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1. Battery Pack Safety Recall |
Milwaukee Electric Tool Corporation is recalling all 14.4V 2.4 Ah and 18V 2.4 AH NiCd battery packs manufactured between 1999 and February 2004, because the battery packs could explode if an over-pressure vent inside the battery pack becomes damaged during use.
Go to the following link for details on how to process your recall if your battery pack qualifies: www.admin.mtu.edu/acct/pdf/milwaukeerecall.pdf . |
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2. Merz, Jaszczak Receive Distinguished Service Awards |
Faced with two extraordinary candidates, the Faculty Distinguished Service Award Committee capitalized on an unusual state of affairs and opted to honor both.
John Jaszczak, a professor of physics and adjunct curator of the Seaman Mineral Museum, received the 2007 Distinguished Service Award for his efforts on behalf of the museum. And Tom Merz, a professor of business and economics, received the 2006 award (which was not presented last year) for his years of service as mayor and as a member of the Houghton City Council.
"We had two people who were outstanding nominees," committee chair Terry Monson said. "The committee thought, 'Since we didn't give an award last year, why not award one retroactively?' It was a Solomon-esque decision."
Jaszczak's name was put forward jointly by museum Curator George Robinson; Stan Dyl II, the museum's director of advancement and planning; and Ted Bornhorst, the museum's director of administration. In a five-page, single-spaced nomination form, they listed his many successful efforts to boost the museum's outreach, visibility, fundraising and quality.
In 1995, he co-founded and now chairs the Seaman Mineral Museum Society, which has since raised $200,000, organized a popular lecture series, held 10 fundraiser balls, funded the new Keweenaw Gallery and the museum's first computerized educational exhibit, and initiated the Charles A. Salotti Earth Science Education Award.
Jaszczak's Graphite Page made Science's "NetWatch" feature, and a Google search for "graphite" lists it near the top of over 20 million pages. In addition to collaborating with scientists all over the world, he gives talks and colloquia to audiences ranging from Cub Scouts and high school teachers to academics and professional mineralogists.
His photographs of mineral specimens have been featured in the popular media and in scientific journals and are on display in museums. He has helped the museum acquire two major collections, assists in planning for the new museum site on Quincy Hill and revamped the museum website. Meanwhile, Jaszczak has authored or coauthored 18 papers, seven abstracts and a book review relating to mineralogical research.
"John has been involved with the museum since he came here, and it's phenomenal what he has accomplished and all the good things that have come from it," said Robinson. "He has been so giving and forthcoming; he continues to help and never says no.
"If anyone every deserved that award, it's John," Robinson added. "And it's not like he doesn't have a full plate in physics and at home, either. He's a super person."
"It's easy to do what you love," Jaszczak said. "I got connected with the museum almost immediately after I got here, and I've enjoyed working with it ever since.
"It's neat to be able to work in so many great communities," he added. "Physics is a great department, and the museum is great, too, so no matter where I am, I enjoy myself. Also the museum is growing and improving, and I'm really on board to help the museum move to Quincy Hill."
Merz was nominated by Christa Walck, dean of business and economics. "As mayor, Dr. Merz did an exceptional job of establishing trust by building bridges between the University and the local community," she wrote in her nomination. In particular, she cited his efforts to improve relations between Michigan Tech students and the city by initiating regular meetings with student organizations and city officials.
"These meetings gave students opportunities to voice concerns on city issues, provided a mechanism for student input into city policies related to issues affecting them (housing, parking, homecoming parade, etc.) and strengthened town-gown relationships by creating an ongoing dialog," she wrote.
Merz started his service in local government in the 1980s, when he volunteered to serve on a city committee. "In 1994, there were signals that major changes were on the horizon," Merz remembers. "I figured this would be a good time to really get involved."
He ran for election to the Houghton City Council, won a seat and began a nonstop education in human relations. "I learned a lot—I learned almost every day," Merz said. "And when I thought I'd seen everything, the next issue seemed even more challenging or more bizarre."
Working with students seemed to arise almost organically. "A lot of things you do on the city council are related to students: parking, housing, ice time at the Dee, on and on," he said. "I think they sensed that in me they had someone to turn to, and I was more than willing to assist them. It was a very rewarding experience."
Serving on the council, particularly during his years as mayor, 1996–2006, was a satisfying and demanding experience. "I keep saying to myself, how did I ever find time to do it?" Merz said. "But I never put city business ahead of my classwork. Many times, I had to miss committee meetings for city responsibilities. But I never cancelled a class; that would have been cheating the students. Fortunately, the administration supported me, and that made it easier."
In class, he encouraged his students to follow his example. "I've told my students that if they live in a small community, they should consider running for local office," Merz said. "It's one way to make a difference, and it can be fascinating."
Merz's tenure with the city ended in 2006, when he went on sabbatical in Australia. It was a good time to leave, he says. "The danger is, if you stay too long, you think you have all the answers," he said. "And my wife said maybe it's time to get out now, when most people are still talking to you."
Merz said he felt honored to receive a Distinguished Service Award. "It's nice to be recognized," he said. "It was not to be expected, though. You do this sort of thing because you want to make a difference."
The award recipients each receive $2,500 and were honored at a banquet in September. |
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3. Last Day for Full Term Class Drops Oct. 26 |
The last day to drop full term fall semester classes is Friday, Oct. 26, by 5 p.m. All drops must be done in person in the Office of Student Records and Registration; they cannot be done via the web.
Also, please note:
*The last day to drop track B classes (those classes that begin on Oct. 22) with a full refund is Thursday, Oct. 25.
*The last day to drop track B classes with no grade is Wednesday, Oct. 31.
*The last day to drop track B classes with a "W" grade is Friday, Nov. 16.
According to the University policy on late drops, “After the eighth week of the semester, a student may request a late drop from the Office of Student Affairs, which will consider those requests that involve circumstances beyond the student’s control.” Extenuating circumstances considered are prolonged illness, serious accidents and death in the immediate family or of a close friend, or similar situations beyond the student’s control. All requests must be made in writing. Instructions for late drops are available from COMPASS (Wadsworth G28) or the Office of Student Affairs (Administration 170). No late drops will be granted to avoid poor grades.
Again, only extenuating circumstances will be considered for granting a late drop. |
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4. Husky Chairlift Rides at Mont Ripley Saturday |
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The Mont Ripley Ski Patrol will be offering rides on the Husky chairlift Saturday, Oct. 13, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Mont Ripley. The cost is $4 for Michigan Tech students, $5 for adults and free for children under 10. The proceeds from this event help the patrol buy supplies and equipment they need for the upcoming ski season. Come enjoy the fall colors and the view from the top of Mont Ripley. |
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5. Reminder: C2E2 Proposals Due Oct. 25 |
The Vice President for Research Office is soliciting Century II Campaign Endowed Equipment (C2E2) Fund proposals for FY 2007-08. This program provides equipment money to improve the lives of faculty, staff and students. For further information on this program, please visit the C2E2 website at www.admin.mtu.edu/research/vpr/internal/century.html .
Submissions will be accepted until 4 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 25. Send your original cover sheet and proposal, along with eight copies, to Cheryl Gherna, Administration 317. If you have any questions, call 487-2902. |
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6. Michigan Tech at NMU Tailgate Oct. 20 |
Michigan Tech football fever is back: the Miner's Cup is up for grabs as your Michigan Tech Huskies take on the Northern Wilcats. Join fellow alums and friends for this great rivalry at a tailgate Saturday, Oct. 20, 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. at the Tourist Park picnic site, 2145 Sugar Loaf Ave., Marquette. There will be music by Copper Country musician Bob Hiltunen, aka "Heartthrob Bob." Kickoff will be at 1 p.m.
This event is free to all Tech fans.
To register, visit www.huskylink.mtu.edu/redirect.aspx?linkID=1007&eid=162516 . |
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7. Tuoriniemi a Top 50 Professor |
In a USA Today article about ratemyprofessor.com and its top 50 professor rankings for 2007, Assistant Professor Joel Tuoriniemi (SBE) was rated number 16 in the country.
To read glowing comments about Tuoriniemi, including "He should get a Nobel Award for being that good," visit ratemyprofessor.com at
http://ratemyprofessors.com/top50Profs.jsp?from=1&to=25&tab=highest_top50 , and click his name.
Tuoriniemi won a Distinguished Teaching Award in 2003. |
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8. Water Distribution Seminars Oct. 15 |
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Two environmental engineering PhD students will give a seminar Monday, Oct. 15, from 3 to 4 p.m. in Dow 642. Rabi Gyawali will present "Water Distribution System: Kathmandu, Nepal," and Santosh Ghimire will present "Saving Energy in Municipal Water Distribution Systems." |
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9. Teaching at Tech: Two Great Teaching Resources |
by William Kennedy, director, Center for Teaching, Learning and Faculty Development
If you haven’t already checked out www.ted.com , you really should. The site is brimming with video segments of 15-20 minute presentations from some of the most innovative and well-known thinkers in the world. These presentations are grouped into eight general categories: technology, entertainment, design, business, science, culture, the arts and global issues. The presentations take place at the annual TED: Technology, Entertainment, Design gathering in Monterey, Calif. The website currently contains about 150 talks. You can also download any of the video segments to your desktop or to an iPod. All the videos are released under a Creative Commons license, so you can share them freely and even use them in class. You can assign students to watch them out of class, and I’ve had great success in using these as thought-provoking discussion starters to introduce a related unit of study.
TED participants comprise a virtual who’s who of science, technology, business and the arts. Science clips currently include talks by Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker, evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins, biologist E.O. Wilson, medical illustrator David Bolinsky, biologist Craig Venter, neuroscientist Jeff Hawkins, primatologist Jane Goodall, environmentalist Alex Steffen, genetic pioneer James Watson and many, many more. The technology category contains talks by MIT Media Lab graphic designer and computer scientist John Maeda, philosopher and cognitive scientist Dan Dennett, Segway inventor Dean Kamen, computer interface designer Jeff Han, MIT engineer Amy Smith and others. The business category has talks by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Google founders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, designer Paul Bennett, architect William McDonough and dozens more. In terms of educational innovation, be sure to check out Ken Robinson’s talk, "Creativity and Education," MIT Media Lab founder Nicholas Negroponte’s talk on his One Laptop Per Child initiative, and the engaging presentations of open-source courseware pioneer Richard Baraniuk and Wikipedia pioneer Jimmy Wales.
Another potentially valuable web resource is a site called www.fora.tv . To watch complete videos, you need to register, but it’s free (at least for the time being). Most materials are for personal use, but you could easily assign students to view video materials as a class assignment by logging into the site themselves. FORA.tv gathers up videos of various conference sessions and other public gatherings from a host of sources along the general topical areas of arts and culture, business, education, environment, giving, health and wellness, politics, religion, science and technology. Featured partners include a wide range of organizations, including the Brookings Institution, the Aspen Institute, the Chattauqua Instituion, C-SPAN and a dozen others. In the science category, current offerings include sessions by the other half of the DNA team, James Watson, Walter Isaacson on Albert Einstein, a panel discussion on the role of science in society, and many others. In technology, FORA.tv has dozens of programs from September’s Meeting of the Minds Conference on topics such as developing smarter transport systems, vehicle redesign, megacities and alternative futures, mobility strategies and more. In the business section, FORA.tv has Robert Reich on "Supercapitalism," Pascal Lamy on global trade, Michael Moe on making companies great and Pamela Swingley on internet marketing. There’s a gold mine of engaging and entertaining material on FORA.tv.
I have found using short videos to be a great way to provoke classroom discussions, as they painlessly provide students with a common experiential base that cuts across many levels of student interest, background and level of enthusiasm. I encourage you to spend some time reviewing these resources and to give it a try in class from time to time. Let me know if you find others we should share. |
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10. On the Road |
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Assistant Professor J. Christopher Brill (Cognitive and Learning Sciences) presented two posters at the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society (HFES) Meeting in Baltimore, held Sept. 30-Oct. 5. One is entitled "Gender Differences and Aggressive Driving Behavior: A Factor-Analytic Approach." The second, "Indexing Cognitive Reserve Capacity: A Multi-Modal Approach," earned the best presentation award from the HFES Perception and Performance Technical Group. Brill also served on a discussion panel as part of the HFES student development program, advising graduate students interested in pursing an academic career in engineering psychology/human factors. |
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