Michigan Tech: Tech Topics Online

1. RECRUITING, MARKETING FUNCTIONS TO MERGE

Student recruiting, marketing and communications responsibilities have been merged into one department under a restructuring plan announced by Interim President Glenn Mroz and Vice Provost and Dean of Student Affairs Les Cook.

The move eliminates the positions of executive director of university relations and executive director of enrollment management. Admissions and university relations will combine under the newly created post of associate vice provost for enrollment and marketing services. A search will begin immediately to fill the new position.

Cook said he hopes to complete the search quickly, with the associate vice provost in place by early September. In the meantime, those areas will report directly to Cook.

"This will allow key people to collaborate on the urgent issues identified in the tactical planning effort led by Provost Kent Wray," Mroz said. "Recruiting and enrolling a larger and more diverse student body is very important to the future of Michigan Tech."

Mroz also said he will create two teams to quickly review and develop plans for student recruiting and public relations/marketing. The teams will include staff members from those areas, others from across campus, Cook and Mroz. Both teams will work with the Executive Committee, deans and department chairs.

"We have collected a good amount of information related to marketing and admission over the last couple of years," Cook said. "This information will help us to define an action plan and move forward expediently."

"It's critical that all recruiting efforts across campus work to adopt 'best practices' and innovate to meet the needs of students and parents," Mroz said. "We have a lot to learn from each other. This will take a highly cooperative and interactive environment and attention to recruiting details on the part of everyone connected with the university."

Mroz said the public relations/marketing team will crystallize the message and presentation of Michigan Tech to be used in all key university communications. "We have to be able to accurately communicate the soul, stature and heritage of Michigan Tech. It's the 'promise' we make to our students, alumni, donors and other supporters."

2. MTU NAMES NEW DEAN OF TECHNOLOGY

Scott J. Amos, head of the Department of Industrial Management at Southwest Missouri State University, has been named dean of technology, Provost Kent Wray has announced. His appointment is effective June 1. Amos will also serve as MTU's dean of distance learning.

"I'm excited about what Scott Amos can bring to Michigan Tech and to the School of Technology," Wray said. "He has been very successful in advancing technology programs at two other institutions, and we look forward to him having similar results at Michigan Tech."

Graduate Dean J. Bruce Rafert has been serving as dean of distance learning. However, because of significant growth of the graduate program, the distance learning responsibilities will be assumed by Amos.

"Bruce has done an excellent job spearheading Michigan Tech's distance learning efforts," Wray said. "He has forged agreements with three other colleges, and his management of the university's distance education programs with General Motors and Ford has been superb. The Graduate School has also expanded under Bruce's leadership, and it's important that we now focus his energies in that key area for Michigan Tech."

"Scott has a strong background in online education, so distance learning will be a good fit for him," Wray said.

MTU's interim president Glenn Mroz has been serving as interim dean of technology since the retirement of the School's former dean, Tim Collins.

Among his accomplishments as head of Southwest Missouri's industrial management department, Amos led the development of a new strategic plan, precipitating a successful accreditation effort and boosting the department's enrollment. He coordinated the development of an online degree completion program and taught online courses.

Amos is also director of the Center for Industrial Productivity at Southwest Missouri State, where he has encouraged collaboration between colleges and departments on a number of grants totalling $9.5 million.

Before moving to Southwest Missouri in 2000, Amos developed and directed the Construction Management Technology Program at Weber State University, in Ogden, Utah.

Amos's goal at MTU is to raise the profile of the School of Technology and differentiate it from the university's engineering programs, particularly among prospective students and industrial employers. "Technology is a very broad term, so it gives us a lot of opportunity to look at the needs of industry and serve those needs," he said. "My basic agenda is to increase enrollment and pursue additional outreach opportunities."

Amos noted that the School's newest program, a proposed concentration in construction management within the BS in Engineering Technology, dovetails with his own experience.

"My background is in construction management," Amos said. "I see that as a big area for growth, as well as computing systems."

He also plans to look into expanding the School's distance education program. "One of my other hats will be dean of distance learning," he said. "That's very compatible with the degree programs in the School of Technology, as well as those offered by the College of Engineering."

Amos holds a PhD in Civil Engineering with an emphasis in construction engineering and management from the University of Florida. His MS in Electrical Engineering is from the Georgia Institute of Technology, and he is a graduate of the Command and Staff Program at the U.S. Naval War College.

He is a registered professional engineer in Minnesota and a certified professional constructor with the American Institute of Constructors. He retired from the USN Civil Engineer Corps with the rank of lieutenant commander.

His research interests center on cost engineering theory and practice as it relates to the construction and manufacturing industries. He has published more than 20 technical articles and research reports and served as editor for the latest edition of the book "Skills and Knowledge of Cost Engineering."

He has served as an instructor in short courses and workshops for the American Public Works Association, the American Concrete Institute and the Association for the Advancement of Cost Engineering (AACE).

Amos has received a number of university and professional awards for teaching, research and service. He was recognized twice by the American Society for Engineering Education for outstanding service as a campus representative. He was named Pacific Ocean Area Engineer of the Year in recognition of his performance in the engineering profession and exemplary service to the community. He is also a recipient of the Total Cost Management Award from AACE International.

Amos is active in professional and technical affairs and is a member of several technical and professional societies. In AACE, he is a member and past co-chair of the Education Board. He has served as a regional director for the National Association of Industrial Technology, and for eight years was a construction management technology degree program accreditation evaluator for AACE.

Amos and his wife, Joycelyn, are moving to Houghton with their 10-year-old daughter. They also have two sons, one in the Coast Guard and the other graduating from the University of Iowa.

3. MICHIGAN TECH TO SHARE IN $350 MILLION HYDROGEN RESEARCH INITIATIVE

A team led by Michigan Tech researcher Jim Hwang is slated to receive a $1.7 million grant from the Department of Energy as part of President George W. Bush's Hydrogen Research Initiative.

Through the initiative, a total of $350 million in funding for science and research projects will be awarded nationwide this year to establish a hydrogen economy.

Hwang, the director of the Institute of Materials Processing and an associate professor of materials science and engineering, will focus his efforts on a novel class of materials known as metal perhydrides.

The goal is to develop substances that can safely and cheaply store hydrogen chemically and then release it--also safely and cheaply--as fuel.

Hydrides are a type of compound that contains hydrogen. Perhydrides would be super-hydrides, bulked up with an extra dose of hydrogen.

"This is beyond existing chemistry," Hwang said. "No existing compounds can give up enough hydrogen to use in an engine. That's why the DOE gave the challenge to think outside the box."

To visualize how a metal perhydride would work, think of hydrogen peroxide, which is water with an extra oxygen atom. "Add water to it and it gets foamy; it's releasing oxygen," Hwang said. Similarly, a perhydride would release hydrogen gas.

A major stumbling block in the development of hydrogen-powered vehicles has been storage. You can't just pull up to a hydrogen pump, fill up your tank and drive away.

"You can have a tank of hydrogen gas, but you'd need a lot of hydrogen and it would be a really heavy tank," Hwang said. "And hydrogen is explosive, so potentially it could be quite dangerous." A metal perhydride, on the other hand, would be solid and stable, hold its extra hydrogen, and then release it efficiently as it was needed for fuel.

Bush's $350 million Hydrogen Research Initiative represents nearly one-third of the administration's $1.2 billion commitment in research funding to bring hydrogen and fuel cell technology from the laboratory to the showroom.

Selected through a merit-reviewed, competitive process, the projects involve 30 lead organizations and include over 100 partners. Michigan Tech and the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor are the only two universities in the state to receive funding under the program.

Bush has proposed a multi-year research funding effort to develop clean, hydrogen-powered automobiles that would free the U.S. from dependence on foreign petroleum.

"President Bush's administration recognizes that a hydrogen economy has the long-term potential to deliver greater energy independence by reducing America's dependence on foreign sources of energy," said Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham, in announcing the grant package April 27.

"It offers immense environmental benefits that current energy technologies cannot meet. This multi-million dollar commitment to research is a down payment on a more energy and environmentally secure future."

4. MICHIGAN TECH STUDENTS BUILD "TRICORDER"

Michigan Tech students have developed a new plug-and-play device that might someday do anything from track local weather to measure the gas mileage on your car. But for now, they think it could be a boon to science educators.

Dubbed the TRIcorder for short in honor of Star Trek's universal diagnostic tool, the Transportable Research Instrument System has three parts: a Palm Pilot hand-held computer to process and display data, a cube to gather that data, and special docking device that electronically links the two other parts and lets them work together.

The heart of the TRIcorder's power and versatility is the data cube. Because it can be fitted with any number of sensors, its applications could conceivably range from medicine to auto repair to meteorology. Its creators think a good place to begin exploring its capabilities is the high school science classroom.

The TRIcorder has a number of qualities valued by K-12 districts, says junior Nathan Skalsky (Computer Science) ,president of Michigan Tech's Integrated Microsystems Enterprise, which developed the device. It's portable, versatile, and so simple a Tribble could use it. Plus, it's cheap--under $300 apiece. The estimated cost to equip a 30-student classroom with TRIcorders is $8,700, a fraction of the cost of a conventional classroom research computer system.

Here's how it works. The science student puts the appropriate sensor card in the two-inch plastic data cube, sets the cube in an experiment site, and then watches as the data pours into the Palm Pilot. Skalsky demonstrates, waving the cube over his head. The Palm Pilot screen shows how fast his hand is accelerating and even registers the cube's temperature change from being held in Skalsky's warm hand.

Admittedly, most high school students would consider that a pretty lame experiment. So, the students have developed alternatives.

"You can put the data cube in the nose cone of a model rocket, fire it off, and it will send data wirelessly to the Tricorder, which can tell you how fast it's going, how high it gets, and show you if it's about to crash into the ground."

"[The TRIcorder] allows teachers to ignore the mechanics of a scientific concept and just teach the concept," Skalsky says. "You put the cube in a hamster wheel (minus the hamster) and roll it around, you can run around the track with it, you can just let it sit there, and you get real-time data."

Because of the escalating cost of real science experiments, educators have seen a push toward using CD-based virtual experiments. "This is our minor attempt to slap the people behind that movement on the wrist and say, 'You don't need to do that,'" Skalsky said.

This fall, the Integrated Microsystems Enterprise will bring the TRIcorder to local school districts to try out in science classrooms.

"We want to see what features are used, and what people try to do with it and can't. You can learn a lot from that."

The idea and its projected cost caught visitors' eyes during a recent conference in Taiwan of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the leading professional organization of electrical engineers.

"Eight people placed orders, or tried to, which is a bit premature but encouraging nonetheless," Skalsky laughed.

Michigan Tech's Enterprise program brings together teams of students to solve industry problems, address engineering challenges, or, as in this case, to brainstorm and develop new technologies.

5. MICHIGAN TECH RECEIVES $2.8 MILLION ENDOWMENT

Michigan Tech has received a $2.8 million gift from the estate of Robert M. Anderson, a native of Negaunee. The gift has been added to an endowed scholarship fund that now totals more than $4 million.

Anderson, who died in 2002, earned a degree in electrical engineering from Michigan Tech in 1943 and had a distinguished career in research and development with General Electric. He was a prolific inventor, receiving 31 patents during his 35 years with the company.

Since its inception in 1993, the Robert M. and Virginia Mercer Anderson Endowed Scholarship has supported 18 Michigan Tech students--some for their entire academic careers.

Robert Anderson was a member of electrical engineering's distinguished alumni academy and received the Michigan Tech Board of Control Silver Medal. Virginia Anderson died in 1993.

6. BOARD OF CONTROL TO MEET FRIDAY

Michigan Tech's Board of Control will meet on Friday, May 7, at 9 a.m. in the Memorial Union Ballroom.

The agenda includes preliminary discussion of the 2004-05 budget, room and board rates, and a recommendation to limit resident tuition to the rate of inflation.

Also on the agenda are tenure and promotion recommendations for the coming year and a number of proposed degree programs from the Department of Humanities and the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science.

Board of Control meetings are open to the public, and all members of the MTU community are welcome.

7. STAFF RECEIVE BOB AWARDS

Staff Council recognized the efforts of Michigan Tech staff members at its Best of the Best Awards banquet. Awards went to the following people and teams:

Denise Laux (Mathematical Sciences) for Most Dedicated, Mary Peters (University Relations) for Spark Plug, Susan Adams (DHH) for Best Customer Service, Bob Hansen and Paul Raymond (Instructional Resource Services) for Best Supervisor, Brad Wagner (SBE) for Best Student Advisor, Mary Stevens (MEEM) for "I Can Do That," Linda Watson (Student Affairs) for Most Organized, Mary Erva (College of Engineering) for "The Merry Mary Award," Jerry Swetich, Joel Tepsa and Don Darcy (Rozsa Center) for Cleanest Building, Gail Beausoleil, Cathy Emblad, Tina Giachino, Kathy Huber, Joan Pastore, Susan Peterson, Rita Smith, Jim Turnquist, Gina Goudge and Mike Morley (Career Center) for Best Team, Jim Turnquist (Career Center) for The Motivator Award, Cathy Forsman (Computer Science) for Most Fun, Pete Pelissero (Student Affairs) for Best Co-Worker(s), Beth Wagner (First Year Programs) for Best Co-Worker(s), Tom Gemignani and Ken Palosaari (CEE) for The "DNA" Award, Dan deBeaubien (IT-EERC) for Best Promotion of the Tech Family, Rosie Juntunen (Affirmative Programs) for Best Listener, Christine Williams (MEEM) for Outstanding Service to the Campus Community, Sherry Saarinen (College of Engineering) for Queen of Flight, Lynn Murphy, Kelly Wenberg and Denise Laux (Mathematical Sciences) for Most Helpful and Ninette Carlson, Allison Carter, Bruce Clark, Rochelle Danquah, Rob Forget, Robert Hale, Tamela Odom, Mark Provoast, Nancy Rehling, William Roberts, Kathryn Ross, Renata Sommerville, Debra Strieter and Diane Wareham (Admissions) for Press On Regardless.

8. TALK YOUR WAY TO ISLE ROYALE

MTU faculty and students are eligible to receive a free trip to Isle Royale in exchange for presenting public programs on regional or research topics for the Isle Royale Institute (IRI). By presenting on the national park ship the Ranger III you will receive round trip passage, a night's lodgin in atent structure and a chance to explain your research to the public. Approximately 100 programs are given to the public every year by IRI about research being conducted in the Lake Superior region. If you are interested in volunteering, contact Mark Gleason at gleason@mtu.edu.

9. NO HEAT NEXT WEEK

The Central Heating Plant will shut down for annual maintenance and CILIT work at 6 p.m. on Saturday, May 8, and expects to be back online at 3 p.m. Thursday, May 13.

Generally, this means no heat and no hot water in most areas. Also, distilled water from steam-driven stills may run out.

If you have any questions, contact Dave Taivalkoski at 487-2706 or detaival@mtu.edu

10. LIBRARY CLOSED MAY 8-12

Due to construction, the J. R. Van Pelt Library will be closed Saturday, May 8, through Wednesday, May 12. It is scheduled to open for business as usual on Thursday, May 13. We apologize for any inconvenience.

11. MEMORIAL UNION SEMESTER BREAK HOURS

The Memorial Union will have reduced operating hours May 8-16. Operations will be closed except for the times listed below:

Summer hours will begin May 17. For more information on the Memorial Union, visit http://www.aux.mtu.edu/ars/ .

12. TEACHING AT TECH: ENTERPRISE REVISITED

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

At the risk of once again sounding like some shameless huckster for the Enterprise program, I am compelled to report on a recent experience that I had while talking to two separate classes of senior engineering students. One group was composed of students involved in the senior design program and the other was a group of students involved in the Enterprise program.

In both cases, I was asked to talk about principles and techniques for producing quality oral communications in the workplace. I used the very same graphic images and covered the same points in both lecture/discussions.

In the course of these talks, I asked students a provocative question about their level of engagement in their college education to date. I said, "If you had it to do all over again, how many of you would have preferred to simply pay your tuition, avoid all these classes, this reading, and the homework and still receive a diploma that would make you competitive in the workplace?" In the senior design class, as in every other class in which I have posed this question, virtually every student raised their hand affirming they would prefer some shortcut. It is always a depressing moment for me. However, in the Enterprise section, only one of the students raised his hand in response to the question.

As in all cases of baseless inference, I recognize the difficulty of establishing causality especially when dealing with self-selected populations. In English this means that it is entirely possible that it is our most motivated, engaged students who choose to become involved in the Enterprise program rather than that the program itself causes students to suddenly value their educations. But, maybe not! Regardless, I couldn't help but notice how much more willing these Enterprise students were to speak up in class, to verbally joust with me (to little avail), and to become truly engaged in the material we were discussing.

I left that session wondering if we could somehow replicate Enterprise more broadly in all of our programs and then use the increased levels of student involvement and engagement to actually support the claim that we educate students who create the future.

In the end, each of us must find our own way of gaining entry into the hearts and minds of our students. Some instructors are compelling lecturers able to produce fertile learning environments that stimulate and engage a broad range of students. Others will have the most impact collaborating with others in designing experiential programs like Enterprise, designs that shift the primary responsibility for learning from teacher to student. Sage on the stage becomes guide on the side.

A colleague recently observed that many of the students that come to Tech are quite different from the students he taught 30 years ago. "Not better, not worse, just different," he said. I think that he is right.

The creativity and ingenuity of our instructional and support team will determine if "creating the future" will be seen as a hyperbolic marketing claim or an accurate description of a uniquely rich and compelling educational environment.

At the close of each year, I always reflect on the great privilege of interacting with such a talented and diverse group of colleagues. The Michigan Tech faculty and those who support our instructional mission (learning center folks, advisors, counselors, student services, staff, etc.) are truly what make this university really special. An exceptional university in an extraordinary place . . .

13. PRESENTATION ON PEACE CORPS IN NEPAL MAY 11

Recently returned Peace Corps member Sara Keinath will give a slide presentation about her two years in Nepal on Tuesday, May 11, at 7:30 p.m. in Dow 642. The program is sponsored by the Social Action Committee of the Keweenaw Unitarian Universalist Fellowship.

MTU NOTABLES

SBE Seniors Jaclyn Armbruster, Erin Gowler, Nicholas Rupp and Erin Schaller and juniors Amanda Bates, Amy Koski, Hannah Mongiat, Megan Pietila and Yan Xue were inducted into lifetime membership in Beta Gamma Sigma international business society at a ceremony held April 27. Only students ranking in the top seven percent of the junior class, top 10 percent of the senior class, and top 20 percent of master's programs at schools accredited by AACSB International--The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business are eligible for this invitation. While almost 300,000 students receive bachelor's or master's degrees in business each year, only about 20,000 are inducted into lifetime membership in Beta Gamma Sigma.

NEW FUNDING

Assistant Professor Andrew Storer (SFRES) has received a $287,572 award from the USDA Forest Service, Northeastern Area State and Private Forestry, for his project, "Michigan Statewide Trap-Tree Emerald Ash Borer Detection Survey 2004."

Professor Patrick Martin (Social Sciences) has received a $38,327 award from the National Park Service for his project, "Mapping the Coal Creek Historical District, Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve, Alaska."

IN PRINT

Professor Elizabeth A. Flynn (Humanities) is co-editor of a collection of essays, "Reading Sites: Social Difference and Reader Response," published recently by the Modern Language Association of America.

Stanley J. Dyl II, director of development and planning, A. E. Seaman Mineral Museum, wrote an article on the museum relocation project on Quincy Hill that was featured in the Spring 2004 edition of "Network News," the newsletter of the Michigan Historic Preservation Network.

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, May 7, 2004, at 1 p.m. through noon, Friday, May 14, 2004, in the Human Resources Office or at http://www.admin.mtu.edu/hro/postings/

Office Assistant 5--Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics (UAW internal and external posting)

University employees are reminded to apply in writing prior to noon, Friday, May 14, 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.