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1. Bergstrom: Developing the World's Smallest Transister |
Just when you thought cell phones couldn’t (or shouldn’t) get any smaller, Paul Bergstrom predicts that pretty soon you’ll be slipping one into your wallet alongside your driver’s license.
“I can see the day when cell phones are as thin as a credit card,” says Bergstrom, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering.
Bergstrom is working on developing nanoscale electronic devices. It’s not just a matter of making things littler. They will also be able to do lots more stuff, or, as Bergstrom says, “They can be integrated in smaller packages with more functionality.”
To accomplish this, Bergstrom is working on developing the smallest switch ever: a single electron transistor.
“It could open up whole new aspects of electronics,” he says. “A single electron transistor is a quantum device--it has very peculiar behavior.”
The transistor is about 100 nanometers across. Line up 2,500 of them and they’d be about as long as a human hair is wide. And on each transistor is a series of quantum dots. “Each dot is a 3D hemisphere under 10 nanometers across,” Bergstrom explains. “Electrons are trapped on that dot.”
Transistors work by having their gates open or shut to an electric current, creating the zeros and ones upon which all digital life depends. Quantum dots could change all that. By manipulating the potential energy of the electrons on each dot, “you could have multiple levels of logic,” Bergstrom said, not just two. “Instead of having zero and one, you could have zero and two, zero and three, and so forth,” he said. The power of electronic devices would increase significantly.
That said, these nano-transistors have one minor drawback. They only work at nano-temperatures. “We have to cool them to 4 degrees Kelvin,” Bergstrom says. That’s accomplished by immersing them in liquid helium, which could be inconvenient for the average cell-phone user.
Thus, with funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Army Research Lab, Bergstrom and his team are working to make single electron transmitters that work at room temperature.
The colder they are, the more tractable electrons become, and moving them around precisely at warmer temps is a big hassle. “The formation of these ultra-small quantum dots is very difficult,” Bergstrom said. “We’re trying to engineer them with an ion-beam etching tool, to put each particle exactly where it should be.”
“This is an area with great potential,” he added. “It could open up whole new aspects of the electronics industry.” |
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2. Storer: Time to Learn to Live with the Emerald Ash Borer |
In the battle with the exotic, invasive emerald ash borer, now is the time to shift the goal from eradication to living with the beetle, says a Michigan Technological University entomologist.
Andrew Storer, an associate professor of forest resources and environmental science, has been tracking the spread of emerald ash borers, which were detected for the first time in the Upper Peninsula earlier this month.
The glossy green beetles are native to northeast Asia and have devastated the ash tree population in southeastern Michigan since they were first detected a few years ago. Their larvae tunnel under the bark of ash trees, ultimately causing the death of the tree.
Natural spread of the borers would normally be slow, and most probably do not travel more than a couple miles in their lifetime, Storer said, so curbing their expansion would seem to be easy. Fortunately for emerald ash borers, humans have inadvertently expanded their range exponentially by hauling infested firewood hundreds of miles north on camping trips.
This is probably how the borers made it to Brimley State Park, in Chippewa County, where they were found Sept. 7 in a trap tree established and monitored by Storer's team in collaboration with the Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the USDA Forest Service. The Michigan Department of Agriculture plans to cut down all ash trees within half a mile of the infested tree in an attempt to halt the insect’s spread. The area around the site will require intensive monitoring for a number of years to determine whether this population has been eliminated, Storer said.
“This will likely not be the last time we have to work to eliminate populations of this beetle from the U. P.,” Storer predicts.
"In all likelihood, there will be other trees in the future," he says. Cutting ash trees around each newly discovered site may slow the emerald ash borer's spread, but it won't stop subsequent introductions on firewood. “As we learn to live with this insect we must all avoid moving firewood that may harbor the beetle. This insect is not going to be eradicated from Michigan, and we must adjust our activities to reduce its spread. I don't think anyone in the scientific community thinks it will go away."
Faced with this reality, government agencies will need to implement programs that focus on living with the beetle. Hopefully biological control will be an option in the future. In the meantime, he said, management efforts should focus on living with the insect by selective removal of ash in areas close to infestations, local eradication of small outlier populations and continued detection survey efforts, said Storer.
As to whether the emerald ash borer has penetrated farther into the U. P., we may know soon enough. This October, Storer's team will be checking trap trees at 50 additional sites scattered throughout the region to see if any more are infested. |
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3. Is This Your Check? |
The Cashier's Office is holding a rebate check from Dell for $100. If this rebate is belongs to your department, contact the Cashier's Office at 487-2247 or kamachie@mtu.edu.
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4. Tagging Equipment at Michigan Tech: It's More Important Than You Think |
As a recipient of federal grants and contracts, Michigan Tech must maintain a federally approved property management system for all equipment in possession of the university, regardless of funding source, including gifts and loaned items. The property management system is audited annually by the federal government.
In-kind donations are processed by Accounting Services, Corporate Services and the Michigan Tech Fund prior to acceptance. Contact Kelly Dube in Accounting Services, 487-2085, Diane Garrow in Corporate Services, 487-3458, or Gisele Colarossi at the Michigan Tech Fund, 487-3614, with questions regarding loaned or donated property. |
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5. Chamber Music Series Begins Sept. 25 |
The fine arts department's Chamber Music Series begins on Sunday, Sept. 25, at 3 p.m. in McArdle Theatre with a concert featuring six musicians playing music of C.P.E. Bach, Schumann and Hindemith. This is the first of three chamber music concerts during the 2005-06 year.
The concert features two trios, "Five Sonatas" for viola, cello and piano by Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach and "Trio, Opus 63" for violin, cello and piano by Robert Schumann. Musicians for "Five Sonatas" are Elizabeth Meyer, Margaret Twining and Neil Paynter, with Andrew McInnes, Patrick Quimby and Paynter performing the Schumann trio. Meyer will join pianist Susan Byykkonen to perform Paul Hindemith's "Trauermusik."
Tickets for the Chamber Music Series are available at the door and from the Rozsa Center Box Office for $6 general public, $3 students. The series will continue with concerts on Jan. 15 and April 23. |
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6. Homecoming Game to Open with Jet Flyover |
Lt. Col. Terry Sunnarborg of MTU's Air Force ROTC unit has arranged a T-38 flyover to coincide with the playing of the national anthem at Saturday's homecoming football game.
The game against Ashland begins at 1 p.m. in Sherman Field
The T-38 Talon is a twin-engine, high-altitude, supersonic jet trainer. It is used primarily by Air Education and Training Command for undergraduate pilot and pilot instructor training.
Other homecoming highlights on Saturday include the queen coronation at halftime, a 4 p.m. volleyball game against Northwood and a tailgate party starting at 11 a.m.
The Hobo Parade begins at 5:30 p.m. Friday on campus and proceeds downtown to the Houghton Waterfront Park. For more on homecoming, visit http://www.homecoming.mtu.edu/ |
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7. Teaching at Tech: Students Behaving Badly |
By William Kennedy, director, Center for Teaching, Learning and Faculty Development
There seems to be a rising chorus of concerns from faculty members across the academy reporting that they are more frequently having to reckon with students exhibiting behavioral problems in class. The list of these behaviors is long and varied and often includes grandstanding, sleeping in class, incessant chattering, routine lateness, overt acts of inattentiveness, use of electronic diversions in class, disruptive exits and entrances during the class, verbal/physical threats and challenges to the faculty member's expertise. Over the years, as I have been invited to sit in and observe dozens of classes across campus, I regret to report that I have observed each and every one of these behaviors. I suspect, given the quality of our incoming undergraduates, that we are experiencing a comparatively mild case of such occurrences.
In my admittedly non-scientific sample, I have noted that there often seems to be a correlation between class size, gender, age and years of experience of the instructor and the frequency and severity of student behavioral problems. I suspect that class size is a factor as large classes may provide students prone to such behaviors the illusion of anonymity that reduces their inhibitions. The worst case scenarios have most often involved small groups of disruptive male students repeatedly challenging the authority and expertise of young, inexperienced, and/or international female faculty members or GTAs. This is not to say that male instructors or instructors with years of experience are immune from encountering these same behaviors.
Another contributing factor beyond class size seems to be an increasingly pervasive "student-as-customer" attitude that some students bring with them to the university. This attitude may be exacerbated by some parents who seem willing and anxious to defend the actions of their sons and daughters without regard to factual concerns relating to their behavior, focus, or level of effort. Some faculty members have told me that it seems more and more students come to class feeling that they are entitled to an "A" grade simply because they were admitted to Tech and have paid their tuition. Many are openly dismissive of course work outside of their major and of instruction or instructors who challenge them or encourage them to think in different ways.
I have found some success in my courses by circulating a listing of my expectations and requirements on the first day of class along with the syllabus. I explicitly inform my students that I expect them to be respectful of me and their fellow classmates by listening carefully to what is being said in class and by refraining from unwarranted criticism or personal ridicule. I ask them to be patient when someone else takes extra time to master an idea or to argue a point and to help me to create a productive, encouraging, lively classroom atmosphere where our common enemy is ignorance and not our differing opinions. I encourage students unwilling to accept these requirements not to continue in the class. Amazingly, this simple act seems to have a positive and lasting effect.
If you experience behavioral problems in your classes, I would offer the following advice: 1) don't try to go it alone--seek the advice of the dean of students and her staff, 2) don't ignore problems and hope that they will go away--they usually won't and most often quickly escalate, 3) don't confront students in class--instead, ask to see students outside of class and tell them clearly what you are observing and the behaviors that you expect them to change, 4) don't allow your temper to get the best of you--address these problems only after you have calmed down and have given the situation some thought.
Finally, the literature concerning behavioral problems in class reminds us all to realize that incivility breeds incivility. Refrain from teaching behaviors that tend to provoke these sorts of behavioral problems. Avoid ridicule, cynicism, or behaviors that embarrass students in class. An acerbic or dismissive attitude only increases the likelihood of problem behaviors offered in retaliation. |
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8. New Funding |
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Ann L. Maclean has received $1.7 million for a five-year project from the National Science Foundation for "BE/MUSES: Renewable Energy from Forest Resources: An Investigation into the Viability of Large-Scale Production of Sustainable Transportation Fuels From Lignocellulosic Biomass." |
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9. Job Postings |
The following job descriptions are available in the Human Resources Office. For more information, call 487-2280, email jobs@mtu.edu or go to http://www.admin.mtu.edu/hro/postings
Food Service Helper--Residential Dining Services (full-time, 12-month, 40 hours per week; AFSCME internal posting only from 9/23/05 to 9/30/05)
Administrator of Research Enhancement--Vice President for Research
Michigan Technological University is an equal opportunity educational institution/equal opportunity employer. |
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10. Free Furniture in Admissions |
The Admissions Office has the following extra furniture to give away:
Two green armchairs
Eight black stackable chairs
One Brother fax machine
Two green, armless, rolling desk chairs
10 hanging file racks for file cabinet drawers
One end table
One table lamp
One dictation machine
Anyone interested can call the Admissions Office at 487-2335.
As always, university property may only be transferred to other university departments. It may not be given or sold to individuals. |
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