Category: News

Global Change Institute This Week

Teachers Learning Global Change
Teachers Learning Global Change

Teachers Learn to Bring Global Change to Life in their Classrooms

Nine middle and high school teachers from Michigan and Illinois are back in class themselves at Michigan Tech this week, learning about global changes–including climate change–and ways to bring the issues to life in their classrooms.

The global change institute is one of three Summer Teacher Institutes that the University is offering this year. Participating teachers will receive two graduate credits from Michigan Tech.

Read more at Michigan Tech News, by Jennifer Donovan.

Teachers go to school at Tech
Midwestern educators learn about global change

“They’re basically looking for climate change experience to help them with curriculum development,” said Evan Kane, assistant professor at the School of Forest Resource and Environmental Science.

Wednesday afternoon, the group toured the PEATcosm Experiment at the U.S. Forest Service Laboratory in Houghton. Using peat samples harvested from Minnesota, researchers are testing 24 mesocosms – four bins each of three different plant compositions and two water table levels.

Read more at the Mining Gazette, by Garrett Neese.

Great Lakes Studies at Strawberry Fest

Riding the Agassiz
Riding the Agassiz

Free Rides on the Agassiz at Strawberry Fest Saturday

The public is invited to see first-hand how scientists assess the health of Lake Superior, during free half-hour rides on Michigan Tech’s research vessel Agassiz this Saturday afternoon during the Copper Country Strawberry Festival in Chassell.

“Copper Country residents and visitors are encouraged to learn how scientists study the Great Lakes and what factors contribute to a healthy lake,” said Joan Chadde, education program director of the Western UP Center for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education, a sponsor of the event along with the GLRC.

Read more at Tech Today.

65th Annual Copper Country Strawberry Festival Schedule of Events

Preparing for the Chassell Strawberry Festival

The 2013 Copper Country Strawberry Festival will be held Friday and Saturday, July 12 and 13, in Chassell. The event is also known as the Chassell Strawberry Festival.

Read more and watch the video at Upper Michigans Source, by Sarah Blakely.

Chassell readies for 65th Copper Country Strawberry Festival

Many of today’s events, such as the quilt show, wagon rides, and arts and crafts, continue into Saturday. They’re joined by other events, including the parade at 11 a.m., the Friends of Fashion show, a chicken barbecue, a pancake breakfast, children’s games and 45-minute voyages aboard the Agassiz research vessel.

Read more at the Mining Gazette, by Garrett Neese.

Strawberry Festival to feature free Agassiz rides

During each ride, a Great Lakes scientist will demonstrate the use of sampling equipment to collect plankton, sediment and other water quality information that provide data about the health of the lake, or in this case, Chassell Bay.

Microscopes aboard will enable participants to view the organisms collected.

Read more at the Mining Gazette.

CAREER Award for Edward Cokely

Edward Cokely
Edward Cokely

Edward Cokely (CLS) has been awarded a $49,866 research grant for “CAREER: Numeracy and Risk Literacy” by the National Science Foundation. This is the first year of a five-year project totaling $451,566.

From Tech Today.

CAREER: The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide activity that offers the National Science Foundation’s most prestigious awards in support of junior faculty who exemplify the role of teacher-scholars through outstanding research, excellent education and the integration of education and research within the context of the mission of their organizations. Such activities should build a firm foundation for a lifetime of leadership in integrating education and research. NSF encourages submission of CAREER proposals from junior faculty members at all CAREER-eligible organizations and especially encourages women, members of underrepresented minority groups, and persons with disabilities to apply.

Read more at NSF.

Athlete Emma Veach Earns Academic Honors

Emma Veach
Emma Veach

Basketball Players Earn Academic Honors

Michigan Tech had 18 student-athletes named to the 2012-13 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Winter All-Academic and All-Academic Excellence Teams recently.

All-Academic Teams are comprised of those student-athletes who meet the criteria and carry a cumulative GPA of 3.0-3.49. All-Academic Excellence Teams are comprised of student-athletes who have a cumulative GPA of 3.50-4.0.

In Women’s Basketball, Psychology Senior Emma Veach from Grand Haven, Michigan, was part of the All-Academic Excellence Team.

Read more at Tech Today, by Ian Marks.

CLS and RET

RETResearch Experience for Teachers (RET) Program

Seven middle and high school teachers will arrive at Michigan Tech on July 8 for a 6-week research experience for teachers program, an NSF-funded project run out of the Sustainable Futures Institute and directed by David Shonnard (ChE), Robbins Professor in the Department of Chemical Engineering. The focus of the research experience is on forest-based biofuels (Wood-to-Wheels) in three research thrusts.

Teachers will also help develop laboratory exercises and “kits” to take back to their schools and implement in their labs. Other faculty participants on the project include Bradley Baltensperger (CLS) and Kedmon Hungwe (CLS) as well as Shawn Oppliger (CLS), the director of the Upper Peninsula Center for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education.

Read more at Tech Today.

Youth Can Ride the Agassiz

Agassiz RidesCopper Country Youth Invited to Ride the Waves on Michigan Tech’s Agassiz

Copper Country school students in grades 4-12 are being invited to participate in guided explorations of Lake Superior and its tributaries this summer, on Michigan Tech’s research vessel Agassiz. The program, called “Ride the Waves with GM,” is sponsored by General Motors and Tech’s Great Lakes Research Center.

For more information or to make reservations, contact Joan Chadde, jchadde@mtu.edu, 7-3341.

Read more at Tech Today.

Schoolchildren Ride the Waves on the Agassiz

Schoolchildren in grades 7-12 will get a hands-on look at Great Lakes research during free rides on Michigan Tech’s Research Vessel Agassiz next week. Ride the Waves is a science education project sponsored by General Motors and the Great Lakes Research Center at Michigan Tech.

On Monday, July 1, 9th and 10th graders will ride the waves on Keweenaw Bay, learning about remotely operated vehicles. Four-hour trips will leave the South Entry at 8:30 a.m. and 1 p.m.

A mine waste remediation and Torch Lake restoration tour is scheduled for Wednesday, July 3, for 7th and 8th graders.

On Friday, July 5, 11th and 12th graders will take two 4-hour Lake Superior Ring of Fire excursions. The Agassiz will leave from Lily Pond at 8:30 a.m. and again at 1 p.m.

Trips are scheduled for 4th, 5th and 6th graders later in July. So are more trips for 7th through 12th graders.

For more information, contact Joan Chadde, jchadde@mtu.edu, 906-369-1121.

From Tech Today.