Graduate School Newsblog

Category: News

Interesting stories about and for our students.

October First Friday Social

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Faculty, staff and graduate students is invited to attend the October First Friday University Social from 4 to 6 p.m., Oct. 5, at the Rozsa Center Art Gallery (downstairs from the Lobby). A cash bar along with complementary soda and snacks will be provided.

International Programs and Services is this month’s sponsor. Plan to come and mingle with your colleges. NOSOTROS will start the social with a Hispanic/Latin dance followed by global trivia with door prizes.

NOSOTROS was established to create a “sense of community” of the Hispanic/Latin culture at Michigan Tech; to share the Hispanic/Latin culture with the campus community and to provide a forum for the exchange of information pertinent for the Hispanic/Latino and non-Hispanic/Latino students at Tech.

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 will continue to feature departmental partners who will sponsor each month’s event. The Vice President for Research Office and MTEC SmartZone will host the next social on Friday, Nov. 2. There are still a few dates available. If your department is interested in hosting a social or would like more information, please contact Megan Ross at 487-3123 or mrross@mtu.edu .

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Graduate Students Earn Awards

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Two students in the Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences have received awards for their research at the 55th Annual Meeting of the Association of Engineering and Environmental Geologists in Salt Lake City.

Lauren Schaefer received the Lemke Scholar award for her work, “Numerical modeling of magmatic intrusions and their affects on volcanic stability.” Schaefer is pursuing her PhD in geology with Assistant Professor Thomas Oommen (GMES).

Dan Smith received the Platinum Corporate Sponsor award for his work, “Stability and Rainfall Susceptibility of Volcanic Slopes on the Chichontepec Volcano in Central El Salvador.” Smith is pursuing his MS in geological engineering with Assistant Professor Thomas Oommen (GMES) and Professor John Gierke (GMES) as co-advisors.

The fieldwork forming the basis of the research for these two projects was conducted as part of the NSF Partnerships for International Research and Education (PIRE) project.

Published in Tech Today

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Fall Career Fair Attracts Nearly 300 Employers

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Michigan Tech’s Fall Career Fair has already attracted 279 registered employers, and more are registering every day. More than 3,000 Tech students are expected to visit the Student Development Complex to speak with potential employers from noon to 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 2. Thousands of interviews for internships, co-ops and jobs are scheduled all over campus on Oct. 3 and during the days that follow.

“From Michigan Tech’s perspective, the job market looks great,” said Jim Turnquist, director of Career Services. “Companies are so eager to get their names in front of students that they are sponsoring unique events such as a picnic outside the MUB, boat rides and a Ride and Drive, an opportunity for students to test-drive some of the latest model cars. The salaries being offered are higher than last year’s already excellent salaries, too.”

Career Services sponsors a job fair twice a year, in the fall and spring. Last year, 243 employers came to the October event and 178 participated in one in February.

“Tech graduates are simply fantastic,” commented Jason Biehl, a senior manufacturing engineer at GM and a 1994 graduate of Michigan Tech. Biehl was on the GM recruiting team that participated in a recent Career Fair. “Tech’s reputation extends from Virginia to Texas, from the US to Europe,” he said. “That’s why we’re here,”

Julie Way, assistant director of career development education, said: “Career Services is excited to organize and host this valuable event, where our students are given the opportunity to work in internships and co-ops during their college careers, and also to begin a new chapter of their life in a rewarding full-time career upon their graduation. We want to extend our thanks to all those who have generously donated rooms and offices for all the interviews.”

Published originally in Tech Today.

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Parade of Nations This Saturday

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It’s Parade of Nations time again. Brightly decorated floats and marching groups bearing flags of many nations will hit the streets of Hancock and Houghton at 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 22, for the annual international celebration.

After the parade, come to the Dee Stadium for a multicultural festival starting at noon and featuring international foods at 26 booths and a gala show. Performers include the Michigan Tech Dance Team and Hip Hop Club, the Copper Country Cloggers, the Kivajat Dancers, songs by the Hassle Family, and a Chinese dance by Summer Gu. The Medievalist Club will also perform, as will the International Student Association. Admission is free.

Published in Tech Today

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Tech is Recognized as a Military Friendly School

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Michigan Tech has been named a “military friendly school” for 2013 by G.I. Jobs magazine.

The recognition puts Tech among 15 percent of all colleges, universities and trade schools nationwide. The schools are not ranked.

“The competition for our 2013 list was fierce, and as a result we raised the already stringent criteria to a higher benchmark,” a spokesman said. “Your school is among the elite.”

As part of the program, Tech will be listed in the “G.I. Jobs 2013 Guide to Military Friendly Schools,” and will be included online at Schools.

Michigan Tech offers an array of services for veterans.

Since 2008, Michigan Tech has offered in-state tuition to out-of-state students who are the offspring or spouse of a person on active US military duty. Tech is also a “yellow-ribbon school”–a federal designation for a program where the University commits $2,500, which the government matches, to help offset the tuition of nonresident students.

Tech also participates in the National Service Graduate Fellowship–an assistance program for graduate students. The University has a student veterans organization that helps veterans transition from military to civilian life, promotes camaraderie, and encourages community outreach, particularly with other veterans.

There is a component in Orientation that directs veterans to student services, as well as GI benefits, mental health providers and the veterans hospital in Iron Mountain. Tech alerts faculty to watch for PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder), and, in a symbolic initiative: veterans wear red, white and blue honor cords at graduation.

Published in Tech Today

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Fall Enrollment Figures Announced

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Michigan Tech submitted its official fall undergraduate and graduate enrollment figures to the state Wednesday night.

The total number of students on campus this fall is 6,945, including 1,410 new undergraduates, both first-year and transfer students. Of those new undergraduates, 1,027 are Michigan residents, 349 are women, 93 are underrepresented minorities and 54 are international students.

“Four and half years ago we enrolled one of the largest undergraduate classes in recent memory,” said Les Cook, vice president for student affairs. “Last May those students graduated, and 95 percent of them were successfully placed. With that exceptionally large number of graduates taking their place in the world and decreasing numbers of students graduating from high schools in Michigan, it is more challenging for us to fill all their spots at the University. But we’re doing well, and I think that the high placement rates and starting salaries of our graduates bode well for the long run. The market is there. Right now, our Fall Career Fair already has the second-largest number of companies attending in our history, and businesses are still registering.”

Although the total number of women at Michigan Tech dropped slightly, the number of female students in the College of Engineering rose to 835 from last year’s 795. That brings the percentage of women engineering undergraduates up to 20 percent. Since 2005, the number of undergraduate women enrolled in the College of Engineering has increased 36 percent, from 612 to 835.

Overall, women make up 25 percent or one in four of the undergraduates at Michigan Tech.

“We’ve done a lot in the background over the past couple years to begin to position Michigan Tech as a ‘go-to’ place for women interested in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields and management,” said President Glenn Mroz. “It’s a process that will continue. This fall we’re gearing up a new marketing campaign to reach out to women interested in understanding, developing, applying, managing and communicating science and technology. After all, women make up about 55 percent of the college-bound population; their science and math abilities are exceptional, and employers are continually looking for more gender balance in their workforce.”

The total number of graduate students rose to 1,322, a 1.5 percent increase over fall 2011. First-time master’s degree students this year total 257 and first-time doctoral students, 98.

Michigan Tech also saw a fourth consecutive year of increases in graduate degrees granted, reported Jacque Smith, director of marketing and advancement for the Graduate School. In the 2011-12 academic year, 352 graduate degrees were granted, including 289 master’s and 63 PhDs.

“These numbers are encouraging and are moving us closer to our goal of having 3,000 graduate students at Michigan Tech,” said Graduate School Dean Jacqueline Huntoon.

“Jacque and I both want to thank all of the people who worked so hard over the past two weeks to get all of the students in special situations enrolled before the official count date,” Huntoon added. “This includes the Graduate School staff, the Registrar’s Office staff and everyone in Accounting. Without all of these people’s collaborative efforts, we would not have been able to exceed last year’s numbers before the official count date.”

by Jenn Donovan, director, public relations
Published in Tech Today

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Attracting Underrepresented Graduate Students: GEM GRAD Lab This Saturday

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Rod Carter credits his graduate education at Michigan Tech for the strong problem-solving skills it takes to succeed at his job: high-level materials research for Boeing. A research and technology engineer, Carter was the first African American to earn a PhD in Chemical Engineering from Michigan Tech, in 2008.

During an all-day seminar at Michigan Tech on Saturday, Sept. 15, Carter will talk about the doors that graduate education opened for him. Called the GEM GRAD Lab, the meeting addresses a critical shortfall in US engineering and scientific talent, focusing specifically on recruiting more underrepresented students into graduate programs. GRAD stands for Getting Ready for Advanced Degrees.

“Students will leave the GRAD event with a definite plan on how to apply and gain funding, and hear about real-life research and internship experiences,” says Marcus Huggans, senior director of external relations for the National Consortium for Graduate degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science, Inc., sponsor of the program. “GEM appreciates Michigan Tech’s Graduate School leadership to bring this workshop to students in the Upper Peninsula.”

Jacque Smith, Michigan Tech Graduate School director of marketing, explains: “It’s all part of an even larger goal of creating a pipeline for this talent to move on to corporations and organizations after receiving their graduate degrees.”

A major component of GEM is fellowships for Master of Science in engineering students or PhD students in engineering or science. The GEM fellowships include full tuition, summer internships and stipends.

His GEM fellowship has made all the difference to Sterling Prince, a doctoral candidate in electrical engineering. “The GEM Fellowship has been a blessing to my life,” says Prince. “It has strengthened my decision and given me confidence to achieve a doctorate in electrical engineering. It has provided the financial support I needed for my graduate program, allowing me to dedicate my time to my studies rather than working. The program has also provided me with the opportunity to work at a national laboratory, an experience that allowed me to see that I enjoy the area of scientific research and want to pursue it in my future.”

In addition to Carter, Prince and two other current Michigan Tech GEM fellows and PhD candidates–James Alexander and Tayloria Adams–will speak at Saturday’s seminar. Other speakers include Huggans; Patty Lopez, a component design engineer at Intel; and Howard G. Adams, founder and president of H. G. Adams and Associates, a consulting and training firm. Michigan Tech’s Associate Provost for Graduate Education Jackie Huntoon and Jodi Lehman, coordinator of proposal and fellowship development for sponsored program enhancement, will also speak.

More than 100 of the nation’s top universities, many Fortune 500 companies, and numerous national laboratories support GEM, which began in 1976. Since then, more than 3,000 GEM Fellows have gone on to successful careers. Michigan Tech has participated in GEM since the 1990s.

Registration for the free event starts at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at the Great Lakes Research Center.

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Change in Leadership at Peace Corps Master’s International Program

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Professor Blair Orr (SFRES) is stepping down as director of Michigan Tech’s Peace Corps Master’s International (PCMI) program, the nation’s largest. Orr will be replaced by Lecturer Kari Henquinet (SS).

“I am very sorry that Blair will no longer be working with the Graduate School on PCMI and related topics,” said Jackie Huntoon, associate provost and dean of the Graduate School. “His dedication to the PCMI program has been remarkable. Blair has been an outstanding leader and has helped the University attract students who might not have considered Michigan Tech, if it were not for the PCMI program. In addition, he has helped the University attract and better serve other students who have contributed time and effort in service of the United States. The National Service Graduate Tuition Fellowship, which is available to groups of students, including honorably discharged military veterans, was developed under Orr’s guidance, with members of the Air Force and Army ROTC.”

Orr is also a returned Peace Corps volunteer who served in Lesotho from 1978 to 1981. Orr’s familiarity with the Peace Corps helped Michigan Tech and its students to negotiate agreements and find appropriate placements around the world.

As the new Michigan Tech PCMI campus director, Henquinet will work with the Graduate School to oversee existing PCMI programs and assist in the development of new ones. She will serve as the primary point of contact at Michigan Tech for the Peace Corps. Henquinet earned her PhD in Anthropology from Michigan State, and her research is in the area of international development. Henquinet has been working with PCMI students from across campus for several years, and she will report to the dean of the Graduate School and represent the PCMI programs on the Graduate Faculty Council.

“Kari’s prior involvement with the PCMI programs and students from across campus will be invaluable as she helps the University maintain its record of excellence in this aspect of our graduate offerings,” said Huntoon. “I look forward to working with Kari in her new role.”

Currently there are 67 students from eight different disciplines enrolled in the PCMI program at Michigan Tech.

Published in Tech Today

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School of Business and Economics Hosts Speakers

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The School of Business and Economics hosts a presentation by Assistant Professor Josh Filzen for a brown bag lunch at noon, today, in AOB 101.

Filzen will speak about “Financial reporting complexity and the comovement of stock returns.”

On Thursday, in conjunction with the Presidential Council of Alumnae, they will host alumna Marie Cleveland ’82. She will talk about “How to deliver effective business presentations” at 4 p.m in Fisher 329.  A reception with light refreshments will follow the lecture from 5 to 6 p.m.

For more information, see Josh Filzen and Marie Cleveland.

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Huskies Launch New Video Streaming System

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Watch live video of Michigan Tech Athletics on any computer or mobile device with HuskiesLive Streaming. All Tech home athletic events including hockey, football, basketball, volleyball and soccer will be streamed live.

Events are available for purchase now by logging onto Huskies Live or by clicking the video link under any home event in the “Schedule of Events” section at MichiganTechHuskies.com. Tech’s live video streaming has been upgraded for better picture quality, and the video is viewable on any computer or mobile device including iPads and iPhones.

Prices per event begin at $10 with options for season passes for individual sports or an all-access pass to every event all year long.

The first live event was Saturday’s football game vs. Tiffin, and tonight features the Huskies vs. Northern in soccer.

Published in Tech Today.

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