Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools (MAGS) annually solicits for nominations for the MAGS Distinguished Master’s Thesis Awards to recognize and reward distinguished scholarship and research at the master’s level.
Biological Sciences
Miles Corcoran
Environmental and Energy Policy
Amanda Kreuze
Biomedical Engineering
Ameya Narkar
I am grateful to be recognized as an honorable mention for the MAGS Distinguished Master’s Thesis Award. The completion of my project: “Exercise Is Medicine® on Campus: A National Analysis and Assessment of Community Impact” would not have been able to happen if not for my advisor Dr. Steven Elmer, my committee members Dr. Kamm and Dr. Petushek, as well as support from my lab members and the KIP department. As I work towards my dream of earning a medical degree and becoming a rural physician, Michigan Tech and Houghton will forever have a place in my heart.
Dr. Elmer and his lab introduced me to the American College of Sports Medicine’s Exercise is Medicine® On Campus (EIM-OC) initiative, which calls upon colleges and universities to promote physical activity on their campuses as a vital sign of health. This immediately became the forefront of my master’s thesis, as I was able to perform a national analysis of the distribution and impact of this 15-year initiative, while concurrently promoting physical activity on Michigan Tech’s campus and the surrounding Houghton County. Collectively, the findings from my thesis may help direct EIM-OC efforts to combat physical inactivity and improve health on campuses and their surrounding communities.
I would like to thank Dr. Elmer and the KIP Department for supporting me as a graduate student and providing me with opportunity to travel across the country to disseminate my work at regional and national conferences, as well as on campus and within the local community. Furthermore, I would like to thank the Houghton community for allowing me to contribute to local youth initiatives by teaching junior golf at Portage Lake Golf Course, and volunteer assistant coaching for the Houghton Gremlins JV hockey team. These are memories that I will never forget and I will be forever grateful for.
My journey at Michigan Technological University began in the fall of 2019 as an undergraduate in the Mechanical Engineering Department. From the start, I was captivated by mechanics and material behavior, eager to deepen my understanding beyond the standard curriculum. This curiosity ultimately led me to pursue a master’s thesis under the mentorship of the same remarkable faculty who had inspired my undergraduate studies.
In 2023, as I was completing my undergraduate degree, I was introduced to my research advisor, Dr. Susanta Ghosh, who welcomed me to his research team with open arms. Dr. Ghosh guided me into the world of research and helped me shape my research focus—a gift of mentorship for which I am endlessly grateful.
My research centered on understanding the fracture characteristics of 3D-printed lattice metamaterials. Advances in manufacturing techniques, material synthesis, and microstructure design have opened up boundless possibilities in material design. One of the critical properties that can be fine-tuned through these innovations is fracture toughness, essential for structural applications. My work sought to explore how variables such as relative density and build orientation affect the fracture toughness of octet lattice metamaterials through experimental fracture testing.
I extend my sincerest gratitude to the Graduate School and the Graduate Dean Awards Advisory Panel for nominating me for the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools Distinguished Master’s Thesis Award. I would also like to thank the Mechanical Engineering Graduate Department for this honor. Special acknowledgment goes to my advisor, Dr. Susanta Ghosh, for his relentless support, passion for research, and invaluable mentorship. His guidance has been pivotal in shaping my thesis and deepening my understanding of the field. I am truly fortunate to have had the chance to learn from him. Additionally, I want to express my appreciation to my committee members, collaborators, and lab team, whose support has been integral to my academic journey.
The Executive Committee of the Midwestern Association of Graduate Schools (MAGS) is soliciting nominations for the 2020 MAGS Distinguished Master’s Thesis Awards to recognize and reward distinguished scholarship and research at the master’s level. Michigan Tech may nominate one candidate in each disciplinary category.
Eligible students:
The 2021 competition will seek nominees in the fields of Social Sciences or Mathematics, Physical Sciences, and Engineering.
Please see our web page for complete details on eligibility and application procedures.
Nomination packets are due by 4pm, October 3, 2019 to the Graduate School via e-mail (gradschool@mtu.edu) or campus mail (address to Debra Charlesworth). Eligible students with a complete nomination packet will be evaluated by a panel of faculty from the University.
I arrived at Michigan Tech in 2017, after completing my bachelor’s in mechanical engineering at the University of Minnesota the previous year, deciding to pursue my graduate degree at Michigan Tech for its nationally ranked engineering program (and weather). I completed my masters at Michigan Tech in 2018 and am currently a Ph.D. student under my advisor Prof. Hassan Masoud.
My research consists of the study of complex fluids and transport phenomena; simply speaking I study the interactions of fluids with solid objects and how certain materials are transported within fluids by utilizing the combined tools of theoretical (mathematical), computational (computer simulation), and experimental analysis. Though to many people this may seem impractical or pointless, this research has numerous real-world applications. For example, for my master’s thesis, I researched the rate of evaporation of a liquid droplet when it rests on an inclined surface (sessile drop). Most people are familiar with sessile droplets from when it rains on your windshield or when you wash the dishes, however, most people don’t understand that it is these droplets that can lead to the stubborn stains on these surfaces. This is also known as the coffee ring effect. By understanding the way in which these droplets evaporate and deposit the suspended particles therein on these surfaces, we can develop ways to avoid this, or even utilize it to our advantage.
It is for this research and subsequent thesis that I have been nominated to represent the university for the MAGS/ProQuest Distinguished Thesis Award Competition.
I am extremely grateful and humbled to be nominated for this competition, and I especially want to thank my advisor Prof. Masoud, Dr. Predebon, and the graduate committee for this nomination and for recognizing my hard work. It is times like these that I am reminded of the fantastic community at Michigan Tech and am glad I decided to come here for my graduate education.
Jared’s top 3 tips for writing your fellowship essays:
1. Keep your research essay focused. It shows a certain amount of scientific maturity to be able to understand that your proposal consists of about 4 years of work (rather than 10-20).
2. Read the program announcement and know every detail. Pay close attention to formatting instructions (1 inch margins) and broader impacts criterion.
3. Have multiple professors read your essays, each faculty member will have a few really helpful tips. Professors will be brutally honest with you because they want to see you succeed–don’t take negative feedback personally. The trick is reconciling very positive reviews with very negative ones.
Find out what other fellows tips this Thursday, September 30th at 7:00 in Fisher 133.
Having the correct paper size and page number location is an important part of preparing a thesis or dissertation. Adobe Reader and Acrobat have tools that will help you verify these elements of your document.
Creating high quality images and embedding all fonts are two requirements of creating a thesis or dissertation. These two requirements will ensure that your document is presented at the highest quality and that the document appears the same on any computer, regardless of the fonts that are available. This tutorial will show how to check and select the conversion settings in Word to make sure your document meets the requirements.
Are you working on formatting corrections for your dissertation, thesis, or report? Do you need help?
Join Harriet King, coordinator of the Graduate School Communications Assistance Program for group work hours in the Library. These workshops are provided at no charge to students working on a dissertation, thesis, or report. Harriet is skilled with MS Office, Open Office, and Adobe Acrobat Pro, and can provide group tutoring and assistance during these open times – all sessions will be held in Library 242:
These rooms are equipped with PCs with University software, or you may bring your own laptop.
If you need additional help or prefer one-on-one assistance, please contact Harriet to arrange for times and inquire about the services available.
The Graduate School is pleased to announce the following programs have new theses and dissertations available in the J.R. Van Pelt and Opie Library:
See below for a detailed listing of the new documents available.