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

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1. INTERNAL STUDY RECOMMENDS BUDGETING CHANGES

Calling them "sound and reasonable steps," Dan Greenlee said Michigan Tech's budget office will adhere to recommendations for improving the university's budgeting process.

Greenlee, chief financial officer, responded to the release of an internal audit report on 2003-04 budget projections.

The report focused on why actual tuition revenue and fees for 2003-04 is significantly lower than budget projections.

According to the report, budgeting problems in two areas resulted in a revenue projection that was approximately $6.2 million higher than it should have been.

In estimating tuition revenue for fiscal year 2004, university budget planners used the wrong number from fiscal year 2003. Instead of adding a projected increase to the actual revenue from 2003, planners used the budgeted revenue, which was significantly higher.

As a result of that process, projected tuition revenue for FY04 was $4.7 million higher than it should have been.

The budget projection for nonresident students was off by approximately $1.5 million. Planners assumed that all nonresident students would pay the full nonresident tuition rate. Most non-residents, however, receive some sort of tuition assistance or reduction.

The report recommends

* establishing a small work group to project tuition and fees revenue. The group would also maintain concise, easy-to-understand documentation of their process.

* having both the accounting and budget planning offices monitor actual revenue and compare their results on a regular basis

* establishing a standing work group responsible for developing tuition and fee rates. This group would also maintain detailed documentation describing how they arrived at their recommendations.

Greenlee, who was recently assigned control of the budget office, said he agrees with the recommendations. He said he will also have a consultant look at Michigan Tech's budget process and make additional recommendations.

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2. GRAD STUDENT STUDIES LOCAL THIMBLEBERRY JAM PRODUCTION

by Jana Jones, student writer

Most people know that in the summer, thimbleberry jam is a taste synonymous with the Keweenaw. However, Jason Anderson, a graduate student in the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science, decided to take his knowledge of the red berry to another level.

Anderson presented his graduate defense, "Thimbleberry Jam Production in Houghton and Keweenaw Counties," on Dec. 17. Anderson looked at the thimbleberry in general and the jam industry in the Keweenaw in particular.

"As far as I know, the Keweenaw is the only place that makes thimbleberries into jam commercially," he said. "In British Columbia, the species is actually considered a weed."

The thimbleberry plant has large leaves that block the sun and likes to grow in edge habitats, such as roadsides and edges of clearings. The berry is built like a raspberry, with lots of small sections; the flower is white with five petals.

Anderson found that jam production in the Keweenaw is a social rather than economic experience.

"The thimbleberry is wrapped in social aspects, not moneymaking," he observed. "I don't see it becoming a commercial farm product anytime soon."

Among all the thimbleberry pickers that Anderson interviewed, none grew the berry at home. "I found no person who grew thimbleberries in their garden; I found one person in the 25 people I talked to who had cultivated them in the wild."

According to Anderson, the average thimbleberry picker that he encountered spends 45 hours picking berries, harvests 1.5 pounds per hour, and keeps few records of their picking. "Most people are not out there to maximize profit. They're there to enjoy themselves."

Anderson found similar trends among people who produced the jam. He found that three specialized thimbleberry jam producers made 810 cases of jam, while 10 informal thimbleberry jam producers made 628 cases of jam.

Some constraints on thimbleberry jam production were the absence of cultivated thimbleberry plants, the initial investment to become a licensed jam producer and the popular perspectives on thimbleberry jam.

 "Pickers and producers don't think of it as a business," Anderson said. "They see it as a side thing, a cultural experience."

Whether a business or a culture, Anderson did encounter one explanation for thimbleberry jam popularity in the Keweenaw. "Someone told me that the Copper Country berries taste better because it's the Copper Country. One of the people I spoke to told me that the minerals in the soil make the thimbleberries taste better.

"Now, I don't know if that was somebody just trying to sell me jam, or if there's something to it."

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3. WINTER JOB FAIR FEB. 17

The Winter Job Fair will be held Tuesday, Feb. 17, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. in the SDC basketball gym. More than 50 employers are expected to attend, including Alcoa, the Department of Homeland Security, Ford, Guidant, IBM, Polaris and Toyota. These companies and agencies are looking for full-time employees as well as co-ops and interns.

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4. NOMINATIONS SOUGHT FOR BOB! AWARDS

submitted by Becky Christianson

Staff Council and the Office of the President are proud to proclaim the opening of the nomination process for the second year of the BOB! (Best of the Best!) Awards. This is a University-wide recognition program for Michigan Tech staff. The BOB! Awards do not replace the Employee Excellence Awards, but increase the opportunity for us to recognize staff for their contributions to Michigan Tech.

Many of us have had the distinct pleasure of interacting with outstanding employees. We need your help in identifying these unsung heroes of Michigan Tech. Staff add value to our everyday lives. Recognition of those with whom we work is an important part of who we are and want to become. The wide variety of categories listed below gives you an idea of the broad spectrum of involvement.

Last year's award categories included best team, best customer service, best supervisor, most fun, most organized, most dedicated, cleanest building of the year, "press on regardless," "Tigger" award, good deed award, best promotion of the Tech family, most dedicated, most valuable co-worker, outstanding service to the campus community, and spark plug. There is even an opportunity to name your own category and nominate someone for that category.

There are no monetary awards. Nominees will be invited to a banquet on Monday, March 22, where there will be a presentation of plaques to the award recipients and certificates to all nominees. Members of the campus community are also welcome to attend with a purchased ticket. Anyone can nominate anyone.

Open nominations will be held Feb. 9-27. The BOB! Awards committe will meet March 2-6 to make selections, and the BOB! Awards luncheon with President Curt Tompkins will be held March 22.

BOB! Award recipients from last year make up the selection committee. Each nominee is eligible to receive only one award per year.

The nomination form is available at the Staff Council web site at http://www.admin.mtu.edu/staff_council/bob/ and will be available beginning Monday, Feb. 9.

For more information, contact Becky Christianson at 370-4976 or email rwchrist@mtu.edu.

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5. FRIENDS OF THE VAN PELT LIBRARY HOLD WINTER CARNIVAL SALE

Hot chocolate and cookies, as well as the MTU heritage souvenir blankets, Copper Country historic photo note cards and selected used books, will be included in a Winter Carnival Sale held by the Friends of the Van Pelt Library Saturday, Feb. 7, 10 a.m.-3 p.m in the Van Pelt Library lobby. All proceeds go to support the Van Pelt Library.

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6. CALL FOR NOMINATIONS: FACULTY DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD

The Faculty Distinguished Service Award Committee is now seeking nominations for the 2004 award. The deadline for nominations is Friday, Feb. 20.

The award is open to all full-time faculty, including lecturers and research faculty. Those who hold restricted appointments (e.g. adjunct, visiting, temporary or part-time faculty) are not eligible. Faculty who hold positions with a significant administrative component (e.g. deans, associate deans, department chairs etc.) are not eligible. The award will be presented at the President's Convocation in the fall.

The Faculty Distinguished Service Award recognizes service to the university community that has significantly improved the quality of some aspect of campus life. The work could have resulted, in part, from compensated efforts, but it must have been of a quality that distinguished itself above and beyond the normal execution of those tasks. The award is intended to recognize exceptional service in one area rather than integrated service. It is not a lifetime achievement award.

Nominations will be accepted from any member of the university community including staff, students and alumni and should be received by the committee by Feb. 20. To make a nomination fill out the nomination form (available at http://forest.mtu.edu/fdsa/ ) and submit it together with any applicable supporting material to Blair Orr, Faculty Distinguished Service Award Committee, School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science. Include a description of the specific work for which the candidate is being nominated; an explanation of why the work merits the award, including a description of how the university has changed as a result of this work; a model inscription to be placed on the award; and any appropriate supporting materials.

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7. STUDY ABROAD FAIR FEB. 11

The Center for International Education will be holding its annual Spring Study Abroad Fair on Wednesday, Feb. 11, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m in the Memorial Union Ballrooms. The campus and local communities are invited to attend the fair which will showcase all of Michigan Tech's study abroad programs in more than 30 different countries. Programs range from three to nine weeks in the summer to semester- and year-long during the academic year.

Students can study abroad as early as the summer between their freshman and sophomore years. There are still a few openings for the summer 2004 programs and applications are now being accepted for the fall 2004 and spring 2005 semesters. The minimum application requirements are a 2.75 GPA, two letters of recommendation from MTU faculty and/or staff and a dean of students recommendation. Application packets will be available at the fair or can be picked up anytime in the Center for International Education, 131 Administration Building. Please contact Beth Taylor, director of the Office of Study Abroad, at bjtaylor@mtu.edu if you have any questions.

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8. PANEL TO FIELD CAREER QUESTIONS AT CORPORATE CONNECTION

Are they hiring? Who are they hiring? How many are they hiring? What does it take to get there?

Students will have the opportunity to ask panelists about the job market at the Career Center's Corporate Connection held Feb. 10 at 6 p.m. in Fisher Hall 135.

The panel will include members from FM Global, Caterpillar, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, BASF, Ford, Visteon, WPS, Kimberly Clark and the Department of Defense.

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9. NATURAL RESOURCE JOBS TELECONFERENCE FEB. 17

A live teleconference for students seeking natural resource-related employment will be held Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2-4 p.m. in EERC B11.

The two-hour session will have eight panelists telling students about their organizations and their jobs, as well as providing career and job-seeking advice for college students. Students may question panelists via phone, email or fax message.

The Environmental Career Center, which coordinates the conference, has conducted career seminars at the first meeting of The Wildlife Society and in conjunction with the Midwest Fish & Wildlife Conference. For more information, and to see the seminar brochure on line, go to http://www.environmentalcareer.com/teleconference.htm

Past conference speakers have been from the National Park Service, US Fish & Wildlife Service, EPA, U.S. Forest Service, The Nature Conservancy, Student Conservation Association, Georgia Pacific, Peace Corps, state environmental agencies, environmental consultants and many other environmental employers.

This live teleconference is sponsored by the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science and the Career Center. The time and room for a later viewing of the teleconference will be announced at a later date.

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10. TEACHING AT TECH: CELEBRATING THE ENTERPRISE

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

It was particularly cold and nasty as I trudged over to the MUB for our most recent faculty workshop/luncheon. Rather than being stricken by the stark beauty of the frozen tundra that we call home, my dear friend Arthur Ritis reminded me that getting there vertically was infinitely more important than enjoying the journey along the way.

The last thing I expected as we began our program was to experience a sort of personal renaissance and reaffirmation of the underappreciated excellence of this university and its most precious resources, its faculty and its students.

Our program was simple. Three faculty advisors brought members of their Enterprise student leadership teams to share with us how their involvement in their Enterprise projects had profoundly impacted their lives and reignited their enthusiasm for learning. As each student, in turn, took a few minutes to describe their work and how that work was affecting their self-confidence and shaping their hopes for the future, I couldn't help but think, "MTU doesn't need an honors program; we already have one."

The Enterprise program involves interdisciplinary teams of students working together to create real businesses that secure real cash contracts to solve a complex series of real-world problems and produce deliverables that ultimately delight their clients. Having spent 10 years at Kettering University prior to coming to Michigan Tech, my first guess was that I was seeing the same self-assurance and poise that comes from students involved with traditional co-op experiences. Within moments, however, I realized that this Enterprise experience was an entirely different beast. The difference was that this group of articulate, thoughtful young scholars and fledgling entrepreneurs was describing a series of visceral experiences that were akin to the enthusiasm that springs from the real work of scientists and engineers rather than the sort of short-term bump that springs from "simulated" projects and gopher work not uncommonly associated with mandatory co-op experiences.

These days, there's a lot of talk about the changing ethos of our students and problems such as lack of enthusiasm and intellectual engagement. On this cold Wednesday in January, I am proud to report that these problems were nowhere in evidence. Instead, I listened as a student leader described the intricacies of leading teams of students designing components of a nanoscale satellite; components that must perform to NASA's most exacting standards, in addition to working with all of the other components designed by the other teams. Another articulate and straight-talking student described the complexities of securing intellectual property rights for inventions arising from their Enterprise project. Still another student leader described the absolute joy of working with other students from widely varying backgrounds and disciplines to produce timely and substantive results for real-world clients.

If we fail to broadly proclaim the success of this unique and life-changing program, I fear that we do so at our own peril. A genuine educational renaissance is occurring under our very noses. Imagine an educational innovation that incorporates elements of undergraduate research, cooperative learning, just-in-time learning, service learning and active learning and you've just skimmed the surface of this new movement born and bred here at MTU.

If we put these student ambassadors on the road, I believe that our enrollment struggles would quickly evaporate. After all, how hard can it be to convince prospective students to come to a place and learn with people that literally changed your life and your hopes for the future?

Pollyanish? Naïve? Talk to the student leaders and their faculty advisors before you dismiss the Enterprise renaissance and I think you'll change your mind.

11. TECHNOBABE TIMES PRESENTS "THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES"

TechnoBabe Times, Michigan Tech's women's issues paper, will present two performances of Eve Ensler's "The Vagina Monologues" Feb. 13 and 14 at 8 p.m. in M&M U115. Admission is $5 at the door.

The performances, part of V-Day 2004, will benefit the Barbara Kettle Gundlach Shelter Home.

V-Day is a global movement to stop violence against women and girls by promoting creative events such as documentaries and benefit productions of "The Vagina Monologues" to increase awareness, raise money, and revitalize the spirit of existing anti-violence organizations. In its first six years, the V-Day movement has raised over $20 million.  The V in V-Day stands for victory, valentine and vagina. For more information, visit http://www.vday.org.

For more information about the performances, contact TechnoBabe Times at tbt@mtu.edu

12. NEWBERRY TO PRESENT LECTURE ON NANOTECHNOLOGY

Governments around the world are investing $2 billion in it, private corporations are investing even more, and swarms of venture capitalists have now locked onto it as "the next big thing."

Deb Newberry, executive director of The Nanotechnology Group in Minneapolis, will present a public lecture on nanotechnology Monday, Feb. 9, at 7 p.m. in Dow 641.

Her talk will be a general overview of this exciting new field of science and technology, and she will offer her sense of where nanotechnology is going.

She is co-author, with Jack Uldrich, of "The Next Big Thing Is Really Small: How Nanotechnology Will Change the Future of Your Business," which describes in a non-scientific manner what nanotechnology is, how it is going to revolutionize business and what every executive needs to know to survive "the nanotechnology revolution."

Newberry is currently involved in several nanotechnology projects, including space exploration and virtual reality, and she is particulary interested in reaching out to secondary school students and museums.

Newberry brings a variety of experiences to this task, including familiarity with the Copper Country. As a student at Michigan Tech in the mid-1970s, she studied chemical engineering for three years before transferring, and she eventually earned her MS in Nuclear Physics from the University of North Dakota. She began work with Control Data in 1978 and advanced to the position of director/executive director from 1996 to 2000. She then started her own consulting firm focusing on business and technical strategy before joining The Nanotechnology Group. Additionally, Newberry is teaching at Dakota County Technical College, charged with development of a nanoscience technician curriculum.

Newberry's talk is the first in a series of lectures on nanoscale science and technology that will take place this semester. It is made possible by support from the National Science Foundation, from the College of Engineering, the College of Science and Arts, and Educational Opportunity.

NEW FUNDING

Assistant Professor Soner Onder (Computer Science) has received a $70,000 award from the National Science Foundation for his project, "CAREER: Future Values: Reshaping the Future of Instruction Level Parallelism."

Assistant Professor Haiying Liu (Chemistry) received an $80,000 renewable subcontract from NASA and Zyvex Corporation for the synthesis of new functional poly(pheneyleneethynylene)s to support their second phase NASA project, "Hierachical Composites Comprising Continuous Carbon Nanotube Composite Fibers in a Nanotube-Reinforced Matrix."

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IN PRINT

Research Engineer/Scientist I Jaak Sober and Professor David F. Karnosky (SFRES) published an article, "Ozone-Induced H2O2 Accumulation in Field-Grown Aspen and Birch Is Linked to Foliar Ultrastructure and Peroxisomal Activity" in the journal New Phytologist 161:791-799 with coauthors E. Oksanen and E. Haikio of the University of Kuopio.

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CALENDAR: February

5--Thursday

  4 p.m.--Winter Carnival Stage Revue--Rozsa Center

  5:30 p.m.--Women's Basketball, Ferris State at MTU--SDC Gym

  7:30 p.m.--Men's Basketball, Ferris State at MTU--SDC Gym

  8 p.m.--Winter Carnival Stage Revue--Rozsa Center

6--Friday

  7:05 p.m.--Hockey, St. Cloud State at MTU--MacInnes Student Ice Arena

  7:30 p.m.--"Much Ado About Nothing"--Rozsa Center

7--Saturday

  1 p.m.--Women's Basketball, Grand Valley State at MTU--SDC Gym

  3 p.m.--Men's Basketball, Grand Valley State at MTU--SDC Gym

  5:05 p.m.--Hockey, St. Cloud State at MTU--MacInnes Student Ice Arena

  7:30 p.m.--"Much Ado About Nothing"--Rozsa Center

8--Sunday

  3 p.m.--"Much Ado About Nothing"--Rozsa Center

11--Wednesday

  11 a.m.-3 p.m.--Study Abroad Fair--Memorial Union Ballrooms

12--Thursday

  5:30 p.m.--Women's Basketball, Northwood at MTU--SDC Gym

  7:30 p.m.--Men's Basketball, Northwood at MTU--SDC Gym

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NO NEW POSITIONS THIS WEEK

No new positions are posted this week at Michigan Tech. 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 or visiting http://www.admin.mtu.edu/hro/postings/ . Michigan Technological University is an equal opportunity educational institution/equal opportunity employer.

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