May 25, 2001, Vol. 33, No. 36
Milligan Receives Research Award
No Paper Tech Topics This Summer
Irish, Parker, Wysocki Named Distinguished Teachers
Leifer Receives Distinguished Service Award
We Are Not Alone
New Purchasing Rule to Save Time, Hassle
New Purchasing Cards Coming
Got Info for New Faculty, GTAs?
Retirement Party May 29 for Val Machowski
Tickets on Sale for Staff Recognition Luncheon
Benefits Has Housing Info for Faculty, Staff
Rundman Receives AFS Gold Medal
Garden Club Annual Plant Swap June 2
Michigan Tech Fund Announces Merit Award Winners
MTU in the WSJ
Sports Hall of Fame Inductees Announced
Lake Superior Youth Symposium Hosts 400 Students
Tech Topics Takes a Vacation
New Staff
MTU Notables
In Print
On the Road
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)
Milligan Receives Research Award
Professor Walter Milligan (Materials Science and Engineering) is the recipient of the 2001 Research Award.
"I'm honored," Milligan said. "It's a great honor to be selected. There are a lot of deserving people on this campus."
Milligan, who has been at Michigan Tech since 1989, researches the fundamental structure of materials and how that structure affects their behavior. He leads a team taking part in a multi-million-dollar collaboration among leading universities to improve the alloys used in jet engines. The five-year project, which is winding down this year, was funded by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and included $1.2 million for Milligan's team.
"Walt has done a fantastic job of building an interdisciplinary, multi-university program," said his department chair, Calvin White. "He's teamed with people at UC Berkeley, MIT, and Harvard to attack some very difficult materials engineering problems."
"He has worked very diligently, both in teaching and research," said Professor Elias Aifantis (ME-EM), who nominated Milligan for the Research Award and has collaborated with him on a number of projects. "I am here, at least in part, because Walt is here. It is a pleasure to work with him--the fact that top researchers seek him out speaks well both for the quality of his research and for Michigan Tech."
With a $500,000 share of a new, $15-million grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Milligan is developing computer modeling techniques that test how a jet engine's turbine disk will perform under high stress. The turbine disc is the wheel that holds the blades of the turbine; it weighs a couple hundred pounds, spins at 10,000 to 15,000 rpm, and can get very, very hot.
Because a lot is at stake in the safety of jet engines, it can take more than a dozen years of R&D before new materials are incorporated in aircraft. But with reliable computer modeling, the aeronautics industry could shave years off the time it takes to bring new, high-performance alloys out of labs and into the skies.
Surprisingly little is actually known about why metals behave the way they do, Milligan notes. "People have used these alloys for thirty-five years, yet there's not a good model for predicting a simple value, like strength, based on the material's microstructure. That will be our first job," he said. "If you have a better understanding of what controls a material, you can be more effective than if you just find things out by trial and error, doing thousands of tests."
Milligan has also gained national recognition for his research into the mechanical behavior of nanoscale materials, for which he received a $710,000 grant in 1999 from the National Science Foundation.
"You can make very fine-grained materials that are strong, but they're also brittle," he said. "We're trying to make materials that are not only strong, but tough."
Milligan's colleague Professor Stephen Hackney supported his nomination for the Research Award. "Walt has made an impact in the field of materials engineering, not only in attacking some of the problems at the forefront of academic research, but also in many of the practical problems which plague industry and national defense efforts," Hackney said. "His research accomplishments in nanoscale materials have certainly brought a great deal of national and international recognition to the Department of Materials Science and Engineering and Michigan Tech."
Milligan's interest in materials goes back to his days as an undergraduate, when he had his first co-op job with the General Electric Aircraft Engine Group studying why jet engine parts fail. "I've always been interested in why things break," he said. "Failure analysis is a lot of fun. It's like playing Sherlock Holmes; you get some clues, but not everything you need to solve the puzzle."
Milligan is a principal investigator on three active research programs supported by $2.5 million in federal funding and has been a principal investigator or co-principal investigator on six completed research programs totalling $2.3 million. Among his honors, he received a National Young Investigator Award in 1992 and was named among the ten "Most Valuable Referees" for the journals Acta Materialia and Scripta Materialia in 1998 and 1999.
His contributions extend beyond research. "Walt does all of the jobs of a faculty member extraordinarily well," White said. "He's a good instructor, good advisor, and good departmental citizen. He sets an excellent example for new faculty coming into the University."
"He has been very loyal to his co-workers and his department, plus he is a strong leader," Aifantis said. "Loyalty and leadership are well-balanced in him. And another thing that has impressed me is his interest in helping young people."
Hackney agreed. "Walt also excels in the training aspects of research," he said. "He never seems to forget that much of the work is carried out by students, and that research is part of the educational experience."
The Research Award Committee includes Kurt Pregitzer (SFWP), Cal White (Materials Science and Engineering), John Sutherland (ME-EM), and David Reed (SFWP/Research Services).
The Research Award, which includes a $2,500 cash prize, will be presented at President's Convocation on September 19.
No Paper Tech Topics This Summer
University Relations will not be producing a paper edition of Tech Topics over the summer.
"While we regret this rollback in service to the campus community, we hope everyone will understand," said Marcia Goodrich, internal communication manager. "With the University facing a financial crunch during the coming year, this change will be a moneysaver for MTU and University Relations."
University Relations will continue to provide weekly Tech Topics via e-mail and on the Web. Though most MTU employees use computers, some do not. If your department includes staff who don't have electronic access to Tech Topics, you may wish to print and post a paper copy.
To subscribe to the e-mail Tech Topics, send a message to majordomo@mtu.edu. Leave the subject line blank. In the body of the letter, type <subscribe tech-topics-l>. You can find Tech Topics on the Web at http://www.mtu.edu/news/ttopics/
Leifer Receives Distinguished Service Award
Professor Leslie Leifer (Chemistry) is the recipient of the 2001 Faculty Distinguished Service Award.
"I'm pleased and honored to get the award," he said. "I am sure I had good competition; there are a lot of deserving people. And I feel that this may reflect my firm beliefs about being a professor: if you don't have anything to profess, there's no reason to be a professor."
Leifer was nominated in large part for his efforts to improve benefits for MTU employees. "He has been very active in the University Senate, working on a number of issues that have benefited all of us," said Pushpalatha Murthy, interim chair of chemistry, who supported Leifer's nomination. "He helped establish the sick leave pool."
Leifer also lobbied for increasing the University contribution to TIAA-CREF retirement accounts from 10.55 percent, said Associate Professor Patricia Heiden (Chemistry), who nominated him for the award. The University subsequently instituted a 2+2 program, matching employee contributions to their TIAA-CREF accounts up to 2 percent of salary. He also proposed that surviving spouses of employees who die before reaching 80 points receive health benefits.
"Les has been a long-term advocate and educator on the importance of planning for retirement and the costs and actions required to have a reasonable quality of life and health care in retirement," Heiden wrote in her nomination.
"I feel very strongly that people should be able to have a decent retirement," Leifer said. "They have earned that after working many years."
He defines a decent retirement as having "the same standard of living you had the last year you were working," including income and health-care for both the retiree and the spouse.
When asked why he put forth the efforts that led to his receiving the award, Leifer replied, "In an academic environment, you should try to lead your life so that your community is better for your having been there. If I've done something to make the University a better place, then I feel I've accomplished something.
"I feel you can't only do good chemistry," said Leifer, who came to MTU in 1966 and received the Research Award a few years later. "I've seen too many people who are good in their field but aren't good human beings. I feel it's important to be both."
Members of the Faculty Distinguished Service Award Committee are Carl Anderson (ME-EM), Barry Pegg (Humanities), Dennis Lewandowski (Mathematical Sciences), Bogue Sandberg (Civil and Environmental Engineering), and Susan Martin (Social Sciences).
Leifer will receive the Distinguished Service Award, which includes a $2,500 prize, at President's Convocation on September 19.
Irish, Parker, Wysocki Named Distinguished Teachers
Associate Professor Michael Irish (Fine Arts), director of the jazz studies program, is this year's Distinguished Teaching Award winner in the associate professor/professor category. In addition, two faculty members will receive the 2001 award in the assistant professor/lecturer category: Gordon Parker (ME-EM) and Anne Wysocki (Humanities).
"The Distinguished Teaching Award Committee was deadlocked," said Nancy Seely, assistant director of the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Faculty Development. "Instead of not awarding it to anyone, we received additional funding from the administration allowing us to give two awards. Both candidates were equally qualified, and both had been nominated before." The last and perhaps the only time this happened was in 1994, when Professor Janice Glime (Biological Sciences) and Associate Professor Don Daavettila (Physics) shared the award.
In addition to student representatives from the Undergraduate Student Government, ODK, Blue Key, and the Graduate Student Council, the committee members were University Senate President Bob Keen; Steph Olsson, executive director of the MTU Alumni Association; Bill Kennedy, director of the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Faculty Development; ME-EM chair Bill Predebon; and Seely.
In evaluating Irish, one of his students wrote, "Mike Irish is the only person who will drop everything to help anybody."
"It's hard for me to turn down a student," Irish said. "I don't like to use a business analogy, but our students are our customers. They do come first."
He recalled a time when his predecessor, former faculty member Don Keranen, allowed Irish, then an MTU forestry undergraduate, to sit in on jazz band rehearsals. Irish played the guitar, and with only one guitar per band, it wasn't easy to get to play. "And after about a month, Don, in his quiet way, said 'Why don't you bring your guitar to class?' I thought that was the greatest thing in the world," Irish said. "I suspect he thought, 'Jeez, if this kid is willing to sit here and ask questions, I'll give him a chance.' That's what I feel students need, a chance. So it's hard for me to turn down a student if they ask a question."
"I'm very proud; this award is well-earned," said fine arts chair Milton Olsson. "Mike is a fabulous teacher. He works very patiently, methodically. And the quality of his direction! His groups win awards year in and year out at jazz festivals, and it's because of his really superb teaching. It's at the point where it's assumed that Michigan Tech is going to come in and walk away with all the marbles."
Irish has no regrets about devoting his career to teaching non-music majors. Scientists and engineers have qualities all their own. "The real secret is that the students who come her are not your average college students," he said. "They have a lot of horsepower. You'll find that, though they are tops academically, they were probably out for forensics, first or second chair in band, student athletes . . . They have a lot of talent."
For their part, his students are happy to live up to his expectations. "He works us like we aren't engineers, like we're real musicians, and makes us love every minute of it," said one. "He has shown me what it takes to be an awesome jazz musician, and he is walking with me down that path," wrote another.
At least one of Gordon Parker's students isn't registered in any of his classes. "I am not in his section, but I am sitting in on it to understand the subject matter," a student wrote in one of Parker's teaching evaluations. "He must be doing something right."
"He loves what he does and is passionate about it," wrote another. "Also, he wants everyone to be passionate."
"The students are pretty generous," said Parker, who was recently promoted from assistant professor to associate professor. He credits his success as a teacher, first, to being organized, and secondly, "but more importantly, I try to put myself in the students' shoes. I think of how to present the material from the standpoint of someone who knows nothing. . . . Also, I respect the students, and that usually gets returned."
Parker's specialty since coming to MTU in 1996 has been controls, "the notion of automatically manipulating something," from the temperature of a room to the speed of a vehicle. "It's pretty fun," Parker says.
Not everyone agrees with his assessment of controls. "He makes a horrible subject interesting and fun to learn," said one of his students.
ME-EM chair Bill Predebon lauded Parker's performance both in and out of the classroom. "Gordon is one of those special faculty members who make it enjoyable to be a chair," he said. "He's very productive, his students love him, and in addition he's easy to work with."
Parker was instrumental in developing the department's new systems and controls laboratory. "The students are quite excited about that, and they say he's very enthusiastic and can inspire them because of his enthusiasm," Predebon said.
Robert Johnson, chair of the humanities department, was not surprised that Wysocki was honored for her teaching. "As many students have attested, Anne is an outstanding teacher," he said. "She holds that reputation not only among students, but among the faculty as well."
"I've never thought better, done more work, and enjoyed a class more than hers," a student wrote. "She makes a person forget about the bad classes that one has in a day."
Wysocki, who teaches graphic and information design, visual communication, digital photography, multimedia, and composition, has been an assistant professor since 1999, when she received her PhD in Rhetoric and Technical Communication at MTU.
"She is the most upbeat teacher I've ever had, and I actually look forward to going to her classes," said one of her students.
Dean Woodbeck, director of News and Information Services, observed Wysocki teaching middle school girls how to develop Web pages during a Girls+Science+Math class. "There were probably fifteen girls and assorted parents," he said. "She took four digital pictures of them making silly faces, animated them, made them look like they'd been slimed--that was really popular," he said. "But the thing that impressed me was how she taught at their level. She was very patient, she checked around to see how everyone was doing, and she made suggestions without being overbearing. She was an excellent teacher, and she would be for any age group.
"What also impressed me was how my daughter Laura's interest in computers skyrocketed after taking Anne's class," he added. "Before, Laura was interested in e-mail. This was the first time she thought 'I could do this; I could make a career of this.' That really hit home."
Johnson agreed. "Anne not only represents the best of what students value in a teacher, but also the best of what we are coming to see as the teacher of the future," he said. "She's caring and pushes students in directions that explore technology and communication."
The Distinguished Teaching Awards, each of which include a $2,500 cash award, will be presented at President's Convocation on September 19.
In addition to Irish, Parker, and Wysocki, the other finalists for the Distinguished Teaching Award were assistant professors David Flaspohler (SFWP), Sheila Grant (Biomedical Engineering), and John Sandell (Technology) in the assistant professor/lecturer category; and professors Mary Ann Beckwith (Fine Arts), Lawrence Evers (ME-EM), and Dennis Wiitanen (Electrical and Computer Engineering) and associate professor Dennis Lynch (Humanities) in the associate professor/professor category.
(Editor's note: The following press release was developed recently by the Presidents Council, which includes the presidents of all of Michigan's fifteen public universities.)
LANSING--Dramatic cost increases in energy, health care, and technology are backing Michigan's public universities against a fiscal wall as state officials debate next year's appropriations for higher education and the overall state budget.
Estimated energy and utility increases are in the double-digit range and higher for all institutions. At the University of Michigan, a 25 percent cost is projected and at Oakland University, 33 percent. The increases will likely exceed 100 percent at both Eastern Michigan University and Lake Superior State University.
Health-care cost increases will move up dramatically on every campus, in spite of aggressive cost-containment initiatives. Michigan State University, for example, estimates a 19 percent increase in required health-care expenditures, while Western Michigan University and Central Michigan University anticipate 20 and 15 percent increases, respectively.
All institutions face substantial technology-related cost increases, which this year again far out-pace general inflation measures. Wayne State University officials estimate that instructional technology costs for their campus will increase by approximately 15 percent and at Grand Valley State University, a 16 percent increase is expected.
"After several years of strong appropriations and relatively stable prices, these fixed cost increases present major challenges for the entire public university community," said Glenn Stevens, executive director of the Presidents Council, State Universities of Michigan, which represents all 15 public universities.
Acknowledging that the state faces serious short-term fiscal pressures, Stevens observed that, on a comparative basis, annual tuition increases at Michigan public universities have matched or been lower than national average tuition increases at public colleges and universities nationwide for eight consecutive years. Although the state budget outlook is uncertain, he further noted that a primary goal is to lessen the need to rely on tuition increases to offset any loss of state support, but it is clear that "fixed cost increases will have a significant cumulative impact on every institution's budget in the coming year."
New Purchasing Rule to Save Time, Hassle
A change in the procedures for requisitions over $5,000 should save MTU departments time, effort, and confusion.
Since May 15, only department chairs have had to sign for purchases over $5,000. Previously, the signatures of both the chair and the financial manager were required.
Please discard all your old requisition forms and use the form you recently received from Purchasing (dated 4-2001 or later) or the updated form on the Web at http://www.admin.mtu.edu/pur/mtuonly/purchreq.shtml.
Purchasing recommends that financial assistants prepare a periodic report, either weekly or monthly, of all purchases in excess of $5,000 for the department chair to review.
If you have any questions, contact Purchasing at 487-2510.
Michigan Tech is getting new Elan Commercial procurement cards from Republic Bank. Cardholders will be notified via e-mail and Tech Topics as soon as their replacement cards arrive, which should be within a couple weeks.
Why Bother?
The old Visa cards were issued by D&N Bank, which is now Republic. And the Elan cards have some new features that Purchasing plans to phase in over time. For example, you'll be able to access current information about your account over the Internet.
Getting Your Cards
After you've been notified that the new Elan cards have arrived, you can pick your cards up individually or by department. Individual cardholders may go to Purchasing, Administration 228, and exchange your old card for a new one. Or, your department may designate a responsible person, such as the department coordinator, to pick up all your department's procurement cards. That person must bring all the old cards to Purchasing before the new cards will be issued.
If You've Never Had a Card Before . . .
Anyone applying for a card for the first time will need to pick it up in person at Purchasing. It takes about three to four weeks from the time you submit your application to get a new card. For more information on using procurement cards, see http://www.admin.mtu.edu/pur/purchcard/.
Any Questions?
Hold that thought. More information on the changeover will be forthcoming.
Got Info for New Faculty, GTAs?
The Center for Teaching, Learning, and Faculty Development is collecting information about the University and its programs/facilities for its New Faculty/GTA Orientation packets. If you have information that you would like to have included in these packets, please send 160 copies to Marlene Brown, Center for Teaching, Learning, and Faculty Development, Academic Office Building G010. Please submit your materials by June 30.
Retirement Party May 29 for Val Machowski
Val Machowski, purchasing agent, is retiring at the end of May after thirty-four years of service. Come and help Val celebrate her retirement from Michigan Tech on Tuesday, May 29, from 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. in the Memorial Union Alumni Lounge.
Tickets on Sale for Staff Recognition Luncheon
Staff Council is sponsoring a luncheon and awards presentation for staff who have reached a five-year anniversary of continuous service to the University. The luncheon will be held on Wednesday, June 6, from noon to 1:30 p.m. in the Memorial Union Ballroom. MTU retirees will also be recognized.
A pasta buffet will be served starting at noon. The awards presentation begins at 12:30 p.m., and everyone is invited. If you would like to join the award recipients for lunch, you can buy tickets from any of the Staff Council members listed below or from Barb Ruotsala in the Memorial Union Manager's Office. Tickets for the luncheon are $6 and must be purchased by June 1.
President Curt Tompkins will present awards to more than 100 MTU employees. "We encourage everyone to attend to show appreciation for the years of service these employees have given to Michigan Tech," organizers said.
Tickets are available from Peggy Gorton, Connie Tuohimaa, Arlene Johnson, Eric Smith, Bruce Wagner, Bev Auel, Sue DesRochers, Patti Mylloyja, and Mary Jurgensen.
Benefits Has Housing Info for Faculty, Staff
The Benefits Office has a listing of homes for rent (occupied by faculty on sabbaticals) and homes for sale by staff and faculty.
If you have new faculty or staff arriving at the University looking for a place to live, have them stop by the Benefits Office to see their housing list.
Call 487-2517 if you have any questions.
Rundman Receives AFS Gold Medal
Submitted by the News Bureau
Karl B. Rundman, professor of metallurgical engineering in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, has received the prestigious Thomas W. Pangborn Gold Medal from the American Foundrymen's Society.
The award is the highest recognition given by the AFS for service to the metal-casting industry. Rundman's citation reads, in part: " . . . for dedication to the metal-casting industry . . . and your pioneering research in the field of austempered ductile iron." The honor was presented at the 105th AFS Casting Congress held recently in Dallas/Fort Worth.
In 1991, the AFS recognized Rundman with the Director's Award for "demonstrated interest in cast metals, outstanding student involvement, and desirable traits of character, personality, and leadership."
An Ishpeming native, Rundman received his BS and MS degrees in Metallurgical Engineering from Michigan Tech in 1961 and 1962, then earned a PhD in Materials Science from Northwestern University in 1967. He joined the MTU faculty after receiving his doctorate.
Garden Club Annual Plant Swap June 2
The MTU Garden Club will hold its second annual plant swap and sale from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., joining the Michigan Tech Employees' Credit Union swap on Saturday, June 2, at the credit union at 700 E. Sharon Avenue.
The MTU Garden Club is asking members and volunteers to donate garden items, sign up to donate baked goods, and help with setup and shift coverage.
Items such as garden decor, equipment, tools, plants, bulbs, seeds, seedlings, containers, trellises, supports, soil supplements, books, etc. may be swapped for sale items. The club reserves the right to assess and set swap and sale values.
A variety of annuals, perennials, and much more will attract gardeners and gift givers alike. New members are always welcome. Everyone is invited to come and support the MTU Garden Club and help beautify our campus and community.
For more information, e-mail gardenclub-l@mtu.edu or call Diane Koskela at 487-2827 or Shelle Sandell at 487-1625.
Michigan Tech Fund Announces Merit Award Winners
Cicely Coppock and Edward Bergeron are the 2001 Michigan Tech Fund Merit Award winners.
The awards are presented each year to a senior man and woman at MTU who have demonstrated outstanding leadership and service to the University.
"This year's group of nominees was exceptional," said Michigan Tech Fund Executive Director Kimera Way. "The selection committee was very impressed with the quality and breadth of the experiences of our graduating seniors. Not only do they excel in the classroom, but they are also active on campus, as volunteers, and in other endeavors that make them very well-rounded. The Merit Award recipients were the best of the best. These students bring great honor to Michigan Tech. "
Coppock is a graduating senior in materials science and engineering. Her academic achievements include a 3.93 grade point average as well as numerous undergraduate research positions and study abroad. Coppock also has extensive extracurricular involvement as president of the Iron and Steel Society, as vice president of the ASM/TMS chapter, and as an active member of numerous other campus organizations including Chamber Choir, Skydiving Club, and Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship.
Bergeron is a senior in biomedical engineering. His achievements include a 3.72 grade point average and contributions to numerous research projects and publications. Bergeron's extracurricular activities include serving as president for the Biomedical Engineering Society at MTU for two years, serving as an active member of the Tau Beta Pi National Engineering Academic Honor Fraternity, and being selected as one of three undergraduate students to serve as representatives on a successful three-university (U-Mich., MSU, and MTU) cooperative $60-million National Science Foundation Grant.
In addition to the two Merit Award winners, six other students are recognized as Nominees of Distinction. These nominees and their majors are Travis Davidsavor (civil engineering), Brandon Reynolds (biomedical engineering), Elizabeth Sandoval (chemical engineering), Jennifer Mroz (biomedical engineering), Christina Scantland (mechanical engineering), and Jamie Beers (biomedical engineering).
Each Merit Award winner will receive a framed/engraved 11-by-14-inch picture of the campus and $250. The Nominees of Distinction will each receive $100 and a certificate. The Merit Award winners' departments also receive cash awards of $500 each.
Michigan Tech got a mention, albeit obliquely, in the May 21 Wall Street Journal, and they even spelled our name right.
The article "The Decline of the Dinamation Dinos: How One Man's Robots Became Passe" reviews the nebulous fate of the life-size, robotic dinosaurs and their maker, Chris Mays. The dinosaurs came to MTU in 1997 and 2000 for the Parade of Nations, and the article includes a photo of a Tyrannosaurus rex being unloaded for exhibit here last year.
Sports Hall of Fame Inductees Announced
By Dave Fischer
Michigan Tech will induct six new members into its Sports Hall of Fame on November 3.
The group of inductees includes women's volleyball standout Diane Devine (Salinas), women's volleyball coach Mary Kaminski, men's basketball star Gary Lundin, hockey standout Bob McManus, and multi-sport athletes Fred Hall and Ken Pelto.
A four-year letterwinner (1987-90) in women's volleyball, Devine helped take the Huskies to new levels during her career at Michigan Tech. She guided the team to back-to-back third-place Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference finishes her final two seasons, by far the best the Huskies had ever accomplished. An outside hitter, Devine earned First Team All-Great Lakes Region honors her senior campaign, the first player at Tech to ever accomplish that feat.
Hall was a multi-sport student-athlete at Michigan Tech, winning four letters in football (1963-66) and three in hockey (1965-68). Hall helped the Huskies to Northern Intercollegiate Conference titles in both 1963 and 1965. He led the team in yards per carry both his junior (4.81) and senior (6.12) campaigns and was tops on the club in interceptions as a senior with four. Hall earned All-NIC honors his senior campaign. On the ice, Hall played both left and right wing. He helped the Huskies to the Western Collegiate Hockey Association title in 1965-66 and a 63-26-3 overall record during his three playing seasons.
During a stellar 13-year career as the head women's volleyball coach at Michigan Tech, Kaminski took the Huskies to new heights. She built the program from a second-division team in the GLIAC to a national power. Under her leadership, the Huskies advanced to the NCAA Tournament four times and won the school's only GLIAC title in 1994. Kaminski, who was named the NCAA Division II Coach of the Year in 1994 after leading the Huskies to a school-record 30-3 mark, owns a 258-204 record. The Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year and a two-time GLIAC Coach of the Year (1993, 1994), Kaminski owns a 112-86 career mark in GLIAC matches.
Lundin helped the Michigan Tech men's basketball program reach new heights during his four-year career. He played from 1951 to 1953 and 1954 to 1956 and continues today to be one of the most accurate free-throw shooters in school history. Lundin paced the club in free-throw accuracy as both a junior and senior and currently stands ninth all-time at Tech in career free-throw percentage (.771). As a senior in 1955-56, Lundin helped the Huskies to what was then the best season in school history, with 14 wins and just four losses. He was part of a team that set the school mark for most points in a single season (1,628), best offensive average (90.4 points per game), most points in a road game (119 at Northland), and most games over 100 points in a season (five).
A hockey letterwinner from 1953-57, McManus was a standout goaltender for the Huskies. He currently stands seventh all-time in wins with 40 and his stellar play helped Michigan Tech to a second-place NCAA finish in 1955-56. McManus earned All-WCHA First Team honors in 1954-55 and as a senior in 1955-56, gained All-WCHA Second Team honors as well as All-America honorable mention laurels. In addition, he was named the team's Most Valuable Player in 1954-55.
Pelto did it all. He lettered in football (1933-36), hockey (1933-35), track and field (1933-35), and boxing (1933-35) for the Huskies. Pelto was the team captain in football as both a junior and senior. In addition, he was an outstanding boxer. Pelto won Golden Gloves titles at 156 pounds in 1933, 1934, and 1935. In track, he threw the javelin and ran the mile. A native of Hancock, Pelto was a regular supporter of Michigan Tech athletics after leaving the University in 1936, and was a regular at alumni homecoming each summer. He passed away on September 24, 1991.
Lake Superior Youth Symposium Hosts 400 Students
More than 400 students and teachers were on campus last week for the Fourth Biennial Lake Superior Youth Symposium, held this year at Michigan Tech.
The students, generally young teens, were from throughout Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Ontario. They attended more than sixty different presentations and field trips on a variety of topics, including Great Lakes history, geology, water quality, forest management, pollution, photography, wildlife, canoeing, and more.
The event was sponsored by the Center for Science and Environmental Outreach at MTU and the CCISD Western U.P. Center for Science, Mathematics, and Environmental Education. A total of $41,000 in grant funding was provided by the Wege Foundation, Kennedy Fund, Mead Paper, International Paper, the Keweenaw Community Foundation, and the Western U.P. Center for Science, Mathematics, and Environmental Education.
No Tech Topics will be published the weeks of June 1 and June 8, since the entire staff will be on vacation. We resume publication June 15.
If you have an upcoming University event that you would like to publicize, send an e-mail message with the relevant information to alldepts-l@mtu.edu.
Regular Features (Back to Contents)
Bill Sved has joined the staff of the J. R. Van Pelt Library as a library assistant. He was previously employed by the Ishpeming Public Schools as a teacher aide, cross-country running coach, and track coach. He has a BS in Physical Education, a BS in Conservation, and an MA in Geography from Northern Michigan University. An avid runner, he has participated in more than 100 marathons, including one in each of the fifty states and the District of Columbia.
Graduate student Wellesley Perreira (Physics) has received a $1,500 grant from the American Astronomical Society to attend the "Multi Color Universe" International Meeting to be held in Mumbai (Bombay), India, September 11-14. His application was supported by a letter of recommendation from Associate Professor Robert Nemiroff.
Assistant Professor Rudy Luck (Chemistry) coauthored a number of publications recently. They include "The Br and I Analogues of ReCl(H2)(PMePh2)4; Crystal Structures of ReBr(H2)(PMePh2)4 and the [ReO2(Py)4]+ Cation; Possible Solution State Evidence of Re-H···H···N(Py) Interactions as Evident in T1 Measurements," coauthored with MS graduate Ryan O'Neill (Chemistry) and published in Polyhedron, 2001; "Synthesis, Variable Temperature 1H NMR, Single Crystal X-ray Determined and Ab-Initio Molecular Structural Analyses on 1-(Isopropylideneaminomethyl)pyrene," coauthored with Professor Richard Brown, PhD student Ginger Chateauneuf, undergraduate Peter Klassen, and Professor G. David Mendenhall (Chemistry) and published in the Journal of Molecular Structure, 2001; "Circular Polarized Excitation/Luminescence and Structural Studies of a Dysprosium Complex with an Octadentate Macrocyclic Ligand bearing Benzylphosphinate Groups," coauthored with former PhD grad student Christina Maupin, former department chair James Riehl (Chemistry), Gareth Williams, and Professor D. Parker (University of Durham, Britain) and published in Inorganica Chimica Acta, 2001; "Tetraammonium-1,2,4,5-benzenetetracarboxylate tetrahydrate," coauthored with undergraduate Christina Bergstrom and retired professor Dean Leuhrs (Chemistry) and published in Acta Crystallographia, Section C, 2000; "Direct Photolytic Route to trans-Cr(CO)4(AsPh3)2 and Crystal Structures of cis-Mo(CO)4(AsPh3)2 and cis-W(CO)4(AsPh3)2," coauthored with Bergstrom and published in Inorganica Chimica Acta, 2001; and "Quadruply Bonded Dimolybdenum Atoms Surrounded by Dendrons: Preparation, Characterization and Electrochemistry," coauthored with PhD student Teerayuth Liwporncharoenvong and published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, 2001.
Assistant Professor William Cooke (Biomedical Engineering), L. J. Badra, A. A. Hoag, T. A. Crossman, D. L. Eckberg (Medical College of Virginia), K. U. O. Kuusela (University of Turku, Finland), and D. L. Tahvanainen (University of Kuopio, Finland) published an article, "Respiratory Modulation of Human Autonomic Rhythms," in the American Journal of Physiology (Heart and Circulatory Physiology), 2001.
Assistant Professor Ulrich H. E. Hansmann (Physics) presented an invited talk, "New Algorithms and the Physics of Folding," at the International Workshop on Pattern-Trends-Predictions held May 9-12 in Delray Beach, Florida.
Job descriptions will be available at 1:00 p.m. on Friday, or by e-mail at <JOBS@MTU.EDU>. For a complete listing of available jobs, visit http://www.admin.mtu.edu/hro/postings/index.shtml
The following positions will be posted Friday, May 25, 2001, at 1:00 p.m. through noon, Monday, June 4, 2001, in the Human Resources Office.
Assistant Women's Basketball Coach--Athletic Department
Director, ESL Programs--Center for International Education
Secretary II (N4)--Biological Sciences (UAW internal and external posting)
University employees are reminded to apply in writing prior to noon, Monday, June 4, 2001, 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.