Graduate School Newsblog

PVS Tutorial Offered

Published
By

Associate Professor Ali Ebnenasir (CS) and PhD student Amer Tahat (CS) will be conducting tutorials on the Prototype Verification System (PVS) at 4:30 p.m., Monday, Nov. 19, in Rekhi 101. Space is limited, so arrive early.

The PVS is one of the premier theorem provers developed at the Stanford Research Institute. This tutorial provides a basic understanding of PVS along with elementary techniques for the verification of computing systems in theorem proving. PVS has been used in the verification of numerous real-world applications such as Aircraft Transportation and Navigation Systems, Nuclear Plants Safety Systems and Spacecraft Autonomy and AI Planning.

This tutorial will be offered for faculty researchers and graduate students with generous technical support from the Formal Methods group at NASA Langley and the PVS group at SRI. Prerequisites include preliminary knowledge of propositional and predicate logics.

For more information, see Research.

If you have any questions, contact Ebnenasir at 487-4372 or aebnenas@mtu.edu .

Published in Tech Today

Continue Reading →

National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship

Published
By

The National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship is a highly competitive, portable fellowship that is awarded to U.S. citizens and nationals who intend to pursue a doctoral degree in one of fifteen supported disciplines. NDSEG confers high honors upon its recipients, and allows them to attend whichever U.S. institution they choose.

NDSEG Fellowships last for three years and pay for full tuition and all mandatory fees, a monthly stipend, and up to $1,000 a year in medical insurance.

The Department of Defense (DoD) is committed to increasing the number and quality of our nation’s scientists and engineers, and towards this end, has awarded approximately 3,200 NDSEG fellowships since the program’s inception 22 years ago.

The NDSEG Fellowship is sponsored by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research(AFOSR), the Army Research Office (ARO), the High Performance Computing Modernization Program (HPCM), and the Office of Naval Research (ONR), under the direction of the Director of Defense Research and Engineering (DDR&E).

Application deadline: December 14, 2012

For more information and to apply online, go to http://ndseg.asee.org/

Continue Reading →

Tech Celebrates World Usability Day

Published
By

Thursday was Usability Day around the world, and this was the fifth year Michigan Tech was involved. The event celebrates usability, when technologies or procedures make sense to us and when we can learn–and remember–how to use them, make few errors and feel satisfied with our experiences.

We caught up with a couple of projects taking place at Tech.

The Human Interface Design Enterprise was showing off their driver simulator in Rekhi Hall.

It was one of a couple of major projects the group has taken on, according to Margo Woller-Carter, a PhD student in applied cognitive science and human factors.

“We are using a Uconnect system from Chrysler to test for driver distraction,” she said. “We designed this driver simulator to use with it, and we will also be doing some eye-tracking for them.” Uconnect was a multimedia system on steroids: entertainment, phone, navigation, voice command, controls, and wifi: perfect for testing for distractions. The Enterprise was in the second year of a three-year contract with Chrysler.

And on this day, there was plenty of distraction going on: radio playing, Uconnect with lots of buttons to play with, a road ahead on the computer screen, and many people walking in and out of the room. Students took turns behind the wheel of the 60 mph simulation. Some did a little off-roading and even off-globing.

Woller-Carter said they also have some work with the HVAC folks at Chrysler, including a smartphone app for adjusting temperature from anywhere in the car.

One key to all their app work is to keep them user friendly. “There are so many bad apps today,” said second-year computer engineering major Andrew Timmerman. He, too, took a turn on the simulator, exploring some of the features of the Uconnect: estimated time to complete the required number of laps at 60, various gauge settings, including temperature, etc.

The eye-tracking will be an interesting undertaking, the assembled students thought. Eye-tracking is a method employed in usability studies where sensors record where humans’ eyes are focused. Currently, eye-tracking uses six sensor points on the face and it loses accuracy when you move your head. That has important ramifications when you are analyzing distractions.

The HIDE plan might include adding more sensor points to prevent data loss, Woller-Carter said.

“Or we might just come up with a whole new system,” she said.

She also said it was important for the two teams (design and evaluation) to see the whole design process, to not just design or test.

Read more in Tech Today
by Dennis Walikainen, senior editor

Continue Reading →

NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship (NESSF) Program

Published
By

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 (MS) or Doctoral (PhD) 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 at http://nspires.nasaprs.com/ – click on “Solicitations” then click on “Open Solicitations” then select the “NESSF 13” announcement. 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. Extended instructions on how to submit an electronic proposal package are posted on the NESSF 13 solicitation index page listed above. You can register in NSPIRES at 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.

Continue Reading →

ASA 2013 Graduate Student Research Award

Published
By

Are you working on remarkable research on issues pertaining to aging? If so, submit your research paper to the American Society on Aging to be considered for the graduate student research award!  The winner will gain the recognition of peers and thousands of professionals in the field.

The graduate student research award is given to spur academic and clinical interest in the field of aging, and rewards the best unpublished graduate research paper on a completed project relevant to aging and applicable to practice. Membership in ASA is not a requirement, but is a consideration.

Applicants must be enrolled in a graduate-degree program or have completed their studies less than one year before submission, and be sponsored by a faculty member. The winner will receive a $500 honorarium, an opportunity to present their paper at the 2013 Aging in America conference (March 12-16 in Chicago), complimentary one-year student ASA membership and registration for the Aging in America conference.

The deadline to submit research papers has been extended to November 30. Call 415-974-9600 if you have any questions, or click here for more information.

Continue Reading →

DOE Computational Science Graduate Fellowship

Published
By

We are pleased to inform you that the application is now open for the Department of Energy Computational Science Graduate Fellowship (DOE CSGF) at https://www.krellinst.org/doecsgf/application/. This is an exciting opportunity for doctoral students to earn up to four years of financial support along with outstanding benefits and opportunities while pursuing degrees in fields of study that utilize high performance computing technology to solve complex problems in science and engineering.

Benefits of the Fellowship:

  • $36,000 yearly stipend
  • Payment of all tuition and fees
  • $5,000 academic allowance in first year
  • $1,000 academic allowance each renewed year
  • 12-week research practicum at a DOE Laboratory
  • Yearly conferences
  • Career, professional and leadership development
  • Renewable up to four years

Applications for the next class of fellows are due on January 8, 2013. See the poster for additional information: http://www.krellinst.org/csgf/sites/default/files/CSGF%20Recruitment%20Poster%202013-14.pdf

The DOE CSGF is open to U.S. citizens or permanent resident aliens who are planning full-time, uninterrupted study toward a PhD at an accredited US university. Senior undergraduate and first-year doctoral students (at the time of application) in engineering and in the physical, computer, mathematical or life sciences are eligible to apply.

For more information regarding the fellowship and to access the online application, visit http://www.krellinst.org/csgf

Continue Reading →

Huntoon Named to AGI Executive Committee

Published
By

Jackie Huntoon, dean of the Graduate School and associate provost for graduate education, has been named to the American Geosciences Institute (AGI) executive committee.

Huntoon joins new members Berry H. (Nick) Tew, Jr., state geologist of Alabama and director of the geological survey of Alabama; and Dorian Kuper, cofounder and president of Kuper Consulting LLC. The new members of the AGI Executive Committee will be installed at the Friends of AGI Reception during the Geological Society of America Annual Meeting in Charlotte, North Carolina.

According to AGI, Huntoon, “through her work as dean and at numerous geoscience societies and agencies, has helped increase diversity and strengthen the geosciences as a whole.”

Founded in 1948, the American Geosciences Institute is a nonprofit federation of geoscientific and professional associations that represents more than 250,000 geologists, geophysicists and other earth scientists.

Published in Tech Today

Continue Reading →

ERM Foundation Sustainability Fellowship

Published
By

ERM Group Foundation is pleased to announce its annual Sustainability Fellowship program, which will award a Fellowship in an amount up to $15,000 to fund a Sustainability Initiative project.  The ERM Foundation Sustainability Fellowship supports entrepreneurial graduate students
who want to implement their visions for a more sustainable world.

In addition to the selected Sustainability Fellowship recipient, the top five candidates identified through the Fellowship selection and award process will be provided with the opportunity to interview for a paid internship in the growing, global Sustainability Practice of ERM (http://www.erm.com/).

We invite all graduate students with a cumulative Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.2 or higher enrolled in U.S.-based tax-exempt educational institutions to apply.

Please contact Debra Charlesworth or Jodi Lehman for an application form.  Applications are being accepted through 11/30/2012.

Further information on the foundation and ERM can be found at: http://www.erm.com/About-Us/ERM-Foundation/

Continue Reading →

Jack Kent Cook Foundation Graduate Scholarships

Published
By

The Foundation’s Graduate Arts Award is for up to $50,000 per year for up to three years to college seniors and recent graduates with financial need who will pursue a graduate or professional degree in the visual arts, performing arts, or creative writing. To be eligible, candidates must be nominated by the faculty representative at their undergraduate institution.

The Foundation’s Dissertation Fellowship is for up to $25,000 for advanced doctoral students who are completing dissertations that inform the Foundation’s mission: advancing the education of exceptionally promising students who have financial need. To be eligible, candidates must demonstrate superior academic achievement, have successfully defended their dissertation proposals, and be enrolled full-time in a US graduate degree program.

The Foundation’s Graduate Scholarships are offered to students who receive undergraduate scholarships from the Foundation.

Continue Reading →

University of Michigan Dow Sustainability Fellows Program – Postdoctoral Fellowships

Published
By

Applications due: December 15, 2012

The Dow Sustainability Fellows Program is designed to create a new generation of sustainability scholars who understand the necessity of collaborating across disciplines and sectors to address and solve complex sustainability challenges. The program seeks accomplished, connected, and motivated postdoctoral fellowship candidates working on sustainability issues at the interface of the social sciences/humanities and the natural/physical/engineering sciences.

Both the Request for Proposals and the program application can be found online at www.sustainability.umich.edu/postdoctoral-fellowship.

Questions may be submitted to dow-postdoc@umich.edu.

Continue Reading →