February 20, 2023

At Michigan Tech's 42nd annual Winter Baja Invitational on Jan. 28, competitors were treated to a pickled egg slalom in addition to the usual thrills of a snowy hill climb and endurance race.

The 2023 Winter Baja attracted 45 vehicles from 22 universities.

See photos from this year’s running of the ultimate hands-on collegiate design competition and find out how Tech played a major role in the SAE International event’s history at Michigan Tech News.

We’re celebrating National Engineers Week (Feb. 19-25). Everyone’s invited to special events on campus sponsored by Tau Beta Pi, the Engineering Honor Society student chapter at Michigan Tech.

Founded by the National Society of Professional Engineers in 1951, Eweek is celebrated each February around the time of George Washington’s birthday (Feb. 22), because Washington is considered by many to be the first U.S. engineer.

At Michigan Tech, the week is celebrated with special events on campus. Everyone is welcome! Please feel free to stop by and check out Eweek events as your schedule allows.

• Metal Foundry in a Box with Materials United
  Monday, Feb. 20 — 3-5 p.m., M&M U109
  
  
• Demonstrations with Mind Trekkers
  Tuesday, Feb. 21 — 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Fisher Hall Lobby
  
  
• Eweek Cake Courtesy of the Department of Engineering Fundamentals
  Wednesday, Feb. 22 — 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., Dillman 112
  
  
• Tau Beta Pi Alumni Panel
  Thursday, Feb. 23 — 5-6 p.m., Dow 0642 and virtually via Zoom
  Panelists:
  • Katelyn Ramthun ’21, B.S. Biomedical Engineering, B.S. Mechanical Engineering — Product Engineer at Plexus
  • Jennifer Larimer ’09, B.S. Chemical Engineering — Research Scientist at Dow
  • Quinn Horn ’93 ’95 ’98, B.S. and M.S. Metallurgical Engineering, Ph.D. Metallurgical and Materials Engineering — Principal Engineer at Exponent

Read more at the College of Engineering Blog.

Midterm grades submission will open at noon today (Feb. 20) and will close at noon next Monday (Feb. 27).

Midterm grades must be submitted for all first-year students and transfer students with fewer than 30 credits. The Waino Wahtera Center for Student Success coordinates outreach to these students based on the midterm grades submitted. This supports timely intervention for students who may be experiencing academic and/or other difficulties.

Electronic Grade Submission
Instructors have two options for electronic grade submission. They may submit grades via Banner Self-Service by going directly into Banweb, entering grades and clicking submit. Those with larger class sizes where grades have already been totaled in Canvas may submit grades via Canvas by going to CourseTools and using the Grade Wizard to first extract the grades from Canvas and then submit them to Banner.

If grades are submitted using Banner Self-Service, only the students who require a midterm grade will appear. For those who submit their grades via Canvas, a first-year student column has been added to identify these students in your course grade book.

Satisfactory grades (A-C) should be entered as “SA” and Unsatisfactory grades (CD-F) as “UN”.

Midterm grades are for full-semester courses only. Grades not turned in by the deadline will have an M (missing) grade assigned.

Graduate Student Government (GSG) is thrilled to announce this year’s Graduate Research Colloquium (GRC). It is going to be held March 29 and March 30.

The GRC provides graduate students a great opportunity to develop their oral and/or poster presentation skills in a friendly environment. GSG matches each presenter with a small panel of MTU faculty members to receive constructive feedback on their presentation. If you are willing to judge and help fulfill this vital role at the GRC poster or oral sessions, please submit the GRC 2023 Judge Volunteer Form to let us know your time availability.

Poster presentations will be held March 29 at the Rosza Center Lobby from 5-8 p.m. The oral presentations will take place March 29 from noon to 5 p.m. and March 30 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the MUB.

The GRC event will be capped off with the annual GRC Awards Banquet. All participants and judges are invited to attend. It will be held March 30 following the closing of the GRC.

For more info, please visit our website or email Michael Maurer at gsg-research@mtu.edu.

Applications for the Great Lakes Research Center/Institute of Computing and Cybersystems (GLRC/ICC) 2023 Spring Semester Rapid Research Seedling Funding Opportunity are due next Wednesday (March 1).

The intent of this funding is to provide faculty and research staff funds for idea development and data collection that will quickly enable large externally sponsored funding requests.

Proposals will be accepted from Michigan Tech tenured, tenure-track and research faculty, and research scientists and engineers. Any individual researcher is eligible to receive up to one award per calendar year as a principal investigator (PI).

Awards will be announced within one month of the funding cycle deadline. Projects should have a duration of one semester with request amounts not to exceed $10,000.

Awardees must be an affiliated member of the GLRC and/or ICC and are expected to assign a Center/Institute of the GLRC or ICC to any subsequent proposals and awards generated using the data developed/enabled with the rapid seedling funding.

The application form, additional information and instructions can be found in the Member Resources section of the GLRC Institute webpage and on the ICC website. Questions will be addressed by emailing glrc-icc-admin-l@mtu.edu.

Join the Graduate Student Government (GSG) as we explore ideas and take suggestions on recommendations as the Student Insurance Committee works on the graduate student health insurance for next year.

As student insurance is a vital part of a graduate student’s life, we would like to hear from you regarding what can be done to make the student experience with health insurance better. We would like to hear your preferences, recommendations and issues with the current state of the student health insurance.

All graduate students at Michigan Tech are welcome to attend this event, and we welcome your involvement!

Your participation in the public forum and the following survey will help GSG to voice your concerns/problems/issues in this year's student insurance recommendations and ultimately help in deciding the upcoming academic year's insurance plan.

The first forum will take place today (Feb. 20):

• Student Health Insurance Forum — Monday, Feb. 20, from 12-1 p.m. Attend in person in MUB Ballroom A1 or virtually via Zoom.

If you can’t make it today, no worries! You can attend a second open forum being held tomorrow (Feb. 21):

• Student Health Insurance Forum — Tuesday, Feb. 21, from 4-5 p.m. Attend in person in MUB Alumni Lounge C or  virtually via Zoom.

Sign up using the Student Health Insurance Public Forum's RSVP/Question Submission Form.

Beginning March 7 at 11 a.m. and ending March 8 at 5 p.m., Michigan Tech IT will be upgrading the card services system on campus. During this time, CS Gold access readers, meal readers and access to some Keywatcher Kiosk rooms will work in their offline mode. After the maintenance is complete, transactions will be uploaded back into CS Gold.

The following services will be affected:

cardservices.mtu.edu website
Husky Card Printing
Mobile Readers
Vending Readers
Micros Point of Sale Systems (will be available but unable to process transactions with the card services system)
Experience Tech Tracking System and related WebFOCUS reports
Husky Print

For more information on upgrade considerations specific to departments, please review our Knowledge Base article.

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

This Thursday (Feb. 23), we are screening the first film in this year’s Modern Language Film Series, where we approach the theme of social justice. The first film shown is "Balloon," a German language film directed by Michael Herbig and released in 2018. Run time: 125 minutes.

Based on the true events of one of the most daring escapes of the Cold War, “Balloon” tells the story of two families living in Communist East Germany who sailed over the heavily fortified border in a homemade hot-air balloon.

The film will begin at 7 p.m. in Fisher 135. Each film will be subtitled in English. The screenings are open to the public.

Next films are:

• “Synonyms” — French
  Screening: Thursday, March 16, at 7 p.m. in Fisher 135
  
  
• “Identifying Features” — Spanish
  Screening: Thursday, March 23, at 7 p.m. in Fisher 135

Mardi Gras Fat Tuesday Party with the Workshop Brass Band — 9 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 21
Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts
Presented by Michigan Tech Music
Performed by The Workshop Brass Band

The Workshop Brass Band brings New Orleans to Michigan Tech with an epic Mardi Gras Fat Tuesday party featuring “feel-good music” that’ll make you want to move your feet to the infectious New Orleans beat!
Learn more.
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An UP-Cycled Fashion Show — 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Feb. 24 and 25
McArdle Theatre
Presented by Michigan Tech Theatre

Join us for Michigan Tech Theatre’s first UP-cycled fashion show: Indigo Mood. Designers will turn denim and other recycled items into fashion to help build awareness of environmental issues. There will be a gallery display of accessory items, a full-length fashion show and more!
Learn more.

Get your tickets online, at 906-487-1906 or at the Rozsa Box Office from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Students, bring your HuskyCard to use your student tickets or tap in for Student Rush.
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Beethoven Symphony No. 7 — 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 25
Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts
Presented by Michigan Tech Music
Performed by The Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra

The Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra presents the world premiere of a viola concerto by Marquette composer Griffin Candey. Lara Neves sings Wagner’s transcendent “Liebestod” from “Tristan und Isolde.” Featuring Beethoven’s sublime Symphony No. 7.
Learn more.

Get your tickets online, at 906-487-1906 or at the Rozsa Box Office from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday. 

Students, bring your HuskyCard to use your student tickets or tap in for Student Rush.

Can’t attend in person? The concert will be livestreamed for far-away Michigan Tech Music lovers and alums.
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Music for a Sacred Space — 7:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 26
St. Joseph Catholic Church in Lake Linden
Presented by Michigan Tech Music
Performed by Michigan Tech Choirs

Michigan Tech Choirs, under the direction of Jared Anderson, perform an evening of sacred music at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Lake Linden. This concert is an annual fundraiser for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. Learn more.

Donations for this event will be accepted at the door.

This Thursday (Feb. 23), Undergraduate Student Government (USG) is hosting a Living Room Conversation. Come join us for a guided discussion with your fellow Huskies!

Thursday's discussion will be centered around the subject of abortion. Our conversation will be in the MUB Superior Room (MUB B001) from 6-8 p.m.

Questions? Contact Jenna Weiler at jgweiler@mtu.edu.

Please join us for relaxed German conversation, games and refreshments. All levels of German and all people in the community are welcome.

We will gather at 5 p.m. today (Feb. 20) in Walker 120C in the Humanities Digital Media Zone (HDMZ).

The Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts’ performances of the family play “Let’s Eat!” by L’Arrière Scène have been canceled due to U.S. artist visa complications. The Rozsa’s public and Class Acts school performances were set to be the only American stop on the Quebec company’s international tour of “Let’s Eat!” The tour was scheduled to perform at the Rozsa on March 10 and 11.

“L’Arrière Scène creates delightful and immersive shows for young audiences, and we are disappointed by the news that they were not able to obtain the visas necessary for ‘Let’s Eat!’ to make an American stop on their international tour,” says Rozsa Director Mary Jennings. “We wish them so much success with the rest of their tour of ‘Let’s Eat!’”

All ticket holders have been contacted, and all tickets will be refunded. If you have reserved tickets that need to be refunded or have questions, please get in touch with the Rozsa Box Office by emailing rozsa@mtu.edu, calling 906-487-1906 or dropping by during regular box office hours, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Karl Hammond will present as part of the Department of Chemical Engineering (ChE) Research Seminar Series on Wednesday (Feb. 22) at 10 a.m. in person in Chem Sci 201 or virtually via Zoom.

Hammond will present "That Does Compute: Transport and Thermodynamics in Nuclear Fusion Reactors."

Read the abstract on the University Events Calendar.

Hammond is an associate professor of chemical engineering at the University of Missouri.

The Office of the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs will host a workshop, Preparing a Tenure and Promotion Packet, on March 1 from 3-5 p.m. The workshop will take place in the Memorial Union Alumni Lounge B.

The first half of the session will focus on the mechanics of preparing a well-presented promotion and/or tenure packet and will include insights from those who have been involved in the TPR review process. Panelists include Audra Morse, chair, Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering; David Flaspohler, interim dean, College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science; Nancy Langston, distinguished professor, Department of Social Sciences; and Bruce Lee, professor, Department of Biomedical Engineering.

The second half of the session will focus on how to input data and narratives into Digital Measures to produce a Faculty Activity Report (FAR) for the tenure and promotion package.

All faculty are welcome; those who plan to submit a tenure/promotion package in the next couple of years are especially encouraged to attend. Faculty are welcome to attend just one part of the session as their schedule allows. Questions can be directed to Shari Stockero, assistant provost for faculty development, at stockero@mtu.edu.

Physics graduate students will be presenting their research progress at this week's Physics Colloquium:

• Elise Rosky (advised by Will Cantrell/Raymond Shaw)
• Samuel Groetsch (advised by Petra Huentemeyer)

This will be an in-person event — the students will give their talks at 4 p.m. Thursday (Feb. 23) in Fisher 139.

Event details, including the students' presentation titles and abstracts, are available on the University Events Calendar.

Great Lakes Research Center Director Tim Havens (CS/GLRC/ICC) gave a presentation on "Autonomy and Sensing for Disaster Prevention, Response and Mitigation” at the No Spills Conference in Traverse City, Michigan, from Feb. 15-17.

The annual conference focuses on preventing hazardous material spills into the Great Lakes and its tributaries.

Dennis Livesay (CC) was profiled by The Republic of Columbus, Indiana, after being selected by the Columbus East High School Class of 1992 for induction into the high school’s Alumni Wall of Fame this spring.

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The Michigan Tech Mushing Club was mentioned by WLUC TV6, WJMN Local 3 and Radio Results Network in stories on two events held over the weekend after the UP200, Midnight Run and Jack Pine 20 dogsled races were canceled due to trail conditions. Marquette’s Festival of the Sled Dog was held Friday (Feb. 17) and the Grand Marais Winterfest took place Saturday (Feb. 18). 

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The Daily Mining Gazette and WJMN Local 3 picked up a Michigan Tech Athletics press release about Husky goaltender Blake Pietila’s advancement as a semifinalist for the Mike Richter Award.

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ESPN mentioned Michigan Tech hockey in a story speculating on the field for the upcoming NCAA Division I tournament.

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Northwestern University mentioned Michigan Tech in a story about Northwestern students’ fifth-place finish in the Winter Baja Invitational, held Jan. 28 at the Student Development Complex.

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The Daily Mining Gazette mentioned Michigan Tech and the Ford Center and Forest’s Alberta Sawmill in a story about a progress report on efforts to preserve the sawmill to the Baraga County Commission.

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The Keweenaw Report mentioned Michigan Tech in a preview of the annual Pigs N Heat hockey game fundraiser. The game was held Friday (Feb. 17) at the Student Development Complex.

Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Semifinalist Open Forum Today and Tomorrow

Michigan Tech has invited four semifinalists to interview for Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs. Each semifinalist will give two public presentations sharing their vision for MTU within the context of the strategic plan and how their experience has prepared them for this task.  

Please mark your calendar to attend Andrew Storer’s presentation on one of the following dates: today (Feb. 20) at 3 p.m. or tomorrow (Feb. 21) at 3 p.m.

All presentations will occur in the East Reading Room of the Van Pelt and Opie Library. An opportunity to provide candidate feedback will be available on the search webpage at the conclusion of each semifinalist’s visit.

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Nominations Open: Bhakta Rath Award and Michigan Tech Research Award

The Vice President for Research Office is accepting nominations for the Bhakta Rath Research Award. The award offers an opportunity to promote and reward excellence in scientific and engineering research in the fields of physical and natural sciences and engineering. For complete submission guidelines, see our Bhakta Rath Research Award page.

The Vice President for Research Office is also accepting nominations for the Michigan Tech Research Award, which offers an opportunity for an individual to be recognized for outstanding achievements in research. For complete submission guidelines, see our Michigan Tech Research Award page.

Nominations for both must be submitted electronically in PDF format, per the guidelines, no later than 4 p.m. on March 2.

All nominations must be sent to Natasha Chopp at nichopp@mtu.edu.

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Career Fair Mixer for CC, ECE Majors

A Career Fair mixer hosted by the College of Computing (CC) and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering (ECE) will take place tomorrow (Feb. 21) from 4-5:30 p.m. in the Rozsa Center Lobby.

At the mixer, students will have opportunities to talk with representatives of major employers seeking to hire computing and electrical and computing engineering graduates. Students in the computer science, applied computing, and electrical and computer engineering degree programs are encouraged to attend.

The event is sponsored by the CC and ECE, with the participation of the Departments of Applied Computing and Computer Science and the Michigan Tech Office of Career Services. Snacks and soft drinks will be served.

Read more on the Computing News Blog.

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SS Brown Bag: ‘There’s More Than Co-design: Co-experience, Policy Innovation Labs and Twitter’

The Department of Social Sciences (SS) is hosting a brown bag presentation today (Feb. 20) from noon to 1 p.m. in person in AOB 201 or virtually via Zoom.

Join this brown bag to learn more about research by Adam Wellstead (SS) on policy innovation labs (PILs).

The past decade has witnessed the global rise of PILs, which have been advocated as a novel approach to addressing pressing policy issues. Central to PILs is stakeholder engagement and a focus on co-design. One relatively new process raised in the public management literature is co-experience, which considers stakeholders' engagement with public policies or programs within the wider context of life experience. Twitter is one tool that PILs can employ to assess and nurture stakeholder co-experience of stakeholders. In order to assess the capacity of PILs to facilitate co-experience, vis-à-vis Twitter, Wellstead examines three indicators: intensity, content and type. He concludes that in addition to their co-design activities, PILs should develop the capacity to foster co-experience via social media activity, thus becoming agents for deliberative democracy.

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PhD Defense: Sodiq O. Waheed, Chem

The Department of Chemistry (Chem) is pleased to announce that Ph.D. candidate Sodiq O. Waheed will be presenting a final Ph.D. defense tomorrow (Feb. 21) at 11 a.m. The defense will be presented online via Zoom.

Waheed's defense is titled "Multiscale Molecular Modeling Studies of the Dynamics and Catalytic Mechanisms of Iron(II) and Zinc(II) Dependent Metalloenzymes."

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

Michigan Tech Art Presents: Me, You, and Us

Monday, February 20, 8 a.m.–8 p.m. |

MICHIGAN TECH ART PRESENTS Me, You, and Us ART EXHIBITION MONDAY, FEBRUARY 6, 2023 THROUGH SATURDAY FEBRUARY 25, 2023 A-SPACE HOURS: M-F 8 A.M.-8 P.M.

Metal Foundry in a Box

Monday, February 20, 1 p.m.–3 p.m. | Minerals and Materials Engineering Building (M&M), U109

Happy National Engineers Week, otherwise known as Eweek! Want to try your hand in the Michigan Tech Foundry? Join the students of Materials United here at Michigan Tech. You...

The Engineering Way of Thinking: Uncertainty and the Future

Monday, February 20, 3 p.m. | Great Lakes Research Center (GLRC), 202

Environmental Engineering Graduate Seminar William Bulleit, Professor Emeritus, Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering, Michigan Tech Abstract: Engineering can be...

Workshop: Software Carpentry in Python

Monday, February 20, 3:00 p.m.–5:30 p.m.

Michigan Tech will host an online Software Carpentry in Python workshop February 20-24, 2023, daily from 3-5:30 p.m. EST. All Michigan Tech students, faculty, and staff are...

German Stammtisch Conversation Table

Monday, February 20, 5 p.m.–6 p.m. | Walker Arts and Humanities Center, 120C

Stammtisch is an informal German conversation table. Join us for casual conversation and snacks! Practice your German, make friends and share interest in German culture....

Spicer Group Information Session

Monday, February 20, 5 p.m.–6 p.m. | Grover C. Dillman Hall, 202

The informal session would include a presentation on projects that Spicer Group has been involved with, and then open up for discussion. Food and drinks will also be included.

Solar Energy in Cold Climates

Monday, February 20, 6 p.m.

Husky Bites presents Special Guest Ana Dyreson Assistant Professor, Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics Michigan Technological University Co-hosts Ayush Chutani...

College of Business Hangout

Monday, February 20, 7:00 p.m.–8:30 p.m.

Join Michigan Tech's College of Business to hear students share more information about the college, the majors offered, and answer any questions you may have. Covered majors:...

College of Forest Resources and Environmental Sciences Hangout

Monday, February 20, 7:00 p.m.–8:30 p.m.

Join Michigan Tech's College of Forest Resources and Environmental Sciences to hear students share more information about the college, the majors offered, and answer any...

Adult and Youth Huskies Tennis and Pickleball Lessons (Session 1)

February 20, all day | Michigan Tech Gates Tennis Center

Youth Huskies Tennis Lessons: After school and weekend Youth Huskies Group Tennis Lessons are available this spring! Join in by age group and level for some fun on the tennis...

Campus Barbershop

February 20, all day | Student Development Complex (SDC), Wood Gym (follow signage)

The Campus Barbershop is available to MTU students by appointment only. Use the link to book your appointment:...