SACNAS offering travel scholarships – Deadline Extended!

SACNAS provides over 900 Travel Scholarship Awards each year to attend their annual conference. Travel scholarships cover travel and/or lodging expenses for undergraduates, post baccalaureates, graduates, and postdocs to attend the SACNAS National Conference.

SACNAS National Conference
As one of the largest annual gatherings of minority scientists in the country, the interdisciplinary, inclusive, and interactive SACNAS National Conference motivates and inspires with:

  • Professional & leadership development sessions
  • Student & postdoc presentations
  • Scientific symposia sessions
  • Nationally recognized keynote speakers
  • Over 300 exhibits sharing training, research, grad school, and job opportunities
  • Networking and mentoring events
  • Cultural activities & performances

Showcasing cutting-edge science by the nation’s leading minority scientists and offering a supportive community is what makes the annual meeting a transformative event for all participants. Connect with professionals and students in all disciplines of science, technology, mathematics, and engineering from across the country.

Upcoming National Conferences
The annual conference takes place every fall. This year’s conference is scheduled for:

2011: Empowering Innovation and Synergy Through Diversity October 27-30, 2011 in San Jose, California

Apply Now: Deadline Extended!

Michigan Tech and UP highlighted in Smithsonian Magazine

The May issue of Smithsonian Magazine highlighted many of the wonders contained in the UP of Michigan.  “With Lake Superior to the north, Lake Michigan to the south and Lake Huron to the east, the UP covers 16,542 square miles, or about 28 percent of Michigan’s landmass.”

To read more about the UP, including the Ford Center in Alberta which hosts Michigan Tech’s forestry research center see Smithsonian.

NASA Internships Available for Fall, Spring Semesters

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) offers a variety of paid internships for undergraduate and graduate students, for both the fall 2011 and spring 2012 semesters. The internships are in a variety of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) disciplines, as well as business and finance.

Application deadline is May 31.  For more information visit intern.

Published in Tech Today.

Graduate Student Represents Tech at National Poster Competion

Graduate student Michael Brodeur-Campbell, an IGERT (Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship) trainee, is representing the University in IGERT’s 2011 national poster competition. He is a PhD candidate in chemical engineering.  His poster is titled “Implications of the Renewable Fuels Standard on Upper-Midwest Land Use.”

IGERT is the National Science Foundation’s flagship interdisciplinary training program, educating PhD scientists and engineers by building on the foundations of their disciplinary knowledge with interdisciplinary training.

See Brodeur-Campbell’s poster at IGERT .

Finalists will be announced on Friday, May 6.

Tech Participates in Michigan’s Construction Career Days

Michigan Tech’s University Transportation Center for Materials in Sustainable Transportation Infrastructure (UTC‐MiSTI) and the Center for Technology and Training (CTT) traveled to Lansing last week to participate in Michigan’s Construction Career Days, a workforce development event.

This is the fourth year Michigan’s transportation and construction industry has hosted the event which provides educational and career information. Staff from the CTT served as on-site volunteers providing logistical assistance.

Michigan Tech’s UTC‐MiSTI provides funding to offset the transportation costs for the forty-plus schools bringing more than 2,400 middle and high school students to the event.

Undergraduates, graduate students and staff from the UTC‐MiSTI, the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the Transportation Institute’s Rail Transportation Program and Admissions interacted with students, teachers and counselors at the University’s informational exhibit.

Photos from this year’s event can be viewed at MiSTI .

Published in Tech Today

New theses and dissertations available in the Library

The Graduate School is pleased to announce new theses and dissertations are now available in the J.R. van Pelt and Opie Library from the following programs:

  • Chemistry
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Engineering Mechanics
  • Forest Science
  • Rhetoric and Technical Communication

Colina Dutta
Master of Science in Chemistry
Co-advisors: Dario J Stacchiola and Gerard T Caneba
Thesis title: Ultrasonic Dispersion of Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes and Cellulose

Yinfei Fu
Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical Engineering
Advisor: Zhi Tian
Dissertation title: Multi-Target Tracking and Localization in Distributed Wireless Sensor Networks

Nicholas Mastricola
Master of Science in Engineering Mechanics
Advisor: Ossama Omar Abdelkhalik
Thesis title: Quantification of Relativistic Perturbation Forces on Spacecraft Trajectories

Sara Robinson
Doctor of Philosophy in Forest Science
Advisor: Peter E Laks
Dissertation title: The Scientific, Artistic, and Practical Implications of Sub-lethal Fungicide Levels in Wood Exposed to Fungi

Cynthia Weber
Doctor of Philosophy in Rhetoric and Technical Communication
Advisor: Jennifer Daryl Slack
Dissertation title: In Defense of a Liberal Education: The Language and Politics of Academic Freedom

Board of Control Approves Budget, Tuition for 2011-12

At a regular meeting last Friday, the Board of Control passed a $160 million general fund budget for fiscal year 2012, which begins July 1, 2011. It includes an increase of 6.95 percent in tuition and mandatory fees. The Board previously increased room and board rates by 2.2 percent for next year.

The general fund is that component of the budget covering most general academic and administrative costs. The total University operating budget, which includes sponsored research, will be $251 million, an increase of $6 million over fiscal year 2011.

The tuition increase meets the Governor’s budget proposal guideline, which lowers a recommended 22 percent decrease in appropriations for state universities to a 15 percent decrease, providing tuition and mandatory fees increases are kept under 7.1 percent.

Michigan Tech’s new budget is based on this expected 15 percent decline in State of Michigan appropriations, from $47.9 million this year to $ 40.7 million next year.

This year billing will be simplified by combining tuition and mandatory fees, which will go up from an average of $13,007 for the 2010-2011 academic year to an average of $13,910.50 in 2011-2012.

“Accounting for inflation, state funding has been rolled back to the level of the late 1960’s, when the University had only 60 percent of today’s enrollment and little research and graduate school activity. Despite severe state funding reductions, Michigan Tech is committed to preserving the core qualities of our educational programs and supporting our outstanding faculty and staff,” said President Glenn Mroz.

Commenting on the appeal of Michigan Tech to students in favorable or difficult economic times, Mroz said, “Our undergraduate students enroll because Michigan Tech offers them advantages they will not find elsewhere. They will be on a first-name basis with professors who care about their development. They will experience hands-on learning, have access to leading-edge equipment and laboratories, and enjoy small class sizes. Students seek these distinctive advantages which will make them stand out in their career pursuits. Despite the state funding cuts, our students clearly value a Michigan Tech education. And, we will stand firm in continuing to provide that unique educational experience.”

Marty Richardson, Board chair, said: “Though the decline in state support is challenging, this budget reflects a continuing focus on what is most important at Michigan Tech. Our vision is to be a world-class technological university and we have not wavered from that. Students, graduates and employers expect and deserve that.”

The budget increases financial aid for students from $26.3 million to $27.3 million. It also includes $3.8 million in spending reductions. Those for administrative units averaged 4 percent, and those for academic units averaged 2 percent.

“The message is clear,” said Steve Hicks, chair of the Board’s Finance and Audit Committee. “We have extended our commitment to increase access to students, and the funding of academics remains our top priority.”

Michigan Tech will continue to implement continuous improvement measures, positioning the University for success in a rapidly changing economic environment, Mroz also told the Board.

Included in the new budget is a pool of funds for promotional increases for faculty, specifically those who will move up in the academic ranks.

The Board re-elected Marty Richardson as its chair and Steve Hicks as vice chair for the coming fiscal year.

In other business, the Board:

  • Approved and saluted the promotion of 7 full professors, 13 associate professors and 3 lecturers.
  • Congratulated the 753 undergraduates and 204 graduate students who received degrees at Spring Commencement.
  • Granted an honorary posthumous Bachelor of Science in Forestry to Stephen Eagal.
  • Passed a resolution of appreciation for Edward Maki for 38 years of service.
  • Approved a proposal for Michigan Tech to offer a Master of Science in Geospatial Technology.
  • Approved renaming the former Blizzard Snowplow building near the airport the Advanced Power Systems Research Center.
  • Changed the name of the Department of Exercise Science, Health, and Physical Education to the Department of Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology.

Published in Tech Today
by Jennifer Donovan, director of public relations

Leader in Industry and Government is Commencement Speaker

Norman Augustine, a leader in both business and government and a powerful advocate for science and engineering education, will address the graduates at Spring Commencement, Saturday, April 30.

The University will honor the achievements of nearly 1,000 graduates, including 753 students receiving undergraduate degrees, 156 master’s degree recipients and 48 PhD graduates.

For more information, visit: commence.

Michigan Tech will provide live and on-demand video/audio streaming of the ceremony. For more information and to test your browser for compatibility, the link is also available on the commencement webpage. Click on “Watch Live,” highlighted in yellow.

Published in Tech Today.

Open House for the Humanities Digital Media Zone this Friday

The renovated Humanities Digital Media Zone (HDMZ) will host an open house at 1:30 p.m., Friday, April 29. Members of the Michigan Tech Board of Control and the administration are expected to attend, and the public is also welcome. The HDMZ is located on the first floor of Walker. The project cost $550,000 and was funded by departmental resources, student fees and donor contributions.

“The HDMZ is designed to create a flexible and sophisticated technological work and social environment,” said Erin Smith, director of the project and senior lecturer in humanities. “The new HDMZ serves a broad range of humanities-centered educational goals and technology practices. It represents the consolidation of the former Center for Computerized Language Instruction (CCLI) and the Modern Language Lab, as well as a classroom and a number of other discrete spaces.”

The new HDMZ includes:

  • a commons area with PC and Mac computing and comfortable seating for work on laptops and other mobile devices
  • a digital media studio with Macintosh computers and software for media development
  • a laptop classroom with Smartboard and projection systems
  • two private recording and listening rooms
  • a new multipurpose seminar space for a range of activities and research, including language cafés, gaming and video-conferencing
  • a centrally located resource desk staffed by student consultants with specialties in foreign languages and/or media development
  • director and support staff offices
  • offices for Cin/Optic Enterprise and student chapter of the Society for Technical Communication

Other resources available to students include digital SLR and video cameras, voice recorders, smart pens, graphics tablets and other language and media resources.

“In addition to improving the services and technology that we offer to students and faculty, the renovation makes visible the interdisciplinary and global nature of the research, teaching and work done by humanities faculty and students,” Smith said. “With its open floor plan, range of technology resources and opportunities for interaction and collaboration, the HDMZ strives to situate technology use as a complex human practice undertaken in a global context.”

Published in Tech Today.

Geology student awarded Fulbright Scholarship

Doctoral student Luke Bowman (Geology ’14) has been awarded a Fulbright Scholarship for the coming academic year. He will be doing research on hazards communications in El Salvador. The title of his project is “Developing Culturally Appropriate Disaster Risk Reduction Strategies in El Salvador.” Bowman’s advisors are Professor John Gierke (GMES) and Professor Bill Rose (GMES).

Bowman is a returned Peace Corps volunteer and has extensive experience in Central and South America. His BA in Geology is from Hanover College. He has an MS degree in Geology from Michigan Tech. He also has worked on ethnography in the social sciences department.

By discovering culturally appropriate ways of involving local populations in project design and decision making–and by integrating local knowledge and coping strategies into risk plans at the administrative level–Bowman hopes risk communication can be greatly enhanced.

He says, “Melding the organizational aspects of aid institutions with a dynamic cultural understanding of how communities perceive geological hazards is key to developing trust and devising effective, sustainable methods to help people prepare for future disasters.”

Published in Tech Today.