November 16, 2022

On Nov. 4, the High Performance Computing (HPC) strategic planning working group sent a survey to all faculty and graduate students. The goal of this group is to evaluate the successes and opportunities associated with the existing HPC infrastructure on campus, gather and consider feedback from those who most utilize these services, and make informed recommendations regarding the strategic direction for the next five to 10 years.

If you have not had a chance to complete the HPC Campus Infrastructure Survey, we are still looking for feedback. This survey has no tracking information embedded in it and does not track responses or identify respondents.

If you have any questions, you can reach the working group at hpc-strat-plan-l@mtu.edu.

Each summer for more than 50 years, Michigan Tech Summer Youth Programs (SYP) has welcomed to campus more than 1,000 youth from grades 6-11from across the country and around the world. We need your help to ensure they experience the Michigan Tech community we all know and love.

SYP students come for week-long, hands-on, experiential learning in one (or more) of our 50+ week-long explorations in STEM, humanities and law. During their time at SYP, students gain confidence in their ability to be successful in college as they experience residential life, responsibility in arriving to class on time and exploring the beauty of the Keweenaw Peninsula.

We’re looking for passionate individuals who enjoy working with youth and want to inspire the next generation of doers and makers. Each year we hire 50+ undergraduate and graduate students for a variety of rewarding experiences that build leadership, communication and critical interpersonal skills.

If you or someone you know are interested in learning more about being a member of the SYP team, we encourage you to attend our hiring sessions, visit our website or email us at outreach@mtu.edu.

Hiring information session dates:

• Wednesday, Nov. 16, 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. | MUB Alumni Lounge A
• Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. | MUB Alumni Lounge A
• Wednesday, Nov. 30, 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. | Wadsworth Hall Cherry Room

Tonight (Nov. 16) at 6 p.m., Camden Burd will share his research on meaningful placemaking in the Copper Country titled “Post-extractive Futures: Re-Imagining Copper Mining Country in the Mid-Twentieth Century.”

In the years after the Second World War, the economy in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula underwent massive changes. Mines closed, unemployment rose and deindustrialization began to define Michigan’s Copper Country. In the wake of these economic changes, boosters, politicians and local residents began to reimagine the future of the region. Some saw the area as a tourist destination. Others sought to preserve the floundering extractive industries by any means necessary. Others yet saw the region as a prime location for Cold War infrastructure building. In his presentation, Burd will explore the motivations that fueled these proposals in order to grapple with ideas of place and placemaking during a period of dramatic change.

Burd is an assistant professor of history at Eastern Illinois University. His work on environmental history has appeared in multiple venues, including the Michigan Historical Review, IA: The Journal for the Society of Industrial Archaeology and a recently published collection, The Conservative Heartland: A Political History of the Postwar American Midwest.

Please join us on Zoom for this free and open event!

If you have any questions about our Travel Grant Program Speaker Series or other Archives programs and services, please contact University Archivist Lindsay Hiltunen at lehalkol@mtu.edu or copper@mtu.edu.

Be sure to follow the Michigan Tech Archives on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter!

Menu for Thursday (Nov. 17):

• Chile Verde Chicken (Gluten Friendly)
• Southwest Sweet Potatoes (Vegan)
• Poblano and Onions (Vegan)
• Spanish Rice (Gluten Friendly, Vegan)
• Jalapeno Queso Dip (Gluten Friendly, Vegan)
• Two-Bean Soup (Gluten Friendly, Vegan)

Dining Services presents this week’s C3 Luncheon from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Memorial Union Alumni Lounge (107). All faculty and staff, along with their guests, are invited.

The C3 lunch buffet menus are created and prepared by Executive Chef Michael Landini and his culinary team. As the name suggests, the meals are meant to foster conversation, community and collegiality. Attendees may bring their lunch instead of purchasing the buffet. Fruit-infused water, coffee, tea, cookies and fruit are available free to all attendees.

The buffet lunch is $12 per person. Cash, credit cards and gift cards are accepted. Gift cards can be purchased in the Memorial Union office, room 101. You can submit C-Cubed feedback using this Google form. To join the C-Cubed Google group and receive weekly menus, email business-support@mtu.edu.

Join us as we present the next session of the VPR Research Series: a virtual presentation led by Federal Science Partners (Michigan Tech’s Washington, D.C., based policy advocates) and the Office of the Associate Vice President for Research Development. The session will be held Dec. 6 from noon to 1 p.m. via Zoom.

The session will provide an overview of the current levels of research funding across various federal government agencies of interest, with a look at how these funding adjustments might affect opportunities for Michigan Tech researchers now and in the near future.

In addition, the National Science Foundation (NSF) has traditionally been one of Michigan Tech’s top research sponsors and the agency to which we submit the most proposals each year. The talk will discuss NSF's new Technology, Innovation and Partnerships directorate, as well as a general update on the NSF budget and organizational changes.

A Q&A session will follow the presentation for attendees to ask questions and engage with the presenters to dig deeper into specific topics of interest.

Our next graduate seminar speaker will present at 4 p.m. Thursday (Nov. 17) in ME-EM 112.

Sekhar Rakurty will present "Sustainable Manufacturing Processes: A Cutting Tool Industry Perspective." Rakurty has more than 15 years of research and development experience in manufacturing, specifically designing cutting tools and developing sustainable manufacturing processes.

Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering candidate Oluwatoyin Areo will present "Measuring the physicochemical properties of viral vectors to enhance gene therapy production" on Monday (Nov. 21) at 10 a.m. in Chem Sci 211. The presentation will also be livestreamed via Zoom. Caryn Heldt (ChE) serves as Areo's advisor.

Abstract: Gene therapy is a therapeutic intervention designed to correct single-gene genetic disorders. Gene therapy corrects genetic disorders by replacement techniques that allow the insertion of engineered nucleic acids into target cells using viral or non-viral particles.

The potency of adeno-associated virus (AAV) as a delivery vector for therapeutic genes to treat a variety of disorders continues to be explored. However, the use of AAV as a gene delivery vector is being hampered by manufacturing challenges that include low virus recovery from purification systems and the presence of AAV capsids without the gene of interest (empty capsids).

To optimize the production of AAV, we focused on exploring two viral surface properties that are very critical in AAV manufacture. We focused on characterizing the charge and hydrophobicity of AAV and other viruses, which were used as gene-delivery surrogates.

The charge and hydrophobicity characterization has been performed using chemical force microscopy (CFM). CFM uses a modified atomic force microscope (AFM) probe to measure the adhesion force between a virus particle and chemistry found in the purification systems for gene delivery vectors. The virus particles to be measured are covalently bound on a gold-coated glass slide.

With the novel CFM approach presented in this study, viral surfaces can be appropriately characterized, and a predictive model can be designed for selecting the solution conditions for virus purification. In the future, CFM can help to reduce the experimental cost of establishing optimal solution conditions in purification for diverse virus particles. In addition, this research will hasten the development and manufacturing of gene therapy, eventually boosting the volume of treatment for genetic illnesses and saving lives.

Monday (Nov. 14), Michigan Tech men's basketball head coach Josh Buettner announced that two recruits have penned a National Letter of Intent to join the Huskies next season.

They are Luke Hazelton (a forward from Maple City, Michigan) and Ethan Heck (a shooting guard from De Pere, Wisconsin).

Read more about Hazelton and Heck at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Seven student-athletes have signed a National Letter of Intent to join the Michigan Tech soccer team for the fall of 2023. 

This year's incoming class includes players from four different states: Michigan, Minnesota, Oregon and Wisconsin.

"We are very excited to announce our 2023 class with our incoming seven student-athletes," head coach Turk Ozturk said. "We are thrilled that these young women are going to bring us much-needed versatility to play in multiple roles as well as bring in the athleticism and creativity to spark our attack. This group will give us holding midfielders, outside backs, forwards, center mids and outside mids to complement our returning squad."

The new additions are:

• Havanah Brockington, an outside back/center midfielder from West De Pere, Wisconsin
• Brooke Green, a midfielder/forward from Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
• Allison Millina, a holding back/center back from Milan, Michigan
• Claire Sampson, a center forward from Dimondale, Michigan
• Katelyn Sanders, defense, from Beaverton, Oregon
• Marissa Wentland, a center midfielder/outside back from Maple Grove, Minnesota
• Ryley Winrich, a center midfielder from Tomah, Wisconsin

Read more about these incoming Huskies at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

The 2022 postseason rolls on for the Michigan Tech cross country squads as the Huskies take on the NCAA Division II Midwest Region Cross Country Championships on Saturday morning (Nov. 19) at the Wayne E. Dannehl National Cross Country Course in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

The men will take to the races first, running the 10k course at 10:30 a.m., with the women's 6k race taking place at 11:30 a.m. Live results will be available.

Read more at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

ROBOT101 Event: 'Robots at Work' Panel Discussion

On Thursday (Nov. 17) at noon 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

*****

Ethics Talk and Lectures by Donald Landes

The Department of Humanities is pleased to announce a public talk and two seminars with visiting philosopher and international scholar Donald A. Landes of the Université Laval, Quebec.

Public Talk
Landes' public talk is titled “Towards and Ethics of Becoming: Rethinking the Place of the Ethical via Gilbert Simondon and Simone de Beauvoir.”

It will be given tomorrow (Nov. 16) at 5 p.m. at the Great Lakes Research Center, GLRC 202. Refreshments will be provided. All are welcome.

Two Seminars in Technology and Ethics
Landes' two seminars will be held Thursday (Nov. 17) from 4-6:30 p.m. in the humanities department's Peterson Library on the third floor of the Walker Arts and Humanities Center.

From 4 to 5 p.m., Landes will present "Technology and value in the work of Gilbert Simondon."

Following, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., he will present "Technology and memory in the work of Bernard Steigler."

All are welcome to participate in the seminars. If you are interested, please contact Alexandra Morrison at lamorris@mtu.edu to receive the short readings that will provide the basis for the seminar discussions.

About the Speaker
Landes is a scholar of 20th- and 21st-century philosophy, feminist theory and bioethics. He is the author of "Merleau-Ponty and the Paradoxes of Expression" (Bloomsbury, 2013) and "The Merleau-Ponty Dictionary" (Bloomsbury, 2013).

He has co-authoed/edited "Bergson, Deleuze et l’évolution créatrice" (Revue de philosophie de l’Université de Montréal 21, 2017); Iris Marion Young’s “‘Throwing Like a Girl,’ 40 years later” (Symposium, 2017); “The Everywhere and Nowhere of Phenomenological Ethics: Between Philosophy and Non-Philosophy” (Symposium, 2021); “The Thought and Legacy of Hugh Silverman with Leonard Lawlor and Peter Gratton” (SUNY 2016); and “Exploring the Work of Edward S. Casey: Giving Voice to Place, Memory and Imagination, with Azucena Cruz-Pierre” (Bloomsbury, 2013).

John Jaszczak (Museum/Physics) published a paper entitled "Misfit-generated structural and optical anisotropies of the natural MoS2-PbS van derWaals heterostructure merelaniite" in the November 2022 issue of Physical Review Materials.

Collaborators include Luca Bindi (Università di Firenze), Arindam Dasgupta (Missouri University of Science and Technology), Pinaki Mukherjee (Michigan Tech, now at Stanford University), Jie Gao (Missouri University of Science and Technology), and Xiaodong Yang (Missouri University of Science and Technology).

Job Postings for Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022

Staff and faculty job descriptions are available on the Human Resources website. For more information regarding staff positions, call 487-2280 or email humanresources@mtu.edu. For more information regarding faculty positions, contact the academic department in which the position is posted.

Administrative Aide 7 (12 months/ 40 hours/ 1st Shift) #22284RP, Human Resources (UAW posting dates Nov. 16, 2022 to Nov. 22, 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.

Administrative Aide 7 (12 months/ 40 hours/ 1st Shift) #21232RPx4, Financial Services and Operations (UAW posting dates Nov. 16, 2022 to Nov. 22, 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 humanresources@mtu.edu.

Members of Michigan Tech’s Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps were mentioned in a Daily Mining Gazette story about a Veterans Day dinner hosted by the Hubbell VFW. The ROTC members got the chance to introduce themselves and to say what fields they plan to enter after graduating. 

*****

Alumna Julie Neph (BS, civil engineering) was mentioned in a Radio Results Network story about a change of leadership at the Mackinac Bridge Authority. Neph will be retiring from her role as chief bridge engineer after serving in that position for three years and another 27 years as assistant bridge engineer. 

*****

An opinion story in Northern Michigan University’s student newspaper The North Wind mentioned Michigan Tech in a story about graduation rates at Upper Peninsula universities. Tech’s graduation rate of 68% ranks over 20 percentage points higher than NMU’s (47%) but is slightly less than Lake Superior State’s rate (73%).

*****

Water Finance & Management mentioned Michigan Tech in a story announcing the selection of Environmental Finance Centers (EFCs) by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

The University is one of 29 EFCs selected by the EPA to help communities across the country access federal funding for infrastructure and greenhouse gas reduction projects that improve public health and environmental protection. The story was picked up from an EPA press release.

*****

WNMU-FM 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.

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

PhD Defense: Jared Edwards

Wednesday, November 16, 9–10 a.m.

Chemistry Advisor: Tarun Dam Structural and Functional Analysis of a New Cytolysin Attend Virtually: https://michigantech.zoom.us/j/73698595942

PhD Defense: Md. Saleh Akram Bhuiyan

Wednesday, November 16, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. | Minerals and Materials Engineering Building (M&M), 610

Biomedical Engineering Advisor: Bruce Lee Electrochemical Approaches to Control Catechol-Based Adhesion

CDI x Library Study Hours

Wednesday, November 16, 2 p.m.–5 p.m. | J. Robert Van Pelt and John and Ruanne Opie Library, Library 244

The Center for Diversity and Inclusion has teamed up with the Van Pelt and Opie Library every other Tuesday and Wednesday from 2-5 PM for Study Hours. Librarians will be...

Lifetime Income: Marketproof your Retirement - TIAA Webinar

Wednesday, November 16, 3 p.m.–4 p.m.

National Novel Writing Month Writing Space

Wednesday, November 16, 5:00 p.m.–7:30 p.m. | Portage Lake District Library , Michigan Room

November is National Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)! Join the Portage Lake District Library and the Van Pelt and Opie Library all month on Wednesdays from 5:00-7:30 pm in PLDL’s...

Students For Life General Meeting

Wednesday, November 16, 5 p.m.–6 p.m. | Fisher 132

Students For Life General Meeting

Open Enrollment Period for MTU Faculty/Staff

November 16, all day