Outreach Archives | Page 19 of 22 | College of Engineering Blog

Carnegie Museum to Host Guided Tours

Published July 12, 2016

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

By College of Engineering

“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.

Women in Engineering Camp

Published June 28, 2016

By College of Engineering

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

By College of Engineering

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

By Kim Geiger

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.

Dr. Denise Sekaquaptewa: Strategies to Strengthen Inclusion

Published April 20, 2016

By Kim Geiger

Visiting Women and Minorities Lecturer/Scholar

All are welcome at an upcoming presentation by Dr. Denise Sekaquaptewa, University of Michigan Professor of Psychology, Associate Chair, and Associate Director, ADVANCE. Dr. Sekaquaptewa’s presentation will take place this Thursday, April 21, from 3:30-4:30 pm in MUB Ballroom B2. Afterwards there will be an open forum discussion on advancing a positive climate at Michigan Tech.

Dr. Sekaquaptewa’s experimental research program focuses on implicit stereotyping, prejudice, stereotype threat, and effects of category salience on test performance and academic motivation. Her current projects include studies of how environmental factors influence women students in math and science, and how stereotypes affect interracial communication.

This event is hosted by Michigan Tech Women in Science in Engineering (WISE) and the Pavlis Honors College. It is partially sponsored by the Visiting Women and Minority Lecturer/Scholar Series (WMLS) which is funded by a grant to Institutional Equity and Inclusion from the State of Michigan’s King-Chavez Parks Initiative. Refreshments will be served.

RSVP http://goo.gl/forms/Nw3zBFT5ZK

National Engineers Week 2016 at Michigan Tech

Published February 16, 2016

By Kim Geiger

Time to celebrate the 65th annual National Engineers Week
February 21-27, 2016

Happy Eweek, everybody! National Engineers Week celebrates the positive contributions engineers make to society and is a catalyst for outreach. For the past 65 years, National Engineers Week (Eweek) has been celebrated each February around the time of George Washington’s birthday, February 22, because Washington is considered by many to be the first engineer in the US. This year Michigan Tech will celebrate Eweek with ten different engineering events on campus for all to enjoy. National Engineers Week at Michigan Tech is hosted by the Michigan Tech chapter of Tau Beta Pi, the Engineering Honor Society.

Eweek 2016 events include a kick-off event on Monday Feb. 22 with Mind Trekkers in Fisher Lobby from 11 am – 1 pm. Eweek cake will be served in Dillman 112 on Wednesday afternoon Feb. 24, courtesy of the Department of Engineering Fundamentals. Last but not least, on Thursday evening Feb. 25 at 8 pm, Tau Beta Pi will put on a high-tech music and light show at the Michigan Tech Husky Dog statue.

Please check out the full lineup of Eweek events below. Any questions? Contact Alex Reichanadter, Tau Beta Pi, amreicha@mtu.edu. Hope to see you there!

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22

Mind Trekkers
See electricity travel. Play a banana piano.
Create a tornado, and much more.
Fisher Lobby, 11 am – 1 pm

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23

Clean Snowmobile Challenge
Check out a zero emissions sled and more.
ME-EM Lobby, 10 am -11 am

Consumer Product Manufacturing
Quantify knife sharpness w/the CPM Enterprise.
Fisher Lobby, 11 am – 3 pm

Formula SAE
Take the 5-second seat harness challenge.
ME-EM Lobby, 1 pm – 3 pm

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24

Eweek Cake
You’re invited! All are welcome!
Dillman 112, 11 am – 3 pm

Am. Institute of Chemical Engineers
Try the “Minute to Win It” trivia contest.
Chem Sci Lobby, 12 noon – 1:30 pm

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25

SENSE
Check out the new Naval Systems Enterprise.
ME-EM Lobby, 10 am – 3 pm

Society for Environmental Engineering
Clean water via simple filtration.
Fisher Lobby, 12 noon – 3 pm

Tau Beta Pi
Enter the Rube Goldberg competition.
Wads Annex, 6 pm – 8 pm

Tau Beta Pi
Enjoy a technicolor light & music show.
Husky Statue, 8 pm

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS – Win a Free 6-day trip to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula!

Published February 15, 2016

By Kim Geiger

ATTENTION ALL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

You Could Win A FREE 6-Day trip to explore environmental science & engineering majors at Michigan Technological University in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan!!!

Monday – Saturday, June 20-25, 2016 (includes free transportation, meals, and lodging)

OPEN to all High School students in Detroit & Wayne County who want to explore environmental science careers: forestry, natural resources, wildlife, engineering, water quality, more!

Up to 20 high school students will be selected to participate. (This will be our 2nd annual trip!)

What YOU will do …

In the forest: identify and measure trees, and collect frog data;
On the water: sample aquatic life aboard a research vessel in Lake Superior;
In the lab: examine plankton, drive a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV), and design a process to clean water
Tour a college campus, stay in a dorm, eat in dining hall;
Experience national and state parks, wildlife refuges, nature sanctuaries with experts in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula!

TRIP LEADERS

Mike Reed, Curator of Education, Detroit Zoological Society
Lisa Perez, U.S. Forest Service ~ Detroit Urban Connections

TO APPLY

Complete online application form 2016 Michigan Tech-Upper Peninsula Trip Application
Write 500-word essay describing what you hope to gain from this experience;
Mail or email 2 letters of recommendation (both from non-family members; one from a teacher) to:

Joan Chadde
115 GLRC
Michigan Tech
1400 Townsend Dr.
Houghton, MI 49931

A selection team of teachers, university faculty, and resource specialists will review applications and announce winners by March 18th. A mandatory Parent Meeting and Student Outing will be scheduled in April & May.

CHECK OUT THIS FLYER FOR EVEN MORE INFORMATION: MTU-Detroit HS Visit_Flyer 02.09.16

QUESTIONS? CONTACT:

Mike Reed, Detroit Zoo
mreed@dzs.org
Cell: (313) 595-9729

Joan Chadde,
jchadde@mtu.edu
Michigan Tech
Office: (906) 487-3341

Coordinated by the Michigan Tech Center for Science & Environmental Outreach, with funding from School of Forest Resources & Environmental Science, College of Engineering, Dept. of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Dept. of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, Michigan Tech Transportation Institute, Michigan Tech Admissions, Michigan Tech Housing & Residential Life, and the US Forest Service.

Lake Superior Day

Published July 21, 2015

By

by Joan Chadde

The beauty and bounty of Lake Superior was celebrated Sunday at the Third Annual Lake Superior Day in Copper Harbor. Community volunteers, along with the Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative, organized the festival with lots of special activities at the 6th Street Dock along the Copper Harbor Boardwalk. Activities included:

Community picnic
Canoe races and kayak demonstrations
Interactive art (paint the model freighter)
Remotely-Operated-Vehicle demonstrations by Tech’s Great Lakes Research Center
Presentation on the health of Lake Superior by Great Lakes scientist Martin Auer (CEE)

Live music, poetry and more
From 1-4 p.m. a special highlight was the opportunity for festival attendees to find out how scientists study the Great Lakes by taking a 40-minute scientific excursion aboard Michigan Tech’s research vessel, Agassiz. The excursions are part of the Ride the Waves Program funded by a grant from General Motors.

Lake Superior Day is celebrated throughout the Lake Superior basin on or close to the third Sunday in July in many communities around Lake Superior. Learn more about Lake Superior Day events around the lake.

MORE PHOTOS from 2014 Lake Superior Day

Scientific excursions at the Strawberry Festival

Published July 12, 2015

By

Nearly 100 community members went home on Saturday afternoon with a greatly enhanced understanding of Great Lakes science and were inspired to care for the lake. Several youth are super engaged now and want to learn more.

This was the 10th year at the Strawberry Festival, and the outreach program continues to reach new people locally and visitors to the area! 7 excursions went out on the Agassiz.

See Photo Gallery

Here are a few highlights from the evaluation responses:
“The Agassiz program is great as is; no improvement needed!”
“Fun & educational”
“New info they learned—many said plankton & bloodworms”
“Importance of good quality water”
“Share info with others, will teach my children & grandchildren, encourage them to take care of our water resources”
“This sounds like a type of job that I’d like to do when I’m older” (13 years old)
“Excellent!”
“How to save the Great Lakes ecosystem”
“Would like to learn more about interdependence & effects on other organisms”

The outreach program shows ‘How do scientists assess the health of Lake Superior’ as the focus of these free scientific excursions that were offered at the Strawberry Festival.

The public was invited to sign up for FREE 40-minute scientific excursions aboard Michigan Tech’s research vessel Agassiz.

On each scientific excursion, a Dr. Marty Auer, an MTU Great Lakes scientist, demonstrated the use of sampling equipment to collect plankton and sediment, evaluate water clarity, temperature, and turbidity that tell us about the health of the lake, i.e. Chassell Bay. Participants saw the connection between land uses and the health of the Great Lakes.

Remotely-Operated-Vehicle (ROV) demonstrations were also be conducted from the Chassell Marina dock throughout the afternoon.

“Copper Country residents and visitors are encouraged to learn how scientists study the Great Lakes and what factors contribute to a healthy lake,” explains Joan Chadde, education program director. “These scientific excursions for the public have been offered at the Strawberry Festival since 2006 and have been extremely popular. Youth and adults enjoy the opportunity to interact with Great Lakes scientists and get their questions answered.”

The event is coordinated by the Western U.P. Center for Science, Mathematics and Environmental Education and Michigan Tech’s Great Lakes Research Center. This year, the program is funded by the GM Ride the Waves Program putting more than 500 Copper Country youth and adults on the water each year to learn about the Great Lakes and promote STEM careers, along with support from the Michigan Tech Center for Water & Society, Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative, and the Chassell Lions Club.

Western UP Center for Science, Mathematics & Environmental Education: http://wupcenter.mtu.edu/
Michigan Tech’s Great Lakes Research Center http://greatlakes.mtu.edu/
Michigan Tech Center for Water & Society http://www.mtcws.mtu.edu/
Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative http://lakesuperiorstewardship.org/

Category: Outreach

Visiting Women and Minorities Lecturer/Scholar

Time to celebrate the 65th annual National Engineers Week February 21-27, 2016

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 22

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 23

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25

Time to celebrate the 65th annual National Engineers Week
February 21-27, 2016