TechAlum News, April 3, 2006

April 3, 2006 (Vol. 12, No. 41)

A weekly electronic newsletter for alumni and friends of Michigan Technological University

Edited by Dennis Walikainen (MS ’92), Director, Web Development, University Marketing and Communications
dkwalika@mtu.edu

For past issues, see our archives.

NOTE: No Techalum next week--I am taking a "spring" break. See you in two weeks.

ROTC

Tech's Army ROTC tried to bring a Black Hawk helicopter to campus Friday, but it had to divert to the Houghton County Airport instead. (See related story in Around the Keweenaw.) It was another good thing that Army and Air Force ROTC have done for Tech and the local area.

In the past, they built a beautiful, simple memorial to 9/11 in front of their building (the old Club House, if you go back that far). At night, a light shines on the American flag that is the centerpiece of the memorial, creating an enlarged silhouette that is projected on the side of the Raymond Smith MEEM Building. It is quite an image.

Army and Air Force ROTC students and faculty are always involved in Tech activities: for example, finishing first and second in the Student Organization division of Carnival this year. And you can always count on them to help whenever help is needed.

I've had ROTC students in my classes, and they have routinely been intelligent, engaging, and questioning. They also practice their drills around our buildings, sometimes very early in the morning, and I am always amazed at the precision of their formations. And they are still maintaining their GPA's on top of all their many other duties.

It becomes especially meaningful at commencement when they take the oath that was first given by George Washington at Valley Forge. When the rest of the graduates are going off to that great, exciting, first job, many of the ROTC graduates are headed for someplace entirely different.

"Thanks" hardly seems strong enough.

Snowfall Update
(Website http://www.admin.mtu.edu/alumni/snowfall/)
As of March 29, 2006

Snowfall to Date, On the Ground

This Week: 219.5"     16"
Last Week: 213 "     36"
Last Year: 164.5"     26 "

ALUMNI BULLETIN BOARD: Remember the alumni bulletin board for you to use for discussions related to this newsletter, Tech sports, or anything else: <http://www.admin.mtu.edu/pps-cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl>

At Tech

TECH FEATURED IN PRINCETON REVIEW'S BEST VALUES: The Princeton Review has listed Michigan Tech among the nation's best-value undergraduate institutions. The New York-based education services company features Michigan Tech in the new 2007 edition of its book, "America's Best Value Colleges." The guide profiles 150 colleges with excellent academics, generous financial aid packages and relatively low costs. It includes 103 public and 47 private colleges in 40 states. "We are very pleased to be recognized for the value of our high-quality education," said President Glenn Mroz. "Michigan Tech is the only research university in the state to reach this status, demonstrating the balance we've achieved in promoting quality undergraduate programs while at the same time, being rated in the High Research Category of the Carnegie Classifications. This is a significant achievement and recognition for our faculty and staff." Other research universities that made the list include Georgia Tech, Purdue, North Carolina State, University of California at Berkley, and Texas A&M.

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PROFESSOR FEATURED IN CHRISTIAN SCIENCE MONITOR: Professor Marty Auer (Civil and Environmental Engineering) is cited in this Christian Science Monitor story about nasty algal blooms in the Great Lakes: "A Scourge of the '70s Returns to the Great Lakes" at http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0330/p14s01-sten.html.

***

NEXT YES! EXPO COMING IN NOVEMBER: Tech is again preparing to host the Michigan Youth Engineering and Science (YES!) Expo, set for November 2 at Detroit's Ford Field. This is the third year that Michigan Tech is organizing the event, which attracts thousands of middle- and high-school students. Dozens of colleges, universities, corporations and agencies will be on hand to inspire students to consider careers in engineering, science and other technology-related fields. Last fall, YES! Expo attracted more than 40 companies, 25 colleges and universities and about two dozen organizations ranging from NASA to the Ann Arbor Hands-on Museum, along with more than 12,500 secondary school students. For more information, visit http://www.yes.mtu.edu or contact Pete Cattelino, director, YES! Expo and Educational Programs, 487-3486 or pjcattel@mtu.edu.

Tech Sports

TENNIS SPLITS FINAL HOME MATCHES OF SEASON: Huskies Top Oilers, 6-3: The Michigan Tech men's tennis team wrapped up its home schedule by splitting a pair of Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matches at the Gates Tennis Center. The Huskies earned a 6-3 victory Saturday (Apr. 1) over Findlay before losing to Mercyhurst, 7-2, on today. Doubles proved to be an important factor in both matches. Against Findlay, Tech swept the doubles play. Justin Foley and Rajiv Nanjundareddy combined to edge out their opponents, 9-8 (5), in their number three doubles tilt.

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TRACK SQUADS TAKE THIRD AND FOURTH: Michigan Tech opened its 2006 track and field season Saturday by participating in the Sherman-Lukoski Invitational. The Michigan Tech men finished third out of 11 schools, while the women placed fourth out of 10 teams. Robert Haynes led all competitors for Tech, as he kicked off his collegiate career with first-place finishes in both the 100 meter and 200 meter dash. The freshman compiled a time of 10.86 in the 100 and 21.97 in the 200. Both times rank among the top six all-time among track and field athletes at Michigan Tech.

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Around Town
(Adapted from the Daily Mining Gazette)

BLACK HAWK COMES TO KEWEENAW: When 10 tons of sleek black military ingenuity whirs down to a Copper Country landing spot, it's going to draw a crowd. So it was no surprise when crowds lined fences and climbed atop mounds of snow to get a closer look at the Black Hawk helicopter as it approached the Houghton County Memorial Airport Friday afternoon. The helicopter, piloted by the Wisconsin National Guard, came to pick up cadets from the Michigan Tech Army Reserve Office Training Corps, who are doing training exercises this weekend in northern Illinois. The 1987 UH-60 has logged more than 10,000 flight hours, said Sgt. Jason Pruitt of the Wisconsin National Guard, but it's still running well. "It's just like anything mechanical. Some things are just put together right," he said.

The Tech students are hoping their weekend exercises go just as smoothly. They're meeting up with ROTC units from several other colleges to practice recon missions and other infantry tactics. The weekend is part of their preparation for this summer's national Leadership Development Assessment Course at Ft. Lewis, Wash. Even for an ROTC cadet, the arrival of the helicopter's still pretty exciting. "It's a lot better than a 10-hour drive," said cadet company commander Casey Luskin. After cadets underwent a quick briefing session, the 15 or so people outside got off the fences and down from the mounds for a quick peek inside the chopper. That's pretty standard, Pruitt said. "A lot of times, you come to small towns, and everyone knows everyone, so word travels very fast," he said.

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KALEVA COMING BACK: Sandra Beauchamp's experience with cooking is limited to what she does for her family, but as the new co-owner of the Kaleva Cafe, she may soon be cooking for many more people. Beauchamp said she and her husband, Frank, signed the papers transferring ownership of the restaurant to them in early March. The thought of purchasing the Kaleva Cafe, which has been closed since September 2005 and in the possession of Superior National Bank in Hancock, actually started late last year, Beauchamp said. "The idea went through my head off and on," she said. "We kicked it around in December." Beauchamp said the Kaleva Cafe name would remain when it's reopened. There is uncertainty about when the restaurant originally opened, but according to information from the Michigan Tech University archives, it may have been 1918. The exact number of owners is also uncertain. Beauchamp said she'll be doing most of the cooking, at least at first. "I'll be doing a little bit of everything," she said. She will be hiring a baker, however. As for the menu, Beauchamp said she plans to offer typical breakfast and lunch fare, and pasties will be back.

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STANTON PARKS PLAN IN WORKS: A plan begun in February to have the Houghton County Board of Commissioners take over operation of two parks in Stanton Township is off--at least temporarily--after township residents decided they wanted to keep them. In February, Stanton Township Supervisor Marvin Heinonen said the parks--the 167-acre Houghton Canal Park which is off of Houghton Canal Road and the 257-acre Agate Beach Park which is on Lake Superior near Toivola--cost the township between $12,000 and $15,000 per year to operate and maintain and is a severe financial strain. Because of those concerns, Heinonen said he initiated contact with the board of commissioners to see if there was any interest in having ownership of the parks transferred to the county. However, at a March 8 meeting of the Stanton Township board, Heinonen said about 30 residents attended and most of them wanted to retain township control of the parks. "The majority expressed a desire to keep them, " he said during an interview Wednesday. "We're going to try it for a year."

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MOYLE PLANS $18.7M FRANKLIN TOWNSHIP PROJECT: Moyle Inc. presented plans to build an $18.7 million residential development to Franklin Township Brownfield Redevelopment Authority officials recently. The 33-acre development, to be located by the Coast Guard Station Portage, would have 2,400 feet of lakeshore frontage. The site is also the former location of the Upper Peninsula Power Company coal docks. Parts of the construction could continue until 2021, said Jeff Moyle, vice president of Moyle Construction. "It's really a big undertaking, even for us," he said. Work will cost about $4.3 million, about $1.3 million of which will be paid for out of Brownfield Redevelopment money, Moyle said. As presented by Moyle, the work would consist of four phases of more than 40 units split between townhouse and single-family lots. Franklin Township Supervisor Glenn Ekdahl said he's looking forward to the project. "It's going to be something very exciting for our township," he said. "I don't think we've ever had a project in the township of this scope ... I'm sure it'll be a good start for future things as well," he said.

From the E-mailbag

Hi Dennis,
Roundabouts have sprung up in the Detroit suburb of Sterling Heights. There was much hand wringing and pessimism leading up to the first one, but now traffic flows better. The first week was a little ticklish as the "regulars" got used to it. And when signage is ignored, there is still some paint swapping. But like anything else, roundabouts work when their use--and potential misuse--is understood.

Also, a thought on the prior comment: "You can argue that Californians don't understand the concept of "Yield," or that Escalade drivers can't be bothered to read signs, but my vote is against the entire roundabout concept."

The maligned roundabout may have spared the alumni's life. Traffic moves slower in a roundabout, which affords more reaction time than an intersection. Had the egregious Escalade driver run a red light--instead of a roundabout yield sign--the alumni might not be here to tell this story.

Keep the news coming Dennis, it's always a great break on a Monday morning.

David Geyer '92

***

I think the roundabout discussion is one of the longest on the TechAlum...I'll do my part to extend it...

I've seen a few roundabouts in my travels to China...The ones I have seen are placed on divided roads. In an interesting twist, they allow cars to enter the roundabout in the wrong directions (by turning left) to make a U-turn back to the same road they came from. So as you go around the roundabout, it seems like cars are coming at you from all directions - Which pretty much describes driving in Guangzhou!

We used to live a block away from a famous Michigan roundabout in Marshall. It was a very efficient way to move traffic, and you never had to wait at a traffic light! I don't think I ever saw an accident there - with the exception of hearing, then seeing my coffee mug go flying off the roof of my car as I made my way around the circle--Whoops!

Jim Rathbun, '81

Alumni Association Programs

Michigan Tech Alumni Relations and Admissions are proud to present the following Michigan Tech SPOTLIGHT NIGHTS, as part of the STARnet volunteer program.

* See the dates listed below.

Know bright, motivated, and adventurous students in these areas? Encourage them to come out! Pass it on. Michigan Tech Spotlight Night is a great place to check out Tech.

The purpose of the Spotlight Night programs is to introduce prospective students to Michigan Tech. The event will showcase the seven interest areas of study: Arts and Human Sciences, Business, Computing, Engineering, Environmental Studies, Sciences, and Technology, along with showcasing various Enterprise and Senior Design projects. Prospective students and guests including parents, teachers and counselors are welcome and encouraged to attend.

For the Spotlight Night schedule, posters and more information, www.mtu.edu.

Information is also available on the Alumni & Friends and Admissions homepage, or contact: Kim Klender at ksklende(at)mtu.edu (906.487.3674)

RSVP: <www.admin.mtu.edu/alumni/volunteer/spotlight.htm>

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ALL CHAPTER EVENTS: For more information on alumni chapter events, e-mail mtu_alumni(at)mtu.edu or see the alumni chapter site on the web:

http://www.admin.mtu.edu/alumni/chapters/usamap.html

April

4 - Iron Mountain Spotlight Night*
4 - Seattle Presidential Reception
5 - Portland Presidential Reception
5 - Green Bay Spotlight Night*
6 - Chicago Spotlight Night*
11 - Denver Presidential Reception
12 - Student Expo - Alumni Night
18 - Ontario/Inland Empire National College Fair
19 - Honolulu National College Fair
20 - San Diego National College Fair
22 - Orange County National College Fair
23-24 - Greater LA National College Fair
25 - Ventura National College Fair
27 - San Francisco National College Fair
29 - Spring Commencement

May

3 - Grand Rapids Spring Dinner/Presidential Reception
8 - Boston Presidential Reception
9 - Philadelphia Presidential Reception
10 - Duluth Spotlight Night*
11 - Minneapolis Spotlight Night*
16 - Saginaw/Bay City/Midland Spotlight Night
17-18 - Detroit Spotlight Night*
22 - Marquette Spotlight Night*
23 - Traverse City Spotlight Night*
24 - Grand Rapids Spotlight Night*
24 - Green Bay Golf Outing
24-26 - Washington DC (MTF Board Meeting), Presidential Reception
25 - Kalamazoo Spotlight Night*

http://www.admin.mtu.edu/alumni/new/events.htm

Job Opportunities This Week

ON CAMPUS: Complete job descriptions are available by e-mailing jobs at mtu.edu

Business Systems Analyst--Enrollment Services

Associate Director of Student Activities, Greek Life, and Leadership (Revised and Reposted)--Student Life

OFF CAMPUS: For off-campus positions, visit the alumni section of the career center's web site ( http://www.career.mtu.edu/alumni.php)