Graduate School Newsblog

Annual Martin Luther King Week

Published
By

Michigan Tech celebrates its annual Martin Luther King Week. Events include King’s iconic “I Have a Dream” speech; a peace march in the spirit of the great peacemaker; actor Barry Scott’s tribute to his idol; and a closing banquet that features Charles Pugh, president of the Detroit City Council, a respected journalist turned popular civic leader.

Here is a schedule of events, beginning today:

Monday, noon–“I Have a Dream” speech, Memorial Union steps, followed by a candelight vigil and a peace march to the Rozsa Center.

Monday, 1 p.m.–Reception, Rozsa atrium.

Monday, 2 p.m.–Actor Barry Scott’s tribute to King, Rozsa Center.

Tuesday, noon–Traveling Trunk exhibit in the Van Pelt and Opie Library; includes photos, videos, speeches and background information.

Wednesday, noon–Blood drive, Van Pelt and Opie Library Reading Room

Friday, 4 p.m.–Basketball invitational, SDC Wood Gym

Saturday, 9 a.m.–Service Saturday at the Keweenaw Family Resource Center’s Tree House, where there will be stories and snacks for the children.

Saturday, 6 p.m.–Banquet, Memorial Union Ballroom, features Charles Pugh, president of the Detroit City Council. Admission is $15 a person.

For more information, contact the Center for Diversity and Inclusion at 487-2920.

Published in Tech Today.

Continue Reading →

Thesis and Dissertation Seminars Scheduled

Published
By

The Graduate School is pleased to announce two seminars to assist students with submitting and formatting their thesis or dissertation.

Submitting a thesis or dissertation

Students planning on finishing a thesis or dissertation spring or summer 2011 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, a taped version of this seminar is available online from our May 18th presentation.

Formatting a thesis or dissertation

Beginning with defenses scheduled January 10, 2011 or later, new formatting requirements are in effect for theses and dissertations.  Students, faculty, and staff are invited to learn the highlights of these new requirements and have an opportunity to ask questions about the new requirements.

Once you register, you will receive a confirmation with the location and a reminder of the date and time.  Space is limited, so register early.

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

Continue Reading →

Engineering Physics Graduate Student Wins Competition

Published
By

Abhishek Prasad, a graduate student in physics, won an award at the 2010 Materials Research Society Fall Meeting, which drew 6,000 participants.

Prasad earned first place among 50 finalists in the sciences and arts competition at the meeting. His entry, titled “Stem of nanoflowers,” was artificially composed of multiple scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of zinc oxide (ZnO) nanostructures.

Prasad also presented a paper, “(CdSe) ZnS Core Shell Quantum Dots Decorated Zinc Oxide Nanowires for Solar Energy Harvesting Applications,” which appeared in Symposium W: Nanowires–Growth and Device Assembly for Novel Applications.

The MRS meeting was held in Boston from Nov. 28 to Dec. 3. Prasad is a doctoral student who works in Professor Yoke Khin Yap’s (Physics) research group.

Published in Tech Today

Continue Reading →

Library Workshop Scheduled

Published
By

The library will offer weekly workshops all semester long on resources that lend an academic edge and save time. Workshops take place at 1 p.m., on alternate Tuesdays and Wednesdays, Library 244. Each workshop is offered twice to accommodate class schedules.

The first workshop, “Finding Company Information,” will be on Jan. 11 and again on Jan. 19. It focuses on finding information useful in the job-search process, such as company news, rankings, financial information, contact information and company history.

Upcoming workshops will focus on resume building, material science resources, managing citations and more.

The library welcomes feedback and ideas for future workshops. Email library@mtu.edu .

For a schedule of workshops, see schedule .

For more information, contact Shannon Brodeur at 487-2500 or sbrodeur@mtu.edu .

Published in Tech Today

Continue Reading →

NASA NSPIRES Research Opportunities

Published
By

Supporting research in science and technology is an important part of NASA’s overall mission. NASA solicits this research through the release of various research announcements in a wide range of science and technology disciplines. Please bookmark and visit often  http://nspires.nasaprs.com/external to search for NASA research opportunities that may fit with your graduate research focus.

Current Opening:  NASA Space Technology Research Fellowships (NSTRF)

This Fall 2011 Fellowship opportunity is open to US citizens and permanent residents who are pursuing Master’s or Doctoral degrees in relevant space technology disciplines in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics.   Selected fellows will perform research on their respective campus and at NASA Centers and US Research and Development laboratories.

The maximum amount of an NSTRF award is $60,000 per year for a Master’s candidate and $66,000 per year for a Doctoral candidate – this includes a faculty advisor allowance of $9,000.

If interested, please contact Jodi Lehman (jglehman@mtu.edu).

Continue Reading →

Central Intelligence Agency Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program

Published
By

This Research Solicitation by the Central Intelligence Agency announces a Fiscal Year 2011 solicitation for the Intelligence Community Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program.  The Program was created in response to the Intelligence Community (IC) requirement to address long-term IC research and technology needs.  The Program serves the IC and research communities by engaging experts in the solution of problems critical to IC goals and missions.  Science and technology are fundamental drivers of global developments, and the IC Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program facilitates the necessary research in leading-edge technologies to support broad IC technology needs.  The Program awards multi-year postdoctoral research fellowship grants to address these needs.  In addition to facilitating research for the long-term needs of the IC, the mission of the IC Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program is to establish long-term mentoring relationships with its Postdoctoral Fellows and provide research institutions with an understanding of the IC’s research requirements.  The Program fosters partnerships with these Fellows as they move into career positions and provide innovative solutions to address critical IC problems.

Through this solicitation, the Program expects to make twelve or more grant awards in the specific research topics described herein.  If additional funding becomes available, the Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Program may choose to make additional awards under the terms of this Research Solicitation from the remaining selectable proposals.  The grant will be awarded for two years and funded up to $120,000 per year ($240,000 total), with a potential for a one-year option in the third year for up to $120,000.

Applicants may submit a proposal under this Research Solicitation without having a Postdoctoral Fellow identified. The applicants must be associated with a U.S. domestic accredited college, university, or other degree granting institution or a U.S. Government Laboratory.  Although all research in this program is unclassified, each Postdoctoral Fellow MUST be a U.S. citizen.  Fellows must have completed and have been awarded their doctorate degree before starting the IC Fellowship, and the degree must have been conferred within the last five years prior to the submission of this proposal.  The Principal Investigator (PI)/mentor is NOT required to be a U.S. citizen.  If a grant is awarded as a result of the proposal submitted, the PI has one year from the award date of the grant to recommend a postdoctoral research candidate, who must be approved by both the Program Manager and Government IC Advisor prior to starting the IC Postdoctoral Fellowship. Funding is limited until a Postdoctoral Fellow is identified and approved (see Section 8, paragraph B).

As required by the terms and conditions of the award, Fellows must participate at the annual IC Postdoctoral Research Fellowship Colloquium (both as an attendee and as a presenter), and publish yearly in a peer-reviewed journal, with the full article submitted to the Journal of Intelligence Community Research and Development (JICRD), or an original publication in JICRD.  Yearly publications submitted to a journal other than JICRD must include permission, following copyright law, for the CIA to reprint the article.

Please contact Jodi Lehman (jglehman@mtu.edu) if you are interested in applying.

Continue Reading →

US Department of Justice Ph.D. Graduate Research Fellowship Program

Published
By

The U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice, and the National Institute of Justice is now accepting applications for their PhD Graduate Research Fellowship Program.  Applicants must be US citizens who are conducting  research related to crime, violence, and/or other criminal justice-related topics that will hep advance objective, independent, evidence-based knowledge and tools to meet the challenges of crime and justice, particularly at the State and local levels.

If interested in applying, please contact Jodi Lehman (jglehman@mtu.edu) in Michigan Tech’s Sponsored Program Enhancement office.

Continue Reading →

International Students Win Cookbook Competition

Published
By

Komal Tayal’s tandoori chicken recipe placed second overall in a cookbook competition sponsored by the Daily Mining Gazette.

Tayal won a gift certificate for one of the businesses that advertised in the cookbook. Her recipe and Sahil Thakkar’s phada lapsi are featured in the ethnic section of the 2010 cookbook, published just before Christmas.

Tayal is a graduate student in mechanical engineering. Thakkar is an undergraduate in electrical engineering technology. Both are from India.

Published in Tech Today.

Continue Reading →

Parental Accommodation Policy

Published
By
Lihui Hu and Zhonghai Wang with their new baby, Alex.
Lihui Hu and Zhonghai Wang with their new baby, Alex.

The Graduate School was recently featured on the TV6 news in regards to the new Parental Accommodation Policy.  The interview features Lihui Hu, new mother and PhD student in computer science, and the director of graduate marketing, Jacque Smith.

The new policy allows new parents, through either birth or adoption, to take an excused absence from their classes and provides extensions to academic deadlines.  It also provides funded students with paid leave for six weeks.

See A (Graduate) Student Affair to view the original Michagan Tech News Story.

Continue Reading →

Tech International Grad Student Enrollment Bucks National Trend

Published
By

First-time international graduate student enrollment is up 3 percent nationwide this year. At Michigan Tech, it’s increased more than 16 percent.

Why is Michigan Tech bucking the trend?

“There are a couple of reasons,” says Jacque Smith, director of marketing for the Graduate School. “First, it has to do with the types and quality of programs we offer.”  Many of Michigan Tech’s programs are in STEM fields. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering and math. These specialties–which have long been a focus at Michigan Tech, especially in graduate education–are in growing demand around the world.  Also, interest in the MBA program is growing, according to recruiters worldwide. The MBA program is offered through the School of Business and Economics.

“Our programs and research are what the world wants,” Smith says, and the numbers seem to be proving that point. The largest gains among first-time international graduate student enrollment nationwide were in the physical and earth sciences, at 9 percent, while engineering rose 3 percent. However, at Michigan Tech, first-time international graduate student enrollment in engineering rose 20.4 percent.

The Council of Graduate Schools, which released the enrollment report, also said that overall (not just first-time) international graduate student enrollment rose only 1 percent nationally in 2010, down from 2 and 3 percent in 2009 and 2008, respectively. During the same time, Tech’s overall international graduate student enrollment increased 13.5 percent.  Michigan Tech’s growth also bucked a trend among Midwest schools, whose international graduate student enrollment showed no growth overall.

Nationally, the countries contributing the largest number of first-time international grad students were China, with 20 percent, and the Middle East and Turkey with 7 percent. India and South Korea showed 3 percent declines nationwide. At Michigan Tech, however, numbers of first-time international graduate students from India increased 18.5 percent.

“It’s a reflection of our global recruiting efforts,” Smith says. “For example, our faculty members’ research is growing in prominence, and our alumni are making impacts all over the world that help us to recruit students in their home countries.”  And when those international students do enroll at Tech, they bring some impressive credentials with them.

According to the Graduate School, international students are often among the top candidates for admission to graduate programs nationwide.  “They bring global perspectives to our campus and community and help our domestic students gain experiences with other cultures,” Smith notes. “They also help everyone on campus learn more about what is happening in other parts of the world and how events are viewed by people from different cultures,” says Dean Jackie Huntoon (Graduate School).

Approximately 45 percent of Michigan Tech’s graduate students are from abroad, and India and China make up more than 70 percent of international graduate student enrollment here.  “The international students who come to our campus continue to help the University become better known and respected around the world,” Huntoon adds. “They also contribute to economic development, in Michigan and elsewhere, where they help fill corporations’ needs for STEM-educated people.”

Published in Tech Today.

Continue Reading →