Honors student teaches innovative, hands-on science class to teens

Read about honors student and recent graduate Addie Saltarelli (Forestry, 2020) in the Western UP Food Systems Collaborate blog. Addie designed and co-taught a greenhouse and gardening course at Jeffers High School. She was awarded the Exceptional Community Service Project Leadership Award from Michigan Tech for this work.

https://www.wupfoodsystems.com/blog/2020/4/28/planting-a-seed-for-generations-to-come-school-greenhouses-and-gardens

MTU student research partnerships growing for KBIC NRD

Read about Michigan Tech students who have partnered with Keweenaw Bay Indian Community’s Natural Resources Department on a variety of research projects:

  • Kelley Christensen, Environmental Energy and Policy grad student
  • Angela Gutierrez, Social Science major
  • Marie Richards, Industrial Heritage and Archaeology grad student
  • Deanna Seil, MS Forest Ecology and Management 2020
  • Emily Shaw, Environmental Engineering grad student

Huskies Serve as Virtual K-12 Tutors During the Pandemic

Huskies Serve as Virtual K-12 Tutors During the Pandemic

When the Covid-19 pandemic began this spring, it rapidly affected every facet of life including the lives of K-12 students and families across the country when schools began closing. Schools changed gears to provide virtual and remote education almost overnight, a major challenge for teachers, students and parents alike. At the same time as universities closed, Michigan Tech students also found themselves stuck at home with plenty of their own on-line class work, but still wondering how they could help the community.  As Tech students, faculty, and alumni brainstormed and connected with local educators for advice, Tech Tutors – a free, virtual tutoring program for K-12 students – was born.

Connecting on Zoom, Elise Cheney-Makens (alum and Community Engagement Coordinator for the Pavlis Honors College), Lydia Savatsky (undergraduate), and Charles Fugate (alum) worked together to quickly roll out the Tech Tutors program in a matter of weeks. By early May, the program was up and running.

Tech Tutors allows Michigan Tech students to volunteer while staying home to keep their families, friends, and communities safe. Volunteer tutors and K-12 students meet virtually through programs like Zoom. Participants range in age from first grade up through high school, and tutors help their students with everything from solving basic math problems to learning the principles of acids and bases by dipping oranges in baking soda or  diving into the complex scientific and social implications of the pandemic.  Currently, participating students come from throughout the Western U.P., and tutors are able to work with any students and families interested in tutoring.

The benefits of Tech Tutors extends far beyond helping with subjects like English, science, and math. While completing schoolwork and traditional learning are essential parts of the program, equally important is tutors mentoring and building connections with their students. At a time when many people – K-12 students, families, and college students alike – have had their normal routines and lives interrupted, building connections with new people, supporting one another, and learning from new perspectives is more valuable than ever before.

Created by students, faculty, staff, and alumni in the Pavlis Honors College, the Tech Tutors program will begin operating this fall under the Center for Educational Outreach at Michigan Tech and the program will continue to help K-12 students – and provide opportunities for Michigan Tech students to give back – as we navigate what school and life look like during the ever-changing Covid-19 world.

More information about Tech Tutors and how to get involved is available on their website.

Study Abroad Update for Fall 2020

Dear Fall 2020 Study Abroad Students,

As you know, Michigan Tech has been monitoring the CDC guidelines regarding COVID-19 and international travel.

Regrettably, in order to protect your health, and to minimize the financial impact to all involved, Michigan Tech is cancelling all study abroad programs departing August through December 2020 due to the continued spread of COVID-19. This includes both European Project Semester programs and study abroad programs operated by third-party providers.  

Like you, we are deeply disappointed by the need to make this decision. We highly value the unique, soul-enriching, perspective-changing experience of study abroad. Ultimately, our higher priorities must be to protect your personal health, minimize disruptions to your academic success, and promote the well-being of the entire Michigan Technological University community.  

We know that this decision will affect each of you in different ways and that you have each been preparing for the possibility that your program might be canceled by delaying your bookings and enrolling in Fall courses at Michigan Tech as a backup. 

Students with questions about how this cancellation affects degree programs including minors and certificates, should contact academic advisors and faculty program leaders as soon as possible. Please also feel free to contact Vienna Chapin if you have any questions about this cancellation, or if you would like to meet virtually to plan an alternative future study abroad experience. Vienna can be reached by email, vrchapin@mtu.edu, or by phone (906) 487-1976.

Lorelle Meadows, PhD

Dean, Pavlis Honors College

Congratulations, Pavlis Honors College class of 2020

Congratulations to our graduates! Watch our virtual medallion ceremony as we celebrate Adison Cook, Brad Dahm, Becky Daniels, Samantha Dertinger, Lucinda Hall, Lianne Novak, Clara Peterson, Cameron Philo, Brenna Rosso, Emily Rutledge, Addie Saltarelli, Joshua Undlin, and Amanda Vermeer.

Transforming a Michigan Tech Program into an Honors Program

Every Michigan Tech graduate has accomplished something amazing — Michigan Tech has prepared them to create the future in their fields. So how did our Honors graduates go above and beyond?

They had once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Took action. Learned and led. Developed relationships in the Michigan Tech community and around the world. Take a look at this photo essay to see how the Pavlis Honors College’s class of 2020 created their own definitions of success.

Husky Innovate Students Compete and Win at the New Venture Competition

Each year, Central Michigan University and Michigan Tech’s CMU’s New Venture Competition. Due to COVID-19, this year the competition pivoted online and became the New Venture Online Competition — NVOC. Contestants pitched their ideas in either a 10-minute or two-minute pitch. Four Michigan Tech Husky Innovate students competed in the 10-minute pitch category and three won top prizes.

First Prize — Ranit Karmakar with FOCUS, $7,500
Second Prize — Mitch DeLong with FreightMate, $3,000
Honorable Mention — Jacob Soter with SwimSmart, $1,000

Watch the 2020 New Venture Competition awards ceremony

Student Feature: Addie Saltarelli on School Greenhouses and Gardens

“When I was growing up, I could walk fifty feet out my back door and pick a fresh tomato to eat as an afternoon snack. Another fifty feet, I would find farm fresh eggs and beyond that there were blueberry bushes that our bee hives were pollinating. My family survived Michigan winters from persevering the food we grew in the garden from the summer before. I was fortunate enough to grow up watching my food grow and being a part of the system of planting, picking, and processing. I quickly realized not every kid grew up like this. …”

Sometimes the best way to teach really does involve getting your hands dirty. Read “Planting a Seed for Generations to Come: School Greenhouses and Gardens,” by Honors student Addie Saltarelli, on the Western Upper Peninsula Food System’s blog.

2020 Michigan Space Grant Consortium Award Recipients Receive $90,500 in Funding

Michigan Tech faculty, staff members and students received awards totaling $90,500 in funding through the Michigan Space Grant Consortium (MSGC), sponsored by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for the 2020-2021 funding cycle.

Michigan Tech Undergraduates receiving $3,000 research fellowships:

  • Troy Maust (ECE): “Auris: An RF Mission” with Lyon Brad King (ME-EM)
  • Lea Morath (BME): “Evaluating Zinc Alloys for Biodegradable Arterial Stents” with Jeremy Goldman (BME)
  • Victoria Nizzi (MSE): “The Use of Computer Modeling to Simulate and Predict the Biodegradation of a Magnesium Alloy Fracture Plate” with Jaroslaw Drelich (MSE)
  • Collette Sarver (Chemistry): “Accurate Theoretical Prediction of Anharmonic Infrared (IR) Spectra of Neutral Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs)” with Loredana Valenzano-Slough (Chemistry)
  • Tyler Strauss (ME-EM): “Effects of Optogenetic Stimulation of the Subthalamic nucleus on Stress-Induced Depression” with Chunxiu Yu (Biological Sciences)

Michigan Tech Graduate Students receiving $5,000 research fellowships:

  • Kelsey LeMay (BME): “Processing of Porcine Internal Mammary Arteries for Hyman Bypass Graft Applications” with Jeremy Goldman (BME)
  • Sophie Mueller (GME): “Keweenaw Fault Geometry and Slip Kinematics: Mohawk to Lac La Belle, MI Segment” with James DeGraff (GME)
  • Elise Rosky (Physics): “Freezing of Droplets in Mixed-Phase Clouds: Understanding Mechanisms of Ice Nucleation” with Raymond Shaw (Physics)
  • Steven Stelly (KIP): “The Impact of Food Deprivation on Cardiovascular Physiology” with William Cooke (KIP)
  • Mitchel Timm (ME-EM): “Transport, Self-Assembly, and Deposition of Colloidal Particles in Evaporating Droplets” with Hassan Masoud (ME-EM)
  • Emily Tom (MSE): “Investigation of Novel Mg-Zn-Ca Alloys for Bioresorbable Orthopedic Implants” with Jaroslaw Drelich (MSE)
  • Issac Wedig (KIP): “Arm Cranking with Blood Flow Restriction: A Potential Exercise for Use in Space?” with Steven Elmer (KIP)

Faculty and staff members receiving $5,000 or more for pre-college outreach and research seed programs include:

  • Glen Archer (ECE): “Michigan Tech Electrical Engineering Outreach Program for Pre-College Students to Build Early Interest in STEM Areas” (includes augmentation)
  • Joan Chadde (CEE): “Engaging High School Women and Native Americans in Rural Communities in Environmental Science & Engineering STEM Careers” (includes augmentation)
  • Lloyd Wescoat (CEE): “Celebrating Lake Superior: A 2020 Water Festival for Grades 4-8” (includes augmentation)
  • Elena Giusarma (Physics): “Learning to Simulate the Large-Scale Structure of the Universe with Convolutional Neural Networks”
  • Kathyrn Perrine (Chemistry): “Influence of Water Vapor and Cationic Species in Corrosion Reactions on Iron Interfaces”
  • Lorelle Meadows (Pavlis Honors College): MSGC Administrative award ($3,675)