Graduate School Newsblog

Tag: Forest Science

Spring 2010 Finishing Fellowships Awarded

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The Graduate School has awarded its Finishing Fellowships for spring 2010.

The following PhD candidates have received a one-time award:

  • Shreehari Elangovan, Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
  • Margot J. Hutchins, Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
  • Aaron David LaLonde, Materials Science and Engineering
  • Sara Robinson, Forest Science
  • Yuejun Yin, Civil Engineering

The fellowships are made possible by the Graduate School.

Application procedures for the Graduate School fellowship programs and photographs of recent recipients can be found online. Nominations are currently open for Finishing Fellowships and Dean’s Fellowships.

If you have any questions, contact Debra Charlesworth.

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Dow Chemical Hong Kong – Michigan Scholarship Program 2010-2011

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U.S. doctoral students or recent Ph.Ds from a Michigan university who are studying in the
following areas Environment, Energy, Sustainability, Education,
Transnational Relations, Science and Technology and policy issues
related to these topics.  are eligible for the Dow Chemical Hong Kong- Michigan Scholarship Program.

The award is for the 2010-2011 academic year
to engage in dissertation research while affiliated with Hong Kong
University of Science and Technology.

Only U.S. citizens and permanentresidents (Green Card holders) are eligible.

The scholarship is modeled along the lines of a Fulbright Grant in Hong
Kong as it provides approximately $17K stipend, $5K travel, and $13K
living allowance, plus health insurance.  The total value is over
US$35,000.

For more information about the scholarship opportunity please visit:  Dow Chemical Hong Kong Program Information

If you are interested in applying, please contact Jodi Lehman (jglehman@mtu.edu)

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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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Michigan Tech Graduate Student Aids International Bird Rescue Effort

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By Jennifer Donovan

Michigan Tech News

November 16, 2009—

Conservation could be Amber Roth’s middle name. She loves anything to do with nature. Birds, trees, grasses, ecosystems: she’s fascinated by it all.

So after tucking a Bachelor of Science in Conservation Biology and International Relations and a Master of Science in Wildlife Ecology under her belt, the Green Bay native came to Michigan Tech to earn a PhD in the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science (SFRES).

Roth studies how to manage aspen forests to produce the maximum amount of biomass per acre without harming wildlife habitat. “It’s a management trade-off question,” she explains, and the basis of her PhD research

But Roth was raised by a devoted bird-watcher, and a tiny songbird that is facing hard times has also captured her heart. She has become an active member of the Golden-winged Warbler Working Group, an international conservation organization that spans two continents.

Weighing only 9 grams (equal to 4 dimes), the golden-winged warbler incredibly flies thousands of miles twice a year, migrating from its breeding grounds in the northern Midwest to its winter home in Central and South America.  The tiny bird makes the long migration 6 to 10 times in a lifetime.

Its fuel efficiency is the equivalent of several hundred thousand miles per gallon,” Roth says with a smile.

But the far-flying warbler is in trouble. There used to be as many as half a million of the birds, and now there are fewer than 200,000. “Its numbers are declining sharply, and we don’t know why. We don’t know where the patient is bleeding,” says Roth.

The Golden-Winged Warbler Working Group got a small grant from the US Fish and Wildlife Service to try to determine what’s happening to the bird. Their research is a collaborative effort involving American, Canadian and Latin American scientists.

Some of the researchers are examining the bird’s genetics, to locate genetically pure populations. Only one has been found so far, in Manitoba, Canada. Others are studying the biochemical signature in the golden-winged warbler’s feathers, which can reveal where the young birds go after their first migration. And a third group is working to connect where the birds winter in Central and South America to where they breed.

It’s a real skin-and-bones project,” says Roth. But money isn’t the only resource the researchers need.

Michigan Tech has contributed 21 mist nets—fine nylon nets used to safely capture birds for study before releasing them.  “These are older, damaged nets that I have in my lab, and the Latin American scientists know people who can repair them so that they can be reused,” SFRES associate professor David Flaspohler explains. Flaspohler is one of Roth’s PhD advisors, the other being Chris Webster.

If the nets were purchased new, they would cost as much as $100 each.

Like most of the other things she’s ever done, Roth says her work with the Golden-winged Warbler Working Group is helping prepare her for her dream career.  With work experience in the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and her PhD from Michigan Tech, she’s looking forward to climbing what she calls her “career triangle”—comprising research, education and conservation management.  “I like being involved in all three,” she says, “the research, the outreach, and the management on the ground.”

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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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Grad Student Takes Aim at Sugar Maple Dieback

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Published in Tech Today

When Tara Bal brings a 12-gauge into the woods, she doesn’t worry about exceeding her limit.

Bal, a Michigan Tech PhD student in forest science, isn’t a hunter. She is more of a gatherer, using the shotgun to bring down sugar maple leaves from the forest canopy.

With Andrew Storer, a professor of forest resources and environmental science, she aims to find out why so many Upper Peninsula sugar maples are in trouble. To find out more, click here.

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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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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.

Manoranjan Acharya
Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical Engineering
Advisor: Paul L Bergstrom
Dissertation title: Development of Room Temperature Operating Single Electron Transistor using FIB Etching and Deposition Technology

Susan H Balint
Master of Science in Environmental Policy
Advisor: Kathleen E Halvorsen
Thesis title: Federal and State Policy Influence on Woody Biomass Utilization

Genevieve M Borg
Master of Science in Environmental Policy
Advisor: Carol A MacLennan
Thesis title: EPA’s Council for Regulatory Environmental Modeling: A Case Study of Science Policy Implementation

Carmelo Davila
Master of Science in Industrial Archeology
Advisor: Samuel R Sweitz
Thesis title: A Space for Production and a Space for Communality: Socio-Historical Study of Central Aguirre and its Industrial Community, Salinas, Puerto Rico: 1949-1970

Seth C DePasqual
Master of Science in Industrial Archeology
Advisor: Patrick E Martin
Thesis title: Winning Coal at 78 Degrees North: Mining, Contingency and the Chaine Operatoire in Old Longyear City

Robert S Donofrio
Doctor of Philosophy in Biological Sciences
Advisor: Susan T Bagley
Dissertation title: Development and Validation of Selective and Differential Enumeration Methods for Brevundimonas diminuta

Jason T Dreyer
Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering – Engineering Mechanics
Co-advisors: Sudhakar M Pandit and Mohan D Rao
Dissertation title: Binaural Index for Speech Intelligibility via Bivariate Autoregressive Models

Ingrid D Fedde
Master of Science in Geology
Co-advisors: Jose Luis Palma Lizana and William I Rose
Thesis title: Application of Probabilistic Tools and Expert Elicitation for Hazard Assessment at Volcan de Colima, Mexico

Travis J Hansen
Master of Science in Chemical Engineering
Advisor: Daniel A Crowl
Thesis title: Estimation of the Flammability Zone Boundaries with Thermodynamic and Empirical Equations

Daniel E Haskell
Master of Science in Applied Ecology
Advisor: David J Flaspohler
Thesis title: `Restoration in Northern Wisconsin

Stacie A Holmes
Doctor of Philosophy in Forest Science
Advisor: Christopher R Webster
Dissertation title: The Influence of Concurrent Disturbances on Plant Community Dynamics in Northern Hemlock-Hardwood Forests

Ashwini S Kashelikar
Master of Science in Environmental Engineering
Advisor: Veronica W Griffis
Thesis title: Identification of Teleconnections and Improved Flood Risk Forecasts using Bulletin 17B

Justin D Keske
Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering – Engineering Mechanics
Advisor: Jason R Blough
Dissertation title: Investigation of a Semi-Active Muffler System with Implementation on a Snowmobile

Paul J Koll
Master of Science in Forest Ecology and Management
Advisor: Martin F Jurgensen
Thesis title: Effects of Conifer Sawdust, Hardwood Sawdust, and Peat on Soil Properties and Bareroot Conifer Seedling Development

Andrew T Kozich
Master of Science in Environmental Policy
Advisor: Kathleen E Halvorsen
Thesis title: Wetland Mitigation in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula: Compliance with Site Monitoring and Invasive Plant Species Standards

Kateryna Lapina
Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Engineering
Co-advisors: Richard E Honrath and Judith A Perlinger
Dissertation title: Boreal Forest Fire Impacts on Lower Troposphere CO and Ozone Levels at the Regional to Hemispheric Scales

Joseph W Lechnyr
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Jeffrey Allen
Thesis title: Imaging of Fuel Cell Diffusion Media Under Compressive Strain

Angela K Lucas
Master of Science in Biological Sciences
Advisor: Jason R Carter
Thesis title: Effects of Pediatric Adiposity on Heart Rate Variability

Lawrence J Mailloux
Master of Science in Chemistry
Advisor: Dallas K Bates
Thesis title: A 1,2,4-Triazole to Thiazole Transformation

Meghan E McGee-Lawrence
Doctor of Philosophy in Biomedical Engineering
Advisor: Seth W Donahue
Dissertation title: Skeletal Preservation by Hibernating Bears

Diane M Miller
Doctor of Philosophy in Rhetoric and Technical Communication
Advisor: Patricia J Sotirin
Dissertation title: Speaking (of) Community: An Ethnographic Study of the Relationships Among Communication, Community, and Everyday Experience at an Organic Foods Cooperative

Min Nie
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Desheng Meng
Thesis title: Fabrication of Nanoparticles by Short-Distance Sputter Deposition

Brian A Ott
Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical Engineering
Advisor: Gerard T Caneba
Dissertation title: Fluid Phase Equilibrium as Modeled by the Statistical Associated Fluid Theory (SAFT) Equation of State

Robert C Owen
Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Engineering
Advisor: Richard E Honrath
Dissertation title: Long-range Pollution Transport: Trans-Atlantic Mechanisms and Lagrangian Modeling Methods

Jeannie A Patrick
Doctor of Philosophy in Rhetoric and Technical Communication
Advisor: Diane L Shoos
Dissertation title: Not Your Mother’s Latinas: Film Representations for a New Millennium

David M Pauken
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: John W Sutherland
Thesis title: Statistical Modeling of the Ford Superduty Brake Pedal Feel Attribute

Melissa J Porter
Master of Science in Forest Ecology and Management
Advisor: Andrew J Storer
Thesis title: Detection and Landing Behavior of Emerald Ash Borer, Agrilus planipennis, at Low Population Density

Mark D Rowe
Master of Science in Environmental Engineering
Advisor: Judith A Perlinger
Thesis title: Modeling Contaminant Behavior in Lake Superior: A Comparison of PCBs, PBDEs, and Mercury

Ryan W Schweitzer
Master of Science in Environmental Engineering
Advisor: James R Mihelcic
Thesis title: Community Managed Rural Water Supply Systems in the Dominican Republic: Assessment of Sustainability of Systems Built by the National Institute of Potable Water and Peace

Xiaoning Shan
Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical Engineering
Advisor: Jeffrey B Burl
Dissertation title: Time-Varying System Identification in the Transform Domain

Sarah E Stehn
Master of Science in Forest Ecology and Management
Advisor: Christopher R Webster
Thesis title: Influence of Exogenous Disturbance on Bryophyte Community Assemblage and Tree Regeneration Dynamics in Southern Appalachian Spruce-Fir Forests

Xiang Sun
Doctor of Philosophy in Materials Science and Engineering
Advisor: Jiann-Yang Hwang
Dissertation title: Charge Induced Enhancement of Adsorption for Hydrogen Storage Materials

Iltesham Z Syed
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Abhijit Mukherjee
Thesis title: Experimental Study of Forced Convection Heat Transfer to Water Flowing through a Short Micro Duct at the Tip of a Cutting Tool at Turbulent Reynolds Number

Jacob T Vermillion
Master of Science in Civil Engineering
Advisor: Lawrence L Sutter
Thesis title: Absorption Correction for the Determination of the Water Content of Fresh Concrete Using the Microwave-Oven Drying Method

Dennis K Walikainen
Doctor of Philosophy in Rhetoric and Technical Communication
Advisor: Robert R Johnson
Dissertation title: What’s It Like There? Toward a Rhetoric of University Maps and Tours

Cheryl L Williams
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: John W Sutherland
Thesis title: Optimization of Conversion of North American Left Hand Drive Vehicles for Importation into Right Hand Markets

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Summer 2009 Finishing Fellows Announced

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Tech Today

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

The following PhD candidates will receive one-time finishing fellowships:

* Carrie J. Andrew (School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science)
* Cameron Hartnell (Social Sciences)
* Emily B. McCarthy (Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences)
* Bode J. Morin (Social Sciences)
* Alicia A. Thorsen (Computer Science)
* Tongquan Wei (Electrical Engineering)
* Zijun Xu (Biological Sciences)

Application procedures for the School’s fellowship programs and photographs of recent recipients can be found at www.mtu.edu/gradschool/administration/academics/honors-awards/ .

Nominations for the fall finishing fellowships will be accepted until 4 p.m. on Friday, June 26.

If you have any questions, contact Debra Charlesworth at ddc@mtu.edu or Heather Suokas at hlsuokas@mtu.edu .

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SFRES Honors Students and Faculty with Awards and Laughs

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Tech Today

Submitted by Carrie Richards, SFRES

Guests enjoyed an evening of tributes and humor when students, faculty and staff gathered at the School’s atrium for the annual Forest Jubilee Night. A creative menu featured foods from the forest that ranged from elk meatballs to wild blueberry cobbler.

Dean Peg Gale presented awards to

* Marcella Campione–Outstanding Senior in Forestry

* Laura Kangas–Outstanding Senior in Applied Ecology and Environmental Science

* Daniel Wilber–Outstanding Senior in Wildlife Ecology and Management

* Chris Miller–Outstanding Graduate Student Award

* Nicholas Windmuller–Outstanding Service Award (undergraduate)

* Trevor Hahka–Outstanding Service Award (graduate student)

* Jennifer Kopinski–School Scholar

* Auriel Van Der Laar–Woman of Promise

The students recognized the hard work and dedication of their mentors by presenting awards to

* Associate Professor Robert Froese–Outstanding Teaching Award (faculty)

* Wilfred Previant–Outstanding Teaching Award (graduate student)

* Director of Recruitment and Development Chris Hohnholt–Outstanding Staff member

Some not-so-serious awards were also given with the highlight of the evening going to the “Faculty Member Who Looks Most Like a Pirate.”

* First place–Robert Froese, earning the designation of Captain

* Second place–John Vucetich (his Johnny Depp likeness was noted), earning him the designation of First Mate

* Third place–Mike Hyslop earned a mop for swabbing and the designation of Deckhand

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