Category: Michigan Tech News

Professor Emeritus Bryan Suits Passes Away

Professor Bryan Suits
Professor Bryan Suits
Suits One String Guitar
Dr. Suits demonstrating a one string guitar in his Physics Behind Music course.

Bryan Suits, a professor in the Department of Physics from 1985 to 2023, passed away this month.

Bryan’s primary research focus was nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). His most cited work concerned remote sensing by nuclear quadrupole resonance, applied to problems such as explosives detection. Notably, the NMR spectrometers and processing electronics in Bryan’s lab contained almost no commercial instruments. Everything was Bryan Suits’ brand, designed and built by him and his students. He couldn’t find any instruments matching the impedance of his coils, and phase-sensitive detector and boxcars were not fast enough for him, so he simply built everything himself.

Bryan was also a regular contributor to the American Journal of Physics and The Physics Teacher, writing on wide-ranging topics from frequency and pitch, to the propagation of typos, to long pendulums in gravitational gradients. The latter was inspired by Bryan’s historical research into early 20th century pendulum experiments conducted in the Tamarack Mine by Michigan Tech Physics faculty. In 2005, these were recognized by Guinness World Records as the World’s Longest Pendulum thanks to Bryan’s efforts (the piano wire and iron weights were hung 4,250 feet down Shaft No. 5, and the pendulum period was a remarkable 70 seconds).

Bryan answered the call of duty to serve as department chair during Physics’ crucial and extraordinarily difficult transition to a significant focus on research. Afterward, Bryan dedicated himself to teaching. His experimental skills became invaluable assets for our students. He developed a state-of-the-art electronics lab that accompanied his lectures. The lab wasn’t just based on computer simulations; instead, students built electronic gadgets from scratch using a soldering iron and basic components.

Bryan received the Michigan Tech teaching award in 2007. He fully deserved it just for that electronics class, but in addition, he developed a highly successful and popular Physics of Music course containing fascinating demonstrations, another example of Bryan’s exceptional experimental abilities. Finally, the many live demonstrations experienced by hundreds of Michigan Tech students in introductory physics courses Mechanics and Electricity and Magnetism were developed and refined by Bryan. His legacy of teaching lives on through his demos and through two textbooks he wrote for the courses he developed: “Electronics for Scientists” (Springer, 2020) and “Physics Behind Music” (Cambridge, 2023).

Bryan also had a rich personal life. He raised his family in Houghton. He was a stalwart member of the Physics softball team. He was a musician extraordinaire, performing for many years as the principal flutist of the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra. His artistry on the flute created many memorable performances, including major solos by Debussy, Saint-Saens and Shostakovich. One of his prized accomplishments was rediscovering a lost symphony by astronomer-composer William Herschel (who discovered Uranus). After Bryan edited and rescored it, the KSO premiered the symphony in October 2022. Ten years ago or so, Bryan started to run. He was determined to run and finish the Boston Marathon, and his dream came true when in 2017 he ran in and finished the race.

Bryan’s dry wit, warmth and musicality made a lasting impression on all who knew him.

Read Bryan’s full obituary.

Wil Slough Selected for Deans’ Teaching Showcase

Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning

Director of First-Year Programs, Wil Slough
Director of First-Year Programs, Wil Slough

College of Sciences and Arts Dean David Hemmer has selected Wil Slough as a featured instructor in the Deans’ Teaching Showcase.

Slough, director of first-year programs and laboratory director in the Department of Physics, will be recognized at an end-of-term event with other showcase members and is a candidate for the CTL Instructional Award Series.

Slough has made substantial contributions to teaching calculus-based physics courses and labs at Michigan Tech. Over the past decade, he anchored one of the very large physics courses during spring semesters, with enrollments often exceeding 650 students. In this capacity, he successfully maintained the learning management system, online homework system, classroom response system, examinations and accommodations, and popular office hours. His efforts have served a crucial role in ensuring the quality, consistency and effectiveness of these foundational courses over time.

Illustrative of Slough’s dedication to helping students succeed and improving the experiences of first-year students at Michigan Tech, he took the initiative to engage the department in a deeper examination of PH2100. This led to campus-wide discussions and, finally, the development of a supplementary instruction course for students needing additional support. “Student success in our large introductory science courses is critical to Michigan Tech’s overall success, and our students are fortunate to have faculty as dedicated as Wil Slough,” commented Hemmer.

The physics department also offers over 100 introductory physics lab sections for approximately 2,000 students each year. As the laboratory director, Slough supervises all lab courses, oversees equipment, manages the operational budget and supports 60 employees. Over the years, he has developed and implemented a robust and fully integrated approach to the physics labs, with resulting courses that have received high student satisfaction in evaluations. He has led the continuous improvement efforts for junior-level capstone lab courses based on assessments, further demonstrating his commitment to enhancing the quality of the lab offerings to benefit student learning. His efforts have also helped the department identify and remedy impediments to student retention.

Physics Chair Ravindra Pandey has strong praise for Slough’s impact within the department. “Wil is an exceptional teacher who cares about engaging students in their learning and has made a meaningful contribution to improving the quality of education and student outcomes in the physics department,” said Pandey.

John Jaszczak, chair of the department’s undergraduate studies committee, has worked with Slough for many years. “Not only is Wil remarkable in his capacity to effectively manage and teach the large lectures and laboratories, but I am also most impressed with his continuous personal touch with students,” said Jaszczak. “He proactively connects with them via email and in person to ensure they are keeping up with assignments and taking advantage of office hours and other resources. He also regularly checks with his student employees in a friendly and supportive manner to ensure they thrive in the physics department. He is a role model as a supervisor.”

Professor Emeritus Max Seel Passes Away

Professor Emeritus Max Seel

Max Seel, a professor emeritus of physics and former provost and vice president of academic affairs at Michigan Tech, passed away Sept. 14 at the age of 72.

Seel was a beloved member of the Michigan Tech community, leaving his native Germany in 1986 to join the University faculty as an associate professor of physics. Over the course of his three-decade career, Seel served as dean of the College of Sciences and Arts (CSA) from 1991 to 2008, as interim provost in 2009, and as provost and vice president of academic affairs from 2010 to 2015. Seel was a scholar-teacher, publishing more than 85 research papers related to electronic structure theory, several of which were published after he stepped down as provost and returned to the physics faculty.

Max is remembered by his colleagues for his sharp intellect and great sense of humor. Many have expressed that he was a calm, steady presence in rough times and someone who helped people talk through issues to reach the best possible outcome. Max is an integral part of our Husky legacy, and we will miss him.

Read Seel’s full obituary here.

Professor Emeritus Don Beck Passes Away

Don Beck, Michigan Tech professor emeritus in Physics

Don Beck, Michigan Tech professor emeritus in Physics, passed away on May 11, 2022.

Beck joined the Michigan Tech Physics Department in 1980 as part of an initiative to develop the research and Ph.D. programs in the department. His previous appointments included the University of Illinois, the National Hellenic Research Foundation in Athens, Yeshiva University and Yale.

Much of Beck’s work at Michgan Tech centered on computational atomic physics applied to transition and rare-earth metal ions. He was passionate about his research and pursued it with persistence. He was an MTU research awardee in 1999 and named a fellow of the American Physical Society in 2001 in recognition of his seminal work on relativistic correlation methodologies in electronic structure theory.

Beck retired in 2016 having published over 150 scientific papers. He received funding from many sources, most notably for his ongoing work on Lanthanide ions, which received continuous NSF funding for over 30 years. He always played an active role in the department, College of Sciences and Arts, and university. Most notably, he helped develop and provide leadership for the graduate programs in the department. As a principal advisor he graduated 10 Ph.D. and 6 M.S. students. At the University level, he was particularly active as an advocate for the Van Pelt and Opie Library and improved faculty benefits.

He was a friend, colleague and mentor to many in the department.

https://www.mininggazette.com/obituaries/2022/05/donald-richardson-beck/

Merelaniite article Published by Inside-Science

John Jaszczak 2Merelaniite, a new mineral discovered by Michigan Tech professor John Jaszczak, was named Mineral Of the Year for 2016. The mineral was selected by the International Mineralogical Association (IMA). Sergey V. Krivovichev of the IMA says this annual initiative was started in 2014, and “recognizes a single new mineral species published in the previous year as most interesting and outstanding among others.”

Congrats!

 

New funding announcement

Ravi Pandey
Ravi Pandey

Greg Odegard (MEEM) is the principal investigator on a project that has received a $1,000,000 research and development grant from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Ravi Pandey (Physics), Julia King (MEEM) and Trisha Sain (MEEM) are Co-Pis on the project titled “Institute for Ultra-Strong Composites by Computational Design (US-COMP).”

This is the first year of a five-year project potential totaling $14,999,995.

Yap featured in Research Magazine – Commercialization

Yoke Kin Yap 011320170045Yoke Khin Yap’s research in high-brightness fluorophores earned him a place in Michigan Tech’s Research Magazine in the article “Commercialization“.

“We are expecting a huge impact to the field of flow cytometery…This will mean a lot for cancer and stem cell research.”

High-brightness fluorophores are dyes that fluoresce in different colors and degrees of brightness. They are used in machines called flow cytometers to detect diseased cells in blood.

Dean’s Teaching Showcase: Raymond Shaw

Raymond ShawThis week’s Dean’s Teaching Showcase recipient is Raymond Shaw from the Department of Physics, winner of the 2016 Michigan Tech Research Award. Shaw was selected by College of Sciences and Arts Dean Bruce Seely precisely because his efforts in the classroom forcefully demonstrate the unity of teaching and research and signal no necessary tension exists between these two core faculty responsibilities.

Seely says “That past fall, the Physics Department honored Ray for the Research Award in the manner it had recognized several other research award recipients — assigning them to teach a large lecture class. In Ray’s case, this was PH 2200, which covered electricity and magnetism for 390 students. He discovered large classes requires ‘one part professor and two parts theater director.’

“Fortunately, he enjoyed significant assistance from a demo crew that prepared attention-grabbing experiments suitable for classroom use, a dedicated assistant who managed iClicker content and online homework systems, the office staff that printed and organized 400 exam booklets every few weeks, and the physics learning center coaches who assisted students with homework and exams.

“At the end of the term, student evaluations ranked the class at 4.36 on the seven dimensions reported on the  evaluation form. This is a very good score for a large introductory class.

“Ray identified several keys to this success, including support from Physics faculty, John Jaszczak, Wil Slough, and Bob Weidman, with extensive experience in large-lecture sections, who shared lecture materials and staging tips, and provided occasional pep talks. In addition, help from the testing center and IT staff members further confirmed that such courses are taught by a team, not just a professor.

“When asked about his contributions to making this class work, Ray noted that because  big classes can seem impersonal, he ‘took it as a challenge to let my students get to know me as a person.’

“He spiced up lectures with personal anecdotes related to the course, like his rapidly-flashing blinker (RC time constants) or electromagnetic phenomena in his research. Other times he used more random elements related to life in general. He once asked students to provide iClicker responses on possible ways of disciplining his son for breaking the TV. (Corporal punishment won, but he did not take that advice) His point — students respond when taught by faculty who are real people and who care about them. As one student commented, ‘Every class was enjoyable due to the somewhat ‘nerdy’ humor followed by funny references to his son (absolutely hysterical).’

“But perhaps as important was Ray’s enthusiasm for the class. Students clearly recognized his passion and excitement about physics. One student said, ‘Your enthusiasm for Physics is inspiring. It makes the lectures much more enjoyable.’  Another added, ‘Your enthusiasm was great. You were always passionate and in a good mood.’

“This might not seem like rocket science, but teaching seems to work better in environments where faculty exhibit their enthusiasm about their field and show how they care about students and their learning.”

Shaw will be recognized at an end-of-term luncheon with 11 other showcase members, and is now eligible for one of three new teaching awards to be given by the William G. Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning this summer recognizing introductory or large class teaching, innovative or outside the classroom teaching methods, or work in curriculum and assessment.

by Michael Meyer, Director, William G. Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning

A New Mineral Named after Physics Professor

In Mineralogical Magazine’s recent newsletter, the International Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification announced twelve new minerals that were approved by the commission in November.

Among them is a new bismuth and gold sulfide [Bi3S3][AuS2] from Alsó-Rózsa adit, Nagybörzsöny Mountains, Pest Co., Hungary named jaszczakite, in honor of Michigan Tech professor John Jaszczak (Physics).

The new mineral was proposed by Luca Bindi (Università di Firenze, Italy;) and Werner Paar (Salzburg, Austria).