Graduate School Newsblog

Category: News

Interesting stories about and for our students.

Research Forum Invites Students to Display Their Work

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The Ecosystem Science Center, the Biotechnology Research Center and the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science invite graduate and undergraduate students conducting research related to ecology, the environment or biotechnology to submit titles and abstracts for poster presentations at the 8th Annual ESC/BRC Student Research Forum.

The event will be held on the afternoon of Friday, March 30, in the Atrium of the UJ Noblet Forestry Building.

The forum allows students working in these fields an opportunity to present their research to their peers and faculty. Graduate and undergraduate researchers participate in separate divisions.

The forum provides valuable experience for students preparing for poster sessions at regional or national meetings, as well as gives them recognition for their work. The forum also is a setting for students to showcase new results and see what others are doing.

We invite student participants to present their advanced or preliminary research findings as a research poster. Cash prizes will include one grand prize and up to four merit awards for each center in the graduate student division and one grand prize for each center in the undergraduate student division. Each student may present only one paper but may be included as a coauthor on others.

For more information, see Forum.

For more information, contact Research Associate Jill Fisher (SFRES) at 487-3564 or at jhfisher@mtu.edu .

Published in Tech Today.

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Alumnus Designated a Fellow for His Work and Leadership

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The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has elected Bhakta Rath to the rank of Fellow, honoring him for his “outstanding contributions in materials science and engineering and for leadership in advancing research and technology to support national security.”

Rath, who graduated from Michigan Tech in 1958 with a master’s in metallurgical and materials engineering, is the associate director of research and the head of the Materials Science and Component Technology Directorate of the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC.

He was speaker at the 2007 Midyear Commencement, when he was awarded an honorary doctorate in engineering.

The AAAS honor will be bestowed at a ceremony at the organization’s annual meeting in Vancouver, BC, Canada, later this month.

The mission of the AAAS is to “advance science and serve society” through initiatives in science policy, international programs and science education.

A native of India, Rath has also been elected to the National Academy of Engineering and is a fellow of the Minerals and Materials Society, the Materials Research Society of India, and the Institute of Materials of the United Kingdom.

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Khana Khazana Returns to India

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Indian graduate student Abhinav Sharma will cook tasty dishes from his homeland for Khana Khazana (food treasure) on Friday, Jan. 27, at the Memorial Union Food Court.

The ethnic lunch cooked weekly by international students will feature Jabalpuri alu bonde, which is fried spiced mashed potato balls; tawa pulao, a street-food favorite in Mumbai, combining spicy and aromatic rice and vegetables; chicken jalfrezi, a Chinese and Pakastani recipe; and paneer kofta, cheese-stuffed balls in a sweet and spicy sauce.

A full lunch, including a beverage, costs $6. Individual entrees are available for $2 each.

Khana Khazana is a collaborative effort of international students and Dining Services. It is open to the community as well as the campus.

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Online MBA Makes US News Honor Roll

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The Tech MBA Online in the School of Business and Economics has been ranked among the honor roll programs in first-ever online rankings by US News and World Report.

Michigan Tech was ranked 24th in Admission Selectivity and 38th in Teaching Practices and Student Engagement among the 161 online graduate business programs honored. The Tech MBA Online was also ranked 82nd in Student Services and Technology.

“Our Tech MBA Online is focused on innovation and technology management and is perfect for emerging industries, fast-paced environments and traditional businesses facing change,” says Max Seel, provost and vice president for academic affairs. “I am very proud of the faculty and staff of our School of Business and Economics that our online degree is recognized in the honor roll lists of online programs by US News and World Report.”

Darrell Radson, dean of the School of Business and Economics, adds: “This recognition confirms that our program is successfully established as a quality online education. Through the Tech MBA Online’s innovative teaching methods and residency requirements, particularly our international residency, we are producing the type of student that employers demand.”

According to the US News press release, their new rankings “were created in response to today’s high demand for education provided in a flexible manner. With many distractions to detract from one’s schooling, online education has become increasingly popular due to its flexibility.”

There were no numeric rankings for overall program quality this inaugural year, US News said. Instead, they created non-numeric honor roll lists of online programs. There is one honor roll for online bachelor’s degree programs and one for the master’s degree programs. Each list includes programs that performed well across a series of numeric indicator rankings.

Published in Tech Today.

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Students Tackle Mining Controversy

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As they study their fields, graduate science students also need to learn to be good communicators about science. So says the National Science Foundation (NSF).

So Professor Alex Mayer, who has dual appointments in the civil and environmental engineering department and the geological and mining engineering and sciences department, developed a graduate fellowship program–funded by NSF–to help PhD students learn to communicate science to school children and the general public.

This year, PhD students Brenda Bergman, in forest science, and Valoree Gagnon, in environmental and energy policy, chose to develop a news release about the controversy over mining in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan and around the nation. Here is their news release:

As mining is resurging in North America, debates across the continent over mines are simplified: “Do we prioritize jobs or the environment? Companies or communities?” These are worthy debates. Yet should the issue of mining really be reduced to “pro-con” statements?

Michigan Tech experts from a wide range of disciplines say no. “The worst type of communication has to do with the simplification of the mining issues. I think the biggest problem is creation of polar opposites so that one has to choose between employment or environmental and health protection” says Carol MacLennan, an environmental anthropologist who has studied mining communities for almost a decade. “Characterizing it that way is very destructive because you’re never forced to confront the complexity of the issue.”

How are members of the general public expected to understand such a complex issue? Answers from Michigan Tech scientists focus on two solutions: education and improved communication between scientists and the public.

According to Craig Waddell, an associate professor of humanities who has studied public participation in environmental disputes, “If you want to prepare a broader range of people to participate, they need to know how to address scientific arguments, how to assess disputes within the scientific community, what counts as evidence and how we evaluate whether or not that evidence is valid.”

MacLennan believes that scientists have an obligation to communicate with the public: “Too often, scientists think about things in terms of ‘furthering knowledge,’ and that, by implication, is a public good. It’s just that it’s often not clear–how is it a public good? How is it publically useful? And you have to always be thinking about different publics–and there are different publics–how are they interested or concerned in the particular work you’re doing?”

For the full story, see Mining.

CBS Detroit and the Great Lakes Innovation and Technology Report also featured the  story about Brenda Bergman and Valoree Gagnon.  See Mining Dispute to view the article.

Published in Tech Today.

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Gagnon to represent Tech for MAGS Competition

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Valoree Gagnon

The Graduate School is pleased to announce that Valoree Gagnon is Michigan Tech’s nominee for the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools Distinguished Thesis Award.  Ms. Gagnon was nominated by her advisor, Dr. C. MacLennan of the Department of Social Sciences.  Her thesis, “Fish Contaminants through the Tribal Perspective: An Ethnography of the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community’s Tribal Fish Harvest,” conducted an ethnographic inquiry on natural resource issues in indigenous communities.  Native American communities are vulnerable to    toxic substances   present in the water they fish, despite the warnings of negative impacts this could have on human health.  Her work could help policy-makers better understand the history and culture behind this dilemma, and allow them to make policies that take into account their traditions.  Her work is being discussed among professionals in the Michigan government responsible for making policies, at the International Joint Commission on the Great Lakes, and is being prepared for presentation at a conference.  She is currently continuing her education as a doctoral student at Michigan Tech with Dr. MacLennan, and is currently funded by an NSF GK-12 Global Watershed Fellowship.

Matthew Van Grinsven

Matthew Van Grinsven was noted by the panel as a nominee of distinction.  He was nominated by his advisor, Dr. A.S. Mayer, who holds a joint appointment in the Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering and the Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences.  Mr. Van Grinsven’s work examined the relationship between groundwater inflows and coaster brook trout spawning sites.  This work will impact the coaster brook trout conservation efforts within the Salmon Trout River and the Lake Superior basin.  He is currently pursuing a PhD in Forest Science at Michigan Tech.

Three other graduate students were also nominated for consideration.  Lijun Chen was nominated by her advisor, Dr. B. Barkdoll of Civil and Environmental Engineering.  Nayyer Islam was nominated by his advisor, Dr. W. Pennington of the Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences.  Jillian Schubert was nominated by her advisor, Dr. A. L. Mayer, who holds joint appointments in the Department of Social Sciences and School of Forest Resources and Environmental Policy.  All of the nominations were noteworthy, and the evaluation panel had a difficult task in selecting one nominee to represent Michigan Tech.

The Dean’s Advisory Panel, representing each college or school at Michigan Tech evaluated the nominees.  The faculty on this panel represent a broad range of graduate programs:  J. Gierke (Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences), S. Martin (Social Sciences), D. Flaspohler (School of Forestry Resources & Environmental Science), X. Wang (School of Technology) and G. Campbell (School of Business and Economics).  Next year’s competition will consider applicants who have completed their degrees between October 1, 2011 and September 30, 2012.  An application consists of an abstract of the thesis, recommendation letter from the advisor, and an electronic copy of the thesis.  Please consider nominating your master’s students next year.

A complete list of former nominees may be found online.

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University Rankings in News

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Michigan Tech was highlighted by the World Ranking Guide as one of world’s leading universities and MBA programs. Some of the highlights include:

  • Being ranked 115th among the National Universities by US News (2012).
  • Being listed in the top tier of national universities in the US News 2011 “Best Colleges”.
  • Garnering “Best in the Midwest” honors as it was included among Princeton Review’s The Best 373 Colleges, 2011 Edition.
  • Being ranked 213th globally in the Webometrics ranking of world universities, July 2010.
  • Being ranked the 7th most wired campus in the nation by PC Magazine in 2007.
  • Being ranked in the top 100 MBA programs in “Beyond Grey Pinstripes”, a ranking by the Aspen Institute.
  • Being ranked 179th of 600 US colleges and universities in research and development expenditures (NSF, 2004).

For more information see Ranking.

Originally posted in Tech Today.

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IPS offering airport pick-up services

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The International Programs and Services (IPS) Office launched their airport pick-up services last night for new students.  The University is expecting over 70 new graduate and undergraduate students from 21 different countries to enroll this Spring.  Airport pick up service to new students until January 11th.

Information about where students should go and what to do is available online at http://www.mtu.edu/international/ under “Important Dates and Events”.  Please contact ips@mtu.edu with any questions.

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Unlocking the Details to How Volcanoes Work

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Dr. Greg Waite was recently featured along with two graduate students, John Lyons and Joshua Richardson, in Live Science. The article, “Unlocking the Details to How Volcanoes Work” discusses Waite’s study of “mini-earthquakes.”

Waite is an assistant professor and graduate program director in the geological and mining engineering and sciences department.  Visit volcanoes to view the complete article.

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IPS Winter Break Social

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Recognizing that not all students “go home” between semesters, International Programs and Services will be hosting a winter break social from 2 to 5 p.m., Wednesday, Dec. 21, in the Memorial Union Ballroom. The campus community is invited to stop by and chat with international students and scholars who will be in the area over the break. No reservation needed; there will be food, fun, prizes and bingo.

For more information, contact Danny Wan at dcwan@mtu.edu.

Published in Tech Today.

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