Doctoral Finishing Fellowships Fall 2017 Teresa Wilson

Teresa Wilson
Physics

Teresa WilsonBefore entering graduate school, I earned my BA in Mathematics at Gonzaga University in Spokane, WA and taught middle and high school STEM classes at an all-girls school in Post Falls, ID. I began my graduate studies here at Michigan Tech in Fall 2012. I am currently a PhD Candidate in Physics working with Dr. Robert Nemiroff. I research and develop new methods to predict sunrise and sunset times, specifically looking at how to better implement atmospheric refraction into the currently used sunrise/set algorithms. During my studies at Michigan Tech, I have been able to create a collaboration with the Astronomical Applications Department at the US Naval Observatory with the help of Dr. Jennifer Bartlett, their Software Division Chief. This collaboration has led to three successful summers of research on the development of a new sunrise/set algorithm at their facilities in Washington, DC as part of the Naval Research Enterprise Internship Program.

Michigan Tech has provided me an environment in which I was able to take the initiative to follow my research interests and create an outside network to achieve my goals. I am grateful to the Graduate School and the Dean’s Advisory Panel for providing me with the support of the Finishing Fellowship. This fellowship allows me the opportunity to focus on writing my dissertation and complete it in a timely manner.

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Michigan Tech is coming to Thailand

Pushpa Murthy, Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School will be traveling to Bangkok with Jacque Smith, Director of Graduate Enrollment Services at Michigan Technological University. They will be attending the OCSC International Education Expo 2017 on November 11th and 12th (http://www.ocscexpo.org).

We would like to encourage you to stop by our OCSC Expo booth (B6) and say hi and help us recruit more Thai students for Michigan Tech. On Sunday, when the OCSC Expo ends (18:00) please consider meeting us at the Michigan Tech booth and we will be happy to host an Alumni dinner, please register HERE. We will give you updates and answer your questions on what’s happening on campus.

Portage Health Foundation Fall 2017 Ashok Khanal

Ashok Khanal
Chemistry
Ashok Khanal

I received my Master degree in organic chemistry from Nepal. The final touch that shaped my interest in organic chemistry came after studying different iconic organic reactions and synthesis that had pushed the limit of human endeavors to synthesize molecules to catch up with the escalating need for the drug, and brought new avenues in the field of chemistry. I began my PhD at Michigan Tech in Jan 2012. I published different papers in peer-reviewed journal.  My research focuses on stepwise solid phase synthesis of PEGs and measurement of mechanical force of single covalent bond.

This Portage Health Foundation fellowship helps me to write my dissertation. I would like to thank my advisor, graduate school and Portage Health Foundation for the achievement.

Career paths for PhD graduates

Did you know that the career paths for a PhD are (probably) infinite? Since all PhD students are trained in academic environment, the assumption has been that most doctoral students enter academia after graduation. This assumption, however, is not based in current reality. Graduates can find rewarding careers in industry, government labs, and a variety of academic positions. Read more about this in the Chronicle of Higher Education, where they profile a number of participants in a Preparing Future Faculty program and see where their careers are today.

Michigan Tech in India

Pushpa Murthy, Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School will be traveling in India in late October, 2017. She will be in Bangalore on Sunday, October 22 and would like to meet with Tech alumni in India, catch up with news at your end, and share what is happening at Michigan Tech and in Houghton.

If you are interested in meeting up for tea around 4pm on October 22, please contact Mary Stevens at mjsteven@mtu.edu prior to October 11th to RSVP. A venue will be set once we know how many people will be joining us.

Amelia Earhart (AE) Fellowship from Zonta International

Zonta Awards 35 annual AE Fellowships worth $10,000.00 to talented women pursuing Ph.D./doctoral degrees in aerospace-related science or aerospace-related engineering.  More information and applications can be found with a quick internet search or here: https://www.zonta.org/Global-Impact/Education/Amelia-Earhart-Fellowship

The next AE Fellowship application deadline is November 15, 2017.

Formatting and submitting dissertation, thesis, or report help sessions for Fall 2017

Are you working on formatting corrections for your dissertation, thesis, or report? Do you need help? Are you unsure where to submit your dissertation, thesis, or report?

Join the Graduate School (gradschool@mtu.edu) for group work hours. These workshops are provided at no charge to students working on a dissertation, thesis, or report. Staff will able to help with the changes required by the Graduate School for these documents in MS Office. Assistance will also be available for converting documents to PDF from Word and how to make simple corrections and check your document in Adobe Acrobat. The workshops will be in rooms with PCs with University software, or you may bring your own laptop. Distance students may contact gradschool@mtu.edu about remote assistance during these times via web conferencing.  If you need additional help outside of these times, please contact the Graduate School.  On a limited basis, one-on-one assistance may be available. Please contact the Graduate School for more information.

All workshops will be held from on the following dates at the mentioned time:

  • Wednesday, November 15, 2017 | 11am – 1pm | Dillman 101
  • Friday, December 1, 2017 | 11am – 1pm | EERC 723
  • Monday, December 4, 2017 | 11am – 1pm | EERC 723– Deadline for Fall 2017 is 4pm on December 4
  • Thursday, December 14, 2017 | 10am – 12pm | EERC 723
  • Wednesday, December 20, 2017 | 11am – 1pm | EERC 723

Portage Health Foundation Fall 2017 Wenkai Jia

Wenkai Jia
Biomedical Engineering
Wenkai Kia

My name is Wenkai (Vicky) Jia, and I am from a seaside city located in northeast China. My interests are in biology and chemistry and I chose Bio-functional Materials as my undergraduate major in Beijing University of Chemical Technology. I joined Dr. Feng Zhao’s lab in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and kept working in the area of tissue engineering from 2015. My current research is applying stem cells as regenerative medicine to treat lymphedema and investigating the mechanism underneath. We anticipate that stem cell therapy could cure lymphedema and it would perform better and be more promising than conventional treatments.

Doctoral Finishing Fellowships Fall 2017 Liang Chang

Liang Chang
Materials Science and Engineering
Liang Chang

Liang Chang received her BS and MS degrees in Materials Science and Engineering from Wuhan University of Technology in China. Now, she is pursuing her PhD degree in MTU from 2013 under the instruction of Prof. Yun Hang Hu. Currently, her research focuses on electrode materials for supercapacitors, carbon electrodes for CDI water treatment, and 2D transition metal dichalcogenides for devices. After 4 years systematic training, she is confident and looks forward to fulfilling her career in contributing to energy storage area.