Tag: Geological Engineering

Award Recipients Announced for NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program

The results of the 2010 National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) competition have been announced. Michigan Tech applauds six of its student applicants who received Fellow Awards this year:

  • Kaitlyn (Reed) Bunker (Electrical Engineering)
  • Nicole Colasacco-Thumm (Geosciences/Climate Dynamics)
  • Jared Cregg (Biomedical Engineering)
  • Ashley Thode (Civil Engineering)
  • Eli Vlaisavljevich (Bioengineering)
  • Samantha Wojda (Biomedical Engineering)

Fellows benefit from a three-year annual stipend of $30,000 along with a $10,500 cost of education allowance for tuition and fees, a one-time $1,000 international travel allowance and the freedom to conduct their own research at any accredited US or foreign institution of graduate education they choose.

Six Michigan Tech students were recognized with honorable mention:

  • Sarah Gray (Biomedical)
  • Katherine Becker (Materials Science)
  • Brian Devree (Biology)
  • Katelyn FitzGerald (Geological Engineering, graduate student)
  • Joseph Licavoli (Engineering – Metallurgical, graduate student)
  • Peter Radecki (Mechanical Engineering)

As the oldest graduate fellowship of its kind, the GRFP has a history and reputation of selecting recipients who achieve high levels of success in their future academic and professional careers. To be eligible for the NSF GRFP, students must:

  • be a US citizen, US national or permanent resident alien
  • be in a research-focused Master’s or PhD program in an NSF-supported field
  • be in the final year of an undergraduate program, first year graduate student or first semester of second year in graduate school (no more than 12 months of graduate courses).

An informative session on applying to the 2011 NSF GRFP will be held at 6 p.m., Wednesday, April 14, in Fisher 130. Contact Jodi Lehman for more information.

Three Michigan Tech Graduate Engineering Programs Ranked in Top 50

Tech Today

by Jennifer Donovan, public relations director

Graduate school rankings released today by US News & World Report rank three of Michigan Tech’s graduate engineering programs in the top 50 nationwide. The annual rankings evaluated 198 graduate schools of engineering.

Michigan Tech’s programs ranked as follows:
* environmental engineering: 33
* mechanical engineering: 48
* materials science and engineering: 49

Two other graduate programs at Michigan Tech ranked in the top 100 nationwide, as did the College of Engineering overall. Those rankings include:
* civil engineering: 58
* geological and mining engineering and sciences: 77
* College of Engineering: 82

“Our long-term goal is to advance the reputation of our graduate programs,” said President Glenn D. Mroz. “That is not a timid goal, but we know what we need to do; it is spelled out in our strategic plan. We are laying the groundwork now, and we know it won’t happen overnight. We are competing with the best universities in the US and the world for resources and talented graduate students. But Michigan Tech is becoming more and more competitive.”

Each year, US News & World Report ranks graduate schools of business, education, engineering, law and medicine. According to the magazine, the rankings are based on two kinds of data–the opinions of graduate school deans, program directors, senior faculty and employers of new graduates, and statistical measures such as student-to-faculty ratio, faculty research activity and doctoral degrees awarded.

Engineering specialties are ranked solely on the basis of assessments by department chairs in each specialty. The American Society for Engineering Education recommends the names of department chairs to be surveyed.

The rankings will be featured in the May 2009 issue of US News & World Report. Information is also available at www.usnews.com/grad and www.usnews.com/aboutgrad .

LiveScience.com Features John Gierke

Tech Today

By Jennifer Donovan, Michigan Technological University

LiveScience.com featured a profile of Associate Professor John Gierke (GMES) in its ScienceLives series.  The series is a cooperation between the National Science Foundation and LiveScience. 

Graduate students will find of interest several of Gierke’s answers to questions that explore what makes scientists tick.

Check out the full story at LiveScience and stay tuned for an upcoming Behind the Scenes story that will feature Gierke’s work and former graduate student Jill Bruning.