Casey Huckins, (Bio Sci/GLRC) is the principal on a research project that received a $331,979 research grant from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources. The project is titled, Innovative and Multifaceted Control of Invasive Eurasian and Hybrid Watermilfoil Using Integrative Pest Management Principles.

Also involved in the project are Amy Marcarelli (Bio Sci), Erika Hersch-Green (Bio Sci) and Colin Brooks (Michigan Tech Research Institute).

This funding is part of the new MDNR Michigan Invasive Species Grants Program (MISGP)

Congratulations graduates!

Published June 4, 2015

By

Photos from Spring 2015 graduation.

20321 — Abby McCall, Roth Medoza, Becca Mills

Amy Marcarelli Receives NSF CAREER Award

Published June 3, 2015

By

Awards
News

May 4, 2015—

By Mark Wilcox

Research indicates human activities have altered the global nitrogen cycle as much or more than the global carbon cycle. Yet it seems the public is far less aware of these changes.

In the world of aquatic biology, it’s a long-held belief that what goes up, must come down. As human activity causes nitrogen loads to go up along the banks of rivers and streams, nitrogen levels go down through another process. Amy Marcarelli, a Michigan Technological University associate professor in biological sciences, has received a CAREER Award from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to study this nitrogen conversion balance.

She’s looking at two biological processes: nitrogen fixation and denitrification. Nitrogen fixation is sort of like a magic show where microbes take nitrogen out of thin air, turning it into a usable form for all organisms. The trick is in the biogeochemical process, which partitions and cycles chemical elements and compounds between the living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem. The process is more or less reversed in denitrification, with the gases released into the atmosphere. The result should be a net reduction in nitrogen loads in rivers and streams. Although nitrogen fixation could offset nitrogen losses from denitrification, we know little about where and when it occurs in streams and rivers, and how it responds to human activities.

Marcarelli is looking to apply updated analytical techniques and models to test alternative hypotheses regarding how the balance between nitrogen fixation and denitrification influences nitrogen loads in streams and rivers.

With funding from the CAREER award, Marcarelli and her team will help create more accurate nitrogen budgets and models which are needed to better understand and manage the human effects on nitrogen cycling at both regional and global scales.

The CAREER awards are prestigious grants from the NSF to young faculty who effectively integrate research and teaching. Marcarelli was awarded a 5-year, $794,661 grant to continue her research into nitrogen fixation and denitrification.

Not only will her research look to affirm, or disprove, long-held beliefs, but also to create a more ecologically-savvy citizenry by integrating ecosystem ecology techniques into K-12 and undergraduate education.

Read the rest of the article at the Michigan Tech news feed

Fruit Fly Genetics Reveal Pesticide Resistance and Insight Into Cancer

Published June 2, 2015

By

News

June 5, 2015—

For being so small, fruit flies have had a large impact on genetic research. Thomas Werner, an assistant professor of biological sciences at Michigan Technological University, has bridged the miniscule and the massive in an effort to better understand the mechanisms behind several unique features of fruit fly genes.

Over the past week, several studies that Werner co-authored have been published in PLoS ONE, the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, and Nature Education. All are linked by Drosophila—a genus of fruit flies—and the insights that fruit fly genetics provide on human health, specifically cancer-causing genes.

More here

Kerfoot honored for 25 years of service

Published May 27, 2015

By

Awards
News

Michigan Tech Employee Service Recognition Event

On Wednesday, May 6th, faculty and staff members, along with their guests, gathered at the Memorial Union Ballroom for an awards dinner recognizing 25, 30, 35, and 40 years of service to Michigan Tech.

The following employees were recognized.

25 Years

Ricky Ahola, Facilities Management
Victoria Bergvall, Humanities
Leonard Bohmann, College of Engineering
Jacek Borysow, Physics
Clifton Brusso, Facilities Management
Tomas Co, Chemical Engineering
Kelly Dube, Financial Services & Operations
Nikki Ebert, Dining Services
James Frendewey, School of Technology
Timothy Gasperich, Chemical Engineering
Christopher Green, Keweenaw Research Center
Janet Hayden, Vice President for Governmental Relations & Secretary of the Board of Trustees
Michael Hendricks, Vice President for Research
Robert Hiltunen, Auxiliary Services
Jackie Kentala, Athletic & Recreation Facility Operations
Charles Kerfoot, Biological Sciences
Alexander Kostinski, Physics
Joel Kunnari, Keweenaw Research Center
Denise Laux, Chemistry
Jerry Lutz, Chemistry
Walter Milligan, Materials Science and Engineering
Susan Niemi, Chemical Engineering
Gina Stevens, Social Sciences
Michael Tomasi, Facilities Management
Jeffrey Toorongian, William G. Jackson Center for Teaching & Learning
Judy Verran, Dining Services
Craig Waddell, Humanities
James Waineo, Keweenaw Research Center
Donald Williams, Counseling Services
James Wood, Geological & Mining Engineering & Sciences
Song-Lin Yang, Mechanical Engineering & Engineering Mechanics

30 Years

Terry Anderson, Kinesiology & Integrative Physiology
Joyce Fontaine, Financial Aid Administration
Don Kilpela, Merchandising Operations
Susan Laajala, Financial Services & Operations
Peter Laks, School of Forest Resources & Environmental Sciences
Amitabh Narain, Mechanical Engineering & Engineering Mechanics
Anita Quinn, Vice President for Administration
Nils Ruonavaara, Keweenaw Research Center
Madhukar Vable, Mechanical Engineering & Engineering Mechanics

35 Years

Theodore Bornhorst, AE Seaman Mineral Museum
Sheila Laitinen, Facilities Management

40 Years

Daniel Nutini, Dining Services

Retirees

Lisa Moyle, Housing and Residential Life

This year’s Staff Service Recognition luncheon will be held on June 17.

Congratulations to all honorees.

Faculty, instructors and graduate students represented in the top 10% for spring term.

Published May 14, 2015

By

Congratulations to the following faculty, instructors and graduate students from Biological Sciences Department for their inclusion in the list of campus wide, top 10% instructors in Spring 2015 semester.

The following faculty received scores above 4.54 out of 5 on average of 7 elements of university-wide class size group with response rate of >50% on student evaluations of their lecture classes:

Dr. Casey Huckins, Associate Professor
Ms. Brigitte Morin, Lecturer
Ms. Karyn Fay, Professor of Practice
Dr. Thomas Snyder, Associate Professor
Dr. Thomas Werner, Assistant Professor

The following instructors received scores above 4.47 out of 5 on average of 7 elements of university-wide class size group with response rate of >50% on student evaluations of their lecture/lab classes:

Ms. Ann Cooke, instructor
Ms. Emily Geiger, Graduate student
Dr. Jennifer Sanders, instructor
Mr. Travis Wakeham, Undergraduate student

Kerfoot Receives Lifetime Achievement Award

Published May 12, 2015

By

Awards
News

Professor Charles Kerfoot (BioSci) has received the 2015 IAGLR Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Association for Great Lakes Research. The award recognizes important and continued contributions to the field of Great Lakes research for 20 years or more. In a letter notifying Kerfoot of the award, Douglas D. Kane, president of the IAGLR, congratulated him on an “incredibly productive and significant career.”

Dr. Kerfoot will be presenting at IAGLR 2015 (http://www.iaglr.org/iaglr2015/) on how Bythotrephes affects zooplankton community composition, at the University of Vermont in late May.

Calumet High School Places First in Bioathlon

Published May 8, 2015

By

by Jenn Donovan

A team of high school students from Calumet High School took top honors in Michigan Tech’s annual Bioathlon, a biology competition held Wednesday.

A team from West Iron County High School placed second and a team from A.D. Johnston HIgh School in Bessemer was third.

The Bioathlon’s goal is to stimulate interest in biology and in problem-solving among high school students. Teams from 15 Upper Peninsula high schools participated. Each team consisted of four students who have not taken biology classes beyond the traditional sophomore general biology course.

The teams tackled the same four problems: dissection of a dogfish shark; biochemical effects on enzymes; field identification; and a medical laboratory science challenge.

A workshop on animal migration was offered for the teachers who accompanied the students to the competition.

Undergraduate and graduate students and biology faculty participated in designing the problems and supervising the competition.

Funding for the Bioathlon was provided by Michigan Tech Admissions, the Department of Biological Sciences, the Michigan Tech Fund and alumni Mark Cowan, Robert and Kathryn DellAngelo, Olive Kimball, Nancy Auer and Janice Glime.

More information on Bioathlon is available here.

Tang, Werner awarded Research Excellence Funds

Published May 8, 2015

By

News

REF Awards Announced

by Natasha Chopp

The Vice President for Research Office announces the Research Execellence Fund Awards. Thanks to the volunteer review committees, as well as the deans and department chairs, for their time spent on this important internal research award process.

Infrastructure Enhancement Grants:

Stephen Kampe, IMP/MSE. Environmental Test Chamber
Sean Kirkpatrick, BRC/Biomed Eng. Repair and Upgrade Advanced Fluorescent Microscope
Will Cantrell, EPSSI/Physics. Acquisition of a Cloud Condensation Nucleus Counter
Cary Chabalowski, Chemistry. Acquisition of a DNA Synthesizer
Andrew Burton, ESC/SFRES. Remote Data Acquisition

Scholarship and Creativity Grants:

Joel Neves, VPA
Chelsea Schelly, SS
Marika Seigel, Humanities

Research Seed Grants:

Xiaoqing Tang, Bio Science
Feng Zhao, Biomed Eng
Snehamoy Chatterjee, GME
Loredana Valenzano, Chemistry
Thomas Werner, BRC/Bio Sci
Seyyedmohsen Azizi, SoT
Sunil Mehendale, SoT
Jingfeng Jiang, BRC/Biomed Eng
Tarun Dam, Chemistry
Amy Schrank, ESC/SFRES
Zhen “Leo” Liu, CEE
Don Lafreniere, GLRC/SS
Steve Elmer, KIP
Amber Roth, ESC/SFRES
Sigrid Resh, ESC/SFRES