Online Grad Programs Ranked by US News

The MBA online program in Michigan Tech’s School of Business and Economics placed 47th of 197 online graduate business programs in new rankings released today by US News & World Report.  Tech’s online master’s degree program in engineering also made the magazine’s 2013 national rankings, earning 41st place among 66 online graduate programs in engineering that were ranked.

“The Tech MBA Online program was created to provide an innovative curriculum guided by experienced and knowledgeable business faculty,” said Gene Klippel, dean of the School of Business and Economics.  “Professionals looking to advance their career, even in a challenging economy, can benefit from learning and understanding technology and innovation within organizations.  A ranking in the top 50 from US News confirms that our program is on track for continued success for students, our School and Michigan Tech.”

Bill Worek, dean of the College of Engineering, said: “The master’s program in the College of Engineering continues to be highly ranked with other premiere engineering schools.  This online program gives students with full-time jobs the ability to complete an advanced degree.  This is essential for the state of Michigan to further enhance the quality of the engineering work force in the state.”

US News defines an online education program as one for which all the coursework can be completed via distance education courses that incorporate Internet-based learning technologies.  Among criteria evaluated were graduation rate, class size, one-year retention rate, time to degree, graduate entrance exam scores and grade point averages of students, percentage of PhD and tenured faculty, and technologies and services available to students.

For the first time this year, US News added a peer assessment survey of deans and top distance learning higher education academics employed by schools ranked in 2012.

“It is a wonderful testament to the dedication of our faculty and staff that we have achieved these rankings,” said Graduate School Dean Jackie Huntoon. “I am happy to see that both the business and engineering online programs are getting the positive attention they deserve.”

“Michigan Tech’s online MBA program is really quite young, and already it is ranked in the top third of all ranked programs nationwide.  This is a remarkable achievement,” Huntoon went on to say.  “The number and quality of offerings in engineering continues to grow each year. I am continually impressed by the comments I hear from students and employers who tell me that they chose Michigan Tech because of our focus on real-world applications and because of the quality and commitment of our faculty.”

Posted in TechToday by Jenn Donovan, Public Relations Director

EndNote Workshops Sponsored by Library

The J. Robert Van Pelt and John and Ruanne Opie Library presents a series of EndNote Workshops.

EndNote is a citation management software that helps you easily create and manage bibliographic information and incorporate references into your writing.  In other words, EndNote streamlines the research and reporting process.

Seating for these workshops is limited and registration is required. To register please visit: EndNote LibGuide

Note: Our sessions use EndNote X6 on PCs.  Laptop users are encouraged to update their versions of EndNote prior to the session.  See the Library’sEndNote Download page.

EndNote Basic I: Creating and Organizing an EndNote Library

  • January 25th, 12:00 PM in room 242
  • A 1 hour introductory workshop on creating and managing references using the citation management software, EndNote.

EndNote Basic II: Cite While You Write (CWYW)

  • January 25th, 1:15 PM in room 242
  • A 1 hour EndNote Workshop on how to incorporate your EndNote Library citations into a written document (MS Word).  Attendance of EndNote Basic I Workshop, or prior knowledge of building and managing an EndNote library, is highly recommended.

EndNote Special Topics: Working with Travel Libraries

  • January 25th, 2:30 PM in room 242
  • A 45 minute EndNote Workshop on EndNote Traveling Libraries.  Attendance of EndNote Basic I & II Workshops, or prior knowledge of building and managing an EndNote library, is highly recommended.

Seminar: Submitting your Thesis or Dissertation to the Graduate School

Students planning on finishing a thesis or dissertation spring or summer 2013 are invited a seminar designed to help students understand the submission process and answer questions about it.

Once you register, you will receive a confirmation with the location and a reminder of the date and time.

If you are unable to join us, this seminar will be taped and available online.

Significant changes were introduced in the fall based on revisions approved by the University Senate.  Join us to learn about the changes and have your questions answered.

Safe Place Training in Spring 2013

With the increased enrollment of students who openly identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (GLBTQ), the Michigan Tech Safe Place Program is designed to be a comprehensive and in-depth resource to better prepare faculty, staff, and graduate assistants to address the needs of these students. The training program addresses a wide range of terms that GLBTQ students use to define their identities, issues that GLBTQ students often deal with during the coming out process, concerns that GLBTQ students face both in and out of the classroom, ways that faculty, staff, and graduate assistants can create inclusive classroom and office environments, where faculty, staff, and graduate assistants can refer students who need to report harassment, and the on- and off-campus resources available to students. All graduate students are invited to participate in the program. The spring 2013 training times and the online registration form are available at http://safeplace.mtu.edu/register.php.

AEG student scholarships for 2013

AEG announces student scholarships for 2013

To apply for the AEG student scholarships: https://www.aegfoundation.org:16450/applications/index.php

The scholarship applications are due on Feb 1st, 2013.

Student membership of AEG is required to qualify for the scholarship. But the good news is that the AEG student membership is free.

For more details on the membership:
http://www.aegweb.org/home/join

For more details about the AEG Michigan Tech students chapter:
http://www.geo.mtu.edu/~toommen/aegstudentchapter.html

Ethics Education Program for Graduate Students

The Ethics education program,  funded by the National Science Foundation, offers busy graduate students a unique opportunity to build an understanding of intellectual property that will complement their studies, research, and instructional goals.

Students will participate in a non-credit (no-cost) and semester-long program that is guided by Michigan Tech copyright and patent experts.  Learn with peers in online environments, during weekly evening meetings, and during four (4) special dinner meetings with campus experts to develop a broad understanding of copyright and patent
fundamentals in the context of academic research and publishing.  Engage in guided team activities to analyze IP case scenarios relevant to graduate studies and to share their informed analysis with others.

Students will gain a competitive edge for their graduate studies and with future employers. They will explore the beneficial balance of IP law that supports the continuous advancement of knowledge by protecting, rewarding, and encouraging originality in STEM research.  On successful program completion, they will receive a certificate of
training in intellectual property.

Enroll now at:
http://www.gradschool2.mtu.edu/registration/events/

An orientation dinner meeting is scheduled for the fourth week of the semester on Wednesday, February 6 in the library.

Tranferring research skills to a business environment

This article from ASEE Prism has some great insights into the training some universities are offering students so that they can hit the ground running in industrial positions. Michigan Tech offers business training for its student both formally and informally. If a career in industry might be in your future, try checking out these suggestions to find relevant training to help you succeed.

ORNL – Clifford G. Shull Fellowship Program

The Neutron Sciences Directorate at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), invites applications for the Clifford G. Shull Fellowship Program.

A PhD. in condensed matter physics, chemistry, materials science and engineering, biology, or related field is required.  Each applicant must be no more than three years beyond receiving his/her doctorate degree.  Applicants should not have previously held more than one postdoctoral appointment.  Current ORNL postdoctoral appointees and staff members are not eligible.  Previous experience in neutron or X-ray scattering is highly desired; however, outstanding candidates possessing related expertise are also encouraged to apply.  Strong written and oral communication skills as evidenced by a significant publication record, and the desire to work in a team environment on scientifically challenging problems are required.

Applicants should have a PhD degree conferred on or after January 2010.

For more information regarding the program, and application instructions please visit: http://neutrons.ornl.gov/shullfellowship.

Application deadline is January 31, 2013

In addition to your CV, please include a short research statement and names of at least three professional/academic references.  This position will remain open until a candidate is identified and/or hired. We accept Word(.doc, .docx), Excel(.xls, .xlsx), PowerPoint(.ppt, .pptx), Adobe(.pdf), Rich Text Format(.rtf), HTML(.htm, html) and text files(.txt) up to 2MB in size. Resumes from third party vendors will not be accepted; these resumes will be deleted and the candidates submitted will not be considered for employment.

If you have trouble applying for a position, please email ORNLRecruiting@ornl.gov.  Al Ekkenbus, Ph. D

NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship (NESSF) Program

NASA announces a call for graduate fellowship proposals to the NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship (NESSF) program for the 2013-2014 academic year.  This call for fellowship proposals solicits applications from accredited U.S. universities on behalf of individuals pursuing Master of Science (M.Sc.) or Doctoral (Ph.D.) degrees in Earth and space sciences, or related disciplines.

The purpose of NESSF is to ensure continued training of a highly qualified workforce in disciplines needed to achieve NASA’s scientific goals.  Awards resulting from the competitive selection will be made in the form of training grants to the respective universities.

The deadline for NEW applications is February 1, 2013, and the deadline for RENEWAL applications is March 15, 2013.

The NESSF call for proposals and submission instructions are located at the NESSF 13 solicitation index page.

Also refer to “Proposal Submission Instructions” and “Frequently Asked Questions” listed under “Other Documents” on the NESSF 13 solicitation index page.

All proposals must be submitted in electronic format only through the NASA NSPIRES system.  The advisor has an active role in the submission of the fellowship proposal.  To use the NSPIRES system, the advisor, the student, and the university must all Register.

More information and how you can register, http://nspires.nasaprs.com/

For further information contact:  Claire Macaulay, Program Administrator for NESSF Earth Science Research, Telephone: (202) 358-0151, E-mail: claire.i.macaulay@nasa.gov or Dolores Holland, Program Administrator for NESSF Heliophysics Research, Planetary Science Research, and Astrophysics Research, Telephone: (202) 358-0734, E-mail: hq-nessf-Space@nasa.gov.

Enterprise Students Help 3M Build a Better Taillight

Drivers of many new cars will have better taillights, thanks to a partnership between Michigan Technological University students and 3M.

Michigan Tech’s Consumer Products Manufacturing and Blue Marble Security Enterprise–teams of students that take on challenges faced by industry–tested 3M’s Uniform Lighting Lens (ULL), investigating the optical properties of the material. Four years later, that material is now on the market and will be debuting on more cars in the near future.

The project was “a good example of getting students involved with problems of interest to industry,” said Brett Spigarelli, a PhD candidate is chemical engineering at Michigan Tech and advisor to the Consumer Products Manufacturing Enterprise. on Mountain native, said. “It’s a lot of what you do when you get out there on the job,” explained Spigarelli, an Iron Mountain native who worked on the 3M project as an undergraduate at Michigan Tech.

ULL is designed to better disperse the light of LEDs (light emitting diode), increasing effectiveness while still enjoying the same energy savings compared to halogen bulbs. The challenge was in applying ULL, a film, in industrial applications and ensuring that it would hold up to the manufacturing process. This was where 3M asked Michigan Tech students to step in early in 2009.

For the full story, see taillight.

Published in TechToday by Kevin Hodur, creative writer