Posts under the ‘News’ category

The International Geological Masters in Volcanology and Geotechniques (INVOGE) program was featured on Italian TV news. Links to YouTube videos are provided below. The videos show the MS defense of INVOGE student Daniele Alami, which was conducted via teleconference with Milan on April 12. Daniele’s MS committee consisted of Professor Greg Waite (GMES), Assistant Professor Simon Carn (GMES) and Professor Alessandro Tibaldi from the University of Milan–Bicocca.

Tibaldi and INVOGE.

Doppia laurea internazionale, INVOGE.

INVOGE website

In an engaging lecture, Tina Behr-Andres will share her experience advising the Federal Government’s Science Team for the Deep Water Horizon BP Oil Spill Response. The presentation, entitled, “Oil Spill Response Experience: Exxon Valdez to BP Deepwater Horizon,” will be held on Tuesday, April 23, from 4 p.m. to 5p.m., Dow 642.

Behr-Andres holds over twenty years of professional experience in engineering academe, private-sector technical consulting and national laboratory research management. She specializes in management of legacy wastes from nuclear weapons production; marine and terrestrial oil spill response; industrial and hazardous waste management and wastewater treatment; and contaminated site remediation. Currently, Behr-Andres is an Executive Advisor to the principal associate director of science, technology and engineering at Los Alamos National Laboratory.

This presentation is sponsored by Los Alamos National Laboratory, the Sustainable Futures Institute, Michigan Tech’s Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences, and Michigan Tech’s Office for Institutional Diversity.

The Department of Geological & Mining Engineering & Sciences
13th Annual Awards Ceremony was held Thursday, April 11, 2013 at the Downtowner Restaurant Hall in Houghton. In addition to graduating seniors and graduate students getting recognition, numerous scholarship awards and special presentations were made by Department Chair Dr. Wayne Pennington.

A selection of photos can be found on the College of Engineering Flickr Resources.

Congratulations to our faculty receiving $5,000 Michigan Space Grants:

*Louisa Kramer (GMES): “Remote sensing of gases in smoke stack plumes”

Graduate students receiving $5,000 fellowship Michigan Space Grants:

*Kathleen McKee (GMES): “Analysis of Temporal Velocity Changes from Seismic Ambient Noise in Volcanic Environments: Source Modeling and Evaluation for Monitoring”

*Lauren Schaefer (GMES): “Application of remote sensing and numerical modeling to volcanic hazard monitoring”

*Emily Gochis (GMES): “Increasing Native American involvement in geosciences through interdisciplinary community-based student investigations”

Adam Blankenbicker, a Peace Corps Master’s International alumnus in geology, writes a science education blog called SciEd for the Public Library of Science (PLoS) web site. See SciEd Blog.
Adam is an Education Specialist at the Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History.

Colleen Mouw (GMES) has received $64,631 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for the first year of a potential three-year, $213,363 project, ” Interpreting Ecological Variability Using Remotely Observed Optical Properties and Ocean Models.”

Colleen Mouw (GMES) has been awarded a $9,374 research grant for “Development of Novel Detection and Prediction Algorithms for Microcystis Blooms” from the University of New Hampshire, as part of a three-year project totaling $98,284.

PI Simon Carn (GMES) has been awarded $58,114 for the first year of a five-year, $661,458 research grant for “Multi-Decadal Sulfur Dioxide Climatology from Satellite Instruments” from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

New Funding: Aleksey Smirnov has been awarded a one-year research grant totaling $334,200 for “Early Career: Acquisition of a High Sensitivity Superconducting Rock Magnetometer for Paleomagnetic and Paleointensity Research,” from NSF.

New Funding: Colleen Mouw has been awarded a $17,945 research grant for “Ocean Basin Impact of Ambient Noise on Marine Mammal Detectability, Distribution, and Acoustic Communication,” from Penn State University, for the first year of a potential 19 month project totaling $29,963.

Assistant Professor Gregory Waite (GMES) has received $112,564, for the first two years of a three-year project totaling $126,928, from the National Science Foundation for a project, “Geophysical Investigation of the Mid-continent Rift System.”

Alex Guth for being selected as Michigan Tech’s representative for the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools Excellence in Teaching Award. One particular aspect of her teaching innovations that fascinated the selection panel was her work in online education.
Wayne D Pennington said “We are honored to have Alex represent Michigan Tech in this competition!”

The 59th Annual Meeting of the Institute on Lake Superior Geology will be hosted by the Seaman Mineral Museum at Michigan Tech May 8 to May 11, 2013; Technical Sessions will be at the Franklin Square Inn, downtown Houghton. Registration Information

More Information on activities

Aleksey Smirnov has been honored with a prestigious National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Award, commonly known as a CAREER Award. The five-year, $470,000 grant will underwrite his research on the ancient history of the Earth’s magnetic field and how it may have affected the planet’s geology and even the evolution of living things.

MORE: From the Michigan Tech Research Magazine 2013 article by Dennis Walikainen

The Graduate Research Colloquium (GRC) was held on Feb 21-22, 2013. GRC was organized by the Graduate Student Government (GSG). Graduate students from all departments at Michigan Tech presented their research and ideas to other students and faculty in the form of oral or poster presentations. A group of judges that consists of faculty (and/or some invited members of industry) evaluated student’s presentations to award prizes to the best 1st, 2nd and 3rd presentations from each session (oral and poster). There are also three honorable mention awards given in both oral and poster presentation sessions.

In addition, at the Awards Banquet that was held on Friday evening February 23, the Graduate School presented several annual awards, including The Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award for 2013 was given to Gregory P. Waite of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences.

Recipient of Outstanding Faculty Mentor: Gregory P. Waite, shown here with Kevin Cassell (GSG), Gregory P. Waite, Josh Richardson and Dr. Jacqueline E. Huntoon, Dean of the Graduate School

Find out more about the Graduate Research Colloquium