|
|
1. Tech and Portage Health to Offer Medical Discount for Peace Corps Students |
Graduate students in Michigan Tech's Peace Corps Master's International (PCMI) programs will be able to get their required medical exams and lab tests at a major discount, thanks to a new partnership between the University and Portage Health.
The health care provider will offer PCMI students at Tech a 20 percent discount on any balance they owe after insurance payments for exams and tests required by the Peace Corps, plus an additional 10 percent prompt-pay discount, for a total discount of 30 percent.
That can add up to quite a sum. "The personalized medical exams and tests that the Peace Corps requires of each applicant can, in the most expensive cases, cost up to $5,000," said Blair Orr (SFRES), director of the University's seven PCMI programs. "The Peace Corps only reimburses $125 to $290, so the cost can be a serious obstacle to many students who would like to enroll in the program."
Portage Health is pleased to be able to offer the discount, said Brian Donahue, chief financial officer. "We have a strong history of collaboration with Michigan Tech, and this is an excellent program that we are proud to be able to support."
Michigan Tech President Glenn D. Mroz praised Portage Health for the partnership. "Each volunteer goes abroad to make a positive influence in people's lives," he said. "We are grateful that the people of Portage Health recognize the importance of facilitating the global reach of our Peace Corps Master's International programs at Tech by making a positive contribution to our student volunteers' lives.”
The PCMI programs accept approximately 20 new students a year, a number that Orr hopes to see increase to approximately 35. |
|
|
2. First Friday University Social |
The next First Friday University Social will be held from 4 to 6 p.m., Friday, Nov. 6,
at the Par and Grill of the Portage Lake Golf Course. All faculty, staff and graduate students are invited.
Complimentary soda and light snacks will be served and a cash bar will be available.
First Friday University Socials provide a casual setting for members of the campus community to get together informally, share their work and get to know each other. Such informal gatherings often lead to more productive work relationships and an appreciation for diversity.
|
|
|
3. Holiday Dinners Offered at the Ford Center |
Looking for a place to hold a holiday gathering for a department, club or extended family? The Ford Center is offering an expanded holiday menu this season.
The center in the historic Ford town of Alberta, and can host groups from 5 to 110 people. There are six special menus to choose from, including a mashed potato bar and a tapas party. Vegetarian options are also available.
To view the menu, click here .
If you have any questions or would like to make a reservation, contact Kari Price at 524-6181 or at kalprice@mtu.edu . |
|
|
4. WUD–UP? World Usability Day Returns |
submitted by the Department of Humanities
Michigan Tech students, faculty and staff and community residents will have several opportunities to investigate and celebrate the relationship between usability and sustainable living when World Usability Day will again be celebrated at Michigan Tech starting Friday, Nov. 6.
World Usability Day in the Upper Peninsula (WUD-UP) is part of an international promotion of usability (http://www.worldusabilityday.org) . This year's theme is "Designing for a Sustainable World." Events will occur at several locations on campus and will emphasize the concepts of sustainability: reduce, recycle, repurpose, and restore.
WUD—UP kicks off with the STC Speaker Series. Karla Kitalong, associate professor of humanities, will give a presentation, "Usability in Scientific and Technical Communications," at 4 p.m., Friday, Nov. 6, in Walker 109.
Kitalong will conduct an early usability evaluation on a series of interactive, mixed-reality science museum kiosks to be installed as part of a giant exhibit called "Water's Journey through the Everglades" at the Museum of Discovery and Science in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
The rest of the WUD-UP activities are on Thursday, Nov. 12. Updates will be posted at http://www.mtu.edu/usability/ .
* 9:30 a.m. to noon--Paper Prototyping, Fisher Hall lobby near the Aftermath Cafe. Students in computer science and humanities will participate in a usable design competition using simple paper materials. Passersby can help by testing their designs. Paper prototyping is fun (and effective).
* 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.--Poster session and other exhibits, Memorial Union Ballroom B, will describe promising designs of products and ideas. Viewers' Choice award(s) with $100 in prizes will be announced by the humanities department at 1:15 p.m.
* Noon to 1:15 p.m--Brown bag luncheon, Memorial Union Ballroom B. "Sense-Able Sustainability: Three Perspectives," [working title] with speakers Rick Donovan, Rick Loduha and Christopher Plummer. Cookies and drinks will be provided. Bring your lunch.
Rick Donovan is the operations manager, senior engineer and research scientist at the Sustainable Futures Institute. His research interests include high-performance computing, artificial intelligence computing, computational materials science, and systems modeling for sustainability. Rick Loduha is an associate professor of art and design (interdisciplinary) at Finlandia University. For him, every problem in life is a design problem. He believes design is like a dance and its most powerful skill is creative problem solving. Christopher Plummer, associate professor of theater in the visual and performing arts department, will speak about sustainability in sound design and soundscapes, discussing aural pollution and carelessness that can impact people's ability to sustain conversation, focus and health.
Beginning at 9 a.m., the information wall in the Van Pelt and Opie Library will feature a revolving display of digital photos entitled "Picturing Sustainability." The exhibit can also be viewed on the library website, http://www.lib.mtu.edu/infowall .
About usability--Our tools (devices, services, software) serve us well only if they are made with their human users in mind. A tool is truly usable if it provides a smooth learning process and an efficient, satisfying user experience. Design and testing of usable products requires careful attention to users' goals, knowledge and preferences. Usability is a truly interdisciplinary field, combining technical design expertise with knowledge and methods in psychology, communication and the arts.
|
|
|
5. Keweenaw Family Resources Center Silent Auction at the Rozsa |
The Keweenaw Family Resource Center will hold a silent auction beginning at the Rozsa at 7:30 p.m., Thursday, Nov. 12, during the Hot Peas N' Butter performance. The auction ends between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 28, at the Portage Lake District Library.
Over 75 baskets will be auctioned off to support the center's TreeHouse Indoor Playground. Items include restaurant gift certificates, jewelry, toys and books.
Contact Cathy Benda at 482-9363 for more information or if you would like to
view or bid on items by appointment. To view a list of the items to be auctioned, visit Monica Aho's blog: http://houghtonwinterpark.blogspot.com/ .
|
|
|
6. Tech's Rouleau Presents Environmental Engineering Graduate Student Seminar |
|
Assistant Professor Mark Rouleau (Social Sciences) will present, "Conflict in Complex Socio-Natural Systems: An Agent-Based Modeling Approach," at 3:15 p.m., Monday, Nov. 9, in Dow 642. The presentation is part of the Environmental Engineering Graduate Student Seminar. |
|
|
7. Proposals in Progress |
Noel R. Urban (CEE), "Supply and Impact of Terrigenous Dissolved Organic Matter in Lakes Superior and Michigan," NASA
Donna Michalek (ME-EM), Kathleen Halverson (SFRES), David Shonnard (Chemical Engineering), Susan Bagely (Biological Sciences), Karla Kitalong (Humanities), "IGERT: Development of Science, Technologies, and Strategic Decision Making Methods for Sustainability," NSF
Wayne Weaver (ECE/PERC), "Modeling, Simulation and Control of Army Installation Microgrids to Enhance Stability, Security and Reliability," DoD, ERDC, CERL
S. K. Kawatra (Chemical Engineering/ASISC), "Use of a Novel Low-Cost Scrubbing Reagent for Gas Cleanup and CO2 Sequestration," DOE-ARPA-E
Robert Shuchman (MTRI), "Assimilation of Satellite Imagery into a Multi-Model Approach to Determine Regional Climate Effect on Lake-Scale Ecology," NASA
Colin Brooks (MTRI), "Climate Change and Contamination Changes in the Kalamazoo River," NSF
Jindong Tan (ECE/CISSIC), "Microwave Irradiated Micro-Reactor Array for High-Throughput and Low Cost DNA Amplification and Drug Screening," NIH
Ibrahim Miskioglu (ME-EM/IIS) and Rick Berkey (IIS), "Enterprise: Altair Hyperworks Tutorial Development Project--Year Two," Altair Engineering
Terry McNinch (MTTI), "RoadSoft 2010," FHWA-US DOT
Gregory M. Odegard (ME-EM), "Multi-Scale Modeling of Liquid Crystalline/Nanotube Composites," NSF
Yongmei Jin (MSE), "Computational Study of Microstructure Formation and Magnetic Domain Evolution in FePt Films," IEM
Nikola Subotic (MTRI), "Peregrine SBIR," US Air Force-SBIR
Craig Friedrich (ME-EM) and Elizabeth Hager (Biological Sciences), "Increased Osteogenesis on Nanotubular Titanium Intramedullary Nail," Dept. of the Army-USAMRAA
Laura Bourgeau-Chavez (MTRI) and Nancy French (MTRI), "Linking Remote Sensing and Process-Based Models to Better Understand the Influence of Land Use and Climate Changes on Great Lakes Coastal Wetlands," NASA
David F. Nitz (Physics), Brian E. Fick (Physics), Roger Kieckhafer (ECE), Johana Chirinos (Physics), "Collaborative Research on Ulta-High Energy Cosmic Rays at the Pierre Auger Observatory (United States, Argentina, France and Germany)," NSF
Michele Miller (ME-EM), Chris Anderson (ODP), Jacqueline Huntoon (GRAD), Jim Turnquist (CAREER), Chris Wojick (CEE), "Michigan Tech SSEED: Sustained Support to Ensure Engineering Degrees," NSF
Kim Fook Lee (Physics), "Optical Phase-Space-Time-Frequency for Biomedical Imaging," NIH
Lawrence Sutter (MTTI), Karl Peterson (CEE), "Reduction of Minimum Required Weight of Cementitious Materials in WisDOT Concrete Mixtures-Aggregate Gradation Optimization," FHWA
Jindong Tan (ECE), "A Heterogeneous Camera Network Testbed for 3D Surveillance," DoD-Army Research Office
Keat Ghee Ong (Biomedical Engineering) and Rupak Rajachar (Biomedical Engineering), "Remotely Activated, Sub-Micron Vibrating Surfaces for Controlling Infections and Fibrosis at the Osseointegrated Limb Interfaces," DoD
Kathy Halvorsen (SS), Alex Mayer (CEE), Tom Pypker (SFRES), "Trees, Water and Socio-Ecological Resilience to Climate Change: An Integrated Watershed Assessment for Elucidating Regional Scale Patterns," NSF
Seyed A. Zekavat (ECE), "The Strategic Wireless Positioning Lab," CISSIC
Mark Stuff (MTRI) and Brian Thelen (MTRI), "Robust Shape and Motion Estimation Algorithms for All-Weather Imaging," Air Force
Bo Chen (ME-EM), "Bio-Inspired Distributed Sensing Paradigm for Effective Monitoring," NSF
Terry McNinch (MTTI), "Data and Analytical Support of Local Road Safety Analysis," Michigan Department of Transportation
Timothy C. Eisele (Chemical Engineering), "Environmental Benign Iron Production with Iron-Reducing Micoorganisms," NSF
Sheryl Sorby (ME-EM) and Tammy Donahue (ME-EM), "Strategies for Support of the STEP Program," NSF
Jacqueline Huntoon (GRAD), Jodi Lehman (GRAD), Christine Anderson (ODP), "A Mentoring Strategy for Success in Graduate Education: Starting with Undergraduate Opportunities and Ending with Graduate Degree Completion," Educational Testing Services/Council of Graduate Schools |
|
|
8. New Funding |
K. Michael Gibson (Biological Sciences) has received $17,201 from Johns Hopkins University for a nine-month project, "Behavioral Pharmacology and GHB Physical Dependence."
|
|
|
