Graduate School Newsblog

You’ve Got Mail. And Better Things to Do.

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With smartphones, tablets, and computers surrounding us every day, it’s easy to become overwhelmed by new information. This essay from the Chronicle offers some great tips about how to manage your e-mail and time better to help improve your productivity.

One tip, for example, is to have an e-mail strategy – and stick to it.  How often will you read your e-mail? How often will you reply? Setting aside specific times to answer e-mails will allow you to focus on other tasks during the rest of the day.

Some articles from the Chronicle require a full subscription to read. Michigan Tech students, faculty, and staff will have full access when they access articles from a campus IP address.

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Tech Contingent Travels to Bangalore

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The nine students in the MBA program returned from India with a new appreciation for how the rest of the world does business.

“We chose Bangalore because it’s the Silicon Valley of India,” said Jodie Filpus, who directs recruitment and admissions for the MBA program.

The online MBA program includes three residencies, during which the students leave their far-flung homes to meet in person with each other and their professors. Two residencies are held on the Michigan Tech campus. The third and final residency involves a week of international travel. “We do this so the students will be exposed to different cultures, as well as to introduce them to international businesses,” Filpus said.

It would be hard to imagine a city more different from Houghton than Bangalore. “It’s a very interesting place,” she said. “It’s beautiful in many respects, with its temples and palaces, and it’s so rich in history.” However, the population in the city of over eight million has grown by over 65 percent in the last 10 years and its infrastructure hasn’t kept up, “so it gave me an appreciation for what we have here.”

Led by Assistant Professor Latha Poonamallee, of the School of Business and Economics, and accompanied by Filpus and Brent Burns, director of corporate partnersips, the MBA students visited several different organizations, from a pharmaceutical manufacturer to a nonprofit that provides solar-energy-system financing for poor villages.

To read the complete story, see Bangalore.

by Marcia Goodrich, magazine editor
Published in Tech Today

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How to change color pages to black and white

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Some word processors will generate lines (such as those found in tables) and/or text in a combination of red and green that will appear black on the screen, but will appear in color to the bindery that will print your document. Depending on how other items are created and/or inserted into your document, grey-scale figures may also appear in a combination of red and green.

This tutorial will show one way to convert color items in a PDF file to black and white. These instructions have been provided by the bindery that prints Michigan Tech dissertations, theses, and reports, but they are not foolproof. You may find that certain items do not properly convert to black and white. In that case, it is recommended to:

  • go back to the source image
  • change the source image to black and white or gray-scale using Photoshop
  • insert the image into your document
  • convert the PDF document (recommended setting: High Quality Print)
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Day 1 of the Semester

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Whether you are teaching this fall for the first time, or fiftieth time, there are some great tips in this article from the Chronicle about how to put your best foot forward on the first day of class.

Learn why it’s important and how to:

  • Be yourself-but a little bit better
  • Dress for success
  • Strike the right tone
  • Convey key information

Some articles from the Chronicle require a subscription to access.  Michigan Tech faculty, staff, and students will have access when accessing the Chronicle from a Michigan Tech IP address.

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Strategies To Help Women Thrive In STEM Careers

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Karen Purcell has written a new book entitled, Unlocking Your Brilliance: Smart Strategies for Women to Thrive in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.  In the book, she shares her struggles and successes in her career as an electrical engineer.

In this Q&A, she shares why she wrote the book, some strategies for success, and the importance of a mentor.

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Great Lakes Research Center Dedication Thursday

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It has labs for everything from supercomputing to invasive species, for everyone from school kids to university researchers.

There’s a weather station on the roof, and just outside, scientists can board the Research Vessel Agassiz and be on Lake Superior in under an hour.

Plus, the view from its second floor is so spectacular couples are already booking the space for wedding receptions.

It’s the Great Lakes Research Center, or GLRC. The public is invited to the dedication ceremony for Michigan Tech’s newest building, set for 2 p.m., Thursday, Aug. 2. The speakers will be President Glenn Mroz; Stephen Hicks, chair of the Board of Control; and Guy Meadows, director of Great Lakes initiatives at the GLRC.

Refreshments will be served, and tours will be held following the dedication.

The three-story, 50,000-square-foot center has three distinct areas: a boathouse for the University’s three research vessels and environmental monitoring buoy network, a complex of research laboratories, and a public area that includes conference facilities and space for K-12 education.

To read the full story, go to Great Lakes Research Center.

Published in Tech Today.

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Conferences: Do Not Hide Under a Bushel

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Whether you’re going to your first conference, or fiftieth, there are some great tips in this article from Tomorrow’s Professor to help you get the most out of the experience. A few tips on how to spend your time well at a conference, according to Christopher (2011) include:

  • Attend talks that will strengthen your specific research topics.
  • Attend talks that will broaden and enhance your research.
  • Learn how to have fun at the conference venue.
  • Interact with peers from other universities and organizations. Networking with your peers pays huge dividends. Peers today,
  • leaders tomorrow!
  • Finally, set aside some time to talk to potential mentors and some of the icons of the field. Most senior researchers enjoy interacting with graduate students.
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