Will it go in? The long wait for opening day is over.

Portage Lake Golf Course finally opened recently and the local duffers were overjoyed. The normal opening day is around April 20, so we were way overdue.

Not counting some early swings in Detroit, PLGC is really where I learned how to golf. My short-lived high school golfing career took place there (I qualified for one tournament).

My children also learned to play here, and for our first round this year, my son, fresh from finishing his school year at Tech, joined us. After not having played for a couple of years, he beat us by many strokes. Oh, but to be young again.

I shouldn't jinx my next round, but on the first warm day of the spring, I played one of my best rounds ever. Of course, I have no idea what I did differently.

That's the beauty and curse of golf—it constantly surprises you, in good or bad ways.

And, at PLGC, you can now enjoy a beverage of your choice and some great food at the Par and Grill, a beautifully done addition to the clubhouse. They also have a beverage cart making the rounds.

So, next time you are in Houghton, play a round. I know you'll be pleased.

And if you find any Nike balls with "smiles" hacked into them, they "might" be mine.

Alumni Volunteers Needed

To recognize academic achievement and success, Michigan Technological University is looking for proud alumni volunteers to assist in presenting scholarship certificates to accepted students at upcoming high school awards programs across the country.

Learn more about this excellent outreach opportunity at www.admissions.mtu.edu/hsawards.

Nine graduate students of the Department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences are exploring the vast Mexican Volcanic Belt, which stretches across Mexico, in a field expedition from May 12 to 23. Participants are doctoral students Marika Dalton, Rüdiger Escobar, John Lyons and Patricia Nadeau and master's students Luke Bowman, Ellen Engberg, Ingrid Fedde, Lara Kapelancyk and Otoniel Matías. Mexico's leading volcanologists are the trip leaders, and highlights include the erupting volcanoes of Popocatépetl and Colima. More

MTEC SmartZone has announced that two new tenants have entered its SmartZone business incubator. Extreme Tool & Engineering Inc. has opened a research and development center, an expansion of its headquarters in Wakefield, and Hawk Technologies Inc. has more than tripled its footprint from its prior facility in order to pursue new product development. Since the recent expansions of SmartZone companies, the facility is completely occupied for the first time since its opening in July 2005. More

The Office of the Vice President for Research has announced recipients of the 2008 Research Excellence Fund Awards, which total $457,476. Thirty-five proposals totaling $1,270,659 were reviewed. The VPR Office would like to thank the review committees for their important role in this process. More

The 14th Annual Student Awards Banquet was held on Sunday, April 27, in the Memorial Union Ballroom.

President's Leadership Award—Johnathon Aho

Aho has been involved in a variety of activities, including Blue Key Honor Society. He served as president of the society during the 2007-08 academic year. For Winter Carnival 2008, he worked with the University to bring artists from Kentucky and Maryland to campus for the Frozen Car Project. More

Chicago Chapter Event—Chicago Cubs and Goose Island Brewery

Over 100 Huskies alumni, family, and friends came out for a day of fun and baseball as the Chicago Alumni Chapter hosted its first Cubs group party. Local Huskies experienced Wrigleyville game day in style by owning the rear portion of the popular Goose Island Brewery right around the corner from Wrigley Field. The most popular comment from Alumni was, “WHEN IS THE NEXT EVENT?" After enjoying the all you could eat and drink buffet, alumni won a variety of Michigan Tech gear through a raffle supporting the Chicago Chapter Scholarship Fund. To top the day off, the Cubs won 7-2 in front of a thunderous crowd of 41,597.

Keweenaw Brewing Company offers warehouse tours to local alumni and friends

Nearly 150 Keweenaw Chapter alumni and friends toured the Keweenaw Brewing Company’s South Range warehouse facility on Thursday, May 15. Guests learned about the brewing process and were able to taste samples of the four varieties of beer produced at the facility. On display were posters showing the research that a Michigan Tech student enterprise is undertaking to improve the efficiency of one of the canning lines.

Thanks to the event organizers Beth Hoy ’96 and Jacque Smith ’85 and the KBC hosts Paul and Margaret Boissevain, and alumni Dick and Stasia Gray, both from the Class of ’82.

 

1983, we think. If you can ID them, we'll include your knowledge in the Email Bag below.

We believe this is a "sketching room." Any other clues?

Construction has begun at Michigan Tech’s Sherman Field to install a synthetic playing surface. ProGrass, which is headquartered in Pittsburgh and has installed field systems across the country, has been awarded the contract. The construction process will include removal of the old playing surface, updating the drainage system, replacing the subgrade and installing the new turf. The turf is a synthetic grass system with sand and rubber infill. More

The Michigan Tech women’s basketball team has added two players to its 2008-09 roster it was announced today by head coach John Barnes. Gretta Hjelseth (Akeley, Minn./Nevis) and Krista Pelky (Oshkosh, Wis./West) join the Huskies’ recruiting class, which also includes Jessica Racine (Ishpeming, Mich./Westwood). More

The United States Ski Association released the rankings for the 2007-08 season. Several Michigan Tech skiers moved up the list from the previous season despite the change in scoring this season that made it harder to earn points. “I was glad to see people move up the points rankings this season,” said head coach Joe Haggenmiller. “The rankings give us a good indication of where we are compared with other programs in the nation.” More

Michigan Tech's Robert Haynes come up short in his final attempt to qualify for the NCAA Div. II Outdoor Track and Field Championships Saturday (May 10) at the Len Paddock Invitational hosted by the University of Michigan. Haynes finished 10th in the 100 meter dash in a time of 11.08. He also finished ninth in the 200 meter dash in a time of 22.45.

High school students in the FIRST Robotics competition showed off their latest creation at the Keweenaw Economic Development Alliance meeting Wednesday. Two members of the Houghton High School team as well as their student advisor from Michigan Technological University were on hand to present their robot, which competed recently at a regional competition in Milwaukee. Teams from Chassell and Calumet also competed. More

Reaching a resolution to the ownership dispute over the stretch of former Soo Line railroad grade from Houghton to Chassell will require patience. Circuit Court Judge Garfield Hood reminded the courtroom of this fact Tuesday afternoon when he showed counsel for both sides the back of his nameplate before sustaining one of the many objections that came from the plaintiffs’ counsel during more than four hours of testimony. On the back of the nameplate, the side usually facing Hood during court proceedings, was written “patience.” More

The attorneys for the plaintiff and defendant in the case of George Gipp’s exhumation will write motions for summary disposition. Dr. Dawn Nulf, the county’s medical examiner, was the sole defendant not included in an earlier motion for summary disposition. In March, Judge Garfield Hood ruled in favor of the defendants, saying plaintiffs Ron and Karl Gipp did not have legal standing to sue them. More

Nobody knows who she is or what she was doing in Calumet that afternoon in early fall. It was the year of our nation’s bicentennial, a cool day for the first of September. The sun may have been shining when the woman drove her Buick into town. Or it may have been cloudy. We don’t know. We know only that her car sat too long in a parking space on Fifth Street. More

 

Dennis,
In response to Fill in the Blank II... The woman in the MTSF photo is Kim Waldron. She standing next to Brian Hoag. I recognized her but had to search my yearbooks to come up with her name. I, too, was a member of the MTSF in 80-81 and 81-82.

Juliet ('etta) Crawford Pattullo
MTU '82

***

Dennis,

In the MTSF picture, "Woman" appears to be someone I shared a dorm room with for part of my freshman year in Coed hall -- Kim Waldron.

Thanks for a great newsletter!

Patty (Philipps) Scully

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Upper row (L to R): Brian Hoag, Kim Waldron, Tom McGovern, Werner Gutknecht
Lower row (L to R): Gary Hodges, Steve Bailo, Brain Wines, Stefano Savastano

Kathy Calder Haselmaier '84

Editor's Note: Kathy is the clear winner of this one, unless any of you can refute this.

Not sure who to send this information to and what you can do with it, but Jake Miller was a 2004 Graduate with a Business degree and the follow article let's you know what he has been up to as Manager of Caribou Coffee in Minneapolis.

Wendy Yoder

Memo to Guard troops in Iraq: Beans incoming
TIM HARLOW, Star Tribune

Members of the Minnesota National Guard and other military members affiliated with the state serving in the Middle East will soon receive a large shipment of coffee beans, courtesy of 13 downtown Minneapolis Caribou Coffee shops and customers who donated them.

Jake Miller, who manages the Caribou on the skyway level of Gaviidae Common next to Sack's Fifth Avenue, spent Wednesday packing the last of 60 boxes containing 350 pounds of beans that will be shipped to the troops by the end of the week.

"We want to support the troops any way we can," said Miller. "In a word, this is a 'way to go' for the troops fighting in Iraq."

Miller came up with the idea when he learned that three of his regular customers had husbands overseas. He figured other customers were in the same plight, so he organized the collection.

"They help me, so I wanted to help them," Miller said. "And no better place to do something than where people gather for coffee. After all everybody needs to be caffeineated."

Customers at 13 downtown Caribou stores purchased a variety of blends during a two-week donation period held in April. Caribou is paying the approximately $540 to mail the donated beans to Iraq and other points.

The husband of one of Miller's regulars will receive the shipments and coordinate dispersal on that end.

So, soldiers, "Keep your eyes open for coffee," Miller said. As far as grinders for the beans, "they are on their own."

“Winter Study,” by Nevada Barr (Putnam, $24.95)
Through her 15 novels, most of them bestsellers, Nevada Barr has become one of the country’s top mystery writers. But her stories about park ranger Anna Pigeon also have proven that she’s one of our finest nature writers. “Winter Study’s” focus is on wolves and the annual studies by Michigan Tech researchers in Isle Royale National Park near Lake Superior. Understanding the wolves and their habits and managing the packs has been a 50-year project. Building on that background, Barr delivers an exciting story that weaves in jealousy, government interference, national security and the loneliness of being in a remote area.

Scott Hartz

Please pass this link along as it is a New service of the Alumni Association ...

"Moving to a new city? Your Alumni Association would like to help. This map displays information on locations provided by your fellow Michigan Tech alumni. Either click on the Husky logo or select a location from the drop down box below the map to learn about your new community."

http://alumni.mtu.edu/moving/

Show your Husky spirit and earn points too! This is the only credit card that supports your Alumni Association programs for students and alumni and earns points towards cash back, air travel, merchandise and more-all with no annual fee and a low annual percentage rate! For every new account that is opened and every purchase made with the card, Bank of America will make a contribution to the Michigan Tech Alumni Association to support programs for students and alumni-at no additional cost to you! Members may review information about the rates, fees, other costs and benefits and apply by clicking here or calling 1-800-932-2775. TTY users, please call 1-800-833-6262.

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More Alumni Benefits and Services information <More Alumni Benefits & Services information <http://www.admin.mtu.edu/alumni/products/>

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Complete Job Descriptions are available on the Human Resources website.

Major Gifts Officer (2)—Development Office

Coordinator, Study Abroad Programs— International Programs and Services

Assistant Research Accountant— Research Accounting

Assistant Men's Basketball Coach—Athletic Department

Digital Studio Coordinator—J. Robert Van Pelt Library

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Faculty Position
Tenure-Track Assistant Professor in Entrepreneurship— School of Business and Economics