Humanities News, Features, and Other Updates

Sarah Bell joins the Department of Humanities as an assistant professor. Before coming to Michigan Tech, Bell was at the University of Utah. Bell earned a PhD in Communication (rhetoric and writing studies) from the University of Utah and a Master’s in Library and Information Science from the University of Washington.

Her work has been published in Journal of Business and Technical Communication and Computational Culture. She also belongs to the Association for the Rhetoric of Science and Technology.

(This article originally appeared in Tech Today.)

Lesley (Alexandra) Morrison joins the Department of Humanities as an assistant professor. Before this appointment, Morrison was a visiting assistant professor of philosophy in the humanities department at Michigan Tech. Morrison earned a PhD in Philosophy from the University of Guelph and a Master’s in Philosophy from the University of Toronto.

Her areas of specialization are continental philosophy, feminist philosophy and philosophy and art. She also knows the languages Czech and French, and she has a reading knowledge of German and Ancient Greek.

(This article originally appeared in Tech Today.)

Andrea Scarpino, the U.P. Poet Laureate, will be on campus tomorrow for a poetry reading. The reading will be at 5 p.m. in Walker 134.

Scarpino is the author of three books; “What the Willow Said as it Fell,” “The Grove Behind” and “Once, Then” along with numerous publications in several literary journals, including PANK.

Scarpino will be on campus most of the day and has some time to meet with faculty or students. If you are interested in scheduling a time with Scarpino, contact Adam Feltz (CLS) or Stephanie Carpenter  (HU).

Refreshments will be provided as part of the English Department Coffee House series.

(This article first appeared in Tech Today.)

L Syd M Johnson (HU) has published “Moving Beyond End of Life: The Ethics of Disorders of Consciousness in an Age of Discovery and Uncertainty,” in Brain Function and Responsiveness in Disorders of Consciousness (Editors: Martin M. Monti, Walter G. Sannita), Springer.

(This article originally appeared in Tech Today.)

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has released its annual research spending report, and Michigan Tech has moved up in its rankings. Of 634 institutions that received research funding in 2014, Tech received $68.5 million, ranking 163rd overall nationwide. The University ranked 117th among public institutions. Mechanical engineering research at Tech received $13.1 million in research funding, ranking 19th in the nation. Atmospheric science—a new interdisciplinary category—received $3.1 million and ranked 34th.

14 Disciplines in Top 100

Fourteen disciplines at Michigan Tech ranked in the top 100 for research spending.  They are:

• atmospheric science (34^th)
• business and management (76^th)
• biomedical engineering (94^th)
• chemical engineering (90^th)
• civil engineering (89^th)
• electrical engineering (62^nd)
• environmental science (52^nd)
• humanities (94^th)
• mechanical engineering (19^th)
• metallurgical and materials engineering (58^th)
• mathematical sciences (88^th)
• oceanography (56^th)
• overall engineering (84^th)
• visual and performing arts (85^th).

“The research funding environment is increasingly competitive, and our improvement in overall ranking, as well as the increases in last year’s funding that will impact future rankings, all indicate the exceptional efforts of our faculty, staff, and students,” said David Reed, vice president for research.

NSF ranks research activities by discipline, not by organizational structure, Reed pointed out, so the spending in some of Tech’s institutes and centers, such as the Michigan Tech Research Institute, the Keweenaw Research Center and the Great Lakes Research Center, are included with the appropriate academic departments rather than reported separately.

(This article originally appeared in Tech Today.)

The final KIP Faculty and Graduate Student seminar is today, Friday Dec. 4, at 3pm in the ATDC Conference Room. Dr. Syd Johnson from the Department of Humanities will be presenting on the ethical and legal implications surrounding concussions and CTE (chronic traumatic en​cephalopathy). This is timely as there is a new movie out this month called “Concussion” (features Will Smith) which highlights Dr. Bennet Omalu’s discovery of CTE in NFL athletes and how his scientific findings were challenged by the NFL. Below are a few background links that might be of interest. This should be a great talk to wrap up the fall seminar series!

Head trauma: Key questions on CTE lack answers

HOUGHTON – Decades after the first research on concussions and chronic head trauma, there’s a widespread effort to mitigate their damage. But many of the most pressing questions still don’t have answers.

Read more at the Mining Gazette, by Garrett Neese (subscription required).

Every year the Elie Wiesel Foundation presents awards to college students for top essays on ethics. First prize is $5,000. This year’s prompt is: Articulate with clarity an ethical issue that you have encountered and analyze what it has taught you about ethics and yourself.

Note this topic is only a suggestion. Students may write about any topic they wish, as long as it explores the theme of ethics. Essays must be submitted by Dec. 14. Find out more here.

(This article first appeared in Tech Today.)