Michigan Tech ranks as the No. 1 Peace Corps Master’s International (PCMI) university nationwide for the seventh consecutive year. With 31 PCMI graduate students currently serving as Peace Corps volunteers, Michigan Tech has earned top spot in the 2012 rankings of Peace Corps’ Master’s International and Paul D. Coverdell Fellows graduate schools.
At the end of March before taking off for spring break, the students worked with Lloyd Wescoat, K-12 education program assistant with the Western U.P. Center for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Engineering, to construct the 6-foot creation.
The program, including hands-on activities such as designing parachutes, is sponsored by the Western UP Center for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education, Michigan Tech and the Carnegie Museum.
Presenters will be Steve Patchin, director of Pre-College Outreach and Youth Programs; Joan Chadde, education coordinator for the Western UP Center for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education and the Center for Science and Environmental Outreach; Shezwae Fleming, director for the Center for Diversity and Inclusion; and Jodi Lehman, coordinator for Proposal and Fellowship Development.
Award winners will be displayed at the Carnegie Museum in Houghton from April 10 to May 11. The grand opening will be at the museum’s Science and Engineering Evening set for 6:30 to 8 p.m. April 10.
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.
“Here we have examples, role models, college students who are passionate about their career choices, learning about the various STEM fields, and here they are to have fun with the younger students and show them why this is a great career to consider,” said event coordinator Joan Chadde.
Assistant Professor Ranjana Mehta (CLS/KIP) will present “Neuroergonomics Applications to Occupational Health Research” at 2 p.m., Friday, March 16, in Chem Sci 101.
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.”
