February 9, 2024

Renderings of iconic Copper Country sights, from the National Park Service vessel Ranger III to the Keweenaw Waterway’s Lower Entrance Light, earned Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE) first place in the 2024 Winter Carnival overall monthlong snow statue competition.

“The Lighthouse Shines the Way as the Ranger Heads to Bay” put TKE in the top spot for the first time since 2018. The Hancock-based Phi Kappa Tau, coming off a five-year winning streak, was awarded second place with its “Gilligan’s Island”-themed “Just Sit Back and See A Tale, A Tale of A Fateful Trip.” Alpha Sigma Tau took third place with “Step Out Your Door and Explore the vAST Outdoors.”

This year’s Winter Carnival came on the heels of multiple cancellations of other regional winter events due to warm, dry conditions. In usual Husky Nation mode, the snow statue teams in monthlong and one-night categories made the most of their available materials, engineering skills and ingenuity, creating statues based on the overall Carnival theme: “From Forests to Shores We Love the Outdoors.”

Get more details on this year’s winning statues at Michigan Tech News.

The Michigan Tech Multiplanetary Innovation Enterprise (MINE) team will host a free STEM engagement event for middle and high school students next Saturday (Feb. 17) from 1-5 p.m. in Fisher 133. Programming experience is not required.

Register for the Free Event.

Participants will learn about the challenges associated with robotics in lunar environments, and the MINE team will share their experiences building robots for NASA’s Lunabotics Competition. Following, students will engage in hands-on activities, including programming activities with Zumi robots.

Michigan Tech undergraduate students John Dagg (mechanical engineering) and Ben Bistline (computer engineering) are developing the Zumi robot cars and activities for the event. They are part of the Zumi Undergraduate Research Group (ZURG), which is advised by faculty member Leo Ureel, Department of Computer Science.

The event is presented as part of the MINE Enterprise’s participation in NASA’s Lunabotics Competition.

Read more on the Computing News Blog.

The Board of Trustees will meet Feb. 23 from 9-11 a.m. in the Memorial Union Ballroom B, and public attendance is welcome.

Members of the public are invited to make public comments to the Board in accordance with Board of Trustees Bylaw 1.14. Those who wish to address items in the agenda, and who have filed their intent with the secretary of the board as required by Bylaw 1.14, will be limited to five minutes. Those addressing general topics are limited to three minutes.

If you wish to provide public comments to the Board of Trustees, please submit your intent to Sarah Schulte, secretary to the Board of Trustees, at shschult@mtu.edu. The deadline to submit your intent is next Friday (Feb. 16).

The Sustainability Film & Discussion Series, coordinated by the Michigan Tech Office of Sustainability and Resilience, will present "The Seeds of Vandana Shiva" at 7 p.m. next Thursday (Feb. 15) in Fisher 138.

"The Seeds of Vandana Shiva" explores the interconnectedness of seeds, food, environment and social justice through the remarkable life story of Gandhian eco-activist and agro-ecologist Vandana Shiva. The film shows how the battle against multinational agribusiness has become an international struggle between two opposing visions for feeding the world: a multinational corporate model of chemically dependent monoculture that rewards a capitalist imperative of profit and growth, or "Earth Democracy," promoted by Shiva, which honors ecology, biodiversity, sustainability and community.

Rachael Pressley, Western Upper Peninsula Food Systems Collaborative and senior regional planner for the Western U.P. Planning and Development Region (WUPPDR), and MTU student Abraham Stone (ecology and evolutionary biology) will facilitate the discussion.

Film sponsors include Michigan Tech’s Great Lakes Research Center, Department of Social Sciences, Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geospatial Engineering, Center for Science and Environmental Outreach, College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, Sustainability Demonstration House and Keweenaw Youth for Climate Action, as well as the Keweenaw Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, Keweenaw Land Trust, Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative, Friends of the Land of Keweenaw and WUP MiSTEM.

Sustainability Film & Discussion Series Details:

• When: Third Thursday of each month, from January to May, at 7 p.m.
• Where: Fisher 135 or 138 (refreshments in lobby)
• Cost: Free. $5 donations are greatly appreciated — make a donation to the Sustainable Film Series.

Upcoming Films:

• "Going Circular" — March 21, Fisher 138
  Imagine a future where we mimic the genius of nature — to re-calibrate the way humankind lives, breathes, builds — respecting the limits of our resources and transforming the modern world. The film investigates the concept of circularity, an economic system that eliminates waste and saves the planet’s resources, and offers concrete solutions to move toward a more circular economy.
  
  
• "Climate Sisu" — April 18, Fisher 135
  Take a journey through Michigan in search of community knowledge about climate action, resilience, adaptation and education. Climate SISU offers an urgent, yet optimistic call for climate action.
  
  
• "The Engine Inside" — May 16, Fisher 138
  Follow the lives of six individuals from around the globe who have devoted themselves to a simple, age-old machine — the bicycle. Witness how bicycles have the potential to transform lives and contribute to a better world.

College of Sciences and Arts Dean Ravindra Pandey has selected Elena Giusarma, assistant professor in the Department of Physics, as this week's featured instructor in the Deans’ Teaching Showcase. Giusarma will be recognized at an end-of-term event with other showcase members and is a candidate for the CTL Instructional Award Series.

Giusarma has proven herself to be an excellent instructor in the classroom environment and has implemented innovative teaching methods and strategies to enhance the learning experience for students. One of her innovations included incorporating interactive simulations, virtual observatory tools and multimedia resources to bring the wonders of astronomy directly to the students. This approach aims to cater to diverse learning styles and foster a deeper understanding of complex celestial concepts. Her teaching style goes beyond traditional lecture formats by incorporating active learning techniques such as classroom discussions, group activities and debates to encourage students to articulate their thoughts and challenge their understanding of astronomical concepts.

Giusarma’s course in Statistics, Data Mining, and Machine Learning in Astrophysics for both undergraduate and graduate students plays a crucial role in shaping students’ academic and professional trajectories. In an era dominated by data-driven decision-making, proficiency in these areas is highly sought after in both research and industry. The course serves as a pathway to developing practical skills directly applicable to analyzing and interpreting vast astronomical datasets and has been integrated into a graduate certificate program developed in 2022, which offers participants a structured pathway to acquire expertise in statistical analysis, data mining and machine learning in astrophysics. The importance of these skills extends beyond academia, opening doors to diverse career opportunities in research institutions, technology companies and various sectors that rely on data analytics.

Jacek Borysow, interim chair of the physics department, noted that Giusarma’s knowledge and understanding of physics and astronomy allow her to be a role model for female students who aspire to succeed in science and engineering. “Her presence in the classroom enables female students to visualize where they want to go and what is possible to achieve. ... Her lectures are full of positive energy and unlimited enthusiasm; she sincerely cares about the students. She is simply an outstanding instructor and mentor.”

Maria Bergstrom, associate dean for undergraduate education in the College of Sciences and Arts, praised Giusarma’s commitment to both undergraduate and graduate education: “Faculty like Dr. Giusarma have a tremendous impact on the success of Michigan Tech students. From inspiring young, prospective students to come to our campus to study astronomy and astrophysics to mentoring graduate students, Dr. Giusarma’s commitment to excellence in teaching is an important contribution to our College, and we are pleased to recognize her achievements.”

Chelsea Schelly (SS) and Valoree Gagnon (CFRES) are invited panelists on a special PBS Climate Innovation Virtual Town Hall engagement event happening Tuesday (Feb. 13) at 7 p.m. ET (4 p.m. PT) on Facebook and YouTube.

The town hall event will examine technological advances aimed at reversing the effects of climate change. It will feature excerpts from the documentary, "Ted Explores: A New Climate Vision," and talk with researchers, journalists and other experts at the frontlines of addressing the challenges of a changing climate with rigor and imagination.

Featured guests include:

• David Biello, TED's lead science curator and the author of "The Unnatural World: The Race to Remake Civilization in Earth's Newest Age"
• Henk Ovink, executive director of the Global Commission on the Economics of Water, senior fellow at the World Resources Institute, and recent past U.N. special envoy for water
• Chelsea Schelly, professor of sociology in the Department of Social Sciences and director of research at the Center for Innovation in Sustainability and Resilience at Michigan Technological University
• Curt Wolf, director of the University of Michigan’s Urban Collaboratory and co-lead on a multipartner project called the Michigan Center for Freshwater Innovation
• Ann Baughman, associate director for Freshwater Future,  manages the organization's climate program, helping communities build resilience to the impacts of climate change
• Valoree Gagnon, director of University-Indigenous community partnerships at the Great Lakes Research Center at Michigan Technological University 
• Justin Bibb, mayor of Cleveland, Ohio; chair of Climate Mayors; and a strong advocate for elevating local climate leadership and priorities 

This national engagement community initiative is the third of four planned PBS Climate Virtual Town Hall events, presented by Great Lakes Now in support of the PBS Climate Initiative announced in 2023. The event is made possible through a climate programming collaboration between PBS and Detroit Public Television.

The Michigan Tech Nordic ski team is on to the postseason, traveling to Duluth, Minnesota, for the CCSA Conference Championships this weekend.

The championships feature the Classic Mass Start 20km tomorrow (Feb. 10) and the Skate Interval Start 7.5km on Sunday (Feb. 11).

The Huskies are trending upward, concluding their regular season with their first CCSA combined team win at the Ariens CCSA Invite in Brillion, Wisconsin, on Jan. 27-28.

Read the preview at Michigan Tech Athletics.

Michigan Tech football head coach Dan Mettlach has announced the addition of 32 student-athletes on National Signing Day. The group of future Huskies will join the MTU football program at fall camp in August 2024.

"We went into this recruiting season with intentions of taking care of three spots. We wanted to go heavy with O-line, D-line and our secondary," head coach Dan Mettlach said. "We cover four different states in our recruiting class to do that. Those three spots we needed to take care of this class to increase our depth. 

"We feel really good about our class and have guys who fit who we really are culturally, academically and athletically. We had some of our staff build relationships with high school coaches and we're bringing in a few guys from Arizona — being intentional trying to recruit out there last spring. From last spring through Signing Day, we built some great relationships and it was crucial for us to make sure that Michigan Tech was a fit and that we're a fit for their families."

Read more at Michigan Tech Athletics.

WLUC TV6 reported live from Michigan Tech yesterday (Feb. 8) during the final hours of the All-Nighter. Undergrads Talon Cole, Laina Toivonen, Connor Steer, Joe Dlugos and Ethan Mehren were interviewed in segments featuring several of the monthlong statue entries.

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Undergrads Liz Smith, Jesse Nichols and Joe Dlugos were quoted by WLUC TV6 and the Keweenaw Report in stories covering the warm, rainy start of the 2024 Winter Carnival All-Nighter on Wednesday (Feb. 7). 

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Orthopedic Design & Technology Magazine mentioned Michigan Tech in a story highlighting issues facing the medical device packaging and sterilization industry. The story featured the entrepreneurial pivot of Sterile State LLC, a company using an innovative sterilization process for newly manufactured medical instruments. Sterile State is a new incarnation of a previous venture, FM Wound Care, which spun off from MTU in 2016.

Donate to Friends of the Library Book Sale

Have you been doing some decluttering, reorganizing or downsizing? Consider donating your spare books to the Friends of the Michigan Tech Library Book Sales. Proceeds benefit the Van Pelt and Opie Library.

You can drop off books in our book donation bin located in the vestibule of the library's main entrance anytime the library is open.

If you have a large donation and wish to drop off a number of boxes, please call the Library Service Desk at 906-487-2508 when you arrive, and a staff member will meet you at the loading dock to help you unload. If you would like us to retrieve a large donation or need help moving boxes, please email Steve Walton at sawalton@mtu.edu to arrange a pickup.

Free Hot Chocolate & Cookies + Used Book Sale!
This year, the Friends will be hosting our usual free hot chocolate/cookies and used book sale, with historic note cards and the MTU blanket also for sale, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. tomorrow (Feb. 10) in the Van Pelt and Opie Library lobby. All sales benefit the library. Happy Winter Carnival!

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Banner System Maintenance on Sunday

A production system maintenance window is scheduled for Sunday (Feb. 11) from 7 a.m. to 10 a.m. During that time, the following production services will be unavailable:

• Banner
• Banweb
• MyMichiganTech
• ASPIRE
• Course Tools
• OAP Rental System
• Oracle Reports
• UC4/Appworx
• Virtual Cashiering

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

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Chemistry Seminar with Neetu Goel

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. today (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.

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WebFOCUS Maintenance on Sunday

A production system maintenance window is scheduled for Sunday (Feb. 11) from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. WebFOCUS will be unavailable during that time.

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

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ChE Seminar Series Speaker: Xiaohui Xu

Xiaohui Xu will present as part of the Department of Chemical Engineering (ChE) Research Series on Monday (Feb. 12) at 10 a.m. in person in MEEM 302 or virtually via Zoom.

Xu will present "Thermo-responsive Hydrogels for Solar-Driven Water Purification."

Read the abstract on the University Events Calendar.

Xu is an associate research scholar at Princeton University.

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Spring Career Fair is Next Week!

Michigan Tech's 2024 Spring Career Fair Forged by Nucor is this coming week! It will be held Tuesday (Feb. 13) from noon until 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!

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

Friday, February 9, 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...

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EF - Autonomous Robot Time Trials

Friday, February 9, 9:30–3:30 a.m. | Grover C. Dillman Hall, 208

An open competition for students to design an algorithm to solve a MTU themed maze with an autonomously driven Roomba. All students are welcome to form an adhoc team and...

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Tug-of-War

Friday, February 9, 11 a.m. | Recreational Sports Fields (Softball, Baseball)

Registered teams will compete in a single elimination, 6-vs-6 Tug-of-War tournament. There is plenty of space for spectators, so head up and support your favorite team!

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Career Closet

Friday, February 9, 1–5 p.m. | Memorial Union Building (MUB), Makerspace and Superior Room

The Career Closet is a give-away of gently worn business clothing to assist students in preparing for Career Fair and other career opportunities. Last year, between the Fall...

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Dog Sled Rides

Friday, February 9, 2–5 p.m. | Douglass Houghton Hall (DHH), Outside

Free dog sled rides on campus. Sponsored by Blue Key.

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Downhill Skiing and Snowboarding

Friday, February 9, 2 p.m. | Mont Ripley Ski Area

Winter Carnival Special Event for participating organizations. Pre-registration required to participate; spectators welcome. Skiing Teams with a maximum of five participants...

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Horse-Drawn Sleigh Rides

Friday, February 9, 2–5 p.m. | Memorial Union Building (MUB), Outside

Enjoy a ride around campus looking at the statues. Sponsored by Blue Key.

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Ice Mass

Friday, February 9, 5:30 p.m. | St. Albert the Great Ice Chapel on the Lawn

Join us for mass during Winter Carnival. There will be chili served after each service.

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Husky Watch Party - Hockey vs Minnesota State in Frederick, MD

Friday, February 9, 6:30–8:00 p.m.

Cheer on the Huskies with Pat Kilroy '83 and Cindy Unangst '83 at Rockwell Brewery - East St on Friday, February 9, 2024, as Michigan Tech takes on Minnesota State during...

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Sold Out: Keweenaw Alumni Chapter Winter Carnival Hockey Skybox

Friday, February 9, 6:45 p.m. | John MacInnes Student Ice Arena, Huskies Suite South

The Keweenaw Alumni Chapter invites you to join alumni and friends for a scholarship social and skybox seating at John MacInnes Student Ice Arena as your Michigan Tech Huskies...

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(Men's Ice Hockey) Minnesota State vs. Michigan Tech

Friday, February 9, 7:07–10:07 p.m. | John MacInnes Student Ice Arena

Men's Ice Hockey: Minnesota State vs. Michigan Tech, Winter Carnival

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Blizzard Presented by The Rozsa

Friday, February 9, 7:30 p.m. | Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts, Black Performance Hall

View Saturday, February 10, Sensory Friendly Performance of Blizzard "Mind-blowing acrobatics in a never-ending winter" - Theaterkrant, Amsterdam With Blizzard, FLIP...

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(Men's Tennis) Michigan Tech at Northwood

February 9, all day

Men's Tennis: Michigan Tech at Northwood

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(Women's Tennis) Michigan Tech at Northwood

February 9, all day

Women's Tennis: Michigan Tech at Northwood

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Winter Carnival

February 9, all day | Michigan Tech Campus

Organized by Blue Key National Honor Society since 1934, Winter Carnival started in 1922 and has grown to become one of the largest annual winter festivals in the nation....