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1. MIND TREKKERS Bring Engineering Fun to Detroit Science Center, Jackson Mall |
by Jennifer Donovan, director of public relations
National Engineers Week? Doesn't sound like much of a cause for celebration. But kids of all ages are going to be celebrating it in Detroit and Jackson this weekend, by oozing through oobleck, making the hair on their head stand on end and gobbling ice cream made with liquid nitrogen.
In other words, MIND TREKKERS are headed downstate.
Today and Friday, Feb. 24-25, MIND TREKKERS--a popular traveling science road show produced by Michigan Tech's Center for Pre-College Outreach--will hit the Science Stage at the Detroit Science Center in recognition of National Engineers Week.
On Saturday, Feb. 26, they will move the high-energy, hands-on science extravaganza to the Westwood Mall in Jackson for the Jackson Area Science and Engineering Festival, a free fun-for-all sponsored by the James A. and Faith Knight Foundation.
Michigan Tech's partners at the Jackson festival are the Detroit Science Center, the Girl Scouts, the Michigan Mathematics and Science Centers Network, CMS Energy, LearningFair.org, the Jackson Area Math and Science Center, CP Federal Credit Union and Shop Rats--a high-school students' exhibit that includes catapults that kids can adjust to launch objects over a castle wall and a display of wheelie carts. The FIRST Robotics team and Project Lead The Way from the Jackson Area Schools will also be there.
National Engineers Week is observed each February by engineering and educational institutions, professional organizations, corporations and government agencies. Its purpose is to call attention to the contributions that engineers make to society. It is also a time when engineers try to communicate the importance of learning science, math and technological skills.
That's the goal of MIND TREKKERS' entertaining science show, too. "We want to reverse the deficit of bright young Americans going into the STEM fields (science, technology, engineering and math)," explains Director Steve Patchin (Center for Pre-College Outreach).
Since the group formed two years ago, its reach has extended throughout Michigan and beyond--to the 2010 National Boy Scout Jamboree and the USA Science and Engineering Expo in Washington, D.C.
Michigan Tech student volunteers and staff who manage MIND TREKKERS will be at the Detroit Science Center from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., today and Friday, Feb. 25, and at the Westwood Mall in Jackson from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 26. |
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2. Archives and Social Sciences Sponsor History Competition |
History will come alive for more than 90 students in grades 4 through 12 this weekend as they compete in the 2011 District 1 regional competition for National History Day. The event will take place Saturday, Feb. 26, at the Memorial Union.
Although judging will take place behind closed doors, the public is invited to a community showcase beginning at noon, when they can examine the exhibits, documentaries, websites and other student submissions. An awards ceremony will take place at 12:30 p.m.
Students selected to advance will participate in the Michigan History Day state finals at Grand Valley State University, with some selected to attend the national finals in College Park, Md.
District 1 is comprised of 12 counties in the Central and Western Upper Peninsula. The competition is sponsored annually by the social sciences department, the Archives and Copper Country Historical Collections, the Quincy Mine Hoist Association and the Historical Society of Michigan.
For more information, contact the Archives at 487-2505 or at copper@mtu.edu . |
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3. Furne Named Red Baron WCHA Rookie of the Week |
by Ian Marks, assistant director of athletic communications
Left winger Ryan Furne, who scored a pair of goals and fired 10 shots on goal as visiting Michigan Tech earned a two-game league series split with No. 4-ranked Denver last weekend, has been named the Red Baron WCHA Rookie of the Week for Feb. 22.
A 6-2, 200-pound freshman from Oakdale, Minn., Furne scored the game-winning goal shorthanded at 8:38 of the second period in the Huskies' 3-2 upset of host Denver last Friday (Feb. 18). He also scored Michigan Tech's lone goal and took a team-high six shots in a 5-1 setback at DU last Saturday.
In addition to his two goals, Furne earned a +1 plus/minus rating in the series and had a team-high 10 shots on the weekend.
Furne, who has played in all 32 games this season, is second in scoring for Tech with 18 points (10 goals, 8 assists). |
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4. Three Michigan Tech Skiers Earn All-CCSA Honors |
by Ian Marks, assistant director of athletic communications
A junior exchange student Mikko Harju, freshman Malin Eriksson and freshman Alice Flanders all earned All-Central Collegiate Ski Association honors, the league announced recently.
Harju, who joined the team in January, earned first-team honors. The Tampere, Finland-native was the top-finisher for the men's team in eight of the 10 races. He posted a pair of top-10 finishes in his first collegiate races at the NCAA Qualifier in Duluth, Minn.
Eriksson and Flanders each earned second-team honors.
Eriksson, a native of Soederala, Sweden, won the 15-kilometer classic race at the CCSA Championships Feb. 13 and finished second in the "B" final of the U-23 freestyle sprints at the US National Championships Jan. 8.
Alice Flanders, a native of Crystal, Minn., finished 12th in the junior women's five-kilometer freestyle at US Nationals Jan. 6 and finished sixth overall, third collegiate, in the five-kilometer freestyle at the Mayor's Challenge on Jan. 22.
"Our conference is strong this year and has many great skiers. For these three to earn all-conference accolades is a true honor," said head coach Joe Haggenmiller. "All three of these student-athletes are just beginning their careers here, and I am excited for what they are capable of in the years to come."
The all-conference team is selected using continental cup scoring for a series of season races. |
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5. Khana Khazana Travels to Italy |
Authentic Italian dishes will be featured at Khana Khazana ("food treasure") this Friday. Khana Khazana is a weekly series of ethnic lunches cooked by international students from different countries and served in the Memorial Union Food Court from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Fridays.
Daniele Alami, an Italian exchange student in geology, will make pasta and potato, tonno in crosta di sesamo (sliced tuna with a sesame seed crust) and crostata di marmellata ai mirtilli (Italian blackberry pie).
A complete meal costs $6 and includes coffee, hot tea or a fountain soda. Items are available a la carte for $2.
Khana Khazana is a collaboration of international students and Dining Services. |
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6. CLS Sponsors SFHI Candidate in Human Factors |
CLS will host a seminar as part of the Strategic Faculty Hiring Initiative in Human Factors.
Ranjana Mehta, a PhD candidate in industrial and systems engineering at Virginia Tech, will present "Interactive Effects of Physical and Psychosocial Stressors on Occupational Health and Worker Performance" from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., Monday, Feb. 28, in Rekhi G06.
Mehta's research interests include using human factors and biomechanics to improve worker health and safety, physical and mental workload and work-related musculoskeletal disorders.
For more information, contact Paul Ward at pward@mtu.edu , or Deb Meyers at dmmeyers@mtu.edu . |
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7. Chemical Engineering Grain Processing Lecture Series |
George Antos, an Engineering Directorate, Catalysis and Biocatalysis Program of the National Science Foundation, will present "The National Science Foundation and the Path to Partial Petroleum Replacement with Biomass Derived Fuels--a Report Along the Way" at 10 a.m., Friday, Feb. 25, in ChemSci 211.
Hamid Ghandehari, of the pharmaceutics and pharmaceutical, chemistry and bioengineering departments at University of Utah, will present "Drug and Gene Delivery for Cancer Therapy: Role of Definition at the Nanoscale" at 10 a.m., Monday, Feb. 28, in ChemSci 108. |
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8. Chemistry Seminar |
Research Associate Yanhu Wei, of the chemical and biological engineering department at Northwestern University, will present a seminar, "From Nanostructure to Function," at 3 p.m., Friday, Feb. 25, in ChemSci 101. A discussion period will follow. Refreshments will be served. All are welcome.
For more information, visit Chemistry .
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9. Reminder: Resources for ME-EM Graduate Students |
The library offers weekly workshops all semester on resources that lend an academic edge and save time. Workshops take place at 1 p.m. on alternate Tuesdays and Wednesdays in Library 244. Each workshop is offered twice to accommodate class schedules.
Margaret Phillips, reference and instruction librarian, will present "Resources for ME-EM Graduate Students" at 1 p.m., Wednesday, March 2. The workshop will focus on strategies to help ME-EM graduate students navigate engineering databases and locate theses, dissertations and reports related to their field of research.
Philips will explore the Compendex and Proquest Engineering Collection databases. Participants will set up an account in Compendex, be able to save searches and be notified of new literature additions in their particular areas of interest.
This spring's workshops will focus on resume building, material science resources, managing citations and more. The library welcomes feedback and ideas for future workshops. Email them at library@mtu.edu . |
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10. Giveaways |
ITSS has the following:
* Four classroom podiums
Contact Don Close at 487-1724 or don@mtu.edu .
University property may only be transferred between departments. It may not be given or sold to individuals. |
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11. Notables |
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The American Institute of Physics has announced that a paper by Associate Professor Elena Semouchkina (ECE) was one of the 20 most cited articles published in the AIP journal, Applied Physics Letters, in 2010. The paper was titled "An Infrared Invisibility Cloak Composed of Glass." It reports on Semouchkina's research using a special kind of glass to cloak objects, making them invisible in infrared light. |
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12. Job Posting Correction |
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 Postings
Originally posted on:
2/23/2011
Research Engineer/Scientist I--Signal Processing Analyst
Michigan Tech Research Institute
Michigan Technological University is an equal opportunity educational institution/equal opportunity employer. |
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