Alex Guth, a PhD student in geology, will be featured in an upcoming National Geographic Channel television series at 9 p.m., Sunday, July 25. Guth was interviewed in Kenya last year regarding the Rift Valley, and will appear in one of two back-to-back episodes of “Clash of the Continents.”‘
Published in Tech Today.
The Michigan Space Grant Consortium (MSGC), sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), has awarded approximately $375,000 to nine Michigan universities with aerospace, engineering and space- science-related programs. Michigan Tech submitted 40 proposals, and 27 received funding totaling $105,000.
Of that, $20,000 supports undergraduate fellowships, $30,000 is for graduate research fellowships, $30,000 provides seed grants for faculty, and $25,000 is designated for outreach, including K-12 and teacher training programs.
Undergraduate students receiving $2,500 research fellowships include Andrew Ramsey (ME-EM), Phil Hohnstadt (ME-EM), Peter Solfest (Physics), Stephen Schweitzer (Biomedical Engineering), John Visser (ME-EM), Samantha Wojda (Biomedical Engineering), Patrick Bowen (MSE), William Grant (Chemical Engineering) and Ben Gerhardt (ME-EM).
Graduate students receiving $5,000 fellowships include Christopher Schwartz (Biological Sciences), Elisabet Head (Geology), Jarod Maggio (Environmental Engineering), Adam Abraham (ME-EM), Matthew Barron (Biomedical Engineering), Megan Killian (Biomedical Engineering) and Amalia Anderson (Physics).
Faculty members receiving $5,000 seed grants included Shiyan Hu, Jason Carter, Audrey Mayer, Qingli Dai, Ashok Goel and Claudio Mazzoleni. Faculty and staff members receiving $5,000 for outreach, precollege and teacher training programs include Douglas Oppliger, Shawn Oppliger, Joan Chadde and Kristi Isaacson.
One student receiving an undergraduate fellowship is Samantha Wojda. She plans to use her grant to study how hibernation affects the bones of marmots. Disuse osteoporosis is a common problem faced by astronauts in microgravity. Hibernating mammals are also at high risk for the condition, and many have developed adaptive ways of dealing with it. Wojda plans to study hibernating marmots to see how they are affected by or protected from disuse osteoporosis. What she learns may help researchers find ways to prevent human astronauts and others who are immobilized for long periods of time from developing the debilitating condition.
NASA implemented the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program in 1989 to provide funding for research, education and public outreach in space-related science and technology. The program has 52 university-based consortia in the United States and Puerto Rico. As part of the Michigan Consortium, Michigan Tech has been an active participant in MSGC for over fifteen years.
“The MSGC offers faculty, staff and especially students opportunities to develop ideas and submit competitive proposals,” said Chris Anderson, special assistant to the President for institutional diversity and the University’s MSGC liaison. “For undergraduates, the process of developing a proposal and then doing the research allows them to apply what they’re learning in the classroom, get hands-on experience and work closely with faculty.” She added, “The Consortium allows us to do more of this, as well provide graduate fellowships, seed grants and program support.”
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.
Brian Beachy
Doctor of Philosophy in Forest Science
Advisor: Andrew J Storer
Dissertation title: Impacts of the Exotic Beech Bark Disease Complex in Michigan
Jessica Beachy
Doctor of Philosophy in Forest Science
Advisor: Andrew John Storer
Dissertation title: The Development of Trapping, Survey and Educational Tools for the Exotic Invasive Emerald Ash Borer (Agrilusplanipennis Fairmaire) (Coleoptera: Buprestidae)
Luke Bowman
Master of Science in Geology
Advisor: William I Rose
Thesis title: Community Perceptions of an NGO’s Impact on Disaster Preparedness in Los Planes de La Laguna, Santa Ana Volcano, El Salvador
Venkat Donuru
Doctor of Philosophy in Chemistry
Advisor: Haiying Liu
Dissertation title: Design and Synthesis of Novel BODIPY Polymeric Dyes, and Redox-active Tetrathiafulvalene-Carbohydrate Conjugates for Potential Biosensing Applications
Chad Fortin
Master of Science in Applied Ecology
Coadvisors: Christopher Raymond Webster and David James Flaspohler
Thesis title: Floristic Quality as a Potential Driver of Vegetative Diversity-Productivity Relationships and Arthropod Habitat in Restored Grasslands
Bryan Franklin
Master of Science in Computer Science
Advisor: Steven R Seidel
Thesis title: Analysis and Performance of a UPC Implementation of a Parallel Longest Common Subsequence Algorithm
Valerie Fuchs
Doctor of Philosophy in Environmental Engineering
Coadvisors: John S Gierke and James R Mihelcic
Dissertation title: Nitrogen Removal and Sustainability of Vertical Flow Constructed Wetlands for Small Scale Wastewater Treatment
Alex Joseph Varghese
Master of Science in Electrical Engineering
Advisor: Paul L Bergstrom
Thesis title: Fabrication of Piezo Resistive Strain Sensor for Orthopedic Fracture Implant System
Jodi Lehman
Doctor of Philosophy in Rhetoric and Technical Communication
Advisor: Patricia J Sotirin
Dissertation title: International Teachers in the American Classroom: Deposing the Myth of Monolingualism
Ruben Otoniel Matias Gomez
Master of Science in Geology
Advisor: William I Rose
Thesis title: Volcanological Map of the 1961-2009 Eruption of Volcande Pacaya, Guatemala
Julian Mills-Beale
Master of Science in Civil Engineering
Advisor: Zhanping You
Thesis title: New Test Procedures for Aggregate Specific Gravities and Absorption
Srichand Pendyala
Master of Science in Computer Science
Advisor: Robert Louis Pastel
Thesis title: Sketch Recognition through Shape Based Interaction
Ratul Saha
Doctor of Philosophy in Biological Sciences
Advisor: Susan T Bagley
Dissertation title: UV Disinfection of Metalworking Fluids: Analysis Using Molecular Tools
Steven Vormwald
Master of Science in Computer Science
Advisor: Steven M Carr
Thesis title: Predicting Remote Reuse Distance Patterns in Unified Parallel C Applications
Fuyu Xu
Doctor of Philosophy in Forest Molecular Genetics and Biotechnology
Advisor: Chandrashekhar Pralhad Joshi
Dissertation title: Molecular Mechanism of Cellulose Biosynthesis in Plants
The Graduate School is pleased to announce it’s inaugural group of Dean’s Fellows. These students began their doctoral studies in 2009, and have received a supplement to their stipend and summer support.
The following PhD candidates have received a one-time award:
The fellowships are made possible by the Graduate School and the Class of 1950.
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.
The Foundation and the Technical Committees of AIAA present several funding opportunities.
Martin Summerfield Graduate Award in Propellents and Combustion
Eligible applicants will be actively participating in research endeavors in propellants and combustion as part of their graduate studies.
Guidance, Navigation, and Control
Eligible applicants will be participating in research endeavors that will impact one or more of the areas of guidance, navigation, and control as part of their graduate studies.
Gordon C. Oates Air Breathing Propulsion Graduate Award
Eligible applicants will be participating in research endeavors in air breathing propulsion as part of their graduate studies.
Orville and Wilbur Wright
Eligible applicants will be participating in research endeavors in engineering sciences.
John Leland Atwood
Eligible applicants will be participating in research endeavors in one of the 65 specialty areas represented by AIAA Technical Committees
Open Topic Graduate Award
Eligible applicants will be participating in research endeavors in one of the 65 specialty areas represented by AIAA Technical Committees
Open to any nationality.
Eligible applicants must have completed at least one academic year of full-time graduate work. Applicant must have a grade point average of not less than 3.3 on a 4.0 scale.
Deadline: Jan 31
The Stan Dyl Geology Fellowship has been awarded to Elisa Piispa, a PhD student in geology, for her work on improving the proterozoic continental reconstructions based on combining characterizations of the paleomagnetism, geology, mineralogy and geochronology of mafic dike swarms in India. This fellowship will be used to support her travel to India to present her work. She is advised by Assistant Professor Aleksey Smirnov.
Joshua Richardson, MS student in geophysics, has been awarded the P. M. Thorton Endowed Fellowship for his work on emerging seismic structural imaging techniques involving active and passive source imaging of the upper crust. Richardson has conducted seismic surveys at the Bering Glacier in Alaska and on Fuego Volcano in Guatemala. He is advised by Assistant Professor Gregory Waite.
Elisabet Head, PhD candidate in geology, has received the Seaman Museum Fellowship for her work on fluid inclusions in olivines erupted by Nyamuragira volcano. She is advised by Assistant Professor Simon Carn and the fluid-inclusion aspects were conducted in collaboration with Professor Paul Wallace at the University of Oregon.
programs offer minority students support in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields.
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).
fellowship programs offer a $30,000 stipend plus tuition and fees. Over 100 programs nationwide emphasize interdisciplinary studies in science, technology, mathematics, and engineering.
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.
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
The National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate (NDSEG) Fellowship is a highly competitive, portable fellowship that is awarded to U.S. citizens and nationals who intend to pursue graduate study in one of the 15 supported disciplines. NDSEG confers high honors upon its recipients, and allows them to attend whichever U.S. institution they choose. NDSEG Fellowships last for three years and pay for full tuition and all mandatory fees, a monthly stipend, and up to $1,000 a year in medical insurance.
All applicants are required to submit the application online by 1:00 p.m. EST, January 4, 2010. All materials must be submitted electronically or received by this deadline.
Contact Jodi Lehman (jglehman@mtu.edu) if interested in applying.
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.
The Beckman Institute Fellows program is intended for recent Ph.D.s or students in their final year of doctoral study with research interests relevant to the Beckman Institute. A competition is held yearly and four fellows are selected for terms of up to three years.
Initiated in the fall of 1991 with funding from the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation, the program provides an opportunity for young scientists to spend several years doing independent research in the behavioral and biological sciences, chemistry, engineering, and physics before launching formal academic careers. Fellows are selected on the basis of their professional promise, capacity for independent work, interdisciplinary interests, and outstanding achievement to date. Preference is given to those applicants whose research interests correspond to one or more of the programs in the Beckman Institute.
