Megan Gilge, Tech Topics editorial assistant, 906-487-2343

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PSYCHOLOGY DEGREE ON TAP AT MICHIGAN TECH

This fall, Michigan Tech expects to enroll students in a bachelor of science program in psychology.

"We've had tons of interest in this program," said Susan Amato-Henderson, an assistant professor of education psychology in the Department of Education. Inquiries on the new four-year degree are coming from high school seniors as well as from current MTU students interested in changing their major. Plus, enrollment in the university's psychology courses is at an all-time high.

Within Michigan, the university provides a unique setting for the study of human behavior. A number of psychology's hottest specialty areas tap into MTU's core strengths, including engineering and business. As a result, students who choose psychology at Michigan Tech will benefit from MTU's national reputation as a technological university.

Initially, the degree program will give students a broad overview of psychology. However, students will be encouraged to take courses in engineering, science, technology and/or business to stand out from the crowd in the job market.

"Fundamentally, engineers build products that are used by humans," Amato-Henderson said. "Psychology looks at the human side of that equation. Thus, this degree will be an excellent fit with Michigan Tech, providing a perfect complement to our existing strengths."

The State Board of Academic Officers is expected to act on the proposed program in February. If approved, it will then go before the Board of Control. The Board gave its preliminary approval in December.

For more information, contact the Department of Education at 487-2460 or Amato-Henderson 487-2536, slamato@mtu.edu.

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2. MICROWAVE MAGIC: NEW TECHNOLOGY COULD SAVE STEEL INDUSTRY MILLIONS

When Jiann-Yang (Jim) Hwang wanted to try out a new idea for making steel, the first place he went was Wal-Mart.

Hwang, an associate professor of materials science and engineering and director of MTU's Institute of Materials Processing, picked up six microwave ovens at the local discount store and brought them back to his lab. He took them apart, wired the magnetrons together into one super-heavy-duty microwave, and added an electric arc furnace. Then he zapped a mixture of iron oxide and coal.

When he was done, he had a nugget of pure steel.

As gee-whiz as it is, Hwang's innovation is not just a high-end parlor trick. The microwave energy reduces the iron oxide to iron, and the electric arc furnace smelts the iron into steel, all in one device. The process may have the potential to revolutionize America's troubled steel industry, plagued as it is by high costs and foreign competition.

The savings would come first in the form of lower energy costs. Just as a microwave oven use less electricity than a conventional oven because it heats only the food, microwave steelmaking uses less energy than a blast furnace because it heats only the ore and coal.

"With a blast furnace, most of the heat escapes," Hwang says. "It's like the stove in your home, where most of the heat warms your kitchen. It's inefficient. Iron oxides can be heated to 1,000 degrees Celsius in one minute, compared to hours for conventional heating."

The electric arc furnace is currently used in state-of-the-art smelting processes and is more efficient than conventional oxygen furnaces used in most big plants to convert iron into steel.

In addition, the microwave steelmaking process is simple, with fewer than half the steps used in conventional steel manufacturing. And it uses coal, eliminating the need for high-cost coke.

Microwave technology's energy savings and manufacturing efficiency could cut production costs by as much as 50 percent, Hwang says.

Plus, it's friendlier to the environment, since the process releases half the greenhouse gases (primarily carbon dioxide) of conventional steelmaking and much less of the pollutant sulfur dioxide.

The new technology has the potential to breathe new life into U.S. heavy industry, particularly in the Great Lakes region, where the steel and auto industries are centered.

More than 30 steel mills have gone bankrupt in the last four years even with tariff protection. The resulting high domestic steel prices have hit American automakers hard, since they are forced to pay more for steel--the main ingredient of all cars and trucks--than their foreign competitors.

"A low-cost steelmaking technology would take advantage of U.S. iron and coal resources and could help keep manufacturing jobs in Michigan and throughout the Great Lakes," Hwang said.

Hwang's research was funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Energy.

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3. CLEAN SNOWMOBILE CHALLENGE MARCH 15-20

Sixteen teams from universities across North America's snow belt have signed up to go sled to sled at Michigan Tech in this year's SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge, including last year's champion, the University of Idaho.

The sleds will compete March 15-20 at MTU's Keweenaw Research Center, known for its vehicle test grounds and the Midwest's finest winter driving track. This will be Michigan Tech's second year hosting the event, which is being organized by the Keweenaw Research Center and MTU's mechanical engineering department.

The Clean Snowmobile Challenge is the Society of Automotive Engineers' newest collegiate design competition. Teams of engineering students from participating schools take a stock snowmobile and then reengineer it to reduce emissions and noise while maintaining or improving performance.

"We expect to see some innovative designs this year," said Jay Meldrum, director of the Keweenaw Research Center.

The University of Wisconsin-Madison is experimenting with a gas-electric hybrid motor. And other teams are rumored to be working on unconventional approaches.

In the past, most teams have succeeded by improving upon last year's technologies. Something novel may required to win this year. "We've raised the bar in terms of noise and emissions," Meldrum said. The control sled, against which the contestants will be measured, will be a four-stroke Arctic Cat 660.

"It's a very clean, quiet sled," Meldrum said. "When I was riding one, people would come up to me and ask, 'Is your sled on?'"

Because the standard is so high, any two-stroke snowmobile that meets or beats the emissions standards will receive a 50-point bonus.

Teams will put their sleds through a series of performance and emissions tests, including an endurance run north to Copper Harbor.

The public will be invited to view the handling and acceleration events, held at the Keweenaw Research Center on March 20.

Teams registered for this year's Clean Snowmobile Challenge include Clarkson University in New York, Colorado State University, Ecole de Technologie Superieure in Montreal, Idaho State University, Kettering University in Flint, McGill University in Montreal, Michigan Tech, Minnesota State University-Mankato, Montana Tech, SUNY-Buffalo, the University of Alberta, the University of Idaho, the University of Maine, the University of Waterloo in Ontario, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.

Major sponsors of the 2004 SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge are the International Snowmobile Manufacturers Association, the Michigan Snowmobile Association, Gage Products, the American Council of Snowmobile Associations, PCB Piezotronics, the Blue Ribbon Coalition, Portage Health System, ThermoAnalytics, Emitec, Colder Products, Witting Contracting and Woody's.

For more information, contact Meldrum at 487-3178, jmeldrum@mtu.edu.

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4. TECH STUDENT ON TLC'S "JUNKYARD MEGA-WARS"

A Michigan Tech mechanical engineering student appears this week on The Learning Channel's "Junkyard Mega-Wars."

Sam Barros, 21, a junior majoring in mechanical engineering, spent a week in Hollywood last August  filming the contest, "Spiller Thriller." You can see him on Charter channel 73 on Sunday at 3 p.m. The episode has also aired earlier this week.

The challenge to the two competing teams was to build an off-road vehicle that could carry an open, 25-gallon container of liquid across rugged terrain without spilling a drop. The teams then had to switch vehicles and try to spill their competitors' liquid.

Barros, the youngest team member, sweated out 109-degree heat in a special suit and welding helmet, rushing around a junkyard and then cutting and welding parts for his team's entry. "It was unbelievably hot and difficult," he recalls.

On top of all that suffering, his Red Team up and lost.

"I was responsible for driving," Barros says. "Not surprisingly, since everything was made out of scrap parts, the vehicle stalled. I got it started again, but I had to speed through the course like a maniac and spilled half the water.

"The other team's design was better, but going 40 mph over logs didn't help."

The second half of the competition was more satisfying. "We managed to destroy both vehicles; both of them had zero water."

Barros was surprised to find that, through the magic of editing technology, he ended up providing most of the show's comic relief. "They picked on me a lot," he sighs, adding, "It was still a pretty cool show."

A native of Rio de Janeiro, Barros chose Michigan Tech after touring a number of research facilities in the U.S. "Most engineering education seemed to be really theoretically oriented," he recalled. "I wasn't looking for that."

He came to MTU when he found out he could get his hands dirty, which happened this summer while he learned to cut and weld in anticipation of the competition.

Barros has already received considerable recognition for research, particularly in the area of electomagnetic acceleration. The technology is key to the development of super-fast rail transportation. For an introduction to the scope of his interests, visit http://www.powerlabs.org/

 "There's always something going on in his head," says Lab Tech Training Specialist Robert Rowe (MEEM). "I suspect that someday he'll be working on Star Wars or something like that."

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5. MICHIGAN TECH LODE WINS EIGHT MPA AWARDS

The Michigan Tech Lode has been selected to win eight awards in the weekly newspaper division of the 2003 Michigan Press Association's College Newspaper Contest. In addition to the overall general excellence award announced last week, awards were also given for specific articles.

First place for best deadline story was given to Shaun LeVeque for "The Music Man Package" and Jeremy Sanderson's "The Last Minute" received first place for best sports photo. Second place awards were given for Katie Hammar's "Dorms Revamp Loft Rules" for best non-deadline story and Eric Habermas's "Top Dogs" for sports news and "Success of Basketball Tourney Overshadowed" for sports columns and Luke Johnson's "Not So Clean Fun" for news photos. Paul Blodgett's news graphic "The Battle Continues" received third place.

"There's some exceptional work being done by some exceptional students," said Michael MacLaren, executive director of the Michigan Press Association. "Colleges contain large numbers of newspaper readers--and a huge market for advertisers--and these papers clearly serve their institutions, readers and advertisers well."

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6. C2E2 GRANTS AWARDED

The vice president for research approved the following equipment requests submitted by the Century II Campaign Endowed Equipment (C2E2) Committee.

The committee awarded $4,500 to Martin Thompson (Chemistry) for a $12,780 fluorescent imaging station for biochemistry research. The balance of the purchase, $8,280, was provided by the chemistry department and Thompson.

A $3,452 grant was given to Ed Nadgorny (Physics) for "acquisition and development of an advanced infrared laser system for MTU Laser-Based Particle Deposition Technique." The physics and materials science and engineering departments provided an additional $3,500 for the $6,952 project.

The committee awarded $5,000 to Chung-Jui Tsai (SFRES) for requisition of a $14,100 automated microplate pipetting system for high throughput functional genomics research. The balance of the purchase, $9,100, was provided by the principle investigator project and incentive accounts.

These funds are available through the C2E2 program for small equipment grants. Proposals may be submitted at any time. The committee meets each semester during the academic year to review proposals and make recommendations to the vice president for research for funding. Guidelines are found on the Web at http://www.admin.mtu.edu/research/vpr/internal/century.html

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7. TEACHING AT TECH: THE PERILS OF POWERPOINT

by William Kennedy, Director, Center for Teaching, Learning and Faculty Development

Since the advent of the overhead projector, I can't think of another teaching technology that has so quickly and pervasively infiltrated college classrooms as has the routine use of pre-prepared, projected computer-generated images created and displayed using presentation software such as Microsoft PowerPoint.

When asked why they routinely employ PowerPoint, many colleagues say something along the lines of "I just like it. It saves me time,"  "It allows me to easily update my lectures term to term," or "It helps me to get organized."

When I ask students how they feel about PowerPoint-supported lectures, I get a wide variety of responses. Some students report that if the prof makes the PowerPoint slides available on the web, then students like it because they don't feel the need to come to class. Others say that they like PowerPoint supported lectures, if the professor makes the slides available before the fact, because they can just listen to the lecture rather than hustling to take notes. Others report that they hate PowerPoint lectures because students are forced to sit passively in the dark while the teacher proceeds through a pre-arranged lecture with little or no interaction with the students and little or no ability or desire to adapt what is being taught to the learning needs of that particular class.

One distinct problem with PowerPoint is that the instructor most commonly produces a linear, session-long lecture in advance. The teacher and the students are then understandably reticent to get off track as the lecture proceeds because easily rerouting, or expanding, or offering additional explanations usually requires turning on the room lights, finding the dry erase marker, scribbling on the board or on the overhead projector and then trying to get back on track with the PowerPoint presentation.

Another problem with PowerPoint is that its most common use, supporting session-long lectures in which students sit passively, goes against most progressive thinking in higher education pedagogy and common sense. For the last 30 years, college teaching scholars have argued and studies have proven again and again that active learning techniques tend to engage more students and produce deeper and more durable learning than typical college lectures. Truly effective lecturers intersperse their talks with brief periods of problem solving, planned student-to-student or student-to-faculty interactions, or other planned activities that reengage students or allow them to apply what they are hearing.

Tara Barbazon, senior lecturer at Murdoch University in Perth and author of "Digital Hemlock: Internet Education and the Poisoning of Teaching," recently observed, "If I could un-invent one software program, it would be PowerPoint. Without exception, the worst presentations, lectures and budget briefings I attend are conducted using this tragic package. Presenters break all the rules of public speaking: repeating verbatim the words on the screen; letting the technology determine the pace and order of the presentation; and even requiring the darkening of the room. Many of these presentations either do not run or start late because of problems with the technology. For students, new problems emerge. Students desire access to the overheads of a lecture--this access means that they do not have to attend the lecture. More seriously, the students who check their notes against the PowerPoint slides will invariably copy down any points they missed--word for word. This is not critical thinking; it is not even thinking."*

Chalk, anyone?

* Sydney, UNSW Press, 2002.

8. A GREAT VALENTINE'S DAY OPPORTUNITY--SAY IT IN PRINT AT "THE MUSIC MAN"

submitted by University Cultural Enrichment

"The Music Man," the great all-American Broadway musical, comes to the Rozsa Center for three performances on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 13 and 14. At the heart of the musical is a love story, making it the perfect event for a Valentine's Day outing. And, in keeping with the spirit of the day, you can place a sweetheart ad in the "Music Man" program when you purchase your tickets for the show! Here's your chance to surprise a loved one with a romantic message that will turn the program into a keepsake. The message can be creative or simple, serious or light-hearted, a declaration of love or even a proposal of marriage! The cost for an ad is just $5 for a maximum of 20 words. Tickets for the show and order forms for the ads are available at the Rozsa Center Box Office (487-3200, Monday-Friday, 11:30 a.m.-5 p.m.).

"The Music Man" is a romantic story set in River City, Iowa, where the hero and heroine discover true love and live happily ever after. However, it's far from plain sailing, and the plot has an interesting twist or two. Marian, the straight-laced librarian, is determined to expose the deceptions of the charismatic Harold Hill, a professional con man, but his charm wins her over, and she falls in love with him.

"The Music Man" is produced by the same national touring company who brought us the excellent production of "Titanic, The Musical" two years ago, and which won Tony Awards for both productions on Broadway.

This presentation of "The Music Man" is made possible by the James and Margaret Black Endowment. For more information, contact the MTU Great Events Series Office (487-3200).

9. PHYSICS COLLOQUIUM THURSDAY

Associate Professor John Jaszczak (Physics) will present a physics colloquium, "Surprises in Natural Graphite: Beauty from Defects," Thursday, Jan. 22, at 4 p.m. in Fisher 139.

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10. MEEM GRADUATE SEMINAR THURSDAY

Satyandra K. Gupta of the University of Maryland will present a MEEM graduate seminar, "Automated Design of Multi-Stage Molds: A Step Towards Cost-Effective Manufacturing of Multi-Material Objects," Thursday, Jan. 22, 3-4 p.m. in MEEM 112.

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11. FREE MARKETING VIDEOCONFERENCE FOR POTENTIAL ENTREPRENEURS

A videoconference on market and competitive analysis will be held Wednesday, Jan. 28, 6-8 p.m. in EERC B-11 for anyone interested in starting a business.

Participants will learn about determining the target customer, demographics, target market and market segments. Market analysis is crucial to starting a business, and this session will explain key ways to analyze competitors and their products and potential.

This is the first in a series of five videoconference training sessions offered during spring semester for the Great Lakes Entrepreneur's Quest. These sessions are sponsored by MTU's Office of Intellectual Property and Technology Commercialization, CenTILE, and the School of Business and Economics, along with the Michigan Tech Enterprise SmartZone and the Keweenaw Industrial Council.

For further information, contact Paul A. Nelson at 487-2809

MTU NOTABLES

Jim Baker, director of technology partnerships, recently obtained certification as a registered patent agent by passing the United States Patent and Trademark Office patent bar exam. Passing the patent bar is a requirement for practicing patent cases before the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on behalf of inventors. This certification will support Corporate Services and the Office of Intellectual Property and Technology Commercialization in better serving researchers and inventors on campus and the corporations that are working with them.

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IN THE NEWS

Assistant Professor Seth Donahue's (Biomedical Engineering) research on black bear bones is featured on ABCNEWS.com. Donahue noticed that black bear bones get stronger with age, instead of weaker as human bones do. With the help of Virginia Tech researcher Michael Vaughan, he has been studying black bear blood chemistry and bone strength. Donahue suspects the bears' stronger bones may be related to a specific hormone which, if identified, may help human sufferers of osteoporosis. You can read the article online at http://abcnews.go.com/sections/SciTech/DyeHard/bears_hibernation_dyehard_040114-1.html

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ON THE ROAD

Associate Professor Ashok Goel (ECE) presented three papers at the 12 International Workshop on the Physics of Semiconductor Devices held at Chennai, India, Dec. 16-20. "Inductance Extraction for the On-Chip Nanoscale Interconnects" was written by ECE graduate student K. P. Jaikumar, "Simulation of Logic Circuits Based on the Single Electron Technology" was authored by ECE graduate student Aranggan Venkataratnam and "Development of a Quantum Cellular Automata Simulator" was coauthored by ECE undergraduate student Dean Gores and graduate students Rashmi Kumar and Lili Ji.

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CALENDAR: JANUARY

22--Thursday

  7 p.m.--Fourth Thursday in History, "History of Winter Carnival"--Douglass Houghton Hall Lower Level Study Lounge

  8 p.m.--Martin Luther King Quiz Bowl and African Student Organization presentation--Memorial Union Ballroom B

23--Friday

  6 p.m.--"Keeping the Dream Alive" banquet--Memorial Union Ballroom B

  9 p.m.--Motown Review--Wadsworth Hall Annex

24--Saturday

  1 p.m.--Women's basketball, MTU v. Findlay--SDC

  3 p.m.--Men's basketball, MTU v. Findlay--SDC

28--Wednesday

  6-8 p.m.--Marketing and Competitive Analysis Videoconference--EERC B11

30--Friday

  7:05 p.m.--Hockey, MTU v. Colorado College--MacInnes Student Ice Arena

31--Saturday

  7:05 p.m.--Hockey, MTU v. Colorado College--MacInnes Student Ice Arena

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MICHIGAN TECH POSITIONS AVAILABLE

Job descriptions will be available at 1 p.m. on Friday, or by e-mail at <JOBS@MTU.EDU>.

 The following positions will be posted Friday, Jan. 23, 2004, at 1 p.m. through noon, Friday, Jan. 30, 2004, in the Human Resources Office or at http://www.admin.mtu.edu/hro/postings/

 Custodian-Facilities Management (AFSCME internal posting only)

 Printer I-University Relations-Print Shop

 Departmental Coordinator-Chemistry Department (75 percent-100 percent effort, internal posting only)

 Assistant Football Coach-Athletic Department

 University employees are reminded to apply in writing prior to noon, Friday, Jan. 30, 2004, to be considered as internal candidates for bargaining unit positions only. Applicants from the recall pool will be given first consideration for non-bargaining-unit positions only. Vacancy announcements are normally posted every Friday at 1 p.m. in the Human Resources Office. Complete job descriptions are available in the Human Resources Office or by calling 487-2280. More information regarding employment opportunities is available by calling the Job Line at 487-2895. Michigan Technological University is an equal opportunity educational institution/equal opportunity employer.

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