The years go by, but some things never change. This flashback image to Shelden Avenue shows a slushy spring day in downtown Houghton, reminiscent of the spring weather this year. This image from the Earl Gagnon Collection is undated, but there are many landmarks and vintage cars that might allow an alum to help us identify the year of this photograph! What do you think? Let us know in the comments!
Alumni and friends in the West Michigan area have been enjoying a variety of events, from volunteering at the zoo to cheering on the Huskies, and enjoying delicious pickled eggs! If you’d like to follow along with what is happening in the West Michigan area, check out the West Michigan Alumni Facebook Page.
Some alumni in the West Michigan area volunteered to hand out goodies to children attending the “Boo at the Zoo” event at John Ball Park Zoo in Grand Rapids. They dressed in Halloween attire and socialized with the children and their families. Zoo staff set up booths and provided the goodies. It was a very cold day, but that did not keep them from having more than 1000 children stop by for treats!
To kick off the holiday season, a pizza and pub night was held at The Mitten Brewery in Grand Rapids in conjunction with our monthly meeting. This event drew 29 people. Various gourmet pizzas and delicious breadsticks gave everyone all they could eat. The Mitten Brewing Company—located in historic Engine House No. 9—was founded in November 2012 by lifelong friends Chris Andrus and Max Trierweiler. Their variety of beers offers something for everyone’s tastes.
Emma Zawisza ’12 ’16 helped host the event and attendees had the opportunity to score Michigan Tech swag, courtesy of the Office of Alumni Engagement. Anne Barton and Dave Cox ’76 won a classic Husky banner.
Michigan Tech alumni and friends, along with Head Coach Joe Shawhan, gathered on December 28 for the 2023 Great Lakes Invitational (2023) pregame social, hosted by the Michigan Tech Alumni Board of Directors. The social took place at Peppino’s Downtown Sports Grille, just a short walk from Van Andel Arena, before the Huskies took on Alaska Fairbanks. Michigan Tech branded door prizes were awarded, including signed hockey jerseys and GLI apparel and tumblers, courtesy of the Office of Alumni Engagement. The Huskies won the first game against Alaska Fairbanks, 3–2.
On December 29, the Huskies took on Michigan State for the GLI championship. The game ended in overtime play with a 3–3 tie. The Huskies won the shoot out for a final score of 4–3.
Hosts included current Michigan Tech Alumni Board members: Steve Williams ’86, Tonya Moore-Bouchard ’96, Britta Anderson ’15 ’23, Michelle Wazny ’10, Emma Zawisza ’12 ’16, and Diane Cesarz ’94, and Assistant Director of Alumni Engagement Jordan Shawhan.
Everyone enjoyed this event and made several comments on the great social and great games!
Holly Grzelak, daughter of Kevin ’89 and Lynn Grzelak, and a current mechanical engineering student, represented Michigan Tech at the United States Collegiate Ski and Snowboard Association Alpine Women’s Giant Slalom National Championship race in Lake Placid, New York. In one of the largest races held to date with 150 female athletes, she placed 33rd. Congratulations, Holly!
After a four-year break, the annual pickled egg contest took place at Schmohz Brewery in Grand Rapids. This year, we had five entries and approximately 20 people attended the event. All the eggs were great, so it was difficult to pick a single winner. However, by a slight margin, the first-place winner was Robert Casler. Mike Dunphy ’03 took second place, and third place went to Joshua Manning ’12. It was a great event and everyone enjoyed eating many pickled eggs and drinking Schmohz beer. Jim Crouch ’90 hosted the event. The Office of Alumni Engagement provided the prizes.
One of the benefits of being a Michigan Tech student is you are never more than a few minutes away from lakes and rivers for endless spring recreation. March is an especially great time for Brown Trout and Lake Trout fishing. The great undated image from the Brockway Photograph Collection shows off some of the trophy fish that are possible in our sportsman’s paradise. Do you have a favorite honey hole that you fished while you were here? Let us know your angler’s secrets in the comments!
In the wake of an unseasonably warm Winter Carnival, it makes sense to wonder what season we are really in! The snow that usually lingers until late spring, and even early summer in the deep woods, is nearly nonexistent so spring seems right on the horizon. Even though broomball, skiing, and other winter sports have been scarce this year, it is still possible to get some fresh air by hiking the trails or a good old-fashioned game of mud ball! When the weather gets warmer and the snow starts to go, what is your favorite thing to do in the Copper Country? Let us know in the comments.
Thanks to all the Michigan Tech alumni and friends who participated in the fourth annual Alumni “Snow” Statue Contest. Congratulations to the winners!
Title: In the Woods and Water Sasquatch Says Winters Are Getting Hotter
Participants: Kristen ’08 and Paul ’08 Roell, and their little Huskies Abigail (7), Philip (4), and Mae (1)
Location: Rapid City, Michigan
When camping in the UP forests or exploring the Lake Superior shore, has anyone seen this guy before? Whether the kids are watching for him while driving the Seney stretch or listening to scary stories about him around the campfire, Sasquatch brings fun to our family outdoor adventures. Our snow squatch began has a 6+ foot pile of snow, but with the warm temperatures, this elusive squatch is quickly melting away!
Title: Land of the Icy Blue Waters
Participants: Susan ’94, Scott ’90, and Erica Conradson
Location: Cadillac, Michigan
Sascha, the Hamms bear, has taken a wrong turn and ended up in the Land of the Icy Blue Waters, located in Michigan instead of her native Minnesota. She enjoys the Great Outdoors by fishing out of her hallowed canoe, having a cold drink, and singing “From the land of icy blue waters, from the land of pines and lofty balsams…” She better pay attention because the big fish is about to swim away. In keeping with the theme this year, she loves the outdoors, and she is partaking in the Tech Carnival tradition of celebrating winter and having a beverage.
Title: Michigan Birds of Winter Will Enjoy This Gourmet Dinner!
Participants: Lisa ’88 and Stephen ’86 Williams
Location: Cadillac, Michigan
Considering how much the birds (and other critters) enjoyed our entry last year, we decided to apply the craft to this year’s theme. Our statue pays tribute to those tough feathered friends that stick around during the (usually) brutal Michigan winters and roam our forests and shores. This statue is constructed in Cadillac, Michigan, out of completely consumable food products and bird/sunflower seeds. Representing some of our finest forest creatures (frogs, fish, birds, and squirrels), the sunflower seed-filled dough animals have been baked golden brown and are served up on a remaining snow drift. The backdrop is a sunflower seed-covered mountain that falls into the birdseed river. To ensure anyone who sees this has no doubt of the origin, we’ve thrown in a silhouette of the UP, a Piano Dog, and a couple of pasties! Now that the pics are snapped, it’s already under siege by our local feathered and furry friends!
Title: Wilbrrr’s Winter Wednesday
Participants: Ben Thompson ’09, with his children Aspen and Laurel, and Drew Vettel ’05, with his children Maeda and Jackson
Location: Woodruff, Wisconsin
We took a family vacation with friends to Woodruff, Wisconsin, and stayed at an Airbnb on a quiet little lake. The statue was built at the end of the dock at the place we are staying at. We harvested some broken pine boughs and flower parts from a kiddo craft project to add some character to the entry. Wilbrrr is sporting a pine mustache and mohawk. The statue was mostly built by Ben and Drew, but our eldest daughters helped a bit and we had plenty of playtime in the snow with them too (sledding, making snow angels, learning cross-country skiing, etc.).
As we prepare for Winter Carnival, we thought it timely to share an image of the upcoming Archives display to be featured at the Alumni Social + Winter Carnival Contests Exhibit on Saturday, February 10. Glimpses of Snow and Stage: Winter Carnival Contests through the Years will feature rich images and small displays of Michigan Tech memorabilia. Skits, the beard competition, human sled dog race, human bowling, snow statues, and many other traditions will delight one and all! If you have a Winter Carnival memory to share, please let us know in the comments.
Jessica Elwell once sat with her Senior Design team daydreaming about how they could solve all the problems of the world with thermodynamics. Now, she is actually solving one of those problems by converting carbon dioxide into oxygen and sustainable fuels.
Coming around the bend in Chassell during her first campus visit, Elwell thought, “Oh, this is home now. This is where I need to be.” The remote environment, affordability, and quality of the engineering education were all factors that led her to choose Michigan Tech. She graduated with a BS in Chemical Engineering in 2002, followed by an MS in Chemical Engineering in 2003.
Her career began at SE Johnson as a research engineer, but following that she frequently jumped industries, looking for what the position would add to her skill set versus what the job actually was. “I’ve had the opportunity to go from specialty chemicals to bio labs to ceramics to defense and aerospace. I even worked in weapons manufacturing for a bit,” she said. “It’s been a really diverse path.”
Now, Elwell is chief operation officer at OxEon Energy, a start-up specializing in complementary energy technologies capable of converting carbon dioxide and water to sustainable fuels, leading the way to solve the world’s energy-related problems. Elwell was a founding member in 2017, but left to gain experience and returned to the company in 2020. While formally working together at OxEon for just five years, the team has actually been collaborating for more than 30.
It was this team that designed, developed, and manufactured the Solid Oxide Electrolyzer at the heart of the Mars Oxygen In-Situ Resource Utilization Experiment—or MOXIE—which was named one of TIME’s Best Inventions of 2023. The device was attached to Mars’ Perseverance rover, successfully converting carbon dioxide into oxygen. Because of Elwell and team, if astronauts ever land on Mars, they will have air to breathe and propellant produced on Mars to support a return mission.
“We are the first team ever to produce a technology that made a commodity off of the surface of Earth from the resources that are available in that location,” Elwell said. “As technical program manager, that is my biggest achievement. That team, and that product, is what I’m most proud of.”
OxEon is currently scaling up manufacturing on the devices and using them to produce fuels on the Earth.
Elwell credits Michigan Tech for giving her the tools she needs to succeed. “I’ve worked with the best of the best in high-profile engineering companies. I appreciate the background that Michigan Tech gave me. I can sit in any of those rooms, at any of those tables, and I belong.”
Residing in Salt Lake City, Utah, with her two children, Alton and Kailyn, Elwell enjoys spending time outdoors in the beautiful Utah mountains, being active in the development of a sustainable fuels economy through industry associations and government activities, and volunteering for Women Who Succeed. Elwell is on the Board of Directors for the United States Hydrogen Alliance, as well as the Board of Governors for Utah’s Aerospace and Defense Association, 47G.
This tranquil image from Electric Park, winter 1915, is a gentle reminder to find the beauty in a simple stroll or snowshoe. Whether by land, sea, or sky, may your winter journeys be rich and memorable. If you have any travels or adventures planned for the holidays or during the winter season, let us know in the comments!
We had our first glimpses of snow in the past few weeks. There have been little bits of wintry mix and also the big fluffy snowflakes that make it feel like the whole campus is in a snow globe. This undated photograph of the Quincy Smelter seems to stand the test of time, as many University alumni can remember such a scene taking place, a tranquil reflection in the Keweenaw Waterway. Love it or otherwise, snow is an essential part of the Michigan Tech experience. What did you most look forward to when the powder would hit the landscape? Let us know in the comments!
Former Michigan Technological University President Dale F. Stein passed away October 9 in Tucson, Arizona. He served as Michigan Tech’s president from August 1979 until his retirement in 1991.
Prior to Stein’s presidency, he served as head of the Department of Metallurgical Engineering and vice president of academic affairs at Michigan Tech. He was inducted into the University’s Academy of Metallurgical and Materials Engineers as part of the inaugural 1996 class.
Stein held a Bachelor of Science in Metallurgy from the University of Minnesota and a Ph.D. in Metallurgy from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He began his career with the General Electric Company, then taught at the University of Minnesota, advancing to the rank of professor before coming to MTU in 1971.
He was a member of the National Academy of Engineering, a fellow of ASM, and a fellow and past president of the American Institute of Mining Engineering’s Metallurgical Society.
Taken from the Tech Today article from October 23, 2023.