Graduate School Newsblog

Author: Debra Charlesworth

New theses and dissertations in the Library

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The Graduate School is pleased to announce the arrival of new theses and dissertations from our recent graduates in the J. R. Van Pelt Library and John and Ruanne Opie Library.  The names of our graduates, their degrees, advisors, and titles of their research are listed below.

R Adam Blankenbicker
Master of Science in Geology
Advisor: William I Rose
Thesis title: Video Analysis of Small Vulcanian Explosions at Santiaguito, Guatemala

Elizabeth Boisvert
Master of Science in Applied Ecology
Advisor: Thomas Grant Pypker
Thesis title: Initiation and Development of Three Lake Superior Coastal Peatlands

Daw Don Cheam
Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical Engineering
Advisor: Paul L Bergstrom
Dissertation title: Integration of Room Temperature Single Electron Transistor with CMOS Subsystem

Brandon Dilworth
Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
Advisor: Jason R Blough
Dissertation title: Identification of Ground and Environmental Effects to the Pass-by Noise Testing of Snowmobiles

Varun Gouthaman
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Reza  Shahbazian Yassar
Thesis title: Micro-Fabrication of a Bio-MEMS Based Force Sensor to Measure the Force Response of Living Cells

Erik Hayenga
Doctor of Philosophy in Rhetoric and Technical Communication
Advisor: Marilyn M Cooper
Dissertation title: Ethics in Illustruction: Safety Cartoons in John Deere Tractor and Combine Harvester Operator’s Manuals, 1945-2007

John Hribljan
Master of Science in Biological Sciences
Advisor: Janice M Glime
Thesis title: The Influence of Moss and Litter Chemical Traits on Bryophagy in a Northern Temperate Forest Invertebrate, Porcellio scaber LATR.

Nicholas Jensen
Master of Science in Forest Ecology and Management
Advisor: Christopher Raymond Webster
Thesis title: Ungulate Winter Habitat Selection as a Driver of Heterogeneity in Ground-Layer Plant Communities

Samuel Johnson
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Jeffrey Donald Naber
Thesis title: Premixed Lean Gas Combustion and HPCR Rate of Injection used with a Constant Volume Combustion Vessel

Eric Kalenauskas
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Jeffrey  Allen
Thesis title: Calibration Methods of an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler & Investigations of the Critical Wavenumber in Unstable Evaporating Thin Films

Keong Aik Lau
Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical Engineering
Advisor: Tony Neal Rogers
Dissertation title: Theoretical and Experimental Studies of the Temperature Dependence of the Henry’s Law Constant of Organic Solutes in Water

Shannon Lerner
Master of Science in Rhetoric and Technical Communication
Co-advisors: Marilyn M Cooper and Jnan Ananda Blau
Thesis title: Martin Buber and Luce Irigaray: Liminality and Historical Spiritual Moments

Kathryn Marlor
Master of Science in Forest Ecology and Management
Advisor: Rodney A Chimner
Thesis title: Determining the Role of Environmental Factors and Disturbance in the Distribution of Reed Canary Grass within Wetlands

Benjamin Melitz
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Charles D Van Karsen
Thesis title: Feasibility Assessment of Inverse Frequency Based Substructuring to Obtain Automotive Powertrain Mount Properties

Jonathan Mellor
Master of Science in Environmental Engineering
Advisor: David W Watkins
Thesis title: Water and Sanitation Accessibility and the Health of Rural Ugandans

Bode Morin
Doctor of Philosophy in Industrial Heritage and Archaeology
Advisor: Terry S Reynolds
Dissertation title: Reflection, Refraction, and Rejection: Copper Smelting Heritage and the Execution of Environmental Policy

James Nugent
Doctor of Philosophy in Rhetoric and Technical Communication
Advisor: Robert R Johnson
Dissertation title: United States Certificate Programs in Technical Communication: A Feminist-Sophistic Investigation

Paul Pawelzik
Master of Science in Civil Engineering
Advisor: Qiong  Zhang
Thesis title: A Life Cycle Analysis Methodology: Incorporating Technological Advances Over Time A Study of the Environmental Impact of Cellulosic Ethanol with Technological Advances over Time

Russell Stacy
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Jeffrey  Allen
Thesis title: Contact Angle Measurement Technique for Rough Surfaces

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Graduate Student to appear in National Geographic

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In Tech Today

Alex Guth, PhD student, online lecturer, and Kenyan geology researcher, served as an expert for a National Geographic television show airing next spring.

The focus of the TV special is the concept of Pangea, the super continent that once existed before the current continents parted ways. The region of Kenya where the film crew worked is an important, and famous, marker in the theory, as it was once connected to the island Madagascar. The proof is in the animals, lemurs to be exact, that exist in both spots.

“I couldn’t speak as a biologist,” Guth said. But she could discuss her areas of expertise:

  • mapping a visual history of the rift (her master’s research).
  • tracking the history of climate change, paleo-climatology, in the region (her PhD focus).

These are 10-million-year histories.

For more information, and a picture of Alex in action, see an extended article on the Michigan Tech news site.

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New theses and dissertations in the Library

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By

The Graduate School is pleased to announce the arrival of new theses and dissertations from our recent graduates in the J. R. Van Pelt Library and John and Ruanne Opie Library.  The names of our graduates, their degrees, advisors, and titles of their research are listed below.

Ganesh Kumar Arumugam
Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry
Advisor: Patricia A Heiden
Dissertation Title: Controlled Nanostructures for Optoelectronic and Other Advanced Applications

Xin Bai
Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry
Advisor: Richard E Brown
Dissertation Title: Ab Initio Studies for Solvated Electrons in Hydrogen Fluoride, Water and Ammonia, The Dipole-Electron Interaction and Hydrogen Bonding

Emily C Fossum
Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering – Engineering Mechanics
Advisor: Lyon B King
Dissertation Title: Electron Mobility in ExB Devices

Jennifer M Heglund
Master of Science in Environmental Engineering
Advisor: Brian D Barkdoll
Thesis Title: Effects of Climate Change Induced Heavy Precipitation Events on Sediment Transport in Lower Michigan Rivers

Laura E Hernandez
Master of Science in Civil Engineering
Advisor: Stanley J Vitton
Thesis Title: Integrating the American Society of Civil Engineer’s Body of Knowledge into Soil Mechanics Laboratory Curriculum

Xiukui Li
Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical Engineering
Advisor: Seyed A Zekavat
Dissertation Title: Cognitive Radio Based Dynamic Spectrum Sharing

Joseph Miller
Doctor of Philosophy in Civil Engineering
Advisor: William M Bulleit
Dissertation Title: Design and Analysis of Mechanically Laminated Timber Beams Using Shear Keys

Sowmya S Moily
Master of Science in Electrical Engineering
Co-advisors: Jindong Tan and Byung K Choi
Thesis Title: PayOne: Incentive for Epidemic Protocol-based Anonymity System

Puspamitra Panigrahi
Doctor of Philosophy in Physics
Advisor: Ranjit Pati
Dissertation Title: Controlling Electronic and Magnetic Properties of Ultra Narrow Multilayered Nanowires

Raja S Payyavula
Doctor of Philosophy in Forest Molecular Genetics and Biotechnology
Co-advisors: Chung-Jui Tsai and Scott A Harding
Dissertation Title: An Investigation of Phenolic Glycoside and Condensed Tannin Homeostasis in Populus by Salicyl Alcohol Feeding to Cell Cultures and by Transgenic Manipulation of the Sucrose Transporter, PTSUT4, IN PLANTA

Tongquan Wei
Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical Engineering
Advisor: Piyush Mishra
Dissertation Title: Energy-Efficient Fault-Tolerance Schemes for Multi-Core Hard Real-Time Systems

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Michigan Tech EcoCAR Team Hits the Road

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From Tech Today

For over a year, Michigan Technological University’s EcoCAR Enterprise team members have been brainstorming and building a next-generation hybrid vehicle on their computers. Now they are ready to roll.

The team has taken delivery on a 2009 Saturn Vue Hybrid, a cross-over vehicle. General Motors, a major sponsor of EcoCar, donated new Vues to Michigan Tech and the 16 other US and Canadian universities participating in the competition.

To read more about EcoCAR and the Tech team’s strategy, see this story on the Michigan Tech News site.

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Global Watershed GK12 Fellowships

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Published in Tech Today

Federal Stimulus Funds a Boon for Sustainability Studies at Michigan Tech, Part 2

by Marcia Goodrich, senior writer

Michigan Tech is receiving over $3 million in federal funds from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, courtesy of the National Science Foundation. All four grants address sustainability topics. In the first part of a two-part series, we reviewed the three research projects made possible by federal stimulus funds. Today, we look at a new fellowship program that will improve doctoral students’ communication skills by bringing them into middle school classrooms.

Global Watershed GK12 Fellowships: Diving Deep into Water Topics with Middle School Teachers, Students

Starting this fall, Michigan Tech PhD students will begin an in-depth, collaborative effort to bring the engineering, natural science and political aspects of water resources to middle school students and their teachers. Professor Alex Mayer (CEE), director of the Center for Water and Society, anticipates that the effort will go beyond raising young people’s awareness of water issues. “Our goal is to give our doctoral students enthusiasm for communicating their work and a lifelong commitment to working with K12 schools,” he said.

Graduate students can have difficulty explaining their research to those outside their discipline, said Mayer. Yet, good communication skills are critical on multiple fronts, including teaching, professional advancement, and particularly for generating public understanding and support for science. “Communicating with lay people is difficult even for us who have been in the business for many years,” he said. “If our PhD students can learn to engage middle school students, they can reach any audience.”

Over its five-year length, the $2.5-million program will provide two-year Global Watershed GK12 fellowships to 18 PhD students, starting with five in summer 2010. The fellowships will consist of a generous stipend and tuition and fees. Each participant will be paired with a middle school teacher. Under the supervision of their teachers, the graduate students will deliver lessons on water-related topics, including their own work. They will also serve as a resource for their teacher on water-related topics.

The students will work in school districts throughout the western and central Upper Peninsula. In districts that serve a high proportion of Native American students, they will work with a consultant to make sure their lessons reflect native culture.

The program also has an international component. In cooperation with the Colegio Muñoz school system in Hermosillo, Sonora, Spanish-speaking PhD students will be paired with teachers in Mexico, in areas where water shortages have reached a critical level.

“They will give the teachers tools they can use even after the students leave their classrooms, and they will engage the middle school students to pursue careers related to water and watersheds,” Mayer said. “They can become ambassadors to the community from their university and connect with tomorrow’s citizens while furthering their own professional development.”

It will take an extra commitment from the PhD students, adding about a semester to their studies. But it will also give them advantages, especially if they join a university faculty, Mayer said. The National Science Foundation requires that many grant proposals, including the prestigious CAREER awards, include a K12 component. New faculty members who have participated in these fellowships should have no trouble involving K12 students and teachers in their work.

Coprincipal investigators on the grant are Associate Professor Nancy Auer (Biological Sciences), Associate Professor Linda Nagel (SFRES), Chair Bradley Baltensperger (Cognitive and Learning Sciences) and Shawn Oppliger, director of the Western Upper Peninsula Center for Science, (Mathematics and Environmental Education).

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Nominations open for Spring 2010 Finishing Fellowship

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The Graduate School is now accepting nominations for the spring 2010 Finishing Fellowship competition.  Complete applications are due to the Graduate School no later than 4pm on October 29, 2009.

See our web page for complete information about the application procedure. Contact Debra Charlesworth with any questions.

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 a Petition to Enter Full-Time Research Only Mode. No Finishing Fellowships will be awarded to students who fail to receive approval of their petition.
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Flu Vaccine Clinics on Campus

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Published in Tech Today

There will be several upcoming flu vaccine clinics available through Michigan Tech Counseling and Wellness Services and Portage Health.

The influenza vaccine (flu shot) is recommended for everyone, but especially for people living in close quarters, such as residence halls, and for people who have chronic health issues such as asthma and diabetes. The flu shot may not be given to people who have a severe allergy to eggs, as eggs are used in the manufacture of the vaccine.

Upcoming clinic dates:

Tuesday, Oct. 13
11 a.m to 4 p.m.
Memorial Union Peninsula Room

Wednesday, Oct. 21
10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Memorial Union Ballroom A

Wednesday, Oct. 21
4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Wads G17/19

Cost of the vaccine is $25, payable with cash, check (to Portage Health), or credit card.

Important note: Anyone under the age of 18 cannot be vaccinated without parental permission. If this pertains to you, request a permission form from wellness@mtu.edu .

For more information, contact Counseling and Wellness Services at 487-2538 or wellness@mtu.edu . To find out more about influenza and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s vaccination recommendations, click here .

More information about the H1N1 flu, ways to prevent it, and what to do if you have influenza like illness can be found on the University’s web site.

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Sustainable Futures Institute Banquet at the Rozsa

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Published in Tech Today

To celebrate its many research, education and outreach accomplishments toward securing a more sustainable future, the Sustainable Futures Institute (SFI) will host the fifth annual SFI poster session and banquet it the Rozsa lobby on Friday, Oct. 16. The banquet keynote speaker will be Charles Kerfoot, professor of Biological Sciences, who will talk about Michigan Tech’s new Great Lakes Research Center. New scholars of SFI will also be inducted at this time.

New awards will be offered! This year there are even more reasons than ever to submit a poster. In addition to an award of $150 from the Graduate Student Council for the People’s Choice Award for Best Poster, SFI will award a second and third prize of $75 and $50, respectively. Also new this year is the Rick Donovan SFI Operations Manager Inaugural Award for $200. Donovan reserves the right to decide his criteria and announce the award on the spot.

To register for the poster session, email your 100-word abstract by Oct. 9 to Denise Heikinen and RSVP to Heikinen if you plan to attend the banquet.

The banquet is open to all SFI members and poster presenters. SFI regrets it cannot accommodate significant others. To view slides of last year’s SFI banquet and poster session, the names of newly inducted SFI scholars, and menu of sustainable food for the event, click here .

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Midyear Commencement – plan now!

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Students who would like to participate in midyear commencement should note some upcoming deadlines.

Submit the Commencement application form to the Graduate School no later than October 16, 2009.

Order your academic garb no later than October 23, 2009.  Academic garb is required to participate in commencement.  Any order received after Oct. 23 will be assessed a shipping fee of $10, and orders received after Nov. 8, $25. After Nov. 22, cap and gown rental cannot be guaranteed.

To coordinate your rental, Contact Beckie Belanger at the Campus Bookstore at 487-2410 or bmbelang@mtu.edu . You may also order garb online.

Attend Gradfest on October 21st from 3:30-6:00 to order your garb, get special discounts on select items, and enjoy free pizza!

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Thanks–and Recruiting Begins Anew

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Published in Tech Today

The Graduate School would like to thank everyone involved in achieving the strong fall enrollment numbers. With recruitment for fall 2010 underway, the school once again asks current graduate students and faculty to help in recruiting prospective students.

To view a list of recruitment events, visit the Graduate School Recruitment Calendar.

Events where we need someone to attend:

  • September 23–University of Wisconsin-Platteville
  • October 7-8–University of Illinois–Urbana and Chicago
  • October 13-14–University of Wisconsin-Madison and University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

Contact Jacque Smith (jacque@mtu.edu or 487-1434) if you are willing to represent the University at any of the recruitment events. The Graduate School offers travel funding and logistical assistance.

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