College of Sciences and Arts Newsblog

Bell Gives Voice to the History of Talking Machines in Nationally Recognized Book

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The cover of Vox Ex Machina: A Cultural History of Talking Machines by Sarah Bell

Sarah Bell, associate professor of digital media in the College of Science and Arts gained national recognition recently when her book Vox Ex Machina was listed on the New Yorker’s “Best Books We’ve Read This Week.” The book details the development of key voice synthesis technologies across the 20th century and factors that influenced their creation.

Bell’s exploration of the topic goes far deeper than a simple history of how these technologies were created, also exploring public response to the tech and asking whether talking machines are good for us.

“We were already primed for voice assistants before Siri and Alexa, but that doesn’t mean they work very well for us.”

Sarah Bell

Vox Ex Machina is as much about the people creating and using voice synthesis as it is about the technology itself, and this research concept began very close to home for Bell.

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Physicist’s Search for a New Project Leads to Discovery and Publication

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View of the HAWC Observatory with mountains in the background
Data from the HAWC Observatory, shown here, was central to the research project. (Image credit: Jordan Goodman/HAWC Collaboration)

When postdoctoral scholar Xiaojie Wang of the Michigan Technological University Physics Department went looking for her next research topic, she found a previously unexplored region and a path to publication.

Wang is lead corresponding author of the article, “Ultra-High-Energy Gamma-Ray Bubble around Microquasar V4641 Sgr” recently published in Nature journal. The findings highlighted in the article offer new insights into how microquasars might contribute to the cosmic-ray energy spectrum—a long-standing puzzle in astrophysics.

“While reviewing the sky maps in search of my next project, I noticed a region five degrees away from our galactic plane with bright emissions that had not been visible in previous datasets,” said Wang, who works with Petra Huentemeyer, a distinguished professor of physics at Michigan Tech. “No gamma-ray source has been identified nor analyzed in this region—so I seized the opportunity and led the analysis.”

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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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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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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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