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1. 2005 Alumnus Dies in Afghanistan |
First Lt. Benjamin Hall, who earned a BS in Social Sciences from Michigan Tech in 2005, died July 31 in Afghanistan.
"Ben was an extremely friendly, upbeat kid, and I always enjoyed him," said his advisor, Professor Terry Reynolds. "I had him in several classes; he was not a star student, but he always worked hard, and he always wanted to be in the military."
"This is the closest I have been to the conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq," he added. "When somebody that you know and like is a casualty, all of a sudden it comes home pretty sharply."
Army ROTC Secretary Evelyn Colon-Peters, who worked in McNair when Hall was a resident there, recalls him as an exceptionally nice student. "He was always very sweet," she said. "He would stop in and say hi. Ben was very polite, an all around nice kid."
A memorial service was to be held Friday in Afghanistan and another at Arlington National Cemetery at a later date.
Hall's obituary appears here in the Washington Post:
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/02/AR2007080202600.html |
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2. Calumet Historical Walking Tour Friday |
Journey back in time through "Calumet, the way it used to be" with author and historian Larry Molloy on Friday, Aug. 10, from 1 to 4:30 p.m.
This leisurely afternoon walk will trace the surface operations of the Calumet & Hecla Mining Company, looking inside and outside the buildings and sites that made Calumet famous.
The tour registration fee of $20, payable to the A.E. Seaman Mineral Museum Gift Shop by Wednesday, Aug. 8, includes admission to the Coppertown Museum and the U.P. Firefighter's Memorial Museum.
This tour is part of the annual Copper Country Mineral Retreat but does not require retreat registration. Information about the retreat can be found at www.museum.mtu.edu/copper_country_mineral/index.html .
For more information or to register for the tour or the retreat, contact Kristine Bradof at the Seaman Mineral Museum, 487-2572 or kbradof@mtu.edu .
Molloy guest lectures on Copper Country history at Oakland Community College and is the author of Copper Country Road Trips and a review of the inquest into the Italian Hall tragedy, included in a book recently published by the Quincy Mine Hoist Association, New Perspectives on Michigan's Copper Country. |
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3. Presentation on Cleveland-Cliffs Today |
Professor Terry Reynolds (Social Sciences) will present his research, "Cleveland-Cliffs and the Cutover: A Mining Company's Attempts to Promote Upper Peninsula Agriculture, 1895-1915," today, Monday, Aug. 6, at 7 p.m. in Dow 642. The presentation is open to the public. It will also be repeated on Saturday, Aug. 18, at 11 a.m. in the Keweenaw Heritage Center as part of Calumet's annual heritage celebration.
Between 1895 and 1915, Cleveland-Cliffs, one of America's leading iron mining companies, became deeply involved in promoting agricultural development in the Upper Peninsula. Its ambitious work included an experimental garden, a greenhouse and nursery, an attempt to produce fertilizer locally, two major experimental/demonstration farms and a number of other agricultural initiatives not usually associated with mining companies. Reynolds' presentation will review the reasons Cleveland-Cliffs became involved in promoting agriculture, the nature of its programs and why it ultimately failed.
The presentation is part of a speakers bureau intended to provide a local context to two touring exhibits visiting Calumet this summer. Key Ingredients is a Smithsonian exhibit depicting America's food culture. Michigan Foodways is a Michigan State University Museum exhibit examining Michigan’s rich agriculture, its diverse ethnic cuisines and its culinary traditions. The touring exhibits are open to the public daily through Sunday, Aug. 26, at the Keweenaw Heritage Center in the former St. Anne’s Church.
For further information, contact the Michigan Tech Archives at 487-2505 or copper@mtu.edu . |
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4. In the News: Ahlborn, Bulleit |
Civil engineering faculty have been cited in both the Detroit Free Press and the Detroit News in connection with the collapse of the I-35W Bridge in Minneapolis.
Associate Professor Tess Ahlborn is quoted in this Free Press story , "Are Michigan Bridges Safe?": www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070803/NEWS06/708030371
Professor Bill Bulleit was interviewed by the News for the article "Michigan Checks Spans for Safety":
www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070803/METRO/708030407/1003 . |
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5. New Staff |
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Gregg Richards has joined the staff of Facilities Planning, Engineering and Construction as a facilities engineer. He was employed by U.P. Engineers & Architects, Inc. as a mechanical engineer for 14 years. Richards holds a BS in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan Tech and is a licensed professional engineer in Michigan and Wisconsin. He is married to Kathie, has two children, Kelsie and Hunter, and lives in Houghton. Richards is a member of the City of Houghton Fire Department and officiates high school football and basketball. |
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6. New Funding |
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Lawrence Sutter (Research) has received $30,808 from the Michigan Department of Transportation for "Impact of Hydrated Cement Paste Quality and Entrained Air-Void System on the Durability of Concrete." |
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7. Proposals in Progress |
Siegfried Hoefinger (Physics), Ulrich H.E. Hansmann and Max Seel, “Biomembranous Environments in Silico,” National Institutes of Health
Adam J. Durant (GMES) and I. Matthew Watson, “SGER: In-situ Volcanic Plume Characterization Using Controlled Meteorological Balloons,” NSF
Matthew Patrick (GMES/RSI) and I. Matthew Watson (GMES), “Clarifying Dynamics in Discrete Eruption Plumes: Integrating Field Imaging with Modeling Theory,” NSF
Joan Schumaker Chadde (Center for Sci/Env Outreach), “Great Lakes Maritime Education Program for K-12 Teachers, Students and Communities,” Great Lakes Maritime Research Institute
Yoke Khin Yap (Physics/MuSTI), “Effective Growth and Characterization of Boron Nanotubes,” Aerophysics Inc.
Laura Bourgeau-Chavez (MTRI), “Assessing the Vulnerability of North American Boreal Peatlands to Large Carbon Losses during Wildland Fires,” NASA, and “Interactions Between Land Use, Nutrient Runoff, and Wetland Plant Invasions in the Great Lakes: Linking Climatic and Biogeochemical Thresholds with Large-Scale Causes and Consequences,” University of Michigan
Nancy French (MTRI), “Development of Decision Products for Spatial Quantification of Carbon Emissions from Wildfire for North America,” NASA
Miguel Levy (Physics), “Integrated Waveguide Optical Isolators--Phase I,” Integrated Photonics Inc.
Jason R. Carter (Exercise Science) and John J. Durocher (Biological Sciences), “Optimizing Lactate Clearance in Collegiate Athletes,” Portage Sports Medicine Institute
S. K. Kawatra (Chemical Engineering), “Evaluation of Surface Chemistry Throughout Processing Plant and Determination of Effects on Plant,” CCI United Taconite
Brad Baltensperger (Cognitive and Learning Sciences), “Professional Development for Mathematics Teachers,” Dickinson-Iron ISD
Bernard Alkire (TTAP-MI) and John Velat (LTAP), “Web-Based Training for Road Safety Audits,” Federal Highway Administration
Keat Ghee Ong (Biomedical Engineering/BRC), “A Sensor Implant for In-Stent Stenosis Detection,” KMG2 Sensors Corporation, and “Rapid Pathogen and Toxins Detection Using Array of Magnetoelastic Sensors,” NATO Science for Peace and Security Programme
Keat Ghee Ong (Biomedical Engineering/BRC) and Haiying Liu (Chemistry/BRC), “A Low-Cost Biosensor for Rapid Microbial Detection,” KMG2 Sensors Corporation
Nikola Subotic (MTRI), “DO4,” SAIC
Qiuying Sha, Shuanglin Zhang and Huann-Sheng Chen (Mathematical Sciences), “Identification of Interaction Genes for Sporadic ALS,” NIH
Gregory M. Odegard (MuSTI/MEEM), “Multiscale Modeling of the Effects of Physical, Chemical, and Hydrothermal Aging on Failure of Graphite/Epoxy Composites,” National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Ryan Gilbert (Biomedical Engineering/BRC), “Development of Biomaterials that Release Therapeutic Agents to Modulate Inflammation Following Spinal Cord Injury,” NIH
John A. Jaszczak (Physics/MSE/MuSTI), Nasser Alaraje (School of Technology), Paul Bergstrom (ECE), Michael Bennett (Social Sciences) and Mary Raber (Enterprise Program), “NUE: Michigan Technological University Nanotechnology Enterprise,” NSF-NUE
Rupak M. Rajachar and Keat Ghee Ong (Biomedical Engineering/BRC), “A Cost-Effective Bioactive Vibrational Coating to Prevent Bacterial Infection in Biomedical Devices,” NIH-NIBIB
R. Honrath (CEE/RSI), “Maintenance and Interpretation of Observations at the Pico Mountain Station: August 2007-July 2008,” Riverside Technology, Inc.
Thomas Van Dam (CEE/MTTI), Larry Sutter (MTTI) and Karl Peterson (MTTI), “IPRF Consultant: ASR and Airport Deicer,” Innovative Pavement Research Foundation
David Watkins (SFI/CEE) and Deborah Huntzinger (SFI/GMES), “Integrating Environmental and Social Indicators into the Transportation Decision Support Tool: RoadSoft-GIS,” US DOT-Federal Highways Administration
Keat Ghee Ong and Rupak Rajachar (Biomedical Engineering/BRC), “Wireless, Passive Sensors for In-Vivo Monitoring of Compressive Forces in Knee Replacements,” NIH
Sarah Green (Chemistry/RSI) and W. Charles Kerfoot (Biological Sciences/RSI) “Assessing the Impact of Climate Change on the Potential Success of Invasive Species in Lake Superior with Application to Other Large Lake Systems,” Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute
Sarah Green, Lanrong Bi, Shiyue Fang, Haiying Liu, Martin Thompson and Rudy Luck (Chemistry), “Acquisition of Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time of Flight Mass Spectrometer (MALDI-TOF),” NSF-CRIF
Robert Shuchman (MTRI), “Bering Glacier Research Coordination,” US Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management
Andrew J. Storer (SFRES/ESC), “2007 Ash Damage Survey—Ground Evaluation of Aerial Imagery,” USDA Forest Service
Ann Maclean and Kimberly Brosofske (SFRES), “Pacific Southwest Region Ecological Unit Mapping,” USDA Forest Service, Region 5, Regional Office
Terry McNinch (CEE/MTTI), “Review of A-Injury Crashes in Michigan 2007,” MDOT |
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8. Free Corner Desk in GMES |
There is a 54- by 29-inch corner desk up for grabs in the department of Geological and Mining Engineering and Sciences. If you're interested, please contact Bob Barron at rjbarron@mtu.edu .
As always, university property may not be given or sold to individuals. It may only be transferred between university departments. |
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