Month: March 2012

Showing off science projects

About 350 students demonstrated their pursuit of scientific knowledge at the 14th annual Western Upper Peninsula Science Fair Tuesday night. Fourth- through eighth-graders from 16 schools in Houghton, Baraga, Ontonagon and Gogebic counties participated in the fair, held in the Memorial Union Building at Michigan Technological University. “We had the most students and the most projects this year,” said Shawn Oppliger, director of the Western U.P. Center for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education, which sponsored the event along with the Michigan Tech Chapter of American Society for Engineering Education and the Carnegie Museum.

2012 MSGC Awards Announced

Michigan Tech faculty, staff members and students received awards tallying $101,875 through the Michigan Space Grant Consortium (MSGC), sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), which includes 11 university members.

Among the faculty members receiving $5,000 seed grants was Ranjana Mehta (Cognitive & Learning Sciences): “Interactive effects of physical and mental fatigue on task performance during orthostatic challenge.”

Among the faculty and staff members receiving $5,000 or more for pre-college, public outreach, teacher training, and/or augmentation programs was Joan Chadde (Center for Science and Environmental Outreach): “Great Lakes Teacher Institute.”

Peace Corps Volunteer Tackles a Sensitive Women’s Health Problem in Uganda

Stacey Frankenstein-Markon is serving in Uganda as part of Michigan Tech’s Peace Corps Master’s International (PCMI) program in applied science education. Brad Baltensperger, chair of the Department of Cognitive and Learning Sciences and program director of the PCMI Applied Science Education Program, and Casey Huckins, an associate professor of biological sciences who heads the University’s new PCMI in biological sciences, spent a week in Uganda to discuss the graduate students’ research.

Save the Date: K-12 Outreach Can Strengthen Grant Proposals

The Center for Pre-College Outreach and the Center for Science and Environmental Outreach will collaboarte on a Lunch and Learn, “Grant Writing: Easy K-12 Outreach Options with a Big Impact,” from noon to 1 p.m., Wednesday, April 4, in Memorial Union Ballroom A2. Presenters will be Steve Patchin, director of Pre-College Outreach and Youth Programs, and Joan Chadde, education coordinator for the Western UP Center for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education and Michigan Tech Center for Science and Environmental Outreach.

Students Head to Detroit for Alternative Spring Break

Eight members of the Michigan Tech student chapter of the NSBE will visit six middle schools and one high school to talk with students. They will also conduct Family Engineering events at three schools. Family Engineering is designed to address the nation’s need for an increased number–as well as a greater diversity–of students skilled in math, science, technology, and engineering (STEM disciplines). For more information about Family Engineering, contact Joan Chadde, K-12 program coordinator, at 487-3341 or at jchadde@mtu.edu.