CAMPUS

News for NMU Employees

Friday, Jan. 24, 2014

Governor’s Address Mentions NMU

Gov. Rick Snyder mentioned NMU in his State of the State address last week. The reference came within his comments about the MTEC SmartZone in Hancock, one of 15 high-tech, small-business incubators in Michigan designed to build a more prosperous regional economy. Snyder is pictured at an event recognizing its efforts.

According to the MTEC website, it helps to “commercialize ideas, patents and other opportunities surrounding corporate, university or private research institute efforts.” Snyder talked about a collaborative effort to establish an MTEC satellite in Marquette. Full Story

 

NMU Collaborates on Great Lakes Research 

According to a study released this week that is receiving extensive media coverage, the recent Arctic blast will likely lead to a healthy rise in Great Lakes water levels in 2014. The processes responsible for that change are not as simple as some might assume. It is true that extreme cold increases ice cover, reducing evaporation by preventing water vapor from escaping into the air. But a team of American and Canadian scientists note that the reverse is true as well: evaporation rates in the autumn help to determine the extent of ice cover in the winter.

The bi-national group comprises the Great Lakes Integrated Sciences and Assessments Center, a federally funded collaboration between the University of Michigan and Michigan State University. It collects data for studies on evaporation and other relevant issues from a network of five weather stations on the Great Lakes. One site is located on Granite Island, about 10 miles offshore on Lake Superior near Marquette. NMU faculty and students monitor sophisticated weather equipment (pictured) funded by the island’s owner, alumnus Scott Holman. In addition to evaporation, the station measures air temperature, relative humidity, barometric pressure, carbon dioxide, wind speed and direction, precipitation, solar radiation and water temperature. Full Story

NMU, USOC Continue Partnership

Northern and the United States Olympic Committee have renewed a contract to maintain an Olympic training site on campus.  Along with the new contract comes a new name for the facility. It is now called the NMU Olympic Training Site in place of the former U.S. Olympic Education Center (USOEC). Full Story

 

Enhanced Video Conferencing Available

Northern is using a multi-faceted, high-definition video conferencing system to enhance communication between parties on campus and at remote locations. It is not meant to replace face-to-face interaction, but is an appealing alternative when conditions warrant. The improved video and audio quality, combined with the ability to share documents and other material on computer screens at each site with the push of a button, puts Cisco TelePresence a step above other services. Full Story

NMU Leaves All Busing to Checker

NMU is officially out of the bus business. Checker Transport LLC, which operates the campus shuttle, submitted the lowest bid for providing group transportation to university-sanctioned sporting or other events, along with local activities related to admissions and orientation. The new contract went into effect Jan. 1. Full Story

 

NMU-Brazil Student Exchange Ending

A group of NMU students will escape the winter weather in February and travel to South America. They are the final participants in a student exchange partnership between NMU, Western Michigan University and two Brazilian institutions supported by a grant from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education. Since the grant was initiated in 2008, NMU and WMU students have spent the winter semester in Brazil, studying Portuguese and completing an internship at a business or organization. In return, Brazilian students have come to the Michigan universities in the fall semester for a similar experience. The program was designed to promote socially, environmentally and economically sustainable entrepreneurship. Full Story

‘Pump Up the Dome’ Feb. 15

More than 30 inflatables, games and other activities for children will be featured at the “Pump Up the Dome” event from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 15, in the Superior Dome. Admission is $7 for ages 4 and under, $12 for all other children and $1 for parents/guardians. Wristbands will be on sale at the NMU Ticket office in the Superior Dome and at the PEIF Info Center.

Kids will enjoy bounce houses, slides, obstacle courses, a large indoor sandbox, an appearance by Wildcat Willy and more—all in a climate-controlled environment.

“Pump Up the Dome” is sponsored by Intercollegiate Athletics and Rec Sports.

 

 

                      

Michelle Inman (CAPS) at one time envisioned herself living in the South and working at a textile mill, climbing the ladder toward plant management. She had earned a bachelor’s degree in textile marketing and management from what was then the Philadelphia College of Textile and Science in her home state of Pennsylvania. But as often happens, life events took her in a different direction.

She had to revise her career plans after moving to lower Michigan with her husband and discovering very few opportunities in her chosen field. The pickings were even slimmer when they ventured to the Upper Peninsula to start a family. The closest Inman has come to textiles was through her former job at Neenah Paper in Munising. Full Story