Graduate School Newsblog

Tag: Environmental Engineering

Fusion Energy Sciences Fellowship Program

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Description: Offers talented students the opportunity to engage in the study and research of fusion energy sciences and technology, while fostering practical work experiences at recognized research facilities. Provides incentive and support to students as they continue their education in graduate school and prepare for careers in fusion energy.

Discipline(s): physical sciences; engineering; mathematics; related scientific disciplines

Eligibility: U.S. Citizens and Legal Permanent Residents. Undergraduate seniors; bachelor’s recipients; and first and second year graduate students at the time of application

Location(s): Various locations across U. S. Participating universities with practicums at various U.S. Department of Energy research facilities

Duration: Maximum 36 months with annual renewal

Deadline(s): January 31

Benefits: $24,000 annual stipend and full payment of tuition and fees; $750 per month practicum allowance; opportunity to attend professional meetings and to participate in long-term graduate research ad DOE fusion research facilities.

Funding source(s): U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Fusion Energy Sciences

How to apply: Application materials available at http://www.orau.gov/fusion.

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American Society of Naval Engineers Scholarship Program

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ASNE Scholarship Announcement

The purpose of the American Society of Naval Engineers (ASNE) Scholarship Program is to    improve and promote the profession of naval engineering. The Society’s goal is to encourage college students to enter the field of naval engineering and to provide valuable support to naval engineers seeking advanced education in the field.

Since the program was inaugurated in 1979, 421 ASNE scholarships have been awarded.  For the 2009-2010 academic year, ASNE scholarship awards supported 12 undergraduate students ($3,000) and 9 graduate students ($4,000).

Eligibility:  Applicant must be a U.S. citizen enrolled in or entering a graduate program in engineering or physical science

Deadline: Feb 12, 2010

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Predoctoral STEM Awards

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The Association for Women in Science offers $1000 awards for women pursuing PhDs in the STEM fields.  Four categories of awards are available:

  • Predoctoral Award
    For a female graduate student who has advanced to PhD candidacy studying in any STEM field except Physics (
  • Schutzmeister Award
    For a female predoctoral student who has advanced to PhD candidacy studying Physics
    The Schutzmeister Award has a separate application process managed by Dr. Gerald Hardie at Western Michigan University. Do not use the materials on this site. To request application forms contact Dr. Hardie at gerald.hardie@wmich.edu.
  • Satter Award
    For a female predoctoral student who has interrupted her career for three or more years to raise a family
    The Satter Award application includes an additional document provided by the applicant’s graduate department certifying that you meet the Satter criterion.
  • Filner Award
    New this year, this award honors Barbara Filner, a long-time active AWIS member who served as President of National AWIS, and as President of the AWIS Educational Foundation for ten years. This award is given to a predoctoral student who has advanced to PhD candidacy and has participated in activities, such as mentoring and organizing workshops, that encourage women to pursue careers in science and related fields. The application process includes an additional document (up to 700 words) reviewing activities to help women achieve their career goals.
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Fall 2009 Finishing Fellowship Recipients

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The Graduate School has awarded its Finishing Fellowships for fall 2009.

The following PhD candidates have received a one-time finishing fellowship:

  • Venkat K. Donuru, Chemistry
  • Valerie J. Fuchs, Environmental Engineering
  • Steven Johnson, Chemistry
  • Sarah N. Kiemle, Biological Sciences
  • Mark D. Rowe, Environmental Engineering
  • Madhana Sunder, Materials Science and Engineering
  • Zhonghai Wang, Electrical Engineering
  • Jill C. Witt, Forest Science

The fellowships are made possible by the Graduate School.

Application procedures for finishing fellowships, photographs of recent recipients, and descriptions for all of the school’s fellowship programs can be found on the Graduate School’s web page.

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Methane Hydrate Research Fellowship

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Methane Hydrate Research Fellowship awards are made to carefully selected Master’s level, PhD level, and Postdoctoral level scientists and engineers in national competitions held two times each year. These awards provide opportunities that enable these scientists and engineers to increase their proficiency in conducting research on the subject of methane hydrates and advance the research program of NETL.  The research may be pursued at NETL labs, at other national or federal government labs, or at accredited universities.

Highly competitive.   Please contact Jodi Lehman (jglehman@mtu.edu)  if interested.

Submission deadline February 1st.

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Funding Opportunities in STEM Graduate Programs

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Funding Opportunities in STEM Graduate Programs

• AGEP:

programs offer minority students support in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields.

• GK-12:

The NSF Graduate Teaching Fellows in K-12 Education (GK-12) Program supports fellowships and training for graduate students in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

• IGERT:

fellowship programs offer a $30,000 stipend plus tuition and fees. Over 100 programs nationwide emphasize interdisciplinary studies in science, technology, mathematics, and engineering.

• MSPHDS:

The Minorities Striving and Pursuing Higher Degrees of Success (MSPHDS) in Earth System Science initiative was developed by and for underrepresented minorities with the overall purpose of facilitating increased participation in Earth system science.

• NSF Grad Research Fellowships:

provides students with three years of funding for research-focused Master’s and PhD degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields.

For additional information please visit: http://www.pathwaystoscience.org/Grad.asp

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DHS Summer Scholarship

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The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) realizes that the country’s strong science and technology community provides a critical advantage in the development and implementation of counter-terrorist measures and other DHS objectives. The DHS Scholarship and Fellowship Program is intended for students interested in pursuing the basic science and technology innovations that can be applied to the DHS mission. This education program is intended to ensure a highly talented science and technology community to achieve the DHS mission and objectives. Eligible students must be studying in a homeland security related science, technology, engineering and mathematics (HS-STEM) field with an interest, major, or concentration directly related to one of the homeland security research areas.

For more information

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NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship (NESSF) Program

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NASA Earth and Space Science Fellowship (NESSF) Program

NASA announces a call for graduate fellowship proposals to the NASA
Earth and Space Science Fellowship (NESSF) program for the 2010-2011
academic year.  This call for fellowship proposals solicits
applications from accredited U.S. universities on behalf of
individuals pursuing Master of Science (M.Sc.) or Doctoral (Ph.D.)
degrees in Earth and space sciences, or related disciplines.  The
purpose of NESSF is to ensure continued training of a highly
qualified workforce in disciplines needed to achieve NASA’s
scientific goals.  Awards resulting from the competitive selection
will be made in the form of training grants to the respective universities.

The deadline for NEW applications is February 1, 2010, and the
deadline for RENEWAL applications is March 15, 2010.

The NESSF call for proposals and submission instructions are located
at the NESSF 09 solicitation index page at
http://nspires.nasaprs.com/ – click on “Solicitations” then click on
“Open Solicitations” then select the “NESSF 10” announcement.  Also
refer to “Proposal Submission Instructions” listed under “Other
Documents” on the NESSF 10 solicitation index page.

All proposals must be submitted in electronic format only through the
NASA NSPIRES system.  The advisor has an active role in the
submission of the fellowship proposal.  To use the NSPIRES system,
the advisor, the student, and the university must all
register.  Extended instructions on how to submit an electronic
proposal package are posted on the NESSF 10 solicitation index page
listed above.  You can register in NSPIRES at http://nspires.nasaprs.com/.

For further information contact Russell Deyoung, Program
Administrator for NESSF Earth Science Research, Telephone: (757)
864-1472, E-mail: larc-nessf-Earth@lists.nasa.gov or Dolores Holland,
Program Administrator for NESSF Heliophysics Research, Planetary
Science Research, and Astrophysics Research, Telephone: (202)
358-0734, E-mail: hq-nessf-Space@nasa.gov.

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New theses and dissertations in the Library

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The Graduate School is pleased to announce the arrival of new theses and dissertations from our recent graduates in the J. R. Van Pelt Library and John and Ruanne Opie Library.  The names of our graduates, their degrees, advisors, and titles of their research are listed below.

Carrie Andrew
Doctor of Philosophy in Forest Science
Advisor: Erik Lilleskov
Dissertation title: Response of Ectomycorrhizal Fungi to Elevated Atmospheric CO2 and O3 within Northern Deciduous Forests

Yolanda Beltran Vargas
Master of Science in Industrial Archaeology
Advisor: Patrick E Martin
Thesis title: Industrial Archaeology of the Hacienda Santa Brigida, Mineral de Pozos, Guanajuato, Mexico

Abigail Clarke-Sather
Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
Co-advisors: John W Sutherland, and Qiong Zhang
Dissertation title: Decentralized or Centralized Production: Impacts to the Environment, Industry, and the Economy

Gregory Albert Galicinao
Master of Science in Environmental Engineering
Advisor: Martin T Auer
Thesis title: Determination of Methyl mercury Flux from Onondaga Lake Sediments using Flow-Through Reactors

Russell Johnson
Master of Science in Rhetoric and Technical Communication
Advisor: Erin Marie Smith
Thesis title: “Father I had a Feeling Today”: Postmortem Educational Media Fandom

Ming Ning
Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry
Co-advisors: Richard E Brown, and Bahne C Cornilsen
Dissertation title: Molecular Interaction between Perthiolated Beta-cyclodextrin(CD) and the Guests Molecules Adamantaneacetic Acid (AD) and Ferroceneacetic Acid (FC); and the Effect of the Interaction on the Electron Transition of CD Anchored Particles

Lucas Spaete
Master of Science in Forest Ecology and Management
Advisor: Ann L Maclean
Thesis title: Utilizing FIA Data for Mapping Standing Biomass in the Upper Great Lakes Region: An Evaluation

Andres Tarte
Master of Science in Environmental Engineering
Co-advisors: Kurtis G Paterson, and Qiong Zhang
Thesis title: Identifying Indicators of Sustainable Development Using the Global Sustainability Quadrant Approach

Laura Walz
Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Engineering
Advisor: Michael Robert Neuman
Dissertation title: Microfabricated Thermal Sensors for Skin Perfusion Measurements

Jing Zhong
Master of Science in Electrical Engineering
Advisor: Chunxiao Chigan
Thesis title: Development of NS-2 Based Cognitive Radio Cognitive Network Simulator

Peng Zhou
Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science
Advisor: Soner Onder
Dissertation title: Fine-grain State Processors

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SFI Event Recognizes Scholars and Students

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Published in Tech Today

The Sustainable Futures Institute (SFI) held its fifth annual poster session and banquet in the Rozsa Lobby last Friday.

“The event offered SFI students, staff and faculty an opportunity to review some of the many successes throughout the year,” reports Denise Heikinen.

Professor Alex Mayer (GMES) and Professor Michael Mullins (Chemical Engineering) were recognized as 2009 distinguished fellows for their long-term leadership, scholarship and support in areas central to sustainability and to SFI.

Mayer, director of SFI’s Center for Water and Society, was honored for his passion and commitment to sustainability and water issues. Mullins, director of SFI’s Center for Fundamental and Applied Research into Nanostructured and Lightweight Materials, was recognized for his contributions to energy and human health.

The keynote speaker was Charles Kerfoot, professor in Biological Sciences and director of Lake Superior Ecosystem Research Center, who spoke about the new Great Lakes Research facility and how it will facilitate research and education about pressing issues in the Upper Great Lakes.

Seventeen graduate students and postdocs were inducted into the SFI’s Scholar Program. They are: Zeyad Ahmed, Felix Adom, Brandon Ellefson, Akhilesh Reddy Endurthy, Rabi Gyawali, Jiqing Fan, Robert Handler, Christopher Hohnholt, Meral Jackson, Azad Henareh Khalyani, Jennifer Lind, Jifei Liu, Xuhong Liu, Jarod Maggio, Jacob Midkiff, Ali Mirchi, and Fengli Zhang.

The Graduate Student Council announced the People’s Choice First Place Poster Award of $150. Actually there was a tie and two awards were made. One went to four physics graduate students for a poster, “Miniature Energy Sources: Biofuel Cells Based on Carbon Nanotube Arrays,” designed by Archana Pandey, Abhishek Prasad, Jason Moscatello and Abhay P. Singh. Their advisor is Associate Professor Yoke Khin Yap. The other award went to Craig Gossen and Stefan Marek (mechanical engineering), Ashley Thode (civil engineering), and Kim Landick, Krissy Guzak, and Cara Hanson (environmental engineering), for “Improving Airflow in Ventilated Improved Pit Toilets.” Their advisors are Assistant Professor Kurt Paterson and Associate Professor David Watkins (both CEE) and Associate Professor and Assistant Provost Donna Michalek (ME-EM).

SFI’s operations manager, Richard Donovan, awarded the Inaugural Operations Manager Award of $200 to the Efficiency Through Engineering and Construction Enterprise. Members are: Ashley Brown, Dianna Cacko, Stephen Chartier, Patrick Green, Jordan Huffman, Eric Kinonen, Markus Manderfield, Andrew Manty, Michael D. Powers, and Tyler Sutkowi. The ETEC team submitted three posters: “Lake Superior & Ishpeming Railroad”; “Habitat for Humanity”; and “Generations of Energy.” For some of their work, these students collaborated with Melissa Davis, an SFI staff member and director of a local nonprofit called New Power Tour. Davis also was recognized as a scholar of SFI. The advisor for ETEC is Lynn Artman of the School of Technology.

In keeping with the spirit of the event, sustainability, Chef Eric Karvonen prepared a dinner of fresh roasted trout from Lake Superior, vegetables from Chip Ransom’s organic farm on the Houghton Canal, grass-fed bison from northern Wisconsin and wild blueberries from Gay. Pictures of the event are available at the following URLs: http://www.doe.mtu.edu/news/2009/sfi_october2009/index.html .

http://www.doe.mtu.edu/news/2009/sfi_october2009/posters.html .

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