August 15, 2023

Athar Ata is the new chair of the Department of Chemistry. He officially started July 1, taking over from interim chair and faculty member Sarah Green.

“I am excited to come to Tech to lead such an outstanding department when it comes to research, teaching and service excellence,” said Ata. “We have four Bhakta Rath Research Award winners, two Academy of Teaching Excellence winners, and three of the last 17 Faculty Distinguished Service Award winners. The department is at the forefront of basic and applied research, with almost $2 million of research funding. This is research seeking better ways to deliver cancer treatments, improve materials for pipes to ensure safe drinking water, and other biomedical materials.”

As a professor of chemistry, Ata's main research interests are the isolation of new pharmaceutical agents from marine organisms, microorganisms, and traditional medicinal plants; and the biosynthesis of natural products and microbial transformations of bioactive natural products.

Ata graduated from the University of Agriculture Faisalabad with a Master of Science degree in 1989 and the University of Karachi with a Ph.D. in Chemistry in 1995. Most recently, he served as chemistry professor and chair of the Department of Chemistry at the University of Winnipeg, where he received the Clifford J. Robson Memorial Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Ata previously sat on the Board of Regents at the University of Winnipeg and the University of Winnipeg Senate. He enjoys contributing to scientific literature and is a fundraising advocate for the Canadian Diabetes Association.

Congratulations Dr. Ata! We are pleased to have you leading the chemistry department.

The Pavlis Honors College invites you to present at the 2023 Global and Community Engagement Conference (formerly known as D80 Conference). The Michigan Tech campus hosts this annual conference every fall to give a platform to the voices of those serving communities both domestically and abroad.

This year's conference will be held Oct. 14 and will feature keynote speaker Bonnie Keeler. Keeler is an associate professor and Charles M. Denny Chair of Environmental Policy at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota.

Faculty, staff, students and local organizations are invited to participate in this event. We want to hear more about the work that you are doing! This is a great opportunity to share your recent studies, projects or research with the community.

This year's theme is "The Power of Partnership." Please consider submitting a presentation proposal or passing this along to students or colleagues to highlight their work.

The conference will be held in the Memorial Union Ballroom and lunch will be provided. This event is open to anyone interested in the development, design and discovery of people and communities! The conference will feature a variety of session types — please review the submission form for details.

If you have any questions, please reach out to Darnishia Morris at dar@mtu.edu.

With the school year fast approaching, demand for housing for our returning students remains high. We invite students, staff, faculty and community members to help out our beloved Huskies who have not  secured housing for the fall term. 

The HOWL for Huskies (Helping Out With Living) platform allows Tech employees and community members who have housing available to post information so that interested students can connect with them. It's also a way for students to connect with other students seeking housing or roommates. 

To learn more, check out our HOWL for Huskies website. 

We are doing everything we can to support our Huskies and look forward to seeing this incredible MTU community come together to help students who are still seeking housing options for the fall 2023 semester. If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to us at housing@mtu.edu.

Editor's note: The date of the jobs expo has been updated from the previously published version of this announcement. The Aug. 29 date is correct.

Career Services is coordinating an On-Campus Jobs Expo that will be held Aug. 29 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Alumni Lounge in the MUB.

If you wish to participate in the On-Campus Jobs Expo as an employer, please contact Jill Patterson, career and corporate events manager, at jspatter@mtu.edu.

We are excited to be kicking off CareerFEST 2023 this fall, including the Career Fair on Sept. 19! As we have done in the past, Interview Day will be Sept. 20, and we need your help.

In order to provide the best interview experience for both students and employers, we are requesting office and room spaces for interviews on campus. Please submit any available rooms to be included for our Interview Day schedule using our Rooms for Interviews form.

On average, there are over 1,000 individual interviews conducted on campus following Career Fair.​​

If you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to CareerFair@mtu.edu.

We are looking forward to another great CareerFEST and Career Fair this fall!

Tickets are now on sale for the 2023/24 Rozsa Presenting Series! From a Broadway classic to awe-inspiring acrobatics, thought-provoking talks and mesmerizing dance, this series will captivate audiences of all ages.

Get your tickets online, by calling 906-487-1906, or at the Rozsa Box Office.

The Michigan Tech women's basketball team is set for a trip to Italy and Greece and will spend 10 days overseas before returning to Houghton on Aug. 22.

The Huskies began showcasing their talents in an exhibition game yesterday (Aug. 14) against the Spanish All-Stars Select, and will play two more on Thursday (Aug. 17) versus ZKK Domzale and Sunday (Aug. 20) facing the Greek All-Stars. 

Off the court, the Huskies scheduled a tour of the Rome Coliseum and Roman Forums and visit the Vatican Museums along with the Sistine Chapel before game one. Other highlights of the trip will include a tour of Florence and a bike tour of Athens. 

Following their exhibition games, the Huskies will enjoy a day cruise of the Saronic Islands to see historical islands in the Saronic Gulf before heading back to Houghton.

Read more about the trip at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

The Huskies Club has existed for decades, providing vital financial support for Michigan Tech Athletics. The Ed Hamar family has been there since the beginning.

Family patriarch Ken Hamar received the very first Huskies Club award as a "true supporter" of Michigan Tech Athletics in 1974, and the award has since been named in his memory.

In 1982, Ed (Ken's son) and Marilynn Hamar made their first gift to Tech supporting the football program, on which their son Todd played.

Their support has continued over the years even through Ed Hamar's passing in 1991 with gifts to multiple existing scholarships, Tech's Department of Visual and Performing Arts, men's and women's basketball, Alpine skiing, hockey and the A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum.

"We value Michigan Tech," said Marilynn Hamar. "The University brings so much to the community. Having grown up outside the area and moving here, I understand what a positive effect Tech has on the Copper Country."

Read the full story at the Michigan Tech Athletics website.

Vijaya V. N. Sriram Malladi (ME-EM) is the principal investigator of a project that has been awarded a $199,401 grant by the National Science Foundation, Division of Civil, Mechanical and Manufacturing Innovation (CMMI).

The project is titled "ERI: Using Ambient Vibrations to Circulate Liquid Coolant in Electric Vehicles."

This is a two-year project.

Ph.D. student Hrishikesh Gosavi (mechanical engineering-engineering mechanics) and Vijaya V. N. Sriram Malladi (ME-EM) are co-authors of a paper accepted for publication in Mechanical Systems and Signal Processing.

The paper is titled "Estimation of elastic bandgaps in metastructures: A comparison of physics-based and data-driven approaches." It will appear in Volume 201 of the journal, dated Oct. 15.

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Beth Bartel ’23 (Ph.D. Geology) is a co-author of a paper published in Frontiers in Earth Science.

The article is titled “Children first: women’s perspectives on evacuation at Fuego volcano and implications for disaster risk reduction."

Ailsa Naismith of Bristol University is also a co-author.

The article was included as a part of a special research topic on “Women in Science: Volcanology” and is the first publication from Bartel's dissertation work. The research was supported by committee members from both the Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences (GMES) and the Department of Social Sciences (SS).

Crain’s Detroit Business published an article co-authored by Dennis Livesay (CC) about the Upper Peninsula’s contributions toward a digital future.

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Timothy Scarlett (SS) was quoted by Smithsonian Magazine in a story about the annual reunion service held at Central Mine Methodist Church. The Michigan Tech Archives  contributed multiple photos accompanying the story.

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University President Rick Koubek was mentioned by the Detroit Regional Chamber in a story about Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Growing Michigan Together Council, which comprises four workgroups tasked with creating a plan to attract young people to the state and retain current residents. Koubek was selected to serve as a member of the council’s Higher Education workgroup.

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SAE International listed Michigan Tech as the recipient of an honorable mention for the 2023 Altair Enlighten Awards. The team was honored for their Steel E-Motive Side Closure Mechanism project for the Auto/Steel Partnership in the Future of Lightweighting category.

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Michigan History Magazine, published by the Historical Society of Michigan, highlighted the A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum in their September/October issue. The article featured the museum's new display of fluorescent sodalitic syenite, or as they're better known, Yooperlites. The article included photos of the display taken by Julie Stark (Museum).

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Human Resource Executive mentioned Michigan Tech in an article written by Parul Mishra ’04 (M.S. Computer Science) about how human resources departments can lead organizations in the implementation of artificial intelligence. Mishra is currently a vice president of product management at IBM.

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Northern Express mentioned Michigan Tech in a feature story about Coveyou Scenic Farm in Petoskey, Michigan, a five-generation farm run by David Coveyou (B.S. Engineering). 

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The Business News of North Central Wisconsin mentioned Michigan Tech in a profile of Nate Fiebke ’03 (B.S. Biology), owner of Fiebke Dental in Rhinelander. 

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WLUC TV6 mentioned Michigan Tech in a story about the annual Gem and Mineral Show held Aug. 12-13 at Houghton High School. The event’s keynote speaker was Nathalie Brandes, former Ph.D. student and graduate teaching assistant in the Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences. Brandes is currently a professor of geosciences at Lonestar College-Montgomery in Texas.

Process for Receiving Gifts-In-Kind

When a Michigan Tech unit receives non-cash gifts, such as property, materials or supplies, it is important that gift-in-kind (GIK) procedures and guidelines are followed, both to ensure stewardship for continued generosity and to meet requirements established by the IRS and University policy.

Gifts from Individuals
For gifts from individuals, complete the acceptance form, Gifts-In-Kind from Individuals, and submit to gift-admin-l@mtu.edu.

If you need assistance or have any questions, please contact Lorraine Young at llyoung@mtu.edu or 7-3305.

Gifts from Companies
Prior to requesting or accepting offers of corporate gifts-in-kind, please notify the Office of Advancement at llyoung@mtu.edu. You will then complete the Corporate Gift-In-Kind Submission Form and submit to gift-admin-l@mtu.edu. Please refer to the Gift-In-Kind from an Organization Instructions.

If you need assistance or have any questions, please contact Lorraine Young at llyoung@mtu.edu or 7-3305, or Jim Desrochers at jtd@mtu.edu or 7-3461.

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

PLGC Women's Club Championship

Tuesday, August 15, 3 p.m. | Portage Lake Golf Course

PLGC Women's Club Championship

Trivia Night

Tuesday, August 15, 7:30 p.m.–9:00 p.m. | MUB Alumni Lounge

As summer winds down and the campus prepares to start an exciting new year, take a break from training and planning at Trivia Night! Join Student Leadership and Involvement...