December 20, 2022

Are you interested in taking your idea, technology or process commercial? Entrepreneurially minded faculty, staff, graduate and undergraduate students, alumni and local community members are invited to attend the Great Lakes Region Hub National Science Foundation (NSF) I-Corps Program offered through Husky Innovate at Michigan Tech.

Course Description
The NSF I-Corps lean startup program spans six weeks. Using the scientific process, customer discovery and the business model canvas, teams will work to validate key business hypotheses and develop a business model.

Course Benefits
Upon completion of the workshop and the customer discovery interviews (30), you or your team may be eligible for a mini grant of up to $1,000. Funds may be reimbursed for customer discovery interview expenses.

Teams who complete the program may become eligible for the NSF I-Corps National Teams program and a $50,000 grant.

Participation in the workshop can lead to qualification for research and other funding from several granting agencies, including Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) programs and various state and regional programs.

Past participants have reported that they saved time and money by better understanding potential applications of their technology, experienced improved engagement with teams and improved their ability to receive add-on funding.

Our spring cohort will meet virtually on the following dates:

• Monday, Jan. 23
• Monday, Jan. 30
• Monday, Feb. 13
• Monday, Feb. 20

To participate, please register for the program by Jan. 20. After registration, a Zoom link will be sent via a Google Calendar invite.

Campus Store Holiday Hours:

• Open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. today to Thursday (Dec. 19-22)
• Open from 8 a.m. to noon Friday (Dec. 23)
• Closed Saturday (Dec. 24) to Jan. 1

University Images Holiday Hours:

• Open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. today to Saturday (Dec. 19-24)
• Closed Sunday and Monday (Dec. 25 and 26)
• Open from noon to 7:30 p.m. next Tuesday and Wednesday (Dec. 27 and 28)
• Closed Dec. 29 to Jan. 1

We will return to our regular business hours on Jan. 2.

Visit us at bookstore.mtu.edu for all of your MTU gifts, souvenirs and apparel.

In observance of the Christmas and New Year's holidays, the Department of Chemical Engineering (ChE) offices will be closed next week (Dec. 26-30). We will reopen on Jan. 2.

Safe travels to all, and enjoy the break!

New Humanities faculty member Richard Canevez has won the 2023 Meheroo Jussawalla Research Award, presented by the Pacific Telecommunications Council at their annual conference for the best participant research paper.

Canevez’s paper, “All-Encompassing War: An Exploration of Information Disorder Countermeasures Through Smooth and Striated Space,” discusses the various measures both taken and in consideration by Western states to combat disinformation and malinformation originating from adversarial states like Russia, China and Iran in an evolving digital information landscape.

Read more on the Humanities News blog.

The Michigan Tech Nordic Ski teams continued to impress in their second meet of the year, with three event winners at the Pre-Nationals CCSA Invite/CXC Cup held at the Tech Trails on Saturday and Sunday (Dec. 17-18).

Saturday saw Skylar Patten (25:21.7) and Olivia Laven (30:47.7) put up individual wins for the Huskies in the men's and women's freestyle interval starts, respectively. Sunday, Tech had another individual winner: Anabel Needham in the freestyle sprint. Backed by three event winners, Michigan Tech earned the combined team win as well.

"We've shown through these first two race weekends we are the team in the Central Region to beat this season," head coach Tom Monahan Smith said. "Both the men's and women's teams had a dominating performance in Saturday's skate 10-kilometer race, and that is how we know we can perform as a team through this entire season if every student-athlete shows up on race day and throws down their fastest race."

Read more race results at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Michigan Tech women's basketball scored early and often to win comfortably over Finlandia University 76-44 at SDC Gymnasium on Saturday (Dec. 17).

The Huskies improved to 10-2 overall and remained undefeated at home (7-0) after facing the Lions in regular-season play for just the second time in 10 years. 

Three players reached double figures for Tech: Ellie Mackay and Sloane Zenner with 14 points apiece, and Alex Rondorf with 11. Zenner helped the Huskies to a 28-7 first-quarter start from the 3-point arc and finished the game 4-for-6 from downtown.

"There are certainly still things we can work on, but I was happy to get the win tonight," said head coach Sam Clayton. "Sloane really used her athleticism and I felt we passed the ball well early in the game, which gave us some good looks from outside."

Read more at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

No. 17 Michigan Tech hockey moved into a tie for first place in the CCHA standings after splitting this weekend's series at Lake Superior State.

Tech fell 3-0 to the Lakers on Friday (Dec. 16). LSSU scored a goal in each period to defeat the Huskies, serving MTU their first regulation loss in the last nine games.

"We struggled to control the puck and didn't come out with the compete that we needed," Tech coach Joe Shawhan said. "We got better in the second half of the game, but we have to play with that compete and purpose all the time or we're not very good. We got golden looks at the net, but just couldn't score."

The Huskies found the back of the net Saturday (Dec. 17), finishing the series with a 5-1 win at Lake Superior State. Five different Huskies scored as the Black and Gold improved to 11-5-3 overall and 7-4-3 in the CCHA heading into the holiday break.

"There seemed to be a bit more purpose and flow to our game," Shawhan said. "A lot of guys were really good tonight, and I'm glad that we all get to go to a break on a positive note."

Read more at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Job Postings for Tuesday, Dec. 20, 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.

Administrative Aide 7 (12 months/ 40 hours/ first shift) #22354, Human Resources (UAW posting dates Dec. 20, 2022, to Jan. 2, 2023 — 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.

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.

The U.S. Department of Energy mentioned Michigan Tech in a press release announcing $2.5 million in funding for four training and research projects to be conducted at U.S colleges and universities.

The DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory will manage a project at MTU, according to the release.

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Parabolic Arc mentioned Michigan Tech in a story picked up from NASA’s press release about the advancement of 15 teams in the agency’s Break the Ice Lunar Challenge — including a team from Michigan Tech’s Planetary Surface Technology Development Laboratory.

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The Daily Mining Gazette ran a feature story on the Michigan Tech-based group Keweenaw Youth for Climate Action, which began in 2019 in response to global climate protests. The group encourages the University to drop fossil fuel investments and helps community residents become more energy efficient.

The story mentioned Ph.D. students Gabriel Ahrendt (geophysics) and Elise Rosky (physics), and MTU alum Patrick Morath Jr. ’18 (B.S., electrical engineering). Ahrendt and Morath were quoted.

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The Daily Mining Gazette published an article written by undergraduate student Haniya Frayer (applied ecology and environmental science) and Sigrid Resh (CFRES/ESC) cautioning Keweenaw residents to avoid using dried invasive plants as holiday decorations.

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Michigan Tech students Stuart Tolsma and Maxwell Beard were mentioned by the Daily Mining Gazette in coverage of the Houghton City Council. The council approved both Tolsma and Beard to join the Houghton Fire Department.

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WLUC TV6 covered Michigan Tech’s 2022 Midyear Commencement ceremony, held Dec. 17 at the Student Development Complex, and mentioned student speaker Jailynn Johnson ’22 (B.S., chemistry) and commencement speaker Brenda Ryan ’76 (B.S., metallurgical and materials engineering) in a preview story the day before.

Coverage by the Keweenaw Report included excerpts from both speakers’ speeches, and the Daily Mining Gazette published multiple photos from the ceremony alongside ceremony info.

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The Daily Mining Gazette covered Michigan Tech’s Dec. 16 Board of Trustees meeting, highlighting the honorary doctorate and trustee emerita title awarded to Vice-Chair Brenda Ryan, whose term expires Dec. 31.

In addition, the story mentioned Jean Kampe (MSE), Komar Kowatra (ChE) and Jannah Tumey (CEO), as well as Cheyenne Scott and Ranit Karmakar, presidents of the Undergraduate Student Government and Graduate Student Government, respectively. 

Kampe and Kowatra were named professors emeriti at the meeting, while Tumey led a demonstration of the Mind Trekkers program’s latest Unboxed Challenge for the board. Scott and Karmakar gave reports to the board.

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The Keweenaw Report picked up a Michigan Tech Athletics call for volunteers for the U.S. Cross Country Ski National Championships and Pre-Nationals events.

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iHeartRadio mentioned Michigan Tech in an interview with former Husky hockey captain Jake Lucchini about his NHL debut with the Ottawa Senators on Dec. 14.

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