Category: Seminars

The virtual Bob Mark Business Model Pitch Competition takes place Thursday, January 28, 2021, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Graduate and undergraduate students from across campus disciplines are invited to compete. When registering, contestants can choose the competition category, as this year two pitch competition categories are available.

A tribute to the late Professor of Practice Bob Mark, College of Business, the Bob Mark Business Model Pitch Competition recognizes student entrepreneurial spirit.

Faculty, staff, students, alumni, and the community are invited to attend this energized virtual pitch competition.

Register to attend the Bob Mark Business Model Competition

Register to compete in the Bob Mark Business Model Competition

Category 1: Idea Pitch

A two-minute idea pitch that presents a creative solution to a problem. Pitches will be evaluated on their uniqueness and the potential impactfulness.

Category 2: Business Model Pitch

A four-minute business model pitch which touches on the innovation technology, emphasizes product-market fit and the potential value it brings to the market. Prizes will be awarded to the most scalable and actionable business model pitches.  Participants in the Business Model Pitch category are encouraged to sign up for the Business Model Boot Camp workshop on January 20, 2021 https://bit.ly/HuskyInnovateBootcamp

This event is hosted by Husky Innovate, a collaboration between Pavlis Honors College, the College of Business and the Office of Innovation and Commercialization. Prizes will be awarded by the College of Business, the MTEC SmartZone, and Husky Innovate.  

Prizes include:

Idea Pitch Category

• First Prize: $125
• Second Prize: $75
• Third Prize: $50
• Social Impact Award: $100 (sponsored by Dr. Ellie Asgari – COB Gates Professor)

Business Model Category

• First Prize: $2,000 (sponsored by Rick and Jo Berquist)
• Second Prize: $1,000 
• Third Prize: $500
• Honorable Mention (2 prizes): $250 each Audience Favorite: $250
• MTEC SmartZone Breakthrough Innovation Award: $1,000
• Social Impact Award: $1,000 (sponsored by Dr. Ellie Asgari – COB Gates Professor)

Husky Innovate is Michigan Tech’s innovation and entrepreneurship resource hub. The unit hosts free workshops, competitions, NSF I-Corps lean startup workshops, innovation talks, internships, mentorship, and the Silicon Valley Experience.

Michigan Tech’s Health Research Institute (HRI) will host a panel discussion on Monday, January 25, 2021,, from 12:00 to 1:00 p.m.

Health research at Michigan Tech has been steadily growing for over 10 years. This growth has led to many practical uses for the technology developed.  Three researchers, Dr. Megan Frost (Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology), Dr. Bruce Lee (Biomedical Engineering), and Assistant Professor Dr. Weihua Zhou (College of Computing) will discuss their experiences with start-ups and applying their research to relevant health problems.

Registration

Register for the live Zoom session here: http://bit.ly/HRI_talk

by Graduate Student Government

The Graduate Student Government announces that registration for this year’s virtual Graduate Research Colloquium (GRC) is now open. Due to the continuation of the SARS-CoV-19 pandemic, the event will be held virtually to avoid any community spread from taking place.

It is gearing up to be an exciting event, and we are excited to see what everyone has to present. The GRC will be held Thursday and Friday, April 1/2. The event is a great opportunity to work on your presentation skills and prepare for upcoming conferences. Students are free to give an oral presentation, a poster talk, or both. All talks will be scored by judges from the same field as the presenter, who will give valuable insight and feedback on how you to improve the presentation.

Cash prizes are available for the top three places in both oral and poster presentations ( 1st – $300, 2nd – $200, and 3rd – $100). Registration closes at 11:59 p.m., Tuesday March 2, at 11:59 p.m. Don’t wait, register today.

Poster presentations will take place in a pre-recorded video style. Video submission deadline is March 22, 2021. A short Q&A session will take place with judges between 4-6 p.m. on April 1st.

Oral presentation will be a 12 minute talk followed by Q&A session. The event will be capped off with a virtual GRC awards ceremony. All participants and judges are invited to attend. The ceremony will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. April 2, following the close of GRC. Full information can be found on our website.

by Pavlis Honors College

Innovation Week is a celebration of innovation both on and off campus. We will host talks with alumni entrepreneurs, showcase campus innovation and interactive events.

Learn about innovative research, new ventures, solutions to Covid-19 and education prototypes. Connect with alums, students and faculty. Drop in for one event or several!

Register soon to receive a Google calendar invite with Zoom link.

MTU Health Research Institute
Monday, January 25, 12:00 – 1:00 pm
Registration:  bit.ly/HRI_talk 

Health research at Michigan Tech has been steadily growing for over 10 years. This growth has led to many practical uses for the technology developed. Three researchers, Dr. Megan Frost (Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology), Dr. Bruce Lee (Biomedical Engineering), and Dr. Weihua Zhou (College of Computing) will discuss their experiences with start-ups and apply their research to relevant health problems.

Private Equity Investment for Innovation
Tuesday, January 26, 12:00 – 1:30 pm
Registration:  bit.ly/equity_for_innovation_talk

Entrepreneurs exploring financing options for their innovation, future private equity investors, and current equity investors will find this panel discussion with Michigan Tech private equity experts invaluable.  

Topics include: 

• Private investors goals and strategies
• The types of opportunities that investors look for
• Business stages and when investing is appropriate
• Terms involved
• Exit strategies for entrepreneurs
• Current investment trends in private investing

Panelists include: John Rockwell, Karl LaPeer, Tom Nye, and Jeff Helminski

Advanced Power Systems Research Center (APS LABS)
Wednesday, January 27, 12:00 -1:00 pm
Registration:  bit.ly/APS_talk 

Jeremy Worm of Michigan Tech’s Advanced Power Systems Research Center (APS LABS) will provide an overview of APS LABS and discuss innovative approaches to research, education, and collaboration with industry. A panel discussion with APS LABS leadership will follow the overview.

Michigan Tech’s Advanced Power Systems Research Center (APS LABS) is focused on clean power generation and nearly all aspects of mobility with emphasis on ground vehicle systems. APS LABS is a full service organization conducting fundamental research, applied research & advanced engineering, product development, and validation testing. APS LABS supports commercial partners ranging from start-ups to Fortune 100 companies, and serves in a lead, or sub-role on many government contracts with commercial partners. 

IDEA Hub Innovation Hour
Wednesday, January 27, 3:00 – 4:00 pm
Registration:  bit.ly/IDEAhub_talk 

IDEA Hub leaders will share their innovative education pilot projects and approaches to address the challenges of Education in the 21st Century.

Innovation and Collaboration at the Library Activity
Thursday, January 28, 12:00 – 1:00 pm
Registration: bit.ly/library_innovation 

Join us for a fun mixer activity at the Van Pelt and Opie Library in which we’ll see first-hand how collaboration leads to innovative solutions. Libraries are inherently interdisciplinary spaces that can serve as a jumping off point for active collaboration and innovation. Join librarians Jenn Sams and Erin Matas for a speed collaboration activity designed to let you meet new people, see a problem through a different lens, and inspire innovation. They will also share highlights about how the library supports and participates in innovative activities via a Patent & Trademark Resource Center, the 3D printers, and its innovative response to Covid-19.

Bob Mark Business Model Pitch Competition
Thursday, January 28, 5:30 – 7:30 pm
Registration:  bit.ly/HuskyInnovateBobMark

Pitch your idea and potentially win some cash! This year, we’ll be accepting two-minute idea pitches (evaluated on uniqueness and potential impact) and four-minute business model pitches (evaluated on scalability and actionable business models.) Register to compete by January 25, or join us in the audience to watch the event. Thousands of dollars worth of prizes offered!

Journey as an Entrepreneur with Hajj Flemings
Friday, January 29, 12:00 -1:00 pm
Registration: bit.ly/Hajj_Flemings_talk

Join us for a talk with entrepreneur and author Hajj E. Flemings, Michigan Tech Mechanical Engineering (‘96) alum. Hajj will share his journey as an innovator and entrepreneur. Hajj has long embraced the entrepreneurial mindset and chose Michigan Tech because he enjoyed solving problems. Hajj is the founder of Rebrand Cities, a brand strategy consulting company that serves clients such as Cadillac, Pfitzer, Walt Disney and the Detroit Lions, to name a few. Hajj authored, The Brand YU Life: Re-thinking who you are through personal brand management.

In 2011 Hajj was featured on CNN’s documentary series, “Black in America: The New Promised Land – Silicon Valley”. During filming of the series, he came to a deeper understanding of the meaning of “digital divide” for communities of color and dedicated himself to creating solutions. His insight led him to become founder and CEO of Brand Camp University, an educational platform that creates technology accessibility and supports job readiness for clients in underserved communities. In parallel, he led a new global civic design initiative within Rebrand City which focuses on eradicating the digital divide by getting 10,000 small businesses online.

New graduate students at Michigan Tech are invited to our virtual Smart Start. In Smart Start, we’ll introduce students to resources and policies to assist them to have a successful start to their graduate careers. It will be especially useful for students in their first year, but all students are welcome to attend.

The seminar will be recorded for any students who cannot attend the zoom meeting. The seminar will be held at 2 p.m. today (Jan. 20) via Zoom. Please register online to receive streaming information and reminders to attend. It will be taped and available online for those unable to attend at that time.

The Department of Computer Science will present a lecture, by Dr. Shane Mueller on Friday, January 22, 2021, at 3:00 p.m.

Mueller is an associate professor in the Applied Cognitive Science and Human Factors program of the Cognitive and Learning Science department. His lecture is titled, “Explainable AI, and principles for building human-centered XAI systems.”

Join the lecture here.

Mueller’s research focuses on human memory and the representational, perceptual, strategic, and decisional factors that support it. He employs applied and basic research methodologies, typically with a goal of implementing formal quantitative mathematical or computational models of cognition and behavior.

He is also the primary developer of the Psychology Experiment Building Language (PEBL), a software platform for creating psychology experiments.

Mueller has undergraduate degrees in mathematics and psychology from Drew University, and a Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from the University of Michigan. He was a senior scientist at Klein Associates Division of Applied Research Associates from 2006 to 2011. His research has been supported by NIH, DARPA, IARPA, the Air Force Research Laboratory, the Army Research Institute, the Defense Threat Reduction Agency, and others.

Lecture Title:

Explainable AI, and principles for building human-centered XAI systems

Lecture Abstract

In recent years, Explainable Artificial Intelligence (XAI) has re-emerged in response to the development of modern AI and ML systems. These systems are complex and sometimes biased, but they nevertheless make decisions that impact our lives. XAI systems are frequently algorithm-focused; starting and ending with an algorithm that implements a basic untested idea about explainability. These systems are often not tested to determine whether the algorithm helps users accomplish any goals, and so their explainability remains unproven. I will discuss some recent advances and approaches to developing XAI, and describe how many of these systems are likely to incorporate many of the lessons from past successes and failures to build explainable systems. I will then review some of the basic concepts that have been used for user-centered XAI systems over the past 40 years of research. Based on this, I will describe a set of empirically-grounded, human user-centered design principles that may guide developers to create successful explainable systems.