STEM Outreach During Spring Break

ChicagoIt’s Not Your Typical Spring Break

A group of 40 students will get a taste of city life as they head to Chicago on a trip organized by International Programs and Services (IPS).

“The goal is to show these kids that college is attainable by having them talk with students who share some of their experiences and have done it,” said Joan Chadde, education program coordinator for the Center for Science and Environmental Outreach at Michigan Tech.

“This is a great way to increase diversity on our campus, but more importantly, to have students who can relate to these kids and show them that a college education and a career in STEM is possible for them,” said Chadde.

Read more at Tech Today, by Travis Gendron.

Proposals in Progress February 27, 2013

Dept. Chair Brad Baltensperger (CLS) and Spec. Assistant to President Chris Anderson (OID), “Partnership to Build the STEM Teacher Workforce,” NASA

Associate Provost/Dean Jacqueline Huntoon (Grad. School), Department Chair Brad Baltensperger (CLS) and Senior Research Engineer Christopher Wojick (Civil), “Next Generation MiTEP: Michigan Teacher Excellence Program for the 21st Century,” NSF

Associate Dean of Engineering Leonard Bohmann (COE), Dir. Center Pre-College Stephen Patchin, Coord. Education Program Joan Schumaker Chadde (Civil) and Associate Professor Kurtis Paterson (Civil), “Full-Scale Development: Mind Trekkers Science and Engineering Festivals,” NSF

Family Engineering in MSTA Newsletter

Family EngineeringThe Michigan Science Teachers Association’s Winter 2013 newsletter published a feature article about Family Engineering events hosted by the Michigan Mathematics and Science Centers Network at 58 centers across Michigan during 2012. The hands-on program, designed to make engineering accessible and fun, reached nearly 5,000 elementary school students and their parents last year. It is based on a book titled “Family Engineering Activity & Event Planning Guide,” developed at Michigan Tech and disseminated nationwide. Professor Neil Hutzler (CEE), who founded the program, is quoted. See page 15,
MSTA Winter News.

From Tech Today.

Perelman, Zhang, Ellis, Shortz, Suss, Ghazal and Thanasuan at GRC 2013

Graduate students in Cognitive and Learning Sciences will be giving poster and oral presentations at the Graduate Research Colloquium 2013. Their presentations will take place on the first day of the colloquium, February 21, 2013, in the MUB Ballrooms A & B. Presenters, abstracts, and schedules are posted on the Graduate Student Government website.

Day 1 Feb 21 Poster Presentations 10am-12pm
Brandon Perelman
Wei Zhang
Katrina Ellis
Ashley Shortz

Day 1 Feb 21 Oral Presentations 3:00pm to 4:20 pm
Joel Suss
Saimia Ghazal
Kejkaew Thanasuan

New Peace Corps Graduate Fellowships

Peace Corps Fellowships 2013New Graduate Fellowships Lure Returning Peace Corps Volunteers to Michigan Tech

A new partnership between Michigan Technological University and the US Peace Corps will enable returning Peace Corps volunteers to attend graduate school at Michigan Tech while putting their Peace Corps skills to work. Michigan Tech is one of the universities recently selected by the Peace Corps to offer new or expanded Paul D. Coverdell Fellows Program graduate degrees, which include scholarships and degree-related internships in underserved American communities.

Read more at Michigan Tech News, by Jennifer Donovan.

Communicating Risks to Diverse, Vulnerable People

Rocio Garcia-Retamero, advanced associate professor from the University of Granada, Spain, is an expert in the psychology of stereotype formation, gender issues, medical decision making, and risk communication. Garcia-Retamero will present, “Communicating Risks to Diverse, Vulnerable People,” from 3:30 to 4:15 p.m.,Thursday, Jan. 31, in the MEESE Center, Room 110. She will be reviewing a collection of studies investigating the benefits of using visual aids for communicating health risks to diverse and often vulnerable individuals. Theoretical mechanisms, open questions, and emerging applications will be discussed.

Garcia-Retamero has published nearly 100 articles and chapters on these topics including two recently completed books. She is funded by grants from the “Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation” and the “Foundation for Informed Medical Decision Making” in the US. Send questions to Edward Cokely at ecokely@mtu.edu.

From Tech Today.