Category: Announcements

Items that are time sensitive and require action

SACNAS offering travel scholarships – Deadline Extended!

SACNAS provides over 900 Travel Scholarship Awards each year to attend their annual conference. Travel scholarships cover travel and/or lodging expenses for undergraduates, post baccalaureates, graduates, and postdocs to attend the SACNAS National Conference.

SACNAS National Conference
As one of the largest annual gatherings of minority scientists in the country, the interdisciplinary, inclusive, and interactive SACNAS National Conference motivates and inspires with:

  • Professional & leadership development sessions
  • Student & postdoc presentations
  • Scientific symposia sessions
  • Nationally recognized keynote speakers
  • Over 300 exhibits sharing training, research, grad school, and job opportunities
  • Networking and mentoring events
  • Cultural activities & performances

Showcasing cutting-edge science by the nation’s leading minority scientists and offering a supportive community is what makes the annual meeting a transformative event for all participants. Connect with professionals and students in all disciplines of science, technology, mathematics, and engineering from across the country.

Upcoming National Conferences
The annual conference takes place every fall. This year’s conference is scheduled for:

2011: Empowering Innovation and Synergy Through Diversity October 27-30, 2011 in San Jose, California

Apply Now: Deadline Extended!

NASA Internships Available for Fall, Spring Semesters

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) offers a variety of paid internships for undergraduate and graduate students, for both the fall 2011 and spring 2012 semesters. The internships are in a variety of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) disciplines, as well as business and finance.

Application deadline is May 31.  For more information visit intern.

Published in Tech Today.

Open House for the Humanities Digital Media Zone this Friday

The renovated Humanities Digital Media Zone (HDMZ) will host an open house at 1:30 p.m., Friday, April 29. Members of the Michigan Tech Board of Control and the administration are expected to attend, and the public is also welcome. The HDMZ is located on the first floor of Walker. The project cost $550,000 and was funded by departmental resources, student fees and donor contributions.

“The HDMZ is designed to create a flexible and sophisticated technological work and social environment,” said Erin Smith, director of the project and senior lecturer in humanities. “The new HDMZ serves a broad range of humanities-centered educational goals and technology practices. It represents the consolidation of the former Center for Computerized Language Instruction (CCLI) and the Modern Language Lab, as well as a classroom and a number of other discrete spaces.”

The new HDMZ includes:

  • a commons area with PC and Mac computing and comfortable seating for work on laptops and other mobile devices
  • a digital media studio with Macintosh computers and software for media development
  • a laptop classroom with Smartboard and projection systems
  • two private recording and listening rooms
  • a new multipurpose seminar space for a range of activities and research, including language cafés, gaming and video-conferencing
  • a centrally located resource desk staffed by student consultants with specialties in foreign languages and/or media development
  • director and support staff offices
  • offices for Cin/Optic Enterprise and student chapter of the Society for Technical Communication

Other resources available to students include digital SLR and video cameras, voice recorders, smart pens, graphics tablets and other language and media resources.

“In addition to improving the services and technology that we offer to students and faculty, the renovation makes visible the interdisciplinary and global nature of the research, teaching and work done by humanities faculty and students,” Smith said. “With its open floor plan, range of technology resources and opportunities for interaction and collaboration, the HDMZ strives to situate technology use as a complex human practice undertaken in a global context.”

Published in Tech Today.

Tickets Available for Commencement, You’re Invited

Spring Commencement begins at 10:30 a.m., Saturday, April 30, at the MacInnes Student Ice Arena in the Student Development Complex.

Members of the campus community may request tickets from Elizabeth Pollins in the Vice President for Student Affairs Office. Call 487-2465 or email epollins@mtu.edu .

The University will honor the achievements of 753 students receiving undergraduate degrees, 156 master’s degrees and 48 PhDs.

Mr. Norman R. Augustine, former chairman and CEO of Lockheed Martin and Martin Marietta Corporations, will give the commencement address, as well as receive an Honorary Doctorate in Science and Engineering, and Dr. Katerina E. Aifantis ’02 will be honored with the Outstanding Young Alumni Award.

Commencement is not just a ceremony to honor our students and present degrees. It also serves as a time to reflect on and recognize the important contributions of our faculty and staff to the mission of the University to prepare students to create the future.

Parking, on a first-come, first-served basis, is available in Lots 22, 23 and 24. No parking pass is required.

Published in Tech Today.

Federal Funding General Information Session


Michigan Tech students have an impressive success rate at being awarded some of our nation’s most prestigious and competitive graduate fellowships.

Michigan Tech’s Sponsored Program Enhancement office will host a general information session on  federal funding opportunities.

When: Wednesday April 20th at 6:00 in Fisher Room 131

Please join us if you are interested in finding out how you can fund your graduate education (@ Michigan Tech or at another university) through fellowships/scholarships offered by the National Science Foundation, Department of Energy, Department of Defense, NASA, and EPA.

Who should attend: Current juniors, seniors, and graduate students who have a competitive GPA, some research experience, and are a US citizen, US national, or permanent resident alien.

Please contact Jodi Lehman (jglehman@mtu.edu) with any questions.

Reminder: Dance and Dinner Hosted for Betty Chavis Scholarship Fund

Two events will be held to honor Betty Chavis, and proceeds will benefit the new Betty Chavis Scholarship Fund.

Chavis came to Michigan Tech as an admissions officer in the 1980s; directed multiethnic programs; and then recruited students on behalf of the Graduate School. The community knows Chavis in part through her leadership in spearheading the annual Parade of Nations.

The first event on behalf of her scholarship fund is “So You Think You Can’t Dance: We’ll Show You How,” which will be from 1 to 4 p.m., Saturday, April 16, in the Memorial Union Commons. Admission is by donation. The event, hosted by the students and alumnae of the Society of Intellectual Sisters, is in conjunction with their 20-Year Reunion festivities during Spring Fling Weekend.

For more information, contact Darnishia Slade at dslade@mtu.edu .

The second event will be a banquet held at 5:30 p.m., Saturday, April 16, at the Magnuson Franklin Square Inn.

Tickets are $50 and are available at www.tickets.mtu.edu, by calling 487-2073, or at the SDC Box Office.

To give directly to the Betty Chavis Scholarship Fund, call the Michigan Tech Fund at 487-2310, or mail a check to the Betty Chavis Scholarship Fund, c/o Michigan Tech Fund, or visit www.mtu.edu/giving. For more information, contact Chris Anderson at csanders@mtu.edu, or Carol Argentati at 487-2474 or caargent@mtu.edu.

Posted in Tech Today.

Library Offers Copyright Workshop

Do you need permission every time you use someone else’s work? Can you show an entire movie in your class? What is Educational Fair Use? The answers to these copyright questions and more will be explored by copyright librarian Nora Allred.

The workshop will be at 1 p.m., Tuesday, April 12, and repeated at 1 p.m., Wednesday, April 20, in Library 244.

The Library offers weekly workshops all semester on different resources that will give you an academic edge or save time. Workshops take place on alternate Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 1 p.m., in Library 244. Each workshop is offered twice to accommodate class schedules.

Published in Tech Today

Nominations Open for the 2011 Distinguished Dissertation Award

Nominations are now open for the 2011 Council of Graduate Schools (CGS)/University Microfilms International (UMI) Distinguished Dissertation Award. 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, 2009, and June 30, 2011, are eligible.   Next year, the 2012 competition will accept nominations in the fields of social sciences and mathematics/physical sciences/engineering for students who have graduated between July 1, 2010 and June 30, 2012.

A nomination packet must include the following:

  1. a completed nomination form.
  2. a 10-page abstract of the dissertation, double spaced on white letter-sized paper.
  3. optional: abstract appendices containing non-textual material such as charts, tables or figures.
  4. a letter of reference from the dissertation advisor.
  5. a letter of reference from a member of the nominee’s dissertation committee.
  6. a letter of reference from a person chosen by the nominee.
  7. optional: a brief CV.

The Graduate School has access to the pdf file of all dissertations, so it is not necessary to include the dissertation.

The letters of reference should address the significance and quality of the dissertation work.

Nominations should be delivered to Debra Charlesworth in the Graduate School no later than 4 p.m. on June 22nd. Contact Debra Charlesworth (ddc@mtu.edu) if you have any questions about the competition.  See also the Council for Graduate School’s announcement page.

Reminder: Zotero Workshop

Want to learn how to save your research time? How to better integrate citations seamlessly into your research process? Then come to the Library workshop on Zotero [Zoh-TAIR-oh], a fun, free, easy-to-use Firefox extension that helps you collect, manage and cite your research sources.

The workshop will be at 1 p.m., Wednesday, April 6, in Library 244.

Participants will create Zotero accounts, add information to a database, and learn how to organize material and create bibliographies, reports and references. The session will also cover a few advanced features, like creating timelines and groups and linking with HuskyFetch.

Bring your laptop, if you wish, or use one of our computers, and we’ll help get you started.

The Library now offers weekly workshops all semester on different resources that will give you an academic edge or save time. Workshops take place alternate Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 1 p.m., in Library 244. Each workshop is offered twice to accommodate class schedules.

Published in Tech Today

Nominations for the Dean’s Fellowship are Reopened

Update: Nominations are now closed for the 2011-12 academic year.

Funds are still available to assist programs in recruiting highly talented applicants to Michigan Tech’s PhD programs.  Nominations have been reopened, and will be accepted while funds are available.

The Dean’s Fellowship is intended to contribute to the development of a diverse academic community, which includes future faculty and others who will be leaders throughout their professional careers.

Dean’s Fellowships provide partial support for the recipient’s first year in a PhD program. The support includes a stipend of $2,000 per academic-year semester (fall and spring) as well as full summer support (stipend plus minimum full-time tuition and fees).

Please see our web page for complete details on eligibility and the nomination procedure.  Direct any questions about the program to Debra Charlesworth.