Professional Development Workshop Sponsored by GSG, the Graduate School, and Career Services
Beth Williams from the Career Services will lead an interactive workshop on how to prepare for networking events. The presentation will be followed by a mocktails event where attendees will have a chance to practice their newly learned strategies with representatives from local industries and with MTU faculty and staff.
See registration link for room and time: https://mtu.libcal.com/event/5018296
Award Criteria
The purpose of the award is to encourage, recognize and reward innovative efforts to enhance graduate student success. Nominations may relate to any initiative that positively impacts graduate student success including degree completion, attrition or time to completion of graduate study including:
Nomination Procedure
Nominations may be submitted by a faculty, student or staff at Michigan Tech. Please submit a 1-2 page nomination letter that includes (1) your name, (2) your e-mail, (3) your department,and (4) the program, department, or college/school you are nominating. Describe the innovation in enhancing graduate student success with an explanation as to how and why it has made a positive and significant impact.
The nomination(s) should be emailed to Heather Suokas or Mary Stevens, in the Graduate School by Friday, Feb. 15.
The recipient will be recognized and presented with a plaque at the Graduate Research Colloquium banquet on March 28.
Selection Committee
The Dean of the Graduate School will appoint and oversee a selection committee.
The recipient will be recognized and presented with a plaque at the Graduate Research Colloquium banquet on March 28.
Award Criteria
The purpose of the award is to encourage, recognize and reward innovative efforts to enhance graduate student recruitment and enrollment. Nominations may relate to any initiative that positively impacts graduate student recruitment and enrollment including:
Nomination Procedure
Nominations may be submitted by a faculty, student or staff at Michigan Tech. Submit a 1-2 page nomination letter that includes (1) your name, (2) your e-mail, (3) your department and (4) the program, department, or college/school you are nominating.
Describe the innovation in enhancing graduate student recruitment and enrollment with an explanation as to how and why it has made a positive and significant impact.
The nomination(s) should be emailed to Heather Suokas or Mary Stevens, in the Graduate School by Friday, Feb. 15.
The recipient will be recognized and presented with a plaque at the Graduate Research Colloquium banquet on March 28.
Selection Committee
The Dean of the Graduate School will appoint and oversee a selection committee.
The recipient will be recognized and presented with a plaque at the Graduate Research Colloquium banquet on March 28.
Apply now! Deadline is January 31st, 2019
From June 23 – 29, 2019, Merck KGaA, Darmstadt, Germany will be hosting the Merck Innovation Cup (http://innovationcup.merckgroup.com, http://innovationcup.emdgroup.com).
The Innovation Cup is an initiative for graduate students in natural sciences, computer sciences, and business administration to attend a training program near Frankfurt, Germany.
All travel, food and accommodation expenses are paid by us.
The Innovation Cup is designed to support the professional development of graduate students interested in the pharmaceutical industry. Participants learn how R&D in the industry works by lectures from Merck managers and scientists. The students will also advance an idea to a full project plan with their teams. The event brings together a promising new generation of talent with senior Merck managers and researchers and accomplished Merck retirees in a meeting of the generations. It also provides a unique chance to network with the brightest students from all around the world. Teams will work on innovative projects in the areas of: Oncology, Immuno-Oncology, Autoimmunity, Small Molecule Drug Discovery, Protein Engineering and Screening, Digitalization.
Kevin Phillips
Integrative Physiology
I have been living in the Upper Peninsula for 5 years and began my Ph.D. at Michigan Tech in 2015. I am currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Integrative Physiology program. I have always loved the outdoors and exercise. Therefore, my research is focused on understanding how environmental demands and thermal interventions (hot/cold water immersion) influence performance and the perception of fatigue during physical exercise. We use a variety of techniques to quantify muscle and brain activation during these fatiguing tasks. This research may provide us with important implications for improving athletic performance and managing the perception of pain in clinical populations. I am incredibly thankful for the support that the Nicholas Matwiyoff and Carl Hogberg Graduate Fellowship Fund and the Graduate School has provided me to complete my degree. I would also like to thank my mentors and fellow students who have helped me along the way. I have learned so much at Michigan Tech and I will always be grateful for my time here.
Robert Zupko
Computational Science & Engineering
I am a PhD candidate in Computational Science & Engineering (CS&E) at Michigan Tech, affiliated with the Department of Social Sciences. My departmental affiliation reflects the non-departmental and interdisciplinary nature of CS&E in which complex problems are explored. My doctoral research focuses on the applications of computer modeling to coupled human and natural systems with an emphasis on assessing the sustainability of biofuels in the Western Upper Peninsula region of Michigan. The development of biofuels is interesting since they can bring new industry into the region and help to address climate change; however, the need for feedstocks means that that their development may interfere with other regional concerns. Computer modeling techniques, such as agent-based modeling, offer as a means to explore how the region could respond to the introduction biofuels and conduct sustainability assessments of environmental, economic, and social concerns. Ultimately, the goal of this research is not only to conduct these assessments, but to develop a generalizable computational technique for the study of coupled human and natural systems.
I am extremely grateful to Dr. Mark Rouleau, in the Department of Social Sciences, and the Michigan Tech Graduate School for the opportunity to pursue this research. Likewise, I am humbled by the Finishing Fellowship which will allow the opportunity to dedicate my time solely to completing my doctoral studies.
Saturday’s commencement ceremony at Michigan Tech represents a historical milestone for the Graduate School. The first graduate students were on campus in 1889, just four years after Michigan Tech (then called the Michigan Mining School) was established. Since that time, our Graduate School has achieved many milestones and we’re celebrating a big one this week.
First, a little history.
Our first two master’s degrees were awarded in 1927 to Jack L. Byers and Corbin T. Eddy. The first two doctorates were granted in 1934 to Roy W. Drier and Corbin T. Eddy. The first female graduate student at Michigan Tech was Margaret R. Holly who entered the MS degree program in Chemistry in 1935.
The Board of Control approved the creation of the Graduate School in July, 1950 and in 1960, physicist Donald Yerg became the first dean of the Graduate School.
Over the years we’ve had many, many incredible graduates from all over the world go on to accomplish wonderful things. Just a few who stand out are:
And this is just a sampling of the thousands of outstanding recipients of master’s and doctorate degrees from Michigan Tech who are making our world a better place.
Just how many have there been? Well, Michigan Tech is passing an important milestone Saturday (Dec. 15). Among the master’s and doctorate degrees awarded will be the 10,000th graduate degree in Michigan Tech’s history.
“I’m confident,” says Pushpalatha Murthy, dean of the Graduate School, “that among the upcoming and future graduate alumni, including the 10,000thgraduate degree recipient, we will continue to find the leaders the world needs to create a strong, productive and inclusive future.”
Tech will celebrate this milestone in true Tech fashion at commencement Saturday. Go Huskies.
David Rosen
Biomedical Engineering
My graduate study at MTU began the spring of 2015. My broad research interests and aspirations are oriented toward soft tissue biomechanics and the physiology and technologies that are associated with the topic. For my PhD research, my interest in biomechanics has been specifically focused on a medical ultrasound technology called elastography. Elastography is a technique used to assess soft tissue elasticity in vivo. My graduate research efforts have focused on how the distinctive mechanical properties of soft tissue (i.e. viscoelasticity, heterogeneity, and nonlinear elasticity) manifest in elastography measurements and what role they have in elastographic uncertainty as it relates medical diagnosis.
I am immensely grateful for the support provided by the Graduate School through the Doctoral Finishing Fellowship. This support is instrumental in this final stage of my graduate study. It has been a privilege to study and work on research at MTU and I am excited to see how the skills and knowledge I have developed during my time here will impact my career and my field.
Simeon Schum
Chemistry
I arrived at Michigan Tech in Fall 2013 after receiving my Bachelor’s degree in chemistry from University of Alaska, Fairbanks the previous spring. After arriving, I joined Dr. Lynn Mazzoleni’s group, which is primarily focused on investigating the molecular composition of atmospheric organic aerosol using ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry.
My research has focused on the analysis and interpretation of organic aerosol collected at the Pico Mountain Observatory, which is located on Pico Island in the Azores Archipelago, within the north Atlantic Ocean. Through this work I was able to go to the site in the summers of 2014 and 2017 for a total of ten weeks and helped operate and maintain the site so that samples and observations could be obtained for researchers at Michigan Tech and other collaborating institutions. Some of my work from the site highlighted interesting questions about the aging processes that organic aerosol undergo based on the ambient conditions in the atmosphere during long-range transport.
In addition to my work with organic aerosol, I learned how to write code in R and have used that knowledge to write a code package that includes functions that do molecular formula assignment, isotope filtering, signal to noise determination, and recalibration. These are all important for the analysis of ultrahigh resolution mass spectrometry data.
First, I would like to thank Dr. Mazzoleni for her incredible assistance over the years in mentoring and providing me the opportunity to do things I may not have otherwise done. I would also like to thank the Michigan Tech Graduate school for awarding me this finishing fellowship, which will allow me to focus on finishing my dissertation and journal publications related to my work.