staff and faculty vaccinated against the flu.

Huskies who get vaccinated at campus flu shot events are tallied automatically. Anyone vaccinated off campus can report their flu shot at the contest website.

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The Ticker mentioned Michigan Tech in a story about ground broken for a dock transformation project at the Discovery Center & Pier in Traverse City. The former coal dock will become a barrier-free public park and hub for water activities.

MTU and the Discovery Center & Pier are two of five partners seeking to build a freshwater research center at the site, adding “research labs, classroom and seminar space, a startup incubator and more.”

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The Keweenaw Report mentioned Michigan Tech in a report that the College Avenue detour between downtown Houghton and campus will end today (Nov. 11) at 5 p.m.

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Chico State Today covered the induction of California State University Chico’s provost, Husky alumna Debra Larson, into Michigan Tech’s Academy for Engineering Education Leadership.

Larson visited campus in late October for the induction, giving a talk and mingling with Husky grad students and faculty prior to the ceremony.

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The Palm Beach Florida Weekly mentioned Michigan Tech in a story about canine mascots at colleges and universities across the country.

Reminders

Banner Production System Maintenance on Sunday

A production system maintenance window is scheduled for Sunday (Nov. 13) from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The following production system services will be unavailable during that time:

Banner
Banweb
MyMichiganTech
Aspire
Confluence
Course Tools
Fischer/mylogin.mtu.edu
mtu.edu/tips
OAP Rental System
Oracle Reports
Papercut Printing
Perceptive Content (Imagenow)
Pinnacle
Sunapsis
UC4/Appworx
Virtual Cashiering
WebFocus

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

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CS Colloquium Lecture with Ali Ebnenasir

Ali Ebnenasir (CS) will present a Computer Science Colloquium lecture today (Nov. 11) at 3 p.m. in Rekhi 214. The talk is presented by the Department of Computer Science (CS).

The title of Ebnenasir's talk is "Unbounded Protocols: Building Blocks of Scalable and Fault-tolerant Distributed Systems."

Read more on the Computing News Blog.

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Film Board Presenting 'Bullet Train'

This week, the Film Board is presenting "Bullet Train," which is rated R.

Summary: Five assassins aboard a fast-moving bullet train find out their missions have something in common.

Showings:

  • Friday, Nov. 11 — 5:30 p.m., 8:30 p.m., 11:30 p.m.
  • Saturday, Nov. 12 — 5:30 p.m., 8:30 p.m., 11:30 p.m.
  • Sunday, Nov. 13 — 5:30 p.m., 8:30 p.m.,

Located on Michigan Tech's campus in Fisher 135.

Tickets are $3 and concessions are $1. We hope to see you at the movie this weekend and have a great day.

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Chemistry Seminar with Rudy Luck

Rudy Luck (Chem) will present his seminar on "Syntheses, structural characterizations, and theoretical studies on three classes of transformative molecules" as part of the Chemistry Seminar Series.

The seminar will take place at 3 p.m. today (Nov. 11) in Chem Sci 101.

Today's Campus Events

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

PhD Defense: Neerav Kaushal

Applied Physics Advisor: Elena Giusarma Toward Deep Learning Emulators for Modeling the Large-Scale Structure of the Universe Attend Virtually:...

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Biomechanics of Therapy Induced Senescence and the Evolving Tumor Microenvironment

Chemical Engineering Research Seminar Michelle R. Dawson Assistant Professor of Medical Science Department of Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, and Biochemistry and the...

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(Men's Basketball) Lewis vs. Michigan Tech

Men's Basketball: Lewis vs. Michigan Tech, Crossover Tournament - Houghton, Mich.

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Mathematical Sciences Seminar Series (Dr. Guannan Zhang)

Title: A Nonlocal Gradient for High-Dimensional Black-Box Optimization in Scientific Applications Abstract: In this talk, we consider the problem of minimizing multi-modal...

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PhD Defense: Emily Shaw

Engineering - Environmental Co-advisors: Noel Urban and Valoree Gagnon Rebuilding Fish-Human Relationships by Quantifying Combined Toxicity and Evaluating Policy Related to...

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CS Colloquium Lecture: Ali Ebnenasir, CS

Ali Ebnenasir, Computer Science, will present a Computer Science Colloquium lecture on November 11, 2022, at 3:00 p.m., in Rekhi 214. The talk is presented by the Department...

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Weekly Workshop

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...

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(Men's Ice Hockey) Lake Superior State vs. Michigan Tech

Men's Ice Hockey: Lake Superior State vs. Michigan Tech

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(Women's Basketball) Michigan Tech at William Jewell

Women's Basketball: Michigan Tech at William Jewell, William Jewell GLIAC/GLVC Crossover Tournament

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Adult and Youth Huskies Tennis Lessons

Youth Tennis Lessons: After school and weekend Youth Huskies Group Tennis Lessons are back this fall! Join by age group and level for some fun on the tennis courts! October 24...