Posts under the ‘Suceeding in Graduate School’ category

Patrick Bowen, PhD in Materials Science and Engineering

Researchers have been trying to solve the problem by designing a stent that will hold an artery open and then dissolve harmlessly after the blood vessel heals. Traditional metals have not had the right properties, however.

Now a team of scientists at Michigan Tech is experimenting with a novel material that may lead to a new generation of bioabsorbable stents: zinc.

For the full story, click here.

Published in Tech Today by Marcia Goodrich, magazine editor

Materials science and engineering professor Jiann-Yang “Jim” Hwang and 2012 PhD graduate Zhiwei Peng have been chosen to receive Michigan Technological University’s 2013 Bhakta Rath Research Award for their studies on the use of microwaves in steelmaking.

The award, endowed by Michigan Tech alumnus Bhakta Rath and his wife, Shushama, recognizes a doctoral student at Michigan Tech and his/her faculty advisor for “exceptional research of particular value that anticipates the future needs of the nation while supporting advances in emerging technology.” Hwang and Peng, now a research assistant professor, will share a $2,000 prize.

Peng and Hwang were nominated by Stephen Kampe, the St. John Professor and chair of the materials science and engineering department.

Kampe called Peng’s work “incredibly thorough in scope and rigorous in its approach.” He noted that Hwang has researched microwave steelmaking for years “and has become a renowned authority on environmental and sustainability issues within the materials processing industries.

“This project represents an excellent fit with Dr. Rath’s vision of this award,” Kampe said.

The researcher did theoretical and experimental work on the use of microwaves to heat materials, particularly magnetic substances, and offered ways to improve microwaves’ heating efficiency. They also provided guidelines for making large-scale microwave furnaces for industrial use. Peng’s dissertation research was an integral part of three grants totaling $2.6 million.

Their work has led to five books, 25 papers and invitations to prepare books on microwave heating.

In support of the nomination, Dinesh Agrawal of Penn State wrote that Peng’s work “will surely accelerate the development of microwave heating for various applications in the field of ceramic and metallic materials, organics synthesis, biomedical treatments, etc.” And Jian Li of Canada’s CanmetMATERIALS research laboratory wrote that Peng’s dissertation reveals “great potential in energy saving and environmental safety.”

Mingming Zhang of the Canadian steel and mining company ArcelorMittal wrote that Peng’s research “attracted my attention because of its huge potential in energy savings and environmental protection compared with conventional technologies,” adding that the achievement is all the more remarkable because steelmaking consumes more energy than any other industry. “Moreover, there is a great possibility to substantially reduce the CO2, SOx and NOx emissions, contributing to an environmentally friendly world,” Zhang said.

Peng’s solid foundation in math and science and his interdisciplinary approach have been key to the project’s success, said his advisor. “He is not afraid of challenges, and he willingly took courses from other departments that advanced his research,” Hwang said. “By combining knowledge from several disciplines, Zhiwei has developed a new field of research.”

Published in Tech Today by Marcia Goodrich, magazine editor

Douglas Smith will be traveling to Beijing this summer, courtesy of the National Science Foundation East Asia and Pacific Summer Institutes.

Smith, who is earning his MS in Chemistry, received the EAPSI fellowship to conduct research at Beijing Technological University. The fellowships support research in several countries around the Pacific Rim, but Smith was drawn to China in particular.

“Since my adviser and most of my lab mates are from China, I thought, if they are making the effort to be here in the US, I should try and go over there and walk a mile in their shoes,” he said.

EAPSI fellowships give graduate students first-hand research experience outside the US; an introduction to the host nation’s science, science policy, and scientific infrastructure; and an orientation to the culture and language. NSF’s aim is to prepare researchers for international collaborations early in their careers, thus ensuring a globally aware US scientific workforce.

Smith started his research career as an undergraduate, working with Assistant Professor Lanrong Bi (Chemistry). After he completed his BS in Pharmaceutical Chemistry, she continued as his advisor.

In China, Smith will be furthering studies on a series of new fluorescent dyes that can detect changes in the pH of organelles–minute structures within cells involved many physiological processes. Changes in pH can serve as an early warning system for disease, and the dyes can also help scientists understand the inner workings of cells.

Smith’s research has been expedited by the confocal microscope the University acquired in December. It uses lasers and high-end optics to take 3D images of cells, tissue and nanomaterials without destroying samples. “I feel that the Olympus confocal microscope was key to generate the important preliminary results for applying the EAPSI fellowship,” he said.

Bi agreed. “Doug has done excellent work, and he is highly deserving of this fellowship,” said Bi. “Having access to this equipment has helped him–and our entire team–to be much more productive. All the members of our team are grateful to each of the units that helped fund the microscope, especially the College of Sciences and Arts, which spearheaded the purchase.”

Published in Tech Today

Nazmiye Yapici, a PhD candidate in chemistry, has placed third in the graduate student division of the first virtual Sigma Xi Research Showcase, Cellular and Molecular Biology section.

She was honored for her presentation, “Detection of Mitochondrial Oxidative Stress.” The results will be featured in Sigma Xi social media and in American Scientist Magazine.

In addition, Yapici has been invited to give two oral presentations in the Gordon Research Seminars and Gordon Research Conferences, among the world’s premier scientific conferences. She has also been accepted to give two presentations in the American Chemical Society National Meeting.

The research was made possible in part by the recent acquisition of a new confocal microscope, which uses lasers and high-end optics to take 3D images of cells, tissue and nanomaterials without destroying the sample.

“The confocal microscope has helped many of us be so much more productive,” said Yapici’s advisor, Assistant Professor Lanrong Bi (Chemistry). “Our students are extremely appreciative because it has helped advance their research.”

Published in TechToday

The J. Robert Van Pelt and John and Ruanne Opie Library presents a series of EndNote Workshops.

EndNote is a citation management software that helps you easily create and manage bibliographic information and incorporate references into your writing.  In other words, EndNote streamlines the research and reporting process.

Seating for these workshops is limited and registration is required. To register please visit: EndNote LibGuide

Note: Our sessions use EndNote X6 on PCs.  Laptop users are encouraged to update their versions of EndNote prior to the session.  See the Library’sEndNote Download page.

EndNote Basic I: Creating and Organizing an EndNote Library

• January 25th, 12:00 PM in room 242
• A 1 hour introductory workshop on creating and managing references using the citation management software, EndNote.

EndNote Basic II: Cite While You Write (CWYW)

• January 25th, 1:15 PM in room 242
• A 1 hour EndNote Workshop on how to incorporate your EndNote Library citations into a written document (MS Word).  Attendance of EndNote Basic I Workshop, or prior knowledge of building and managing an EndNote library, is highly recommended.

EndNote Special Topics: Working with Travel Libraries

• January 25th, 2:30 PM in room 242
• A 45 minute EndNote Workshop on EndNote Traveling Libraries.  Attendance of EndNote Basic I & II Workshops, or prior knowledge of building and managing an EndNote library, is highly recommended.

With the increased enrollment of students who openly identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (GLBTQ), the Michigan Tech Safe Place Program is designed to be a comprehensive and in-depth resource to better prepare faculty, staff, and graduate assistants to address the needs of these students. The training program addresses a wide range of terms that GLBTQ students use to define their identities, issues that GLBTQ students often deal with during the coming out process, concerns that GLBTQ students face both in and out of the classroom, ways that faculty, staff, and graduate assistants can create inclusive classroom and office environments, where faculty, staff, and graduate assistants can refer students who need to report harassment, and the on- and off-campus resources available to students. All graduate students are invited to participate in the program. The spring 2013 training times and the online registration form are available at http://safeplace.mtu.edu/register.php.

This article from ASEE Prism has some great insights into the training some universities are offering students so that they can hit the ground running in industrial positions. Michigan Tech offers business training for its student both formally and informally. If a career in industry might be in your future, try checking out these suggestions to find relevant training to help you succeed.

Are you a millennial?  Are you mentoring a millennial?

NACE recently posted ten tips for mentoring millennials.  As a graduate student, these tips can help you mentor undergraduate researchers you may be working with, or you might try reverse engineering them to get the most out of mentoring relationships you have formed.

The Graduate Student Government, Graduate Faculty Council, University Senate, and administration have approved the new “Guide to Completing a Graduate Degree and Preparing and Submitting a Dissertation, Thesis, or Report at Michigan Technological University.”

Because this Guide makes the submission process similar for all documents, and the formatting requirements are much simpler, the new requirements will be applied retroactively to all pending submissions and to all new submissions.

The web site has been updated to reflect changes for dissertations, theses, and reports.  Highlights are below:

New Deadlines

• Deadlines to complete a degree have changed. The deadline to submit a final dissertation, thesis, or report to complete a degree in fall 2012 is December 17, 2012.
  • Students defending in fall 2012 may request an extension of this deadline in writing to Dr. Debra Charlesworth (dissertations or theses) or Ms. Nancy Byers Sprague (reports). Requests must be made prior to December 17, 2012.
  • There is no deadline to conduct a final oral examination (defense). Students are recommended to defend well in advance of the deadline to submit a final document to allow sufficient time to incorporate the technical changes required by their committee.

New Formatting Requirements

• Formatting requirements are much simpler with the new Guide.
• A new template for formatting title and approval pages is available.
• The changes are summarized in the sample Review of a Dissertation, Thesis, or Report form.

New Forms

New forms have been released, and only the new versions will be accepted.  A summary of the important changes is below:

• Pre-defense form
  • This form now only asks for the defense time & date along with committee information.
  • Students who have already submitted a Pre-defense form do not need to re-submit this form.
  • Beginning immediately, if an old Pre-defense form is submitted, the Publishing agreement that was in this form will be discarded.
• Report on final oral examination form
  • New form for students completing a dissertation, thesis, or report.
  • Students who have already submitted a Verification of final degree requirements form do not need to submit this form.
  • Contains check-boxes for each member of the committee to provide examination results to the Graduate School.
• Verification of final degree requirements form
  • This form will now only be required for coursework Master’s students and Master of Engineering students.
• Approval of a final dissertation, thesis, or report
  • New form for students completing a dissertation, thesis, or report.m
  • Replaces the “signature page” in the dissertation, thesis, or report
  • Due before the final document is submitted to Canvas, but may not arrive earlier than one week before the final submission.
  • As the Graduate School works toward automating processes, this form will be replaced by an electronic approval process.
• Degree completion form
  • It updates the required number of bound copies for the Library (1 for dissertations, none for Master’s students)
  • Contains the Publishing agreement which was previously part of the Pre-defense form

Michigan Tech will hold its inaugural celebration of Ada Lovelace Day, an annual event held to recognize the accomplishments and contributions of women to the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics and to encourage young women to pursue careers in STEM fields.

Tech’s celebration will be a two-day series of events beginning at 7 p.m., on Tuesday, Oct. 16, in Fisher 139 as Professor Martha Sloan (ECE) and guest speakers Mary Long and Michelle Eggart discuss their experiences as women working in STEM fields.

On Wednesday, Oct. 17, from 8 to 10 p.m., in Fisher 135 there will be a film screening of “The Gender Chip Project” followed by a panel discussion featuring female faculty and graduate students from departments across campus, including Sarah Green, Nina Mahmoudian, Laura Brown, Patty Sotirin and Kaitlyn Bunker, who will discuss their experiences as women in STEM disciplines of academia.

Both events are free and open to the public, and concessions will be provided free of charge for the film screening. To view the event flyer, visit Ada Lovelace.

In addition, there will be a display on the first floor of the J. R. Van Pelt and John and Ruanne Opie Library featuring books and articles by women in STEM.

For information about upcoming diversity-related events, contact Renee Wells at rrwells@mtu.edu to subscribe to the weekly Diversity Programs listserv.