July 24, 2023

Michigan Tech’s College of Sciences and Arts (CSA) has hired Kemmy Taylor as the director of Pre-Health Professions. In her role, Taylor is responsible for advising and mentoring students and creating opportunities for shadowing, internships and professional school admissions. She began her duties on May 15.

Taylor most recently served as an assistant teaching professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology (KIP), where she taught several different graduate and undergraduate courses, as well as designed and taught the inaugural Functional Anatomy course. Taylor also served as KIP's undergraduate internship coordinator, and she has been a clinician and co-owner of Superior Family Chiropractic in Chassell, MI, since 2002.

"I'm thrilled to be able to continue my career at Michigan Tech,” Taylor said. “Working directly with students over the past two years has been one of the most rewarding experiences. I am looking forward to using my experience as a clinician and practice owner in helping the next generation of healthcare practitioners embark on a fulfilling career.”

Needless to say, CSA is pleased to have Taylor leading the Pre-Health Professions program! Read more about Taylor in the Pre-Health Professions Blog.

On Saturday (July 29), beginning at 9 p.m., Michigan Tech IT will be performing software upgrades that will cause wireless downtime for all of campus. This will also affect wired connections in Daniell Heights. The wireless network should be available by 8 a.m. on Sunday (July 30) when the work is complete.

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

Isaac Lennox will defend his thesis on Monday, July 31, from 10-11 a.m. in ATDC 101. His defense can also be attended virtually via Zoom. He is co-advised by Steven Elmer and Kelly Kamm.

The title of his thesis is "Exercise is Medicine® on Campus: A National Analysis and Assessment of Community Impact." Please visit the KIP Newsblog for more information and Zoom details.

From the abstract:
The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) founded Exercise is Medicine® on Campus (EIM-OC), which calls upon colleges and universities to promote physical activity on their campuses. The distribution of EIM-OC programs across the U.S. has not been reported, and the impact that EIM-OC programs have on community-level physical activity prevalence is unknown. The purpose of my thesis was to evaluate and enhance the EIM-OC initiative to promote physical activity and overall health in the U.S.

Virtual Interest Session on TechMBA, MEM

Join representatives from the College of Business (COB) and Global Campus for a 45-minute Zoom interest session that spotlights two online 30-credit programs from the COB: the TechMBA and Master of Engineering Management (MEM).

Save the date: The interest session will run today (July 24) at 11:30 a.m.

Register for the interest session.

This interest session will discuss the details of these programs, as well as compare them. Discover which degree equips you with broad, foundational business skills and which degree helps you best bridge the worlds of business and engineering.

Admissions representatives will also be present to discuss curriculum pathways, accelerated options and the application process.

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Library Services Closed Until 10 a.m. for Department Training

The Van Pelt and Opie Library will be closed today (July 24) from 8-10 a.m. so employees may participate in training. The library’s 24-hour areas will not be available during this time.

The Technical Assistance Center (TAC), the Library Café, the Library Testing Center, the Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL), and the Office of Sustainability and Resilience will also be closed during this time.

The library building and all services will reopen on today at 10 a.m.

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PhD Defense: Laura Vidal Chiesa, HU

Ph.D. in Rhetoric, Theory and Culture candidate Laura Vidal Chiesa will present a final doctoral defense on Thursday (July 27) from 2-3 p.m. This will be a virtual only defense. Attendance is invited via Zoom.

Vidal Chiesa's dissertation is titled "The Flight Attendants Of Academia: Liminality, Emotional Labor, And Feminization In Graduate Student Writing Program Administrators."

From the abstract:
Writing Program Administration (WPA) is an interdisciplinary field that addresses the management and development of writing programs in educational institutions. WPA entails writing instruction pedagogy, curriculum design, assessment, and faculty development pertaining to the teaching of writing. Graduate students in Humanities and English-based programs typically fill this position which can offer a career trajectory. However, the position is often experienced as demanding, unrewarding and does not deliver on the career-enhancing experience it seems to promise. Historically, this is unsurprising given that the position has been a subordinated role occupied by women in composition. And yet, the troubles besetting contemporary graduate student writing program administrators (gWPAs) positions are complex, involving organizational, gendered, and labor issues. Still the voices of gWPAs are missing from analyses of these issues. Based on a poststructuralist framework, this dissertation performs a thematic analysis of interviews with gWPAs to comprehend the systemic, structural, and rhetorical factors that contribute to marginalization, feminization, and emotional labor burden required for gWPAs.

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ICC Scholars Initiative to Bring Potential Graduate Students to Campus

The Michigan Tech Institute of Computing and Cybersystems (ICC) has announced that it will host a group of faculty-nominated scholars during the ICC's Showcase[AI] conference on Oct. 4-6 through the ICC Scholars initiative.

ICC Scholars aims to introduce non-MTU graduate students to Michigan Tech, and is not intended for current MTU students. Active ICC faculty members are encouraged to recommend non-MTU graduate students for the initiative. Up to seven students will be selected, with travel and accommodations funded by the ICC.

The selected scholars will have opportunities to meet with potential faculty advisors, and they are required to give a short Tech Talk synopsis of their research background and interests. Find more info on the ICC Scholars page.

The deadline to nominate a graduate student for ICC Scholars is Sept. 1. ICC faculty members may nominate a student using the ICC Scholars Application. Non-MTU graduate students may also submit the application form with faculty member permission. No unsolicited applications without faculty recommendation will be accepted.

Master’s and Ph.D. students are preferred. For postdoc candidates, contact Amanda Stump at ajstump@mtu.edu to discuss their attendance.

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Chemical Engineering Office Closed Friday and Monday

The Chemical Engineering office will be closed Friday, July 21 and Monday, July 24 due to remodeling.

We will resume normal operations on Tuesday, July 25. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.

Jared Wolfe (CFRES/ESC) is the principal investigator on a project that has received a $109,469 research and development grant from the National Science Foundation. The project is entitled, "Collaborative Research: LTREB: Forest fragmentation and climate change result in understory warming that adversely affects tropical avian biodiversity at the BDFFP." This is a two-year protential project.

Michael Sayers (MTRI) was quoted by Milwaukee’s WUWM 89.7 FM in a story about the changes in water clarity of Lake Michigan. Sayers attributed the lake’s increasing clarity to zebra and quagga mussels, efficient filter-feeders that have transformed the food webs and aquatic ecology of the Great Lakes.

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The Keweenaw Report announced research excursions being offered by MTU’s Great Lakes Research Center during Lake Superior Day this Sunday (7/23) from 1-4 p.m. in Copper Harbor. The story says registered attendees will find out how scientists study the Great Lakes on 40-minute scientific excursions in the harbor aboard Michigan Tech’s research vessel, the Agassiz. Registration is full, but there may be some spaces open due to cancellations.

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Michigan Tech was mentioned by WZMQ 19 News and the Keweenaw Report in stories about MTU’s Aviation and Aerospace summer youth program. The program, hosted by Michigan Tech’s Center for Educational Outreach, is taught by Civil Air Patrol pilots using a Microsoft flight simulator.

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Michigan Tech was mentioned by South Dakota’s Fall River County Herald Star in a story about Elk Mountain Campground in Wind Cave, SD. Alums Max Sexauer ‘19 and Heather (Woodrum) Sexauer ‘19, who were camping at the park, were interviewed about the shirts they were wearing, one of which (Heather’s) was a Michigan Tech shirt.

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Davidson College mentioned Michigan Tech in a press release announcing the promotion of Matt Stuck to director of the college’s men’s cross country and track & field programs. Stuck earned his master's degree in kinesiology from MTU in 2016.

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Michigan Tech Nordic skier Anabel Needham’s selection as the Jessie Diggins Athlete of the Year was covered by Silent Sports Magazine. The award is given “an outstanding athlete who displays excellence in the sport of cross-country skiing and whose character serves as a role model for developing skiers throughout the Central region.”

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PhD Defense: Samuel Mensah Opoku

Monday, July 24, 9–10 a.m. | U. J. Noblet Forestry Building, 144

Forest Science Advisor: Andrew Burton Quantification of Wood-carbon Transfer to Soil Organic Matter Pools – Distribution and Forms

Virtual Interest Session: TechMBA® and Master's in Engineering Management

Monday, July 24, 11:30 a.m.–12:15 p.m.

Join representatives from the College of Business (COB) and Global Campus for a 45-minute Zoom interest session that spotlights two online 30-credit programs from the COB: the...

Hockey Camp Group 1

July 24, all day | Student Development Complex (SDC), Macinnes Student Ice Arena

Gain fundamental skills and broad knowledge of the sport for all age levels. Co-ed camps and clinics focus on team play, positional play, defensive play, strengthening...

Hockey Camp Groups 2 and 3

July 24, all day | Student Development Complex (SDC), Macinnes Student Ice Arena

Gain fundamental skills and broad knowledge of the sport for all age levels. Co-ed camps and clinics focus on team play, positional play, defensive play, strengthening...