Change in Portage Lake Lift Bridge Closures

The Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) will close the US-41/M-26 Portage Lake Lift Bridge between Houghton and Hancock for 10 hours beginning at 9 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 17.

The bridge is scheduled to reopen at 7 a.m. on Sunday, Jan.18. The hockey game on Saturday, Jan. 17, has been moved to 5:07 p.m. to accommodate Huskies fans north of the bridge. In case of a weather delay, an alternate bridge closure date of Jan. 24 has been set.

Short Closures Schedule Change
The contractor has notified MDOT the previously scheduled four two-hour closures for Jan. 20, 21, 22, and 23 from 2 to 4 a.m. will need to be rescheduled. The two-hour closures will be announced at a later date.

In addition to the Saturday, Jan. 17 closure, motorists should expect:

  • Nearly 170 intermittent 15- to 20-minute closures from January to March, between the 7 p.m. and 6 a.m.
  • One 11-and-a-half-hour closure on March 21 from 9 p.m. to 8:30 a.m. with an alternate date of March 28 in case of weather delay.

For more information, visit the bridge construction website or contact Travis Pierce at tlp@mtu.edu.

Originally posted in Tech Today (1/14/2015)

Fund Drive for Sanaz Nezami Gravestone

A fundraising campaign to pay for a gravestone for Sanaz Nezami is nearing the halfway mark in its efforts to raise $5,000. The Iranian Community at Michigan Tech is working to support the fund drive, which was started by one of the nurses who cared for Sanaz at Marquette General Hospital in Dec. 2013.

Nezami died as a result of injuries caused by her husband, who has since been convicted of second-degree murder.  She was about to begin graduate classes at Michigan Tech when she was beaten to death.
“Sanaz’s tragic death was a big shock to all of us,” said Sara Alian, a PhD student in the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science and president of the Iranian Community at Michigan Tech. “While no member of the Iranian Community at Michigan Tech had yet met her, we immediately felt as if she were a part of our small community as soon as the sad news was shared with us.”Like other Michigan Tech members, we learned about the beauty of Sanaz’s personality, the benevolence of her family in donating her organs and the sympathy and caring of the nurses and medical teams at Marquette General Hospital who went out of their way to connect her to her family in Iran during the last days of her life. I appreciate and strongly support the campaign to honor Sanaz by raising money for a gravestone for her. That’s the least we can do to honor her legacy.”

Anyone wishing to donate can do so at the crowdfunding site, CrowdRise.

Originally posted in Tech Today (1/13/2015)

Data Science for Social Good: Summer Fellowship

The Data Science for Social Good Summer Fellowship is running again in 2015 and the application deadline is coming up in two weeks (Feb 1st). The program is currently soliciting applications from strong students.

Applicants can be from a range of backgrounds, including: Computer Science, Machine Learning, Statistics, Social Sciences, and Public Policy.

Teams will spend 12 weeks over the summer working in partnership with a non-profit or government organization on projects related to education, health, sustainability, community & economic development, disaster relief, crime, social services, social justice, etc…. If you are interested, please apply!

Deadline: Feb 1, 2015
When: May-Aug 2015
Where: Chicago
Stipend: $11,000 – $16,000 (depending on experience)

see here for more information and application form: http://dssg.uchicago.edu/faq/

Seminar on Submitting your Dissertation, Thesis, or Report

Students planning on finishing a dissertation, thesis, or report in spring 2015 or summer 2015 are invited a seminar designed to help students understand the submission process and answer questions about it. Faculty and staff who assist students with submissions are also welcome to attend.

Once you register, you will receive a confirmation with the location and a reminder of the date and time, or information on how to join us online.

If you are unable to join us, this seminar will be taped and available online after the event.

Information on submitting, formatting, and more can be found online for dissertations and theses or reports.

Michigan Tech vs. Northern Michigan Blood Drive Jan. 15

The Michigan Tech vs. Northern Michigan Blood Drive will take place on Thursday, Jan. 15, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the East Reading Room of the Library. All of the blood collected by the UP Regional Blood Center stays in the Upper Peninsula to help supply our local communities in need. We hope to see you there. For questions, contact Whitney at wmborosk@mtu.edu.

Originally posted in Tech Today (1/12/2015)

Neuroscience Graduate Program Preview (all expense paid trip for selected applicants!)

The Neuroscience Graduate Program at the University of Michigan is hosting its annual preview event for prospective students March 26-28,2015.

Primary research fields of this department include the sensory, computational, developmental, cognitive, behavioral, molecular, and clinical branches of neuroscience.

This is an all-expense paid trip for highly qualified future Neuroscience applicants (see application for specific criteria) to visit the University and see everything we have to offer. Students will be able to meet with our faculty, learn about our program and the admissions process, participate in a workshop and interact with our graduate students.

Please see their website (http://neuroscience.med.umich.edu/ngp-preview) for details. Links to an informational flyer and the application files are at the bottom of the page.  The deadline for applications is January 15, 2015.

Safe Place Training Registration Open

Registration is now open for Spring 2015 Safe Place training.

The Michigan Tech Safe Place Program is a comprehensive resource to better prepare faculty and staff to address the needs of students who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, and/or asexual (GLBTQIA). The program addresses a wide range of terms that GLBTQIA students use to define their identities, issues that GLBTQIA students often deal with during the coming out process, and concerns that GLBTQIA students face both in and out of the classroom. Safe Place training also addresses the many ways faculty and staff can create inclusive classrooms and office environments as well as provide information to participants about how GLBTQIA identified students can report harassment and the various other on and off campus resources they can use. For times and dates of training, as well as additional information about the Safe Place program, visit the website.

Originally posted in Tech Today (1/6/2015)

Winter Break Shuttle Schedule

Transportation Services will be running a limited shuttle service during winter break, Dec. 22 through Jan. 9. The shuttle will be running on campus from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.  The shuttle service will include frequent stops throughout the day at the Lakeshore Center. The shuttle will not run on the following dates; Dec. 24, 25 and 31, as well as Jan. 1.

The City of Houghton will not be running on campus during winter break, Dec. 22 through Jan. 9. For questions, contact Angela Kolehmainen at amkolehm@mtu.edu or 7-3288.
Originally posted in Tech Today (12/19/2014)

2015 Nominations for DeVlieg Fellowships Open

Nominations are now open for the DeVlieg Foundation Fellowships.

All graduate programs may nominate one eligible PhD student per program.  There will be two recipients – each will receive a stipend for summer 2015 plus support for one credit of tuition.  Eligible students will meet all of the following criteria:

  1. Must be a graduate student in one of the fields supported by the DeVlieg Foundation:
    1. Engineering or a closely related field, OR
    2. Wildlife/biology (2015 Summer Research Award in Biology/Wildlife/Natural Resources)
  2. Must be a US citizen or permanent resident.
  3. Must be enrolled in a PhD program.
  4. Must be nominated by student’s graduate program.  Each PhD program may nominate one student.

Nominations are due no later than 4pm on January 29, 2015 to the Graduate School. Please address to the attention of Debra Charlesworth.

Please see our web page for details on the application procedure and materials needed.  Each program may determine its own internal selection procedure.

Please contact the Graduate School with any questions.