Search Results for "thesis and dissertations MS Office tips"

Copyright Workshop for Graduate Students

What’s copyright and what does it have to do with your dissertation? Do you need permission to use someone else’s figure or image, or an article you wrote? Should you make your thesis open access? And what is a Creative Commons license? Get the answers to these and other questions at the library workshop: “Copyright and Your Dissertation, Thesis, or Master’s Report.”

In this workshop, you’ll learn the role U.S. copyright law plays in writing and publishing your report, thesis or dissertation. We will explore the legal use of copyrighted material, publishing agreements and Creative Commons licensing, and the role of Michigan Tech’s institutional repository Digital Commons @ Michigan Tech. After this workshop, you will be prepared to make informed decisions about using copyrighted material and the publishing options for your dissertation, thesis or master’s report.

Join us on Oct. 14 at noon in the Van Pelt and Opie Library, Room 244. Registration is required.

Copyright Workshop for Graduate Students

by Van Pelt and Opie Library

What’s copyright and what does it have to do with your dissertation? Do you need permission to use someone else’s figure or image, or an article you wrote? Should you make your thesis open access? And what is a Creative Commons license? Get the answers to these and other questions at the library workshop: “Copyright and Your Dissertation, Thesis, or Master’s Report.”

In this workshop, you’ll learn the role U.S. copyright law plays in writing and publishing your report, thesis, or dissertation. We will explore the legal use of copyrighted material, publishing agreements, Creative Commons licensing and the role of Michigan Tech’s institutional repository, Digital Commons @ Michigan Tech. After this workshop, you will be prepared to make informed decisions about using copyrighted material and the publishing options for your dissertation, thesis, or master’s report.

Please join us in Library 244 at noon on Monday (March 21). Registration is required.

$12.5 Million in Recovery Act Funding for STEM Graduate Fellowships

US Department of Energy

The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Science (SC) has established the DOE Office of Science Graduate Fellowship ( DOE SCGF) program to support outstanding students to pursue graduate training in basic research in areas of physics, biology, chemistry, mathematics, engineering, computational sciences, and environmental sciences relevant to the Office of Science and to encourage the development of the next generation scientific and technical talent in the U.S.

The Fellowship award provides partial tuition support, an annual stipend for living expenses, and a research stipend for full-time graduate study and thesis/dissertation research at a U.S. academic institution for three years.

The application deadline is November 30th.

For more information on eligibility and how to apply please click here.

New Leahy-Smith America Invents Act (AIA) Patent Law Affecting Research Commercialization

The Leahy-Smith America Invents Act ( AIA), also known as the Patent Reform Act of 2011, went into effect on March 16, bringing with it significant changes to the US Patent system.  The most important change from the AIA law moves the United States to a first-to-file system from the previous first-to-invent system.  Whereas the old system provided inventors with a mechanism to prove they were the first to invent and secure patent protection, the new system is essentially a race to the patent office.  If two independent researchers came up with the same invention at the same time, the first one to file a patent application will be awarded the patent.  In the past you could rely on dated lab notebooks and notes to prove you were the first one to invent.

The old system also provided a one-year grace period to file a US patent from the time the invention was publicly disclosed. Until the new patent laws are clarified through future court case rulings, researchers should consider any public disclosure a patent-barring event.

The increasingly stringent requirements for patents to include a complete and enabling written description, compounded with the effective loss of the one year grace period, makes it more important than ever to prepare and submit invention disclosure documents to the Office of Innovation and Industry Engagement well in advance of any planned public disclosures.  Early submission of invention disclosure documents will assist in the timely development of strategies related to technology validation and related patent-filing activities before conference presentations, manuscript publications, thesis/dissertation defenses, or other events.

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Michigan Tech’s Innovation and Industry Engagement Office at 487-2228.

Published in Tech Today

Spring 2013 Professional Development Series

The Graduate School is pleased to announce it’s spring seminar series.  Designed to help students prepare for careers as researchers in an academic community, attendees will learn about publishing, proposals, and project management.

Please join us on one or all of the following dates for a brown-bag lunch and learn (noon – 1pm).  Light snacks and beverages will be provided.  Seating is limited; please register to reserve a seat and receive the room location.  Students may also choose to view the seminar online (live streaming or recorded).

  • March 20 | Publishing, Presenting, and Building your Reputation
    • Learn strategies to build your professional reputation through writing and presenting your research
  • April 3 | The Art of Proposal Development
    • Learn from a panel of experienced proposal writers how to craft successful and compelling proposals to meet the requirements of specific funding opportunities.
    • Take-away tips will be applicable for a variety of proposals, including graduate fellowships, research proposals, outreach events, and related proposal opportunities.
    • Co-sponsored with the Sponsored Programs Office.
  • April 24 | Project Management
    • Learn time-tested strategies for steering research projects to successful completion within the context of a complex and demanding graduate student experience

Seminar on Competitive Fellowships

Many federal agencies solicit highly competitive graduate fellowship/scholarship applications. In particular, Michigan Tech students have had success with the following:

The Sponsored Program Enhancement office is offering a series of seminars/workshops to help eligible domestic first-year graduate students and senior undergraduate students understand what opportunities are available and help them develop a competitive application.

  • Overview of Funding Opportunities
    Sept. 8, 4 to 5 p.m., Memorial Union Peninsula Room
  • Writing the Personal Essay and References
    Sept. 15, noon to 1 p.m., Memorial Union Peninsula Room
  • Tips from Real Panel Reviewers
    Sept. 22, noon to 1 p.m., Memorial Union Ballroom B3
  • Writing Research Essays
    Sept. 6, 4 to 5 p.m., Memorial Union Peninsula Room
  • Peer Review Workshop
    Sept. 13, 4 to 5 p.m., Memorial Union Peninsula Room
  • Peer Review Workshop
    Sept. 20, noon to 1 p.m., Memorial Union Ballroom A2

For more information, contact Jodi Lehman at jglehman@mtu.edu .

Formatting Assistance Sessions for Spring 2016

Are you working on formatting corrections for your dissertation, thesis, or report? Do you need help? Join Harriet King (gscap@mtu.edu), coordinator of the Graduate School Communications Assistance Program for group work hours. 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. 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.

All workshops will be held in Dillman 213 at the following times:

  • Friday, April 8, 2016: 9am – noon
  • Sunday, April 10, 2016: 2-5pm
  • **cancelled** Thursday, April 21, 2016
  • **added** Sunday, April 24, 2016: 2-5pm
  • Thursday, April 28, 2016: 9am – noon

Formatting Assistance for Summer 2016

Are you working on formatting corrections for your dissertation, thesis, or report? Do you need help? Join Harriet King (gscap@mtu.edu), coordinator of the Graduate School Communications Assistance Program for group work hours. 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. These rooms are equipped with PCs with University software, or you may bring your own laptop. Distance students may contact Harriet about remote assistance during these times via web conferencing.  If you need additional help outside of these times or prefer one-on-one assistance, please contact Harriet to arrange for times and pricing for the services available.

All workshops will be held in Dillman 213 from 1-4pm on the following dates:

  • Wednesday, July 27, 2016
  • Wednesday, August 3, 2016
  • Wednesday, August 10, 2016
  • Wednesday, August 17, 2016

How to use the Edit Text Tool

Adobe Acrobat has a Edit Text & Images Tool for content editing. This tool can be used to do minor text edits, such as deleting a small amount of text, or fixing a spelling mistake.

Open your pdf file, and select Edit Text & Images by clicking on “Tools” and selecting it from the “Content Editing” section as shown in the screen shot below.  If you use the tool a lot, right click on the tool to “Add to Quick Tools” and it will appear on your toolbar.

Checking Your Margins Using Single Side Formatting

Welcome back to the Michigan Tech Graduate School Newsblog. Since Thesis, Dissertation, and Report writing season is in full swing now we thought it might be helpful to give you a brief reminder on how you can check your margins before submitting your document to the Graduate School.

There are two ways described in “The Guide” to format your dissertation, thesis, or report: Single Side and Double Side formatting. In the post below we will walk you through how to use Adobe Acrobat Pro to check your margins in a Single Side formatted document. If you’re using Double Side formatting, check out our post on that here!