Category: News

SURF Proposal Workshop

Will Cantrell, coordinator for the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program, will conduct a workshop for students on the SURF application process, including writing an effective SURF proposal. The workshop will take place on Wednesday, Dec. 3, at 6:30 p.m. in Fisher 127.

Faculty and staff are encouraged to notify students interested in applying for SURF funding to attend. For more information, see the SURF online information page.

The deadline for SURF applications is noon on Friday, Jan. 30, 2015.

From Tech Today.

New Memorial Wall Honors Fallen Michigan Tech Veterans

War Memorial WallMichigan Technological University has had a War Memorial Wall ever since its Memorial Union Building was dedicated in May 1952, but it only named those lost during World War II and the Korean conflict.

Michigan Tech’s Army and Air Force ROTC, the Student Veterans Association, American Legion Chaplain Paul Nelson, and Matrosic himself, a retired Army lieutenant colonel, participated in the ceremonies.

Read more at Michigan Tech News, by Jennifer Donovan.

New Faculty for Fall 2014

The College of Sciences and Arts welcomes new faculty and congratulates existing faculty who have now accepted tenure-track and lecturer positions.

For more about new faculty, see the PowerPoint slides presented at the New Faculty Orientation.

Biological Sciences
Ebenezer Tumban, PhD

Chemistry
Xiaohu Xia, PhD

Cognitive and Learning Sciences
Amy Lark, PhD

Humanities
Leyre Alegre-Figuero, MA
Carlos Amador, PhD
Sara Amani, PhD
Andrew Fiss, PhD
Dana Van Kooy, PhD
Marcelino Viera-Ramos, PhD
Audrey Viguier, PhD

Kinesiology and Integrative Physiology
Steven Elmer, PhD

Mathematical Sciences
Seokwoo Choi, PhD
Cecile Piret, PhD
Yeonwoo Rho, PhD

Physics
Jae Yong Suh, PhD

Social Sciences
Donald Lafreniere, PhD

Visual and Performing Arts
Lisa Johnson, MFA

Read more at Tech Today.

Provost Max Seel to Return to the Faculty

Max Seel
Max Seel

Provost Max Seel has announced that he will be returning to the faculty as soon as a successor is found and can begin work. Seel has served as Michigan Tech’s provost since February 2010.

“Max has done an outstanding job as provost during what is arguably a tipping point for Michigan Tech,” said President Glenn Mroz. “Well over half the tenured and tenure-track faculty have been hired on his watch, and working with the deans, chairs, exec team, Board of Control and Senate, he’s moved the University toward our long-range goal and vision.”

Read more at Tech Today, by Jenn Donovan, director of news and media relations.

Seely on Clinical Networking

Physical therapy doctoral program offered at Michigan Tech

So far, 12 students are registered for the program at Michigan Tech and will receive their degree from Central Michigan University. Michigan Tech administrators say the partnership will be a good demonstration on how universities can work together.

“They more importantly have a strong connection of what are called clinical sites because students do hands-on training in real hospitals and clinics and offices and it takes a long time to build a clinical network,” says Bruce Seely, Dean of the College of Science and Arts at Michigan Tech. “So we have that to gain from central. They have our research reputation.”

Read more at Upper Michigans Source, by Sarah Blakely.

Bruce Seely
Bruce Seely

Physical Therapy Facility
Physical Therapy Facility
Physical Therapy Students
Physical Therapy Students

See also Michigan Tech, Central Michigan University Launch Collaborative Physical Therapy Doctoral Program in Michigan Tech News.

Creative Canvas Course Contest Winners Announced

Canvas
Canvas Course

Last spring, the Center for Teaching and Learning’s second annual Creative Canvas Course Contest (C-4) saw students nominate Canvas courses from almost every department that they felt were intuitive and easy to navigate, provided convenient access to course information and materials, and offered resources and activities that helped them succeed.

Of the nine courses were selected, three were by faculty in the College of Sciences and Arts:

* HU3151, Assistant Professor Lauren M. Bowen (HU
* CH1160, Associate Professor Paul Charlesworth (Chem)
* FA3650, Assistant Professor Kalen Larson (VPA)

Read more at Tech Today.

Interview on “Superior” Supercomputer

Computational StructureAny university involved in compute-intensive research would love to have a supercomputer at its disposal. Michigan Technological University is one of the fortunate ones to have a super-fast machine accessible by the entire research community on campus. The computer is known as “Superior” and we sat down with Gowtham S., Director of Research Computing at the University, to hear more about it.

insideHPC: The system’s installation just had its one year anniversary. What are some of the current projects that are harnessing all of this power?

Gowtham S.: Modeling the circulation and particle transport in the Great Lakes system, multi scale modeling of advanced materials and structures, nanostructured materials for electronics, biosensing and human health implications, and unsupervised learning in Big Data and social networks are some of the on going projects that use the power of Superior. Here is the complete listing of all 30 projects.

These projects have produced nearly two dozen publications as well, and several proposals are underway for even more projects. That makes us quite happy.

Read the full interview at insideHPC.

This interview refers to seven projects within the College of Sciences and Arts, with research faculty in the Departments of Computer Science, Chemistry and Physics.

  • CS, Laura Brown, Towards a reliable method for comparing large scale machine learning algorithms
  • CS, Ali Ebnenasir, Computational synthesis of self-stabilizing protocols
  • CS, Chaoli Wang, High-performance parallel analysis and visualization of Big Data
  • Chemistry, Loredana Valenzano, Investigations in computational chemistry
  • Physics, Johana Chirinos, Investigations in ultra-high-energy cosmic ray physics
  • Physics, Ranjit Pati, Computational study of charge and spin transport in nano-scale junctions from first-principles
  • Physics, Ravindra Pandey, Computational studies of nanostructured materials for electronics, biosensing and human health implications

Humanities Filmmakers are 2014 Lecturers of the Year

YooperaSenior Lecturer Erin Smith, director of the Humanities Digital Media Zone, and alumna Suzanne Jurva ’82 have been named the Finlandia Foundation National’s Lecturers of the Year for 2014. The filmmaking team produced the documentary, Yoopera!

The film’s title combines the word for UP residents–Yoopers–and the Finnish word for opera–ooppera. The documentary tells the story of the collaboration of Finnish and American talent in the making of “Rockland: the Opera,” an opera that focuses on events around the shooting deaths of two Finnish miners during a labor strike in the UP mining town of Rockland in 1906. “Rockland: the Opera” premiered in Houghton and in Finland in 2011.

“Our film looks at how our small, remote community was able to commission a major opera and build an audience for it through the efforts of community artist Mary Wright and her Story Line Project,” says Smith. “We are just completing a new edit of the film for submission to film festivals and are screening the film at various Finlandia Foundation chapter events around the country this year.”

Jurva, an award-winning filmmaker and Michigan native who now lives in Atlanta, directed and produced the documentary. Smith, who teaches digital media and film at Michigan Tech, is its editor.

From Tech Today.