Graduate School Newsblog

Category: News

Interesting stories about and for our students.

On Campus Meeting Regarding Lift Bridge Plans – Dec. 18

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The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) will share plans for the major maintenance project on the Portage Lake Lift Bridge, scheduled to begin later this month, at a meeting on Thursday, Dec. 18, from 6 to 8 p.m. in Fisher 138.

Residents, community stakeholders and business owners can review the plans for construction and ask questions of MDOT staff members and contractor representatives.

MDOT will perform upgrades and preventive maintenance work on the lift bridge between Houghton and Hancock from mid-December 2014 to mid-April 2016. This $8.3 million project includes lift cable replacement, balance chain maintenance, electrical and mechanical upgrades, security system improvements, spot painting and new barrier gates.

The project will require two long-term nighttime closures of the bridge and numerous short-term closures.

Originally posted in Tech Today (12/9/2014)

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Extended Library Hours (Dec 7-19)

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The Van Pelt and Opie Library will be open 24/7 from Sunday, Dec. 7, (11:59 p.m.) through Friday, Dec. 19, when the library will resume regular hours and close at 10 p.m. As always, when the library’s main building is closed, access is available to enrolled students, as well as faculty and staff, through the west entrance where there is an area that includes 70 workstations, a printer, snacks and comfortable seating.

Originally posted in Tech Today (12/5/2014)

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Diwali Night: Saturday Dec 6

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Diwali Night, the Indian festival of lights, has become a tradition far from its Indian roots—at Michigan Tech. This Saturday, Dec. 6, is Diwali Night at Tech, hosted by the Indian Students Association (ISA).

Dinner, served from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Memorial Union Commons, will include Hara Bhara Kabab—a vegetable patty  stuffed with spinach, potatoes and green peas; Chicken Mughlai—a cashew curry chicken; Paneer Kadai—a vegetarian entree of cottage cheese in tomato-based curry; pita bread; Kashmiri Pulav—Basmati rice cooked in Indian spices and dried fruits; and Vermicelli Kheer—a dessert of flavored vermicelli pudding with milk and sugar.

After dinner, there will be a performance at 7:30 p.m. at the Rozsa Center, on the theme “The Wonder Years,” focusing on college life with friends. The Indian Students Association band will play Indian music. Drama and dance will include Indian classical Bharatnatyam, from southern India; folk dances including Bhangra or Punjabi from North India, and Lavani, which is Maharashtrian folk dancing from the West of India, and the Western hip-hop.

There are various legends about the origin of Diwali. Some believe it to be the celebration of the marriage of Lakshmi with Lord Vishnu. In Bengal, the festival is dedicated to the worship of Kali, the dark goddess of strength. Ganesha, the elephant-headed god who is the symbol of auspiciousness and wisdom is also worshipped in most Hindu homes during Diwali. The festival also commemorates the return of Rama, along with Sita and Lakshman, from his 14-year exile and the vanquishing of the demon-king Ravana.

Tickets include dinner and the performance. The cost is $15 for the general public and $8 for ISA members.

Tickets for the event are available at the following:

  • Rozsa Center webpage
  • SDC Ticket Office—in person or by calling 7-2073
  • MUB Commons Promotion Desk—11 a.m. to 2 p.m. through Dec. 5
  • Rozsa Box Office—Dec. 6 at 5:30 p.m. for the performance  only

Originally posted in Tech Today (12/3/2014)

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Missing your bike?

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by Public Safety and Police Services

During the Thanksgiving break, bicycles were picked up throughout campus that were not at a designated winter bike rack. The bicycles are currently at Facilities Management.

If you cannot locate your bicycle, please stop by the Facilities Building, Monday-Friday from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., or contact Public Safety and Police Services at 7-2216. To retrieve your bicycle, you must present your student ID, and the bicycle will have to be registered with the Department of Public Safety and Police Services upon release.

The only winter bike racks on campus are located at the Van Pelt Library, DHH, McNair Hall and Wadsworth Hall.

Originally posted in Tech Today (12/2/2014)

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Clean water PhD project gets press

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Research by PhD student Bas Wijnen (MSE) and his collaborators Jerry Anzalone (MSE) and Joshua Pearce (MSE/ECE) was highlighted in Make Magazine and covered by 3D Print.

Their work describes a water quality testing device made with open source components and 3D printing, with a focus on portability and low cost (paper available on academia.edu). This device would facilitate the testing of water quality in the field, before and after an intervention like the salt-enhanced solar water disinfection method previously developed by Pearce’s research group.

Originally announced in Tech Today (11/26/2014)

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Shuttle Hours During Thanksgiving Break

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The Transportation Services shuttle will operate 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday–Wednesday, Nov. 24-26, and will not run Thursday-Friday, Nov. 27-28. The shuttle services the Memorial Union Building to the SDC and stops at both the Lower and Upper Daniell Heights’ bus stops. The shuttle will also stop hourly at the Lakeshore Center.

The City of Houghton shuttle, which includes the Michigan Tech afternoon shuttle, will not be operating on campus during the week of Nov. 24-28. For questions, contact Angie Kolehmainen at 7-3288.

Originally posted in Tech Today (11/24/2014)

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New Peace Corps Master’s International Programs (CS, ECE, GIS)

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Michigan Technological University’s award-winning Peace Corps Master’s International (PCMI) program is offering new degree options for students in two departments: computer science (CS) and electrical and computer engineering (ECE).  The School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science is also expanding its PCMI programs to include a Master of Geographic Information Science (GIS).

The expanded programs will enable more students to take part in PCMI, in which students earn a master’s degree while simultaneously serving in the Peace Corps. Students typically take two semesters of courses on campus before volunteering for two years overseas and then returning to Michigan Tech to complete their degree.

“The new programs in computer science and ECE were pitched to the Peace Corps as an opportunity for our students to serve in math and science education or other sectors needing IT and technology expertise,” said Kari Henquinet, PCMI director at Tech. “Our new PCMI students will bring technical training together with the strong interdisciplinary training that all of our Tech PCMI students have.”

Read the rest of Danny Messinger’s article here (Michigan Tech News 11/20/2014).

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Research and Funding Opportunities for Underrepresented Minority Students in STEM

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The National Science Foundation Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate (AGEP) funding Program is supporting research to increase the number of domestic underrepresented minority students pursuing and completing graduate degrees in STEM and moving into careers in academia.

Michigan Tech is part of the Michigan AGEP Alliance, and is making available information about funding opportunities, summer research opportunities and employment opportunities. All the items on the blog were posted to a national listserve by organizations that are specifically seeking to broaden participation by diverse racial and ethnic groups. Students interested in exploring these opportunities are encouraged to check out the AGEP blog.

For more information about Michigan Tech’s involvement with AGEP, please see the original Tech Today post (11/20/2014) .

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Nov 24 Seminar: Tips from former NSF Program Director

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Min Song, new chair of the Department of Computer Science and former program director at NSF, will give a research seminar on Monday, Nov. 24, in Rekhi 101 from 11 a.m. to noon.  The talk will first explore the critical elements that could strengthen a research proposal and then illustrate a list of typical mistakes that PIs make. At the end of the presentation, samples of programs in the area of computer information science and engineering will be discussed.

Originally Posted in Tech Today (11/19/2014)

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