April 24, 2023

Three Huskies who epitomize commitment to campus and community service will address the Class of 2023 at Michigan Technological University’s Spring Commencement.

Michigan Tech will hold ceremonies Friday and Saturday (April 28 and 29) at MacInnes Student Ice Arena. Graduate student commencement is at 3 p.m. Friday. Undergraduate commencement is at 10:30 a.m. Saturday. 

Automotive industry leader Julie Fream ’83 (B.S. Chemical Engineering) will be the featured speaker at both ceremonies. Graduating Ph.D. student Tinu-Ololade Folayan ’20 (M.S. Chemical Engineering) will address her peers on Friday, and Anderson Piercey (business management) will give the student speech on Saturday.

Learn more about the speakers and get ceremony logistics in the full story at Michigan Tech News.

The Genomic Sequencing Lab at Michigan Tech wants ticks from you, your family and your pets. The goal of this project is to identify the prevalence of tick-borne illnesses in the Copper Country.

Starting May 1 and ending Sept. 30, please bring any ticks you find to one of two collection boxes on the Michigan Tech campus:

• U. J. Noblet Forestry Building — Main Entrance
• Great Lakes Research Center at 100 Phoenix Drive — Building Lobby

How to Remove and Preserve Ticks

1. Use clean, fine-tipped tweezers to grasp the tick as close to the skin’s surface as possible.
2. Pull upward with steady, even pressure. Don’t twist or jerk the tick; this can cause its mouth parts to break off and remain in the skin. If this happens, remove the mouth parts with tweezers. If you cannot remove the mouth easily with tweezers, leave it alone and let the skin heal.
3. After removing the tick, thoroughly clean the bite area and your hands with rubbing alcohol or soap and water.
4. Never crush a tick with your fingers. Dispose of a live tick by:
   1. Placing it in a sealed plastic storage bag. Multiple ticks from the same location can be placed in the same bag.
   2. Once the tick is sealed inside the plastic storage bag, bring it to a drop-off point within eight hours or place the bag with the tick in a freezer until dropping it off at Michigan Tech.
5. Follow the directions at the drop-off site to ensure the tick is properly preserved.

The Air Force and Army ROTC invite you to the Spring 2023 Commissioning Ceremony on Friday (April 28) from 7-9 p.m. at the Rozsa Center.

This semester we have 11 Air Force cadets and five Army cadets commissioning. Those commissioning are from the following programs:

Biological Sciences | Civil Engineering | Computer Science | Cybersecurity | Electrical Engineering | Engineering Fundamentals | Engineering Management | Environmental Engineering | Forestry | Mathematics | Mechanical Engineering | Physics

We will also be streaming the ceremony if you prefer to watch it live on YouTube. The stream will go live 15 minutes prior to the ceremony.

Print Services will have limited capabilities the week of May 8-12 while we move to our new permanent home in the Lakeshore Center.

Please call us at 7-2347 if you have a time-sensitive order during this time. We expect to be fully operational on May 15.

The College of Business is pleased to announce our 2023 Outstanding Students in Business: Kieran Rowan, Lexi Dembroski and Kevin Hoefer.

Read more about their academic, leadership and extracurricular achievements on the Michigan Tech College of Business Newsblog.

Please join the Great Lakes Research Center (GLRC) in congratulating the winter and spring 2023 GLRC Student Research and Travel Grant recipients.

The GLRC student grants are intended to provide undergraduate and graduate students advised by GLRC members an opportunity to gain experience in writing competitive grants, perform research they would not be able to attempt due to funding limitations or travel to a professional conference to present a poster or paper about their research.

Student grants also provide seed research data for advisors to use in pursuing externally funded research support, and travel grants help amplify areas of research expertise at Michigan Tech. Funded students are expected to participate/volunteer for at least one GLRC activity during the grant period.

Student Research Grants:

• James Juip, Ph.D. student — Social Sciences
  GLRC member advisor: Donald Lafreniere
  Research proposal: “Using Deep Maps and Spatial Narratives as a tool for Community Heritage Making”

• Jacob Novitch, M.S. student — Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering
  GLRC member advisor: Jennifer Becker
  Research proposal: “Modeling of Lagoon Wastewater Treatment Systems in Small Communities”

• Caitlyn Sutherlin, Ph.D. student — Social Sciences
  GLRC member advisor: Angie Carter
  Research proposal: “Identifying Community Connections to Nature in California, El Salvador with Photovoice”

• Cassandra Reed-VanDam, M.S. student — College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science
  GLRC member advisor: Valoree Gagnon
  Research proposal: ““Restoration is repairing relations” manoomin (wild rice) restoration study in KBIC homelands”

Student Travel Grants:

• Leah Harazin, B.S. student — Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering
  GLRC member advisor: Stephen Techtmann
  Attending: 45th Symposium on Biomaterials, Fuels and Chemicals
  Presentation: “Stability of Terephthalate Degrading Microbial Consortia for Plastic Upcycling”

• Anna Kavanaugh, B.S. student — Social Sciences
  GLRC member advisor: Mark Rhodes
  Attending: 2023 American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting
  Presentation: “The Continuation of Exclusionary Landscapes: Accessibility of Public Transportation in Urban America”

• Zoe Ketola, M.S. student — Social Sciences
  GLRC member advisor: Chelsea Schelly
  Attending: World Social Science Association 65th Annual Conference
  Presentation: “Energy Service Security for Public Health Resilience: An energy services framework for health facility planning in Michigan’s Western Upper Peninsula”

• Maya Klanderman, B.S. student — Social Sciences
  GLRC member advisor: Mark Rhodes
  Attending: 2023 American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting
  Presentation: “A Settler Scholar Perspective on Applying Indigenous Methodology in Undergraduate Research”

• Laura Schaerer, Ph.D. student — Biological Sciences
  GLRC member advisor: Stephen Techtmann
  Attending: 45th Symposium on Biomaterials, Fuels and Chemicals
  Presentation: “Ecological interactions of specialist and generalist species within mixed plastic derivative-utilizing microbial communities”

GLRC Student Travel Grant applications are accepted anytime and will be reviewed on the last Friday of each month. Applications must be submitted at least two weeks in advance of travel. GLRC Student Research Grant applications are accepted three times each year — Nov. 1, March 1 and July 1.

Michigan Tech hockey defenseman Jake Crespi has signed a professional contract with Ferencvárosi TC for the 2023-24 season. The team is based in Budapest, Hungary.

Crespi skated in 103 career games for the Huskies over the past four seasons. He tallied 26 career points with 10 goals and 16 assists. 

Ferencvárosi TC plays in Erste Liga, a 10-team league in Hungary and Romania, and OB I Bajnokság, a six-team league in Hungary.

The Michigan Tech men's basketball coaching staff has announced five team award winners for the 2022-23 season.

• Dan Gherezgher was selected for the Ken Hamar Award given to the team's most valuable player.
• Pete Calcaterra is this year's Billy Gappy Most Improved Player. 
• Josh Terrian received the Harold Meese Sportsmanship Award.
• Logan Geissler and Eric Carl shared the Scholastic Achievement Award. 
• Marcus Tomashek earned the Bob Olson Award for Outstanding Newcomer this season.

Read more about the award winners at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Greg Odegard (ME-EM/MARC) is the principal investigator (PI) of a project that has received a $100,000 research and development co-op joint agreement from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), United States Department of Commerce.

The project is titled "PREP Gaithersburg: Establishment of a NIST Gaithersburg PREP Program at Michigan Technological University."

Vinh Nguyen (ME-EM/MARC) and Wayne Gersie (CDI/MARC) are co-PIs on this potential five-year project.

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Dukka KC (CS/ICC) is the PIon a project that has received a $75,000 research and development grant from Wichita State University.

The project is titled "The Development of a Smart Telehealth ECG and Human Activity Monitoring System to Improve Cardiovascular health of Older Adults."

This is a potential three-year project.

Lake Superior Magazine highlighted a Department of Visual and Performing Arts special tribute to the late Milton “Milt” Olsson, a Michigan Tech professor emeritus and former department chair. The tribute event was held Sunday (April 23) at the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts.

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The Mining Journal mentioned MTU's  Sustainability Demonstration House in a preview of the Sixth Annual Keweenaw Native Plant Symposium, held virtually Saturday (April 22). The SDH was a sponsor of the symposium.

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WJMN Local 3 covered Michigan Tech hockey defenseman Jake Crespi’s signing with Ferencvárosi TC in Europe.

Nominations Sought for Michigan Tech's Diversity Award

The Diversity Council is seeking nominations for faculty and staff deserving of the 2023 Michigan Tech Diversity Award. Nominations are due Friday (April 28).

Nominees contribute to diversity, equity, inclusion and sense of belonging (DEIS) on campus through exemplary leadership and actions, demonstrating a commitment to DEIS in areas such as:

• Recruitment and retention efforts
• Teaching
• Research
• Culturally responsive mentorship
• Inclusive programming
• Diversity literacy
• Community outreach activities

The award recipient will receive a $2,500 award and will be honored during a University awards dinner held in September.

More information, criteria and nomination instructions are listed on the Diversity Award webpage.

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SDC Closing for Spring Commencements, Planned Maintenance

As we come to the end of the spring 2023 semester at Michigan Tech, we have a few important updates to share regarding planned maintenance and general projects in the SDC as we make the transition to summer beginning Friday (April 28).

The SDC will be closed on the following dates:

• Friday, April 28 — MTU Spring Commencement: Graduate Ceremony
• Saturday, April 29 — MTU Spring Commencement: Undergraduate Ceremony
• Sunday, April 30, to Sunday, May 14 — SDC Planned Maintenance
  • Access to the SDC will be tap access only during this time.
  • The PHS entrance will be open, but the connector doors between the SDC and PHS wing will be locked.
  • Details on the SDC planned maintenance and general projects taking place during the closure are available at the Michigan Tech Recreation website.

Facilities that will be open:

• Gates Tennis Center:
  
  • Monday-Friday 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. | Saturday-Sunday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• Michigan Tech Nordic Trails:
  
  • Lights scheduled: 6-9 a.m. and  6-9 p.m.
• University Images: 
  • April 30 — 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
  • May 1 — 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
  • May 2-15 — Monday-Friday 12-5 p.m. | Saturday-Sunday Closed

Thank you for your patience during this short interruption. For current SDC members, please accept complimentary access to the Gates Tennis Center and the Michigan Tech Trails between Friday and May 14. For new/prospective SDC members, we will only be selling facility day passes and action passes from now until Thursday (April 27), and will resume full membership sales May 15.

We view this temporary shutdown as a way to make a positive impact on multiple areas of the facility without causing the need for unplanned closures and disruptions. We stand by our commitment to make improvements to our facility that will benefit our users today and into the future.

The SDC will reopen May 15 with summer hours in place through Aug. 27. Please note that the SDC and Gates Tennis Center will be closed on Memorial Day (May 29) and Independence Day (July 4) for University recognized holidays.

Kind Regards,

Michigan Tech Athletics and Recreation

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WIA End-of-Year Breakfast

Please join Women in the Academy (WIA) for a breakfast celebration of the end of the spring semester on Thursday (April 27) from 8:30-10 a.m. in the MUB Alumni Lounge B. There will be continental breakfast and coffee.

There will be no formal program or agenda for this meeting, but there will be discussion tables and lots of opportunities for networking and conversation. Hope to see you there!

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Nominations Sought for Richard E. Honrath Jr. Memorial Lecture

Nominations are sought for individuals to present the Richard E. Honrath Jr. Memorial Lecture. This lecture honors Professor Richard E. Honrath, late faculty member of the departments of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences, and a founding faculty member of the Atmospheric Sciences doctoral program.

Honrath died in a tragic kayaking accident in 2009. The memorial lecture honors his legacy and is presented as part of the Earth, Planetary, and Space Sciences Institute (EPSSI) seminar series in the fall term. Nominations of on/off-campus individuals are invited.

Provide nominee name(s), affiliation(s) and a brief description as to how the nominee provides recognition of Honrath's legacy to Judith Perlinger (CEGE), Richard E. Honrath Jr. Memorial Fund steward, at jperl@mtu.edu.

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

Michigan Tech Art Presents: Snowsports Faculty and Staff Art Show

Monday, April 24, 8 a.m.–8 p.m. |

MICHIGAN TECH ART PRESENTS SNOWSPORTS FACULTY AND STAFF ART SHOW WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2023 THROUGH SATURDAY APRIL 29, 2023 A-SPACE HOURS: M-F 8 A.M.-8 P.M.

PhD Defense: Mahsa Asgarisabet

Monday, April 24, 11 a.m.–12 p.m. | R. L. Smith Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics Building (MEEM), 1021

Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics Co-advisors: Jason Blough and Andrew Barnard Material Characterization and Multiphysics Modeling of Carbon Nanotube...

Master's Defense: Timothy Maze

Monday, April 24, 1:30 p.m.–2:30 p.m. | Academic Office Building (AOB), AOB 201

Industrial Heritage & Archaeology Advisor: LouAnn Wurst The Implications of Waste Steams at Camp Au Train Attend Virtually: https://michigantech.zoom.us/j/71744217562

Keweenaw Music Educators Association Presents: Together in Song

Monday, April 24, 6 p.m. | Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts

Choirs from schools all over of the Keweenaw combine together for a night celebrating singing. Content Considerations// none