1. HARD TIMES FOR THE MOOSE OF ISLE ROYALE

It's been another tough year for the moose of Isle Royale National Park, the home of a 47-year study of predators and their prey.

As they battled summer heat, thick snowcover and a ferocious infestation of ticks, the number of moose on the Lake Superior island has dwindled from 1,100 in the winter of 2002-03 to 740 last year to the current 540.

"Moose numbers have been cut in half in the last three years," said Professor Rolf Peterson (SFRES), who has led the study of Isle Royale's wolves and moose for 35 years. "That's pretty remarkable."

Meanwhile, the moose's only predators on the island seem to be doing just fine. Last year, the wolf population jumped nearly 50 percent, from 19 in 2003 to 29 in 2004, and has held relatively steady this year at 30.

The 132,000-acre island has given scientists a rare chance to study the seesawing relationship between wolves and moose in a closed system. Moose emigrated to the island from Canada in the early 1900s, probably swimming the 20 miles or so from the mainland. With no predators to keep them in check, the moose thrived until they ran out of their winter forage, typically balsam fir. Then they starved in vast numbers. This feast-and-famine cycle was broken in the late 1940s, when wolves came to the island.

Since then, wolves have helped keep a lid on the moose numbers. However, both species have grappled with other challenges ranging from disease (parvovirus killed off most of the wolf population between 1980 and 1982) to hot summers to the current plague of ticks.

"Last summer, the average moose had lost over 70 percent of its body hair due to ticks," said Research Assistant Professor John Vucetich (SFRES), who has been involved in the Isle Royale study for about 10 years. "This is about twice the hair loss of just a few years ago. A moose with 70 percent hair loss could have been carrying in excess of 70,000 ticks during the winter and early spring."

A single moose can host several ticks per square inch, and each tick can suck up about a cubic centimeter of blood. Rather than feed, the moose scratch themselves against trees or bite their hair out trying to remove the parasites. Weight and blood loss may prove such a handicap that the moose don't survive the winter. (This particular species of tick doesn't pester humans; only moose at Isle Royale suffer their effects.)

The weakened moose are made doubly vulnerable in extra-snowy winters such as the last two, since they become mired in the deep snow and are easy prey for wolves.

"And underlying all their other problems is that Isle Royale is on a long, slow decline in terms of food for moose," Peterson said.

So far, the island's three wolf packs have been using the moose's hard times to their advantage. However, they could be riding the caboose of the gravy train.

"There were only 18 moose per wolf this year, the lowest ratio we've ever had," Vucetich said. That proportion is usually between 30 and 70 moose per wolf. On average, wolves may consume about seven moose a year apiece, so they could be eating themselves out of house and home. Or not. Their future has been difficult to predict.

"Can the wolves do it again?" Vucetich wonders. "Or will wolves take a huge hit next year because they're overextended?"

"There's no serious sign yet that wolves are running out of moose," Peterson notes. "The three packs aren't trespassing on each others territories when they hunt."

"The last time it seemed like moose were at the end of their rope, parvovirus came in and wiped out the wolves," he added. "We really haven't seen what wolves can do in this situation."

The study is funded by the National Park Service, the National Science Foundation and Earthwatch.

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2. NANO AT TECH: A MINOR THAT’S ANYTHING BUT

Next fall, Michigan Tech students will have a chance to think small. Very, very small.

The university is launching a new minor in nanotechnology, letting students in virtually all majors explore one of the hottest fields in science and engineering.

"It's about design on the same scale as nature," says John Jaszczak, an associate professor of physics. "The most complex design we know of is the biochemistry of life, and that is the scale of nanotechnology. We work at the molecular level."

"At the nanoscale, interesting things start to happen," says Bruce Seely, chair of the Department of Social Sciences. "Physical properties work differently. And that's where the excitement comes from."

Worldwide, scientists and engineers are beginning to build tiny structures, atom by atom, in fields ranging from defense to medicine. Because nanotechnology has such huge potential, with applications in engineering, the sciences, social sciences and the humanities, the minor is an excellent fit for students pursuing almost any bachelor's degree. In particular, students will be introduced to nanotechnology's societal and ethical implications, an aspect of the minor that's critical in a discipline with such revolutionary promise.

Students minoring in nanotechnology will co-op with MTU researchers probing nano frontiers in areas ranging from photonics to mechanical engineering.

"For years, there's been a push to build things smaller, faster and cheaper, and under the old way of doing things, we're running into barriers," Jaszczak said.

Seely agreed. "We need new ways of thinking. Nanotechnology is taking us there, and now Michigan Tech students can be part of it."

For more information on Michigan Tech's minor in nanotechnology, visit http://www.nano.mtu.edu or contact Seely (bseely@mtu.edu, 906-487-2113) or Jaszczak (jaszczak@mtu.edu, 906-487-2255).

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3. REGISTER FOR THE UNDERGRADUATE EXPO

Registration has begun for the 2005 Undergraduate Exposition. The Expo is scheduled for April 15 from 8 a.m.–5 p.m. in the Memorial Union Ballroom. It will provide an opportunity for undergraduate students to showcase their accomplishments in undergraduate research, Enterprise and senior design.

The Expo will not only serve as a means of showcasing the hard work of many of Michigan Tech's talented students, but also the quality of education that is made possible by the generous donations made by members of industry.

Student teams and/or advisors can register for the event by March 15 at http://www.doe.mtu.edu/expo/index.htm. For more information contact Mary Raber at 487-2005 or mraber@mtu.edu.

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4. SIX SLEDS COMPLETE CLEAN SNOWMOBILE CHALLENGE ENDURANCE RUN

Six sleds completed a 100-mile endurance run Tuesday, March 15, marking the official start of the 2005 SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge at Michigan Tech.

The University of Wisconsin at Madison, which won last year's Challenge with its unique gas-electric hybrid engine, completed the trek without a hitch. "It went great," said driver Dan Bocci. "The snowmobile performed just like we designed it to."

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.

Minnesota State University at Mankato, one of two sleds in the Challenge powered by 85 percent ethanol, finished the trail ride over Brockway Mountain and down to Copper Harbor. The team celebrated as the driver steered into the parking lot of the Mariner restaurant running on fumes. Alcohol fuel, though extra-clean burning, doesn't provide the mileage of the more conventional mix used by most snowmobiles at the Challenge, which contains only 15 percent ethanol.

The University of Maine, with its one-of-a-kind hood designed by student Kate Charles, also completed the run. The hood is a refinement of last year's model, which drew attention with its unconventional shape. Made in part of fiberglass and acoustical foam, the hood is super-light and helps buffer engine noise. "And we wanted it to be more esthetic than last year," Charles said.

Other teams finishing the endurance run were the State University of New York at Buffalo, Kettering University and Clarkson University.

"We had perfect conditions," said event organizer Jay Meldrum, director of the Keweenaw Research Center. "About half the sleds made it. We had lots of overheating problems, which is typical."

Overheating knocked out most of the other sleds, including Michigan Tech's, during the first part of the endurance run, a 50-mile ride around a driving track at the Keweenaw Research Center. They will have a chance to fix their sleds and make up the miles today (Wednesday).

McGill University's electric snowmobile did not compete in the endurance run, but impressed bystanders with it's near-silent, exhaust-free ride. "All you hear is track noise," said driver Olivier Proulx.

"The quiet is nice, but for me, the best part is the smell," team member Simon Ouellette said. "When you're driving, you can smell the pines in the woods."

Range is a problem, however. The McGill sled can only travel seven or eight miles.

Next year, there may be a separate category for emissions-free sleds. That would be fine with Nathan Hansen, a student from Utah State University, who is visiting the Challenge without the electric snowmobile he built in his garage. He hopes USU will throw its helmet in the Clean Snowmobile Challenge ring next year, preferably with an all-electric design. Though it's slightly heavier, the sled handles and rides like a typical snowmobile, he said. "And mine is so quiet it needs a horn," he says.

The competition continues through the week and winds up Saturday, March 19, with acceleration and handling events on the Keweenaw Research Center test track, near the Houghton County Memorial Airport.

The public is invited to come by and watch the sleds in action Saturday. The acceleration event starts at 10 a.m., with the handling event beginning at 11 a.m. and ending at noon. Visitors are advised to wear boots and, of course, warm clothing.

The public can also get a look at the snowmobiles and talk with student engineers later on Saturday at Michigan Tech. The entries will be on display outside the Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics Building from 2 to 4 p.m.

The 13 teams participating in the Challenge are Clarkson University in New York, Ecole de Technologie Superieure in Montreal, Kettering University in Flint, McGill University in Montreal, Michigan Tech, Minnesota State University at Mankato, Montana Tech, the State University of New York at Buffalo, the University of Alberta, the University of Idaho, the University of Maine, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Wisconsin-Platteville.

The SAE Clean Snowmobile Challenge is sponsored by the Keweenaw Research Center and Michigan Tech's Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics. For more information, visit http://www.mtu.edu/snowmobile.

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5. LEANN BECIA FAMILY/AFSCME SCHOLARSHIP AVAILABLE

One $250 Leeann Becia Family/AFSCME Scholarship is available for the 2005–06 academic year. Applicants must be full-time undergraduates in their first four years of study and the son, daughter or spouse of a current AFSCME Local 1166 member. Applications are available in the Financial Aid Office. Deadline for application submission is April 8.

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6. HUMANITIES TO HOST FEMINISM(S) AND RHETORIC(S) CONFERENCE

The Department of Humanities is hosting the fifth Biennial International Feminism(s) and Rhetoric(s) Conference: “Affirming Diversity” Oct. 5–8. Activities will include a poetry reading by keynote speaker Helena Viramontes, a faculty member of Cornell University’s English Department and a well-known poet. The poetry reading is free, and the public is encouraged to attend. Other keynote speakers will include Donna Haraway, Min-Zhan Lu, Andrea Abernethy Lunsford and Jacqueline Jones Royster.

The conference will showcase presentations by 21 featured speakers. In addition, there will be approximately 60 panel sessions exploring variation in the rhetorical strategies, language use and literacy and communication practices of women from different races, classes, cultures and historical eras. Deadline for proposals is April 1. For more information about submitting a proposal, to learn more about possible topics or to register for the conference, visit http://www.hu.mtu.edu/femsrhet or e-mail femsrhet@mtu.edu. For more information, contact the conference coordinator, Lori Witting, at lori@mtu.edu.

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7. GOT ART? UNIVERSITY CONDUCTING ART INVENTORY

Michigan Tech is conducting an inventory of all original art that is in the university's possession. Do you have in your back storage room, in the closet or some filing drawer artwork that belongs to Michigan Tech? It might be a piece of pottery, a carving, a sketch, an oil or watercolor. The university would like to know about it and perhaps include such art in a walking tour or help you to display that work in a place where all might enjoy it.

Inventory forms will be sent out to each unit. Please fill them out and return them promptly to Mary Ann Beckwith in the Department of Fine Arts.

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8. HISTORIC STAINED GLASS: PRESERVATION, REHABILITATION AND RECONSTRUCTION
Submitted by MTU Archives

Stained glass windows were a typical architectural feature at the turn of the 20th century for both modest homes and those built on a grander scale. Used in staircases, transoms, room dividers, built-in cabinet doors, and for borrowed light, these artistic windows were crafted for beauty as well as function.

Using examples in photographs, Abbey Green of Abbey Art Glass Studio will discuss the role that historic stained glass and architecture played in providing design, color and light in residential and community buildings. She will address the preservation challenges posed by rehabilitating stained glass, such as matching glass and color, slumping, cracking and dealing with poor repairs.

For the past several years, Green has been reconstructing the stairwell windows at the Laurium Manor Inn based on photographic documentation. She will describe the research and methods process that facilitated the restoration, and attendees will have the opportunity to view the work in progress. The presentation is free and open to the public and will take place at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 24, at the Laurium Manor Inn, located at 320 Tamarack St. between Third and Fourth Streets in Laurium.

This presentation is part of the "Fourth Thursday in History" program jointly sponsored by Keweenaw National Historical Park and the MTU Archives and Copper Country Historical Collections. Additional support for this event is provided by the Laurium Manor Inn and Abbey Art Glass Studio.

For more information, including specific directions to this event, contact the MTU Archives at 487-2505.

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9. FORUM MARCH 24 ON GRAD DEAN SEARCH

The Graduate Dean Search Committee will host a public forum Thursday, March 24, from 5 to 6 p.m., to discuss the position description for the dean of the graduate school. A draft of the position description is available at http://www.me.mtu.edu/~mhmiller/GradDeanPositionDescription.htm

Written comments may be directed to Michele Miller (mhmiller@mtu.edu) or any member of the search committee.

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10. TEACHING AT TECH: ENGINEERING TEACHING TIPS
by William Kennedy, director of the Center for Teaching, Learning and Faculty Development

Along with providing an online version of their generally excellent textbook* on teaching engineering, Phillip Wankat and Frank Oreovicz recently offered these 10 suggestions for increasing interest and engagement in the undergraduate engineering classroom.** Many of these suggestions have to do with building a connection with students and encouraging them to more vigorously engage with their studies. Here's an abbreviated listing of their top 10.

1) At the beginning of each course, distribute a list of the course's educational objectives to the students. The list should clearly inform students what accomplishing each of the objectives will enable them to do. Some objectives are complete unto themselves while others prepare students for mastery of material in future courses. Students try harder when they know "why."

2) Teach inductively, deriving general principles only after building a body of understanding from considering carefully developed examples. Our teacherly tendencies of identifying a complex and lengthy set of general principles and then attempting to fix them through working problem sets is counter-intuitive and requires patience and delayed gratification beyond the reach of many students.

3) Divide lectures into shorter segments separated by related activity breaks.

4) Get students doing something other than sitting passively during these activity breaks. Employ brainstorming, encourage groups of students to develop exam questions, work a case study or discuss answers to a conceptual question.

5) Openly share your enthusiasm for the subject matter. Enthusiasm is contagious. Sometimes we have to fight the feeling that we're like the poor person running the amusement park ride for the 10 jillionith time. We must always remind ourselves that for each class of students, it's their first time.

6) Learn student names and use them often. Use the photo rosters or some other device to learn names quickly. Some teachers employ "desk tents" with the student's name boldly printed on each side. They pass them out and then collect them at the end of each class as a painless means of taking attendance and discouraging late arrivals and early departures.

7) Try to come to class early and stay late. Some students will take the opportunity to connect with you if they see you out in the hallway before class begins or lingering in or near the classroom for a few minutes after class.

8) Encourage students to spend more time on task. Encourage them to study homework in groups and to work on projects outside of class.

9) Eliminate time as a variable on exam day. Either shorten the test or lengthen the testing period if you routinely find some students simply running out of time on exams. The general rule is that a class of students needs twice or three times the amount of time to complete a test as it would for the instructor to take the test her/himself.

10) After the first tests are handed back, ask students what you can do to help them to learn the course material more effectively. Have them share their ideas with you on 3x5 cards so that they can remain anonymous. Follow up on some of the suggestions that you can then incorporate into the class.

*https://engineering.purdue.edu/ChE/News_and_Events/Publications/teaching_engineering/index.html
**ASEE Prism, Sept. 2004, Vol. 14, No. 1

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11. FREE NOONTIME CONCERTS AT THE ROZSA

Mid-Day at the Rozsa, a series of free concerts in the Rozsa Center Lobby, will be presented March 21–25 beginning at noon each day. Sponsored by the Department of Fine Arts and the Rozsa Center, the concerts feature outstanding student musicians including the Keweenaw Brass, Five Percent Skill Percussion Ensemble, the R&D Jazz Band, the jazz combo Horizon and a variety of ensembles featuring French horns, piano, clarinets, flutes and brass. Light refreshments will be available for purchase from noon to 1 p.m.

"This is a wonderful opportunity to relax in the Rozsa Lobby and hear some of our truly remarkable student musicians," says fine arts chair Milton Olsson. Campus and community members are welcome to attend any portion of the informal concerts. 

The Mid-Day series is an annual event providing an informal concert venue for students who regularly engage in music-making outside the fine arts department's large musical ensembles. Fine arts faculty mentor these groups, but the small ensembles are primarily student-led. The groups sometimes write and perform their own repertoire. For students pursuing minors in music, Mid-Day is an opportunity to present a capstone project.

The schedule for Mid-Day at the Rozsa this year includes Keweenaw Brass on Monday, March 21; Five Percent Skill and flutes on Tuesday, March 22; R&D Band and Horizon on Wednesday, March 23; piano and French horn groups on Thursday, March 24; and clarinet and brass ensembles on Friday, March 25.

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12. STELLAR JAZZ AT THE ROZSA

If you love those timeless jazz standards—”Love Me or Leave Me,” “Do I Love You,” “Over the Rainbow,” “My Foolish Heart” and others—you'll love Jane Monheit. She breathes new life into these timeless American classics, and although she's been compared to her idol Ella Fitzgerald, her interpretations are all her own. She's an established star on the international jazz scene and a sensational standout in a crowded field of young attractive jazz vocalists. Accompanied by her stellar quartet, this extraordinary artist will be gracing the Rozsa stage for one performance only on Saturday, March 19, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are on sale at the Rozsa Center Box Office (487-3200, Monday-Friday, 11:30 a.m.–5 p.m. or online at http://www.tickets.mtu.edu). The box office will also be open at noon on the day of the show.

Monheit falls in love every time she sings. "I'm just singing the most beautiful songs I know in the most sincere way," she says, as critics fall over themselves heaping enthusiastic praise on her perfect delivery of classic jazz standards and reinterpretations of pop and folk. "I think people are responding to the beauty of the music, and to my attempt to tell the truth," she explains.

Monheit's voice is wonderfully lush and silky, with perfect pitch and timing, delicate phrasing and an uncanny ability to capture the meaning and essence of a song with her smooth sexy singing style. She sets a particularly tender mood for Gershwins's “Embraceable You,” a special transcendent other-worldliness in “Over the Rainbow” and floats a lively bossa nova beat on “In the Still of the Night.” She's a traditional stylist who delves deep into these treasured American standards by striking just the right balance between the straight-ahead melodies and the rich complexity of jazz.

A graduate of the Manhattan School of music, Monheit was first runner-up in the Thelonious Monk Institute Vocal Competition in her senior year, and was the youngest person ever to hold that distinction in the history of the competition. She went on to record with jazz notables such as Kenny Barron, Ron Carter, Lewis Nash, Bucky Pizzarelli and Hank Crawford. Her first album, “Never Never Land,” was released shortly after her graduation. The album spent over a year among Billboard's top 10 jazz albums and was named "Best Recording Debut" by the Jazz Journalists Association. Monheit, now a Sony recording artist, has recorded three albums and a live DVD and has toured extensively in North America and Europe.

Monheit's visit to Michigan Tech is made possible by funding from the Katherine M. Bosch Endowment and coordinated by the MTU Great Events Series Office (487-2844). This project is supported by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs.

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13. LATE ADDITION TO THE GREAT EVENTS SEASON: ZYDECO

If you're nostalgic for some warm rays as this U.P. winter drags on, you'll find them at the Rozsa on Saturday, April 2, when Geno Delafose and French Rockin' Boogie bring to the Copper Country real hot-stuff zydeco, the true "four-pepper," feel-good kind of music straight from Southwest Louisiana's bayou country. The show is a late addition to the Great Events Season, and tickets are now on sale for the 2 p.m. matinee and the 7:30 p.m. performance. Tickets are available from the Rozsa Center Box Office (487-3200, Monday-Friday, 11:30 a.m.–5 p.m.) or online at http://www.tickets.mtu.edu.

Geno Delafose and French Rockin' Boogie are the masters of traditional zydeco, conjuring up their own rich blend of R&B, Cajun, country, blues and zydeco, the popular music of the Creoles or black Francophones, who have lived alongside the Cajuns for centuries. Geno sings in French and English and plays the single-row and triple-row diatonic button accordions for more traditional, French-style tunes, and changes to piano accordion for pounding out contemporary zydeco. The band includes Geno's cousin, Germaine Jack, on drums, rhythm guitarist Charles Prudhomme, rubboard or frittoir phenomenon Steven Nash, bassist Pops Espre and Bobby Brouscard on lead guitar. The sound is infectious; the energetic rhythms of zydeco and Cajun music make it hard to keep your feet still.

The visit of Geno Delafose is sponsored by the James and Margaret Black Endowment and coordinated by the MTU Great Events Series Office (487-2844). This event is supported by the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs.

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14. MITEL CEO TO TALK ON ENTREPRENEURSHIP MARCH 24

Don Smith, the CEO of Mitel, will give a talk on entrepreneurship Thursday, March 24, at 7 p.m. in M&M U115. His talk is free and open to the public.

Mitel Networks Corporation, based in Ottawa, is a global provider of enterprise and small business communications services.

Smith began his career at Mitel in the 1970s after eight years at BT Research Labs in the U.K., and in 1981 was named executive vice president with global responsibility for sales and marketing. He left the company to become president of AIT Corporation, took AIT public in 1986, and in 1996 founded and became president and CEO of Cambrian Systems Corporation.

Nortel Networks acquired Cambrian in 1998, and Smith was named vice president and general manager of OPTera Solutions and later president of Nortel's Optical Internet Solutions.

He returned to Mitel in 2001 as CEO and is responsible for the company's IP telephony market, devising and executing business strategies and corporate policies, and overseeing Mitel's global operations.

Calling himself "a reformed engineer," Smith is a BSc. Engineering Graduate of Imperial College in London.

Smith’s visit is sponsored by the School of Technology. For more information, contact James Cross, jcross@mtu.edu, 487-3544.

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15. DISTINGUISHED ALUMNUS TO VISIT AND GIVE SEMINAR

Emmanuel Nzewi, professor of Civil Engineering at North Carolina A&T University, will be giving a seminar, “Multipurpose Reservoir Systems Operation,” on Thursday, March 24, at 11 a.m. in M&M U115.

Nzewi received a B.S. in Civil Engineering from MTU in 1980, and then earned M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from Purdue University. At North Carolina A&T, Nzewi has been active in the Waste Management Institute, and he helped to establish a new interdisciplinary program in geomatics, which incorporates modern remote sensing and geographic information systems (GIS) technologies into civil engineering and surveying programs. Nzewi also conducts research in civil engineering systems analysis and water resources planning and management, with recent funded projects including the design and implementation of a web-based GIS road closure information system and a student internship program to support GIS research and education.

Nzewi’s visit is hosted by the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and the surveying program in the School of Technology. He will visiting March 22–24 and will be available at other times to meet with students, staff and faculty. For more information or to meet with Nzewi, contact David Watkins at 487-1640 or dwatkins@mtu.edu.

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16. SOUP AND SUBSTANCE PRESENTATION THURSDAY

Theresa Coleman-Kaiser will be presenting the Memorial Union expansion plans on Thursday, March 17, in Memorial Union Ballroom A. A free lunch that includes Wisconsin cheese soup, salad, bread sticks, cookies and lemonade will be available to the first 50 participants. Serving begins at 11:45 a.m., with the presentation following at 12:05 p.m. RSVP to Pete Pelissero at pjpeliss@mtu.edu or 487–1963.

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17. PHYSICS COLLOQUIUM MARCH 24

John M. Ginder from the Department of Physical and Environmental Sciences of the Research and Advanced Engineering division of the Ford Motor Company will present a physics colloquium, "Magnetorheological Materials,” Thursday, March 24, at 4 p.m., in Fisher 139.

Magnetorheological materials possess mechanical or rheological properties that can be controlled by magnetic fields. In this talk, he will discuss some of the measurements, models and proof-of-concept hardware they have developed toward implementing this technology. Ginder earned his PhD from Ohio State University. Currently, Ginder is a technical leader in research and advanced engineering at the Ford Motor Company in Dearborn. His current research interests include automotive applications of nanomaterials, “smart” materials and electromagnetic phenomena. He is an author or co-author of over 60 papers and co-inventor of more than 20 patents. For more information, contact Yoke Khin Yap (ykyap@mtu.edu, 487-2900) or Ranjit Pati (patir@mtu.edu, 487-3193).

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18. TALK FRIDAY: TECHNOLOGY MISMANAGEMENT AND NEW PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT

Technology expert James Lenz will give a talk, "Corporate America and the Mismanagement of Technology," on Friday, March 18, from 10 to 11 a.m. in Fisher 139. The talk is free and open to the public. Students are invited to a question-and-answer session immediately afterward in Fisher 101.

Lenz, whose 25-year career in technology development includes stints with Boeing, Honeywell, the University of Minnesota and John Deere, will discuss business practices over a 20-year period at Honeywell. He identifies four general eras: "When Engineers Run the Company," "When MBAs Run the Company," "When Corporate Runs the Company" and "When Wall Street Runs the Company." The type of new products the company introduced and their success—or lack thereof—were directly related to the business practices at the time, he says.

Throughout his career, Lenz has been involved in the development of more than 100 new products. He presents seminars and short courses on the tension between traditional business practices, engineering management and high tech during the product development process.

He has published more than 40 articles on technology and technology management and has recently completed an e-book, "What Precedes the S-Cure: Handbook for Managing New Product Development."

For more information, contact James Frendewey, jimf@mtu.edu, 487-2139. Lenz’s visit is sponsored by the School of Business and Economics.

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19. COMPUTER SCIENCE SEMINAR FRIDAY

Mary Lou Soffa, Owen R. Cheatham professor and chair of the computer science department at Virginia University will give a seminar, "Developing a Foundation for Code Optimization," on Friday, March 18, at 3 p.m. in Rekhi Hall 214. The seminar is sponsored by the Visiting Women & Minority Lecturer/Scholar Series.

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20. TENNIS ANYONE?
Submittied by the Benefits Office

“Tennis Anyone?” is the topic of the next lunch and learn sponsored by the Benefits Office in cooperation with Keweenaw Memorial Medical Center. The lunch and learn will be held on Thursday, March 24, from noon to 1 p.m., in Memorial Union Ballroom A. The presenters will be Terry Smythe, fitness director at Keweenaw Memorial Rehab & Fitness Centers, and Kevin Kalinec, assistant manager of Recreation at Michigan Tech.

If you have never played tennis and would like to learn, or if you are a former or occasional tennis player, then please join Terry and Kevin on Thursday. They will give an introduction to tennis, will review a few basics, then sign you up for some real tennis lessons at the Gates Tennis Center.

The lunch and learn is free and open to the Michigan Tech community, including students. Bring your lunch—water and beverages will be provided. Show your BCBSM ID card, group 55248, and win some great prizes.