Month: April 2017

KIP Faculty Awarded Research Excellence Fund Awards

Three KIP faculty members were awarded internal Research Excellence Fund (REF) awards this week.  There are four internal REF categories for researchers to select from and new for 2017 were three health-oriented Portage Health Foundation REF (PHF-REF) categories.  All three KIP faculty were awarded grants from the PHF-REF categories.

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Steve Elmer, PhD
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Kelly Kamm, PhD
Kevin Trewartha, PhD
Kevin Trewartha, PhD

Trewartha’s Article Published in Cognition

Kevin Trewartha
Kevin Trewartha, PhD

Assistant Professor Kevin Trewartha (CLS/KIP) was recently published in Cognition, an international journal that publishes theoretical and experimental papers on the study of the mind.  His article titled “Linking actions and objects: Context-specific learning of novel weight priors” is a fun read that explores how context impacts our memory for objects.

His work was also featured in Michigan Tech News.

Steve Elmer Recognized for Teaching by Dean

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Steve Elmer, PhD

Congratulations to Assistant Professor Steve Elmer for his recognition from College of Sciences and Arts Dean, Bruce Seely, as the final member of the Spring 2017 Dean’s Teaching Showcase.

Elmer continues to strive for excellence in his teaching approach.  Students studying and working with him experience hands-on learning and are encouraged to be involved in his research.

You’ll find his students everywhere on campus and around town.  His students lead area visiting high school students through experiments, they can be seen buying parts at local hardware stores to make a model for his lab, predicting when a runner will break the two hour barrier for a marathon, or pushing each other to find their VO2 max.

The full story about Steve’s nomination by Dean Seely can be read on Tech Today.

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Alex Gabe, exercise science undergraduate student, leading a group high school students through the analysis of the experiment.
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Tom Bye and Kirsen Hudak, both exercise science undergraduate students, explaining to a group of high school students how to make the wooden apparatus needed to navigate a slalom course as part of an experiment to determine the rotational inertia on turning performance.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Houghton High School Visits Anatomy & Physiology Classes

Houghton School LogoThe Department of Biological Sciences and Department of Kinesiology & Integrative Physiology hosted  students from Houghton High School’s Anatomy and Physiology class last week. Department chairs Dr. Shekhar Joshi (BIO) and Dr. Jason Carter (KIP) kicked off the visit with an informational session about the many ways each department prepares students for health-related careers.  Students then toured labs in both departments engaging in lab activities.

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Ida Fonkoue engaging students in an experiment about the influence of stress on blood pressure. Ida recently earned her PhD studying under Jason Carter.
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Derek Walli demonstrating a concentric and eccentric exercise experiment with a Houghton High School student. Derek is a master’s degree student studying under Steve Elmer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Daily Mining Gazette also covered this visit.

KIP Coordinates National Biomechanics Day Outreach with Local Schools


Slide2National Biomechanics Day is Thursday (April 6), a world-wide event for high-school teachers and students to advance the science and education of human biomechanics.

This year’s theme is, “Science Meets Fun on National Biomechanics Day.” The Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology (KIP) Department has collaborated with several departments across campus to invite local students to engage in fun, hands-on activities focused on biomechanics research.

Students will start their visit with KIP faculty, Steve Elmer and Tejin Yoon. Elmer will engage students in building a wooden apparatus that they will use to investigate the influence of rotational inertia on turning performance. To do this students will navigate a slalom course with and without the wooden apparatus. Yoon will demonstrate the many tools used to analyze and describe human motion during exercise, and students will even get a chance to test their strength compared to Michigan Tech football players.

Students will also have the opportunity to visit additional biomechanics laboratories across campus. Physical Therapist, Caroline Gwaltney, and several Central Michigan University doctorate of physical therapy students will demonstrate how foot position can alter posture.

Students will also make imprints of their foot type and analyze how different foot type impacts movement across multiple joints.

In Mo Rastgaar’s (MEEM) HIROlab, students will place EMG sensors on their arms and move a robotic arm, as well as investigate an agile robotic prosthesis as it moves on a circular treadmill.

Finally, students will wear trackable sensors to experiment with creating sound from their own movement and dance in Myounghoon “Philart” Jeon’s (CLS) Mind Music and Machine lab.

The event will begin at 9 a.m. Thursday with lab activities scheduled to begin at 9:10 a.m.

Local Students Win Portage Health Foundation Making a Difference Scholarships to Michigan Tech

1491240303Four students who are entering Michigan Tech this fall to pursue health-related careers have received $8,000 Making a Difference scholarships from the Portage Health Foundation. Another 10 entering first-year students received $1,000 awards.

 

The $8,000 scholarships went to:

  • Peter Alger, Houghton, computer engineering
  • Alexa Destrampe, Lake Linden, exercise science
  • Hannah Kariniemi, Calumet, biological sciences
  • Karmyn Polakowski, Houghton, biological sciences

Receiving $1,000 scholarships were:

  • Blake Dupuis, Lake Linden, exercise science
  • Lauren Gabe, L’Anse, biological sciences
  • Austin Goudge, Houghton, medical laboratory science
  • Bella Nutini, Hancock, exercise science
  • Celia Peterson, Calumet, biomedical engineering
  • Anna Pietila, L’Anse, biological sciences
  • Lindsay Sandell, Houghton, biomedical engineering
  • Brooke Tienhaara, Calumet, biological sciences
  • Nicholas Walli, Finlandia University, biological sciences
  • Sloane Zenner, Houghton, mechanical engineering

The students are from Houghton, Keweenaw, Baraga or Ontonagon counties.

The 14 recipients of the 2017 awards have an average GPA of 3.81. Their interests reflect a broad spectrum of majors including biological sciences, exercise science, biomedical engineering, computer engineering, medical laboratory science and mechanical engineering. The scholarship winners flip Michigan Tech’s male to female ratio of 3:1, with 10 female and 4 male recipients.

The scholarships are part of a Michigan Tech-Portage Health Foundation partnership established in 2015 to support health-related research and education, jobs and community health. The scholarships were first awarded in 2016.

“The awards reflect the high-caliber student talent we have locally, thanks to exceptional schools, outreach programming and parent support,” says Jodi Lehman, director of foundations at Michigan Tech. “We know that student talent is key in supporting the success of college peers and inspiring K-12 students to pursue health science and engineering pathways.

The Portage Health Foundation and Michigan Tech share the long-term goal of retaining or recruiting back local workforce talent — whether that be orthodontists, doctors, physical therapists, orthopedic surgeons, biomedical engineers or professionals in the field of medical informatics. Scholarships ultimately play a critical role in helping to grow our local economy while fostering healthy communities.”

At a dinner for finalists, the scholarship recipients heard from current students also supported by the Portage Health Foundation through the Undergraduate Research Internship Program (URIP). Both speakers shared their internship experiences and career goals.

Read the full story.