February 28, 2023

The Department of Biological Sciences recently acquired a new liquid scintillation counter through a collaboration with the Vice President for Research Office; College of Sciences and Arts; Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering; Ecosystem Science Center; and Great Lakes Research Center.

This counter replaces an older, obsolete unit and is an essential piece of equipment for researchers working with or planning to work with radioisotopes. Researchers interested in using the new counter, or simply learning more about the about it, should contact David Dixon, director of biological laboratory operations, at dcdixon@mtu.edu.

The University Senate Fringe Benefits Committee is polling all benefits-eligible MTU employees to determine their preferences to identify ways the Husky Health program may be changed. This information will be summarized and shared with the University Senate and the Benefits Office.

The Husky Health Improvement Survey will remain open through tomorrow (March 1). Questions about the survey can be directed to Fringe Benefits Committee co-chairs Patty Cobin at pfcobin@mtu.edu or Radwin Askari at raskari@mtu.edu.

The University Senate will convene Meeting 684 at 5:30 p.m. tomorrow (March 1) in Dow 642.

Those within the University community unable to attend in person have the option to attend via Zoom. Please note: You will need to log in to your MTU Zoom account to join the virtual meeting.

Senators are responsible for making their constituents aware of the agenda for this meeting. Senators who are unable to attend should arrange for their alternates to attend in their place.

View the agenda to Meeting 684.

Upper Peninsula high school science teachers and parents/guardians: We would like to invite your students and children to compete at the 2023 Chemistry Olympiad (Online).

Chemistry Olympiad 2023 will be an online chemistry competition open to all high school students from any U.P. school or home school. Participation is free! Sign up using our registration form by Friday (March 3).

The competition will be held online March 13 from 6:30-8:20 p.m.

All participants will receive a participation gift and a participation certificate, and will be entered into a drawing for prizes.

Top scorers receive a medal and a prize, and have the opportunity to participate in the U.S. National Chemistry Olympiad (in-person event).

The U.P. Chemistry Olympiad is hosted by the American Chemical Society and Michigan Technological University. Please contact coordinator Momoko Tajiri at mtajiri@mtu.edu with any questions.

Menu for Thursday (March 2):

• Swedish Meatballs
• Egg Noodles (Vegetarian)
• Oven Roasted Carrots (Gluten Friendly, Vegan)
• Green Peas & Roasted Mushrooms (Gluten Friendly, Vegan) 
• Harvest Kale Salad (Gluten Friendly, Vegan)

Dining Services presents this week's C3 Luncheon, being held from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Memorial Union Alumni Lounge (MUB 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 (MUB 101). You can submit C3 feedback using our Google form. To join the C3 Google group and receive weekly menus, email business-support@mtu.edu.

Michigan Tech Nordic skiers repeated as Central Region Champions at the NCAA Central Regional Championships at Al Quaal Recreation Center in Ishpeming, Michigan, over the weekend.

The Huskies entered the second day of regionals in first place in the team standings with 133 points, and managed to stay there to secure the regional title. In total, the Huskies had five podium finishes, along with the men's 5km freestyle interval start champion in Skylar Patten.

The final combined team race was incredibly close, with Michigan Tech winning with 245 points. Just behind was Northern Michigan with 244 points, while College of St. Scholastica was just as close with 242 points.

"We are so proud of this team for coming away with the overall combined team win by one point over Northern Michigan and only a few points ahead of College of St. Scholastica in what was probably the most competitive regional team race in a long time," said head coach Tom Monahan Smith.

"We qualify a full team, which is a big deal for our program — really psyched to be qualifying three men and three women to represent Michigan Tech in the skiing championships," he added. "We also had the next three guys in qualifying position as well to show the incredible depth of our men's team."

Read where individual Huskies finished at Michigan Tech Athletics.

Michigan Tech women's basketball collected their 13th straight victory over Northern Michigan on Senior Day on Saturday (Feb. 25) at SDC Gymnasium.

Five players made it to double figures as Tech closed out the regular season schedule 13-0 at home. Isabella Lenz paced the offense with 19 points and the Huskies shot a season-high 59.6% from the floor.

"This team is super special," commented Ellie Mackay. "To still be undefeated at home at this point in the season speaks volumes not just about how hard we work but also the community and fan support we get. We are all very grateful for it. There's just no other place to play like the wood gym."

Quarterfinal vs. Wayne State
Michigan Tech earned the No. 2 seed and will host the GLIAC quarterfinals tomorrow (March 1) at 5:30 p.m. Tech hosts No. 7 seed Wayne State (14-12, 7-11).

Tickets are on sale now — in person at the Central Ticket Office located in the Student Development Complex, online at BuyHuskiesTickets.com or via phone by calling 906-487-2073.

Basketball season ticket holders have until 11:59 p.m. today (Feb. 28) to claim their seats. Michigan Tech students can enter the quarterfinal game as usual with a valid student ID at the door.

Read more at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Michigan Tech men's basketball fell short on Senior Day, losing 65-57 to Northern Michigan on Saturday (Feb. 25) at SDC Gymnasium in the conclusion to the regular season. 

Dan Gherezgher scored 15 points in the loss for the Huskies.

"I thought we competed at the level we needed," said head coach Josh Buettner. "The second half, we made a few mistakes. We gave up some offensive rebounds. We got rejected on some ball screens. We were late on some hedges. We were fighting hard to stay in there and we just struggled to score a basket late in the game. We tried a lot of different things to generate offense and we just weren't able to down the stretch."

Tournament Match at Parkside
The Huskies (8-19, 5-13 GLIAC) earned the No. 8 seed in the GLIAC tournament and will travel to No. 1 seed Wisconsin-Parkside (21-7, 14-4) tomorrow (March 1) at 8:30 p.m. ET. The Rangers swept the season series between the two sides.

Read more at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

No. 11 Michigan Tech hockey split a CCHA series with No. 12 Minnesota State to end the regular season.

The Huskies shut out the Mavericks 2-0 Friday (Feb. 24) to stay alive in the race for the MacNaughton Cup. Blake Pietila stopped 35 shots for his school-record ninth shutout of the season and Tech-record 19th career shutout. It was his seventh Friday shutout of the season, as the Huskies blanked the Mavs for the first time in Mankato since November 2003.

"It was a typical win for us," Tech coach Joe Shawhan said. "It starts from the goaltender on out with timely scoring and a great penalty kill."

Saturday's (Feb. 25) match was a heartbreaker, as the Huskies fell 3-2 to the Mavs. Trailing 2-0 in the third, Tech scored three goals in the final two minutes but one was waved off. MSU scored a power-play game-winner with 45 seconds left to clinch the MacNaughton Cup.

MTU finishes the regular season 22-9-4 overall and 15-7-4 in the CCHA. The Huskies are seeded No. 2 in the CCHA Mason Cup Tournament and will host No. 7 St. Thomas at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena.

Read more at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Tuesday (Feb. 28)
• Huskies Drive Time, 7:30-8 a.m. on Mix 93 WKMJ-FM

Wednesday (March 1)
• Women's Basketball vs. Wayne State, 5:30 p.m. at SDC Gym on Mix 93 WKMJ-FM
• Men's Basketball at Parkside, 8:30 p.m. on Mix 93 WKMJ-FM

Friday (March 3)
• Hockey vs. St. Thomas, 7:07 p.m. at MacInnes Student Ice Arena on Mix 93 WKMJ-FM

Saturday (March 4)
• Women's Basketball at GLIAC Semifinal on Mix 93 WKMJ-FM*
• Men's Basketball at GLIAC Semifinal on Mix 93 WKMJ-FM*
• Hockey vs. St. Thomas, 6:07 p.m. at MacInnes Student Ice Arena on Mix 93 WKMJ-FM

Sunday (March 5)
• Women's Tennis vs. UMary (Orlando)
• Women's Basketball at GLIAC Championship on Mix 93 WKMJ-FM*
• Men's Basketball at GLIAC Championship on Mix 93 WKMJ-FM*
• Hockey vs. St. Thomas, 5:07 p.m. at MacInnes Student Ice Arena on Mix 93 WKMJ-FM*

Games with a * will be played if necessary.

Job Postings for Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2023

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.

Assistant Teaching Professor – Statistics, Mathematical Sciences. Apply online.

Windows System Administrator, Information Technology. Apply online.

Food Service Helper (nine months/ 40 hours/ second shift) #23049, Dining Services (AFSCME posting dates Feb. 28 to March 6, 2023 — 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.

Assistant Sponsored Programs Analyst, Sponsored Programs Office. Apply online.

Assistant Sponsored Programs Analyst, Sponsored Programs Office. Apply online.

Research Associate / Technician, Advanced Power Systems Research Center. 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.

Michigan Tech President Rick Koubek and Mike Mullins (ChE) were quoted by the Daily Mining Gazette in a story covering the University Board of Trustees meeting Friday (Feb. 24). The story led with MTU’s creation of a task force to review security at Michigan Tech after the shooting at Michigan State University on Feb. 13.

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The Daily Mining Gazette published a guest article written by Sigrid Resh and Tara Bal (CFRES/ESC) and undergraduate Abraham Stone (ecology) about how to identify hemlock woolly adelgid. The invasive insect feeds on hemlock trees and has been spreading slowly up the Lake Michigan coast toward the Upper Peninsula.

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Jared Anderson (VPA) and undergraduate Caity Weirick (psychology) were quoted by WLUC TV6 in a recap of Michigan Tech Music’s choir concert, “Music for a Sacred Space,” held Saturday (Feb. 25) at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Lake Linden, Michigan.

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The Daily Mining Gazette, WJMN Local 3 and WLUC TV6 quoted Ph.D. student Adelina Oronova (chemistry) and graduate student Mila Yutskevych (environmental engineering) in coverage of events marking the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Oronova was quoted in stories by the DMG and Local 3, and both students were quoted by TV6.

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The U.S. Department of Energy’s Bioenergy Technologies Office mentioned Michigan Tech in a news release about a new pelletized fuel combining nonrecyclable plastics and paper fiber that would otherwise end up in landfills with an energy content like bituminous coal. The technique was pioneered at Idaho National Laboratory with help from Michigan Tech researchers and Convergen Energy, a company based in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

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The American Society for Engineering Education’s Connections mentioned Michigan Tech in its February newsletter. The K-12 Report section highlighted the print release of the “Anchored Science by Mi-STAR” middle school science curriculum, announced by Michigan Tech and publisher Kendall Hunt K-12 in early February.

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Michigan Tech’s Mind Trekkers program was mentioned by 102.3 WGRT-FM in Port Huron, Michigan. The Mind Trekkers will participate in a STEM festival at St. Clair Community College on March 11.

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The Keweenaw Report previewed the UP-Cycled Fashion Show held at Michigan Tech’s McArdle Theatre on Friday and Saturday (Feb. 24 and 25).

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The Detroit Free Press mentioned Michigan Tech in a story reviewing locking capabilities of classrooms and exterior doors at Michigan colleges in the wake of the Feb. 13 shooting at Michigan State.

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Insight Publications mentioned Michigan Tech in a story on the Green Bay Blizzard indoor football team’s plans to hold training camp at MTU’s Quad Core Fitness Center. The team will truck 30,000 pounds of artificial turf to Michigan Tech for the camp.

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Walls and Ceilings picked up a press release announcing Michigan Tech alum Mike Olosky ’91 (mechanical engineering) as the new CEO of Simpson Strong-Tie.

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The Houston Texans posted a story with 12 facts about their new offensive coordinator, former Husky wide receiver Bobby Slowik.

Call for Applications: Songer Research Award for Human Health

Matthew Songer '79 (biological sciences) and Laura Songer '80 (biological sciences) have generously donated funds to the College of Sciences and Arts (CSA) to support a research project competition for undergraduate and graduate students.

Remembering their own eagerness to engage in research during their undergraduate years, the Songers established these awards to stimulate and encourage opportunities for original research by current Michigan Tech students. CSA is extremely grateful for the Songers' continuing interest in, and support of, Michigan Tech's programs in human health and medicine. This is the sixth year of the competition.

Students may propose an innovative, medically oriented research project in any area of human health. The best projects will demonstrate the potential to have broad impact on improving human life. This research will be pursued in consultation with CSA faculty members.

Awarded during the spring 2023 semester, the Songers' gift will support one award for undergraduate research ($4,000) and a second award for graduate research ($6,000). Matching funds from CSA will allow two additional awards. The research will be conducted during summer 2023 and/or the following academic year.

Any Michigan Tech student interested in exploring a medically related question under the guidance of CSA faculty may apply. Students majoring in any CSA degree program, including both traditional (i.e., biological sciences, kinesiology, chemistry) and nontraditional (i.e., physics, psychology, social science, bioethics, mathematics) programs related to human health may propose research projects connected to human health.

Students are encouraged to propose original, stand-alone projects with expected durations of 6-12 months. Preference is given to proposals that are student-initiated ideas, not merely an extension of an advisor’s work. The committee also encourages applications from CSA students who seek to continue research projects initiated through other campus mechanisms, such as the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program, Pavlis Honors College activities or the Graduate Research Forum (GRF).

Please visit the Pre-Health Professions blog for information on the application and review process, how the funds may be used and when the awards will be announced. Questions may be directed to David Hemmer at djhemmer@mtu.edu.

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New Venture Challenge Registration Closes Tomorrow

Are you a student with a great business idea or do you want to team up with a student who has a great business idea? If so, the New Venture Challenge provides an exciting venue to pitch your business, get valuable feedback, network with representatives within Michigan's innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem, and last but not least, potentially win some valuable prize money!

For more than a decade, Michigan Technological University and Central Michigan University have collaborated to offer Tech students the opportunity to compete at the New Venture Competition in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Students compete for more than $100,000 in cash prizes and in-kind services.

We will host an information session and two prep sessions — we encourage you to attend all prep sessions if you plan to pitch. The pitch competition itself will involve a trip to Central Michigan University in Mount Pleasant, where you will pitch your idea.

If interested, register online by tomorrow (March 1).

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Preparing a Tenure and Promotion Packet Workshop

The Office of the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs will host a workshop, Preparing a Tenure and Promotion Packet, tomorrow (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.

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Faculty Mentors Needed for MiCUP Scholars Program

The Center for Diversity and Inclusion (CDI) is seeking faculty to serve as mentors for the 2023 MiCUP Scholars Program. This program targets low-income, underrepresented, first-generation students who wish to continue their education beyond community college.

The 2023 MiCUP program offers a seven-week summer experience (May 8 to June 22) that addresses the opportunities and challenges students face as they pursue a bachelor’s degree. Faculty mentors in the program will assist students with research projects in engineering, technology, business, computer science and health sciences.

All faculty interested in facilitating undergraduate research with MiCUP program participants should complete the Mentor Information Request Form. For questions, contact Christopher Sanders at cjsande1@mtu.edu or the CDI at cdi@mtu.edu.

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Call for Artists: 'Art in Silico' Juried Art Show

The inaugural “Art in Silico” is a computational art exhibition and event series that examines the expressive world of creative computation and the confluence of technology and art, connecting circuit board to canvas. As technology pervades our existence, forming new universes — metaverses — in which we can live, act and perceive, the spaces between the conventional science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines and the creative arts have shrunk to the infinitesimal. “Art in Silico” celebrates the continuum of arts and STEM, seeking to hack your mind and STEAM your brain to experience a world in which data are compelling, evocative, provocative, ugly, beautiful and appealing.

The deadline for submission is Friday (March 3).

Pieces chosen for the exhibition will be required to be installed in their indicated location by March 13. Installations will be on display at Michigan Tech prior to the “Art in Silico” awards reception, which will be held at 5th & Elm at the Orpheum Theater on April 13.

Please see the Institute of Computing and Cybersystems’ Art in Silico page for more information!

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Café Français

Please join us today (Feb. 28) for an hour of laid-back Francophone setting with French natives and other Francophiles. All levels welcome. Walker 120A, from 5-6 p.m.

Note that we meet every second Tuesday: March 14, March 28 and April 11.

Friends and family are welcome!

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Spanish Conversation Hour

Join us today (Feb. 28) at La Peña! Come unwind and meet new people at the Spanish Conversation Hour, all while you refresh your Spanish! Everybody is welcome. We will meet from 5-6 p.m., at the Humanities Digital Media Zone (HDMZ), Walker 120A.

Other Peña dates of the semester: March 14 and March 28.

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

Master's Defense: Joshua Kalkman

Tuesday, February 28, 10:30–11:30 a.m. | R. L. Smith Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics Building (MEEM), MEEM-208

Mechanical Engineering Advisor: Lyon King Design, Development, And Testing of an Inverted Pendulum Thrust Stand for Low Power Hall-Effect Thrusters Attend Virtually:...

Technical Presentation: Applied Computing Faculty Candidate Raiful Hasan

Tuesday, February 28, 1 p.m.

Department of Applied Computing faculty and staff are invited to a technical presentation by Applied Computing faculty candidate Raiful Hasan. The talk takes place on Tuesday,...

Job Offer Negotiations

Tuesday, February 28, 2:00 p.m.–2:30 p.m. | Administration and Student Services Building, 220 Career Services

When should you negotiate? And how? Learn to negotiate job offers with ethics, strategy, and insight.

Telling Your Story

Tuesday, February 28, 4:00 p.m.–5:30 p.m. | Minerals and Materials Engineering Building (M&M), Pavlis Honors College 722, West Collaboration Space

Telling Your Story Register by 2/27/23 Your ability to pitch greatly improves when you explain your business venture in a compelling way. What need does your product or...

Adult Huskies Swim Lessons Spring 2023 Session 2

Tuesday, February 28, 5:00 p.m.–5:50 p.m. | Student Development Complex (SDC), Pool

Adult Huskies Swim Lessons provides aquatic education for the beginner to the intermediate swimmer who is looking to become more comfortable in the water and learn the...

Adult Huskies Swim Training Spring 2023 Session 2

Tuesday, February 28, 5:00 p.m.–5:50 p.m. | Student Development Complex (SDC), Pool

Adult Huskies Swim Training provides additional attention and competitive guidance to swimmers ages 18 and older who are looking to improve their swimming skills and fitness...

Café Français

Tuesday, February 28, 5 p.m.–6 p.m. | Walker Arts and Humanities Center, 120A

Please join us for an hour of laid-back Francophone setting with French natives and other Francophiles. All levels are welcome. Walker 120A, from 5PM to 6PM. Note that the...

La Peña: Spanish conversation hour

Tuesday, February 28, 5 p.m.–6 p.m. | Walker Arts and Humanities Center, HDMZ, 120A

Welcome to the Peña, the Spanish Conversation Hour. Come unwind, meet new people and play board games, all while you refresh your Spanish. All levels are welcome. Bring a...

SAE Aero Design Bi-Weekly Meetings

Tuesday, February 28, 6:00 p.m.–7:30 p.m. | MEEM 703

SAE Aero Design aims to offer valuable experience to Michigan Tech students of all majors interested in an extracurricular engineering & design opportunity. Come join our...

College of Engineering Hangout - Part 3

Tuesday, February 28, 7:00 p.m.–8:30 p.m.

Michigan Tech's College of Engineering is excited to meet you! Join us (virtually) to hear students share more about the college, the majors offered, and answer any questions...

Theme Park Engineering Group General Meeting

Tuesday, February 28, 7 p.m.–8 p.m. | Fisher 126

In our meeting, we discuss recent new in the Themed Entertainment Industry, talk about theme parks and roller coasters, and go over open job and internship postings in the...

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

February 28, 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...