Graduate School Newsblog

Day: March 21, 2012

NSF Honors Tech’s Global Watershed Website

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A website for Michigan Tech’s Global Watershed program has been singled out as one of two top websites nationwide. The Global Watershed program is part of a graduate STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fellowship program funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) at 213 universities across the country. The program, known as GK12, prepares graduate students in STEM fields to work with teachers and students in kindergarten through 12th grade to incorporate scientific research and the scientific method as integral parts of their science education curriculum.

Locally, Michigan Tech’s GK12 Global Watershed program partners graduate student fellows with partner-teachers at the BRIDGE Alternative School, Copper Country Intermediate School District, Hancock High and Middle Schools, Manistee High School and Stanton Township. While the Michigan Tech program focuses primarily on rural schools in the western UP, it also partners with the Colegio Munoz school system in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico.

“The website for our GK12 Global Watershed program really is an invaluable tool for organizing and publicizing our project,” said Professor Alex Mayer (CEE), program director.

“It’s critical that we have a polished site that’s easy to use to spread the word about the program to potential GK12 fellows and partner teachers and publicize the accomplishments of our existing fellows and their partner teachers,” Mayer went on to say. “We’re very pleased that NSF has recognized the quality of our web presence.”

The award-winning website was designed and developed locally by the web development firm of opusWeb.com in Hancock. “It’s truly an honor to know that a website our firm developed right here in the Keweenaw was recognized on a national level,” said Jeffery Primeau, opusWeb.com cofounder and director of marketing/communications.

The website was judged on several factors, including design, navigability, structure and content. Comprehensive content/text for the site was written by Lisa Rowan, currently a master’s degree student in ecology at the University of North Florida.

To view the site, see Global Watershed.

by Jennifer Donovan, director, public relations
Published in Tech Today

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Student Employees Sought at Process Improvement

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The Office of Process Improvement is hiring two student process improvement coordinators. Direct your undergraduate and graduate students to this opportunity.

The start date for the year-round position is April. The hours are flexible but the students must be available for the summer.

See the details at NACElink. You must login using an ISO username and password.

For more information, contact Wendy Davis, manager of Process Improvement, at 487-3180 or at wmdavis@mtu.edu .

Published in Tech Today

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Accelerated Master’s Degree Programs

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The Graduate School announces the development of three new accelerated master’s degree programs. These fast-track graduate programs are now offered to undergraduate students in the fields of mechanical engineering, biomedical engineering and chemical engineering.

The new initiative allows Michigan Tech undergraduate students to accelerate their education and jumpstart their future research or career paths.

Tech undergraduate students can apply as early as their junior year and start taking graduate-level courses during their senior year.

Michigan Tech’s accelerated master’s allows for students to count up to six credit hours towards both their bachelor’s and master’s degree. Once students are admitted into the accelerated programs and complete their bachelor’s degree, they can finish their master’s degree within two semesters (one academic year).

Acceptance into these programs requires that students apply through the standard Graduate School application process and maintain undergraduate GPA requirements set by the individual programs. Students who are already enrolled in graduate programs may not retroactively enroll in accelerated master’s programs.

Other academic programs are encouraged to consider offering accelerated master’s options to Tech students.

For more information on developing an accelerated master’s program, contact Jacque Smith, director of marketing and advancement, Graduate School, at 487-1434 or at jacque@mtu.edu .

submitted by Jacque Smith, Graduate School
Published in Tech Today

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2012 MSGC Awards Announced

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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.

Michigan Tech received 18 percent of the available research seed grant funding, 24 percent of the undergraduate fellowship funding, 33 percent of the graduate fellowship funding and 41 percent of the precollege, public outreach, teacher training and augmentation proposal funding.

  • Six undergraduates received $2,500 for research fellowships.
  • Five graduate students received $5,000 for research fellowships.
    • Brenda Bergman (Forest Science): “Mercury movement through the earth systems: better understanding biotic controls over inter-system contaminant transfer while enhancing students’ motivation to engage in STEM and reduce atmospheric pollution”
    • Patrick Bowen (Materials Science and Engineering): “Exploring the effect of group IV elements on the mechanical and corrosion performance of magnesium”
    • Baron Colbert (Civil Engineering): “Using Nonmetals Separated From E-Waste in Improving the Mechanical Properties of Asphalt Materials”
    • Colin Gurganus (Atmospheric Sciences): “Exploring Cloud Microphysics in the Laboratory: Heterogeneous Nucleation Pathways”
    • Lauren Schaefer (Geology): “Multidisciplinary approach to volcanic hazard monitoring at Pacaya Volcano, Guatemala”
  • Two faculty received $5,000 in seed grants.
  • Seven faculty and staff received $5,000 or more for precollege, public outreach, teacher training or augmentation.

Tech’s representative for the program is Chris Anderson, special assistant to the president, Institutional Diversity. She says, “This recognition and support help keep Michigan Tech students, faculty and staff on the cutting edge of inquiry and research. The number of awards we receive annually in this competitive process is impressive and underscores the quality of our proposals.”

For a list of all the awards and award winners, see Space Grants.

NASA implemented the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program in 1989 to provide funding for research, education and public outreach in space-related science and technology. The program has 52 university-based consortia in the United States and Puerto Rico. As an affiliate of the Michigan Consortium, Michigan Tech has participated in MSGC for over fifteen years.

For more information, contact Anderson at 487-2474 or at csanders@mtu.edu , or visit the MSGC website at MSGC.

submitted by Lisa Wallace, Institutional Diversity
Published in Tech Today

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