June 21, 2002, Vol. 34, No. 37
Orr Receives Distinguished Service Award
Rozsa Center Receives Steel Construction Award
MTU Awarded Michigan Space Grant Consortium Monies
Homesite Gets a New Look
News You Can Use:
Recall of Outdoor Propane Heaters
ODS Technology Helps Prevent CO Poisoning Deaths
Summer Fun Brings More Emergency Room Visits
Announcement
Correction
In the News
MTU Notables
In Print
On the Road
Calendar
New 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)
Orr Receives Distinguished Service Award
by Laura Walikainen
Associate Professor Blair Orr (SFWP) is the recipient of the 2002 Faculty Distinguished Service Award. Orr was nominated for this award largely for his creation and improvement of the Loret Miller Ruppe Peace Corps Master's International Program in Forestry at the University. This program allows students to combine Peace Corps service with a graduate education in forestry. Orr, who began the program in 1996, sees benefits for both the students in the program and for the University as a whole.
"This allows students who felt they needed to choose between Peace Corps service and graduate school to be able to accomplish both," Orr said. "Students are also more prepared for Peace Corps service and are better supported while they are overseas than the typical Peace Corps volunteer. And the University gains the advantage of bringing in more bright, motivated graduate students."
Orr's students feel that his work has led to a more diverse group of students and viewpoints at Michigan Tech.
"Through his efforts, he has brought a greater perspective to this University in the form of students who actively participate in their world and share that perspective with others," wrote Kate Povel, a master's international student who nominated Orr for this award.
"All of a sudden they view the world and life differently," said Orr of students' experiences in the Peace Corps. "The program makes them more prepared and, therefore, able to use their experience more effectively than the average Peace Corps volunteer."
Marjorie Ely, another student in the program who nominated Orr, believes that "Dr. Orr's services go above and beyond a 'normal' work week, and he regularly surpasses the amount of time and effort comparable to his compensation for his position." She goes on to say that as the program's coordinator, "he is a constant source of inspiration, knowledge and insight, and his dedication to his students and his work is apparent as he continually evaluates and works to improve the program."
"It's fun and interesting for me because, as I sit here, I'm literally connected to the world through these students," said Orr of his position as coordinator.
Another of his graduate students, Daniella Zanin, wrote that Orr, who juggles a family and a career, "has his priorities straight." She added that "he is a wonderful father, which is his number one priority, yet he always has time to answer questions even if he is busy."
And what is the secret to having time for everything in his life? "I don't sleep enough," Orr said with a smile.
It is apparent to his students that Orr's commitment to the program has allowed it to succeed and prosper.
"Blair became famous among all the master's international students, from various universities, for being the most involved and dedicated advisor around," said Matthew Cohen, one of Orr's graduate students who also nominated him.
"It feels really good," said Orr of winning this award, "especially after I was told that the students had nominated me. They really make the difference."
Members of the Faculty Distinguished Service Award Committee included Carl Anderson (ME-EM), Patricia Heiden (Chemistry), Dennis Lewandowski (Mathematical Sciences), Susan Martin (Social Sciences) and Ted Soldan (Fine Arts).
Orr will receive $2,500 and will be honored at the President's Convocation on Sept. 18.
Rozsa Center Receives Steel Construction Award
The Rozsa Center for the Performing Arts was honored with the 2002 Steel Systems Excellence Award in the medium-sized building category during the annual meeting of the Michigan Society of Professional Engineers.
Houghton's intense winters and hilly environment were cited as two of the major obstacles to overcome in the designing and construction of the Rozsa Center.
The award was presented by the Great Lakes Fabricators & Erectors Association to the University; Gundlach Champion as the steel erector for the project; the steel fabricator, Daul Industries Inc.; Desai/Nasr Consulting Engineers Inc. as the structural engineering firm for the building; and the architect, DiClemete Siegel Design Inc.
Buildings around the state were judged on a variety of criteria including innovation in solving project requirements, advancement of the steel construction industry, creativity in meeting and exceeding client/owner needs, significance of engineering or construction achievement and social/economic impact on quality of life. Projects completed between Jan. 1, 1999, and Dec. 31, 2001, were eligible for this year's competition. The medium building category covered buildings that ranged in cost from $500,000 to just under $5 million.
The 60,000 square-foot performing arts center is framed with approximately 750 tons of structural steel.
University Relations has recently launched the new Homesite, and we wanted to make you aware of some of the changes. In addition to a new look, we've changed the main links:
Departments will become Departments A2Z, an alphabetical listing of every department on campus. It is also included under the Search link with the e-mail listings and other choices. If you know of additional links we should have here, please let us know.
Future Students replaces Prospective Students and leads to a new trio of sites: Life @, Come UP, and Get In, which target students looking at Michigan Tech, perhaps for the first time.
Parents/Family is new, focusing on those important folks at home and features ParentNET, our weekly page written by a student for parents and guardians.
Alumni/Friends is the new version of the old Alumni link, essentially the same information and maintained by Dean Woodbeck.
Corporations is new and highlights our many corporate connections, such as the Career Center, and Corporate and Foundation Development.
Community is also new, focusing on the Keweenaw and the connections between Michigan Tech, Houghton, Hancock, and the surrounding area.
MTU Students replaces the old Current Students link and keeps the same information.
MTU Faculty/Staff replaces Employee Resources.
Athletics continues to link to our sports programs and results.
Graduate School and Research links to new interfaces highlighting those areas.
News/Media will continue to feature the latest campus happenings and link to the news pages.
And the Day in the Life student video is a new feature. Other Day in the Lifes will appear here as will additional features.
Still to come are an improved Web Calendar system and a Virtual Tour.
As always, we welcome your ideas for the Michigan Tech Homesite. Just e-mail <webmaster@mtu.edu> or telephone 7-3510 or 7-3509.
And we appreciate the input from the student focus groups and classes, faculty, staff, alumni, parents and guardians.
MTU Awarded Michigan Space Grant Consortium Monies
MTU has received 23 grants from the Michigan Space Grant Consortium. The following students received grants from the consortium:
Christina Bergstrom (Chemistry); Leslie Leifer, advisor; Mossbauer Spectra of Nanoparticles; $2,500
Ian Kowalczyk (Chemistry); Leslie Leifer, advisor; Predicting Failure in Aerospace Applied Nano Composites Using Mossbauer Spectroscopy; $2,500
Daniel Nezich (Chemistry); Leslie Leifer, advisor; Mossbauer Absorption in a Compound Exhibiting Fe2+/Fe3+ Resonance; $2,500
Kristin Harvey (Biomedical Engineering); Seth Donahue, advisor; Mechanism by Which Black Bears Avoid Disuse Osteoporosis During Hibernation; $2,500
Lindsay Godin (Biomedical Engineering); Seth Donahue, advisor; Analysis of Fluid Flow Induced Calcium Oscillations in Rate Osteoblastic Cells; $2,500
Daniel Lund (ME-EM); Lyon B. King, advisor; Vacuum Chamber Integration of a Performance Test Bed for Plasma Thrusters; $2,500
Alex Kiechafoz (ME-EM); Lyon B. King, advisor; Study of Plume Divergence in Hall Thrusters; $5,000
Heidi Sherman (GMES); John Gierke, advisor; Analysis of Uranium in the Jacobsville Sandstone Aquifer; $5,000
Meaghan Castor (GMES); John Gierke, advisor; Remediation of Chlorinated Solvents Using Ozone Sparging; $5,000
Casandra Applin (Physics); Robert Nemiroff, advisor; CONCAM Shade Project; $2,500
Alexandria Guth (GMES); Gregg Bluth, advisor; A Study of Nyamuragira's SO2 Emissions; $2,500
Oscar Sorensen (GMES); William Rose, advisor; Lahar Hazard at Tungurahua Volcano, Ecuador; $5,000
Jason Carter (Biomedical Engineering); William Cooke, advisor; Effects of Mental Stress on the Vestibulo-Sympathetic Reflex; $5,000
Guy Pellegrini (Biomedical Engineering); William Cooke, advisor; Arterial Baroreflex Responsiveness During Acute Simulated Microgravity; $5,000
Matthew Chye (Chemical Engineering); Tony Rogers, advisor; High Efficiency Oxygen Separation and Recovery from Air Using Regenerable Oxygen Binding Proteins; $5,000
The following faculty and staff also received grants from the consortium:
John Lehman (Youth Programs); American Indian Biology, Computers, and Mathematics Workshop; $3,500 and Summer Youth Program Space Science Exploration; $4,225
Eric Blough (Biological Sciences); Efficacy of Increased Heat Shock Protein Expression as a Countermeasure to Protect Against the Effects of Hypogravity on Muscle Structure and Functionality; $2,500
Lyon B. King (ME-EM); Study of Magnetic Field Interaction in Closely Spaced Hall Thrusters; $5,000
Eugenijus Urnezius (Chemistry); Organometallic Polymers: From Ligand Design to Possible Applications; $5,000
Gregg Bluth and Jacqueline Huntoon (GMES); Field Training for Teachers in Earth System Science Education; $5,000
Jason Keith (Chemical Engineering); Web Instruction for Engineers; $3,500
Xin-Lin Gao (ME-EM); Modeling of Functionally Graded Materials Using Strain Gradient Theories; $5,000
News You Can Use
Recall of Outdoor Propane Heaters
In cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), The Brinkmann Corporation, of Dallas, is voluntarily recalling about 45,000 outdoor tabletop propane heaters. The heaters can emit high levels of carbon monoxide (CO) which poses a risk of CO poisoning to consumers.
The recalled Outdoor Tabletop Heaters are about 33 inches tall and operate with a disposable one-pound propane tank, commonly sold in outdoor and camping stores. The base of the heater has a label that reads "BRINKMANN OUTDOOR TABLETOP HEATER" and has the model number 883-1000-0. The heater also has 'mood lighting' around the base that is battery operated. These heaters were manufactured in China.
Retailers, including Wal-Mart, Menards, and Galyan's, sold these heaters from September 2001 through May 2002 at a range of prices up to $100, depending on the retail location.
Consumers should stop using the heaters immediately and call Brinkmann at (800) 675-5301 between 8:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. CT Monday through Friday to receive a full refund.
News You Can Use
ODS Technology Helps Prevent CO Poisoning Deaths
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is announcing that there is a new generation of portable heaters with a safety device that can prevent the tragic loss of life due to carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning. The new heaters are equipped with an oxygen depletion sensor (ODS) and are safer to use when camping. If oxygen levels fall below 18 percent, this sensing technology automatically shuts down the heater before it can produce serious levels of CO.
Unlike earlier portable heaters that do not have an ODS and are intended for outdoor use only, the new ODS-equipped heaters are specifically designed for indoor use. They can be safely used inside tents, cabins and campers, but it is essential that users comply with the manufacturers' instructions to ensure that there is adequate ventilation.
"CPSC wants all consumers to know that there is a new generation of portable heaters that are safer to use when camping," said Jacqueline Elder, Acting Director of CPSC's Office of Hazard Identification and Reduction. "Carbon monoxide poisoning is a silent killer that has taken the lives of many first-time and even experienced campers. The new, safer heaters prevent CO deaths by automatically shutting off the heater if oxygen levels start to fall."
Consumers can find the safer heaters under various brands in major retail stores nationwide. The new heaters can be identified by labels on the package that read in part, "Designed for Indoor Use," "Low Oxygen Automatic Shut-Off System" and "Oxygen Depletion Sensor" or by a star with the words "CSA 4.98."
For more information and to read the entire article go to CPSC's werbsite at http://www.cpsc.gov/
News You Can Use
Summer Fun Brings More Emergency Room Visits
For many Americans, summer means fun in the sun.The kids are out of school, adults are on vacation and it's time for outdoor activities like riding bikes and hosting barbecues. However, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) warns that summer also is the time of year consumers are most likely to be injured.
More than 3.7 million consumers went to hospital emergency rooms with product-related injuries in June, July and August 2001. During that summer, about 836,000 more consumers suffered product-related injuries than in January, February and March 2001. To avoid becoming a 2002 statistic, CPSC advises everyone to enjoy summer activities with safety in mind.
For more information and to read the entire article go to CPSC's website at http://www.cpsc.gov/
The Graduate School will be closed Tuesday, June 25, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.; but will be open 1 to 4 p.m.
A story in the June 14 issue of Tech Topics mistakenly stated that the subject of Beth Flynn's (Humanities) second book "The Other Modernism," will focus on feminism. According to Flynn the book "will provide a revisionary history of early twentieth century modernism within literary studies and rhetoric and composition."
Regular Features (Back to Contents)
A press release submitted by News and Information Services Director Dean Woodbeck appeared in the June 5 edition of the Detroit Free Press. "Michigan Tech Says There's No Wait List" noted that, unlike the University of Michigan and Michigan State, Michigan Tech is continuing to accept applicants.
The article notes that MTU, the U of M and MSU are the only three schools in the state that are rated in the upper tier of national universities by U.S. News and World Report's annual college guide.
A review written by Associate Professor Blair Orr (SFWP) was published in the July/August issue of Choice Magazine. "Sustaining soil fertility in West Africa," written by Warren A. Dick and Jerry L. Hatfield (Soil Science Society of America) was highly recommended by Orr for upper division undergraduate students through professionals.
The School of Business and Economics Applied Portfolio Management team was featured in an article in the Rosemont Journal (Ill). The team won first place in the Redefining Investment Strategy Education (RISE) Investment Symposium and Portfolio Competition held in Dayton, Ohio.
Members of the team are Tony Yates (Wood Science and Business), Holly Lehto (Finance), Joanne Johnson (Economics), Jeff Call (Finance), Chukwuma Nwachukwa (CE and Business) and Piyush Rathi (Finance). The team opened the Nasdaq stock market and was interviewed on CNBC's Squawk Box news program.
This is the second time that MTU has been a top competitor at RISE.
Graduate student, Darren Kramer (Biological Sciences), has received a $10,000 scholarship for his research on coaster brook trout. The Budweiser Conservation Scholarship is a competitive award to promote innovative research and study on fish, wildlife, and plant conservation in the U.S. The scholarship will cover tuition and research expenses. Kramer's advisor is Casey Huckins (Biological Sciences).
For more information you can visit the following website: http://www.nfwf.org/press05_21_02.htm
Assistant Professor William H. Cooke, graduate students Brandon V. Reynolds and Michael G. Yandl (Biomedical Engineering), doctoral candidate Jason R. Carter (Biology), Kari U.O. Tahvanainen (University of Kuopio, Finland), and Tom A. Kuusela (University of Turku, Finland) published an article, "Effects of exercise training on cardiovagal and sympathetic responses to Valsalva's maneuver" in the journal, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise. 34(6):928-935, 2002.
Graduate students Jason R. Carter (biology) and E. M. Downs (biomedical engineering) and assistant professor William H. Cooke (biomedical engineering) presented a paper, "Strength training reduces systolic pressure but not muscle sympathetic neural activity" at the annual conference of the American College of Sports Medicine in St. Louis.
Assistant Professor William Cooke (biomedical engineering) gave a seminar, "Microgravity and Autonomic Function" at the University of Kuopio Department of Clinical Physiology, Kuopio, Finland, June 5.
| 21 | Friday |
| 6/7:15 p.m.--Club Indigo dinner/movie: "Strictly Ballroom"--Calumet Theatre | |
| 24 | Monday |
| Noon-1 p.m.--Weight Watchers Meeting--Alumni Room B--MUB | |
| 27 | Thursday |
| 7 p.m.--Copper from Sand: Mining the Stamp Sands of Torch Lake--Log cabin-Houghton County Historical Society--Lake Linden |
Job descriptions will be available at 1 p.m. on Friday or by e-mail from <JOBS@MTU.EDU>. For a complete listing of available jobs, visit http://www.admin.mtu.edu/hro/postings/index.shtml
The following position will be posted Friday, June 21, 2002, at 1 p.m. through noon, Friday June 28, 2002, in the Human Resources Office.
Laboratory Supervisor--Department of Biological Sciences (Temporary nine-month position)
University employees are reminded to apply in writing prior to noon, Friday June 28, 2002, 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.