Author: Debra Charlesworth

Graduate School Summer Seminar Series

The Graduate School is pleased to announce its summer seminar series.  Seminars focus on topics of interest to students completing a thesis or dissertation, and some will be presented in conjunction with the Library.

The start time for all seminars will be 2:30pm.

Please register online so we can plan for your attendance and let you know the location of the seminar.  Space is limited, but all seminars will be taped to provide access to our off campus students and those unable to attend.

  • June 9, Tips and Tricks for MS Office
    Learn how to use efficiently use MS Office.  Seminar will be similar to GSG lunch and learn from spring 2010.
  • June 30, An Introduction to EndNote
    EndNote helps you organize, search, and enter citations in your documents.  Co-presented with Rhianna Williams from the Library.
  • July 14, An Introduction to Copyright
    Learn the basics about copyright and how to use materials published by others in your thesis or dissertation. Co-presented with Nora Allred from the Library.

Our first seminar this summer, “Submitting your Thesis or Dissertation to the Graduate School” is now available online.

Thesis and Dissertation Submission Seminar

Students planning on finishing a thesis or dissertation this semester or next semester are invited a seminar designed to help students understand current procedures and answer student questions.

Join Debra Charlesworth on May 19th at 2:30pm to learn about the submission process from start to finish.

Faculty and staff who work with students completing a thesis or dissertation are also invited to attend.

Please register online for the event.

Once you register, you will receive a confirmation with the location and a reminder of the date and time. Space is limited, so register early!

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

Facilitators sought for fall orientation

The Graduate School needs your help in welcoming our new graduate students and helping them successfully begin their career at Michigan Tech.  Fall orientation is on August 25th, beginning at 8:30am and will run through mid-afternoon.  We are looking for volunteers to help facilitate discussion at a table with six or seven new graduate students during the morning session from 8:30 – lunch.

Orientation will help graduate students and advisors set expectations for graduate education and introduce students to basic concepts in responsible conduct for research.  The discussion will center around two vignettes that depict typical graduate student and faculty interactions, and some basic RCR concepts such as plagiarism.

Please register online if you would like to volunteer.

New volunteers will participate in one training session offered the week of August 23rd.  After registering, you will receive a confirmation e-mail with the locations for the training and orientation, along with reminders as we get closer to the event.

Graduate School Orientation – May 7th

Michigan Tech looks forward to welcoming our new graduate students for summer 2010. All new degree seeking students will be invited to orientation on May 7th beginning at 8:30am in the Memorial Union Alumni Lounge. Registration and light snacks will be available beginning at 8:00am.

Please register so we can plan for your arrival!

In addition to the orientation session sponsored by the Graduate School, students may also be required to attend sessions sponsored by:

Questions about Graduate School orientation may be directed to Debra Charlesworth or Carol Wingerson.

How to determine if fonts are embedded in a pdf file

Embedding fonts in your pdf file allows anyone who opens your file to see the document as you intended.  If you don’t embed a font, the pdf viewer will substitute a font if it is not available on the computer viewing the document, and the result usually isn’t what you intended.

To determine if all of your fonts are embedded in your pdf file, open your pdf file in Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader.

Jennifer Heglund represents Michigan Tech for MAGS Distinguished Thesis Award

Jennifer Heglund
Jennifer Heglund
The Graduate School is pleased to announce that Jennifer Heglund was Michigan Tech’s nominee for the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools Distinguished Thesis Award.  Ms. Heglund was nominated by her advisor, Dr. B. Barkdoll of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.  Her thesis, “Effects of Climate Change Induced Heavy Precipitation Events on Sediment Transport in Lower Michigan Rivers” modeled the potential effects of climate change, particularly heavy rainfall, on sediment transport in rivers.  Increased sediment transport could have an effect on erosion along rivers, and the models Ms. Heglund developed could be used for planning and land management. Ms. Heglund is currently employed by Northeast Technical Services in Virginia, Minnesota.

Fifty-one theses in the midwest were nominated for the award, and although her work was not recognized as the award recipient, it was well received by the reviewers.  One reviewer commented, “I enjoyed reading this thesis – it’s a pleasure to see such a complete approach to a problem.”

Seth DePasqual was also nominated by his advisor, Dr. T. Scarlett, on behalf of the Social Sciences Department.  His advisor described his thesis as, “…a study of the evolution of an early 20th century mining system in Spitsbergen as applied by Boston-based Arctic Coal Company.”

The committee to evaluate the nominees consisted of graduate faculty representing a broad range of graduate programs:  M. Neuman (Biomedical Engineering), S. Martin (Social Sciences), R. Froese (School of Forestry Resources & Environmental Science), B. Davis (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, 2009 and September 30, 2010.  An application consists of a recommendation letter from the advisor and an electronic copy of the thesis.  Please consider nominating your MS students next year.

Six fellowships awarded from The DeVlieg Foundation

The Graduate School is pleased to announce the awarding of six fellowships made possible by the generous support of The DeVlieg Foundation.  This years recipients will tackle a wide range of research problems from osteoarthritis in the knee to comparing the cost and effectiveness of two water treatment technologies.  Recipients are:

  • Darrell Cass, Civil Engineering, MS Candidate
  • Colin Gurganus, Physics, PhD Candidate
  • Alexandru Herescu, Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, PhD Candidate
  • Megan Killian, Biomedical Engineering, PhD Candidate
  • Jarod Maggio, Environmental Engineering, PhD Candidate
  • Ashlee Vincent, Environmental Engineering, MS Candidate

See our web page for details about the nomination process, and for photos of our recipients.