Tabs can be used to align text in a document. This is very useful for lining up the numbers in the table of contents, equations in the body of the document, or lining up lists of items. Spaces should never be used to line up items, since each character in a font is a different width. Precise alignment of items is only possible with a tab.
Styles in Word are used to format text consistently throughout your document. Each paragraph may have a single style applied to it. For each paragraph, styles define the:
- Appearance of the text (bold, bulleted, size, font, etc.)
- Behavior of the paragraph (does it stay with the next paragraph? Have a page break before it?)
- Structure of the document (is this a heading meant for the table of contents?)
Styles are found on the Home tab of Word, in the Styles section (boxed in the figure below).
A PhD candidate in Industrial Heritage and Archaeology at Michigan Tech has given the residents of Minnesota’s Cuyuna Range a unique gift–a glimpse into the history of their own communities. Fred Sutherland is researching the history of the Cuyuna Range, an iron mining region between Brainerd and Aitkin, Minn., for his PhD dissertation. Earlier this month, he presented a summary of findings from a survey of nearly 900 historic buildings and sites along the Cuyuna Range.
When the built in styles don’t meet your needs for formatting paragraphs in Word, you will need to create your own styles. In this example, I will create a style for my paragraphs that contain equations.
Microsoft Word has a “feature” that compresses your images to 220ppi after saving. This saves file space for your documents, but images at this resolution do not meet Graduate School requirements for printing. This tutorial will show you how to turn off this feature for a single document.
We recommend doing all image editing in a program dedicated to that purpose, such as Photoshop, before inserting images into your Word document. Images must be at least 300ppi unless they are screenshots. Screenshots are only allowed when absolutely necessary to convey the information. All images must also be clear and readable. Increasing the resolution of a low resolution image to 300ppi will not be acceptable.
First, click on the File Button and select “Options” from the left hand menu.
Styles apply a common set of formatting to a paragraph within Word. In a previous post, we showed how to apply a style to a paragraph. This tutorial will show two ways to edit an existing style.
First, edit the text as you desire. In the example below, I have edited the text “Introduction” to be a different font (Adobe Garamond Pro Bold) and size (24 point) than the original Heading 1 style. We can tell Heading 1 is applied to this text because it is outlined in orange in the Style section of the ribbon.
I joined Michigan Tech in the Fall of 2016 to pursue my Ph.D. in Atmospheric Sciences. My research at Tech focused on the development of a numerical model to study the processes in the Michigan Tech Cloud Chamber advised by Dr. Raymond A. Shaw. Being part of the cloud chamber group, I experienced the synergy between theory, experiments, and numerical simulations first hand. These experiences have helped us as a group to understand the complexities and subtleties of a seemingly simple system and we have communicated these findings to the larger audience through conferences and publications. These expeditions were only been possible because of the collaboration with an open-minded approach to problems by the past and current group members of the cloud chamber group. Furthermore, during this short period of time – I had the opportunity to work with the scientists from Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Brookhaven National Laboratory on different but related projects to my thesis for extended periods.
Furthermore, my experience at Michigan Tech has been enhanced by the support from Dr. Ravindra Pandey (the Department Chair of Physics), the office staff (of Physics, of Atmospheric Science, of IPS), my colleagues and friends across the campus. Finally, I am grateful to the Graduate school for their support through a Doctoral Finishing Fellowship, which will allow me to finish writing my dissertation and research publications.
Academics are lucky – they get two (or three if you count summer) chances to start a fresh leaf every year. Each new start is an opportunity to re-energize yourself and be more productive. Are you looking for some inspiration on how to use technology to be more productive? If so, check out these two resources:
- Technology for a Paperless Office | presentation by the Graduate School
Learn about technology and tools to digitize information - Productivity and My Menu Bar Heroes | blog post by Gradhacker
Find technology and tools to be more productive – and they’re mostly free! - Introduction to Adobe Acrobat | presentation by the Graduate School
Create, check, and fix PDF documents – great for students preparing a thesis or dissertation or sharing their work with others
Dear Graduate Students,
We hope that this email finds you and your family doing well with the extraordinary circumstances we find ourselves in. We recognize that graduate students, in particular, are dealing with many issues that impact your degree progress, including balancing full-time work, loss of income, changed teaching positions, child care, research disruptions, and more. In recognition of these, and to minimize the anxiety and stress associated with them, the Graduate School has some policy changes and reminders for you.
- Probation and suspension: The process to place students on probation or suspension will be placed on hold for spring 2020. Students will maintain their current academic standing after semester grades are posted and no student will be suspended. Students currently on probation may return to good standing if their academic performance has improved in spring 2020. Dismissals (if any) will be handled on a case-by-case basis after consulting with the graduate program.
- Extensions given: The Graduate School normally places registration holds if students fail to complete the following in a timely manner: select an advisor, complete basic RCR training, and provide original proof of degree(s). For this semester, all the holds on registration will be released. This will give students additional time to complete these requirements and allow them to register for future semesters.
The following policy changes have been previously announced and are already in place:
- International students: May be registered for fewer than nine credits this semester without approval from International Programs & Services (IPS) and without impacting their student status.
- Supported students can be registered with fewer than nine credits without losing their support.
- Drop deadline extended: The deadline to withdraw from classes with a “W” grade has been extended to 5 p.m. on April 24. W grades do not impact cumulative GPA calculation, and any graduate student with a CD, D, or F in a class should strongly consider dropping classes to help maintain good standing.
- Deadlines for completing a dissertation, thesis, or report have been extended by the Graduate School.
Each graduate program has been asked to consider allowances to programmatic policies. Please consult with your graduate program to determine the changes to the following policies:
- BC/C grades: The Graduate School allows up to six credits of BC/C grades to be used toward completion of a graduate degree. Please consult with your graduate program director to determine if programmatic policies have changed for spring 2020.
- Deadlines for completion of exams: Please consult with your graduate program to determine if these deadlines have been changed.
- Number of attempts for completion of exams: Please consult with your graduate program to determine if you took a qualifying exam this semester, but did not pass it, whether an additional attempt will be allowed.
- Research progress: Please consult with your advisor to determine if there are changes that can be made to your project to account for any disruptions to your research to allow you to complete your degree in a timely manner.
- Delay in graduation for research-based MS degrees: Master’s students whose graduation is delayed because of research progress this semester may want to consider converting their degree to a coursework option. The Graduate School can allow research credits to be considered toward a coursework degree. Please reach out to your graduate program director for additional details.
We are concerned about your health and well-being. If you have concerns about your workload, educational experience, or personal matters, please contact us (gradschool@mtu.edu) so we can connect you with resources. Anna McClatchy, our Student Support Coordinator, is available to help students. HuskyFAN is available to provide emergency food for those in need. The University has gathered a wide variety of resources to assist students. Finally, Counseling Services is providing individual services, group sessions, and seminars through remote services and referrals.
We understand that you might have reservations about openly discussing your concerns. If you prefer, you may address concerns or questions confidentially. Students may contact Counseling Services at 906- 487-2538, or the Office of the Ombuds at speters@mtu.edu or 906-487-2391. Concerns can also be reported anonymously online.
Take the time you need to take care of yourself and your family. We wish you the very best as we navigate through these extraordinary times. Please reach out to us with any questions or suggestions you may have.
Sincerely,
The Graduate School
Bhakta Rath ’58 is the associate director of research and head of the Material Science and Component Technology Directorate of the US Naval Research Laboratory. He and his wife, Sushama, a computer analyst for the Virginia Community College System, have endowed an annual research award to an outstanding graduate student and faculty adviser for work that will help meet the nation’s needs and the challenges of emerging technologies. Attending the University’s 2011 Spring Commencement, Rath reminisced about his days at Michigan Tech more than 50 years ago and his vision for the future.
Luckily for Michigan Tech–and generations of graduate students and researchers here–Bhakta Rath never did get the hang of speaking German.
“After finishing my bachelor’s degree in India, I got a full scholarship to study in Germany,” Rath recalls. “But after six months trying to learn German, when all I could say was hello, good-bye and where is the bathroom, I realized that this was not the way to get a graduate education.”
So he came to Michigan Tech instead, with a BS in physics and mathematics and not a shred of engineering. When he sat down with the chair of the metallurgical engineering department, Corbin Eddy peered at Rath’s transcript and inquired: “Have you ever had a course in blast furnace?”
“No,” Rath replied.
“Open hearth?”
“No.”
“Welding?”
“No.”
He asked about several other undergraduate courses. The response was the same, “No.”
Eddy shook his head.
“You are going to have to take all the undergraduate courses you would need in preparation for this degree and earn at least a 3.0 in them, plus your graduate courses and thesis,” he said. “It’s going to take you nearly six years to get a master’s.”
Rath politely but firmly disagreed. “I can’t do that,” he said. “My parents are paying for me to study here. I promised to come home in two years with a master’s degree, and that’s what I’m going to do.”
It took a staggering load of over 30 courses a year, but Rath did what he said he’d do. Then his advisor, Roy Drier, dropped another bombshell. “You need to stay one more quarter and take the mandatory course in Michigan history, so we can give you a BS as well as an MS,” Drier told Rath.
But Rath, who had already been accepted to a PhD program at Illinois Institute of Technology (IIT) in Chicago, said no thanks. “I came here for a master’s; I’ll settle for the master’s,” he decided.
Despite his course load, Rath has happy memories of his time at Michigan Tech. He recalls staying in the old Scott Hotel in Hancock over Christmas break, when the University residence halls were closed. “It cost a lot–$1 a day–but with two of us sharing a room, it was only 50 cents each,” he says.
He’ll never forget his first ski adventure either. Some classmates took him up Mt. Ripley. Since Rath had never skied, they wanted to leave him on the easy slope. Rath was having none of that.
“If you are riding the lift to the top, I am, too,” he said. It took his friends about two minutes to ski to the bottom. “It took me two hours,” he says, “on my belly.”
Rath’s determination to complete his graduate degrees took another hit when he actually arrived at IIT. “You can start by forgetting everything you’ve learned at Michigan Tech,” he was told. “You’ll have to start all over and pass a 10-hour oral exam before you can even start on your PhD work.”
At the time, Michigan Tech was known as a practical engineering school, training students to work in heavy-industry settings. “The basic engineering Michigan Tech taught was the best in the country, but the University wasn’t preparing students to think about the basic science behind the engineering,” Rath explains. “Now a Tech education is much more science-based, and that’s a good thing, because we are not training students to work in blast furnaces and open hearths any more. We are preparing them to solve engineering problems, to create entirely new materials, processes and products.”
The engineering challenges are different now, Rath points out. “We used to focus on extracting raw materials and converting them to useable products. In what was then called the metallurgy department, it was all about metals, from mining to mineral dressing to processing. Now the spectrum is much broader, including polymers, ceramics, composites, semiconductors and all kinds of novel materials.”
One of the most serious challenges facing Michigan Tech and the nation today is the need to motivate more young people to go into science, technology, engineering and math, the STEM fields. Rath has made a commitment to help on that front through his work with the American Society for Materials (ASM) International Education Foundation. He is past president of the foundation and now serves on its board of trustees.
ASM develops nearly 50 summer camps for high school students and teachers, sponsored by the foundation, local industries and universities. Michigan Tech sponsored one in 2008.
“We need to excite American students about the STEM fields, and if you excite the teachers, they excite the students,” Rath explains. He has successfully talked the Office of Naval Research into funding summer teachers’ camps.
He’s a big fan of the hands-on approach to motivating the next generation. “Kids need to do things, to analyze real-world problems,” he says. “They need to look at a failed auto part and ask: ‘Why did this shaft fail, and how could we make it better?'”
The challenge of attracting young people to STEM studies is compounded by the trend in American business and industry to outsource not only manufacturing, but research and development.
“There aren’t enough American graduates to fill the STEM jobs,” says Rath. “Universities are training more and more foreign students in STEM fields, but they are returning to their homelands, not contributing to the intellectual capital of the US. This is a very serious challenge for the future of our country.”
by Jennifer Donovan, director of public relations
Published in Tech Today