Tonight (Nov. 18) beginning at 8:30 p.m., Michigan Tech IT will be performing equipment replacements and upgrades that will cause wireless downtime for all of campus.
The wireless network should be available again by 8 a.m. tomorrow (Nov. 19) when the work is complete.
If you have any questions or concerns, we can help. Contact us at it-help@mtu.edu or call 7-1111.
Does your office, lab or common area need an additional recycling bin? Please let Sustainability and Resilience know!
Indicate what type of bin you would like via our Recycling Bin Request Form by Dec. 2 and we will follow up with you to finalize a plan for bins and signage.
If you have questions or need a bin at a later date, please email sustainablity@mtu.edu at any time.
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requires employers to remind their employees annually to review and make any necessary changes to their Federal W-4 (Employee's Withholding Allowance Certificate). This review will help you determine if your filing status and/or number of withholding allowances need to be changed for the new tax year. A review of your state withholding is also recommended.
Employees can view and change their W-4 information in Banweb. Detailed instructions to access your federal and state withholding information can be found by visiting "What is Banweb?" and clicking on "Payroll Information on Banweb."
The IRS offers several online resources to help taxpayers bring taxes paid closer to what is owed. They are available anytime on IRS.gov. They include:
International nonresident employees should use Notice 1392 - Supplemental Form W-4 Instructions for Nonresident Aliens to complete their W-4.
Email Payroll Services or call 906-487-2130 with questions.
Research is showing that data-driven insights are critical to recognizing and rectifying inequities in faculty workloads, particularly service tasks that are necessary but don’t count for promotion, such as standing committee membership or mentoring a colleague. Too often, such tasks are expected or requested of women and Black, Indigenous, or faculty of color.
Rather than “fixing the women/underrepresented” with strategies for “saying no,” this Chronicle of Higher Education opinion essay advises collecting data on who is asked and assigned to do nonpromotable tasks (NPTs). At Harvard’s Kennedy School, for example, administrative tasks are assigned points and faculty have flexibility in meeting a target number of points to fulfill their service obligations. At Michigan Tech, the ADVANCE Faculty Equity Query Tool (AFEQT) has been developed to provide chairs and deans with a real-time comparison of multiple measures to enable data-based insights and decision-making that impact diversity, equity and inclusion. We are currently exploring ways to enhance the tool with data related to faculty service. Please provide us with your ideas using our Google form.
Today’s feature was shared by the ADVANCE PI Team. 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.
Michigan Tech employees are invited to join the Benefits Office for these free, online, live financial health webinars offered through Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA) this December:
These webinars count toward Option 2 in your Husky Health Checklist. Follow Michigan Tech Wellness on Facebook for upcoming health and wellness initiatives supported by the Benefits Office, which may count toward your 2022 Husky Health Checklist.
All webinars are recorded and available for viewing 90 days after the live event. Visit TIAA.org/webinars to register or watch past presentations on demand.
Spanish-Speaking Webinars
Starting in 2022, TIAA is offering financial education webinars in Spanish. The webinars can be accessed at TIAA.org/RecursosEducativos.
Ever considered contributing to research related to transportation and/or mobility? If not, this is the perfect time to consider expanding your research portfolio to these topics, as the H.R.3684 - Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is providing unprecedented resources to advance the technology, economic and social understanding of transportation and mobility.
To get started, join the Michigan Tech Transportation Institute (MTTI) for a discussion during our general members and friends luncheon Nov. 29 from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Alumni Lounge (MUB 107) of the Memorial Union. You will get to meet researchers who have successfully secured funding in the area, hear of the potential grant opportunities and find out how MTTI works and where you can fit into the picture.
Agenda:
Please RSVP to the Nov. 29 meeting by the end of the business day on Tuesday (Nov. 22) and include any dietary restrictions.
Michigan Tech's Society of Women Engineers (SWE) section and two SWE alumnae hosted two Girl Scouts events for 69 youth Nov. 8 and 10.
On Nov. 8, Amy (Palmgren) Rokos ’08 (computer engineering) and Pam (Wolting) Seibert ’10 (civil engineering) hosted a Girl Scouts event for K-5 Scouts in Grand Rapids, Michigan, using activities and materials provided by the SWE section. For this event, Rokos and Seibert selected activities developed at Michigan Tech and received instructions on how to do them with youth. Thirty-nine Scouts participated in the event.
Rokos stated: “The event was a success! I think the girls had fun and the leaders really appreciated us putting on the event.”
Seibert commented: “This morning was fantastic! Thanks to the entire MTU team for these ideas and fantastic programs. (The Scouts) were engaged the entire time frame and came out more excited about engineering. Electrical and chemical engineering seem to be the leaders of interest. The ice cream was really simple too, almost easier than my machine at home.“
On Nov. 10, 30 Junior Girl Scouts in northern Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula participated in a crane design, construct and test activity hosted by the MTU SWE section. This outreach event was unique because the local Girl Scouts came to Michigan Tech and completed the activity in one of the Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering Technology labs, while the other Scouts completed the event virtually.
We really appreciated hosting the Nov. 10 event in a Tech lab. When the Scouts were constructing their crane, they could look at an engine stand. The stand and crane have many similar parts. Some of the youth observed that the base of the stand was wider at the base and with this design, when the engine was supported by the boom, the stand did not tip over. These concepts were incorporated into their designs. The SWE members enjoyed working with the Girls Scouts and look forward to the Girl Scouts events we have planned for the spring semester.
Ph.D. in Forest Molecular Genetics and Biotechnology candidate James Rauschendorfer is presenting his Ph.D. thesis at 12:30 p.m. today (Nov. 18) in person in Fisher 329 and virtually via Zoom.
Rauschendorfer's thesis is titled "Characterizing drought adaptations, phenotypic plasticity, fixed gene expression patterns within Quercus."
M.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering candidate Eduardo Marmol Diaz will defend their thesis Nov. 29 at 4 p.m. in MEEM 406.
The title of Diaz's defense is "Stability Approximation Method for Pulse Loads in Power Electronic Systems."
Diaz is advised by Wayne Weaver.
Michigan Tech men's basketball will play in Houghton today (Nov. 18), welcoming Minnesota-Crookston at 6 p.m.
Adam Hobson (18.0 ppg) anchored the Huskies last week and first-year Dan Gherezgher impressed with 15.5 ppg. Fellow first-year Marcus Tomashek (12.5 ppg) also made a strong first impression in his debut.
Fans can listen to the game on Mix 93.5 FM WKMJ or Pasty.net, and watch online through the Huskies' streaming provider, FloSports.
After tonight's game, Michigan Tech will travel to play in the UMSL Tournament on Tuesday (Nov. 22), first taking on Maryville at 1 p.m.
Read the preview at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.
Michigan Tech hockey is away this weekend, traveling to St. Thomas for a CCHA road series.
The puck drops at 8:07 p.m. ET tonight (Nov. 18) and 7:07 p.m. tomorrow (Nov. 19) at the St. Thomas Ice Arena.
Tech is 6-3-2 overall and 2-2-2 in the CCHA. The Tommies are 2-10 overall and 1-5 in the CCHA. The teams will next meet in Houghton on Jan. 13-14.
Fans can listen live on the radio at Mix 93.5 FM WKMJ, or online at TheMix93.com or Pasty.net.
All Michigan Tech home and CCHA games during the 2022-23 season will also be livestreamed on FloHockey.tv.
Read the preview at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.
Four Michigan Tech football players have been awarded All-GLIAC recognition for the 2022 football season:
In addition, players receiving All-GLIAC Honorable Mentions were:
Read about the honorees at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.
Michigan Tech President Rick Koubek was quoted by Crain’s Detroit Business in a story about an $8.14 million grant awarded to Michigan Tech by the U.S. Department of Energy to “develop and advance critical technologies and processes needed to recycle and reuse electric vehicle batteries.”
Lei Pan (ChE) will lead the project, according to another quote from Koubek in a Nov. 16 press release from Sen. Debbie Stabenow. Pan appeared in Crain’s story’s lead image, with a caption explaining that his training in mining engineering allows him to apply mineral separation techniques to battery component separation.
Radio Results Network and ForeignAffairs.co.nz picked up the senator’s press release. The award was also mentioned by Green Car Congress, which listed Michigan Tech as one of 10 recipients of a total $73.9 million awarded by the DOE.
*****
Michigan Tech President Rick Koubek appeared on WZMQ 19 News on Nov. 14, talking about Michigan Tech’s recent growth, the University’s positive education outcomes and educational value, and our $94 million record-high research expenditures in fiscal year 2022.
Koubek also discussed Stephen Techtmann’s (BioSci) research on recycling waste plastics into edible protein powder using bacteria after the project was brought up by the news anchor during the segment.
MTU’s FY 2022 research expenditures were the subject of a Michigan Tech News story. Techtmann’s research was featured in the University’s 2022 Research Magazine.
*****
Professor Emeritus Paul Nelson (COB) was quoted at length by the Daily Mining Gazette in a story about the Veterans Day Program conducted at Houghton High School by JROTC on Nov. 11.
Nelson, a second lieutenant in field artillery during the Vietnam War, was a guest speaker at the program.
*****
Michigan Tech’s Keweenaw Time Traveler was mentioned by the North Wind, Northern Michigan University’s student publication, in a story about the conclusion of Evening at the Archives events for the winter semester.
The NMU Archives are currently collaborating with the KTT in applying for a SISU Innovation Grant to help create a multidisciplinary course for students.
*****
Club 93.7 WRCL-FM of Flint, Michigan, mentioned Michigan Tech in a listicle about Guinness World Records that could easily be broken in Michigan. The station said breaking the world record for the world's largest snowball, currently held by the MTU’s American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) chapter, would be “so possible.”
ASME’s snowball was created March 29, 2013, with a 10.45-foot diameter and 32.94-foot circumference.
*****
The Daily Mining Gazette mentioned Michigan Tech in coverage of the Houghton County Board of Commissioners meeting Nov. 15. The board voted to use American Rescue Plan Act funds to, among other projects, create an emergency spill response unit for the county.
The University’s provision of spill containers with absorbents during a 2018 spill on the Sturgeon River was mentioned during the discussion.
National Novel Writing Month Writing Space
November is National Writing Month (NaNoWriMo)! Join the Portage Lake District Library and the Van Pelt and Opie Library all month on Wednesdays from 5-7:30 p.m. in PLDL’s cozy Michigan Room for dedicated writing space, warm beverages and snacks. Take your mind off of school or work as you participate in this global program that celebrates creative writing!
For inspiration, to officially register and for more information on NaNoWriMo, check out the NaNoWriMo website.
*****
Banner Production System Maintenance Tomorrow
A production system maintenance window is scheduled for tomorrow (Nov. 19) from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m.
The following production services will be unavailable during that time:
Banner
Banweb
MyMichiganTech
ASPIRE
Course Tools
OAP Rental System
Oracle Reports
Sunapsis (iOffice)
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.
*****
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.
*****
Special Physics Colloquium with Siegfried Hoefinger
Siegfried Hoefinger, adjunct assistant professor of physics at Michigan Tech, will present a special Physics Colloquium.
The seminar will be presented in person at 3 p.m. today (Nov. 18) in Fisher 131.
Hoefinger's presentation is titled "Development of Antiviral Drugs-Interplay of Experimental Methods and Computer Simulations."
Read the abstract at the University Events Calendar.
*****
PhD Defense: Oluwatoyin Areo, ChE
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.
From the abstract:
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). ...
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.
To have your event automatically appear, please submit them to the University Events Calendar.
The Institute of Computing and Cybersystems (ICC) will present a virtual Distinguished Lecture by Dr. Khalid Saqr on Friday, November 18, 2022, from 10:30-11:30 a.m. Saqr is a...
*****Forest Molecular Genetics & Biotechnology Co-advisors: Carsten Kuelheim and Molly Cavaleri Characterizing Drought Adaptations, Phenotypic Plasticity, and Fixed Gene...
*****Forest Science Advisor: Ann Maclean Fine Scale Mapping of Laurentian Mixed Forest Natural Habitat Communities Using Multispectral NAIP and UAV Datasets Combined with Machine...
*****Forestry Advisor: Tara Bal Decadal Reevaluation of Sugar Maple Dieback Etiology Across the Upper Great Lakes Region Attend Virtually:...
*****Siegfried Hoefinger o Michigan Tech University will be presenting a special Physics Colloquium. Please join this in-person presentation at 3:00 PM EST Friday (Nov...
*****Mechanical Engineering Advisor: Paulus Van Susante Calorimetric Measurements of Lunar Regolith Simulant and Water. An Experimental Study Correlating Weight Percent Water and...
*****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...
*****Men's Basketball: Minnesota Crookston vs. Michigan Tech, SDC Gymnasium
*****Come hang out in the Bubble Greenhouse with us every Friday 6-7pm and take a break from the winter landscape with a little tropical oasis. During meetings food and drink for...
*****Men's Ice Hockey: Michigan Tech at St. Thomas
*****Women's Volleyball: Michigan Tech at TBA, NCAA Midwest Regional
*****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...
*****
