|
|
1. Flags Lowered Sept. 7 |
Flags throughout the state will be lowered today, Thursday, Sept. 7, in honor of Navy Chief Petty Officer Paul J. Darga, of Alpena, who died Aug. 22 while on active duty in Iraq.
Chief Petty Officer Darga, age 34, was killed in the Al Anbar province when his team was struck by a bomb while responding to a previous strike. He was assigned to Explosive Ordinance Disposal Mobile Unit Two, serving with the 1st Marine Logistics Group. |
|
|
2. Breakfast with the President this Morning |
By Jen O'Connell, director of student activities, Student Life
As part of Welcome Week, Thursday morning, between 8 and 9:30 a.m., President Glenn Mroz and his team will be flipping pancakes and pouring syrup for anyone who happens to stop by. The breakfast will be located outside on the lawn, north of the Memorial Union. Stop by and enjoy breakfast. |
|
|
3. Graduate School Fall Recruiting Schedule |
The Graduate School will be hosting a booth at each of the following events this fall. Although a graduate school representative will be attending each event, departments and schools are strongly encouraged to send additional graduate student or faculty representatives to assist in the recruiting effort.
The graduate school will provide some financial assistance, in the form of conference registration, for at least one university representative external to the graduate school for each event (awarded on a first-come, first-served basis).
Purdue--Big 10 and Graduate School Exposition
Location: Lafayette, Ind.
Date: Sept. 25
http://www.gradschool.purdue.edu/gradexpo/
Chicago Graduate and Professional School Fair 2006
Location: Chicago
Date: Oct. 17
http://www.uic.edu/depts/ocs/employers/gradform.htm
University of Illinois Graduate Fair
Location: Champaign, Ill.
Date: Oct. 19
http://www.careercenter.uiuc.edu/hgfair2006/home.asp
Sigma Xi -(The Research Society) Annual Meeting
Location: Detroit (Renaissance Center)
Date: Nov. 2-5
http://www.sigmaxi.org/meetings/annual/exhibit.shtml
SACNAS (Society for Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science) National Conference
Location: Tampa, Fla.
Date: Oct. 26-29
http://www2.sacnas.org/confNew/confClient/
If you are interested in attending any of these events, contact Jacque Smith, director of marketing and advancement for the graduate school, at jacque@mtu.edu or 487-1434. |
|
|
4. C2E2 Call for Proposals |
The Vice President for Research Office is soliciting Century II Campaign Endowed Equipment (C2E2) Fund proposals for FY 2006-07. This program provides equipment money to improve the lives of faculty, staff and students. For further information on this program, visit http://www.admin.mtu.edu/research/vpr/internal/century.html .
Proposals must be submitted no later than 4 p.m. on Oct. 26. Send your application, along with eight hard copies, to Cheryl Gherna, Administration Building 317.
If you have any questions, call 487-2902.
|
|
|
5. Paper Recycling Sept. 11 |
Submitted by Kristine Bradof, Environmental Sustainability Committee
Saving paper at home? Bring it to the Second Monday of the Month Paper Recycling Collection on Monday, Sept. 11, 3:30-5:30 p.m. at the Dow sixth floor loading dock, off the main lobby (just west of where the Dow extends over Cliff Drive). The next collection is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 2.
Please take this opportunity to dispose of your recyclable paper when we have volunteers to help. Don't empty paper from home into the blue recycling bins or carts because that creates more work for the custodial and grounds crews. As always, departments or offices that have a large amount of paper to recycle at one time should contact recyclinginfo-l@mtu.edu to arrange a special pickup. If you're not sure what can be recycled, see the guidelines at http://www.esc.mtu.edu/WhatCanIRecycleAtMTU/Default.htm .
This recycling collection is sponsored by the MTU Environmental Sustainability Committee and Circle K in cooperation with Facilities Management's Building Operations and Grounds Departments.
For more information, see http://www.esc.mtu.edu or contact your departmental recycling liaison or recyclinginfo-l@mtu.edu. To receive information and announcements related to environmental sustainability issues and activities at MTU and on other campuses, subscribe to mtugreen-l@mtu.edu. |
|
|
6. Fisher Hall: Extreme Makeover Comes to Michigan Tech |
Fisher Hall had more than a facelift this summer. The circa 1964 classroom and office building has gone through an extreme makeover.
It needed it, says Jim Heikkinen, manager of planning, engineering and construction. "This building was in bad shape," he says. "It had lot of obsolete stuff that we've wiped out and replaced. Fortunately, it was a well-designed building.
"It has good bones."
That made this summer's re-do easier. The lobby is now dressed up in new colors and awash in light, both from big windows opening onto an outdoor seating area and from new lighting. New classrooms are wired, Fisher 135 is unrecognizable, and the roof doesn't leak. All this makes Heikkinen very happy.
A bystander comments that 135 looks like a pint-size Rozsa Center. "It does, yeah," he agrees. It's nice to be noticed. "Quite often, we spend money on things people never see, and this project is more heavy on things people appreciate right away."
Like, the seats. "Check this out," he says, settling into one. "It's really comfortable."
It's no accident that the chair feels good. Before buying them, Facilities Management subjected several sample chairs to the fanny test.
"We had a survey last spring," Heikkinen explains. "We put a bunch of different seats in the hall and asked students to sit in them and give us their opinion. This seat got over 550 votes out of 800."
"It was also the low bid, and we're very happy with that," he says, adding, "It pays to listen to your customers."
Other changes: A new podium links the lecturer to all kinds of nifty, new instructional gadgetry. The seating is staggered to provide a better view of the stage. The acoustics and lighting are better. A plasma screen has been added. "I think the students will really like this," Heikkinen says.
Across the hall, Fisher 139 has also undergone a resurrection, with sliding blackboards and an electronic podium. Students in the back can to see table-top experiments on a big plasma screen. "We spruced up the lighting and did some work on the acoustics," Heikkinen said. "Acoustically, 139 was OK, but overall, it looked hideous."
Acoustic paneling installed in an earlier remodel detracted from the appearance of the room. "What we've done now is pay due respect to the original design intent in regard to restoration of finishes," Heikkinen explains. "We also upgraded and added presentation technology and lighting."
The reason 139 and the rest of Fisher are no longer, well, hideous, is simple. "We had heavy faculty involvement at the very beginning," he said. Faculty were asked what they wanted, and the university solicited contracts based on their preferences. "We were looking for the best value for our students, faculty and the university," says Heikkinen.
One of the people they talked with was physics professor Robert Nemiroff, who was searching for a place where students could use his big telescope. Facilities suggested the patio being built across from Fisher's new cafe, with access through super-wide doors to accommodate the telescope.
"Once I heard about it, I thought it was a good idea," says Nemiroff. "I expect to roll out the huge, 25-inch telescope for students to use within the next year."
Inside, students and faculty are already using renovated classrooms scattered throughout Fisher and the Chemical Sciences and Engineering Building. Heikkinen shows a typical room. Again, the chairs are worth mentioning. "I should see if I can get one for my office," he says. There are no bad seats: they all have a clear view of the front of the class.
"We worked with faculty to come up with the teaching wall," he says. Each one has screens, blackboards or whiteboards that move up and down, and special lighting that the teacher can control, plus a podium with built-in electronics.
Professor John Jaszczak (Physics), who worked on the redesign, says the change has been phenomenal. “You can’t believe it’s the same place until you walk into the office complex,” he says. “The students I’ve come across are very happy.” Students used to sit on the floors in alcoves along the hallways; now, they are using the chairs provided. “We tried to learn from other building projects” to improve the classroom design, he said. “Many people working together came up with something that was much better than any individual could have done.
“And the wonderful thing was that it started the day classes ended last spring and ended as classes began this fall. The students really appreciated that.”
The university is spending about $2.5 million on the classroom renovation, which includes 20 classrooms as well as three lecture halls. "We also have a $300,000 life safety project that added fire alarms, door hardware and other safety items to Chem Sci and Fisher," Heikkinen said.
The new lighting is part of a broader, $1.2-million project that involves several buildings. "It's sometimes called full-spectrum lighting," he says. "It's like the light of the noonday sun, with all parts of the visible spectrum, and it feels like a skylight."
Aside from giving a sunshine lift to the building occupants, the lighting boosts the bottom line. "The university is saving gobs on electricity."
It's also saving on the new smart elevators in Chem Sci. "They are computerized now, so they don't all race to the first floor when you push a button," says Heikkinen. "They remember patterns of use, so that they know that at 1:15 there's a bunch of people going up to a lab, and they'll be there."
And Facilities is upgrading the heating system. Computers will monitor the weather outside; for example, if it's 10 below with 25 mph winds, the system will kick on a little early so the occupants don't get chilled.
When these buildings were first constructed, all these nice things probably wouldn't have happened, even if the technology had been in place. Then, the goal was to put up a solid building, cheap, Heikkinen says. Forty years later, the focus has changed. "We're building these for human beings, not a spreadsheet," Heikkinen says.
A number of faculty and staff worked long and hard to figure out what could help make those human beings happy to come to work in the morning. In addition to Heikkinen, the committee included Mary Durfee, assistant provost for academic improvement, Professor Allan Struthers (Mathematical Sciences), Jaszczak, Assistant Chair Beth Reed (Mathematical Sciences), Senior Telecommunications Engineer Dave Chard (ETS), Educational Technology Services Director Patty Lins, Assistant Professor Joe Holles (Chemical Engineering), Chair Sarah Green (Chemistry), Assistant Registrar Theresa Jacques, Associate Registrar Mike Johnson, Senior Telecommunications Engineer Shane Godmere (IT) and Construction Engineer Mike Wilmers (Facilities Management).
"There isn't a single person who could have done all this," Heikkinen said. "Many of us had long discussions, trying to get inside the faculty's heads to figure out what they wanted and how we could bring it to them."
You can see the results, he says, with a wave of his arm that encompasses the entire building. "It's been very gratifying." |
|
|
7. 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
9/7/06 - 9/13/06
Food Service Helper (2)
Dining Services
Regular, full-time, nine-month position
AFSCME internal posting only
Food Service Utility
Dining Services
Regular, full-time, nine-month position
AFSCME internal posting only
Michigan Technological University is an equal opportunity educational institution/equal opportunity employer. |
|
|
