February 6, 2024

For 102 years, neither snow, rain, heat nor gloom of night has stopped Huskies from celebrating their renowned Winter Carnival. This year is no exception, says two-time Blue Key Honor National Society President Joe Dlugos (environmental engineering), who leads the group that organizes and runs one of the largest winter celebrations in the nation.

Carnival begins with the traditional All-Nighter tomorrow (Feb. 7) and wraps up Saturday (Feb. 10). This year’s theme is “From Forests to Shores We Love the Outdoors.”

“Winter Carnival is about forming new friendships. It’s a celebration that caters to alumni and the Keweenaw community. But it’s especially important for students because we need a break,” said Dlugos.

Find out how organizers are responding to this year’s warm, dry winter at Michigan Tech News.

With Winter Carnival activities beginning tomorrow (Feb. 7), Transportation Services wants the campus community to be aware of visitor parking options. Beginning at 4 p.m. tomorrow, the following parking areas will be available free of charge for visitors and will not require a parking permit:

• Temporary Lot 26 — The commuter lot located east of the Rozsa, on the opposite side of Cliff Drive. Visitors requiring overnight parking may park in Temporary Lot 26 without a permit.
• Lot 5 — The guaranteed commuter student lot by the Rozsa.
• Lot 27 — The visitor lot between the Administration Building and Memorial Union Building.
• Metered Parking — All metered parking will be free during the day at all metered areas throughout Winter Carnival. There is no overnight parking allowed at any meter.

All residential and faculty/staff lots will continue to be monitored for proper permits.

The Husky Campus Shuttle will continue to operate by its regular schedule — which includes service to Mont Ripley — on Thursday, Friday and Saturday (Feb. 8-10).

For any questions regarding Winter Carnival parking regulations or shuttle bus service, please contact Transportation Services or 906-487-1441.

Registration for spring Session 2 youth aquatics programs opens on Monday (Feb. 12) at 8 a.m.!

• Huskies Group Swim Lessons Parent & Child Aquatics (ages 6 months to 3 years)
• Huskies Group Swim Lessons Preschool Aquatics (ages 4-5 years)
• Huskies Group Swim Lessons Learn to Swim Levels 1-5 (ages 6-17 years)
• Huskies Swim Clinic (ages 6-17 years)

Registration for Session 2 adult aquatics programs is open now!

• Adult Huskies Swim Training (ages 18 years and older)
• Adult Huskies Swim Lessons (ages 18 years and older)

Questions? Contact Aquatics Manager Annie Bengry at ambengry@mtu.edu or 906-487-2995.

Students, seize the opportunity! Participate in a one-day workshop tomorrow (Feb. 9) from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. in Dillman 208 crafting autonomous robots for a timed MTU-themed maze. Innovation, creativity, prizes and problem-solving await!

Sign Up with Friends.

Sponsored by Engineering Fundamentals.

Save the Date: Join the William G. Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) for our next CTL Lunch and Learn, “Teaching with AI: Insights and Innovations,” on Feb. 20 from 12-1 p.m. in MUB Ballroom B1.

At this Lunch and Learn, instructors from a variety of disciplines will share their practical uses of generative AI tools in their classes. From AI course policies and enhancing course materials, to developing formative feedback generators and tutors to support students, you’ll hear how Michigan Tech instructors are harnessing the potential of generative AI tools for teaching. This is an opportunity to learn from your colleagues about current practices in this rapidly evolving area.  We hope you can join us.

Lunch will be provided to those who register to attend by Feb. 15.

Contact the CTL at 906-487-3000 or ctl@mtu.edu with any questions or accommodation requests.

Neetu Goel, a professor from the Department of Chemistry at Panjab University and Fulbright Fellow from Michigan Technological University, will be presenting at this week's Chemistry Seminar. The seminar will be held in person at 3-4 p.m. Friday (Feb. 9) in Chem Sci 101.

Goel’s presentation is titled "First Principle Tailoring of Metal Porphyrin for Electrocatalysis.”

From the abstract:
Porphyrins are a group of cyclic tetrapyrrolic compounds with four pyrrole subunits interconnected via methine bridges . The heterocyclic structure is a largely conjugated aromatic ring; that can in principle bind almost all metal ions to produce a four-coordinated structure. In nature, metalloporphyrins are involved in a wide variety of important biological processes, for example, hemoglobin and myoglobin. Metal porphyrins present an ample scope for tailor made application by modification of coordination environment of metal. This can be attained by addition of different types of ligands and modulation of electron and proton distribution by attaching acid/base groups on porphyrin group. The talk will highlight our density functional studies on Cobalt Porphyrin (CoPr) to design an efficient electrocatalyst for Oxygen reduction and evolution reactions (ORR/OER) that hold the potential as the means to provide sustainable energy solutions. Both reactions use precious metal-based electrocatalysts that are limited and expensive making a strong case to develop low-cost, active and stable electrocatalysts. Tailoring of CoPr framework by introducing meso phenyl substituents in the Pr ligand and further substitution of phenyl group by ortho/para-anilino groups yields an efficient and selective bifunctional catalyst that outperforms Ir/Ru and Pt based benchmark catalysts.

Speaker bio:
Goel, from the Computational & Theoretical Chemistry Group in Chemistry at Panjab University Chandigarh, India, is currently visiting faculty at Michigan Technological University as part of her Fulbright-Nehru Academic & Professional Excellence Award. Her research pursuits include theoretical investigations on structure and properties of nano materials, elucidation of novel non covalent interactions and their role in crystal packing. Using computational tools based on the DFT formalism, her research group is involved in the design of heterogeneous catalysts for reactions of industrial importance (reduction of CO2 to value added fuels and water splitting) and optimizing the donor material for organic and dye sensitized solar cells. The goal is to design robust and efficient electrocatalyst and photovoltaic devices in a time- and cost-effective manner that relies on predictive power of first principle calculations.

The Michigan Tech women's basketball team recorded their third straight win over Lake Superior State, then saw the streak snapped by Ferris State.

The Huskies’ full team effort translated into their third straight win — an 81-49 victory at Lake Superior State on Thursday (Feb. 1).

"I thought we started off slow with our urgency and gave up two wide-open threes, and we can't start like that," head coach Sam Clayton mentioned. "But we did turn it around relatively quickly, got some things going offensively. To have three (players) in double-digits and two with nine points was great for us to be able to knock down some shots — that’s huge. I think that our bench came in and brought us incredible energy and points, which is super encouraging because you need to go deep into your bench if you want to do well late in the season. Dani (Nuest) helped us push in transition — and she only had two points, but she had four assists — and she created (chances) for others and broke presses single-handedly."

Michigan Tech's three-game win streak was snapped in a 63-54 loss to Ferris State on Saturday (Feb. 3). The Huskies tied the game at 54-all with 5:52 to play before the No. 7 ranked Bulldogs scored nine unanswered points.

"We had a ton of fight and I thought we played great through three quarters. Then in the fourth, we were kinda careless with the ball and giving them easy transitions and we weren't getting good looks at the rim," Clayton said. "You can't do that against the No. 7 team in the nation because they are going to capitalize. The good news is, we showed we can play and compete with the top teams in the nation. Now it's just finishing the fourth quarter better and taking care of the ball a little better. Overall, I was happy with how we competed."

Read more at Michigan Tech Athletics.

The Michigan Tech men's basketball team ended their five-game road trip with a pair of losses to Lake Superior State and Ferris State.

Down by four points with 4:09 to play, the Huskies were unable to pull off a comeback on the road, falling 82-71 at Lake Superior State on Thursday (Feb. 1).

"I thought we had some fight — we made Lake State beat us, which we didn't do at our place," head coach Josh Buettner said. "They shot exceptionally well and they had to play a really good game to beat us — and although we weren't at full strength, I liked the fight we had."

Tech dropped the final game of a five-contest road stand to Ferris State, losing 79-63 to the No. 20 ranked Bulldogs at the Jim Wink Arena on Saturday (Feb. 3).

"We didn't look like a very good basketball team," Buettner said. "We looked tired, sick, worn down, all the above, and those are all excuses. Some guys were competing, but we really missed Josh Terrian — and a lot of people don't realize how important he is in terms of competitive spirit and leadership, and we missed him bringing things together. At the start of the second half, we had a little bit of good fight, but then we would turn it over or miss open shots."

Read more at Michigan Tech Athletics.

Michigan Tech hockey couldn't find a win in this weekend's CCHA series against Northern Michigan.

Tech fell 4-1 to the Wildcats at the Berry Events Center on Friday (Feb. 2). Matthew Campbell scored the lone goal for the Huskies.

"It's obviously disappointing when it's a big game and we have an opportunity to come out and play the way we want to play, and then we come out and do the opposite," Tech assistant coach Tyler Shelast said. "You know they're going to come out with a lot of energy, and it's on us to match it and play with that same intensity."

MTU and NMU skated to a 3-3 tie on Saturday (Feb. 3) at the John MacInnes Student Ice Arena. The Wildcats earned the extra CCHA point with a 2-1 win in the shootout.

Tech is now 11-12-6 overall and 8-8-2 in the CCHA after the Huskies' 11th overtime game of the season, with a 3-2-6 record in the extra period and a 2-4 record in shootouts.

"The guys played hard and gave everything they had," Tech coach Joe Shawhan said. "We got dominated in the third period and that was the difference."

"I like our group," Shawhan added. "They're giving everything they have. We just need to find that mental edge."

Read more at Michigan Tech Athletics.

The Michigan Tech men's and women's tennis teams began their 2024 schedule this weekend.

Both teams fell 6-1 at Tiffin on Friday (Feb. 2). The men's team played at Findlay on Saturday (Feb. 3), dropping the match 5-2. The Oilers defeated the women's squad 7-0 on Sunday (Feb. 4) in Midland.

"The first match of the season is always tough with some nerves, but Tiffin is definitely a deeper team this year and came out firing," Tech coach Kristin D'Agostini-Yep said.

Read more at Michigan Tech Athletics.

Tuesday (Feb. 6)
• Huskies Drive Time, 7:30-8 a.m. on Mix 93 WKMJ

Thursday (Feb. 8)
• Women's Basketball vs. Purdue Northwest, 5:30 p.m. at SDC Gym on Mix 93 WKMJ & FloHoops
• Men's Basketball vs. Purdue Northwest, 7:30 p.m. at SDC Gym on Mix 93 WKMJ & FloHoops

Friday (Feb. 9)
• Men's Tennis at Northwood, 10 a.m.
• Women's Tennis at Northwood, 10 a.m.
• Blue Line Club Luncheon, 11:45 a.m.
• Hockey vs. Minnesota State, 7:07 p.m. at MacInnes Student Ice Arena on Mix 93 WKMJ & FloHockey

Saturday (Feb. 10)
• Nordic Skiing at CCSA Conference Championships (Duluth, Minnesota)
• Women's Tennis at Hillsdale, 11 a.m.
• Men's Tennis at Hillsdale, 4 p.m.
• Women's Basketball vs. Parkside, Noon at SDC Gym on Mix 93 WKMJ & FloHoops
• Men's Basketball vs. Parkside, 2 p.m. at SDC Gym on Mix 93 WKMJ & FloHoops
• Hockey vs. Minnesota State, 5:07 p.m. at MacInnes Student Ice Arena on Mix 93 WKMJ & FloHockey

Sunday (Feb. 11)
• Nordic Skiing at CCSA Conference Championships (Duluth, Minnesota)

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Athletics News
Read more in the MTU Athletics weekly update.

Job Postings for Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024

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.

Operations and Compliance Coordinator, Financial Aid. Apply online.

Food Service Helper (nine months/ 40 hours/ first shift) #24031, Dining Services (AFSCME posting dates Feb. 6 to Feb. 12, 2024 — 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.

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.

A team from the Department of Chemistry has published an article in Chemical Science, the flagship journal of the Royal Society of Chemistry.

The team is led by Associate Professor Tatyana Karabencheva-Christova and includes Ph.D. student Anandhu Krisnan; Ph.D. graduate Sodiq Waheed ’23, currently a researcher at Eli Lilly in Indianapolis, Indiana; and Ph.D. graduate Ann Varghese ’23, currently a postdoctoral researcher at the National Center for Toxicological Research, Food and Drug Administration in Jefferson, Arkansas.

The article is titled "Unusual Catalytic Strategy by Non-Heme Fe(II)/2-Oxoglutarate-Dependent Aspartyl Hydroxylase AspH."

Professor Christopher J. Schofield from the University of Oxford, U.K., is a collaborator in this study.

The study reveals the origin of an unusual catalytic strategy adopted by the non-heme Fe(II)/2-oxoglutarate-dependent aspartyl hydroxylase (AspH), an enzyme emerging as a promising target for anticancer therapy.

The study is funded by NIH grant 2R15GM132873-02.

Sarah Hoy (CFRES) was quoted by the National Parks Traveler and Michigan Public in stories about the suspension of Michigan Tech’s 2023-24 Isle Royale winter study of wolves and moose. The National Park Service made the decision Jan. 30 after sustained warm weather made the ice unsafe for the researchers’ survey plane to land. It is the first time in the study’s 65-year history that warm weather has caused a suspension. Yahoo! News, Michigan Advance and the Duluth News Tribune were among more than 200 other U.S. news outlets to cover the story.

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Dorothea Vander Bilt (MTRI) and Sigrid Resh (CFRES/ESC) were mentioned by the Iron Mountain Daily News in a story about the new “NotMISpecies” webinar series being launched by the Michigan Invasive Species Program. In the series’ April 11 episode on invasive knotweed, Vander Bilt and Resh will share their research on detecting and managing the invasive plant.

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Blue Key National Honor Society President Joe Dlugos was quoted by Yahoo! News, ABC 10 and the Keweenaw Report in stories previewing Michigan Tech’s 2024 Winter Carnival. Dlugos and Tau Kappa Epsilon President Connor Steer were also quoted by Daily Mining Gazette and Mining Journal.

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WLUC TV6 covered Michigan Tech hockey goalie Blake Pietila being named a candidate for the Hobey Baker Award.

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The Daily Mining Gazette mentioned Michigan Tech in a story about the cancellation of the Snowmobile and Snow Bike Hillclimb in South Range, Michigan, due to lack of snow. Professional hillclimber Jordan Stank ’09 ’11 (B.S. M.S. Mechanical Engineering) was quoted in the story.

Request for Proposals: Research Excellence Fund

Proposals are being solicited for the Research Excellence Fund (REF) program, an internal award of the Vice President for Research Office.

Proposals must be started and routed for approval in Cayuse by the internal deadline of Feb. 29. Final proposals are due no later than 5 p.m. March 7, and must be uploaded electronically in Cayuse. This due date will be strictly enforced based on the timestamp marked in the Cayuse system. Early submission is encouraged.

Please note that the program has changed in a number of ways in recent years. Be sure to download the current documents and review the current guidance carefully. Changes implemented this academic year include submission via Cayuse, a limit of one REF Research Seed award per principal investigator during their eligibility period, expansion of Scholarship and Creativity Grant eligibility to include teaching faculty, and the addition of an optional presubmission review for compliance with REF guidelines.

For additional information, see the Research Excellence Fund webpage. Questions can be directed to REF-l@mtu.edu.

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Spring Career Fair is This Month!

The Spring Career Fair Forged by Nucor is happening this month! It will be held next Tuesday (Feb. 13) from noon to 5 p.m. at the Student Development Complex.

We are very excited about the many opportunities Career Fair provides our students. Please let us know if you have any questions. Career Services is hosting multiple prep workshops to prepare students for this event.

More details can be found on our website, on Handshake and in emails from Handshake. Registration is open on Handshake as well. Go Huskies!

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Spring 2024 DC Trip: Apply to Stay in the Loop

Apply now for this spring’s Michigan Tech Faculty DC Trip, a long-standing tradition of connecting researchers to funding agencies and other collaboration opportunities in the nation’s capital city.

New This Year: The Research Development office is helping to plan research theme-focused trips while keeping many of the programmatic staples. With focused trips, we are expecting to have two to three smaller trips per year. This spring, we plan that the trip will have a health-related research focus. The fall 2024 trip will have an environment/ecology focus. Spring 2025 will be an open or “general” interest focus. This relaunch allows us to adapt the timing to weeks that work best for those interested in going. We look forward to working with potential participants on the logistics of pulling together an impactful experience.

Applications: For the 2024 DC Trip, we request all who are interested, even if you are unsure, to complete a short application. The application is a nonbinding submission that helps us understand the distribution of interested researchers from across Michigan Tech’s campus. You’ll notice that the new interest form gives several weeks for you to give input. We will have a small group of reviewers look at the applications, which will inform the distribution of cost-share from the colleges and VPR. We ask that interested researchers apply by completing the application.

Timeline:

• Saturday, Feb. 10 — Complete the application (by 11:59 p.m. ET).
• Saturday, Feb. 17 — Reviews completed and we will inform those who will receive cost-share for the DC Trip. (Regardless of cost-share distribution, we will continue to communicate with those who completed an application on the developments of the DC Trip. Those who do not receive cost-share support are encouraged to join us as well.)
• TBD — “Running through the trip” session (usually happens the week before the trip, but we will find a date/time that works for the majority of DC Trip attendees).
• TBD — Core dates (planned group activities) for the DC Trip. Researchers are encouraged to add days on either side of the core days for individual meetings, connections and activities. The dates will be selected based on input from the applications received.

If you have any interest at all in the 2024 DC Trip, please fill out the short application form. We will be limiting all communications about the DC Trip to those who fill out the form.

The DC Trip website will continue to be updated.

The RD team is looking forward to working with you!

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BioSci Chair Candidate Seminars with Casey Huckins

Department of Biological Sciences (BioSci) chair candidate Casey Huckins, professor, Department of Biological Sciences, Michigan Technological University, will present a research seminar today (Feb. 6) from 3-4 p.m. in Chem Sci B002.

The research seminar is titled "Integrated research to understand, conserve, and restore coaster Brook Trout – A Lake Superior Legacy."

From the abstract:
My lab group in aquatic ecology conducts research based on the foundations of ecology and evolution to understand, conserve, and restore native communities and populations. Lake Superior once supported abundant populations of adfluvial brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis, aka coaster Brook Trout. They develop as juveniles in tributaries and then migrate downriver into coastal waters of Lake Superior where they grow and mature before returning upriver to spawn. Only scattered and severely diminished remnant coaster populations remained by the early 20th century. In this talk I will present a brief overview of the history of the decline of coaster populations along the south shore of Lake Superior, highlighting recent research on the patterns and potential causes of the declines associated with the historical industrial development of the region. Our research documenting the small contemporary population size and critical habitat needs of Salmon Trout River coasters, supported reductions in allowable catches leading to increased protection to aid their recovery. However, multiple anthropogenic stressors continue to limit coaster rehabilitation. Natural sediment dynamics of rivers are important to the biological and physical structures of rivers, yet contemporary watershed disturbances degrade the river habitat through increased erosion and sedimentation that buries larger river substrates needed for Brook Trout spawning. Anthropogenic fine sediments also affect key ecosystem properties of coldwater freestone rivers by leading to reduced primary production. Active restoration to remove aggraded fine sediments has benefited Brook Trout recruitment, supporting the goal to conserve and restore this remnant coaster population in the region. Our related local research uses Passive Integrated Transponder tagging approaches to document an additional migratory population of coaster brook trout in the region. In addition, I will share an overview of our ongoing collaborations that further examine these migratory Brook Trout, their movements in the Keweenaw Waterway, their genetics, and regulations designed to aid the recovery of potential cryptic coaster populations in the region.

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

Simple Machines: Poetry, Letterpress, and the Art of the Little Magazine Presented by Michigan Tech Art

Tuesday, February 6, 8 a.m.–8 p.m. | Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts, Rozsa Galleries

Simple Machines is a two-edition, international, letterpress poetry magazine founded and edited by Michigan Tech’s M. Bartley Seigel, funded through a Research Excellence...

Prep for Career Fair

Tuesday, February 6, 10 a.m.–2 p.m. | Memorial Union Building (MUB), Commons

Print your Career Fair name tag, practice your personal intro, learn how to find companies on CareerFair+, and more! This event will be taking place in two locations: MUB...

Adult Huskies Swim Lessons Spring 2024 Session 1

Tuesday, February 6, 5–6 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 2024 Session 1

Tuesday, February 6, 5–6 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...

Keweenaw Accessibility and Advocacy General Meeting

Tuesday, February 6, 6–7 p.m. | Wadsworth Hall (room G17)

KAA is regularly scheduled to meet every Tuesday at 6 pm, we will meet in G17 of Wadsworth Hall (our usual room). New members are welcome, spread the word if you know people...

NCSA General Meeting

Tuesday, February 6, 6–7 p.m. | Chem-Sci 101

Join NCSA in their weekly meeting, where we talk about news from the Tech industry, give updates on team projects, and have guest speakers from industry talk about what they...