September 1, 2000, Vol. 32, No. 46
Tompkins Talks with University Senate
Michigan Tech Receives $15 Million in Design Engineering Technology
Anderson Receives First Distinguished Service Award
Dow Corning Provides Fellowship at MTU
Forum on Fringe Benefit Cost Recovery
MTU General Fund Budget Set at $102.1M
Welcome Back! Here's What Happened While You Were Out . . .
Solomon New Conflict of Interest Coordinator
No Tech Tea Times Till October 18
Teaching at Tech: An Early Dose of Reality
Time to Get in the Swing
Sign Up for CPDQI Fall Workshops
New Staff
MTU Notables
Proposals in Progress
In Print
Job Postings
Bill Curnow, director, University Relations
Marcia Goodrich, Tech Topics editor
Gail Sweeting, electronic marketing assistant
Information to be included in Tech Topics should be submitted to the Tech Topics editor in one of the following ways:
By electronic mail--send information to ttopics@mtu.edu
By interdepartmental mail--send double-spaced, typed copies to the attention of Tech Topics editor, University Relations.
Each week, the deadline for submitting information is Friday at 5:00 p.m. for the following Friday distribution.
News (Back to Contents)
Tompkins Talks with University Senate
Speaking before the University Senate August 30, President Curt Tompkins pledged to improve relations with the senate and reviewed some key issues facing Michigan Tech.
"I need to work on improving communication on campus; not just communication, but understanding," he said. To that end, Tompkins said he and other top administrators will attend the senate's September 13 meeting to discuss their activities and answer questions. And, despite a grueling itinerary that often keeps him out of town, he said he would try "to be here when you want me."
Tompkins noted that, while the senate and the administration have had their differences, they were able to reach agreement "about 85 percent" of the time. "I still want a strong senate," he said.
In addition to the senate's contribution to the University, Tompkins stressed the importance of overall participation in MTU affairs. "You took advantage of the opportunity to be involved as a member of the senate," he said. "But we need to increase the participation rate across campus." Noting that few faculty and staff attended the open forums sponsored by the Strategic Planning Committee, he said, "I need your advice on increasing participation in a meaningful way."
Tompkins said the strategic planning process is working reasonably well and asked for senate input. "We want to have a budget based on the strategic plan," he said, which will require looking forward a few years. "Last year, we balanced the budget and were able to fund carry-forwards," he said. "But we need to look forward to commitments made for upcoming years," to assure that the University is prepared to fund those programs. The biomedical engineering program, founded by a Whitaker Foundation grant, is a case in point. And the recent $15 million donation of CAD/CAM/CAE equipment from the PACE consortium implies a commitment to distance education which could eventually require an $8 million capital investment, he said.
Senator Michael Roggemann (Electrical and Computer Engineering) asked about the University's commitment to rise in the Carnegie standings. Tompkins said that, all things being equal, MTU should ignore the Carnegie rankings and simply focus on what's best for the institution. However, since the state government is using the Carnegie rankings to justify a tier system that could hurt MTU in the pocketbook, the rankings could have a significant impact. The current classifications are based solely on the number and variety of doctoral degrees granted, and not on research funding, which puts MTU in the Doctoral/ResearchÑIntensive category, along with Oakland and Central Michigan universities. The University of Michigan, Michigan State, Wayne State, and Western are in the more-prestigious Doctoral/ResearchÑExtensive category.
Because MTU receives more state funding than the other Doctoral/ResearchÑIntensive schools, it could conceivably suffer in the scramble for state support. To boost the University into the Doctoral/ResearchÑExtensive category, MTU should be granting PhDs in twenty fields, Tompkins said. "That's pretty ambitious," he admitted, but it would provide a cushion. The requirements for inclusion in the Doctoral/ResearchÑExtensive group are 15 fields and 50 degrees awarded annually. MTU currently offers PhD degrees in 13 fields, with about 30 degrees awarded annually.
In other business, the senate
• voted unanimously on a voice vote to ask Tompkins to include a senate representative on the search committee for a new senior vice president for advancement and marketing. The proposed representative will be chosen at the next senate meeting, on September 13.
• referred the search procedures for University administrators to the Administrative Policy Committee for revisions.
• received tentative committee assignments and approved meeting dates for the 2000Ð01 academic year.
Michigan Tech Receives $15 Million in Design Engineering Technology from Corporate Partnership
In a few years, Michigan Tech's engineering graduates who enter the auto industry will be up to speed on the latest design engineering software, thanks to a $15 million gift to the University from four corporate partners.
General Motors, Unigraphics Solutions, Sun Microsystems, and Electronic Data Systems have teamed up to form Partners for the Advancement of CAD/CAM/CAE Education. PACE is donating fifty-five Sun workstations and Unigraphics software, plus technical support, to train mechanical engineering students to use the latest in computerized 3D design engineering technology.
"A new vehicle is introduced every twenty-eight days," GM's engineering director, Harvey Bell, said August 30 at Michigan Tech. "We need design engineers from top technical institutions who can hit the ground running." The PACE gift will give students the skills they need to be successful in industry, he said.
"I sincerely believe the students will be the biggest beneficiaries," said Thomas Wellinger of Unigraphics, the principal manager of GM Account Management. "Michigan Tech students will have access to the tools and curricula to succeed in the global marketplace. . . . I wish I were twenty years younger; when I was in school, I thought my calculator was high-tech."
Voss Theodoracatos, supervisor of CAD/CAM training at GM, gave a demonstration of the Unigraphics software, projecting a 3D image of a chartreuse car door with a magenta window onto a screen. He removed a virtual part, altered it, and replaced it in the door, and then made a door panel transparent to show how the parts fit together. He also illustrated how the software analyzes the effects of a variety of stresses on components.
"We can slice and dice parts," he said, and try to pinpoint and fix any weaknesses, even before a prototype is made. Unigraphics software wouldn't necessarily have prevented the Challenger disaster, he said, but it does allow engineers to better find out what went wrong and "to get as close to Nature as possible" in understanding the properties and potential flaws in engineered parts.
"Our students are excited about this technology," ME-EM department chair William Predebon said. "By the end of the first year, they will be able to create 3D models." Professor Carl Vilmann (ME-EM) said that students completing a year's training on Unigraphics software should be able to find summer jobs that enable them to use and refine their skills.
President Curt Tompkins noted that the PACE partnership is particularly significant in that GM is by far the largest employer of Michigan Tech graduates, with 1,400 alumni on staff. In addition, the gift will allow the University to expand its distance learning education at GM sites around the globe.
Michigan Tech is the fourth university to receive a PACE donation. Universities are selected based on a long-term relationship with GM, a strong product-development and manufacturing curriculum, and their willingness to provide distance learning to students at GM facilities.
"We're looking forward to our role as a full academic partner with the enhanced capability of providing a highly skilled candidate pool of full-service engineers for GM and all the PACE partners," Tompkins said.
Other participating institutions include Michigan State University; Instituto Poletecnico Nacional in Ticoman, Mexico; and the Instituto de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey, in Tuluca, Mexico.
Michigan Tech's first Distinguished Service Award will honor a faculty member for his contributions to student life and learning outside the classroom. Associate Professor Carl Anderson, the director of undergraduate studies and associate chair of the ME-EM department, will receive the award at President's Convocation on September 20.
Anderson became the faculty advisor for the MTU student branch of the Society of Automotive Engineers in 1992, when Michigan Tech was participating in only one student design competition, the SAE Midwest MiniBaja. Since then, he has created the FormulaSAE, Women's MiniBaja, and the FutureCar (now FutureTruck) Challenge teams, as well as the Clean Snowmobile Challenge. Anderson has served as advisor to all of them, and is currently advisor of the Snowmobile Challenge group. He's also received the SAE Outstanding Faculty Advisor Award twice, in 1993 and 1997, and spearheaded the Engineering Enterprise program.
Ê"It's amazing the effort and excitement he brings to these projects," said PhD student Scott Miers (ME-EM), who leads the Snowmobile Challenge team and nominated Anderson for the Distinguished Service Award. "He's there on Saturdays, he wants to go out on snowmobile rides, but he doesn't lead too much. He puts a foundation down and steps back a little."
Vice President for Finance and Administration Bill McGarry, who has been an avid cheerleader for Tech's SAE student teams, agrees. "Carl advises and consults, but he doesn't run the projects. He allows the students to do their thing, which is the essence of the educational process."
After all these years, Anderson is still in awe of the learning that occurs in teams. "There is magic in it," Anderson said. "When I first started teaching, for ten years I taught to the A students, and I don't think I ever reached that back row. But when I got involved in SAE, I discovered a whole other kind of student."
Employers began discovering them as well, as MTU students began to succeed in the SAE design competitions. Snowmobile companies have hired two students on the Snowmobile Challenge team, while five of the six graduating members of last year's FutureTruck team were recruited by GM.
Ê"As we built up this program, we realized that these were the students that industry hired first," Anderson said. "It's not false modesty to say that students run everything. I'm not a formula car expert, but the students become that. The best part of being a faculty advisor is that you don't have to do anything."
Well, sometimes you do. McGarry recalls one FutureCar competition in Dearborn that he visited after attending a Board of Control meeting downstate. "My lasting impression of Carl was at the Ford proving grounds," he said. "Carl had literally been with the team all week, spending fourteen-hour days at the track and living with them at the motel. He was also advising several graduate students that summer and trying to keep track of their progress by telephone when there was a break in the competition. Putting in the long hours in the sun was turning Carl to toast, so I did my part. I left my hat with Carl."
Anderson continues to be impressed by the work ethic of his students. "Nothing is perfect; things break," he said. "I have seen some schools at these competitions give up and sit back and watch. But the Michigan Tech teams are out in the parking lot, welding at midnight. They never give up.
"Last year, in Jackson Hole, our snowmobile broke a crankshaft in the Clean Snowmobile Challenge," he recalled. "Everybody thought we were out of it, but the students changed engines and won the world championship in the hill climb. That's typical of what Michigan Tech teams can do. They just shine."
Distinguished Service Award recipients are selected by the provost based on the recommendation of the Faculty Distinguished Service Award Committee using procedures adopted by the University Senate. The award includes a $2,500 cash prize.
Dow Corning
Provides Fellowship at MTU
Submitted by the News Bureau
The Dow Corning Foundation has provided $20,000 to Michigan Tech to establish the Dow Corning Fellowship in Advanced Materials. The fellowship will support graduate and senior-level undergraduate students working under the direction of Professor Ravi Pandey (Physics).
The fellowship is initially provided for one year to support students in the area of computational modeling of advanced electronic materials. University officials are exploring ways to implement the fellowship on a permanent basis.
"With this fellowship, Dow Corning is expanding its traditional academic sponsorship role into new, increasingly important areas that can be described as the 'physics of the silicon bond,'" said Pandey. "The fellowship is intended to enable the transfer of concepts between chemical synthesis, physical models of molecules, and the properties of materials derived from these."
Pandey said the gift will also provide Dow Corning with access to young, motivated scientists with an interest in silicon-containing materials and with training in general physics as well as in material-specific scientific methods of investigation.
Forum on Fringe Benefit Cost Recovery
The University Senate will sponsor an open forum on fringe benefit rates and how they are determined on Thursday, September 7, from noon to 1:30 p.m. in the Memorial Union Alumni Lounge.
The Fringe Benefits Cost Recovery Committee wants to gain input on the issues of competitiveness, fairness, and consistency with MTU's goals and its fringe benefit rate recovery structure. All interested faculty and staff are welcome You can visit the Web site for the Fringe Benefit Cost Recovery Planning Committee at <www.admin.mtu.edu/hro/fringe/index.html>.
Teaching
at Tech:
An Early Dose of Reality
By William Kennedy, director, Center for Teaching, Learning, and Faculty
Development
Based on our recent history, about 40 percent of the entering class will find themselves on academic probation for at least one term during their first year at MTU. For almost everyone of these students, being placed on probation by flunking one or more classes will come as a shock. Some will see academic probation as a wake-up call and will set about changing the way they manage their time and approach their studies. Sadly, more will succumb to despair and disappointment, disengaging from their studies and ultimately leaving the University without completing their degrees.
Early evidence suggests that MTU's extensive and creative student orientation program, which repeatedly warns students of the probability of an approaching freight train, appears to be reducing the percentage of students on probation. Early tough-love, experimental, instructional approaches that require student attendance in class, mandatory study sections, and intensive instruction in small sections appear to have had little effect in improving student success rates in foundation courses with traditionally high failure rates.
Survey information collected from our incoming classes provides some tantalizing hints as we try to understand the genesis of the problem. Ninety-three percent of our 1998 entering class reported having high school grade point averages of B or better; 28 percent of the males and 43 percent of the female matriculants reported an A average in high school. Eighty-one percent of the 1998 entering class considered themselves in the top 10 percent of students graduating from high school in terms of overall academic ability. Seventy-three percent rated themselves in the top 10 percent in math ability.
Now balance these self-perceptions with another series of sobering self-reports garnered from our first-year students. When asked how many hours per week they studied in their senior year of high school, 17 percent of our first-year students said they studied less than one hour per week! Thirty-five percent of our students said they studied less than two hours per week during their senior year!
It seems clear that many of our students come to the University with the idea that they will continue to be all A students, just as they were in high school, with a very minimal expenditure of time and energy. We need to ask ourselves, "What is going to happen to these students when they begin flunking semester-length courses, finding themselves on probation?" I predict that their shock, disappointment, disengagement, and their potential for attrition will increase.
A possible solution? As a faculty, we need to clearly lay out what we expect from our first-year students in terms of work and time commitments. We should reinforce that talk with an early, rigorous assessment (test, quiz, or paper) to provide at-risk students with a bright flash of reality before it's too late.
There is nothing sadder than watching a student struggle to recover from academic failure, especially when those failures occur in key areas that are the foundation for success in succeeding courses. Our message should be, "Welcome to Michigan Tech. We're very glad you're here. Now let's get to work."
MTU General
Fund Budget Set at $102.1M
By Interim Provost Stephen Bowen
Now that revenues from tuition and the state are essentially finalized, we have been able to set Michigan Tech's general fund budget for FY2001 at $102,076,000. This includes a total of $3,779,000 in new investments to increase salaries and wages, to sustain our current programs and initiatives, and to fill gaps in the previous year's base budgets. The overall goal for this year's budget is to meet our current needs while providing a solid foundation as we move forward with our strategic plan in the next budget cycle.
Perhaps the single most important improvement over previous budgets is that we have funded positive "carry forwards," fiscal-year-end balances that are transferred to the next fiscal year. All year-end balances have been carried forward, except in three instances where accumulated allocations and revenues were clearly out of balance with needs. In addition, we have filled gaps in personnel budgets that, in some cases, had gone unresolved for years. Direct allocations for most Supplies, Services, and Equipment budgets (SS&E) will remain level, but a few units had either unfunded mandates or new responsibilities that had to be addressed. Moving the Department of Fine Arts into the Rosza Center is an example. The School of Business and Economics needed more help with professional development as they approach their inaugural AACSB accreditation review. Most academic departments will receive significant SS&E supplements as a result of their participation in the new first-year seminar, Perspectives on Inquiry.
New expenditures to which we committed several years ago are now due as we sustain our growth in biomedical engineering, computer engineering, and computer science. Consistent with our long-term emphasis on building graduate enrollment, we have provided general fund support for up to 75 new graduate student assistantships. Many of these are to help departments with curriculum transitions and will not be permanent. The library acquisitions budget will be incremented 10 percent.
Administrative aides will receive their worksheets from the Budget Office during the week of September 5.
Welcome Back! Here's What Happened While You Were Out . . .
Lots happened last summer at Michigan Tech. Here are a few of the highlights from past editions of Tech Topics. If you want to read the whole story, you can access back issues at <http://www.sas.it.mtu.edu/urel/ttopics/textfiles/>.
• The Board of Control approved
the strategic plan and passed a resolution in support of a University Senate
referendum calling for better communication and accountability from the administration.
It also approved a number of academic promotions. (May 26 Tech Topics)
• The new Houghton Community Health Center opened at the SDC. (June
9)
• A former Distinguished Teaching Award winner, Professor John
Sutherland (ME-EM) won the Research Award. And former Research Award winner
Marty Jurgensen, a professor in the School of Forestry and Wood Products,
won the DTA. Most everyone thought this was the first time anyone had won both
awards (albeit not in the same year), but it turns out that Professor Emeritus
D. O. Wyble had also received the dual honor. Assistant Professor Dean
Johnson (SBE) also received a 2000 Distinguished Teaching Award. The rules
for using purchasing cards changed over the summer; monthly limits and the limits
on individual purchases were raised. (June 16)
• Dave Nordstrom, manager of SDC building operations; Office
and Accounting Assistant Peggy Gorton (Mining Engineering); and David
Hendrickson, the Administration Building custodian, all received Employee
Excellence Awards. The MTU
team came in eighth in the FutureTruck competition (its transmission
got toasted by a technician) but won the Spirit of the Challenge and Best Use
of Advanced Technology awards. Kanwal
and Ann Rekhi gave $5 million to support the planned Center for Integrated
Learning and Information Technology. (June 23)
• Kent Wray accepted the position of provost and senior vice
president for academic and student affairs. The state gave MTU a 5 percent increase
in appropriations, plus one-time funding of 3 percent, less than anticipated
when the budget was approved in May. Michigan Tech became the first university
in the world to offer Sun Ray computing appliances in the residence halls. (June
30)
• The Board of Control raised tuition 4 percent instead of the anticipated
3 percent because of lower-than-expected state funding. (July 14)
• We got a news-ier home page; you can buy MTU license plates to benefit
the University. (July 21)
• Vice Provost for Research and Dean of the Graduate School Sung
Lee announced his retirement, effective August 31. (July 28)
• The second phase of the strategic plan is under way; students will
have more parking places this fall. (August 4)
• The Board of Control heard good news on enrollment, the Leaders
for Innovation Capital Campaign, and University finances. Senior Vice President
for Advancement and Marketing John Sellars announced his upcoming departure,
effective December 31. (August 11)
• Dean of Sciences and Arts Max Seel announced the appointment
of Professor Beverly Baartmans (Mathematical Sciences) as interim chair
of the Department of Education, Professor Pushpa Murthy as interim chair
of the Department of Chemistry, and Lt. Colonel John Casserino as chair
of Air Force ROTC. Michigan Tech has an extraordinary Great Events series this
year, celebrating the Rozsa Performing Arts Center's inaugural season. (August
18)
• Professor Francis Otuonye (Mining Engineering) got a $1.5
million NSF grant to start Teachers' Earth Science Institutes at MTU. (August
25)
Solomon New Conflict of Interest Coordinator
Associate Professor Barry Solomon is Michigan Tech's new conflict of interest coordinator as of September 1.
You can mail forms the coordinator
needs to sign to Solomon in Social Sciences or drop them by his office, Academic
Office 224. He may be reached via e-mail,
telephone, 487-1791; his fax is 487-2468.
Michigan Tech has an e-mail list that offices and departments can use to reach the far reaches of the University community.
The All Departments List, aka alldepts-l, was developed to cut down on the number of paper memos being sent by departments and thus save them some money.
Here's how it works. Say your department wants to get the word out about something University-related, such as a new policy or a file cabinet it wants to unload. Send an e-mail message to alldepts. Try to format it like you would a memo (e.g., To: All Faculty and Staff, From: Mary Peters, University Relations, Re: MTU Policy on Not Wearing White Shoes After Labor Day, etc.)
Your message goes to the alldepts-l list managers in University Relations. Do not, under pain of being yelled at, e-mail your alldepts-l messages to an individual alldepts-l manager. If that person is sick or on an extended vacation to visit her mother in Sacramento, then your message will languish in their In box till they get back. And nobody will find out about your very important happening, whatever it is.
Once the list manager forwards your message to the alldepts-l list, it goes to at least one powerful, key person in every department (usually a department secretary or coordinator) who can then decide what to do with it. For instance, if this person knows that no one in their department will ever buy a Beanie Baby from the Campus Store or attend your seminar on thin film epitaxy, they'll probably trash the relevant alldepts-l memo you sent. But if your message involves, say, a party and free food, it might get forwarded to everyone.
If you want to make sure you get
all the alldepts-l messages no matter what your department alldepts-l contact
person does, you can become a member of the list yourself. Just send a message
to majordomo and type
Some restrictions apply, and they do get enforced by the list managers, so don't say we didn't warn you. Only departments or offices can use alldepts-l. This means no committees, official or otherwise, and no student groups can use the list. Also, except for rare exceptions, alldepts-l is to be used only to notify the University community of an MTU-related event or occurrence that folks might want to act upon. It's not just to pass on news. For instance, it's OK to announce your upcoming server meltdown or fat-measuring clinic; it's not OK to announce that someone in your department just won the Pillsbury Bake Off. You can submit stuff like that to Tech Topics.
If you have any questions, re-read this article. Then if you still have questions, contact Marcia Goodrich at 487-1778.
No Tech Tea Times Till October 18
University Cultural Enrichment is swamped right now, what with the grand opening of the Rozsa Center and moving their offices and planning for the extra-large Great Events series and everything. So, they've had to delay the start of Tech Tea Times. The popular Wednesday afternoon presentations will resume October 18.
Entertainment and Enrichment (Back to Contents)
Come learn the basics of swing dancing, or brush up on your moves in time for all those fall dances. The Recreation Department is offering weekly swing dance lessons on Thursdays from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the SDC Dance Room 207. This session runs for seven weeks and will meet September 7 through October 19. The cost is $56 for a nonstudent couple and $42 for a student couple.
Sign up at the SDC Central Ticket Office nowÑclass size is limited. Call the instructor, Cari Raboin, at 482-8322 if you have any questions.
Seminars and Workshops (Back to Contents)
Sign Up for CPDQI Fall Workshops
The Center for Professional Development and Quality Improvement is offering the following workshops to MTU employees this fall. The cost of each session is $25 per person, which includes snacks and handouts. To sign up, contact the CPDQI at 487-2416 or e-mail Becky Christianson or Sharon Tyrell. The deadline for registering is five working days before the session. If you have to cancel, give 48 hours advance notice to receive a refund, or you can take another session instead.
• Listening and Understanding,
Thursday, September 21, 9:00 a.m.-noon. Learn how to improve your listening
and communications skills.
• Managing the Time of Your Life, Wednesday, September 27, 1:30-4:30
p.m. How to prioritize, deal with time wasters, and make your calendar work
for you.
• Conducting Effective Interviews, Thursday, October 19, 9:00 a.m.-noon.
A review of the Human Resources hiring process, developing questions, analyzing
the interview, interview do's and don'ts.
• Organizing and Filing, Wednesday, October 25, 1:30-4:30 p.m. Managing
paper, electronic organizing, how to be organized when other people aren't.
• Getting Along at Work, Thursday, October 26, 9:00 a.m.-noon. Understanding
common interpersonal difficulties, learning basic tools to improve working relationships
with supervisors, co-workers, and staff.
• Leadership 101, Friday, November 10, 9:00 a.m.-noon. Assess your
leadership style, choose the right style for your group and apply it.
• Stress Management, Wednesday, November 15, 1:30-4:30 p.m. Identifying
and managing stress.
Regular Features (Back to Contents)
Bruce G. Clark has joined the Admissions staff as an admissions representative. He was previously assistant director of admissions at Lake Superior State University. Clark has a BA in History and a secondary education certification from LSSU. He is married to Marilyn Clark and describes himself as a "railroad advocate."
Robin A. Kolehmainen has joined the Corporate Services staff as an office assistant. She was previously executive assistant to the CEO at D&N Bank. She and her husband, Philip, have a son, Aaron, and live in Chassell.
The Athletic Department's booth took second place at the Houghton County Fair. Staffers gave away eight season tickets and twenty single-game tickets as part of the exhibit.
Investigators, their proposals, and
their potential sponsors are
• David Hand,
Christopher Wojik, and Robert Baillod (Civil and Environmental Engineering),
"Development of an Environmental Engineering Unit Operations Laboratory and
Simulation Center for Undergraduate Education," NSF
• Stanley Vitton (Civil and Environmental Engineering), "Development
of a Seismic Detection of Tornadoes Network," VorTek LLC
• Paul Charlesworth, David Chesney, Rudy Luck (Chemistry),
and Steve VandenAvond (Education), "Computer Instrumentation and Visualization
in an Interactive Studio Environment: Eliminating the Boundary between Lecture
and Laboratory in Undergraduate Chemical Education," NSF
• Kris Mattila (Civil and Environmental Engineering), "Watershed
Improvement Center Phase II: A Cooperative Partnership between the MDNR and
MTU," MDNR
• Ching-Kuang Shene and John Lowther (Computer Science),
"Integrating Computing with Geometry into an Upper-Level Computer Science Curriculum,"
NSF
• Jiquan Chen (SFWP), "Modeling Ecosystem Dynamics in Peatlands
Under Changing Climate and Nutrient Regimes," University of North Dakota
• Tony Rogers,
Michael Mullins, David Shonnard (Chemical Engineering), James Mihelcic,
and Judith Perlinger (Civil and Environmental Engineering), "Molecular
Basis for Environmental Partitioning and Reactivity of Manmade Chemicals," NSF
• Jiquan Chen and Malcolm North (SFWP), "Energy and
Mass Flows in a Patchy Ecosystem: Coherent Responses to Disturbance-Induced
Structural Changes," NSF
• Barry Kunz, Warren Perger, and Anand Kulkarni (Electrical
and Computer Engineering), "Solid-State Chemical and Biological Agent Sensors
for the Prevention of Terrorism," Oklahoma State University
• Kathleen Halvorsen (SFWP), "McIntire-Stennis: Sociology
of Natural Resources," USDA
• John Sutherland (ME-EM), "Modeling and Control of Automotive
Painting," University of Toledo
• Margaret Gale, Martin Jurgensen, and Dana Richter
(SFWP), "Biological Control of Forest Pests: Control of Cylindrocladium Root
Disease and Mile-A-Minute Weed," USFS
• Pushpa Murthy (Chemistry), "Investigation of Alkaline Phytase:
A Molecular Biology Approach," Research Corporation
¥ Chung-Jui Tsai, Jacqueline Lenskevich, Scott Harding, Chandrashekhar Joshi,
and Vincent Chiang (SFWP/PBRC), "Functional Genomics of Fast-Growing
Transgenic Aspen Trees," Michigan Life Sciences Corridor Fund
• R. Christopher Williams and Thomas Van Dam (Civil
and Environmental Engineering), "Synthesis and Review of Superpave Implementation,"
MDOT
• Orhan Soykan and Sheila Grant (Biomedical Engineering),
"Sensors for Early Markers of Infarction," Michigan Life Sciences Corridor Fund
• John Forsman and John Erickson (SFWP), "Chip Yield
of Live, Dying, and Dead Jack Pine," USFS
• David Karnosky (SFWP) and Gopi Podila (Biological Sciences),
"Functional Genomics of Flowering Genes for GM Trees," Life Sciences Corridor
Fund
• Ravindra Pandy, Ulrich Hansmann (Physics), Richard Brown,
Pushpa Murthy (Chemistry), Gopi Podila (Biological Sciences), and
Chandrashekhar Joshi (SFWP), "Research Excellence Center in Bioinformatics
and Biomolecular Modeling," State of Michigan
Associate Professor Richard Honrath, Research Scientist II Matthew Peterson, Assistant Research Scientist Mike Dziobak (Civil and Environmental Engineering), Associate Professor Sarah Green (Chemistry), J. E. Dibb, and M. A. Arsenault (University of New Hampshire) coauthored a paper, "Release of NOx from Sunlight-Irradiated Midlatitude Snow," in Geophysical Research Letters, Vol. 27 , No. 15, also available on the Web at www.agu.org/grl. In the same journal, Honrath coauthored "An Investigation of the Interaction of Carbonyl Compounds with the Snowpack" with Tara Lin Couch, Ann Louise Sumner, Terra M. Dassau, and Paul B. Shepson (Purdue University).
Assistant Professor William Cooke (Biomedical Engineering) coauthored a paper, "Nine Months in Space: Effects on Human Autonomic Cardiovascular Regulation," in the Journal of Applied Physiology, Vol. 89 (2000). It can be viewed online at http://jap.physiology.org/cgi/content/full/89/3/1039
Assistant Professor Ulrich H. E. Hansmann authored a paper, "Computer Simulation of Biological Macromolecules in Generalized Ensembles," published in the International Journal of Modern Physics C, Vol. 8 (1999). With Nelson Alves (FFCLRP, USP, Brazil), he coauthored a paper, "Glass Transition Temperature and Fractal Dimension of Protein Free Energy Landscapes," published in the International Journal of Modern Physics C, Vol. 10 (2000). With J. P. Kemp and Zheng Yu Chen (University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario), he published "Is There a Universality of the Helix-Coil Transition in Protein Models?" in European Physics Journal, Vol. 15 (2000).
Positions Available at Michigan Tech Job descriptions will be available at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, or by e-mail at jobs@mtu.edu. For a complete list of job openings, visit <http://www.admin.mtu.edu/hro/postings/index.shtml>.
The following positions will be posted Friday, September 1, 2000, at 1:00 p.m. through noon, Monday, September 11, 2000, in the Human Resources Office.
University employees are reminded to apply in writing prior to noon, Monday, September 11, 2000, 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 1:00 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.