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1. Michigan Tech to Represent State in Top Car Design Challenge |
by Jennifer Donovan, public relations director
Michigan Tech is the only university in Michigan selected to participate in a three-year international student vehicle redesign competition. The US Department of Energy, General Motors Corporation and Natural Resources Canada chose 17 teams from proposals submitted by colleges and universities in the US and Canada.
A sequel to the four-year Challenge X competition, in which Michigan Tech and the University of Michigan participated, the new competition is called EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge. It will begin in fall 2008.
Teams will re-engineer a Saturn Vue, using advanced propulsion systems and other clean-vehicle technologies to improve fuel economy and decrease emissions while retaining the vehicle's performance and consumer appeal.
"This is the premier student vehicle design competition in the world," said John Beard, associate professor of mechanical engineering and advisor to Michigan Tech's team. "We were selected because our students are well-prepared, and they do a good job."
Michigan Tech has been participating in these competitions since they began with Future Car in 1995. "And Tech's car is the only one that has always been a hybrid," Beard pointed out. "We're also probably the only team that runs most of the time on snow tires," he said. "This is a working car, and we are testing it under normal driving conditions, which often means snow here in the UP."
By conducting such competitions, GM, the US Department of Energy and other sponsors, including the National Science Foundation, the Government of Canada, DSpace National Instruments, The MathWorks and Freescale Semiconductor, spend an estimated three-quarters of a million dollars on each team. "They think it's worth it to develop the next generation of scientists and engineers," said Beard.
GM has hired dozens of engineers who are graduates of these vehicle design competitions, and more than 25 percent of them have been from Michigan Tech. "And that's despite the fact that we are one of the smaller schools in the competition," Beard said.
During the competition, GM will provide production vehicles, vehicle components, seed money, technical mentoring and development support. Argonne National Laboratory will provide competition management, team evaluation, and technical and logistical assistance.
During the first year of competition, university teams will develop their vehicle designs using GM's Global Vehicle Development Process, a modeling and simulation process currently used to develop all GM vehicles. Students will build, refine, test and improve their vehicles during the second and third year.
At the end of the second and third years, the vehicles will compete in a weeklong series of engineering tests, similar to tests that GM uses to test a vehicle's readiness for production.
Other schools selected to have teams in EcoCAR: The NeXt Challenge are Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Georgia Tech, Howard University, Mississippi State, Missouri University of Science and Technology, North Carolina State, Ohio State, Pennsylvania State, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Texas Tech, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, University of Victoria (British Columbia), University of Waterloo (Ontario), University of Wisconsin-Madison, Virginia Tech and West Virginia University.
See www.ecoCARchallenge.org for more information on the new competition. |
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2. Spring 2008 Fraternity/Sorority Report Available Online |
submitted by the Office of Student Activities
Each semester, the Office of Student Activities produces the Fraternity/Sorority Report, which chronicles academic performance, membership information, service and philanthropy reports, and additional important information regarding our fraternity/sorority community for the recent semester. The Spring 2008 Fraternity/Sorority Report can be found at www.sa.mtu.edu/greek/statistics.html .
Congratulations go out to our four chapters that exceeded their respective all-men's/all-women's GPA average: Delta Zeta sorority, Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, Phi Kappa Tau fraternity, and Sigma Tau Gamma fraternity.
For questions or comments about the report or to become more involved with Greek Life at Michigan Tech, please contact Jason Bergeron, assistant director of student activities for Greek life and leadership, at 487-1963 or jtberger@mtu.edu . |
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3. Nominations Open for Distinguished Dissertation Award |
Nominations are now open for the 2008 Council of Graduate Schools (CGS)/University Microfilms International (UMI) Distinguished Dissertation Award. This year, nominations are being accepted from dissertations in two fields:
1. mathematics, physical sciences and engineering
2. social sciences
Michigan Tech may nominate one student in each field. PhD students who have completed all of their degree requirements between July 1, 2006, and June 30, 2008, are eligible.
A nomination packet must include the following:
1. a completed nomination form. Required information includes the nominee's name, current mailing address, educational background, professional background, publications and awards. The form is available at www.cgsnet.org/portals/0/pdf/2008UMI_NominationForm.pdf .
2. a 10-page abstract of the dissertation, double spaced on white letter-sized paper.
3. optional: abstract appendices containing non-textual material such as charts, tables or figures.
4. a letter of reference from the dissertation advisor.
5. a letter of reference from a member of the nominee's dissertation committee.
6. a letter of reference from a person chosen by the nominee.
7. a pdf file of the dissertation on a CD.
The letters of reference should address the significance and quality of the dissertation work.
Nominations should be delivered to Debra Charlesworth in the Graduate School no later than 4 p.m. on June 20. Contact Charlesworth (ddc@mtu.edu) if you have any questions about the competition. |
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4. Islamic Culture Celebration Saturday at Daniell Heights |
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Daniell Heights is celebrating Islamic culture tomorrow, Saturday, May 24, at 5 p.m. in the community room of Daniell Heights, adjacent to the office (2001). The Muslim Students Association will give a short presentation on Islamic culture. In addition, free henna tattoos will be available, and refreshments will be served. |
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5. Seminar May 29 on Copyright, Plagiarism and Academic Integrity |
Graduate students, faculty and staff are invited to a presentation, "Copyright, Plagiarism and Academic Integrity," on Thursday, May 29, at 2:30 p.m. in Rekhi G05.
Scholars write journal articles, present at conferences and prepare research publications such as reports for funding agencies. Graduate students write theses and dissertations in partial fulfillment of degree requirements. The words they write are their own, but who owns them after they've been published? Can the words or images of other authors be used in their work?
Join presenters from the Van Pelt Library (Nora Allred), Graduate School (Debra Charlesworth) and Judicial Affairs (Pat Gotschalk) to learn about the issues of copyright, plagiarism and academic integrity, particularly as they relate to graduate students.
Please register for the event by emailing Debra Charlesworth at ddc@mtu.edu . Space is limited. The event will be taped and available as a streaming presentation for those who are unable to attend. |
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6. On the Road |
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Professor Steven Seidel (Computer Science) gave an invited talk, "One-sided and Extended UPC Collectives," at an IBM-hosted workshop on the design of programming languages for the next generation of supercomputers, held May 19-20 at the IBM T. J. Watson Research Center in New York. |
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7. Job Postings |
Staff job descriptions are available in the Human Resources Office or at http://www.admin.mtu.edu/hro/postings . For more information regarding staff positions, call 487-2280 or email jobs@mtu.edu .
Faculty job descriptions can be found at www.admin.mtu.edu/hro/facpers/facvac.htm . For more information regarding faculty positions, contact the academic department in which the position is posted.
Staff Job Postings
5/23/08
Assistant Coach, Nordic Skiing and Cross Country/Track and Field
Athletic Department
Registrar
Office of Student Records and Registration
Michigan Technological University is an equal opportunity educational institution/equal opportunity employer. |
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8. In the News: Durfee, Hoagland, Walck in Malta |
Associate Professor Mary Durfee (Social Sciences), on leave from her position as assistant provost to pursue a Fulbright in Malta, has made news on the website for the US Embassy in Malta. Durfee read "The Birchbark House" to children at the Mqabba Primary School. To read about it and see a picture, visit http://malta.usembassy.gov/mqabba.html .
Professor and Dean Christa Walck (SBE) and Professor Kim Hoagland (Social Sciences) also made Embassy news on their visit to Malta. To read about their activities, including a meeting with entrepreneurial organizations about preparing students to compete in today's global business environment, and to see a picture of their meeting with non-governmental organizations about preserving Malta's historical architectural heritage sites, visit http://malta.usembassy.gov/durfee.html . |
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