Category: Academics

Tenth Annual ESC/BRC Research Forum Awards Announced

BRC ForumThe Ecosystem Science Center and the Biotechnology Research Center announce award recipients of the Tenth Annual ESC/BRC Student Research Forum held March 19.

Student award winners in the College of Sciences and Arts include:

Graduate Research

$100 Merit Awards

Biotechnology Research Center
Yiping Mao (Bio Sci) for “Overexpression of microRNA-30d increases insulin biosynthesis and protects against high-fat diet induced glucose intolerances,” Advisor Xiaoqing Tang

Mu Yang (Chemistry) for “Disulfide-Bond Scrambling Promotes Amorphous Aggregates in Hen Lysozyme and Bovine Serum Albumin,” Advisor: Ashutosh Tiwari

Ecosystem Science Center
Cameron Goble (Bio Sci) for “Assessment of Fish Communities in Tributary Streams of the Big Manistee,” Advisor: Nancy Auer

Read more at Tech Today.

Michigan Tech Named Among Top-20 Public Colleges with Smartest Students

Michigan TechBusiness Insider has rated Michigan Tech number 11 among the top-20 public universities with the smartest students. In assembling its list, Business Insider used data from the website Niche and its College Prowler, a service that provides college reviews by students.

“We see all that our students accomplish here at Michigan Tech and all the companies seeking them out for employment,” said John Lehman, associate vice president for enrollment, marketing and communications. “It doesn’t take long to see that there is something pretty special about the students here. They are smart, amazingly smart. It’s satisfying to know that others see that as well.”

Business Insider also includes student quotes “to illustrate the student intellect and academic caliber of each school.” For Michigan Tech, a student said, “”I love my professors—all of them seem dedicated to their job, as well as understanding. The workload is more than most schools, but the best isn’t the easiest!”

College Prowler features rankings by students in more than 20 categories, from academics to weather and from computers to parking.

According to their website, Business Insider is “dedicated to aggregating, reporting, and analyzing the top news stories across the web.”

From Tech Today.

Read “The 20 Public Colleges With The Smartest Students” at Business Insider, by Peter Jacobs.

New Faculty Fellowship for Yoke Khin Yap

Yoke Khin Yap
Yoke Khin Yap

Vice President for Research Announces Faculty Fellows Selections

The Office of the Vice President for Research has selected the 2014 recipients of the newly implemented Faculty Fellow Program. The first Faculty Fellows for 2014-2015 are: Larry Sutter (MSE), for Sponsored Program Administration, Adrienne Minerick (ChE) for Strategic Planning and Budget, and Yoke Khin Yap (Physics) for Economic Development and Technology Commercialization.

From Tech Today.

A Faculty Fellow in Economic Development and Technology Commercialization will be involved in areas such as IP commercialization and startup support.

Graduate Research Colloquium 2014

GRCLast month the Graduate Student Government sponsored the Graduate Research Colloquium, including posters, oral presentations, and award presentations to the Outstanding Student Scholar, Outstanding Student Leader and Graduate Mentor at the Colloquium banquet.

There were many notables within the College of Sciences and Arts.

Patrick Belling, who is a PhD candidate in Applied Cognitive Science and Human Factors, Department of Cognitive and Learning Sciences, received the Exceptional Graduate Student Leader Award.

Saima Ghazal, who is a PhD candidate in Applied Cognitive Science and Human Factors, is a Spring 2014 recipient of the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Scholarship.

Amanda Shaw, who is an MS candidate in Physics, is a Spring 2014 recipient of the Outstanding Graduate Student Teaching Award.

Ashim Chakravarty, who is a PhD candidate in Engineering Physics, is a Spring 2014 recipient of the Dean’s Award for Outstanding Scholarship.

Morton Harwood, a PhD candidate in Biological Sciences, was the 1st Place winner for his oral presentation “The Acute Cardiovascular Responses to Marathon and Ultra-marathon Competition.”

Komal Raja, Biological Sciences, took 2nd Place for the poster “The Role of Toolkit Genes in the Evolution of Complex Wing, Thorax and Abdominal Color Patterns of Drosophila Guttifera.”

Sasha Teymorian, Chemistry, took 3rd Place for the poster “Enhancement of Heterologous Expression Level of Alkaline Phytase in Pichia Pastoris.”

Are You a Protein Scientist?

proteinMini Symposium 2014

March 5th (12 – 1 pm)
March 7th (11 – 1 pm)
MUB Ballroom A
Michigan Technological University

Special 2-day event highlighting many facets of protein scientists at Michigan Tech.

Savory talks discussing the field of protein science and cutting edge research in protein science.

VIEW THE GUEST SPEAKERS FROM THE DEPARTMENTS OF CHEMISTRY AND CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

You might be a protein scientist and not event know it! Come see, listen and enjoy.

Light, buffet lunch provided!

RSVP using this Registration Form

Contact: mtuproteinscientists@gmail.com

The mini symposium is sponsored by The Protein Society.

Former Physics Faculty Keith Baldwin

Keith BaldwinKeith M. Baldwin, 85, passed away on Thursday, January 16, 2014, at Marquette General Hospital.

Baldwin came to the Michigan College of Mining and Technology in 1963 as an associate professor of physics. He taught many physics classes and senior labs and served as a faculty advisor for graduate students. In the early 1970s, Baldwin also became involved with the Keweenaw Research Center. He worked on vehicle research projects and helped secure contracts for vehicle testing. After early retirement from Michigan Tech in 1984, he partnered with the University to form KMB/Tech, developing lab equipment for physics teachers.

Professor Emeritus Don Daavittila (Physics) knew him well. “He was very interested in his subject and a very good teacher,” he said. “I enjoyed knowing him very much. He was also a Tech hockey fan, he was even at some games this year. Keith was a good guy.”

Read more at Tech Today.

Computer Science Students Make World Finals

ACM ICPCTo Russia with Code: Tech Students Make World Finals in Computer Programming

Only 120 teams of 10,000 worldwide are going, and Michigan Tech is one of them. They earned the right to go to Russia to compete in the world finals of the International Collegiate Programming Contest next June by finishing fifth in the North Central regional qualifying contest.

Computer science students Tom Holmes and Eric Rinkus and math major Ryan McNamara will be making the trip to Ural Federal University in Ekaterinburg with coach and computer science PhD student Jason Hiebel.

“This was my fourth year of trying,” Holmes added. “We’ll be practicing a lot with Jason, and Dave has been really helpful, too. We want to go there [Russia] and solve a decent number of problems. We want to get Tech’s name up there.”

Read more at Tech Today, by Dennis Walikainen.

Jackson Blended Learning Winners

CTLIn early November, the William G. Jackson Center for Teaching and Learning invited faculty to submit proposals to support blended learning course innovations. Proposals were accepted at three levels ($1,000, $5,000 and $10,000), and a total of $50,000 was originally planned to be awarded during this cycle.

The PIs in the College of Sciences and Arts that will receive support are:

$1,000
* Jason Carter (KIP) “Benchmarking Trip to University of Florida”
* Wil Slough (Physics) “Development of Blended Learning Materials for Uncertainty Analysis”

$5,000
* Karla Kitalong (HU) “MTMC and IGTAAP Tech Upgrade” (partial funding)
* Jason Gregersen (Math) “Blended and Online Linear Algebra”
* Leo Ureel (CS) “Canvas Teaching Assistant”

$10,000
* Jared Anderson (VPA) “Video Arts in Blended Learning (VIABLE)”

Read more at Tech Today.

New Faculty in the College of Sciences and Arts

Michigan Tech Campus Fall
Image courtesy of COE.

CSA welcomes new faculty and existing faculty who have now accepted tenure-track and lecturer positions: Brigitte Morin, Andrew Galerneau, Marina Tanasova, Adam Feltz, Kelly Steelman, Leo Ureel, Stephanie Carpenter, Abraham Romney, Zhiying (Jenny) Shan, Tejin Yoon, Jason Gregersen, William Keith, Min Wang, Yang Yang, Ramy El-Ganainy, Melissa Baird, Carl Blair, Ryan Cook, Rebecca Graff, Nancy Langston, Chelsea Schelly, and Josh Loar.

Read more at Tech Today.