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Design a Sustainable Future Teacher Institute

Published July 14, 2016

A total of eight elementary, middle and high school teachers from the UP, across Michigan and even one from Puerto Rico, are in Houghton this week to attend a five-day teacher institute on designing a sustainable future.

Topics range from building design, energy sources, transportation, vehicle design, food systems, product lifecycle and forest biomaterials.

Presenters include Michigan Tech faculty, community experts and educators. Teachers are participating in many hands-on activities including field trips to the Keweenaw Research Center, Low-impact development lab, sustainable buildings, examination of renewable energy systems including solar, wind and low-head Hydro and a community-supported agriculture farm near Greenland.

The Program is funded with a grant from Michigan Tech Sustainable Futures Institute and coordinated by the Michigan Tech Center for Science and Environmental Outreach at the Great Lakes Research Center.

For more information, contact Joan Chadde at 369-1121 or by email.

From Tech Today, by Joan Chadde.

Michigan Tech Student Builds Tiny House

Published July 13, 2016

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Michigan Tech student, Emma Hitch, cares about the environment.

Emma’s mother, Betsey Bradley states, “I know her big issue is sustainability, being an environmental engineering student, so she wants to have a small carbon footprint.”

The incoming junior is spending the summer building a tiny home.

Carnegie Museum to Host Guided Tours

Published July 12, 2016

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Four Michigan Tech Professors will act as guides during three upcoming guided tours highlighting the history of the Keweenaw.

The tours are sponsored by Houghton’s Carnegie Museum, and begin with a wine and cheese social at the museum at 5 p.m. Following the social, participants will board the Red Jacket Trolley Company’s bus for a two-hour trip through time.

The first guided tour “Torch Lake Mining Waste,” is tomorrow (July 13). Geologists Bill Rose (GMES) and Erika Vye are the guides through a tour along the industrial corridor associated with milling of Quincy and Calumet mines along Torch Lake’s western shore. The tour takes a look at areas from Mason to Tamarack City, Hubbell and Lake Linden, viewing mill sites and stampsand areas while discussing the modern implications and environmental mitigation efforts.

Upcoming tours will explore “Trials and Trails of Huron Creek,” with Alex Mayer (CEE) and Carol MacLennan (SS), Wednesday Aug. 3 and “Hockey Arenas of the Copper Country,” with Bill Sproule (CEE), Thursday Sept. 8.

All tours begin with the social at 5 p.m. with the tours to follow at 5:30 p.m. and are expected to last two hours. The cost is $25 ($20 for museum members). Reservations are recommended and your seat is not guaranteed until payment is made.

Check out the museum’s Facebook page.

From Tech Today.

Agassiz Excursions at Strawberry Festival

Published July 6, 2016

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“How do scientists assess the health of Lake Superior” is the focus of free scientific excursions that will be offered at the Strawberry Festival from 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, July 9, 2016, departing from the Chassell marina.

The public is invited to sign up for free 30-minute scientific excursions aboard Michigan Tech’s research vessel Agassiz by calling the Michigan Tech Center for Science and Environmental Outreach at 7-3341 or coming to the Chassell Marina dock on Saturday from 12:30 to 4 p.m. Spaces go quickly. Half of available spaces will be saved for onsite participants.

On each scientific excursion, Marcel Dijkstra, a Michigan Tech Great Lakes scientist, will demonstrate the use of sampling equipment to collect data on water clarity, temperature and turbidity that tells us about the health of the lake—Chassell Bay. Participants will explore the link between land uses and the health of the Great Lakes.

Adrienne Minerick is the Assistant to the Provost for Faculty Development

Published June 28, 2016

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New Model Designed to Promote Collaboration and Communications

In recognition of the University-wide efforts that some of our academic administrators are undertaking, the Vice Presidents for Academic Affairs and Research are testing out a new model intended to promote improved collaboration and communication on campus.

For the 2016-17 academic year, Jason Carter (KIP) will continue to serve as Chair of the Department of Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology while also serving as assistant to the Vice President for Research for Research Development.

In addition, Adrienne Minerick will continue in her position as Associate Dean for Research and Innovation in the College of Engineering and will also serve as Assistant to the Provost for Faculty Development.

Michigan Tech is a DENSO Grant Recipient

Published June 28, 2016

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News

News outlets across the nation, including WFLX-TV Fox 29, reported that Michigan Tech is one of 24 universities to receive part of a $1 million grant from the DENSO North America Foundation to support education in the skilled trades, active safety and robotics programs, student vehicle teams, learning labs and more.

From Tech Today.

DENSO Foundation gives more than $1 million in grants to 24 colleges and universities to advance engineering and skilled trades education

That’s what the DENSO North America Foundation believes. On Monday, June 20, 2016, the DENSO North America Foundation (DNAF) awarded more than $1 million to 24 colleges and universities across North America. Funds support advancing education in skilled trades, active safety and robotics programs, student vehicle teams, learning labs and more.

In addition to the Foundation’s efforts, DENSO also supports students one-on-one with its expertise through mentorship, connecting students with DENSO experts to give them a better idea of what being an engineer or technical professional means. DENSO supports programs around the country and the world such as FIRST Robotics, Project Lead the Way and Society of Automotive Engineering Collegiate Design Series as a part of this mentoring effort. DENSO also has an extensive co-op student program where students are given a high level of responsibility and gain real-world experience.

Women in Engineering Camp

Published June 28, 2016

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HOUGHTON — Roller Coasters, automobiles, aqueducts, they are all products of ambitious engineering and these high school girls are learning about it hands-on.

Roughly 140 young women are taking part in the weeklong Summer Youth Program from Michigan Tech called Women In Engineering.

Program Residence Counselor, and 3rd year Michigan Tech Civil Engineering major, Megann Dykema said, “Our camp helps the student to be able to see all the different kinds of engineering and it’s really a great insight into exploring what they might want to do.”

Detroit Students Learn About Natural Resources

Published June 27, 2016

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HOUGHTON, Mich. (WLUC) Bruce Ross was once a field coordinator for the Michigan DNR downstate.

Since then, he’s left the profession to reach out to the urban youth.

“I remember when I started in college I was the only African American in my class,” said Ross. “There’s a real shortage of people actually going into natural resources.”

Ross and other organizers are trying to increase minority representation in natural resources.

Michigan Tech organizations helped raise $12,000 for these students to travel and stay in the U.P.

NSF Video Showcase features Geoheritage Field Education

Published May 23, 2016

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photo by Jim Belote — photo by John Belote

Dr. Erika Vye, who earned her PhD in Geology at Michigan Tech just last month, together with her PhD advisor Professor Bill Rose, have created interpretative videos about the geological underpinnings of the Keweenaw. One such video, “Geoheritage Field Education in Michigan’s UP”, which features beautiful aerial drone imagery, is live now on the NFS Video Showcase, http://videohall.com/p/791 #stemvideohall. Please watch and vote. Public choice voting will end at 8:00 pm Monday, May 23. 2016, but the video will remain online.

Vye and Rose aim to connect people more personally to the the science of Keweenaw geology. Learn more at geo.mtu.edu/KeweenawGeoheritage.

Congratulations Sarah Rajala ’74 – Recipient of the 2016 AAES National Engineering Award!

Published April 21, 2016

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Dr. Sarah Rajala, Dean of the Iowa State University College of Engineering, has earned the National Engineering Award from the American Association of Engineering Societies (AAES) – representing 17 multidisciplinary engineering societies from industry, government and academia. Rajala received the award on April 18 at a ceremony in Washington D.C. Rajala earned her bachelor’s degree from Michigan Technological University in 1974 and master’s and Ph.D. degrees from Rice University.

The AAES National Engineering Award recognizes Rajala’s outstanding service in three key areas: 1) inspirational leadership at the institutional, national and international levels; 2) innovations in engineering education and assessment; and 3) her tireless efforts to promote diversity in the engineering field.

“It is indeed appropriate that Sarah Rajala receive the AAES National Engineering Award,” said Joseph J. Rencis, president of the American Society for Engineering Education, one of the AAES member societies. “She is a trailblazer and embodies the criteria of inspirational leadership and devotion to engineering education, advancement of the engineering profession and promotion of public policies.” Rencis also praised Rajala’s diversity efforts, adding “Sarah has recognized the engineering profession cannot achieve full success without full participation of the rich diversity of talent in our global population.”

From Michigan Tech, Rajala received the Distinguished Alumni Award in 2008; was inducted into the Electrical and Computer Engineering Academy in 1997; became a charter member of the Presidential Council of Alumnae in 1997; and earned the Outstanding Young Alumni Award in 1986.

Rajala joined Iowa State in 2013, after having served as the first female dean of the Bagley College of Engineering at Mississippi State University. Before she became dean, Rajala was the first female tenure-track professor in the engineering department at North Carolina State University, where she organized networking activities for the college of engineering women faculty and helped create a maternity leave policy for tenure-track faculty members where none had existed.

In the classroom and through professional organizations, Rajala has worked to improve engineering education for students. She has received numerous teaching awards, provided key leadership related to reform engineering education, and was elected president of the American Society for Engineering Education [ASEE] in 2008-09.

The focus of Rajala’s research is the analysis and processing of images and image sequences and engineering educational assessment. She has directed numerous master’s theses and doctoral dissertations, authored and co-authored nearly 200 publications, and secured a patent on image sequence compression.

Category: News

New Model Designed to Promote Collaboration and Communications