March 6, 2023

Michigan Technological University has been designated a National Center of Academic Excellence in Cyber Defense (CAE-CD) by the National Security Agency (NSA). The designation is in effect through the 2027-28 academic year.

Ultimately, the goal of the CAE-CD program is to improve the overall cybersecurity posture of the United States. By promoting and supporting quality academic programs of higher learning that help produce the nation’s cyber workforce, the CAE-CD designation helps to ensure that the nation is better prepared to defend against cyber threats and attacks.

“CAE-CD designated institutions are recognized as leaders in cybersecurity education and research, and graduates of CAE-CD programs are highly sought after by employers in the cybersecurity field,” said Michigan Tech Professor Yu Cai (AC/CS), who led the CAE-CD effort. “This recognition can help to attract students and faculty members, as well as funding and collaboration with government agencies and industry partners.”

Additional College of Computing faculty directly involved in the effort include Jean Mayo, Bo Chen and Gorkem Asilioglu (CS) and Tim Van Wagner and Todd Arney (AC).

“Without the collective effort and support of the team, we would not have been able to achieve what we have accomplished. We value and acknowledge each person's contributions and dedication toward our shared goals and the mission of the College,” said Cai.

Read more about the designation and what it means for the University at Michigan Tech News.

Michigan Tech men's basketball first-year guard Dan Gherezgher has been named to the All-GLIAC Second Team.

In his first season with the Huskies, Gherezgher is averaging 11.5 points per game with 28 games played and 20 starts. He ranks 24th in the conference in scoring and is fourth among GLIAC first-years.

Gherezgher is shooting 40.9% overall, including 28.8% from behind the arc. He has scored 20 or more points in three games, with a season-high 27 points against McKendree in the GLIAC Crossover Tournament on Nov. 13.

Gherezgher is a 77.6% free-throw shooter with 3.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. In the GLIAC quarterfinals at Wisconsin-Parkside, he shot 6-for-10 for 13 points in 25 minutes for the Huskies.

Read more at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Three Michigan Tech women's basketball players have earned All-GLIAC honors:

Isabella Lenz — All GLIAC First Team / All-GLIAC Defensive Team
In 29 games this season, Lenz is averaging 13.9 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.7 assists. She ranks fourth in the conference with a 41.9% 3-point percentage. She scored 20 points in three games this winter and scored 11 points in 35 minutes in the Huskies' GLIAC quarterfinal win over Wayne State.

Ellie Mackay — All-GLIAC First Team
Mackay earned First Team honors for the third straight season. This year, she leads the Huskies and ranks 10th in the GLIAC in scoring with 14.2 points per game. She is shooting 41.4% overall, 36.3% from 3-point range and 89.5% at the free-throw line. In 29 starts, the fifth-year senior also averages 3.8 rebounds and 1.4 assists. In the GLIAC quarterfinals, Mackay tied the Michigan Tech single-game scoring record with 37 points against Wayne State.

Alex Rondorf — All-GLIAC Second Team / All-GLIAC Defensive Team
Rondorf earned Second Team and Defensive Team honors for the second straight season. She marked her first double-double of the season on Nov. 15. Her team-leading 8.0 rebounds is fifth-best in the GLIAC. Rondorf is averaging 9.6 points per game and posted a season-best 23 points in a win over Purdue Northwest on Dec. 3. She also leads the team in steals (1.5 per game) and has started all 29 games.

Read more at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Pengfei Xue (CEGE/GLRC) is the principal investigator (PI) on a project that has received a $162,177 research and development contract from the UChicago Argonne LLC – Argonne National Laboratory.

The project is titled "Influences of Future Tropical and Extratropical Storms on Wind Energy over the Eastern US and Offshore."

Xinyu Ye (CEGE/GLRC) and Chenfu Huang (GLRC) are co-PIs on this potential two-year project.

Michigan Tech was mentioned in a slew of stories on 126-year-old Finlandia University’s announcement on Thursday (March 2) of its intent to close following the spring 2023 semester. Tech has entered into a teach-out agreement with Finlandia, together with Northern Michigan University, Bay College, Adrian College and Wartburg College.

Upper Peninsula outlets covering the announcement included WLUC TV6, the Daily Mining Gazette, WJMN Local 3, WNMU-FM and Radio Results Network. WZMQ 19 News ran two stories: on Finlandia’s closure announcement and subsequent statements from Tech and Northern Michigan.

Downstate, the story appeared in the Detroit News, Detroit Free Press and MLive. 

*****

Cassy Tefft de Muñoz (CEO) was quoted by Government Technology in a story previewing the STEM Fest at St. Clair Community College next Saturday (March 11). The Center for Educational Outreach’s Mind Trekkers program is a partner for the event. The story was originally published by the Voice of Sterling Heights, Michigan.

*****

The Grand Rapids Business Journal mentioned Michigan Tech in a story about the new $10,000 Michigander EV Scholars scholarship promoting electric vehicle (EV) and mobility careers. The scholarship program will be offered to students at Michigan Tech, Michigan State University and the University of Michigan.

*****

WLUC TV6 mentioned EV research happening at Michigan Tech in a story on the installation of EV chargers in Houghton and across the Upper Peninsula.

*****

ABC 10 mentioned the Michigan Tech Mushing Club (aka Tom Bauer’s “posse”) in a feature story on Bauer leading up to this weekend’s Copper Dog 150 sled dog race. Bauer runs the Otter River Sled Dog Training Center & Wilderness Adventures with his wife Sally, and is the club’s mentor.

*****

Megan (Baker) Denean ’15 (B.S. Wildlife Ecology and Management) was a guest on episodes 417 and 418 of the Meateater podcast. Denean is an airport biologist who works to reduce aircraft damage caused by wildlife strikes.

*****

The Keweenaw Report mentioned Michigan Tech in a story about the annual Keweenaw Community Spark Plug Awards, held Thursday (March 2) at the Memorial Union Building.

Card Services Upgrade Begins Tomorrow, Ends Wednesday

Beginning tomorrow (March 7) at 11 a.m. and ending Wednesday (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.

*****

1095-C Forms Available on Banweb

The electronic Form 1095-Cs are now available on Banweb for all employees who have consented to an electronic copy. Paper copies of the Form 1095-Cs were mailed out last Tuesday (Feb. 28).

Form 1095-C is an annual reporting form as part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and provides information about the health coverage offered by your employer.

*****

Important Design Expo Registration Reminder for Enterprise and Senior Design Teams

The Enterprise Program and College of Engineering are excited to announce that the 23rd Design Expo will be held in person from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. April 18 in the Van Pelt and Opie Library’s first floor and the Memorial Union Building’s ballroom.

All Senior Design, Capstone and Enterprise teams must register in advance in order to participate in Design Expo.

All Senior Design, Capstone and Enterprise teams must register in advance in order to participate in Design Expo. The March 3 registration deadline has passed, but we are still currently accepting registrations.

Please register today — it only takes a few minutes.

If you have questions, please contact Kim Geiger in the College of Engineering at kmgeiger@mtu.edu.

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

Data Carpentry Workshop: Ecology in Python

Monday, March 6, 9:00 a.m.–4:30 p.m.

Michigan Tech is hosting an online Data Carpentry workshop on Ecology in Python on March 6-7, 2023, from 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. ET. The workshop is free for all Michigan Tech...

(Men's Tennis) Michigan Tech vs. Augustana (S.D.)

March 6, all day

Men's Tennis: Michigan Tech vs. Augustana (S.D.)

(Women's Tennis) Michigan Tech vs. Augustana (S.D.)

March 6, all day

Women's Tennis: Michigan Tech vs. Augustana (S.D.)