Graduate School Newsblog

Author: Debra Charlesworth

Tech Participates in Michigan’s Construction Career Days

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Michigan Tech’s University Transportation Center for Materials in Sustainable Transportation Infrastructure (UTC‐MiSTI) and the Center for Technology and Training (CTT) traveled to Lansing last week to participate in Michigan’s Construction Career Days, a workforce development event.

This is the fourth year Michigan’s transportation and construction industry has hosted the event which provides educational and career information. Staff from the CTT served as on-site volunteers providing logistical assistance.

Michigan Tech’s UTC‐MiSTI provides funding to offset the transportation costs for the forty-plus schools bringing more than 2,400 middle and high school students to the event.

Undergraduates, graduate students and staff from the UTC‐MiSTI, the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the Transportation Institute’s Rail Transportation Program and Admissions interacted with students, teachers and counselors at the University’s informational exhibit.

Photos from this year’s event can be viewed at MiSTI .

Published in Tech Today

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New theses and dissertations available in the Library

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The Graduate School is pleased to announce new theses and dissertations are now available in the J.R. van Pelt and Opie Library from the following programs:

  • Chemistry
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Engineering Mechanics
  • Forest Science
  • Rhetoric and Technical Communication

Colina Dutta
Master of Science in Chemistry
Co-advisors: Dario J Stacchiola and Gerard T Caneba
Thesis title: Ultrasonic Dispersion of Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes and Cellulose

Yinfei Fu
Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical Engineering
Advisor: Zhi Tian
Dissertation title: Multi-Target Tracking and Localization in Distributed Wireless Sensor Networks

Nicholas Mastricola
Master of Science in Engineering Mechanics
Advisor: Ossama Omar Abdelkhalik
Thesis title: Quantification of Relativistic Perturbation Forces on Spacecraft Trajectories

Sara Robinson
Doctor of Philosophy in Forest Science
Advisor: Peter E Laks
Dissertation title: The Scientific, Artistic, and Practical Implications of Sub-lethal Fungicide Levels in Wood Exposed to Fungi

Cynthia Weber
Doctor of Philosophy in Rhetoric and Technical Communication
Advisor: Jennifer Daryl Slack
Dissertation title: In Defense of a Liberal Education: The Language and Politics of Academic Freedom

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Board of Control Approves Budget, Tuition for 2011-12

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At a regular meeting last Friday, the Board of Control passed a $160 million general fund budget for fiscal year 2012, which begins July 1, 2011. It includes an increase of 6.95 percent in tuition and mandatory fees. The Board previously increased room and board rates by 2.2 percent for next year.

The general fund is that component of the budget covering most general academic and administrative costs. The total University operating budget, which includes sponsored research, will be $251 million, an increase of $6 million over fiscal year 2011.

The tuition increase meets the Governor’s budget proposal guideline, which lowers a recommended 22 percent decrease in appropriations for state universities to a 15 percent decrease, providing tuition and mandatory fees increases are kept under 7.1 percent.

Michigan Tech’s new budget is based on this expected 15 percent decline in State of Michigan appropriations, from $47.9 million this year to $ 40.7 million next year.

This year billing will be simplified by combining tuition and mandatory fees, which will go up from an average of $13,007 for the 2010-2011 academic year to an average of $13,910.50 in 2011-2012.

“Accounting for inflation, state funding has been rolled back to the level of the late 1960’s, when the University had only 60 percent of today’s enrollment and little research and graduate school activity. Despite severe state funding reductions, Michigan Tech is committed to preserving the core qualities of our educational programs and supporting our outstanding faculty and staff,” said President Glenn Mroz.

Commenting on the appeal of Michigan Tech to students in favorable or difficult economic times, Mroz said, “Our undergraduate students enroll because Michigan Tech offers them advantages they will not find elsewhere. They will be on a first-name basis with professors who care about their development. They will experience hands-on learning, have access to leading-edge equipment and laboratories, and enjoy small class sizes. Students seek these distinctive advantages which will make them stand out in their career pursuits. Despite the state funding cuts, our students clearly value a Michigan Tech education. And, we will stand firm in continuing to provide that unique educational experience.”

Marty Richardson, Board chair, said: “Though the decline in state support is challenging, this budget reflects a continuing focus on what is most important at Michigan Tech. Our vision is to be a world-class technological university and we have not wavered from that. Students, graduates and employers expect and deserve that.”

The budget increases financial aid for students from $26.3 million to $27.3 million. It also includes $3.8 million in spending reductions. Those for administrative units averaged 4 percent, and those for academic units averaged 2 percent.

“The message is clear,” said Steve Hicks, chair of the Board’s Finance and Audit Committee. “We have extended our commitment to increase access to students, and the funding of academics remains our top priority.”

Michigan Tech will continue to implement continuous improvement measures, positioning the University for success in a rapidly changing economic environment, Mroz also told the Board.

Included in the new budget is a pool of funds for promotional increases for faculty, specifically those who will move up in the academic ranks.

The Board re-elected Marty Richardson as its chair and Steve Hicks as vice chair for the coming fiscal year.

In other business, the Board:

  • Approved and saluted the promotion of 7 full professors, 13 associate professors and 3 lecturers.
  • Congratulated the 753 undergraduates and 204 graduate students who received degrees at Spring Commencement.
  • Granted an honorary posthumous Bachelor of Science in Forestry to Stephen Eagal.
  • Passed a resolution of appreciation for Edward Maki for 38 years of service.
  • Approved a proposal for Michigan Tech to offer a Master of Science in Geospatial Technology.
  • Approved renaming the former Blizzard Snowplow building near the airport the Advanced Power Systems Research Center.
  • Changed the name of the Department of Exercise Science, Health, and Physical Education to the Department of Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology.

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

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Winners of Rath Award for Research Announced

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Chee Huei Lee

For groundbreaking work in nanotechnology, Yoke Khin Yap and Chee Huei Lee have received the University’s Bhakta Rath Research Award.

The award, endowed by 1958 alumnus Bhakta Rath and his wife, Shushama Rath, recognizes a Michigan Tech doctoral student and advisor for “exceptional research of particular value that anticipates the future needs of the nation while supporting advances in emerging technology.”

Yap, an associate professor of physics, and then-PhD student Lee (he graduated in 2010) invented a technique for synthesizing boron nitride nanotubes. Compared to their carbon-based cousins, boron nitride nanotubes have alluring qualities but, before Yap and Lee’s pioneering work, had been notoriously difficult to grow.

The researchers created veritable nano-carpets of boron nitride nanotubes and discovered they possessed a number of interesting properties: They are perfect insulators, which means they could be doped to form designer semiconductors for use in electronics that operate at high temperatures. They are among the strongest materials known and can be dispersed in organic solvents, properties that could be useful in making high-strength composites and ceramics. Plus, they shed water like a duck’s back. This quality, known as superhydrophobicity, holds at all pH levels, which means they could be used as protective coatings to shield against the strongest acids and bases.

Yap said Lee played an important role in their collaboration. “I enjoy working with Chee Huei, as he is willing to listen, think and work hard on an idea, and then he comes back to tell you much more than what you were expecting,” said Yap. “My initial ideas mature and flourish with his feedback.”

Lee has authored or coauthored 12 peer-reviewed journal papers on their nanotube research, as well as three chapters and review articles and three papers in peer-reviewed proceedings. As recipients of the Rath Award, Yap and Lee will share a $2,000 prize. Their research work is supported by the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy’s Office of Basic Energy Sciences.

To find out more, visit the Michigan Tech News Site .

by Marcia Goodrich, senior writer
Published in Tech Today

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Graduate Students participate in Nature Teacher Workshop

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PhD students Tara Bal (SFRES) and Meagan Harless (Biological Sciences), along with Joan Chadde of the Western UP Center for Science, Math and Environmental Education, put on a Nature Teacher Workshop Tuesday at the Nara Nature Center. Thirty local teachers attended the session.

Bal talked about insects; Harless talked about streams and ponds. The session was based on “Hands-On Nature Activities,” a guide with information and exercises for outdoor and environmental education with children. All participants received a copy of the book.

The workshop was sponsored by the Western UP Center and the Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative.

Published in Tech Today.

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Tickets Available for Commencement, You’re Invited

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Spring Commencement begins at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, April 30, at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena in the Student Development Complex.

Members of the campus community may request tickets from Elizabeth Pollins in the Vice President for Student Affairs Office. Call 487-2465 or email epollins@mtu.edu .

The University will honor the achievements of 753 students receiving undergraduate degrees, 156 master’s degrees and 48 PhDs.

Mr. Norman R. Augustine, former chairman and CEO of Lockheed Martin and Martin Marietta Corporations, will give the commencement address, as well as receive an Honorary Doctorate in Science and Engineering, and Dr. Katerina E. Aifantis ’02 will be honored with the Outstanding Young Alumni Award.

Commencement is not just a ceremony to honor our students and present degrees. It also serves as a time to reflect on and recognize the important contributions of our faculty and staff to the mission of the University to prepare students to create the future.

Parking, on a first-come, first-served basis, is available in Lots 22, 23 and 24. No parking pass is required.

Published in Tech Today.

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Students Journey to Lansing for Graduate Education Week

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Graduate students, all from Michigan, ventured to Lansing last week for Michigan Graduate Education Week in the Capitol Building.

The students met with legislators and discussed the importance of graduate education in Michigan, the nation and the world.

“We stressed the significance of Michigan Tech and how graduate education contributes to the Michigan economy and goes well beyond,” said Jacque Smith, director of marketing and advancement for the Graduate School. “The legislature was in session, and they took time out from their busy day to talk with us.”

Attending from Michigan Tech were Alicia Sawdon, a PhD candidate in chemical engineering from Lapeer; Natasha Hagadone, a PhD candidate in applied cognitive science and human factors from Central Lake; Joseph Hernandez, a PhD candidate in mechanical engineering from Port Huron; and Kaitlyn Bunker, a PhD candidate in electrical engineering from Canton.

Students had a chance to meet their legislators, too, and presented plaques to Representative David Rutledge (D-Ypsilanti) and Senator Rebekah Warren (D-Ann Arbor) for sponsoring Michigan Graduate Education Week.

“I was honored to represent Michigan Tech and my department,” said Hagadone. She spent time with Senator Howard Walker (R-Traverse City), telling him about the DeSciDE (Decision Sciences and Decision Engineering) lab at Tech and her research in personalized decision support.

Sawden concurred. “Being able to talk with a representative (Kevin Daley, R-Lapeer) about my research and school, see the capitol, and meet students from other departments made this trip worthwhile,” she said. “I hope in future years more students can experience Graduate Education Week!”

“It was a real privilege to meet and have one-on-one time with Senator [Phil] Pavlov [R-St. Clair],” said Hernandez. “We were able to discuss why I chose Michigan Tech and how my research is important to Michigan.”

Smith stressed the significance of graduate education’s impact on Michigan, the region and the nation. “$61 million in research funding at Michigan Tech comes from sources outside the state,” he said. “That’s bringing monies into the state with research done, in great part, by graduate students working with faculty.”

In addition to the research dollars, he said, the more than 850 graduate students live, pay taxes and spend money in the local economy, Smith said. “In a town of 7,000, that’s a large economic impact.”

Graduate education also contributes to Michigan’s economy by creating a highly skilled workforce, technology transfer with cutting-edge research, and future faculty to teach in Michigan schools, from K-12 through universities, Smith said.

by Dennis Walikainen, senior editor
Published in Tech Today

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Tech Professor, Grad Students Introduce School Children to Life in Lake Superior

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Today and Tuesday, April 18-19, Professor Martin Auer (CEE) and his graduate students will bring hands-on science investigations about Lake Superior to CLK Elementary School students in Calumet. Each grade level will spend 55 minutes with the scientists, learning about Lake Superior.

This special event is part of CLK’s Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative Heritage Garden project and the school’s monthlong celebration of Earth Month, “3LK at CLK: Living, Learning and Loving the Keweenaw.”

The Lake Superior Stewardship Initiative connects schools and communities in the stewardship of Lake Superior and its watershed. The initiative is one of eight hubs statewide that are part of the Great Lakes Stewardship Initiative, with support from the Great Lakes Fishery Trust and the Wege Foundation.

The Auer team’s activities will include

  • Lake Superior: big, deep, cold, and beautiful
  • Riding the Waves: field sampling equipment demo
  • Plankton: Lake Superior’s vegetable garden
  • From the Lake: sediment, benthos and fish

Auer’s research focuses on modeling of Great Lakes and inland waters and field monitoring and laboratory studies related to water quality modeling and management. He is familiar to many in the Keweenaw for his work with the Agassiz, which has become Tech’s floating ambassador, bringing people to the water and the water to people in the Lake Superior basin. Each year, Auer and colleagues host hundreds of K-12 students aboard the R/V Agassiz, where they learn how the Great Lakes are studied by scientists.

Published in Tech Today

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MSGC Awards Announced

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Faculty and students have received awards totaling $72,500 through the Michigan Space Grant Consortium (MSGC), sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Michigan Tech submitted 30 proposals, 16 of which received funding.  See the Tech Today posting for all awardees.

Graduate students receiving $5,000 fellowships are:

  • Dulcinea Avouris (Geology, GMES): “Triggering of Volcanic Activity by Large Earthquakes”
  • Baron Colbert (Civil Engineering, CEE): “Using Nonmetals Separated From E-Waste in Improving the Mechanical Properties of Asphalt Materials”
  • Sarah Gray (Mechanical Engineering, ME): “Bear Parathyroid Hormone as a Treatment for Osteoporosis in Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy”
  • John Moyer (Mechanical Engineering, ME): “Effect of Simulated Low Gravity on Compressive Material Properties of Porcine Meniscus”
  • Alicia Sawdon (Chemical Engineering, ChE): “Production of Astaxanthin by Haematococcus pluvialis for Astronauts”
  • Christina Ylitalo (Biomedical Engineering, BME): “Controlling Inflammation Following Traumatic Injury Will Help Prevent Osteoarthritis”
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