Category: Announcements

Items that are time sensitive and require action

Summer Seminar Series Announced

The Graduate School is pleased to announce its Summer 2013 Professional Development Seminar Series.  Both seminars will be available on campus and online – streaming live and taped for viewing later.  Join us for one or both seminars, designed to help writers of dissertations, theses, and reports and the staff who assist them.

  • June 18 | An Office Full of Tips | 11am -noon
    Learn how to use Microsoft Office to automate many of the common tasks a writer must do, such as caption figures and tables, format text consistently and place page numbers correctly. Debra Charlesworth, Assistant Dean of the Graduate School will show you tips and tricks that will help you focus on your writing instead of your formatting.
  • July 24 | Copyright for Your Thesis or Dissertation | 11am -noon
    Who holds the copyright on your thesis?  Can you put part of journal article in your dissertation?  What if you wrote the article?  Nora Allred, Copyright Librarian from the J.R. Van Pelt and Opie Library will present the basics of U.S. Copyright and discuss the role it plays in writing and publishing a thesis or dissertation.

Please register online to attend either or both seminars on campus or online.  Once you register, you will receive an e-mail confirmation with the location or technical information needed to view the streaming video.

Past seminars offered by the Graduate School, as well as a calendar of our coming events can be found in our Seminar Archive.

June First Friday Social

There will be one last First Friday Social for this fiscal year! Faculty, staff and graduate students are invited to attend the June First Friday University Social from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., June 7, in the Memorial Union Ballroom B. A cash bar along with complimentary soda and snacks will be provided.

This month’s Social is sponsored by Information Technology. Come and meet your colleagues in a relaxed atmosphere.

The First Friday University Socials began in 2006 to provide a casual setting for members of the campus community to get together informally, share their work and get to know each other. Such informal gatherings often lead to more productive work relationships and an appreciation for diversity.

In an effort to increase the effectiveness of the initiative, this academic year featured departmental partners who sponsored each months’ events. First Friday University Socials will resume in September with the Graduate School and Graduate Student Government as the sponsor – mark your calendars for September 6th!

If your department is interested in hosting a social next academic year or would like more information, please contact Megan Ross at 7-3123 or mrross@mtu.edu.

Intellectual Property Program for Graduate Students

Is it original? Copyright & Patents for Graduate Students

Graduate students are encouraged to enroll in Is It Original? Copyright and Patents for Graduate Students, funded by the National Science Foundation.

Program Basics:

This program offers busy graduate students a unique opportunity to build an understanding of intellectual property that will complement their studies, research, and instructional goals. Students can:

  • Participate in a non-credit (no-cost), five-week program (July 18 – August 15)  that is guided by Michigan Tech copyright and patent experts.
  • Learn with peers in online environments, during Monday/Thursday weekly meetings with campus experts and guest speakers to develop a broad understanding of copyright and patent fundamentals in the context of academic research and publishing.
  • Engage in guided team activities to analyze IP case scenarios relevant to graduate studies and to share your informed analysis with others.

Program Benefits:

Students will gain a competitive edge for their graduate studies and with future employers. They will explore the beneficial balance of IP law that supports the continuous advancement of knowledge by protecting, rewarding, and encouraging originality in STEM research. On successful program completion, they will receive a certificate of training in intellectual property. We’ve worked on this program for several terms taking into account feedback from graduate student attendees.

To enroll, please register online.

An orientation meeting is scheduled for Thursday, July 18 in the library.

For further information and any questions, please contact Jean DeClerck (jsdecler@mtu.edu).

Nominations Open for the 2013 Distinguished Dissertation Award

Nominations are closed for this year’s competition.

Nominations are now open for the 2013 Council of Graduate Schools (CGS)/ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Award. Please submit nominations to the Graduate School no later than 4pm, July 1, 2013, following our online instructions. This year, nominations are being accepted from dissertations in the fields of:

  1. biological and life sciences (more details)
    Including:  biology; botany; zoology; ecology; embryology; entomology; genetics; nutrition; plant pathology; plant physiology; anatomy; biochemistry; biophysics; microbiology; pathology; pharmacology; physiology; agriculture, forestry, and related fields.
  2. humanities/fine arts (more details)
    Including: history; philosophy; language; linguistics; literature; archaeology; jurisprudence; the history, theory and criticism of the arts; ethics; comparative religion; and those aspects of the social sciences that employ historical or philosophical approaches.

Michigan Tech may nominate one student in each field. PhD students who have completed all of their degree requirements between July 1, 2011, and June 30, 2013, are eligible.   Next year, the 2014 competition will accept nominations in the fields of social sciences and mathematics/physical sciences/engineering for students who have graduated between July 1, 2012 and June 30, 2014.

Please direct your questions to Debra Charlesworth, Assistant Dean of the Graduate School.

Fall 2013 Nominations for Finishing Fellowships Sought

Applications for fall 2013 finishing fellowships are now being accepted, and are due no later than 4pm, June 20, 2013 to Dr. Debra Charlesworth in the Graduate School. Instructions on the application and evaluation process are found online.  Please note that the required form and materials requested have changed slightly for this cycle of competition.

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 no more than one previous application for a finishing fellowship.
  4. Must be eligible for or in Research Only Mode at the time of application.

Finishing Fellowships provide support to PhD candidates who are close to completing their degrees. These fellowships are available through the generosity of alumni and friends of the University. They are intended to recognize outstanding PhD candidates who are in need of financial support to finish their degrees and are also contributing to the attainment of goals outlined in The Michigan Tech Plan. The Graduate School anticipates funding up to ten fellowships with support ranging from $2000 to full support (stipend + tuition). Students who receive full support through a Finishing Fellowship may not accept any other employment. For example, students cannot be fully supported by a Finishing Fellowship and accept support as a GTA or GRA.

Spring 2013 BRC Travel Awards

The Biotechnology Research Center announced its Spring 2013 Travel Grants. Recipients include:

Post-doctoral Research Scientist Presentation:
*Kaela Leonard (ECM) Advances in Microfluidics and Nanofluidics (podium)

Graduate Student Presentations:
*Patrick Bowen (EMSE) 2013 Minerals, Metals and Materials Society Meeting (podium)
*Katrina Bugielski (SCH) 245th ACS National Meeting and Exposition (poster)
*Weilue He (EBE) Gordon Research Conference-Nitric Oxide (poster)
*Na Hu (SCH) American Geophysical Union 2012 (poster)
*Robert Larson (SBL) Experimental Biology (poster)
*Yiping Mao (SBL) Keystone Symposia on Molecular & Cellular Biology (poster)
*Sandra Owusu (FMGB) ASPB: 2013 Midwestern Section Annual Meeting (poster)
*Alison Regal (SACS) North American Society for the Psychology of Sport & Physical Activity (poster)
*Rafi Shaik (SBL) Plant and Animal Genome XXI (poster)
*Ashley Shortz (SACS) IEE Annual Conference and Expo (podium)
*Amy Sieloff (ECM) AIChE 2012 Annual Meeting (poster)
*Srinivasa Rao Sripathi (SBL) Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (poster)
*Huan Yang (SBL) Experimental Biology (poster)
*Nazmiye Yapici (SCH) 245th ACS National Meeting and Exposition (podium)

Published in Tech Today

Seminar: Submitting your Dissertation, Thesis, or Report

Students planning on finishing a thesis or dissertation spring or summer 2013 are invited a seminar designed to help students understand the submission process and answer questions about it.

Once you register, you will receive a confirmation with the location and a reminder of the date and time.

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

Significant changes were introduced in the fall based on revisions approved by the University Senate.  Join us to learn about the changes and have your questions answered.

Facilitators Sought for Fall Graduate School Orientation

Facilitators are an important part of the Graduate School’s orientation.  They lead discussion at a table with seven new graduate students, and help to answer their questions.  Faculty, staff, and graduate students are invited to participate this fall and help mentor the next group of scholars at Michigan Tech.

New facilitators will attend a training session on either August 22, 10 a.m.-noon, or August 26, 1-3 p.m.  The training will ensure everyone is comfortable and confident with the material being presented.

All facilitators will participate in orientation, 1-4:30 p.m. on August 28.  Please note that this is a time change from previous years, designed to accommodate students’ requests for an afternoon start.

To participate, please register online so we can include you in reminders and important notices as we get closer to the day:
http://www.gradschool2.mtu.edu/registration/events/index.php?session_id=171 .

Do you have questions?  Contact Deb Charlesworth (ddc@mtu.edu) or Kristi Isaacson(kris@mtu.edu) for more information.

Published in Tech Today

GTA’s at Tech – Coffee Chat

Thursday, April 11 at 3:00 PM the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) and Graduate School will co-host a “Coffee Chat” called “GTAs at Tech” in the Library East Reading Room.

We’d like to give GTA’s a forum to discuss the instructional support they are being given and additional needs.  We hope to improve GTA orientation and support by the Center next fall.

Coffee and snacks will be provided to those who register by April 8.   We hope you’ll come and share your experiences so we can make being a GTA at Tech better for you and better for our students!

To register, call 487-2046 or register online.

Peace Corps Informational Meeting Thursday

Brett Heimann, the regional recruiting representative for the Peace Corps, will hold an informational meeting at Michigan Tech at 6:30 p.m., Thursday, March 21, in Fisher Hall 125. He will talk about the Peace Corps overall and the Peace Corps Master’s International (PCMI) program. The session is free, and everyone is welcome.

Michigan Tech has eight PCMI programs in four different Colleges and Schools. Graduate students earn a master’s degree with a combination of classes and Peace Corps service overseas. For more information, contact PCMI campus director Kari Henquinet (SS), kbhenqui@mtu.edu, 7-1843.

Published in TechToday