College of Sciences and Arts Newsblog

Five Alumni Inducted Into College of Sciences and Arts Academy

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From left, Leann Nitschke, Carly Robinson, Ping Yang, CSA Dean LaReesa Wolfenbarger, Gary Karicky, and Kimberly Hilton
at the College of Sciences and Arts Academy induction ceremony on Sept. 19. (Image courtesy Kelly Steelman).

Earlier this fall, the Michigan Tech College of Sciences and Arts (CSA) gathered to celebrate the induction of five remarkable and accomplished alumni into the CSA Academy.

Dean LaReesa Wolfenbarger hosted the ceremony honoring these alumni and their contributions to a better tomorrow, which run the gamut from advancing scientific discovery to serving the nation and their communities through defense readiness, healthcare, education, and public engagement.

This year’s CSA Academy inductees are Kimberly Hilton; Gary A. Karicky M.D.; Leann Nitschke, M.D.; Carly Robinson; and Ping Yang.

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Statewide Billboard Campaign, Michigan Words, Features Michigan Tech Associate Professor

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One of M. Bartley Seigel’s billboards along US Highway 41 between Negaunee and Marquette.

If you’re traveling through Escanaba, Marquette, Flint, or the metro Detroit area, keep an eye out for a familiar Michigan Tech Humanities Department faculty member. M. Bartley Seigel will be hard to miss. He’s larger than life thanks to Michigan Words, a statewide billboard campaign celebrating contemporary Michigan poets.

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Abe Stone: Making a Difference and Making Headlines

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Undergraduate researcher Abe Stone records inoculation data in his notebook.

Michigan Tech undergraduate researcher Abe Stone has been garnering headlines for his work. The ecology and evolutionary biology major demonstrates the adage that science isn’t done until it’s communicated. He also illustrates how the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship program helps students conduct impactful interdisciplinary research.

Stone was most recently quoted by The Cool Down in a story about SuperPurp, his unconventional fungus-based treatment aimed at controlling the spread of invasive buckthorn trees that threaten to engulf forest landscapes in the Midwest. The story referenced the research’s debut on Michigan Tech’s Unscripted Research Blog, and was picked up by Yahoo! News. Stone was also interviewed by ABC-10 in Marquette.

Stone was a guest on the Mushroom Revival podcast in June to talk about his research journey to Michigan Tech, where he worked to develop a sprayable fungus as a more efficient way to propagate chondrostereum purpureum, the pathogen that causes silverleaf disease in trees. Nicknamed SuperPurp and developed in the College of Forest Resources and Environmental Science’s forest microbiology lab, it’s a locally sourced chemical-free alternative to control buckthorn that could help to slow the spread of invasive buckthorn without harming nearby species.

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New Institute Brings Keweenaw Time Traveler to the World—And New Researchers to Keweenaw

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Two children viewing the time traveler demo with an researcher

Deep-mapping projects like Keweenaw Time Traveler can engage communities in meaningful, multi-generational explorations. (Image courtesy KeTT)

An advanced institute in the spatial and digital humanities is coming to Michigan Tech.

Don Lafreniere, a professor of geography and geographic information science (GIS) in Tech’s Department of Social Sciences is leading a team of researchers, staff, and students from Michigan Tech and Wayne State University on project that will develop the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Community Deep Mapping Institute. The project is supported by a $250,000 NEH grant.

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Michigan Tech Mathematical Sciences Department Invites Campus and Community to Kliakhandler Lectures

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Sun shining over the exterior of Fisher Hall.

A leading researcher in numerical analysis will share the history and relevance of computational mathematics in a public lecture October 3 in Fisher Hall.

Dr. Susanne C. Brenner will deliver the seventh Kliakhandler Public Lecture at 6 p.m. on Thursday, October 3 in Fisher 139. The title of her lecture is “Computational Mathematics.”

The campus community and general public are invited. Admission is free.

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Two CSA Faculty Recognized for Outstanding Contributions to Michigan Tech

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Brick two story building with concrete walkways in front, surrounded by green grass, shrubs, and trees.
The Social Sciences Department, home department of University Professor Kathy Halvorsen is housed in the AOB Building on the Michigan Tech campus.

Kathy Halvorsen and Quiying Sha have been honored for their substantial contributions to teaching, research, and service and are among seven professors recognized through Michigan Tech’s Distinguished and University Professorships. They represent a small percentage of faculty recognized with these awards by the Office of the Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs.

University Professors represent no more than two percent of the total number of tenured and tenure-track faculty at Michigan Tech. Since its inception in 2020, four of the seven University Professors have hailed from the College of Sciences and Arts, including three from the Department of Physics. Halvorsen is the first recipient from the Department of Social Sciences.

Distinguished Professors represent no more than 10 percent of the number of tenured and tenure-track faculty in a specific college or school. Since its inception in 2018, four of the 11 Distinguished Professors have been chosen from the College of Sciences and Arts. Sha is the first recipient from the Department of Mathematical Sciences.

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Tech’s Workshop Brass Band Gets a Musical Education in New Orleans and on the Road

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Earlier this year, members of Michigan Tech’s Workshop Brass Band got a taste of the jazz musician’s life on the road.

Preston Dibean performs a solo, showcasing musical education with MTU’s Workshop Brass Band at the Broadway Oyster Bar in Saint Louis.
 Preston Dibean blows a solo in front of MTU’s Workshop Brass Band at the Broadway Oyster Bar in Saint Louis. (All photos courtesy of Michigan Tech’s Workshop Brass Band)

Huskies tested their mettle by embarking on a five-day road trip to New Orleans. Even more than that, they discovered — through practice, through performance, through instruction — how to be a musician’s musician by being faithful to the original music, open to learning and willing to make mistakes.

Adam Meckler, associate professor and director of jazz studies, and visiting instructor Drew Kilpela led 16 jazz students on a 2,000-mile odyssey that began on New Year’s Day 2024. Meckler coordinated gigs, workshops with jazz legends and opportunities for Tech students to teach high school band students. The journey began with a rehearsal before the musicians set out. What they learned on the road can’t be taught in a classroom.

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Meet the Winners of the 2024 Songer Research Award for Human Health

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Exterior of the H-STEM building on the Michigan tech campus, with the husky statue and yellow and red flowers in the foreground.
Michigan Tech’s H-STEM Complex offers state-of-the-art teaching and research labs for human health studies.

Two outstanding PhD candidates were recognized for their research as co-recipients of the seventh annual Songer Research Award for Human Health.

Xinqian Chen, majoring in Integrative Physiology, received the award for her project, “Exploring the role of brain-derived extracellular vesicles in salt-sensitive hypertension.” Biological Sciences major Vaishali Sharma received the award for her project titled, “Antiviral efficacy of amino acid-based surfactants: A proposal for advancing human health by breaking the chain of viral infection.”

“Chen and Sharma proposed innovative, medically oriented research projects in human health,” said College of Sciences and Arts (CSA) Dean LaReesa Wolfenbarger. “Their projects are exciting, with the potential to improve human life and health outcomes. I look forward to learning more about their findings in the coming months.”

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Search Launched for New Dean of Michigan Tech’s College of Sciences and Arts

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Michigan Tech campus at sunset
Our Mission: We cultivate a sustainable, inclusive, and equitable world through transformative leadership, scholarship, education, and outreach.

Michigan Technological University invites applications for the position of dean of the College of Sciences and Arts. 

Building upon our strengths, the dean should be a forward-thinking, innovative, and collaborative leader who provides strategic leadership. The dean is the chief academic and administrative officer in the CSA, reports directly to the provost, and shapes the vision for the role of the College within the University, the State of Michigan, higher education, and society at large.

Located in Houghton, in the heart of Upper Michigan’s scenic Keweenaw Peninsula, Michigan Tech is the state’s flagship technological university with more than $102 million in research expenditures and 16 unique research centers and institutes. The university is home to more than 7,200 students from 69 countries around the world. The university attracts world-class faculty who enrich the educational experience of smart, motivated, and adventurous students. The Wall Street Journal named Michigan Tech the nation’s second most influential public university for salary impact — how much a college boosts salaries earned by students after graduation. Tech also made the Journal’s list of Best U.S. Colleges in 2024, ranking 16th overall among U.S. public universities.

The College of Sciences and Arts is the second-largest college on campus, with nine departments 1,147 students (3.2% increase over the prior year), 152 faculty, 54 professional staff, and 180 PhD students. The College welcomed its largest incoming class in years, 255 undergraduates, up 27% from the prior year, building on many years of undergraduate growth. Not only does the College offer outstanding classroom instruction to undergraduates, it conducts world-class research and creative activities. Its faculty brought in $8.7 million in new external research awards last year, up 17% over the previous year!

The successful candidate will be committed to promoting a sense of belonging and an inclusive environment throughout the college and university. Learn more at mtu.edu/diversity.

Michigan Tech is an Equal Opportunity Educational Institution/Equal Opportunity Employer that provides equal opportunity for all, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.

For additional information, contact the search committee chairs, Dean Johnson at dean@mtu.edu and Don Lafreniere at djlafren@mtu.edu.

To apply, visit employment.mtu.edu/cw/en-us/job/493403.

To review the College of Sciences and Arts’ current vision, mission, and strategic plan, visit https://www.mtu.edu/sciences-arts/about/mission-plan/.

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Fall Semester 2023 Heats Up in October

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Greetings from the College of Sciences and Arts at Michigan Tech!

Michigan Tech trees with yellow foliage
October and fall foliage arrive

As I write today the temperatures are soaring into the upper 80s with humidity that would make any orchid happy. Unprecedented! The colorful foliage is making its ascent up the vibrancy charts. And those are not the only things that have been elevated around the Tech campus. 

Large Class Enrolls for Fall Semester 2023

The College of Sciences and Arts welcomed its largest incoming class in years, 255 undergraduates, up 27% from the prior year, building on many years of undergraduate growth. Total College enrollment stands at 1,147, a 3.2% increase, and our first-time transfer increase is 48%, mostly thanks to the nursing program. This is in line with the university welcoming the largest class of new first-year students since 1983.

More Accolades for Michigan Tech

On top of these numbers, The Wall Street Journal named Michigan Tech the nation’s second most influential public university for salary impact — how much a college boosts salaries earned by students after graduation. Tech also made the Journal’s list of Best U.S. Colleges in 2024, ranking 16th overall among U.S. public universities.

We pride ourselves in CSA on our outstanding classroom instruction and on our world-class research and creative activities. CSA faculty brought in $8.7 million in new external research awards last year, up 17% over the previous year! We do have 2 faculty members in a million-dollar club in external research spending, Raymond Shaw who makes his own clouds in a cloud chamber, and Stephen Techtmann who converts plastics to food via microbes. 

Ravindra Pandey and Neetu Goel
Dean Pandey and Neetu Goel

Research Highlights for Fall Semester 2023

And there are new developments in the College when it comes to research, too.

  • Professor Neetu Goel is a Fulbright senior scholar from Panjab University, India visiting my physics research group to investigate the interaction of biomolecules with quantum materials.
  • Yan Zhang (Biological Sciences and Health Research Institute) received a $469,500 R&D grant from the National Institute of Health (NIH) to study the impacts of high levels of urinary phosphate in polycystic kidney disease.
  • Tatyana Karabencheva-Christova (Chemistry) received a $427,001 R&D grant from NIH looking into structure-function relationships of matrix metalloproteinase-1 from computational and experimental studies.

Other Items of Note For Fall Semester 2023

Jared Anderson and his faculty in Visual and Performing Arts continue to create a vibrant lineup of art shows, performances, and technical theatre, with students at the forefront as performers, designers, creators, audio producers, etc. This week it is New Music in the Mine.  Next week the opera The Thrilling Adventures of Lovelace and Babbage debuts in the McArdle Theatre and the Keweenaw Symphony Orchestra plays in the Rosza Center. And at the end of the month, you can elevate your fright at The Haunted Smelter. There’s always something to do with the arts.

We welcomed three new inductees into our College of Sciences and Arts Academy. Emily Prehoda, Linda Kennedy, and Upendra Puntambekar. They have become successful leaders and practitioners in their chosen fields and have excelled in leadership roles. Their achievements and skillsets: Linda’s legal acumen, Emily’s energy policy and sustainability expertise, and Upendra’s technology and market leadership span across a number of diverse subjects. A diversity reflective of the variety of subjects housed within the College of Sciences and Arts here at Michigan Tech. They join the ranks of 65 distinguished members who have made a difference for their communities—professional, academic, or geographic, or sometimes all 3. 

Thanks for reading! I am sure the first snowfall is just around the corner. Ah, the snowfall total for the winter! Another thing many of us look forward to seeing grow on the Tech campus over the course of this academic year.

Best wishes.

Ravi Pandey

Dean – College of Sciences and Arts

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