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1. Three Tech Students Named Goldwater Scholars |
by Jennifer Donovan, director of public relations
Academically, Michigan Tech is batting 1,000. All three of the University's nominees for prestigious Goldwater Scholarships this year are winners of the 2009 awards.
John Mark Gubatan, Hansen Nordsiek and Eli Vlaisavljevich, all third-year students, were named Goldwater Scholars by the Barry M. Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation. Gubatan is a biochemistry and molecular biology major with a double minor in French and Spanish. Nordsiek is majoring in physics, and Vlaisavljevich is a biomedical engineering major.
Although Michigan Tech has produced a number of Goldwater Scholars in previous years, this is the first time the University has had more than one winner in any given year.
Goldwater scholarships--established by Congress to honor the late Senator Barry M. Goldwater--are based on academic merit, research experience and an intent to pursue a career in science, engineering or mathematics. Colleges and universities nominate students for the scholarships, which cover up to $7,500 in tuition and fees.
"The Goldwater is one of the more prestigious scholarships you can win as an undergraduate in science, engineering or math," said Will Cantrell, associate professor of physics and Michigan Tech faculty representative for the program. "It is highly competitive."
The Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation received 1,079 nominations this year and awarded 278 scholarships. Other winners in Michigan include four students at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, four at Hope College and three at Michigan State University.
"Goldwater Scholars usually go on to do very well at getting NSF, NASA, DoE and other graduate fellowships," Cantrell noted.
John Mark Gubatan
With his eye on a career as a physician-scientist, Gubatan has already conducted cutting-edge research at some of the nation's premier research institutions. As a Summer Honors Undergraduate Research Program (SHURP) student at Harvard Medical School last summer, he investigated the role of bone-regulatory cells in supporting blood-forming stem cells. The previous summer, he worked in the Summer Medical and Research Training (SMART) program at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, where he characterized the immune response to a novel vaccine with Toll-like receptor ligands, which are microbial proteins that activate the innate immune system. He spent the 2006-07 academic year working in research sponsored by the National Institutes of Health under the University of Guam's Research Initiative for Scientific Enhancement (RISE). Recently he was named a 2009 Amgen Scholar and will be conducting stem cell research this summer under the scholarship at Stanford University School of Medicine.
A native of Guam, Gubatan is also the recipient of the Michigan Tech National Achievement Scholarship, the Dave S. Adams Scholarship and the Ted Rozsa Scholarship. He aspires to become a leader in the field of stem cell biology and develop adult stem cell-based therapies to combat cancer and degenerative diseases.
"I attribute my success to the guidance of my many amazing research mentors across the nation," he says. "They all have been instrumental in providing me with challenging research projects that have fostered my ability to think critically and creatively."
Hansen Nordsiek
An active member and officer of the Society of Physics Students, Nordsiek was inducted this year into Sigma Pi Sigma, a physics honor society. He also received the Stephen Bryan Floro Memorial Scholarship.
Nordsiek wants to study fluid dynamics or atmospheric sciences--"or somewhere in between"--in graduate school. He credits physics professor Raymond Shaw with helping shape his future plans. Nordsiek has been conducting research with Shaw on water droplet dynamics in clouds since his first year at Michigan Tech.
After graduate school, Nordsiek would like to pursue a postdoctoral fellowship or two and then become a university professor, doing both research and teaching.
A member of the Power Donkeys IRHC Broomball team at Tech this year, Nordsiek hails from Glenwood Springs, Colo.
Eli Vlaisavljevich
A defenseman on Michigan Tech's hockey team, Vlaisavljevich has twice been named to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association Academic Team. He made the 4.0 GPA Dean's List every semester and received the John MacInnes Slide Rule Award for scholastic achievement in 2008. He comes from Shoreview, Minn.
Vlaisavljevich has conducted research with Rupak Rajachar, an assistant professor of biomedical engineering, under a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship. "He has been one of the many positive influences I have had at Michigan Tech," Vlaisavljevich says of Rajachar. "He taught me a lot about his own research, the research field in general and the different opportunities that are available for my future."
Vlaisavljevich was invited to give a platform research presentation at the 2008 Biomedical Engineering Society Conference. He has been accepted to present research at the 2009 Design of Medical Devices Conference this month and the ASME Bioengineering conference in June. |
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2. Alumni Association Recognizes Outstanding Alumni, Friends |
The Michigan Tech Alumni Association Board of Directors has announced the recipients of the 2009 Alumni Association Awards:
Outstanding Young Alumni Award
Michelle Boven '99
BS in Mechanical Engineering
Honorary Alumni Award
Betty Chavis, recruiting consultant, Graduate School
Outstanding Service Award
John Calder '67, '76
BS in Mechanical Engineering, MS in Business Administration
Distinguished Alumni Award
Frank Pavlis '38
BS in Chemical Engineering
For more information, click here. |
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3. Reminder: Today's Pride Week Event Features Queens |
"Meet the Queens" is scheduled for 8 p.m., today, Thursday, April 9, in the DHH All-Campus Study Lounge.
You'll hear from Miss Joey Black and Cass Marie Domino and find out what they have gone through in their lives--and what it really means to be a drag queen. |
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4. Viewing of Les Brown Broadcast April 16: "Discover Your Power Voice" |
The National Society of Leadership and Success will hold a DVD viewing of a broadcast featuring award-winning speaker Les Brown, "Discover Your Power Voice to Unleash Your Success and Leadership Ability," Thursday, April 16, at 7 p.m. in EERC 100.
Topics include discovering how to positively influence others and finding possibility in the impossible.
Brown has had many titles, including DJ and broadcast manager, community activist and community leader, political commentator, three-term legislator, talk show host and keynote speaker. The author of the book "Live Your Dreams," he is recognized as a leading authority on understanding and developing potential and inspiring people to new levels of achievement.
For more information, contact Rachael Barlock at rrbarloc@mtu.edu . |
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5. Carnegie Mellon Research Scientist to Give ECE Seminar Today |
Xin Li, research scientist in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, will give an ECE seminar, "Statistical IC Analysis and Optimization: From Circuits to Systems," today, Thursday, April 9, 2-3 p.m. in EERC 122. Refreshments will be provided.
For more information, contact Assistant Professor Shiyan Hu (ECE) at shiyan@mtu.edu or 487-2941. |
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6. In the News: Wolf-Moose Research |
Science 360 News, published by the National Science Foundation, featured the wolf-moose research of Rolf Peterson and John Vucetich in a breaking news story, "Wolves Suffer Bone Deformities from Too Much Inbreeding," available here.
The wolf-moose research was also the topic of a Scientific American story, "Gene Pool Jeopardy: Can Isle Royale's Wolves Be Saved?" available here. |
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7. Job Posting |
Staff job descriptions are available in Human Resources 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 Posting
04/09/09
Assistant Director of Residence Life
Housing and Residential Life
Michigan Technological University is an equal opportunity educational institution/equal opportunity employer. |
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8. New Staff |
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Katherine Kallio has joined the Public Safety staff as a dispatcher. Kallio was previously employed as an administrative assistant in the Hitch Division of OHM. She holds an associate's degree in business from Finlandia University. She has three children, Shannon and Lindsay Clouthier and Brittany Kallio, and lives in Chassell. Kallio enjoys cross-country skiing, bike riding, walking and volunteering in the community. |
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9. On the Road |
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Professor Barry Solomon (Social Sciences) presented a paper, "Biofuels and Sustainability," at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the Association of American Geographers, held March 22-27 in Las Vegas, where he also was a panelist on "Renewable Energy Policy in the EU and the US" and "Nuclear Waste Management: An International Comparison" (He also served as the organizer and chair of the second panel). |
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