Graduate School Newsblog

Michigan Tech Receives $3 Million in Federal Stimulus Funds

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Tech Today

by Jennifer Donovan, public relations director

Michigan Tech will receive nearly $3 million in federal stimulus funds to develop an interdisciplinary educational program to train engineers and technicians to design and build the next generation of hybrid electric vehicles.

The $2.98-million grant is part of $2.4 billion in awards under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, announced Thursday by President Barack Obama. Vice President Joe Biden was in Detroit to announce that more than $1 billion of the grants will go to companies and universities in Michigan, more than any other state.

Michigan Tech is one of three state universities in Michigan to receive education and training awards. The other two are Wayne State University and the University of Michigan.

“This is great news for Michigan Tech,” said Carl Anderson, associate dean for research and graduate programs in the College of Engineering and principal investigator for the new program. “We have had a strength in liquid-fueled vehicles and active partnerships with their manufacturers for a long time. Now we have the opportunity to take advantage of a broader array of our strengths and establish a similar leadership role in the development of a new generation of electric-powered vehicles.”

Michigan Tech will work with Argonne National Laboratory and a number of industrial partners including AVL, General Motors, Eaton, Horiba, MathWorks, Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories and Woodward. The University and its partners will develop undergraduate and graduate curricula, including a certificate program in hybrid electric vehicles.

“We’ll be training and retraining the next generation of engineers to produce vehicles that reduce fuel consumption and emissions,” said Jeff Naber, lead faculty member of the multidisciplinary program.

The electric hybrid curriculum will be modeled after the groundbreaking course in advanced propulsion for hybrid vehicles that Michigan Tech taught in Detroit for displaced automotive engineers last spring. The course was offered in cooperation with the Engineering Society of Detroit (ESD) and General Motors, with GM providing laboratory facilities.

Another free, three-credit course will be offered in Detroit this fall, in cooperation with AVL, a developer of powertrains and vehicle simulation and test systems based in Plymouth, and with ESD. AVL will provide lab space, and GM is donating three hybrid vehicles. Ford and Lotus are also supporting the course.

Under the new grant, plans are to develop a mobile lab that could enable engineers anywhere to take the courses, Naber said.

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2009 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program Solicitation

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NSF GRFP

Eligibility and How To Apply

The National Science Foundation aims to ensure the vitality of the human resource base of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in the United States and to reinforce its diversity by offering approximately 1,654 graduate fellowships in this competition pending availability of funds. The Graduate Research Fellowship provides three years of support for graduate study leading to research-based master’s or doctoral degrees and is intended for students who are in the early stages of their graduate study. The Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) invests in graduate education for a cadre of diverse individuals who demonstrate their potential to successfully complete graduate degree programs in disciplines relevant to the mission of the National Science Foundation.

Application Deadline(s) (due by 5 p.m. submitter’s local time):

November 02, 2009

Interdisciplinary Fields of Study

November 04, 2009

Mathematical Sciences; Computer and Information Sciences and Engineering

November 05, 2009

Social Sciences; Psychology; Geosciences

November 06, 2009

Life Sciences

November 10, 2009

Chemistry; Physics and Astronomy

November 12, 2009

Engineering

Contact Jodi Lehman in the Graduate School (jglehman@mtu.edu or 487-3513) for

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Grassroots Development Fellowships

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The Inter-American Foundation, a United States government agency that funds grassroots development in Latin America and the Caribbean, announces its 2010-2011 Fellowship cycle.

IAF Fellowships support dissertation research in Latin America and the Caribbean undertaken by students who have advanced to Ph.D. candidacy in a university in the United States.  Fellows must be U.S. citizens or citizens of the independent Latin American countries.  Proficiency in the language(s) appropriate to the research proposal is required.

Awards are based on both development and scholarly criteria.  Proposals should offer a practical orientation to field-based information on the following topics:
•     Organizations promoting grassroots development among the poor;
•     the financial sustainability and independence of such organizations;
•     trends affecting historically excluded groups,i.e., African descendants, indigenous peoples, women, and others;
•     transnational development;
•     the role of corporate social responsibility in grassroots development;
•     the impact of globalization on grassroots development;
•     the impact of grassroots development activities on the quality of life of the poor.

The Fellowship includes:
•     round-trip international transportation to the research site;
•     a research allowance of $3,000;
•     a monthly stipend of $1,500 for up to 12 months;
•     health insurance;
•     expenses related to required attendance at a mid-year conference.

For more information on this exceptional grant opportunity, including application instructions and additional information on the deadline, visit www.iie.org/iaf .

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New Geoscience Graduate Program Builds Global Partnerships in Education and Research

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Tech Today

Michigan Tech has received support from the US Department of Education to fund a new, international, joint master’s program in volcanology and geotechniques.

The new program, INVOGE (International Volcanology and Geotechniques), will build on Michigan Tech’s well-known graduate programs and global research in volcanology and geohydrology and will allow students to spend a significant part of their graduate study on campuses in France and Italy and at worldwide research sites, such as the University of Reunion’s in the French Indian Ocean.

At Michigan Tech, INVOGE leads to a Master of Science in Geology with concentrations in volcanology or engineering geology, and exchanges could begin as early as this fall.

The European partner institutions are Universite Blaise Pascal in Clermont Ferrand, France, and the University of Milan-Bicocca, Italy. Both are well-known for their volcanology and engineering geology programs that attract students from all over Europe.

The State University of New York at Buffalo is the fourth institution that is part of INVOGE and possesses similar strengths in its graduate geology programs.

The program brings funding of $460,000 to Michigan Tech and SUNY-Buffalo and a similar amount of money to the European partner universities over the next five years. The funds are mainly for student and faculty travel.

“This is the type of educational partnership that helps us build more-advanced degree programs and a larger, more-robust faculty and research facility,” said Bill Rose, professor of petrology and principal investigator in the program.

“Our students in volcanology will now have access to very strong programs in petrology and experimental volcanology, as well as new field sites for volcano work,” he added.

“This program builds on Bill’s long-term efforts to collaborate with other universities to internationalize graduate education,” said Jackie Huntoon, dean of the Graduate School. “It is exciting that our students will have the opportunity to experience different cultures and make connections that will benefit them throughout their careers. Volcanologists really need to have a global perspective in order to conduct relevant research. This program is going to help our students become future leaders in their field.”

Rose said that the effort builds on successful exchange programs also funded by the Department of Education in geosciences over the past five years involving Canadian and Mexican universities.

“As a leader in volcanology research in the US, we need to ensure the breadth and excellence of our research program and provide the best possible opportunities for our students, if we want to continue to attract the best and brightest students,” Rose added. “The chance to build an international advisory committee and work on volcanoes all around the world will help us achieve that goal.”

The INVOGE web page is located at www.geo.mtu.edu/~raman/INVOGE .

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Shane Ferrell Presents at International Conference

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Tech Today

Pasi Lautala, director of the Rail Transportation Program, and graduate student Shane Ferrell (CEE) recently presented the paper “Cold Climate Freight Railroads” at the International Heavy Haul Conference in Shanghai, China. Ferrell was one of six students worldwide sponsored by the IHHA to participate in the conference.

Lautala and Ferrell also made invited presentations about Michigan Tech and its Rail Transportation Program at Shijiazhuang Railway Institute and the Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute (CAREERI), in Lanzhou, China.

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Facilitators sought for Graduate School Orientation

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The Graduate School needs your help in welcoming our new graduate students and helping them successfully begin their career at Michigan Tech.  Faculty, staff and student volunteers are needed to facilitate discussion during orientation.  This is your opportunity to help enhance graduate education at Michigan Tech.

The training will help graduate students and advisors set expectations for graduate education and introduce students to basic concepts in responsible conduct for research.  The program centers around an interest based approach that has been developed by Michigan State for use in their graduate programs.

Volunteers will help facilitate discussion at a table with six or seven new graduate students.  The discussion will center around two vignettes that depict typical graduate student and faculty interactions.  Volunteers will participate in one of the training sessions offered on Monday, August 24th from 1:00 – 3:00pm and Tuesday, August 25th from 10am – noon.

Orientation begins at 9am on Wednesday, August 26th.

If you would like to volunteer, please register at:

http://www.gradschool2.mtu.edu/registration/events/

After registering, you will receive a confirmation e-mail with the locations for the training and orientation, along with reminders as we get closer to the event.

Please contact Debra Charlesworth with any questions about orientation.

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July 7(2pm): An Introduction to Adobe Acrobat

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This seminar along with handouts is now available online.  Look in the Archives for the July 7, 2009 seminar.  It will be online for approximately one year.

Join the Graduate School to learn the basics of Adobe Acrobat.  Michigan Tech has a site license for this software, and all theses and dissertations are required to be submitted using this file format.  We’ll talk about how to generate a pdf, how to edit a pdf file, how to embed fonts, and all about hyperlinks and bookmarks.

Please register for the event at our online registration site:

http://www.gradschool2.mtu.edu/registration/events/

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! The seminar will be taped and available online for those unable to join us at this time.

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