The Graduate School is switching to imaged documents for students’ Masters forms on July 1, 2009. Before that date we have scheduled two training sessions conducted by Jarrod Karau.
Session 1: Monday June 15th from 10-11am in MUB Ballroom B
Session 2: Thursday June 18th from 3-4pm in MUB Ballroom A1
Graduate Assistants and any other department members are welcome to attend.
Please RSVP to Patt Ross (peross@mtu.edu) for the session you plan to attend.
by Jennifer Donovan, public relations director
Ulrich Hansmann, professor of physics and leader in computational and biophysics research, has received the 2009 Michigan Tech Research Award.
He developed seminal numerical techniques for modeling the workings of living cells and led efforts to apply computational algorithms to protein physics. He recently was named a Fellow of the American Physical Society (APS), a recognition of excellence by his peers and one of the highest honors in his field.
Hansmann is a pioneer in computational modeling of protein folding, a molecular process that, when it goes awry, can give rise to neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s. His work could help uncover the underlying processes causing proteins to misfold, potentially leading to effective therapies.
“Uli’s achievements in the protein-folding problem–one of the most significant challenges in science today–have been astonishing,” Robert H. Swendsen, professor of physics at Carnegie Mellon University, remarked.
“Uli is one of Tech’s leading computational scientists, with his outstanding work and international reputation among leaders in his field,” said David Reed, vice president for research. “He has taken the lead in trying to build computational capacity at Tech, and we look forward to continued advancement in this area through the current Strategic Faculty Hiring Initiative in computational discovery and innovation.”
Ravindra Pandey, chair of the physics department, also had high praise for Hansmann. “We are extremely proud of Professor Hansmann’s achievements in computational biophysics,” Pandey said. “He is an internationally known scientist in protein folding. He has established a well funded research group here at Michigan Tech and conducts extremely productive collaborative work with several national and international research groups.”
A leader in a computational approach to understanding the complex interactions in biological systems in a new, interdisciplinary field known as systems biology, Hansmann organized three international workshops on computational biophysics in systems biology. While continuing to teach and do research at Michigan Tech, he also helped the John von Neumann Institute for Computing in Jülich, Germany, develop a computational biology and biophysics research group.
“Not all key processes or molecules are accessible by experiments; simulations are sometimes the only technique to detect hidden processes or proteins,” Hansmann explained. “A systems biology approach that aims at deciphering the life functions in a cell requires a close interplay between experiments and computing.”
The physicist’s research goals include analysis and interpretation of biological data through modeling of molecular networks and simulation of cellular biophysics. He hopes this will enable scientists to analyze and predict complex diseases at a molecular level.
Although Hansmann is doing cutting-edge work, he is in no way proprietary about it. He already has developed a software program called Simple Molecular Mechanics for Proteins (SMMP) that is freely available as open source software on the Internet. One of his ongoing research goals is to develop public software for molecular simulation of cells.
As a teacher, Hansmann is devoted to helping students from a variety of fields, including physics, computer science, chemistry and biology, learn how to use supercomputers in their research. He also mentors community college students from underrepresented and disadvantaged populations through the Michigan Colleges and Universities Partnership (MICUP) program at Michigan Tech.
Born in Germany, Hansmann received his PhD in Physics from Freie Universität in Berlin. He has taught physics at Michigan Tech since 1998. His research is supported by the National Science Foundation.
by Jennifer Donovan, public relations director
When IBM set its sights on becoming an international rail transportation leader, one of the first university partners they turned to was Michigan Tech. Michigan Tech’s Rail Transportation Program is an emerging player educating future leaders for the rail industry.
Today, as IBM unveils plans for its Global Rail Innovation Center in Beijing, Pasi Lautala, director of the Rail Transportation Program, and graduate student Shane Ferrell will represent Michigan Tech.
“Countries worldwide are recognizing the importance of rail transportation and are accelerating their efforts to develop 21st-century rail systems,” said Lautala. “With its Global Rail Innovation Center, IBM is modeling a new way of thinking, one that is not bound by national borders. Michigan Tech is honored that IBM has recognized our leadership in rail-related research and education and has invited us to participate in such a groundbreaking effort.”
Michigan Tech’s Rail Transportation Program, established in fall 2007 as part of the Michigan Tech Transportation Institute, has attracted strong support from the railroad industry. Its corporate sponsors include CSX, Union Pacific and CN. CN gave Michigan Tech $250,000 this spring to establish the Rail Transportation Education Center, a physical home for the Rail Transportation Program.
The program’s innovative Summer in Finland has already integrated an international component as part of an interdisciplinary approach to rail education, and an initiative to establish a multidisciplinary certificate in rail transportation and engineering is currently in progress.
Michigan Tech joins Massachusetts Institute of Technology Professor Joseph M. Sussman; Judge Quentin L. Kopp, chairman of the California High Speed Rail Authority; the German railroad Deutsche Bahn; Motorola; Railinc Corporation (a subsidiary of the American Association of Railroads) and Sabre (a travel network) as initial members of the new center’s advisory board.
Based at IBM’s China Business Innovation Center, the Global Rail Innovation Center will focus on developing technologies that can increase railroad capacity, efficiency, speed and safety while improving customer service.
“The global demand for rail is outpacing capacity, and today’s aging infrastructure and technology won’t support the transportation needs of the future,” said Keith Dierkx, director of the new center. “Through the Global Rail Innovation Center, IBM is committed to working with our partners to develop and implement smarter rail systems around the world. Railroads are energy efficient and can help cities manage traffic congestion, improve environmental conditions and increase economic competitiveness.”
The rise of high-speed passenger rail and smarter freight rail systems presents an enormous challenge and an opportunity for the information technology and rail industries. IBM already has researchers and consultants working on high-speed rail projects around the world, including Australia, China, France, the Netherlands, Russia, Taiwan and the United Kingdom.
IBM chose Beijing as its rail innovation hub because of China’s rapid advances in rail. In China, investment in railway transportation has tripled over the last year and is expected to reach 600 billion yuan (approximately $88 billion) by 2012.
