Graduate School Newsblog

Author: Debra Charlesworth

Wang Awarded China’s Top Honor for Overseas Grad Students

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PhD student Hui Wang (MSE) is the first Michigan Tech student to receive the highly prestigious China National Award for Outstanding Graduate Students Abroad.

The award honors outstanding academic achievement and is extremely competitive. All of China’s graduate students studying abroad can apply, but no more than 500 awards are granted. In 2012, 489 students were recognized.

A total of 149 graduate students in the US received the award, including four from Michigan: Wang, one from Michigan State University and two from University of Michigan.

Wang, who received $6,000, is advised by Yun Hang Hu, the Charles and Caroll McArthur Professor. Her work focuses on the use of graphene to improve the efficiency of photovoltaic cells.

Published in Tech Today

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2013 MAGS Excellence in Teaching Award Nominee

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Photo of Alexandria Guth
Alexandria Guth represented Michigan Tech in the MAGS Excellence in Teaching Award competition.
Alexandria Guth was selected by the Dean’s Advisory Panel to represent Michigan Tech as a nominee for the Midwestern Association of Graduate School’s Excellence in Teaching Award.  Dr. Guth was nominated by her department, Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences.

Although her contributions to the teaching activities of her department are many, she is most known for developing and implementing novel teaching practices for online courses.  One course is taken primarily by schoolteachers, and as Dr. Pennington notes in his nomination letter, “The schoolteachers in her online courses say that she does a terrific job, and I believe them; they know what they are talking about, and are not easy to please.”  This semester, she is developing an online course with a set of laboratories that can be completed off campus for introductory students in Oceanography.

Dr. Guth earned her PhD in geology in spring 2013, and was advised by Dr. James Wood. Her research has taken her to Kenya for field work, and she has had the opportunity to participate as a teaching assistant with her advisor in a series of field courses for students from Michigan Tech and beyond.  Her teaching is truly global.

Nominations are accepted each year for this award.  Please consider nominating your outstanding graduate students next year.  Full details on the nomination procedure are available online.

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June First Friday Social

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There will be one last First Friday Social for this fiscal year! Faculty, staff and graduate students are invited to attend the June First Friday University Social from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., June 7, in the Memorial Union Ballroom B. A cash bar along with complimentary soda and snacks will be provided.

This month’s Social is sponsored by Information Technology. Come and meet your colleagues in a relaxed atmosphere.

The First Friday University Socials began in 2006 to provide a casual setting for members of the campus community to get together informally, share their work and get to know each other. Such informal gatherings often lead to more productive work relationships and an appreciation for diversity.

In an effort to increase the effectiveness of the initiative, this academic year featured departmental partners who sponsored each months’ events. First Friday University Socials will resume in September with the Graduate School and Graduate Student Government as the sponsor – mark your calendars for September 6th!

If your department is interested in hosting a social next academic year or would like more information, please contact Megan Ross at 7-3123 or mrross@mtu.edu.

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Intellectual Property Program for Graduate Students

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Is it original? Copyright & Patents for Graduate Students

Graduate students are encouraged to enroll in Is It Original? Copyright and Patents for Graduate Students, funded by the National Science Foundation.

Program Basics:

This program offers busy graduate students a unique opportunity to build an understanding of intellectual property that will complement their studies, research, and instructional goals. Students can:

  • Participate in a non-credit (no-cost), five-week program (July 18 – August 15)  that is guided by Michigan Tech copyright and patent experts.
  • Learn with peers in online environments, during Monday/Thursday weekly meetings with campus experts and guest speakers to develop a broad understanding of copyright and patent fundamentals in the context of academic research and publishing.
  • Engage in guided team activities to analyze IP case scenarios relevant to graduate studies and to share your informed analysis with others.

Program Benefits:

Students will gain a competitive edge for their graduate studies and with future employers. They will explore the beneficial balance of IP law that supports the continuous advancement of knowledge by protecting, rewarding, and encouraging originality in STEM research. On successful program completion, they will receive a certificate of training in intellectual property. We’ve worked on this program for several terms taking into account feedback from graduate student attendees.

To enroll, please register online.

An orientation meeting is scheduled for Thursday, July 18 in the library.

For further information and any questions, please contact Jean DeClerck (jsdecler@mtu.edu).

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Nominations Open for the 2013 Distinguished Dissertation Award

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Nominations are closed for this year’s competition.

Nominations are now open for the 2013 Council of Graduate Schools (CGS)/ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Award. Please submit nominations to the Graduate School no later than 4pm, July 1, 2013, following our online instructions. This year, nominations are being accepted from dissertations in the fields of:

  1. biological and life sciences (more details)
    Including:  biology; botany; zoology; ecology; embryology; entomology; genetics; nutrition; plant pathology; plant physiology; anatomy; biochemistry; biophysics; microbiology; pathology; pharmacology; physiology; agriculture, forestry, and related fields.
  2. humanities/fine arts (more details)
    Including: history; philosophy; language; linguistics; literature; archaeology; jurisprudence; the history, theory and criticism of the arts; ethics; comparative religion; and those aspects of the social sciences that employ historical or philosophical approaches.

Michigan Tech may nominate one student in each field. PhD students who have completed all of their degree requirements between July 1, 2011, and June 30, 2013, are eligible.   Next year, the 2014 competition will accept nominations in the fields of social sciences and mathematics/physical sciences/engineering for students who have graduated between July 1, 2012 and June 30, 2014.

Please direct your questions to Debra Charlesworth, Assistant Dean of the Graduate School.

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Spring 2013 Finishing Fellowship Awardees Announced

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The Graduate School is pleased to announce the recipients of the spring 2013 finishing fellowships. The fellowships were made available by the support of the Graduate School.

The recipients were:

  • Xiaochu Ding, PhD candidate in Chemistry
  • Jiqing Fan, PhD candidate in Chemical Engineering
  • Kevyn J. Juneau, PhD candidate in Forest Science
  • Michael T. Kivisalu, PhD candidate in Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
  • Hui Wang, PhD candidate in Materials Science and Engineering

Finishing fellowship applications for fall 2013 are due no later than 4pm on June 20, 2013. Application procedures and photographs of recent recipients can be found online.

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Fall 2013 Nominations for Finishing Fellowships Sought

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Applications for fall 2013 finishing fellowships are now being accepted, and are due no later than 4pm, June 20, 2013 to Dr. Debra Charlesworth in the Graduate School. Instructions on the application and evaluation process are found online.  Please note that the required form and materials requested have changed slightly for this cycle of competition.

Students are eligible if all of the following criteria are met:

  1. Must be a PhD student.
  2. Must expect to finish during the semester supported as a finishing fellow.
  3. Must have submitted no more than one previous application for a finishing fellowship.
  4. Must be eligible for or in Research Only Mode at the time of application.

Finishing Fellowships provide support to PhD candidates who are close to completing their degrees. These fellowships are available through the generosity of alumni and friends of the University. They are intended to recognize outstanding PhD candidates who are in need of financial support to finish their degrees and are also contributing to the attainment of goals outlined in The Michigan Tech Plan. The Graduate School anticipates funding up to ten fellowships with support ranging from $2000 to full support (stipend + tuition). Students who receive full support through a Finishing Fellowship may not accept any other employment. For example, students cannot be fully supported by a Finishing Fellowship and accept support as a GTA or GRA.

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Are You Cited? Find Out With Library’s New Citation Searching Guide

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The Van Pelt and Opie Library is pleased to offer a new guide to citation searching, which can be found online. This guide, created specifically for faculty and graduate students at Michigan Tech, contains helpful information for researchers in all academic disciplines.

Save yourself hours of searching time by using the guide to learn how to:

  • Determine if and where your publications have been cited
  • Discover works related to other authors, articles, or topics
  • Assess the relative quality or merit of a publication

If you have a suggestion for a database or other resource that should be added to the guide, please send an e-mail to reflib@mtu.edu or submit your suggestion using the link on the front page of the guide.

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Seminar: Submitting your Dissertation, Thesis, or Report

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Students planning on finishing a thesis or dissertation spring or summer 2013 are invited a seminar designed to help students understand the submission process and answer questions about it.

Once you register, you will receive a confirmation with the location and a reminder of the date and time.

If you are unable to join us, this seminar will be taped and available online.

Significant changes were introduced in the fall based on revisions approved by the University Senate.  Join us to learn about the changes and have your questions answered.

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Evan Anderson represents Michigan Tech in Distinguished Thesis Competition

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Evan Anderson, Michigan Tech’s MAGS nominee
The Graduate School is pleased to announce that Evan Anderson is Michigan Tech’s nominee for the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools Distinguished Thesis Award.  Mr. Anderson was nominated by his advisor, Dr. Blair Orr of the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science.  His thesis, “The Impact of Balsamo (Myroxylon Balsamum L. Harms) on Coffee Yield and Household Income in El Balsamar, El Salvador,” investigated sustainable coffee production in El Balsamar.  His work was conducted during his time as a Peace Corps Volunteer, and was developed in response to local community needs.  The thesis integrated the biological, social, and economic role of the tree in the community.  Evan is currently an urban forester with Davey Tree in San Francisco, California.

Three other graduate students were also nominated for consideration.  Jean DeClerck was nominated by her advisors, Dr. M. Ann Brady and Dr. Wendy Anderson of Humanities, and committee member Dr. Victoria Bergvall of Humanities.  Nathan Kelley-Hoskins was nominated by his advisor, Dr. Petra Hüntemeyer of Physics.  Andrew Orthober was nominated by his advisor, Dr. Carol MacLennan of Social Sciences.  All of the nominations were noteworthy for their scholarship, and the evaluation panel had a difficult task in selecting one nominee to represent Michigan Tech.

The Dean’s Advisory Panel, representing each college or school at Michigan Tech, evaluated the nominees.  The faculty on this panel represent a broad range of graduate programs:  J. Gierke (Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences), S. Martin (Social Sciences), D. Flaspohler (School of Forestry Resources & Environmental Science), X. Wang (School of Technology) and G. Campbell (School of Business and Economics).  Next year’s competition will consider applicants who have completed their degrees between October 1, 2012 and September 30, 2013.  An application consists of an abstract of the thesis, recommendation letter from the advisor, and an electronic copy of the thesis.  Please consider nominating your master’s students next year.

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