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1. Tech Students to Showcase Achievements Thursday at Undergrad Expo |
by Danny Messinger, student writer
Michigan Tech students are gearing up to show off their work at the 10th annual Undergraduate Expo. From designing a device to monitor the number of times healthcare workers wash their hands, to constructing an electric motorcycle, this year's expo participants have a lot to show off.
The event, to be held from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., Thursday, April 14, in the Memorial Union Ballroom, will showcase the work of Enterprise and Senior Design teams, as well as High School Enterprise teams. The expo is free and open to the public.
Enterprise teams tackle ongoing projects in interdisciplinary groups to solve real-world problems. Senior Design teams find solutions to an engineering problem, often posed by industry.
Teams will display their work to industry sponsors, campus and community members and fellow students.
Senior Design teams will be judged based on their posters, with first place receiving a $150 prize. Enterprise teams have a chance to win $300, based on their posters and presentations.
"Each team is judged on organization--how it's presented--and content--how well it's communicated and how significant the findings are," said Mary Raber, assistant director of interdisciplinary leadership and innovation.
Almost 1,000 students in Enterprise and Senior Design will participate in the expo. This year, visitors will see 45 Senior Design teams, 29 Enterprise teams, and 14 High School Enterprise teams.
"Every year I'm thoroughly impressed by the projects," said Raber. "The expo gives students the opportunity to showcase the great work they've done to sponsors and the community. It's great to see what Tech students are capable of." |
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2. Business Plan Competition Ramps Way Up: $30,000 for First Place |
by Dennis Walikainen, senior editor
"How do I sign up?"
That's the question Bob Mark, professor of practice in the School of Business and Economics, is going to get asked a lot.
The reason?
His Business Plan Competition, with modest awards, just joined forces with Central Michigan University's New Venture Competition to the tune of $30,000 for first, $10,000 for second, and $5,000 for third place.
Held at Central, at least initially, the competition will pit teams of undergraduate or graduate Tech students against CMU students. They come up with ideas for new companies and how to make them come to fruition.
"And next year, it could be even higher," Mark said.
The competition will be extended to an all-day affair of each team making three presentations in front of three different panels of judges.
"This makes us part of one of the top competitions in the country," Mark said. "I can't recall any this large, other than Rice University's graduate student-only competition."
Mark sees more training sessions ahead for the Tech teams to match Central's semester-long workshops for their competition.
"Now we do three sessions: one on executive summaries, another on identifying your market, and one more on the financial numbers you need in a business plan,” he said.
Additional changes will include putting the training sessions on the web (via a grant), and greater numbers of teams are anticipated to advance to Mt. Pleasant next year.
"We had seventeen teams begin this year's competition, and only six continued to the end," Mark said. "The increased monies will make a lot of the teams want to stick it out."
By comparison, Central, with 28,000 overall enrollment and 2,200 in its business school, had 23 teams competing at their New Venture Competition that was just completed.
Tech could do well.
"They didn't have a lot of high-tech businesses planned," Mark said. "Their winner had a smart phone app for shopping, second was replacing rollers for conveyor belts, and another had plans for bamboo plantations."
Microbreweries were also prevalent in the plans.
"We'll be able to hold our own," Mark said. "We will have to focus on our presentation and communication skills."
A trip across the bridge could begin the trip of a lifetime, if the Tech students do their homework.
Like Jess Tompkins, a junior in management, did this year. She took second this semester in the Tech's Business Plan Competition.
She used her prize of $500 to register her women's outdoor apparel business, Two Bows LLC. "I will definitely be working to join next year's competition," she said.
Jacob Carlson, a finance major, agrees: "The partnership with Central presents students with a great opportunity to increase awareness of their business ideas, network and bounce ideas off of each other, and receive a large investment that can have a great impact on their business."
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3. 2011 Greek Life Awards Announced |
Every spring, Greek Life at Michigan Tech recognizes Greek chapters and members who make a positive impact in the Greek and University communities as leaders, scholars and innovators. In addition, men and women who volunteer as advisors to collegiate chapters are also acknowledged.
At the Greek Life awards ceremony on April 6 the following awards were presented:
Chapter Awards:
* Outstanding Fraternity of the Year--Sigma Phi Epsilon
* Outstanding Sorority of the Year--Delta Zeta
* Outstanding New Member Program--Delta Zeta
* Outstanding Member Development Program--Sigma Phi Epsilon
* Outstanding Risk Management--Phi Kappa Tau
* Outstanding Alumni Relations--Phi Kappa Tau
* Outstanding University Relations--Alpha Gamma Delta
* Outstanding Community Service Program--Theta Chi Epsilon
* Outstanding School Spirit--Delta Zeta
* Outstanding Greek Relations--Phi Kappa Tau
Individual Awards:
* Greek Man of the Year--Jon Gress of Tau Kappa Epsilon
* Greek Woman of the Year--Jessica Miller of Delta Zeta
* Outstanding Greek Advocate--Rachel Wussow
* Outstanding Fraternity New Member of the Year--Austin Fernstrum of Sigma Phi Epsilon
* Outstanding Sorority New Member of the Year--Jessica Thoresen of Delta Zeta
* Living the Ritual Award--Sarah Zimmerman of Delta Zeta
* Outstanding Chapter Advisor--Marlene "Tommy" Gilpin of Delta Zeta
* Outstanding Chapter President--Claire Drom of Delta Zeta
* Unsung Hero--Tiffany "TK" Korn of Alpha Gamma Delta
* Outstanding Panhellenic Council Member--Karmen Vrooman of Alpha Gamma Delta
* Outstanding Interfraterntiy Council Member--Edward Duda of Phi Kappa Tau
In the past year, the Greek community achieved the most service hours and the highest average GPA on record.
This academic year (fall semester), 101 students (23.1 percent) were on the Dean's List, up from 99 students (21.7 percent) last year.
Greeks participate in over 95 student organizations, with nine serving in Undergraduate Student Government. In Student Life, 22 Greeks served as OTLs, while nine served as RAs.
To see picture from the 2011 Greek Life Awards, see the facebook page: Greek Life .
To get involved with Greek Life, contact Jess Turuc, assistant director of Student Activities for Greek Life and Leadership, at 487-1963 or jmturuc@mtu.edu . |
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4. Tech Guide Revamped |
In past years, all accepted undergraduate students and many University staff members received a copy of the Tech Guide--a publication with important information that students need to know prior to arriving for Orientation--from the Center for Orientation, Mentoring, Parents and Academic Student Success (COMPASS).
To improve communication flow and cut costs, the Tech Guide is no longer being printed as a stand-alone publication. Instead, the information included in this publication has been reviewed and placed either in the publication sent to undergraduate students upon acceptance to the University or in Orientation information which will be mailed later this spring/summer.
The new publication has been renamed the Michigan Tech Guide, and it includes information such as the student's username, ISO password, and student ID number, plus log-in instructions for the Husky Hub; details on paying the enrollment deposit; financial aid information such as FAFSA filing dates, award notification and tuition billing dates, estimated annual expenses, and payment options; information on housing and residential life, meal plans, and parking; academic details covering course placement and class scheduling; and other helpful information such as student insurance options, health and wellness services, Orientation dates, and details on obtaining a Tech Express card.
To view the new Michigan Tech Guide online, see Michigan Tech Guide .
To obtain a printed copy for reference, contact Debbie Strieter, of Admissions, at 487-1824 or djstriet@mtu.edu . |
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5. Retirement Open House Held for Jimmy Diehl and Sue Beske-Diehl |
GMES would like to invite the University community to a retirement open house for Professors Jimmy Diehl and Sue Beske-Diehl from 2 to 4 p.m., Thursday, April 28, in the sixth floor atrium of Dow (lake view). Cake, hors d'oeuvres and refreshments will be served.
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6. Fidelity Offers Financial Counseling |
Fidelity will be on campus for one-on-one meetings to confidentially discuss retirement goals, answer questions and offer guidance. Appointments are still available today and April 13; also on May 4.
To schedule an appointment, call 800-642-7131 or visit www.fidelity.com/atwork/reservations .
For more information, contact Benefits at 487-2517 or benefits@mtu.edu . |
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7. Archives Exhibit Visits Hancock |
The Archives traveling exhibit, "People, Place and Time: Michigan's Copper Country Through the Lens of J.W. Nara," is set up in the Hancock Schools' public library.
The exhibit explores the life and times of Calumet photographer John William Nara and is open to the public through May 7, during the library's normal hours, Mondays and Wednesdays, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8 a.m.to 4:30 p.m.; and Fridays, 8 a.m.to 3 p.m.
Nara was born in Finland in 1874. He later immigrated to the United States and established a photographic studio in Calumet, in the heart of America's most productive copper-mining region. In addition to posed studio portraits, his lens also captured the people, place and time he experienced in the Keweenaw Peninsula. Copper mining and industry are an important part of the story, but Nara also captured the Keweenaw's rural landscape, including local farms, shorelines, lighthouses and pastoral back roads.
The traveling exhibit, funded in part by descendants Robert and Ruth Nara of Bootjack, works from historical photographs held at the Archives. Interpretive panels highlight the people, places and times that J.W. Nara experienced during his lifetime and include material on urban life, farming, and the 1913 Michigan copper miners' strike. A small exhibit catalog is available at no charge and includes three postcards from the Nara's collection.
For more information, contact the Archives at 487-2505 or at copper@mtu.edu . A web version of the exhibit is available at the Archives website . |
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8. Chemical Engineering Grain Processing Seminar |
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Assistant Professor Chang Choi (ME-EM) will present a seminar, "Microfluidic-based Electro-hydrodynamic Cell Culture Platform," at 10 a.m., Friday, April 15, in ChemSci 211. |
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9. ME-EM Graduate Seminar |
Assistant Professor Murat Vural, in mechanical and aerospace engineering at Illinois Institute of Technology, will give a presentation, "Yielding of Solid Foams: An Energy Based Approach," at 4 p.m., Thursday, April 14, in ME-EM 112. For more information, see ME-EM Graduate Seminar .
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10. Seminar on Energy Use and Buildings |
Assistant Professor Carol Menassa, in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Wisconsin‐Madison, will present "Understanding and Modeling Occupancy Energy Use in Commercial Buildings" from 4 to 5 p.m., Thursday, April 14, in Dow 642. The public is welcome.
Menassa's visit is cosponsored by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Sustainable Futures Institute and the Visiting Women and Minorities Lecture Series program, which is funded by the President's Office and a grant to the Office for Institutional Diversity for the State of Michigan's King‐Chavez‐Parks Initiative.
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11. Reminder: Annual Green Event Today |
Facilities Management will host another Lunch and Learn "Green Event" from noon to 1 p.m., today, in Memorial Union Alumni Lounge B. Campus groups that focus on sustainability will give a brief description of what they are doing to create a greener environment. A list of all the campus sustainable groups that have been identified will be available.
Bring your lunch and register for prizes. Punch and cookies will be available. |
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12. New Funding |
Research Scientist Tyler Erickson (MTRI) has received $47,308 from the University of Michigan for the first of a potential three-year $149,139 project, "Assessing the Impact of a Combined In-situ and Satellite CO2 Monitoring Network on Constraining Biospheric and Anthropogenic Fluxes for North America."
Associate Professor Adrienne Minerick (ChE) has received $201,465 from the National Science Foundation for a 28-month project, "CAREER: ABO Blood Antigen Dielectrophoresis for Medical Diagnostics: Synergy with Desktop Experiment Modules (DEMos)." |
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13. Job Postings |
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
4/12/2011
Annual Giving Manager-Student Programs
Office of Development
Coordinator
International Programs and Services
Data Analyst
Enrollment Services Information Systems
Michigan Technological University is an equal opportunity educational institution/equal opportunity employer. |
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14. Notables |
Assistant Professor Devin Harris (CEE/MTTI) was recently honored with the "ACI Young Member Award for Professional Achievement" by the American Concrete Institute (ACI). The award was established by ACI to recognize the contributions of younger members for professional achievement. Harris was accepted the ward at the American Concrete Institute Spring Convention in Tampa, Fla., April 3-7.
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Assistant Professor Keat Ghee Ong (BME) received the 3M Nontenured Faculty Award for 2011 for the third year. The award includes $15,000 to support his research on wireless implantable sensor technologies.
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Professor Sheryl Sorby (ME-EM) has received the 2011 American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) Sharon Keillor Award for Women in Engineering Education in recognition of her distinguished accomplishments. The award includes a $2,000 honorarium. |
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