Graduate School Newsblog

Tom Drummer Passes Away

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Fisher Hall will no longer resonate with the hearty laughter of Tom Drummer. The 59-year-old professor of mathematical sciences passed away over the weekend at his home in Chassell.

“It is a big shock,” said Department Chair Mark Gockenbach. “Tom was such a great guy.”

Drummer joined the math faculty in 1985, after completing an MS in Applied Statistics from Bowling Green State University and a PhD in Statistics from the University of Wyoming. He served as interim chair of the department for several months during the 1996–97 academic year and at the time of his death was the department’s graduate program director. He was a member of the Academy of Teaching Excellence, composed of faculty who are finalists for the Distinguished Teaching Award.

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Geology Grad Student Helps Indonesians Understand Their Volcanoes

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Jay Wellik, left, installs a new seismometer near Raung volcano.
Jay Wellik, left, installs a new seismometer near Raung volcano.
Nine thousand miles is a long way to go for research. But, if you are studying volcanoes, Indonesia is the place to be.

For Peace Corps Master’s International (PCMI) student Jay Wellik, it became even more than a place to study volcanoes. It became home, as he worked in Java, mostly near the Raung volcano.

As the first Michigan Tech student to work in Indonesia, Wellik endeared himself to the local governments and people, for his risk perception and mitigation, as well as for his willingness to jump into community life.

He researched two relatively active volcanoes, Raung and Ijen, working from observatory posts there, while also teaching English and coaching basketball in a “madrasah,” a state Islamic school. Wellik says he appreciates the different perspective he gained from the classroom and basketball courts. More.

by Dennis Walikainen, senior editor
Published in Tech Today

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Travel Grant Recipients for Summer 2013 Announced

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The travel grants for summer 2013 have been awarded. Travel grants are awards that help subsidize the cost of attending and presenting at conferences [sponsored by the Graduate Student Government and Graduate School], for more information of travel grants please check out the website.

The file includes the full list of winners and the statistics. Please note that there are still 10 students that would receive travel grants once their advisor confirms the eligibility. If you have any questions, please contact the Graduate Student Government Treasurer, Jenn Winikus (jawiniku@mtu.edu). Congratulations to all graduate students receiving travel grants.

Published in Tech Today.

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Women in STEM

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“Colleges Work to Retain Women in STEM Majors,” a US News article that appeared online July 1, includes an interview with Kaitlyn Bunker, a PhD student in electrical engineering. As an undergraduate, she lived in an all-female residence hall, giving her contact with other women that she was missing in her engineering classes. Read the full story at US News.

Published in Tech Today.

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Superior: Best Known Practices Tuesday

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Information Technology Services will be offering an hour-long training session–11 a.m., Tuesday, July 16, in EERC B45, to help researchers, faculty, post doctoral fellows, graduate and undergraduate students–get the best out of Superior, Michigan Tech’s newest high-performance computing cluster.

Owing to limited seating, RSVP (to g@mtu.edu) is required. A listing of subsequent training sessions is available online.

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Little Huskies Scholarship Available

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Little Huskies Child Development Center has scholarships available to preschool age families through the Access to High Quality Early Childhood Education Scholarship Fund.

The purpose of the scholarship fund is to remove financial roadblocks so as to allow Michigan Tech’s most needy families access to high-quality early childhood education at Michigan Tech’s Little Huskies Child Development Center. The focus demographics are undergraduate, graduate, and low-income employee families. Their success at Michigan Tech is a guiding principle. Please go to www.mtu.edu/childcare for more information and an application.

A completed application and all required materials must be submitted and received no later than August 1, 2013 for the 2013-2014 academic year. Materials may be sent electronically to eva-marie.hatfield@gretchenshouse.com or mailed to: Eva-Marie Hatfield, Little Huskies Child Development Center, 500 MacInnes Drive, Houghton, MI 49913.

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On campus hours for student health insurance

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Representatives from the student insurance office will be on campus at the student service center (Admin building, 1st floor) on the following dates:

  • Wednesday, August 21st: 12-2
  • Thursday, August 22nd: 9-11
  • Friday, August 23rd:  9-11
  • Tuesday, September 3rd: 9-12
  • Wednesday, September 4th:  2-5

They will also be at the following events:

  • Graduate School Student Services Fair – 11:30am – 1pm, MUB Commons
  • Expo – 6pm in the Library
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Michigan Tech Signs Green Chemistry Commitment

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Michigan Tech is one of 12 universities across the nation that are the initial signers of the Green Chemistry Commitment (www.greenchemistrycommitment.org), making them part of the first national effort to make university chemistry education greener. The Green Chemistry Commitment (GCC) is a consortium of universities and industry partners that is bringing green chemistry into undergraduate curriculum to increase the number of green chemists and scientists in the US and the opportunities available to them in the field.

The Green Chemistry Commitment is organized by Beyond Benign (www.beyondbenign.com), a non profit foundation dedicated to providing future and current scientists, educators, and citizens with the tools to teach and learn about green chemistry in order to create a sustainable future. Beyond Benign and the Green Chemistry Commitment will be presenting a session at the 17th Annual Green Chemistry and Engineering Conference this month, sponsored by the American Chemical Society’s Green Chemistry Institute.

As an academic and industrial field, green chemistry encourages chemists and scientists to develop safer, non toxic, renewable chemistry and materials. Supporting green chemistry education gives chemical companies a competitive advantage by:

  • Providing a quicker time to market by reducing the environmental impact of manufacturing.
  • Reducing worker injury by minimizing exposure to toxic chemicals, processes, and waste.
  • Increasing efficiency and productivity of new employees who are better prepared after graduating from academic programs.

“When we modify our teaching labs by substituting drugstore-variety hydrogen peroxide and other greatly reduced toxicity chemicals instead of hazardous solvents and suspected cancer-causing agents, we show the principles of green chemistry in action,” says Irv Levy, chemistry department chair at Gordon College. “Students learn the same concepts and principles of chemistry they need, but they also learn how to achieve results in a way that’s safer for them, the community, and the environment. It’s just the right thing to do.”

By signing the Green Chemistry Commitment, colleges and universities agree that, upon graduation, all chemistry majors will have proficiency in the essential green chemistry competencies of theory, toxicology, lab skills, and practical application. using resources and courses of other departments or institutions.

More information about the Green Chemistry Commitment, including information about becoming a signer, can be found at www.greenchemistrycommitment.org.

Published in Tech Today.

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