Month: April 2014

Wendy Jepson Lectures

Wendy JepsonPlease join the social sciences department for two important lectures by Wendy Jepson, associate professor of geography at Texas A&M University, who is sponsored by the Visiting Women and Minority Lecture/Scholar Series.

Today, “Water insecurity as Environmental Justice: The Case of ‘Colonials’ along the US-Mexico Border” will be presented in GLRC 202 at 12:35-1:50 p.m.

Friday, April 25, “No-win waterscapes”: Household Water Insecurity in Low-Income Communities along the US-Mexico Border” will be at AOB 201, Department of Social Sciences Colloquium from 4 to 5 p.m.

More about Jepson’s work can be found online.

From Tech Today.

A Village in Bangladesh

Mizanur RahmanGlobal City Presents “A Village In Bangladesh” Today

“A Village in Bangladesh” will be presented by S. M. Mizanur Rahman, today at 5 p.m., in EERC 103.

Mizanur will present the development disaster caused by shrimp farming in his village and how small producers are left out of the economic development of this product. He will also talk about his work in the community and The Motorcycle Project, an idea he developed to provide capital support and planning skills to the local people, which he plans on implementing this summer. He is now pursuing his PhD in Environmental and Energy Policy at Michigan Tech.

From Tech Today.

A Village In Bangladesh

Global City of Michigan Technological University has posted a video of Mizanur’s presentation on their Facebook page.

Mizanur Presentation

Kathleen Halvorsen Wins Research Award

Kathleen HalvorsenKathleen Halvorsen, whose scholarship bridges social and policy sciences relating to climate change, has been chosen to receive Michigan Technological University’s 2014 Research Award.

Professor Alex Mayer, who nominated Halvorsen for the award, called her “a major force in joining social science with natural science and engineering disciplines.” She is a professor in both the Department of Social Sciences and the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science.

“[H]er most noteworthy contributions are advancing research into biologically derived fuels, fostering interdisciplinary research and spearheading Michigan Tech’s environmental and energy policy graduate programs,” Mayer said. “Professor Halvorsen has shown a remarkable ability to bring literally dozens of colleagues together to craft proposals and lead projects which advance science and international collaborations across continents.”

Read more at Tech Today, by Marcia Goodrich.

Winkler and Schelly on Energy Prize Committee

Energy MapHoughton County Aiming for $5 Million Energy Prize, with Help from Michigan Tech

Georgetown University is offering a $5 million prize for the American community “that leads the way in energy efficiency,” and a Michigan Technological University student thinks there’s no reason Houghton County shouldn’t win.

“There aren’t a lot of small communities with a great technological university in their midst,” said Abhilash Kantamneni, a graduate student in computer science. “I think we have a shot at it.”

The ad hoc committee includes Kantamneni, Ala, county commissioner Tom Tikkanen of Calumet Township, Michigan Tech social sciences faculty members Richelle Winkler and Chelsea Schelly, Lynn Artman of the School of Technology, Melissa Davis of the nonprofit NewPowerTour, Keweenaw Research Center Director Jay Meldrum, Sam Lockwood of the Keweenaw Geothermal Research Group, Kim Stoker of the Western Upper Peninsula Planning and Development Region, Phil Musser, former director of the Keweenaw Economic Development Alliance, and Elmore Reese from Main Street Calumet. Representatives from utility companies UPPCO and SEMCO are participating in the effort, along with energy-conservation businesses and organizations such as Michigan Saves, Efficiency United and BlueTerra.

Read more at Michigan Tech News, by Marcia Goodrich.

Social Sciences in Michigan Tech News

Spiraling Up with Arts and Sustainability in Calumet
March 25, 2016
Birds Abroad: How Oil Palm Affects Habitat in Mexico
February 16, 2016
Connecting People and Geology on Volcanoes
July 30, 2015
Daisuke Minakata Wins Powe Award from ORAU
June 25, 2015
Bioenergy Across the Americas
June 8, 2015
Tapping into Mine Water for Geothermal Energy
April 2, 2015
Graduate Student’s VISTA Broadens as She Earns a Degree Through Volunteer Service
June 27, 2014
Peace Corps Ranks Michigan Tech Tops in the Nation—Again
May 7, 2014
Kathleen Halvorsen Wins Research Award
April 17, 2014
Houghton County Aiming for $5 Million Energy Prize, with Help from Michigan Tech
April 16, 2014
FinnForum X and Retrospection & Respect Remember the Copper Strike of 1913-14 this Weekend
April 9, 2014
Payments to Upstream Landowners to Protect Water Downstream: How Well is that Working
March 13, 2014
For the Love of Steam
March 6, 2014
Alumnus Digs Deep into St. Thomas’s Past
January 31, 2014

Scholarship for Steven Sarich

Steven SarichSteven Sarich, MS student in social sciences, was selected as a recipient of the Robert and Mary Buttle Scholarship which will provide $4,000 toward tuition and other expenses. This is one among several funding opportunities provided by the Southwest Section of the American Ceramic Society which focuses on material science research of historic and modern ceramics.

From Tech Today.

FinnForum X and Retrospection & Respect Remember

FinnForum

FinnForum X and Retrospection & Respect Remember the Copper Strike of 1913-14 this Weekend

Retrospection and Respect: the 1913-1914 Mining/Labor Strike Symposium is being held in conjunction with FinnForum X and commemorates the cessation of the 1913-1914 Western Federation of Miners labor strike against copper mining companies in the Copper Country of Upper Michigan.

An exhibit titled “Tumult and Tragedy: Michigan’s 1913–1914 Copper Strike” opens at 8 a.m. Thursday, April 10 on the first floor lobby of the J. Robert Van Pelt and John and Ruanne Opie Library on the Michigan Tech campus.

The Finnish American Heritage Center at Finlandia University recently installed three exhibits. They include a photographic exhibit titled “Rural Reflections: Finnish American Buildings and Landscapes in Michigan’s Copper Country”; a historic photography exhibit named “People, Place and Time: Michigan’s Copper Country Through the Lens of J.W. Nara”; and a pair of lithographs acquired by the National Park Service which were on either side of the Italian Hall stage the night of the infamous Christmas Eve tragedy 100 years ago.

Also on Thursday, Finlandia’s Nordic Film Festival will show To My Son in Spain: Finnish Canadians in the Spanish Civil War. The film’s writer, Saku Pinta, will be there to answer questions.

On Friday, April 11, there will be an open house at the Finnish American Heritage Center and a trolley tour of the Keweenaw.

Saturday, April 12 features a speaker series with both FinnForum X and Retrospection & Respect sessions in Michigan Tech’s Fisher Hall.

Co-sponsors of the event are Michigan Technological University’s Van Pelt and Opie Library, Michigan Technological University  Archives, Copper Country Historical Collections, Friends of the Van Pelt and Opie Library, Departments of Humanities and Social Sciences, and the Alumni Association.  From Finlandia University, the Finnish American Heritage Center and the Finnish American Historical Archives are co-sponsors along with community partners Cranking Graphics, Book Concern Printers, Keweenaw National Historical Park and Advisory Commission.  International support has come from Turku, Finland’s  Institute of Migration and the History Department at the University of Turku.

Read more at Michigan Tech News, by Monica Lester.

Reliving history
Conferences puts copper strike of 1913-14 in international context

Sunday marked the 100th anniversary of the end of the Western Federation of Miners Copper Country strike, and Thursday through Saturday academics from around the region and around the world gathered in Houghton and Hancock for a pair of concurrent conferences that helped mark the strike’s place in history and to consider Finnish and international influences on the American labor movement.

Read more at the Mining Gazette, by Dan Roblee.