Category: Announcements

Items that are time sensitive and require action

Call for GRC Abstract Submissions and Nominations for GSG Merit Awards

On Thursday and Friday, Feb. 21 and 22, the Graduate Student Government (GSG) will sponsor the Graduate Research Colloquium (GRC) which will feature sessions that include both oral and poster presentations by grad students from departments across the University in an environment that simulates a professional conference.

There are prizes for first-, second- and third-place winners from each session (oral and poster) and all participants will be given certificates of appreciation. In addition to these prizes, merit awards will also be presented to one outstanding student scholar, an exceptional graduate student leader, and a faculty mentor at an awards banquet at 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb 22. Certificates of recognition will be presented to graduate students nominated by their departments for teaching excellence and distinguished scholarship.

The GSG would like to invite all graduate students, faculty and staff to attend the GRC and talk with presenters about their work. Students who would like to present their work can submit an abstract between now and Dec. 20 at the GSG website.

In addition, grad students should know that they may nominate a faculty member for the Outstanding Graduate Mentor award as well as fellow grad students for the Outstanding Student Leader award and Outstanding Student Scholar award. Graduate faculty may also nominate a student of theirs for the student awards. The nomination deadline for merit awards is Jan. 18, 2013. For abstract submission and nomination guidelines, please visit the Graduate Student Government website.

Printed in TechToday

EndNote Workshops – November 30th

The J. Robert Van Pelt and John and Ruanne Opie Library presents a series of EndNote workshops.

EndNote is citation management software which allows anyone to easily collect, organize, and use their research references. Learn how EndNote can save you hours of time in your library research and document preparation process.

Seating for these workshops is limited and registration is required. To register please visit: our EndNote LibGuide

Note: Our sessions use EndNote X5 on PCs. Laptop users are encouraged to update their versions of EndNote prior to the session. See the library’s EndNote Download page.

Upcoming Sessions on November 30th:

EndNote Basic I: Creating and Organizing an EndNote Library @ 11:00 AM
In this 1 hour workshop participants will learn how to build and manage an EndNote Library collection of citations.

EndNote Basic II: Cite While You Write (CWYW)@ 12:15 PM
In this 1 hour workshop participants learn how to customize EndNote Library citations into Word.

* Attendance of EndNote Basic I or prior knowledge of building and managing an EndNote library is required.

EndNote Special Topics: Working with Travel Libraries** @ 1:30 PM
Do you want to use Endnote to collaborate with classmates or colleagues using Word?  An Endnote Traveling Library can help. A Traveling Library is a subset of your EndNote Library which contains only the citations that appear in your paper.  The Van Pelt and Opie Library is offering a 45 minute EndNote Workshop on EndNote Traveling Libraries.

PVS Tutorial Offered

Associate Professor Ali Ebnenasir (CS) and PhD student Amer Tahat (CS) will be conducting tutorials on the Prototype Verification System (PVS) at 4:30 p.m., Monday, Nov. 19, in Rekhi 101. Space is limited, so arrive early.

The PVS is one of the premier theorem provers developed at the Stanford Research Institute. This tutorial provides a basic understanding of PVS along with elementary techniques for the verification of computing systems in theorem proving. PVS has been used in the verification of numerous real-world applications such as Aircraft Transportation and Navigation Systems, Nuclear Plants Safety Systems and Spacecraft Autonomy and AI Planning.

This tutorial will be offered for faculty researchers and graduate students with generous technical support from the Formal Methods group at NASA Langley and the PVS group at SRI. Prerequisites include preliminary knowledge of propositional and predicate logics.

For more information, see Research.

If you have any questions, contact Ebnenasir at 487-4372 or aebnenas@mtu.edu .

Published in Tech Today

New Guide for Dissertations, Theses, and Reports

The Graduate Student Government, Graduate Faculty Council, University Senate, and administration have approved the new “Guide to Completing a Graduate Degree and Preparing and Submitting a Dissertation, Thesis, or Report at Michigan Technological University.”

Because this Guide makes the submission process similar for all documents, and the formatting requirements are much simpler, the new requirements will be applied retroactively to all pending submissions and to all new submissions.

The web site has been updated to reflect changes for dissertations, theses, and reports.  Highlights are below:

New Deadlines

  • Deadlines to complete a degree have changed. The deadline to submit a final dissertation, thesis, or report to complete a degree in fall 2012 is December 17, 2012.
    • Students defending in fall 2012 may request an extension of this deadline in writing to Dr. Debra Charlesworth (dissertations or theses) or Ms. Nancy Byers Sprague (reports). Requests must be made prior to December 17, 2012.
    • There is no deadline to conduct a final oral examination (defense). Students are recommended to defend well in advance of the deadline to submit a final document to allow sufficient time to incorporate the technical changes required by their committee.

New Formatting Requirements

New Forms

New forms have been released, and only the new versions will be accepted.  A summary of the important changes is below:

  • Pre-defense form (this has been replaced with an online process and is no longer linked here. 3-17-21)
    • This form now only asks for the defense time & date along with committee information.
    • Students who have already submitted a Pre-defense form do not need to re-submit this form.
    • Beginning immediately, if an old Pre-defense form is submitted, the Publishing agreement that was in this form will be discarded.
  • Report on final oral examination form
    • New form for students completing a dissertation, thesis, or report.
    • Students who have already submitted a Verification of final degree requirements form do not need to submit this form.
    • Contains check-boxes for each member of the committee to provide examination results to the Graduate School.
  • Verification of final degree requirements form
    • This form will now only be required for coursework Master’s students and Master of Engineering students.
  • Approval of a final dissertation, thesis, or report [this form was replaced with a google form in summer 2021 and is no longer linked here]
    • New form for students completing a dissertation, thesis, or report.
    • Replaces the “signature page” in the dissertation, thesis, or report
    • Due before the final document is submitted to Canvas, but may not arrive earlier than one week before the final submission.
    • As the Graduate School works toward automating processes, this form will be replaced by an electronic approval process.
  • Degree completion form [this form no longer orders bound copies and is no longer linked here]
    • It updates the required number of bound copies for the Library (1 for dissertations, none for Master’s students)
    • Contains the Publishing agreement which was previously part of the Pre-defense form

Center for Diversity and Inclusion Hosts Social Justice Lecture Series

Waziyatawin, a Dakota teacher, author and activist, will present two seminars at Michigan Tech today, part of a Social Justice Lecture Series. The speaker holds the Indigenous Peoples Research Chair in the Indigenous Governance Program at Victoria University in British Columbia, Canada.

Her free seminars will be:

  • Activism with People of Color, 4 to 5 p.m., Memorial Union Ballroom B1
  • What Does Justice Look Like? The Struggle for Liberation in Dakota Homeland, 7 to 8:15 p.m., Memorial Union Ballroom B1

Published in Tech Today.

Flu Vaccine Clinics Announced

Working with Portage Health, the Benefits Office is pleased to announce flu vaccine clinics.

All employees and their dependents, as well as students, are welcome to attend one of the clinics scheduled on campus. Due to supply availability at each clinic, shots will be on a first-come, first-served basis; no appointment is necessary. In order for the flu shot to be paid by Michigan Tech, employees and dependents must participate in Tech’s Aetna health care plan.

Employes and dependents should be prepared to provide a picture ID and/or an Aetna member card for verification. (Spouse and dependent can show up without employee.) Students or those employees not covered under the Aetna health plan may still attend the clinic; cost is $25 per shot, payable at the time of service.

Anyone under the age of 18 cannot be vaccinated without parental permission. Clinics will take place in the Memorial Union Peninsula Room.

Here is the schedule:

  • Monday, Oct. 29, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
  • Thursday, Nov 1, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
  • Tuesday, Nov. 6, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
  • Thursday, Nov. 8, 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.

For more information, contact Benefits at benefits@mtu.edu .

Fall Professional Development Series

Poster for fall seminar series.
The Graduate School is pleased to announce its fall professional development series.  For our PhD students considering a career in academia, we are offering two seminars that will help them prepare to be competitive applicants for faculty positions:

  • November 7 | Introduction to Sponsored Programs
    • Learn how a university’s sponsored programs office can help you conduct sponsored research.
  • December 10 | Teaching Portfolios: Building Today for Your Career Tomorrow
    • Learn what needs to be in your portfolio, which technologies work best, and how to start building
      this important asset now.

Students who are looking for ways to balance their work with healthy activities for them and their families, or for guidance on the thesis and dissertation submission process will find the other seminars in our series helpful:

  • October 3 | Submitting your Thesis or Dissertation
    • Learn current procedures for formatting and submission.
  • October 24 | CANCELLED | Michigan Tech Community Programs
    • Discover new low-impact activities or high-impact recreational opportunities for you or your family.
    • Take advantage of great facilities—pool, fitness center, ice arena, and dance room.

Seating is limited.  Register online to reserve your seat and receive an e-mail confirmation of the location.

Please contact Dr. Debra Charlesworth with any questions about the seminar series.

NSF GRFP Workshop Series Continues

Mark Hopkins, an NSF Fellow and a PhD candidate, and Kara Sokol, director of integrated marketing for University Marketing and Communication, will present “Harness Your Brilliance: A Revision Process” from noon to 12:50 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 27, in the Pat Nelson Graduate Conference Center on the fourth floor of the Administration Building.

Topics will include:

  • Why start early
  • Who needs to be involved in the revision process
  • Writing strategies and revision processes that worked

NSF GRFP Workshop Series

Jodi Lehman, coordinator of proposal and fellowship development at Sponsored Program Enhancement, will present “Pulling Together Competitive NSF GRFP Application Material” from noon to 12:50 p.m., Thursday, Sept. 20, in the Pat Nelson Graduate Conference Center on the fourth floor of the Administration Building.

Topics will include:

  • Broader Impacts and Intellectual Merit
  • The Personal Statement: A five-point elevator speech
  • Previous Research Experience: Thinking outside the traditional lab experience
  • Proposed Plan of Research: A template for success
  • Exceptional Letters of Recommendation