MTU Class of 2022 Celebrates Midyear Commencement

by Cyndi Perkins, University Marketing and Communications

A young woman stands next to the Husky statue smiling outside with snow on the ground, she is graduation speaker

Two born-and-raised Detroiters who chose to transcend their comfort zones and embrace the unfamiliar will address the Class of 2022 at Michigan Tech’s 2022 Midyear Commencement.

Student speaker Jailynn Johnson ’22 (chemistry) and Michigan Tech Board of Trustees Vice-Chair Brenda Ryan ’76 (metallurgical and materials engineering) will help celebrate the awarding of 292 undergraduate degrees and approximately 163 graduate degrees in a ceremony that begins at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday, Dec. 17, in the SDC Varsity Gym.

Read about Ryan's and Johnson’s service and leadership roles at MTU, the challenges they’ve met and where they find their inspiration at Michigan Tech News.

Pre-Nationals CCSA Invite/CXC Cup Ski Race

by Laura Givens, Athletics and Recreation

The Pre-Nationals CCSA Invite/CXC Cup ski race will be held Saturday and Sunday (Dec. 17 and 18) at Michigan Tech. During this time, the Tech Trails' main trailhead will be closed, along with all the loops connecting with the core trails (Birch, Oak, Pine, Portage, Hairpin, Skidder, Peepsock, etc.).

Recreational skiers can use the softball field trailhead to access the Isle Royale and Superior loops. The Nara trailhead provides access to that end of the system. The Tolkien Trails are also open. Depending on staff availability and weather and snow conditions, grooming may only be done occasionally during race weekends.

Remember to always check the Trails Conditions page for the latest updates. If you have any questions, please email recreation@mtu.edu.

For race information, visit the Michigan Tech Pre-Nationals CXC Cup and CCSA Invite page.

ECE Students Present at DMC 2022

by Electrical and Computer Engineering

Three electrical and computing engineering students presented their research at the Defense Manufacturing Conference (DMC 2022), held in Tampa, Florida, on Dec. 5-8. DMC is the nation’s annual forum for enhancing and leveraging the efforts of engineers, managers, technology leaders, scientists, and policy makers across the defense manufacturing industrial base.

The three electrical and computing engineering students presenting their research were:

  • Michael Maurer, Ph.D. candidate
    Presentation: "Periodically Poled Polymers as an Entangled Photon Source"

  • Giard Brock, undergraduate
    Presentation: "Ultra-violet Liquid Crystal Display Resin Printer Exposure Method for Rapid Prototyping of Printed Circuit Boards"

  • Austin Hilliker, undergraduate
    Presentation: "Utilization of a Commercial Off the Shelf Laser Engraver for Rapid Production of Printed Circuit Boards"

PhD Defense: Jacob Blazejewski, Math

by Mathematical Sciences

Ph.D. in Mathematical Sciences candidate Jacob Blazejewski will defend his doctoral dissertation tomorrow (Dec. 15) at 11 a.m. in Fisher 327B. Attendance is also invited virtually via Zoom.

Blazejewski's defense is titled "Novel Approaches to Compute Manifold Operators with the Radial Basis Functions Method."

He is advised by Cécile Piret.

Michigan Tech CXC Cup/CCSA Ski Races To Continue as Planned

by Matthew Taylor, Assistant Director of Athletic Communication

After considering the trail conditions and weather forecast, the race organizing committee has determined the CXC Cup/CCSA Invitational ski events will use the originally designated race courses and format. On Saturday (Dec. 17), the freestyle distance race will use the five-kilometer course and on Sunday (Dec. 18), the classic sprint will use the 1.3-kilometer sprint course.

If the current weather forecast holds true, with five or more inches of snow predicted through tomorrow (Dec. 15), the University's facilities staff also has stockpiled clean snow at the stadium for use in reinforcing any thin sections of the race courses. The organizing committee will continue to monitor the weather and trail conditions, with the option of adjusting Saturday's distance course and/or changing the sprint race from the classic format to freestyle. That decision will come tomorrow morning. The ultimate goal is to hold a safe, fair event for all participants. 

See current Michigan Tech Trails conditions.

Find more event information at the Michigan Tech Pre-Nationals CXC Cup and CCSA Invitational page.

Job Postings

by Human Resources

Job Postings for Wednesday, Dec. 14, 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/ third shift) #22352, Facilities (AFSCME posting dates Dec. 14 to Dec. 20, 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.

Director of Accounts Receivable, Financial Services and Operations. Apply online.

Custodian (12 months/ 40 hours/ second shift) #22355, Facilities (AFSCME posting dates Dec. 14 to Dec. 20, 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.

Software Developer, Center for Technology and Training. 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

Urban Milwaukee and Wisconsin Public Radio referenced a Michigan Tech study on the value of solar energy in stories on the possibility that Wisconsin homeowners, schools and businesses will be allowed to use third-party financing to install rooftop solar panels. 

The study was the subject of a 2021 Michigan Tech News story.

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Radio Results Network ran a story on the OneUP Copper Trail Festival at Michigan Tech, featuring Mind Trekkers demonstrations for nearly 700 visiting students in eighth and ninth grades from around the western Upper Peninsula. The event was held yesterday (Dec. 13) on campus.

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Battle Creek’s 95.3 WBCK-FM mentioned Michigan Tech’s debunking of the Paulding Light in a story about mysteries in Michigan, Illinois and Indiana featured on TikTok by @mysteriesunloaded.

Reminders

SURF Applications Now Open

Applications for 2023 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURFs) are now open. Fellowship recipients will spend the summer working on an individual research project under the guidance of a Michigan Tech faculty mentor.

SURFs are open to all Tech undergraduates who have at least one semester remaining after the summer term. Awards are up to $4,000. Applications are due by 5 p.m. on Feb. 10.

Students who have questions about the program or application process can take advantage of a virtual drop-in advising session with the SURF coordinator Robert Handler (ChE).

Virtual drop-in advising sessions are scheduled for these dates:

For more information and access to the application materials and instructions, visit the SURF webpage or contact Handler at rhandler@mtu.edu.

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Cap and Gown Pickup at the Campus Store

Cap and gown pickup at the Campus Store is available today (Dec. 14) and ends tomorrow (Dec. 15). Pickup hours are from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the buyback window.

Please note: A photo ID is required to pick up regalia orders.

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PhD Proposal Defense: Grace Dykstra, ChE

Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering student Grace Dykstra will present their doctoral proposal defense at 10 a.m. today (Dec. 14). The presentation will take place in Chem Sci 201 and via Zoom.

Dykstra's proposal defense is titled "Developing Electropolymerized Molecularly Imprinted Polymer-Based Biosensors and Exploring their Fundamentals."

From the abstract:
With the growing biosensor industry and an increase in the use of portable point-of-care (POC) devices, the rapid development of biosensors will not stop anytime soon. Electrochemically synthesized molecularly imprinted polymers, referred to as “eMIPs,” offer the benefits of inherent stability, selectivity, and low-cost sensors, which could significantly improve the global accessibility to these POC devices, especially in areas where medical care is not widely accessible. These biosensors offer great advantages; however, their fundamental synthesis parameters and guidelines are not well understood, leading to a need for enhanced methods for their rational design. Herein a proposal for synthesizing eMIPs with machine learning techniques, molecular modeling simulations, and electrochemical surface plasmon resonance studies is explained, which can begin to close the knowledge gap in understanding the underlying fundamentals associated with eMIPs biosensor fabrication.

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PhD Proposal Defense: Hunter Stoddard, ChE

Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering student Hunter Stoddard will present their doctoral proposal defense at 8 a.m. today (Dec. 14). The presentation will take place in Chem Sci 201 and via Zoom.

Stoddard's defense is titled "Single-Cell Protein Production Through Coupled Bio and Chemical Recycling of Waste Plastics: Challenges and Potential Economic and Environmental Impacts."

From the abstract:
... Coupling the biodegradation of waste plastics with chemical deconstruction of plastics can increase the rate of plastic degradation and upcycling into valuable products, such as single-cell protein as a food source. This research aims to investigate the viability of plastic waste as a substrate in single-cell protein production via microbial biodegradation by a consortium. The proposed research consists of three projects. The first is to determine which bioreactor conditions result in the greatest biomass yield and plastic substrate consumption, and how these conditions affect biofilm formation. The second project will determine the effect of microbial communities on resilience to perturbations and the production of single-cell protein biomass from deconstructed waste plastics in a bioreactor. The third and final project will be to determine the economic feasibility of using deconstructed waste plastic substrates to produce single-cell protein and the environmental impact of the process.