Graduate School Newsblog

Tag: Alumni

Attracting Underrepresented Graduate Students: GEM GRAD Lab This Saturday

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Rod Carter credits his graduate education at Michigan Tech for the strong problem-solving skills it takes to succeed at his job: high-level materials research for Boeing. A research and technology engineer, Carter was the first African American to earn a PhD in Chemical Engineering from Michigan Tech, in 2008.

During an all-day seminar at Michigan Tech on Saturday, Sept. 15, Carter will talk about the doors that graduate education opened for him. Called the GEM GRAD Lab, the meeting addresses a critical shortfall in US engineering and scientific talent, focusing specifically on recruiting more underrepresented students into graduate programs. GRAD stands for Getting Ready for Advanced Degrees.

“Students will leave the GRAD event with a definite plan on how to apply and gain funding, and hear about real-life research and internship experiences,” says Marcus Huggans, senior director of external relations for the National Consortium for Graduate degrees for Minorities in Engineering and Science, Inc., sponsor of the program. “GEM appreciates Michigan Tech’s Graduate School leadership to bring this workshop to students in the Upper Peninsula.”

Jacque Smith, Michigan Tech Graduate School director of marketing, explains: “It’s all part of an even larger goal of creating a pipeline for this talent to move on to corporations and organizations after receiving their graduate degrees.”

A major component of GEM is fellowships for Master of Science in engineering students or PhD students in engineering or science. The GEM fellowships include full tuition, summer internships and stipends.

His GEM fellowship has made all the difference to Sterling Prince, a doctoral candidate in electrical engineering. “The GEM Fellowship has been a blessing to my life,” says Prince. “It has strengthened my decision and given me confidence to achieve a doctorate in electrical engineering. It has provided the financial support I needed for my graduate program, allowing me to dedicate my time to my studies rather than working. The program has also provided me with the opportunity to work at a national laboratory, an experience that allowed me to see that I enjoy the area of scientific research and want to pursue it in my future.”

In addition to Carter, Prince and two other current Michigan Tech GEM fellows and PhD candidates–James Alexander and Tayloria Adams–will speak at Saturday’s seminar. Other speakers include Huggans; Patty Lopez, a component design engineer at Intel; and Howard G. Adams, founder and president of H. G. Adams and Associates, a consulting and training firm. Michigan Tech’s Associate Provost for Graduate Education Jackie Huntoon and Jodi Lehman, coordinator of proposal and fellowship development for sponsored program enhancement, will also speak.

More than 100 of the nation’s top universities, many Fortune 500 companies, and numerous national laboratories support GEM, which began in 1976. Since then, more than 3,000 GEM Fellows have gone on to successful careers. Michigan Tech has participated in GEM since the 1990s.

Registration for the free event starts at 9:30 a.m. Saturday at the Great Lakes Research Center.

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Paper is among most read articles

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A paper by Yun Hang Hu and graduate student Yan Huo was among the most-read articles in the Journal of Physical Chemistry during the second quarter of 2012. “Fast and Exothermic Reaction of CO2 and Li3N into C–N-Containing Solid Materials” showed that carbon nitride could be made in an exothermic reaction of carbon dioxide and a lithium compound. Read more about Hu’s discovery at Carbon Nitride.

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Sullivan to Address Graduates at Spring Commencement

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Martha Sullivan, the president of Sensata Technologies, will address more than 1,000 graduates during Michigan Tech’s Spring Commencement.

The University will honor the achievements of 854 undergraduates and 199 master’s and PhD candidates during ceremonies on Saturday, April 28.

Sullivan, who earned a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan Tech in 1983, was named president of Sensata in 2010, in addition to her role as chief operating officer and director of several of the company’s subsidiaries. Previously she was executive vice president and chief operating officer, a position she had held since Sensata was purchased by Texas Instruments in 2006.

Sullivan joined Texas Instruments in 1984 and rose through the ranks, attaining the post of vice president of Sensors in 1997. During her tenure, sensors revenue grew at a compounded annual growth rate of 11.2 percent with 10 consecutive years of growth, while profits increased by 23 percent annually.

Sensata Technologies is one of the world’s leading suppliers of sensing, electrical protection, control and power management solutions. The company, with revenues of $1.8 billion, has manufacturing and technology development centers in 11 countries and employs 11,500 people.

Sullivan is a member of the Presidential Council of Alumnae and the Academy of Mechanical Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at Michigan Tech and serves on the University’s Generations of Discovery Capital Campaign. She and her husband, Michael, have two children and live in Westport, Mass.

Published in Tech Today

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Alumnus Presents at Humanities Distinguished Lecture Series

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Gerald Savage, professor emeritus at Illinois State University, will present “Beyond Politeness: How Might We Make Social Justice a Central Value in Technical Communication Education” at 7 p.m., Thursday, March 29, in the Noblet Forestry Lecture Hall. There will be a reception to follow in the atrium.

Savage received master’s and PhD degrees in rhetoric and technical communication from Michigan Tech in 1991 and 1995. He will discuss communication across national and cultural boundaries and focus on “inequities of power and hierarchy.”

Savage comes as a part of the Humanities Distinguished Lecture Series

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Graduate has story selected for anthology

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Roxane Gay, who received her PhD in Rhetoric and Technical Communication from the Department of Humanities in 2010, has had a story, “North Country,” selected for the 2012 edition of Best American Short Stories, published by Houghton Mifflin Co.

Gay is the coeditor of [PANK] Magazine, along with Assistant Professor M. Bartley Seigel (Humanities). Her stories and poems have appeared or are forthcoming in New Stories From the Midwest 2011 and 2012, Best Sex Writing 2012, Salon, NOON, American Short Fiction, Indiana Review, Cream City Review, Black Warrior Review, Brevity, The Rumpus and others.

Gay is the author of Ayiti, a collection of writing about the Haitian diaspora experience. She is also a contributing writer at HTMLGIANT. She is an assistant professor of English at Eastern Illinois University. She can be found online at Roxane Gay.

Published in Tech Today

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Patullo Visiting Executive Series Continues with Healthcare Advertising Alumnus

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Randall (Randy) Isaacson took a BS in Biological Sciences (’86) and an MS in Rhetoric and Technical Communication (’88) from Michigan Tech and turned them into a successful health care marketing and advertising career. On March 1 and 2, he will return to campus as the third speaker in the Scott Patullo Visiting Executive Series, to share his experiences with current students and the University community.

Isaacson will talk about “The Biology of Business: Making Your Way in a World of Systems, Relationships and Emotions” from 6 to 7:30 p.m., Thursday, March 1, in Memorial Union Ballroom A. Hosted by the College of Sciences and Arts, the presentation is open to the public.

While at Michigan Tech, Isaacson will meet with biological sciences, humanities and School of Business and Economics undergraduates, graduate students and faculty, as well as engineering and Enterprise students.

Isaacson began his career as a medical copywriter at Roche Pharmaceuticals in New Jersey, and later joined VICOM/FCB, a medical advertising agency in New York. After moving to Chicago in 1990, he worked as a copy supervisor at Frank J. Corbett before joining a new agency, Williams-Labadie, where he now is executive vice president.

Isaacson and his team have won numerous awards in health care advertising, including recognition from Medical Marketing and Media for creating the best pharmaceutical advertisement in 2003 and the best professional digital campaign in 2007. He credits his multidisciplinary background in biology and technical communication at Michigan Tech with preparing him for a very successful career in health care marketing and advertising.

Last fall, Michigan Tech inaugurated the Patullo Visiting Executive Series, which is designed to let Tech students interact with alumni who are emerging business leaders and executives in science, technology and business. Scott Patullo ’81 is funding the campus visits in the hope that students here can gain a strengthened sense of the nature of business and entrepreneurial leadership.

by Jennifer Donovan, director, public relations
Published in Tech Today

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Alumnus Designated a Fellow for His Work and Leadership

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The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) has elected Bhakta Rath to the rank of Fellow, honoring him for his “outstanding contributions in materials science and engineering and for leadership in advancing research and technology to support national security.”

Rath, who graduated from Michigan Tech in 1958 with a master’s in metallurgical and materials engineering, is the associate director of research and the head of the Materials Science and Component Technology Directorate of the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, DC.

He was speaker at the 2007 Midyear Commencement, when he was awarded an honorary doctorate in engineering.

The AAAS honor will be bestowed at a ceremony at the organization’s annual meeting in Vancouver, BC, Canada, later this month.

The mission of the AAAS is to “advance science and serve society” through initiatives in science policy, international programs and science education.

A native of India, Rath has also been elected to the National Academy of Engineering and is a fellow of the Minerals and Materials Society, the Materials Research Society of India, and the Institute of Materials of the United Kingdom.

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Student Veterans Honored at Midyear Commencement

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For the first time at Michigan Tech, graduating student veterans will be honored at commencement with red, white and blue cords in recognition of their service to the country.

Three graduates will wear the cords this fall and be recognized by President Glenn Mroz during commencement on Saturday, Dec. 10, in the SDC Wood Gym. The students are:

  • Mike Geiersbach of Wheeler (Marine Corps/Military Police), who served more than four years and is graduating with a BS in Mechanical Engineering.
  • Sue Larson of Waupaca, Wisc. (Air Force), who served six years and is receiving an MS in Environmental Engineering Science.
  • Matt Smith of Hancock (Air Force/Security Forces), who served two years and is receiving a BS in Electrical Engineering Technology.

Larson, a graduate student, said: “I think it’s great that Michigan Tech is so supportive of the student veteran population and has chosen to distinguish us in this way. It will be an honor to be among the first veterans to wear the new red, white and blue cords.”

The presentation of the cords reflects the growing number of activities and services on campus that focus on students who are veterans or children of veterans. This initiative is being coordinated by Veterans’ Services/Registrar’s Office and the Vice President for Student Affairs Office.

Submitted by Kathy Pintar, veteran school certifying official, registrar’s office
Published in Tech Today

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Tech Reseachers Honored for Great Lakes Research

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The International Association for Great Lakes Research has honored five Michigan Tech faculty members and students.

The Chandler-Misener Award for the outstanding article published in the Journal of Great Lakes Research (JGLR) in 2010 was given to coauthors Professor W. Charles Kerfoot, PhD student Foad Yousef (Biological Sciences), Professor and Chair Sarah A. Green (Chemistry), former faculty member Judith W. Budd (GMES), and David J. Schwab and Henry A. Vanderploeg of NOAA.

Their paper, “Approaching Storm: Disappearing Winter Bloom in Lake Michigan,” documented the disappearance of a “doughnut” of phytoplankton in southern Lake Michigan associated with the proliferation of quagga mussels.

The award was presented to Kerfoot at the 54th International Conference on Great Lakes Research in Duluth, Minn. The Chandler-Misener Award acknowledges the most notable paper based on originality, contribution and presentation.

Cory McDonald, a recent PhD graduate in environmental engineering, received the JGLR/Elsevier Young Student Award. This award is given to “emerging young scientists with a JGLR article ranked in the top 10, as determined by the IAGLR Chandler-Misener Review Committee.” Recipients receive a complimentary one-year IAGLR membership and a $750 cash prize.

Published in Tech Today

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