| Michigan Space Grants Available |
| The Michigan Space Grant Consortium (MSGC) is inviting applications for 2010-11. The application and review processes are online at www.umich.edu/~msgc .
Funding is available for the following: * Fellowship Program Michigan Tech’s MSGC liaison is Chris Anderson, special assistant to the president for Institutional Diversity. For more information, contact Anderson at csanders@mtu.edu or Michigan Tech’s MSGC Assistant, Carol Argentati, at 487-2474 or caargent@mtu.edu . Applications are due to Institutional Diversity no later than 3:30 p.m., Monday, Nov. 16. The process for submission is as follows: 1) Create a budget be contacting Kellie Buss at Research and Sponsored Programs at 487-2226 or by email at kellie@mtu.edu . 2) Complete online forms at www.umich.edu/~msgc (but do not submit until after step 4). 3) Complete transmittal form by clicking here . 4) Print the materials and bring them to Institutional Diversity, which will provide a letter of approval to submit. Step 4 needs to be completed during the week of Nov. 16. |
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.
R Adam Blankenbicker
Master of Science in Geology
Advisor: William I Rose
Thesis title: Video Analysis of Small Vulcanian Explosions at Santiaguito, Guatemala
Elizabeth Boisvert
Master of Science in Applied Ecology
Advisor: Thomas Grant Pypker
Thesis title: Initiation and Development of Three Lake Superior Coastal Peatlands
Daw Don Cheam
Doctor of Philosophy in Electrical Engineering
Advisor: Paul L Bergstrom
Dissertation title: Integration of Room Temperature Single Electron Transistor with CMOS Subsystem
Brandon Dilworth
Doctor of Philosophy in Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics
Advisor: Jason R Blough
Dissertation title: Identification of Ground and Environmental Effects to the Pass-by Noise Testing of Snowmobiles
Varun Gouthaman
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Reza Shahbazian Yassar
Thesis title: Micro-Fabrication of a Bio-MEMS Based Force Sensor to Measure the Force Response of Living Cells
Erik Hayenga
Doctor of Philosophy in Rhetoric and Technical Communication
Advisor: Marilyn M Cooper
Dissertation title: Ethics in Illustruction: Safety Cartoons in John Deere Tractor and Combine Harvester Operator’s Manuals, 1945-2007
John Hribljan
Master of Science in Biological Sciences
Advisor: Janice M Glime
Thesis title: The Influence of Moss and Litter Chemical Traits on Bryophagy in a Northern Temperate Forest Invertebrate, Porcellio scaber LATR.
Nicholas Jensen
Master of Science in Forest Ecology and Management
Advisor: Christopher Raymond Webster
Thesis title: Ungulate Winter Habitat Selection as a Driver of Heterogeneity in Ground-Layer Plant Communities
Samuel Johnson
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Jeffrey Donald Naber
Thesis title: Premixed Lean Gas Combustion and HPCR Rate of Injection used with a Constant Volume Combustion Vessel
Eric Kalenauskas
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Jeffrey Allen
Thesis title: Calibration Methods of an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler & Investigations of the Critical Wavenumber in Unstable Evaporating Thin Films
Keong Aik Lau
Doctor of Philosophy in Chemical Engineering
Advisor: Tony Neal Rogers
Dissertation title: Theoretical and Experimental Studies of the Temperature Dependence of the Henry’s Law Constant of Organic Solutes in Water
Shannon Lerner
Master of Science in Rhetoric and Technical Communication
Co-advisors: Marilyn M Cooper and Jnan Ananda Blau
Thesis title: Martin Buber and Luce Irigaray: Liminality and Historical Spiritual Moments
Kathryn Marlor
Master of Science in Forest Ecology and Management
Advisor: Rodney A Chimner
Thesis title: Determining the Role of Environmental Factors and Disturbance in the Distribution of Reed Canary Grass within Wetlands
Benjamin Melitz
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Charles D Van Karsen
Thesis title: Feasibility Assessment of Inverse Frequency Based Substructuring to Obtain Automotive Powertrain Mount Properties
Jonathan Mellor
Master of Science in Environmental Engineering
Advisor: David W Watkins
Thesis title: Water and Sanitation Accessibility and the Health of Rural Ugandans
Bode Morin
Doctor of Philosophy in Industrial Heritage and Archaeology
Advisor: Terry S Reynolds
Dissertation title: Reflection, Refraction, and Rejection: Copper Smelting Heritage and the Execution of Environmental Policy
James Nugent
Doctor of Philosophy in Rhetoric and Technical Communication
Advisor: Robert R Johnson
Dissertation title: United States Certificate Programs in Technical Communication: A Feminist-Sophistic Investigation
Paul Pawelzik
Master of Science in Civil Engineering
Advisor: Qiong Zhang
Thesis title: A Life Cycle Analysis Methodology: Incorporating Technological Advances Over Time A Study of the Environmental Impact of Cellulosic Ethanol with Technological Advances over Time
Russell Stacy
Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering
Advisor: Jeffrey Allen
Thesis title: Contact Angle Measurement Technique for Rough Surfaces
The SMART scholarship Program is a highly-selective, prestigious, national program that fully supports graduate and undergraduate education. Michigan Tech is recognized as one of the top schools in terms of SMART recipients. Our goal, in collaboration with the Department of Defense is to “greatly increase” the number of Michigan Tech SMART recipients.
The Science, Mathematics, and Research for Transformation (SMART) scholarship-for-service Program fully funds graduate degrees in a wide range of technical areas, including all fields of engineering, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Brain and Cognitive Sciences, and Mathematics. Recipients receive:
- Full tuition to any accredited U.S. University
- A very generous stipend
- $36, 000 for masters candiates
- 38,000- $41,000 for doctoral candidates
- $1000 Book allowance
- Health Insurance
- All required student fees
- Travel fees for internships
Deadline: December 15th
Please contact Jodi Lehman (jglehman@mtu.edu) if interested in applying.
In Tech Today
Alex Guth, PhD student, online lecturer, and Kenyan geology researcher, served as an expert for a National Geographic television show airing next spring.
The focus of the TV special is the concept of Pangea, the super continent that once existed before the current continents parted ways. The region of Kenya where the film crew worked is an important, and famous, marker in the theory, as it was once connected to the island Madagascar. The proof is in the animals, lemurs to be exact, that exist in both spots.
“I couldn’t speak as a biologist,” Guth said. But she could discuss her areas of expertise:
- mapping a visual history of the rift (her master’s research).
- tracking the history of climate change, paleo-climatology, in the region (her PhD focus).
These are 10-million-year histories.
For more information, and a picture of Alex in action, see an extended article on the Michigan Tech news site.
Sigma Delta Epislon/Graduate Women in Science
Awards of $24, 999 are made to women of outstanding ability and promise in research in STEM fields.
For more information click here.
Contact Jodi Lehman (jglehman@mtu.edu) if interested in applying.
NPSC Graduate Fellowships in Physical Science
Michigan Tech female and minority graduate students are qualified, as Michigan Tech is a participating NPSC Member University, for the NPSC fellowship.
NPSC welcomes applications from any qualified U.S. citizen who has the ability to pursue graduate work at an NPSC member institution. NPSC attempts to recruit a broad pool of applicants with special emphasis on underrepresented minorities and women. Applicants should be in one of the following categories:
For the Traditional Program:
- Be in your senior year with at least a 3.0/4.0 GPA
- Be in your first year of a graduate program.
- Be in a terminal master’s program (your university offers no Ph.D. in your discipline).
- Be returning from the workforce with no more than a master’s degree
For the Dissertation Support Program, be near the point at which your research will begin.
Fields of Study:
Though the fields supported can vary annually depending on employer needs, in general NPSC covers the following: Astronomy, Chemistry, Computer Science, Geology, Materials Science, Mathematical Sciences, Physics, and their subdisciplines, and related engineering fields: Chemical, Computer, Electrical, Environmental, Mechanical.
For more information please visit COS.
If interested in applying, please contact Jodi Lehman (jglehman@mtu.edu)
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
Michigan Tech has received support from the US Department of Education to fund a new, international, joint master’s program in volcanology and geotechniques.
The new program, INVOGE (International Volcanology and Geotechniques), will build on Michigan Tech’s well-known graduate programs and global research in volcanology and geohydrology and will allow students to spend a significant part of their graduate study on campuses in France and Italy and at worldwide research sites, such as the University of Reunion’s in the French Indian Ocean.
At Michigan Tech, INVOGE leads to a Master of Science in Geology with concentrations in volcanology or engineering geology, and exchanges could begin as early as this fall.
The European partner institutions are Universite Blaise Pascal in Clermont Ferrand, France, and the University of Milan-Bicocca, Italy. Both are well-known for their volcanology and engineering geology programs that attract students from all over Europe.
The State University of New York at Buffalo is the fourth institution that is part of INVOGE and possesses similar strengths in its graduate geology programs.
The program brings funding of $460,000 to Michigan Tech and SUNY-Buffalo and a similar amount of money to the European partner universities over the next five years. The funds are mainly for student and faculty travel.
“This is the type of educational partnership that helps us build more-advanced degree programs and a larger, more-robust faculty and research facility,” said Bill Rose, professor of petrology and principal investigator in the program.
“Our students in volcanology will now have access to very strong programs in petrology and experimental volcanology, as well as new field sites for volcano work,” he added.
“This program builds on Bill’s long-term efforts to collaborate with other universities to internationalize graduate education,” said Jackie Huntoon, dean of the Graduate School. “It is exciting that our students will have the opportunity to experience different cultures and make connections that will benefit them throughout their careers. Volcanologists really need to have a global perspective in order to conduct relevant research. This program is going to help our students become future leaders in their field.”
Rose said that the effort builds on successful exchange programs also funded by the Department of Education in geosciences over the past five years involving Canadian and Mexican universities.
“As a leader in volcanology research in the US, we need to ensure the breadth and excellence of our research program and provide the best possible opportunities for our students, if we want to continue to attract the best and brightest students,” Rose added. “The chance to build an international advisory committee and work on volcanoes all around the world will help us achieve that goal.”
The INVOGE web page is located at www.geo.mtu.edu/~raman/INVOGE .
DUE DATES
Full Proposal Deadline Date: June 1, 2009
June 1, Annually Thereafter
Full Proposal Deadline Date: December 5, 2009
December 5, Annually Thereafter
SYNOPSIS
Hydrologic Sciences focuses on the flow of water and transport processes within streams, soils, and aquifers. Particular attention is given to spatial and temporal heterogeneity of fluxes and storages of water, particles, and chemicals coupling across interfaces with the landscape, microbial communities, and coastal environments, to upscaling and downscaling given these heterogeneities and interfaces and how these processes are altered by climate and land use changes. Studies may address aqueous geochemistry as well as physical, chemical, and biological processes within water bodies. These studies commonly involve expertise from many basic sciences and mathematics, and proposals often require joint review with related programs.
See solicitation
Full Proposal Deadline Date: May 1, 2009
OEDG Planning Grant Proposals Only
Full Proposal Deadline Date: November 3, 2009
OEDG Planning Grant Proposals Only
This new Track supports planning workshops, conferences, symposia and related short-term activities that facilitate either: 1) development of new strategic plans to implement systemic, community-wide programs to broaden participation in the geosciences; or, 2) development of new partnerships or collaborations between multiple institutions seeking to establish sustainable projects that address the goals of the OEDG program.
See NSF for full description