Category: MIS

Dr. Jeffrey Wall Recognized at the MTU Teaching Showcase

During each spring semester, the five college Deans will identify outstanding instructors within their unit. (Engineering-4, Sciences and Arts-5, Business-1, Forestry-1, and Technology-1) These twelve nominees (allocated proportionally by the total number of affiliated faculty) are announced one per week through the spring term. All twelve are invited to an end-of-term luncheon where they receive formal recognition and a small token of appreciation from the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL).

Beginning in 2017, Deans’ Teaching Showcase winners are considered (along with the distinguished teaching award finalists not selected) for three additional university-wide $1000 awards in targeted areas. Awards are given for exceptional large classroom/introductory teaching, innovative or outside the classroom teaching methods, and/or curriculum or assessment development. Each awardee is asked to make a presentation at a separate CTL event the following fall, sharing exceptional contributions and formally receiving recognition. Recipients take part in the next selection process.

This year, the School of Business and Economics is proud to recognize Dr. Jeffrey Wall, Assistant Professor of Management Information Systems.

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Shawn Badanjek, Engineering Management & MIS, Wins Big at Lear Open Innovation Challenge with other Michigan Tech Students

By Jennifer Donovan
Original Link

Five Michigan Tech students competed in the Lear Open Innovation Challenge 2018, and four brought home awards.

Michigan Technological University students Shawn Badanjek, Mayank Bagaria, Anurag Kamal, Cameron Philo and Arvind Ravindran completed this year’s challenge, and Badanjek [student in the School of Business and Economics] was a member of the team that won the grand prize.

Lear Corporation, based in Detroit, is a leading automotive supplier that hosts the annual challenge to build connections with the state’s universities and tap new sources of innovative ideas.

“Detroit is the birthplace of the automobile, and, leveraging this proud legacy and manufacturing expertise, its industries are poised to be ground zero for the development of tomorrow’s mobility solutions,” the Lear Open Innovation Challenge website explains.

The challenge is conducted by the Innovatrium, a consulting firm founded to help organizations build the internal capacity to innovate and grow.

This year’s Lear Challenge had 57 participants from six universities: Michigan Tech, Michigan State University, Wayne State University, the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, the University of Michigan-Dearborn and the University of Detroit-Mercy.

The Lear Open Innovation Challenge presents a problem to interdisciplinary teams of university students. This year, the challenge involved increasing vehicle occupant safety. Two weeks later, the teams meet in Detroit to present their solutions.

The competition is designed to teach an innovative mindset, prepare students to create ideas for the future of mobility and vehicle connectivity, work with innovation coaches and Lear technology development experts and learn how to develop solutions that advance technology and manufacturing. While in Detroit, the student teams get a tour of Lear’s headquarters and a chance to network with top companies in the Detroit area and faculty from Michigan Tech, Michigan State, Wayne State, the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor and University of Michigan-Dearborn.

Grand Prize Winner

Five Michigan Tech students completed the challenge and four received awards. One, Shawn Badanjek, was a member of the team that won the Grand Prize. A senior in engineering management [and management information systems], he will receive an internship with Lear for the summer, where he will work with his team to develop a prototype of their idea. He will also receive $250 cash prize, a Haworth Fern chair (customized personally for him) and a set of Detroit Tigers tickets.

Lear Open Innovation Challenge grand-prize-winning team

Lear Open Innovation Challenge grand-prize-winning team: (from left) Michigan Tech student Shawn Badanjek, Janelle Newman, Shivam Bajaj, Nicole Goldi and Adrian Maloy.

Badanjek has high praise for the competition mentors. “I believe the guidance and mentoring I received from these people was priceless,” he says. “I learned more about high-level team building and interaction in two weeks than in any semester-long class I have ever taken. This is something you learn that will be with you and help you navigate team interactions for life.”

Two other students, Cameron Philo—a Pavlis Honors College student—and Mayank Bagaria, were on a team that won an award for the most innovative idea. They will each receive a $250 cash prize.

“We approached the problem from a very different perspective, not as a conventional mechanical engineer would design, but as a biomedical engineer would design,” says Bagaria, a graduate student in mechanical engineering. “Working on the team was an awesome experience; diverse universities with people from different majors provided a very different perspective to the solution. The whole experience made me realize my strength and areas I need to work on. Michigan Tech helped us throughout the process. It would not have been possible to go and compete in Detroit without Michigan Tech.”

Michigan Technological University is a public research university, home to more than 7,000 students from 60 countries around the world. Founded in 1885, the University offers more than 120 undergraduate and graduate degree programs in science and technology, engineering, forestry, business and economics, health professions, humanities, mathematics, and social sciences. Our beautiful campus in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula overlooks the Keweenaw Waterway and is just a few miles from Lake Superior.

Dean’s Teaching Showcase: Jeff Wall

Our third Deans’ Teaching Showcase member for spring 2018 comes from Dean Johnson in the School of Business and Economics (SBE). Johnson has selected Jeff Wall, assistant professor. During his brief time at Tech, Wall has already been recognized as the SBE Teacher of the Year Award and with membership in the Academy of Teaching Excellence. Johnson credits Wall’s teaching success to his “humble, demure and genuine passion for students combined with a deep knowledge of his field.”

In his nomination, Johnson also emphasized Wall’s flexibility: “From the freshman intro course to the advanced graduate MBA and Master of Data Science course, Jeff has the ability to effectively teach a wide range of topics and class levels. Jeff consistently receives high teaching evaluations and positive comments from students across this spectrum. I believe this is due to Jeff’s ability to make each student an active valuable member of the class.”

When asked how he helps students feel included, Wall emphasizes using projects and a need for a “safe” environment to enable learning. He elaborates, “In the classroom, I seek to foster an environment of mutual respect and to create an environment where it is okay to experiment and make mistakes. During experiential learning sessions, student teams are asked to present their work to the class for critique. Students see that all of the teams make mistakes. These sessions help to reinforce the idea that making mistakes is an important part of the learning process. From these sessions, students see what common mistakes may occur in practice and how to avoid or remedy them in the future.”

Wall will be recognized at an end-of-term luncheon with 11 other showcase members, and is now eligible for one of three new teaching awards to be given by the William G. Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning this summer recognizing introductory or large class teaching, innovative or outside the classroom teaching methods, or work in curriculum and assessment.

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-by Michael Meyer, Director, William G. Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning

Baltus Named Captain of Hockey Huskies

Congratulations to SBE students Brent Baltus (MBA), Joel L’Esperance (MIS) and Mitch Reinke (Management) on being selected to lead Husky Hockey.

MTU 2017-18 Hockey Captains

Posted Sept 14, 2017

HOUGHTON, Mich. – Michigan Tech head hockey coach Joe Shawhan has named Brent Baltus the captain of the 2017-18 Huskies. Joel L’EsperanceDylan StemanJake Lucchini, and Mitch Reinke will serve as alternate captains.

“These young men understand the expectations on the ice, in the community, and in the classroom placed upon them by our staff,” First-year head coach Joe Shawhan said. “Brent was a part of the class that reestablished the Michigan Tech hockey tradition. He leads with quiet confidence and has the total support of the locker room.

“The alternates are all individuals who show up to the rink everyday with a positive attitude. They support their teammates and lead by example on and off the ice.”

Baltus, a senior forward from Nanaimo, British Columbia, was an alternate captain last year. He played in 14 games, scoring two goals and adding two assists before a season-ending injury. He enters his final year two games shy of 100 for his career and has 43 career points on 18 goals and 25 assists. Baltus is a three-time WCHA All-Academic Team member and two-time WCHA Scholar Athlete.

L’Esperance leads the team in career games played (108) and points (34g-37A=71). He led last year’s squad with 28 points on 11 goals and 17 assists, receiving the Gary Crosby Memorial Award as the team’s top scorer. The senior forward from Brighton, Michigan attended the Anaheim Ducks Development Camp in June 2016 and has 14 multi point games in his career.

Steman has played in 74 games over his first three seasons, tallying 38 points on 16 goals and 22 assists. He is a two-time WCHA All-Academic Team selection and was a WCHA Scholar Athlete last year. The senior forward is a two-time recipient of the John MacInnes Slide Rule Award after having the best GPA on the team with his 4.0 in mechanical engineering. The native of Hanover, Minnesota was named the top freshman student-athlete at Tech after his freshman year, receiving the Terry Wilson Award.

Lucchini has 39 points in 82 career games, tallying 22 points on 11 goals and 11 assists last year. The sophomore forward has never missed a game in his Tech career and was ranked ninth in the country in game-winning goals (5) in 2016-17. The native of Trail, British Columbia was named to the WCHA All-Rookie Team after his freshman year and has twice attended the Edmonton Oilers Development Camp.

Reinke was a WCHA All-Rookie Team selection after his freshman season last year. He appeared in 41 games and was fifth in the WCHA in power play points (14) and seventh in WCHA freshmen scoring (6g-14a=20). The defenseman from Stillwater, Minnesota attended the Nashville Predators Development Camp in June 2016 and the Calgary Flames Development Camp in July 2017.

MIS Alumni Scholarship

The MIS Alumni Scholarship is an endowed scholarship that created and funded by Alumni of the MIS program within the School of Business and Economics.  The criteria for selection is the following: an MIS major (or dual major)  with a strong academic standing, a demonstrated commitment to the MIS degree program, and professional communication skills.

Two scholarships are awarded annually; one to a sophomore and one to a junior. The 2017-2018 recipients are sophomore Mackenzie Pirie, and junior Thomas Strome. Congratulations to both awardees!

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