Graduate School Newsblog

Homecoming 2012 Blends Old with New

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We are in the midst of Homecoming Week at Michigan Tech, and the venerable favorites have been joined by some new events that organizers hope will become traditions, too.

Rachel Wussow, associate director of student activities, says the new items resulted from student input. “Kickball has replaced powderpuff football for the women and football for the men,” she said. “We are getting more teams, as we feel it is more inclusive, especially for the international students.” Kickball began Sunday and the championship games are tonight at 5:30 and 7:15 p.m. at the softball fields. Window painting has changed, too. “We decided to paint the windows at the SDC, to add more spirit for the athletes,” Wussow said. “They came out really nice.”

To view a complete list of all of this week’s activities and events, see Homecoming.

“We’ll have shuttle buses running to help alleviate the congestion, especially with Family Weekend,” Wussow said.

Also part of the festivities is the induction of seven new members into the Huskies Sports Hall of Fame, Friday night. Allison Bailey (Bottoms), Kurt Coduti, Paul Kerrtu, Sandy Johnson, Robert Peterson and Bill Steele are joined by Tech’s first national championship team–the 1961-62 hockey squad. Many members from that team will be on hand for the induction and reunion for the 50th anniversary of their NCAA title.

Saturday includes Huskies football at 1 p.m., with Northwood in town. The king and queen will be announced at halftime. The hockey Huskies face Lake Superior State Saturday night at 7:07 p.m., with the all-important broomball battle for the Alumni Cup following the game.

Published in Tech Today by Dennis Walikainen, senior editor.

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ESC Graduate Travel Grants Awarded for Fall

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The Ecosystem Science Center is pleased to announce the eleven graduate student travel grant awardees for fall travel to conferences within the United States and Canada.

  • Ruth Bennett (SFRES) awarded $500 to attend a workshop on the Winter Habitat Conservation of the Golden-winged Warbler in Washington, DC, Oct. 27–31 (Joe Bump, advisor)
  • Ashley Coble (Bio Sci) awarded $500 to present a talk at the American Geophysical Union Meeting in San Francisco, Calif., Dec 3-7 (Amy Marcarelli, advisor)
  • Stacy Cotey (SFRES) awarded $500 to give a poster presentation at the Wildlife Society Annual Conference in Portland, Ore., Oct 13-18 (Audrey Mayer, advisor)
  • Ram Deo (SFRES) awarded $500 to give a poster presentation at the Silvilaser Conference in Vancouver, B.C., Sept 16-18 (Mike Falkowski, advisor)
  • Anna Hess (SFRES) awarded $500 to present a talk at the Entomological Society of America Annual Conference in Knoxville, Tenn., Nov 11-14 (Andrew Storer, advisor)
  • Lilli Kaarakka (SFRES) awarded $500 to give a poster presentation at the Society of American Foresters in Spokane, Wash., Oct 24-28 (Andy Burton, advisor)
  • Bryan Murray (SFRES) awarded $500 to present a talk at the Wildlife Society Annual Conference in Portland, Ore., Oct 13-18 (Chris Webster, advisor)
  • Nan Pond (SFRES) awarded $500 to present a talk at the Society of American Foresters in Spokane, Wash., Oct 24-28 (Robert Froese, advisor)
  • Karl Romanowicz (SFRES) awarded $500 to present a talk at the American Geophysical Union Meeting in San Francisco, Calif., Dec. 3-7 (Erik Lilleskov, advisor)
  • Luis Verissimo (SFRES) awarded $500 to give a poster presentation at the Silvilaser Conference in Vancouver, B.C., Sept 16-18 (Mike Falkowski, advisor)
  • Anio Virtanen (SFRES) awarded $500 to give a poster presentation at the Society of American Foresters in Spokane, Wash., Oct 24-28 (Audrey Mayer, advisor)
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2013-2014 IAF Fellowship Competition Announcement

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Fellowships are available to currently registered students who have advanced to candidacy (by the time research begins) for the Ph.D. in the social sciences, physical sciences, technical fields and the professions as related to grassroots development issues. Applications for clinical research in the health field will NOT be considered.

Awards are based on both development and scholarly criteria. Proposals should offer a practical orientation to field-based information. In exceptional cases the IAF will support research reflecting a primary interest in macro questions of politics and economics but only as they relate to the environment of the poor. The Fellowship Program complements IAF’s support for grassroots development in Latin America and the Caribbean, and preference for those applicants whose careers or research projects are related to topics of greatest interest to the IAF. These include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Organizations promoting grassroots development among poor and disadvantaged peoples;
  • The financial sustainability and independence of development organizations;
  • Trends affecting historically excluded groups, such as African descendants, indigenous peoples, women, people with disabilities and young people;
  • Transnational development;
  • The role of corporate social responsibility in grassroots development;
  • The impact of globalization on grassroots development;
  • The impact on the quality of life of the poor of grassroots development activities in such areas as sustainable agriculture and natural resource management, housing, health care, education, urban development, technology transfer, jobs creation, and marketing and small-enterprise development.

Funding is for between four and 12 months. Research during the 2013-2014 cycle must be initiated between June 1, 2013 and May 31, 2014.

IAF’s Fellowships provide support for Ph.D. candidates to conduct dissertation research in Latin America and the Caribbean on topics related to grassroots development. The Inter-American Foundation expects to award up to 15 Doctoral Field Research Fellowships in 2012.

Complete proposals include:

  • A complete research prospectus – an application statement, a field research prospectus, a Curriculum Vitae (custom), and a Personal Statement;
  • A letter of University Certification;
  • A letter of affiliation from at least one host organization;
  • Statement of IRB Status or proof of submission or approval;
  • Graduate transcripts;
  • Three academic letters of reference, one which must be from the chair of the applicant’s dissertation committee;
  • A Language Proficiency Report.

Selected candidates must present proof of candidacy and IRB exemption or approval prior to receiving funding or entering the field.  Complete application information and instructions are available at www.iie.org/iaf.

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Savvy Entrepreneur Workshop: Intellectual Property (IP) Protection: It’s more than an NDA (non-disclosure agreement)

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If you have a business idea that you want to protect but don’t understand all the issues, next Tuesday’s Savvy Entrepreneur session is for you. The series features best practices sharing via 2-Way Interactive Web Conferencing. At this event you’ll learn key Strategic Intellectual Property Management Practices, including how to navigate through the dreaded Non-Disclosure Agreement with customers and partners. Learn why and how to protect one of your business’s most valuable assets affordably from local leading entrepreneurs and specialists. Bring your questions to this program to advance your technology entrepreneurship skill set.

A panel of successful entrepreneurs, investors and subject matter experts will share the best practices and experiences dealing with one of the biggest challenges and biggest critical success factors to launch or grow your company. The forum will include insights from the panelists followed by a moderated question and answer session to address your specific start-up commercialization or growth questions.

The event is sponsored by Michigan Tech’s office of Innovation and Industry Engagement, School of Business and Economics, and the Houghton SmartZone and the Keweenaw Alliance For Economic Development.

This event will take place at 5:30 p.m., Tuesday, Oct. 9, in the conference room of Michigan Tech’s Advanced Technology and Development Center at 1402 E. Sharon Avenue, followed with a panel discussion from 6 to 7:30 p.m. For more information on the workshop, contact Mike Morley 487-3485 or mcmorley@mtu.edu

Published in Tech Today

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New dissertations available in the Library

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The Graduate School is pleased to announce new dissertations are now available in the J.R. van Pelt and Opie Library from the following programs:

  • Biological Sciences
  • Computational Science and Engineering
  • Computer Science
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Engineering Physics
  • Forest Science
  • Geology
  • Materials Science and Engineering
  • Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
  • Rhetoric and Technical Communication
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Fair use in academia

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Students who wish to use copyrighted materials in a thesis or dissertation must show that they have the ability to republish those materials.  One argument students can use is that their use is “fair use.”  This provision of US Copyright allows the reuse of materials if certain conditions are met.  Students sometimes think that all educational use of materials is fair use, but a recent court case illustrates that this is not true.

In order to use copyrighted materials in a thesis or dissertation, there are three simple steps:

  1. Determine if permission is needed to republish copyrighted materials
  2. Obtain permission for copyrighted materials (if necessary)
  3. Document the ability to republish copyrighted materials.

The Graduate School has helpful resources online, including a seminar from our copyright librarian.  Check them out!

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NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program Workshop Series

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Debra Charlesworth, assistant to the dean of the Graduate School for professional development and previous NSF GRFP panelist and fellow, will present “An Insider’s Perspective on the Review Process” from noon to 12:50 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 3, in the Pat Nelson Graduate Conference Center on the fourth floor of the Administration Building.

Topics will include:

  • Understand the review process
  • High impact tips to make your reviewer happy
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