Graduate School Newsblog

Category: News

Interesting stories about and for our students.

Washington Monthly Rates Michigan Tech Among Top 100

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Michigan Tech has been named one of the top 100 universities in the nation by Washington Monthly magazine. The publication ranked Michigan Tech 63rd overall and 4th in the country for encouraging students to give service to their country through its ROTC programs.

Tech placed third of only 5 Michigan universities ranked in the top 100. The other Michigan rankings were: University of Michigan, 13th, Michigan State, 34th, Western Michigan, 90th, and Wayne State University, 95th.

The magazine says its ratings differ significantly from other national publications’ rankings. According to its website, “the Washington Monthly rates schools based on what they are doing for their students and the country–on whether they’re improving social mobility, producing research and promoting public service.”

The rankings are further defined by contribution to the public good in three broad categories: social mobility (recruiting and graduating low-income students); research (producing cutting-edge scholarship and PhDs); and service (encouraging students to give something back to their country).

“We are particularly gratified by our excellent showing in this ranking because the criteria align so closely with our University’s strategic plan and goals,” said President Glenn Mroz. “Recruiting and graduating disadvantaged students in spite of declining state support, conducting cutting-edge research, growing our Graduate School and encouraging students to give back are at the heart of the Michigan Tech philosophy.”

In a news release announcing the rankings, Washington Monthly explained its criteria: “The main flaw in most college rankings is that they tend to measure how prestigious institutions are rather than how effectively they serve their students.”

by Dennis Walikainen, senior editor
Published in Tech Today

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Introducing Husky Motor’s Free Shuttle Service

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Husky Motors will now be operating a free shuttle service between the SDC, Daniell Heights, Wadsworth Hall and the Memorial Union Building every 20 minutes on weekday mornings and afternoons.

Taking the shuttle is a great way to get from perimeter lots down to campus and from campus up to the SDC.

For the current shuttle route and time schedule, please visit Transportation Services.

Rollout of the new service will be at 7:30 a.m., Wednesday, Aug. 22.

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Paper is among most read articles

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A paper by Yun Hang Hu and graduate student Yan Huo was among the most-read articles in the Journal of Physical Chemistry during the second quarter of 2012. “Fast and Exothermic Reaction of CO2 and Li3N into C–N-Containing Solid Materials” showed that carbon nitride could be made in an exothermic reaction of carbon dioxide and a lithium compound. Read more about Hu’s discovery at Carbon Nitride.

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Tech Contingent Travels to Bangalore

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The nine students in the MBA program returned from India with a new appreciation for how the rest of the world does business.

“We chose Bangalore because it’s the Silicon Valley of India,” said Jodie Filpus, who directs recruitment and admissions for the MBA program.

The online MBA program includes three residencies, during which the students leave their far-flung homes to meet in person with each other and their professors. Two residencies are held on the Michigan Tech campus. The third and final residency involves a week of international travel. “We do this so the students will be exposed to different cultures, as well as to introduce them to international businesses,” Filpus said.

It would be hard to imagine a city more different from Houghton than Bangalore. “It’s a very interesting place,” she said. “It’s beautiful in many respects, with its temples and palaces, and it’s so rich in history.” However, the population in the city of over eight million has grown by over 65 percent in the last 10 years and its infrastructure hasn’t kept up, “so it gave me an appreciation for what we have here.”

Led by Assistant Professor Latha Poonamallee, of the School of Business and Economics, and accompanied by Filpus and Brent Burns, director of corporate partnersips, the MBA students visited several different organizations, from a pharmaceutical manufacturer to a nonprofit that provides solar-energy-system financing for poor villages.

To read the complete story, see Bangalore.

by Marcia Goodrich, magazine editor
Published in Tech Today

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Steel Bridge Team Earns Two Firsts, Fourth Overall in National Competition

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The Steel Bridge team brought home two first places and placed fourth overall in the National Student Steel Bridge Competition at Clemson University May 25-26. The Tech team earned first places for lightness and construction efficiency.

Teams from 47 universities in the US, Canada, Mexico and China competed in the national event, sponsored by the American Institute of Steel Construction and the American Society of Civil Engineers. Participants had to design a bridge strong enough to hold 2,500 pounds and span an imaginary river, while minimizing both the amount of steel used and the construction time.

Teams were scored on how long it took them to assemble their bridges compared to the number of team members working on them; how much their bridges weighed; how little their bridges deflected when weight was added; and whether their structures could hold 2,500 pounds. The aesthetics of the bridges also affected the final score.

Tech’s team spent two months designing their 22-foot bridge, another three months fabricating each part and a month practicing assembling the bridge in the shortest possible time.

Then they participated in a regional practice run in the spring, and the top two teams advanced to the national competition.

“The team did an absolutely terrific job,” said Adam Newton, a graduate student in civil engineering and team captain. “Everyone was responsible for achieving the spectacular results.” He noted that during practice the day of the competition, the assembly team had its fastest run ever, and at the competition itself, the assembly team scored its second-fastest build time. “I am very proud of the team and their accomplishments,” Newton said.

Faculty advisor Devin Harris (CEE) agreed. “Overall, they did a great job and proved that Michigan Tech is always going to be a major player in this competition,” he said.

Team members, in addition to Newton, were Patrick Grodecki, Matt Schwalen, Alex Seidl, Keven Rey, Nate Schultz, Brandon Abel, Andrew Erickson, Ellen Englund, Wes Karras and Joel Ortman.

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

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Summer 2012 Finishing Fellowships Announced

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The Graduate School is pleased to announce the recipients of the summer 2012 finishing fellowships. The fellowships are made available by the support of the Graduate School.

The recipients are:

  • Sigridur O. Bjarnadottir, PhD candidate in Civil Engineering
  • Baron W. Colbert, PhD candidate in Civil Engineering
  • Azad Henareh Khalyani, PhD candidate in Forest Science
  • Subhasish Mandal, PhD candidate in Engineering Physics
  • Sunand Santhanagopalan, PhD candidate in Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics

Finishing fellowship applications for fall 2012 are due no later than 4pm on Wednesday, June 13th.  Application procedures and photographs of recent recipients can be found online.

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DeVlieg Recipients Announced

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Patrick Bowen, PhD candidate in Materials Science and Engineering

The Graduate School is pleased to announce that two students have earned fellowships from The DeVlieg Foundation.  The DeVlieg Foundation has generously provided support for graduate students pursuing research in engineering, wildlife, and biology at Michigan Tech.

The recipients this year are:

  • Patrick Bowen, PhD candidate in Materials Science and Engineering
  • Nan Pond, PhD candidate in Forest Science

Photographs and details of awards and fellowships coordinated by the Graduate School can be found online.

Nan Pond, PhD candidate in Forest Science
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A Growing Concern

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Amber Campbell
Campbell turns bright idea into a "growing" business.
When daylight starts to last well into evening, and Houghton-Hancock area residents get in gardening mode, there’s not a lot of choice at the local discount stores: petunias, impatiens, marigolds, geraniums. Or geraniums, marigolds, impatiens and petunias.  But what if you want to grow campanula, with its delicate, bell-shaped lavender blooms? Or morning glories to attract butterflies? Fennel and cilantro and sweet banana peppers to spice up your summer cooking?

When Amber Campbell, an MBA student and avid gardener, thought about that, she saw a business opportunity. With the help of Tech’s Small Business and Technology Development Center and the MTEC SmartZone’s Entrepreneur Support Center, she has turned a bright idea into a going, growing business: G&A Farmer’s Market and Garden Center on Sharon Avenue in Houghton.

She opened in May in a small plastic greenhouse filled with brilliantly colored bedding plants, feathery herbs and hardy vegetables. Later in the growing season, she plans to add a fruit and vegetable stand, selling fresh, local berries, tomatoes, peppers, green beans and Asian vegetables such as garlic chives and bok choy.

In China, where Campbell grew up, she and her family grew and ate their own fruits and vegetables. “I remember how fresh and good they were,” she says. “I am bringing my own good memories to life here.”  Campbell credits graduate students Fahimeh Baziari and Alex Wohlgemuth from Tech’s Peace Corps Master’s International Program with volunteering to help fence her site, and Tech master gardener Lynn Watson, who “gave me lots of useful advice on gardening.”

For the full story, see Garden.

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

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Michigan Tech Brown Bat Research

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Red Orbit, a science news website, published an article about Michigan Tech research into the origins of little brown bats. Assistant Professor Joseph Bump and Alexis Sullivan report on the work in the July 2012 issue of the journal Ecological Applications. To read the story, see Brown Bats.

Sullivan, lead author on the paper, is currently pursuing dual masters of science degrees in Forest Molecular Genetics and Biotechnology as part of the ATLANTIS program.

Published in Tech Today.

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Graduate Student Appointed Collegiate Director of SWE

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Graduate student Kaitlyn Bunker (PhD student, Electrical Engineering) has been appointed collegiate director of the Society of Women Engineers (SWE). She will serve on the national SWE Board of Directors this year. Alicia Walby, an undergraduate majoring in mechanical engineering, has been appointed SWE’s regional collegiate representative for this region. Regional collegiate representatives act as liaisons between the region governor, the board of directors and the students in the region.

Published in Tech Today

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