Tim Havens (CS/ICC/GLRC) was interviewed February 2, 2022, by ABC 10 TV in a story about his new role as director of the Great Lakes Research Center.
In addition to his role as GLRC director, Havens is director of the Institute of Computing and Cybersystems (ICC) and the William and Gloria Jackson Professor of Computer Science.
Based in Marquette, Mich., the television station serves the central and western Upper Peninsula. The write-up on the ABC 10 website appears below. Link to the story here.
HOUGHTON – The Great Lakes Research Center has a new director. Tim Havens will move his office from the MTU Electrical Engineering building to the GLRC’s site closer to the Portage Canal. Havens earned his undergraduate and master’s degrees at MTU from 1994 to 2000. Before he began conducting research for the Air Force. He then earned a PhD. from the University of Missouri in Electrical and Computer Engineering. Havens said he’s very excited to lead the center, even calling it his dream job.
“[I] decided to go on for my PhD. And I did my PhD at the University of Missouri in Electrical and Computer Engineering. And then finally found my way back to Michigan Tech in 2012. And so moving into this Directorship with the GLRC is really fun for me. Not only do I get to work my own research. But I get to help out others achieve their goals in their research as well.” – Tim Havens, Director GLRC
The Great Lakes Research Center studies the different impacts industries, wildlife and humans have on the great lakes and other bodies of water. The center also researches new technologies for renewable energy. There are many more research projects already underway, and there are more to come.
“There’s a lot of interesting research being done at the GLRC, from research that is looking at how we can change plastics into edible food. And then we’re also doing things in marine autonomy. We’ve been really working hard to develop an area around Michigan Tech, called the Marine Autonomy Research Site. Which is an area denoted by the U.S. Coast Guard, for the testing of marine autonomy in our local Keweenaw Waterway and Lake Superior. So I’m very excited.” – Tim Havens
Havens hopes to share his knowledge with students and faculty. He wants to help researchers get started on analyzing important aspects of the great lakes ecosystem. MTU and the GLRC have undertaken projects throughout the Great Lakes region and across the state. Havens hopes to add to the historical impact the Great Lakes Research Center has had discovering and researching the state of these important bodies of water.