The SMART Scholarship Program was established by Congress to strengthen the DoD science and technology workforce with highly skilled science and engineering professionals. This unique and prestigious program provides scholarships, which include tuition and stipend support to undergraduate and graduate students pursuing degrees in the technical fields listed in the overview of the funding opportunity. While in school, participants perform research as summer interns at DoD laboratories and return to those laboratories after graduation to complete a period of obligated employment service. This provides scholars with a unique opportunity to perform research in their respective area of interest that they would not have otherwise been able to do. The post-graduation employment commitment is equal to or greater than the amount of time the student received scholarship funding under this program. The Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OASD(R&E))/Research Directorate (RD) manages the SMART Scholarship Program.
Registration is now open for the next Michigan Tech Community ESL class set to run weekly, from 7 to 9 p.m., Feb. 13 through April 10. While the class is targeted to the spouses of international scholars, there is also limited space available for spouses of international graduate students.
Depending on the needs and wishes of the participants, the course will be similar to the pilot program held during fall 2013. During the upcoming term, field trips are planned to help acquaint participants with the Keweenaw.
Due to the success of the pilot class, the course will again be sponsored by the Michigan Tech Office of the Provost with support from the Dual Career Program.
The registration fee is $10. Those interested should begin the registration process by emailing comlanguage@mtu.edu for details.
Published in Tech Today.
The National Science Foundation (NSF) and Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) are pleased to announce that they will sponsor a maximum of 20 young researchers to attend the 2nd annual Heidelberg Laureate Forum in Heidelberg, Germany, from September 21 through 26, 2014.
All nominations must be submitted before Monday, March 3, 2014 at 12:00 pm, Eastern Time. Further information about the program, including the Web site for submission of nominations, can be found online.
Specific eligibility criteria and a nomination form may be found on our web site: http://www.orau.org/hlf.
All applicants to the U.S. delegation must also apply to attend to the HLF Foundation at http://www.heidelberg-laureate-forum.org/call-for-application.
The annual Alumni Reunion is set for Thursday-Saturday, Aug. 4-6. Everyone is invited to enjoy the wide variety of activities and get reacquainted with old friends and former students.
The School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science (SFRES) is hosting a number of events to mark its 75th anniversary. Other special reunion groups include the Varsity/Jazz Singers; the classes of 1961, 1971, 1981, 1986, 1991 and 2001; the Golden Ms, volleyball, cross country, track and Nordic skiing alumni; and the Sigma Rho, Theta Tau and Kappa Delta Psi fraternities.
The Alumni Reunion registration area opens on Wednesday, Aug. 3, in the Memorial Union. You can get your tickets there for the reunion events listed below, unless otherwise indicated.
A full schedule of events is available on the Alumni Relations website.
Thursday, Aug. 4
Alumni Relations Director Brenda Rudiger will review reunion activities at the Welcome Breakfast, which begins at 8:30 a.m. A guided campus walking tour follows. Tickets for the breakfast are $12.
Two faculty members will discuss their work during two Tech Talks, to be held in Fisher 139. At 10 a.m., Professor Ann Maclean (SFRES) will present “Wood to Wheels: A Working Example of Interdisciplinary Research at Michigan Tech.” Associate Professor Tim Scarlett (SS) will follow at 11 a.m. with “Mining, Smelting and Mills, Oh My!”
At noon, you can join alumni reliving their dining hall experiences in Douglass Houghton Hall. Lunch tickets are $12.
The dedication ceremony for the Seaman Mineral Museum begins at 1:30 p.m. The new building is located on Sharon Avenue near Garnet Street, adjacent to the Advanced Technology Development Center.
At 3 p.m., the dedication ceremony for the Paul and Susan Williams Center for Computer Systems Research will be held on the fifth floor of EERC.
The Pasty Picnic begins at 4 p.m. on the campus green between EERC and Chem Sci. The meal includes salads, dessert, beverages and three things Tech alumni hold dear: pickled eggs, pasties and beer. A keg of Keweenaw Brewing Company product will be available. Tickets are $14.
At 5 p.m., the Keweenaw Alumni and Friends Chapter is hosting a free social at the Keweenaw Brewing Company. All alumni and friends are welcome.
SFRES is hosting Outdoor Movie Night, featuring the Tom Hanks movie “Big.” The movie begins at 9:30 p.m. in the forestry building parking lot. Bring a lawn chair if you have one.
Friday, Aug. 5
President Glenn Mroz will present an update on the University at the All-Class Alumni Breakfast, set for 8:30 a.m. in the Memorial Union Ballroom. Tickets are $12.
The Ford Forestry Center in Alberta will hold an open house from 9:30 a.m. to noon, including tours of the historic sawmill.
The Class of 1961 Golden M Pinning Ceremony begins at 10 a.m. in Memorial Union Ballroom B. Also at 10 a.m., class year gatherings for the other recognized classes will be held in the Memorial Union’s Keweenaw Commons.
You can join students for a casual lunch in Wadsworth Hall between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. The cost is $8.
Most University departments and the J. R. Van Pelt and John and Ruanne Opie Library are holding open houses Friday afternoon, starting at 1:30 p.m.
At 2 p.m., Admissions will lead guided campus tours, starting at its office on the ground floor of the Administration Building.
SFRES will present its alumni awards at 3 p.m., followed by a tree-planting ceremony honoring Gene Hesterberg. The former department head passed away in September.
At 6 p.m., see volleyball alumnae battle it out during a reunion game in the SDC.
The annual Alumni Reunion Dinner begins at 5:30 p.m. with a social hour. Dinner is served at 6:30 p.m., following class pictures. Tickets are $30.
Saturday, Aug. 6
This is the day to get away from campus and see the Keweenaw. First, you can canoe the Sturgeon River, hosted by the Outdoor Adventure Program. It’s a nice, easy paddle with some great scenery. Tickets, including snacks, transportation and all necessary gear, are $25. Participants meet at the Memorial Union at 9 a.m. and return about noon.
SFRES will hold an open house at the Otter River Cabin from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Directions to the cabin, located southeast of Tapiola, are posted on the School’s reunion website.
At noon, tour the historic Quincy smelting works, located in Ripley on M-26. Hard hats are provided for this fascinating 45-minute visit to an historic industrial complex. Cost is $5, payable at the site.
The Alumni Reunion Golf Outing begins at 12:30 p.m. This four-person scramble is supported by the School of Business and Economics and open to all. The top three teams receive cash prizes, and all golfers get a swag bag. The cost is $45 per person, $25 for students. To register, email golfouting@mtu.edu or call Rebecca Middlebrook at 487-2788.
Visit some of the area’s famous waterfalls with the Outdoor Adventure Program. Participants meet at the Memorial Union at 2 p.m. and head out to see Hungarian Falls, Jacob Falls, Eagle River Falls, and more. After the 2-1/2-hour tour, enjoy a lakeside cookout, which is included. Tickets are $30.
At 5 p.m., alumni from the Jazz and Varsity Singers gather in the Rozsa for an open mic session. Everyone is invited, and the event is free.
Published in Tech Today.
As Michigan Governor Rick Snyder takes the podium at Delta College today to talk about the need for more highly skilled workers to meet Michigan employers’ needs, Michigan Tech reports that its job placement rate has risen to an astonishing 94.6 percent.
At its most recent Career Fair in September, the University hosted 720 recruiters from 245 companies. Students participated in more than 4,200 interviews at the event and in the days immediately following it. The University has another Career Fair scheduled for February 2012.
“Employers measure us by the performance of our alumni working at their companies,” said Jim Turnquist, director of Career Services. “We have a reputation for excellence.”
And employers are willing to pay for excellence, Turnquist noted. For example, the average salary reported by a 2011 Michigan Tech graduate in software engineering was $67,000; biomedical engineering, $60,000; and electrical engineering, $58,561. The national average salary of a 2011 college graduate was $51,171, according to the latest report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers.
In Snyder’s fifth special message to the Legislature since he took office Jan. 1, the governor is expected to outline his plan for improving ties among employers, educators and students to better match job skills to employers’ needs.
“At a time when many are questioning the value of a college education, we stress an education that meets both the needs of the students and the requirements of industry. It’s part of our DNA at Michigan Tech,” said President Glenn Mroz. “We work hand in hand with the industries that employ our graduates, through co-ops, internships and our signature Enterprise Program–where students work in teams to solve industry problems–to make sure our graduates are well-qualified to enter the workforce.”
During the economic downturn in 2009, the University’s traditionally high job placement rate dropped to 83.1 percent, still well above the national average of 63.7 percent. But Turnquist saw the economy starting to take a turn for the better in late 2010, as more recruiters began coming to campus.
“Companies are retooling and reengineering, and they’re hiring our people to do it,” he said.
by Jennifer Donovan, director, public relations
Published in Tech Today
From an early age, I was interested in automobiles and machines. So, when the time came to decide on which path to choose for my undergrad degree, I chose Mechanical Engineering without any doubt. That eventually led me to Michigan Tech to pursue a master’s degree in mechanical engineering. At Michigan Tech, I got the opportunity to work with Dr. Darrell Robinette on Connected Vehicle research as part of the Department of Energy’s ARPA-E NEXTCAR project. This project opened a whole new world of opportunities into the possibilities and the impact vehicle connectivity and automation could have on our daily lives. So, with some inspiration from Dr. Robinette and Dr. Jeffrey Naber, as my co-advisors, I decided to pursue a doctoral degree in Mechanical Engineering with a focus on leveraging vehicle connectivity and automation to improve energy efficiency of passenger vehicles.
On my PhD journey, I got the opportunity to work on the Department of Energy’s “Energy Optimization of Light and Heavy-Duty Vehicle Cohorts of Mixed Connectivity, Automation and Propulsion System Capabilities via Meshed V2V-V2I and Expanded Data Sharing” where we demonstrated on-track, the energy savings potential of multi-vehicle cohorts using connectivity and automation. I was also lucky to be part of the Department of Energy’s “Connected and Automated Vehicle Model Validation” project and the General Motors sponsored SAE AutoDrive Challenge II. Along with this, I also got the opportunity to spend six months as a Research Intern at General Motors’ Software Defined Vehicle Research Laboratory, where I worked on implementing perception systems and multi-object tracking algorithms for a simulation environment.
For my PhD research, I investigated the energy saving potential of various vehicle cohort combinations that could have while driving on a limited access highway, leveraging connectivity to optimize powertrain operation on various hybrid electric vehicles and train a neural network to use connected vehicle information to chart a course through an urban driving environment.
I want to use this opportunity to express my sincere gratitude towards Graduate School, dean and the Graduate Dean Awards Advisory Panel for awarding me the Finishing Fellowship for the Summer of 2025. This fellowship will greatly help me complete my doctoral research and extend my professional career. Along with that, I would like to thank the Department of Energy’s ARPA-E and Vehicle Technologies Office for providing support throughout my PhD along with General Motors and the Society of Automotive Engineers. I am also deeply grateful to my co-advisors, Dr. Darrell Robinette and Dr. Jeffrey Naber for their support and guidance throughout the years at Michigan Tech.
The Professional Research Experience Program (PREP) is designed by the NIST Boulder Laboratories to provide valuable laboratory experience and financial assistance to undergraduate, graduate, and post-graduate students. Fellowships are awarded to assure continued growth and progress of science and engineering in the United States.
For additional information about research areas at NIST go to www.boulder.nist.gov.
All PREP applicants must be full-time students, who are U.S. citizens (or hold permanent residence visas) and have and maintain at least a 3.0 GPA.
Deadline: May 28, 2010
Contact Information:
For questions, please contact
Rosemary O’Connor
Office of the Director
NIST
325 Broadway, MC 104.01
Boulder, CO 80305-3328
(303) 497-5238
roconnor@boulder.nist.gov
The MBA Student Association is leading the “Adopting a Family” program this holiday season.
Help collect unused clothing, toys and other items for a local family with four boys aged 5, 9, 11 and 12 who love hockey, floor hockey and LEGOs. The boys wear medium T-shirts and sizes 12, 12 slim, 10 husky, and 5T pants.
Place items in the “Adopt a Family” box in the lobby of the AOB. Feel free to wrap your donations, but attach a note telling what’s inside.
As well, cash donations will be accepted in the office of the School of Business and Economics and will be used to purchase food and other necessities for the family’s holiday celebration.
Donations will be accepted until Wednesday, Dec. 21. For more information please contact the MBA Association President Zachary Hitt at zthitt@mtu.edu.
Posted in Tech Today.
John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship from the National Sea Grant Office (NSGO)
The NOAA Sea Grant John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship, established in 1979, provides a unique educational experience to graduate students who have an interest in ocean, coastal and Great Lakes resources and in the national policy decisions affecting those resources. The program matches highly qualified graduate students with “hosts” in the legislative and executive branch of government located in the Washington, D.C. area, for a one year paid fellowship. Provides up to $56,500 to each Fellow.
http://seagrant.noaa.gov/FundingFellowships/KnaussFellowship.aspx
Far from their devastated homeland, Haitian members of the Michigan Tech community struggled to track down family members and friends in the wake of last week’s disasterous earthquake. Here is the story of Fredline Ilorme, a graduate student in civil engineering, who writes about the longest 24 hours of her life.
“Hello Global Citizens,
“The day looked like any other day to me as I woke up and got ready, thinking about everything I needed to accomplish. I was far from thinking about my family in Haiti, how long it had been since I talked to them and the last things we said.
“However, sometime in the evening, everything changed. I had just gotten to my office when I received a call from a friend about an earthquake in Haiti. A quick Google, and I had an idea of the magnitude of the situation. My first thoughts: my family. Are they okay? Did the house fall on them?
“Quickly rushed back home and spent the entire night trying to reach any one of them by phone. To no avail. News was bad. Many of our most cherished historical buildings–the national palace, the ministries, the cathedral, some hospitals and schools–had fallen. All in thirty seconds. Did my people have time to escape? As I gathered info from my friends on Facebook and through some other friends by phone and online, things seemed dire. Some of my friends had been able to reach their families; they were okay. But still I could not reach any of mine.
“As I watched the videos, the images of the fallen structures, I thought I was losing all I have ever had: my family, my friends, my country. How could this happen? What had we done to deserve this? Weren’t the past year’s four hurricanes enough?
“My friends on Facebook, the ones who called or emailed trying to give me hope, told me to keep trying, and tomorrow I might reach them. I felt hopeless. Why hadn’t they answered till now if other people had found out about their loved ones? They must be gone as everything around them.
“I got tired of staying inside. Went for a drive, but the car could not get me to my people. Could only get me around Houghton. Wasting gas, polluting the environment, and putting myself at risk for nothing. That’s not what my parents would have wanted me to do.
“Went back home. Got some rest and continued the calls. And early the next morning, a miracle happened. I got through. I reached Jessie, a former Tech student. She was alive. Quick talk as no electricity to recharge phones, but she said she’s okay. Continued trying. I got one of my aunties for five seconds. FIVE seconds. But I heard her voice. She was alive. Could the other ones still be? Continued calling and found her again. She said everyone was fine except for two they had not heard from, but that did not mean they were not okay. Sigh of relief. This was good news. They had survived. I regained strength.
“As emails of comfort and support kept pouring in, I continued to regain more strength. I had not lost everything. The country was still worth being rebuilt, for them, with them. Now that I was stronger, I could help others. Tried to locate their loved ones for them and offered advice and comfort. During the next day, got confirmation that all of my family was okay.
“Still, not everyone was as lucky as my family. Casualties are high, and there is lots of damage. But I have hope. Hope for Haiti. Because its citizens acted bravely in the face of this terrible tragedy. Because they were there for each other, and because since everything has started, every country in the world has been with us, from the closest ones–Dominican Republic, Cuba, Puerto Rico, United States, Canada, Brazil, Venezuela, Colombia; some further away, like France and Spain; and some even further, like China.
“But closer to me, the response has also been amazing–the number of emails and calls from students, faculty and staff at Tech and organizations like NOSOTROS [Tech’s Hispanic Student Organization] have given me hope. Rebuilding will be tough, but we will do it together, with our countrymen and our friends and partners from around the world.
“Thanks to you all, and thanks for keeping Haiti in your thoughts and prayers.”