Category: Outreach

Michigan Tech SWE Section, ME-EM Researchers Judge Inventions at Baraga Elementary

Baraga Elementary School students inventions include: Catnip Paw Covers. Shoes that would grow as the wearer grew. Kai’s Numbing Hair Gel. Hover car that would move based on the placement of magnets in the road. Pollution Vacuum Filtering Device. And many more!
The Henry Ford Invention Convention Worldwide

On February 15, 2024, the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) and the MTU Waste Valorization Research Group volunteered to judge third- through fifth-grade Invention Convention projects at Baraga Elementary School.

Invention Convention Worldwide is a K-12 invention education program that teaches students problem-identification, problem-solving, entrepreneurship and creativity skills and builds confidence in invention, innovation and entrepreneurship for life. Prior to the competition, the Baraga students developed inventions that would impact their community.

SWE Advisor Gretchen Hein and members Skyler Brawley (senior, computer engineering) and Maci Dostaler (junior, software engineering) paired up with Assistant Teaching Professor Fei Long (ME-EM) and Research Engineers Shiying Cai and Adeyinka Adekunle (both ME-EM) to evaluate the inventions. The judges were impressed with the students’ excitement when describing their projects and the range of creative solutions.

The inventions included:

  • Snow plow for a strider bike
  • Snow plow for a remote controlled car
  • Motorized fishing lure that moved in the water
  • Shoes that would grow as the wearer grew
  • Multistation pencil sharpener
  • Hover car that would move based on the placement of magnets in the road
  • Pollution Vacuum Filtering Device
  • Basket Land board game
  • Handy Dandy Light Switch
  • Magic Pen 55
  • Spectacular Butter Lipstick
  • Upside Down gaming controller accessory for kids
  • Phone Holder 5000
  • Catnap Paw Covers
  • Keep-Away Can to keep dogs away from the trash can
  • Safari board game
  • Kai’s Numbing Hair Gel

The judges thank the teachers and staff, along with the enthusiastic student inventors, for inviting us to look over and judge at the Invention Convention. SWE and the MTU Waste Valorization Research Group would enjoy returning to evaluate projects next year.

Michigan Tech to Hold NSF Innovation-Corps Bootcamp

Winter campus with snow and sunset

Michigan Tech MS and PhD students will attend a free National Science Foundation (NSF) Innovation-Corps Bootcamp on campus on Thursday Feb. 29 and Friday March 1 to explore tools of design and innovation—and learn how to apply them to their career paths. 

The intensive workshop quickly reached its capacity, so facilitators are already planning to add another NSF I-Corps Bootcamp later this year for interested MTU graduate students.

Launched in 2011, the NSF Innovation Corps, or I-Corps, trains scientists and engineers to carry their promising ideas and technologies beyond the university and into the marketplace to benefit society. Michigan Tech has been part of the NSF I-Corps Site program since 2015—introducing the entrepreneurial mindset to over 300 researchers, faculty, staff and students, and helping teams assess the commercial potential of more than 150 technologies.

In an effort to nurture a regional innovation ecosystem and move more discoveries from the research lab to the real world, the NSF established a Great Lakes Innovation Corps Hub in 2021. The 11-university Hub is led by the University of Michigan (U-M), and it’s one of five Hubs across the country. Michigan Tech is a member of the Great Lakes Innovation Corps Hub, along with Purdue University, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, the University of Toledo, the University of Minnesota, Iowa State University, Missouri University of Science and Technology, the University of Akron, the University of Chicago, and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

The Great Lakes I-Corps Hub aims to connect people at a large scale to increase the “effective density” of the Midwest’s innovation ecosystem. Mary Raber, Michigan Tech I-Corps principal investigator and chair of the Department of Engineering Fundamentals, leads the program at Michigan Tech.

NSF I-Corps Bootcamp Eligibility:

  • MTU graduate students enrolled in Ph.D. or M.S. programs
  • No business idea or prior experience with I-Corps is necessary
  • Faculty advisor support is required

NSF I-Corp Bootcamp Benefits:

  • Grow your network
  • Develop/improve your problem solving and identification capabilities
  • Improve your leadership skills
  • Explore career paths that use your knowledge and skills
  • Stipend of $300 is available upon successful completion of the program

Apply at:  https://bit.ly/GradBootcamp2024 

Note: the session is full, but interested students can still apply in order to get on the MTU I-Corps waiting list for the next Bootcamp.

Swirling blue dots logo of the NSF I-Corps Hub - Great Lakes Region

MTUengineering: By Parents, for Parents

“The opportunity to dive deep into technology and grow as a person cannot be directly measured,” says Mark Gryzwa. “However, you can see it in the people that graduate from MTU and the companies that hire them.”

Are you the parent of a prospective student? Want to learn more about Michigan Tech from other parents’ perspectives? Read on…

Mark Gryzwa lives in Woodbury, Minnesota. He works as vice president of research and development for Barologics, Inc, an early stage medical device company developing neuromodulation for the treatment of hypertension. His son, Michael, is a 2018 graduate of Michigan Tech.

Why did your son choose Michigan Tech?

Michael toured many of the well-known Midwest colleges in Minnesota, Iowa, North Dakota, before his senior year of high school. Nothing really stood out to him as “his kind of place”. After our tour of Michigan Tech, we got in the car and he stated, “This is where I’m going!” Beyond the education, he was struck by the town, the campus, and was especially excited about the ability to snowboard frequently, which he did.

What makes Michigan Tech unique?

As a parent and alum, I’m very aware of the academic rigor that MTU students encounter. One of my favorite high school teachers was fond of saying, “Algebra is NOT a spectator sport.” He meant you must dig in and do the work. An MTU education is the same. The rigor is known throughout industry and MTU graduates are sought after for knowing how to do the work. Compared to other higher education, the return on investment for an MTU degree is great. MTU also has a strong industry reputation for developing hard-working professionals.

Beyond the education, the life lessons and community building that occurs is hard to duplicate by other universities. Being a smaller campus in a somewhat distant area creates a unique opportunity for students. The students quickly form bonds over even simple tasks like a ride to get groceries. I cannot imagine a city more welcoming and supportive to students than Houghton.

There are just so many areas where students can find their niche at MTU. It’s funny, but both my son and I at one point said of the MTU community, “These are my people!” The educational rigor and challenges of many inches of snow make for strong, sharing individuals.

Tell us about your son and his time at Michigan Tech.

Michael started at MTU in 2013 as an electrical engineer. After the first semester, he chose to switch majors to Computer Engineering. After his third year he started a summer internship at Medtronic in Minnesota. He returned to another division within the company after year four. Following graduation in 2018, he was hired as a full-time engineer at Medtronic. He’s currently working on the team that develops cell phone apps to talk to pacemakers and send that data to a patient’s physician.

Any advice for parents?

Encourage your student to take advantage of all MTU has to offer. Join the Huskies Pep Band, watch hockey, learn to skate, join the Memorial Union Board, snowboard, hike, bike, go to Copper Harbor, find an agate, find a Yooperlite, see a waterfall, play broomball, have a pasty, make lifelong friends! Find your thing!

Any advice for students?

Work hard, pick a career that interests you, and most importantly—attend every career fair that you can.

Anything else to share?

I have a lot of passion for MTU. The opportunity to dive deep into technology and grow as a person cannot be directly measured. However, you can see it in the people that graduate from MTU and the companies that hire them. MTU’s smaller class sizes and its focus on hands-on learning make for highly sought after engineers.

Mark Gryzwa earned his own bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering at Michigan Tech in 1989. Learn more in his Michigan Tech Alumni Profile.

https://www.mtu.edu/alumni/recognition/profiles/gryzwa-mark.html

Free Lunabotics Exploration for Middle and High School Students Coming Up on Saturday, Feb. 17

Multiplanetary INnovation Enterprise (MINE) team at Michigan Tech
Learn more about MINE at Michigan Tech.

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

Students in the Multiplanetary INnovation Enterprise (MINE) seek to design, test, and implement robotic technologies for extracting and using local resources, construction, and characterization in extreme environments. These environments currently include Lunar, Martian, and flooded subterranean environments on Earth.

MINE’s Lunabotics Rover enjoys a day at the beach, following an intensive NASA Lunabotics competition event.

The event is presented as part of the MINE Enterprise team’s participation in NASA’s Lunabotics Challenge. The team is advised by Mechanical Engineering Professor Paul van Susante, whose lab on campus is called Huskyworks.

Enterprise at Michigan Tech is when students—of any major—work in teams on real projects, with real clients, in an environment that’s more like a business than a classroom. With coaching and guidance from faculty mentors, Michigan Tech’s 26 Enterprise teams work to invent products, provide services, and pioneer solutions. Students can join an Enterprise team as early as their first year in college.

Read more about Saturday’s free event on the Computing news blog.

Hope to see you there!

“Meet Zumi, the car that learns as you learn,” by Robolink

We Need You: Serve as a Judge During Michigan Tech’s 2024 Design Expo

Design Expo at Michigan Tech is now in its 24th year. Save the date: Tuesday, April 16, 2024!

Want to support students as they engage in hands-on, discovery-based learning? Volunteer to serve as a distinguished judge at Michigan Tech’s 2024 Design Expo!

More than 1,000 students in Enterprise, Senior Design, and other Student Project teams will showcase their work and compete for awards at the 2024 Design Expo on Tuesday, April 16 from 10 am to 2 pm. The annual event will be held on campus in two locations: the J. Robert Van Pelt and John and Ruanne Opie Library, and the Memorial Union Ballroom.

Sign up here to serve as a Judge
at 2024 Design Expo

Who Should Judge?

  • Industry Representatives
  • Community Members
  • Alumni
  • MTU Faculty and Staff
  • Educators
Members of the Open Source Hardware Enterprise team display their projects at Design Expo. Whether a judge or simply a guest, your involvement in Design Expo is greatly valued by our students!

Duties of a Design Expo Judge:

  1. Attend Design Expo for about an hour, sometime between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. on April 16, 2024, to visit assigned teams.
  2. Review and score assigned team videos via RocketJudge, an online platform prior to the start of Design Expo.
  3. Score 3-5 teams throughout the judging period. 

Prior to the event on April 16, judges will gain access to a digital gallery of student-created project videos to preview online. In-person judging on the day of the event usually takes about an hour, depending on the number of volunteers.

Industry Partners and Sponsors

Design Expo 2024 is generously supported by industry and University sponsorship, including over 100 project and program supporters who make a strategic investment in our educational mission at Michigan Tech. The event is hosted by Michigan Tech’s Enterprise Program along with the College of Engineering.

ITC Holdings has served as a Design Expo partner for 12 consecutive years, last year joined by event partners Thompson Surgical Instruments, Aramco, Plexus, OHM Advisors, Altec Inc., and Husky Innovate. For all sponsorship opportunities, contact Len Switzer.

“We thank our industry and government sponsors who have made a strategic investment in our educational mission.”

Nagesh Hatti, Director, The Enterprise Program and Chair, Enterprise Governing Board
Learn all about Design Expo, at mtu.edu/expo

Register Now for Michigan Tech’s 2024 Design Expo

Save the date for Design Expo, coming up on April 16, 2024—on campus at Michigan Tech. Everyone is welcome!

Undergraduate students in any college across campus are encouraged to register for Michigan Tech’s Design Expo, coming up on Tuesday, April 16, 2024.

The annual event showcases the breadth and depth of undergraduate innovation at Tech, with more than 100 Enterprise, Senior Design, and Capstone student projects on display. Teams compete for cash awards, and a panel of distinguished judges critique the projects and determine award winners.

This year’s Design Expo will take place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in two campus locations, the Van Pelt and Opie Library first floor and the Memorial Union Building Ballroom. A reception and awards ceremony will follow from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts. All Design Expo events are free and open to the public.

Student Teams: Register Your Project Now for Design Expo

Registration is open now through March 8. Full information is located on the Design Expo student registration webpage. We encourage teams to register as soon as possible.

Volunteers: Sign Up to Judge at Design Expo

Interested in supporting our students as they engage in hands-on, discovery-based learning? Consider serving as a Distinguished Judge at this year’s Design Expo! Learn more and sign up here.

Give your Presentation a Boost with Design Expo Workshops

Prepare for Design Expo and other term-end presentations the right way—with peer support, pizza, and help from dedicated Van Pelt and Opie library and university staff!

Learn how to create compelling videos, visuals, and pitches for your projects. All sessions take place in the Library East Reading Room from 2:00-3:00 p.m. (All are welcome to attend these workshops, regardless of participation in Design Expo).

Wednesday, February 21: Explain Your Project to Anybody

Practice talking about your design in a concise, easy-to-understand way. This will help you solidify content for your video and develop a short elevator pitch that you can share at your booth on the day of the Expo. Come prepared to talk about your design and answer a few questions about it!

Thursday, March 7: Posters, Images & Visualizations 

We’ll cover principles you can use to ensure your posters and the images and data you display in them are readable and appealing and run-through tools you can use to design supporting images. The second half of the session will be devoted to questions and open work time. Pick our brains as you think through how to best share your research.

Wednesday, March 20: Video Creating & Editing

We’ll provide basic info on recording, available tools, and tricks to make your production more professional and accessible. The last half of the hour will be devoted to questions and open work time. Handouts and a compilation of resources will be available to take with you!

Thursday, April 4: The Finishing Touches

Refresh on details about how to present your work for the Design Expo and other end-of-year presentations. Get last-minute feedback for a winning project and work on the final details of your project and video to the company! Snacks and refreshments will be provided.

Aurora White ’16 Named AISES 2023 Most Promising Engineer

Aurora White

by Joan Chadde, Center for Science and Environmental Outreach

Alumna Aurora White has been selected by the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) as the 2023 Most Promising Engineer. White earned her BS in Mechanical Engineering at Michigan Tech in 2016.

The professional award was presented at the 2023 AISES National Conference, held Oct. 19-21 in Spokane, Washington.

White, a torque calibration security engineer for Stellantis, is an active member of the Lac Vieux Desert Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians. She earned her MS in Mechanical Engineering at Oakland University (OU) in Rochester, Michigan.

In her award description, AISES award committee describes White’s many accomplishments: “Aurora White loves hands-on work, whether it’s being in a vehicle as a calibration engineer or building furniture at her mom’s house.

“I am deeply humbled by this honor from AISES,” said White. “Ever since I was a child, I’ve enjoyed building and fixing things, which eventually led to my career choice in engineering. I am also especially passionate about my culture, and I hope my achievements might help inspire younger members of the indigenous community to pursue a future in STEM fields and make the world a better place through their work.”

“It means the world to me when I hear from younger students that I am a role model or someone that they look up to,” said White. “I want to make the 7-year-old me proud that I had big dreams for the future.”

White works for Stellantis N.V., a multinational automotive company and mobility provider that includes Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram, and Fiat brands. White has worked in a variety of engineering roles, including instrumentation and diagnostics. She has received numerous awards for leading projects in vehicle testing and analysis. She has earned Design for Six Sigma Green Belt certification, and was selected for a new Stellantis leadership development program in 2022. White now serves on that program’s board, while serving as treasurer for the Indigenous Cultural Opportunity Network, a Stellantis business resource group.”

“I want to inspire our Indigenous youth to show them that all things are possible.”

Aurora White
Aurora White took part in the Lac Vieux Desert powwow in early August.

White grew up in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. “I have been a part of AISES since I was an undergrad at Michigan Tech. I was the AISES Michigan Tech secretary and then president,” wrote White in a LinkedIn post. “AISES has always made me feel like I belong and have a purpose,” she continued. “I have strived to incorporate my culture/traditions into every aspect of my life, whether it is at home or in the workplace.”

As an undergraduate student at Michigan Tech, White was an active member in the Engineering Ambassadors and Women’s Leadership Council. She studied abroad at the Leibniz University Hannover, Germany, and received internships with GE Aviation Mechanical Engineering; the Wind Energy Science, Engineering, and Policy Program at Iowa State University; and Indian Health Services.

She was also active in outreach activities, presenting at Family Engineering events in Baraga, L’Anse and Detroit with coordinator Joan Chadde, and presenting virtually as part of the Michigan Space Grant Consortium grant project “Native American Women in STEM & Natural Resources’ in spring 2020.

Aurora makes earrings to raise funds for missing and murdered native women.

“It means the world to me when I hear from younger students that I am a role model or someone that they look up to,” said White. “I want to make the 7-year-old me proud that I had big dreams for the future.”

White’s future interest is in automotive electrification, while also promoting Indigenous values into design and the workplace.

Read more

Indigenous Engineer Receives Prestigious Award

Watch

2023 AISES Most Promising Engineer Aurora White

Michigan Tech ranked 12th for Salary Impact by the Wall Street Journal

The Wall Street Journal/College Pulse Salary Impact ranking lists schools in order of their impact on graduates’ salaries and how this relates to the cost of attending the college. Michigan Tech was ranked 12th overall, and 2nd among public universities.

Read more here: https://www.wsj.com/rankings/college-rankings/salary-impact-2024


Screen shot from https://www.wsj.com/rankings/college-rankings/salary-impact-2024

Marty Lagina to Deliver First Year Engineering Series Lecture at Michigan Tech on Monday, October 2

“Engineering school teaches you how things work, and also to know what you don’t know,” says Marty Lagina.

Marty Lagina will deliver the First-Year Engineering Series Lecture to Michigan Tech’s incoming engineering majors this Monday, October 2 at 6 pm. The lecture will take place on campus at the Rozsa Center Auditorium.

Lagina is CEO of Heritage Sustainable Energy. He is also a winemaker, and an executive producer of the long-running reality TV show, The Curse of Oak Island, now in its 11th season on the History Channel—and, he is a Michigan Tech engineering alumnus.

The title of Lagina’s lecture is “I’m Not Here to Give You Advice.”

“The First-Year Engineering Series Lecture provides an exciting opportunity for our students to hear from some of the nation’s most innovative engineering leaders,” says Mary Raber, chair of the Department of Engineering Fundamentals. “It gives them a sense of the many different career paths that are open to engineering graduates—career paths that allow them to positively impact the world,” she adds.

Throughout his life, Lagina says his engineering education has given him the confidence to try new things. “I was thinking of going to law school, and my father told me: ‘You would make a better lawyer if you knew how things worked.’ So I went to Michigan Tech to study engineering and I liked it. And it prepared me very well for what turned out to be a very multifaceted career.”

Lagina graduated from Michigan Tech with his mechanical engineering degree in 1977, then took a job as a petroleum engineer for Amoco. Then, a few years later while attending law school at the University of Michigan, he worked as an independent petroleum engineer consultant, hired by various Michigan corporations regarding petroleum exploration and production.

“I was a law student, putting together oil deals, working out of a room the size of a walk-in closet,” Lagina recalls. “We drilled 14 dry holes in a row until we finally drilled a decent oil well. It put us in business.”

Lagina’s partner in that first consulting business was Craig Tester, another Michigan Tech mechanical engineering alumnus. They were former college roommates. Once Lagina earned his JD, the two founded Terra Energy to pioneer the exploration and development of the Antrim shale natural gas resources of Michigan, which they did—successfully developing over $3 billion of oil and natural gas resources.

“My education at Michigan Tech is what gives me the confidence for innovation.”

Marty Lagina

When he turned 40, Lagina decided to change course. He formed Heritage Sustainable Energy, a renewable energy provider. Heritage has successfully developed a series of wind and solar projects in Michigan, which in the aggregate, can power the equivalent of 57,000 average Michigan homes.

Heritage Sustainable Energy’s projects include 84 Wind Turbines and 6 Solar PV Array facilities, all in Michigan. And sheep!

In 2006, Lagina started doing some unusual exploring to solve a 228 year old mystery. Featured on the History Channel, Lagina, his family and friends attempt to solve “The Curse of Oak Island,” based on the long, complicated history of treasure hunting on a Nova Scotia island.

It turned out to be a VERY difficult engineering project.

Part National Treasure, part Indiana Jones, the hit docu-series, now in its 11th season, follows their exploits as they attempt to—literally—get to the bottom of the ‘money pit’ on the island that has given up some clues, booby traps, bizarre hints and puzzle pieces. Theories of what is buried include treasures from Solomon’s temple, the Holy Grail, the Knights Templar and numerous other sources.

First, they had to purchase a controlling interest in the North Atlantic island. “And everything is difficult,” Lagina says. “There have been shafts and tunnels installed by previous searchers for 200-plus years, so you need to figure out if you are discovering something from the original works or not.”

Tester, an expert on drilling, resistivity, and more, also appears on The Curse of Oak Island.

Pictured above: Oak Island, Nova Scotia, Canada, August 1931. Format: glass plate negative.

Born in Kingsford on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, Lagina has spent nearly all his life living in Michigan. His background is in engineering and the energy business, but with family ties to one of Italy’s premier winegrowing areas, a passion for wine is in his blood.

He founded Mari Vineyards in 1999 (the same year he was inducted into Michigan Tech’s ME-EM Academy). His goal: to make world-class red wines in northern Michigan but with a nod to the Italian style of his ancestors.

The winery’s namesake is Lagina’s Grandmother (Nonna), an Italian immigrant who settled in the Iron Mountain area of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Lagina has fond memories of her fermenting wine in the basement of her home.

Mari Vineyards is situated on 60 acres in Traverse City. The winery is largely carbon neutral and built from UP dolomite stone, dug from the bases of wind turbines. “Winemaking is an art, but it’s also highly technical,” he adds.

Read about the extensive and innovative sustainability practices at Mari Vineyards.

“Engineering school teaches you how things work, and also to know what you don’t know,” says Lagina.

When choosing to go forward with a new venture Lagina makes sure it meets all of these criteria: “It must be interesting; look like there could be some fun; must be legal and ethical; needs to have a good chance to make money AND (bonus points awarded) if it provides extra benefits for society.”

“It must be interesting; look like there could be some fun; must be legal and ethical; needs to have a good chance to make money AND (bonus points awarded) if it provides extra benefits for society.”

Marty Lagina’s criteria when choosing to go forward with a new venture.

New Faculty Spotlight: Rachel Store

Rachel Store

Rachel Store recently joined the Department of Manufacturing and Mechanical Engineering Technology (MMET) as an assistant teaching professor. She earned her BS and MS at Michigan Tech, both in Mechanical Engineering.

What first drew you to Michigan Tech?

It all started when I was in high school. My parents moved back to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula after a 25-year military career. They were living in Escanaba. I knew I wanted to study engineering; I wanted to play varsity soccer; and I wanted to be close enough to my family that I could see them within a day. Michigan Tech was honestly the only school that fit that bill—so it was an easy decision. It was also the only campus I visited. But I fell in love with Tech. So much so, that after I finished my undergrad, I went for a victory lap masters degree—Tech has a fantastic accelerated masters program! And I loved the campus, the community, and the Keweenaw. Houghton truly is a special place.

After graduating with my Master’s degree, I got a job in Milwaukee. I still found myself coming back to Houghton several times a month to see my boyfriend. He’s really what brought me back to Houghton. As soon as I could, I started looking for jobs back in the Houghton area (spoiler, we’ve been married for four years and are blessed with two wonderful children).  

I was delighted when I found work back at Michigan Tech, in the Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics. I actually had several offers from local companies that I passed on because I wanted to be part of the Tech community again. I was in the ME-EM Department for 5 years. Now, I am super excited to move into a more student-focused position in the MMET Department.

“Get out and talk to people. Talk to your classmates, talk to your professors, talk to the locals.  The best thing about Houghton and MTU are the people.”

Advice to incoming students, from Rachel Store.

What do you consider an important long-term goal for your teaching, research, and outreach?

My background in industry was manufacturing and quality. I really enjoy teaching the topics where you go from a design or theory into making something physical, for example, a product or a lab sample. I enjoy additive manufacturing and especially forming processes. My research right now is focused on materials manufacturing with friction stir processing. I am working with Dr. Scott Wagner (MMET) and Dr. Vinh Nguyen (ME-EM) on a project right now. I am hoping to earn a PhD in a few years. In the meantime, I want to continue to develop as a teacher.

What do you hope to accomplish, as an educator and as a researcher, over the next few years?

I’ve been spending a lot of time lately thinking about teaching—how to teach, why it matters, and how I can help make my students the best future employees that they can be.  A lot of students see the class, the grade, the degree as an end goal. But really those are just the starting points for the rest of their lives. This is my first year in a full-time instructor role, so I know I still have a lot to learn myself.

Aerial view of the Black Creek Nature Sanctuary. Credit: visitkeweenaw.com

What do you like to do in your spare time?

Fun question!  I have two and a half year old twins, so spare time at my house is more like ‘how do I multi-task!’ We live just south of Chassell on a little hobby farm (I’m a bit of a crazy chicken lady). And now my kids are starting to pick that up too. They love collecting the eggs with me, or going to the garden and looking for vegetables. We do a lot of stuff on our property—apple cider, maple syrup, gardening, foraging.

I also really enjoy being creative. I quilt and make soap, or sometimes I like to bring that creativity to the kitchen and cook fun meals. I am always excited for a welding, construction, or repair project. And I love the outdoors. That includes hunting, camping, kayaking, snow sports, and hiking (or snowshoeing!) especially.  

“I need a quota of ‘tree time’ as I call it every week, and the Keweenaw is such a great place to soak it in!”

Rachel Store

What’s your favorite book, movie, or piece of art?

The Princess Bride and Finding Nemo are two movies that come to mind. I like the stories about doing whatever it takes for someone that you love.    

Any favorite spots on campus, in Houghton, or in the UP?

Anywhere on Lake Superior, but I am partial to the Black Creek Trail. It’s where my husband and I met. I also really love the Gratiot River Park. I think is so cool how the mouth of the Gratiot River changes every year depending on how the ice and snow was that winter.  

Any advice for incoming students?

Get out and talk to people. Talk to your classmates, talk to your professors, talk to the locals.  The best thing about Houghton and MTU are the people. It is such a rich community. Also, get out and play in the snow. I always tell people new to the area and snow that you have to find ways to play in the snow. 

“The winters are long. And they can be hard. But if you don’t find ways to seek joy in the snow, you have the same amount of snow and much less joy!”

Rachel Store