Category: Announcements

Items that are time sensitive and require action

Silicon Valley Trip 2014–The Experience of a Lifetime

Each spring 15 students travel from Michigan Tech to the world hub of start-ups and entrepreneurs–Silicon Valley.  This eye-opening experience focuses on immersing students in real companies, with real players, and the current challenges they face.

The trip to Silicon Valley takes place during Spring Break (March 8-14).  Visits with entrepreneurs, inventors, managers and companies including Brocade, Cisco and Google will provide students with a first-hand understanding of technology built enterprises that are revolutionizing global business.

Brocade is once again sponsoring the trip bringing the cost to $300 per person including airfare, hotel accommodations with breakfast each morning and transportation throughout the duration of the trip.

This trip is open to all Michigan Tech students.  Please pass the information along. Student participation is based on a two-minute interview on “Why you want to work and live in Silicon Valley.”  If students are interested in participating, please have them email Karen Foltz at ksfoltz@mtu.edu. They will be assigned interview times starting at 4 p.m., on Dec. 5.

Published in Tech Today.

NRC announces Associateship Programs for 2014

The National Research Council (NRC) administers competitive graduate postdoctoral and senior research awards on behalf of 26 U.S. government research agencies and affiliated institutions with facilities at over 100 locations throughout the U.S. and abroad.

Annual stipends for recent PhD recipients for the 2014 program year range from $42,000 to $80,000 depending upon the sponsoring laboratory, and are appropriately higher for senior award recipients.  Graduate entry level stipends begin at $30,000 and are higher for additional experience.

Applications open for 2014 Emerging Public Policy Leadership Award

Attention graduate students!  Apply for the 2014 Emerging Public Policy Leadership Award at the American Institute of Biological Sciences webpage.

Application deadline is January 13, 2014.

Award winners will receive a free trip to Washington, DC on April 9-10, 2014 to meet with congressional policymakers about funding for the biological sciences.

Belote to Speak on Ecuador

Hosted by student organization Global City, local resident and former Peace Corps Volunteer (and Dean of Students) Linda Belote will present “La Mega Cooperativa Artesanal:  How Ecuadorian Indian Women Found Economic Success through Hand-Woven Beadwork” on Monday, Nov. 18, in Fisher 133 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Belote will tell the story of five indigenous women’s organizations from highland Southern Ecuador who joined together in 2010 in order to bring their handwoven beadwork jewelry to an international market. Aided by Belote and other American friends, their communities’ folk art and the story it tells has reached the US and beyond via the Santa Fe International Folk Art Market.

Pizza and snacks will be provided, and the cooperative’s beadwork will be available for purchase following the presentation. The public is welcome.

Global City is a student organization dedicated to providing a forum to address critical issues of human development such as economic development, resource distribution, and sustainability. Visit http://global.students.mtu.edu for more information.

Posted in Tech Today

GSG hosting Graduate Research Colloquium – Feb 19, 2014

Graduate Student Government is hosting our annual Graduate Research Colloquium on February 19th and 20th, 2014

What is the Graduate Research Colloquium (GRC) & where do I go for more info?
Each spring, GSG sponsors the Graduate Research Colloquium Poster & Presentation Competition. The GRC is a unique opportunity to share your research with the University community and to gain experience in presenting that research to colleagues.

Who can participate?
All graduate students are highly encouraged to participate by presenting their research in an oral presentation or creating a poster detailing their research. You can even do both!

Why should I participate?
The GRC provides graduate students a great opportunity to practice their oral or poster presentations in a friendly environment before presenting at a major conference. These presentations will help you to gain valuable feedback from judges and other audience members that can benefit your research. The GRC is also a great way to network and learn about other research that is being done on campus. Plus, cash prizes are available for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place speakers in both the poster and oral presentation sessions.

How do I submit an abstract?
We’ve made it even easier for you to participate this year! You can now submit your abstract for both a poster and oral presentation on our online submission website.

The submission deadline is Friday, November 22nd, at 11:59 PM.


Library Matters: Upcoming November Workshops

The Van Pelt and Opie Library is offering three workshops in November.

Basic Patent Searching
Wednesday, Nov. 13, 5:30-7 p.m.
This workshop will cover basic patent searching in the USPTO website database using the recommended “Seven Step Strategy.” We will discuss why keyword searching of patents must be supplemented with a classification search; how to identify relevant patent classes and search within them; and how to cross-reference related classes.
Click here to register.

Advanced Patent Searching
Tuesday, Nov. 19, 5:30-7 p.m.
This workshop will cover other database options aside from the USPTO website to search for patents, including patents issued in countries other than the US. We will explore Espacenet, PatentScope and Google Patents; and discuss some advanced searching strategies.
Click here to register.

Citation Searching for Faculty and Graduate Students
Thursday, Nov. 14, 12-1 p.m.
This workshop will demonstrate finding articles that cite your articles in a variety of databases that the library offers. We will also discuss methods of estimating impact factor.
Click here to register.

If you have any questions, please contact Sarah Lucchesi at slucches@mtu.edu or 7-3379.

Published in Tech Today

Library Hosts “Patent and Trademark Day” Nov. 6

The Van Pelt and Opie Library at Michigan Tech is now a Patent and Trademark Resource Center (PTRC). A PTRC is a library officially designated by the Department of Commerce’s US Patent and Trademark Office to freely provide to the University and independent people and businesses the best and most up-to-date databases and other tools, workshops, online guides and assistance with patent and trademark searching.

Breaking Digital Barriers to Present an Online Seminar

Michigan Tech’s Breaking Digital Barriers Group to present an Online Seminar for People Who Help Older Adults Use Technology.

The one-week online seminar, Digital Literacy and the Older Adults, is for anybody who:

  • helps older adults use technology,
  • wants to help people in their community cope with the rapid change in technology that has become part of our everyday life, and
  • or anyone who has ever tried to debug their parents’ computer problems over the phone.

The seminar will run Nov. 18 to 22, with a time commitment of 1-2 hours a day.

The seminar will take place online.  Registration is at www.mtu.edu/bdbmooc.  

Flu Vaccine Clinic Held On Campus – Nov 7, 2013

Portage Health will hold a flu vaccine clinic in the Peninsula Room in the MUB, Thursday, November 7th, 4 to 7 pm.

Employees, retirees and their dependents, as well as students, are welcome to attend one of the clinics. Shots will be available on a first-come, first-served basis; no appointment is necessary.

Employees and retirees with Michigan Tech’s Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance and students with Aetna student health should bring their member card so the vaccine can be billed to insurance. Without insurance, the vaccine is $25 (payable by cash, check or credit card). Identification is required and anyone under the age of 18 cannot be vaccinated without parental permission.

Be prepared to provide a picture ID and insurance card to have the vaccine administered and billed to insurance. A spouse or child may attend without the employee.

Questions can be directed to benefits@mtu.edu.