• Coffee & Conversations 
  • Noon on Monday Nov 6, 2023
• Undergraduate Research in Spring 2024
  •  Remember that the UPERSS website has been updated with current faculty projects, so please take a look at these and apply by Fri., Nov. 10.
• Cozy Sunday in the Annex! Sunday Nov. 12, from 406 in the Annex Lounge
  • Your Social Sciences student ambassadors (Erin Loeschmann, Emma Strutz, Jamie Fidler, Alyssa Church and Kellin Gasser) have been busy planning an event for you! 
  • It is open to all Majors and Minors of the department.
  • The event will feature a relaxing afternoon together with crafting, games, and fall goodies. 

• Lunch-n-Learn MTU GEO- Portal Tues Nov 14, 2023 12-1 
  • Open to all students, faculty, and staff.
  • The MTU GeoPortal is an online GIS data warehouse that hosts an array of unique and authoritative datasets, historical maps, and easy-to-use geospatial analytical tools.

 

• Wales-Summer Track A
  • Geared toward advanced undergraduates and graduate students, Wales 2024: Community Transformations is a 16-day exploration of how the "first industrialized nation in the world" (according to National Museum Wales) has transitioned environmentally, economically, culturally, and politically.
  • Using natural and cultural heritage institutions as our medium (national museums, national parks, and World Heritage Sites), we will dig into how these institutions navigate the environmental and economic scarring of deindustrialization and try to create a balance between following Welsh Parliament policy and community-based planning.
  • Students will design individual research projects using landscape analysis to present at the Vernacular Architecture Forum hosted at MTU in June of 2024.
  • All three courses taught by Dr. Mark Rhodes and Dr. Kathryn Hannum center interdisciplinary-yet-geographic questions upon industrial communities and national identities.
  • Interested students can reach out to Dr. Mark Rhodes directly at marhodes@mtu.edu, visit the program website and apply, and/or mark their calendars for 5:00pm on November 8th and 14th for informational sessions on campus (AOB 209) or via Zoom.

• Mexico Spring Break-APPLY NOW!
  • There is still room to join us on the Mexico Spring Break program!!
  • The deadline to apply has been extended to November 17th. 
  • Please contact khannum@mtu.edu with any questions! 

• Costa Rica-Summer Track A
  • Cost Rica Info Session
    • Tuesday November 7th in the AOB Commons
    • Come to hear more about the program, chat with the program leaders, and meet other interested students. Bring a friend or two! 
    • We will provide light snacks. 
  • In the meantime, please apply to the program so that we can get more information about you.

A delegation of faculty, staff and students from the Department of Social Sciences and Chemistry will depart late this month for the 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference, being held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The delegation includes 16 students from the College of Sciences and Arts and is led by Professors Mark Rouleau and Roman Sidortsov (both SS), Professor Emerita Sarah Green (Chem) and Adjunct Professor Shardul Tiwari (SS).

Known as COP, or Conference of the Parties, this event marks the 28th time that people from around the world will meet to fast-track the energy transition and slash emissions, transform climate finance and put nature, people, lives and livelihoods at the heart of climate action.

Michigan Tech's delegation will be at the center of the action as the collective co-hosts of a COP pavilion. The "Welcome to Just North and Beyond: A Pop-up University Pavilion" is a product of collaboration between American, British and Norwegian universities dedicated to achieving sustainable development through the lens of energy, environmental and climate justice.

The pavilion is organized by Michigan Tech; the University of Tromsø — the Arctic University of Norway; and the University of Sussex, U.K., and in collaboration with the European Union-funded JUSTNORTH Horizon 2020 project. It will bring a wealth of complementary knowledge, expertise and insights on and from northern regions deeply impacted by climate change.

“Our delegation to this year’s U.N. climate meeting really shows the strength and breadth of Michigan Tech’s energy transition and climate change work,” said Sidortsov, associate professor of energy policy. “We are working with colleagues at other universities to organize an exciting set of presentations, minicourses and press conferences highlighting their perspectives on climate, environmental and energy justice; policy; and governance.”

“It’s going to be exciting to spread the word on the work we’ve been doing on the potential for underground storage of hydroelectric power and how we can move communities off a dependence on carbon-based energy systems,” Sidortsov continued. “Presenting the work at a global conference like this, where there’s going to be people from all over the world, is exciting because they’ll see what we might be able to help them with toward transitioning to alternative energy sources. The work is new and is just starting to be implemented and proven in an actual installation, so the more people who see it, the more benefit it would be for everybody.”

This is Michigan Tech’s fourth COP. It is rare for a university to host a pavilion, and Tech is one of just a handful of universities with observer status and delegate privileges.

“We are the lead of a network of institutions and put forth a highly competitive proposal focused on energy, environmental and climate justice,” said Tiwari.

COP28 runs from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12. If you are planning to be at the COP with blue zone access and would like to present at the pavilion, submit your idea.

Read the latest happenings from the delegation on the Huskies at the UN Climate Conference (COP) blog.

• Check out this awesome article on the Loss and Damage Fund by Grad Student By Aritra Chakrabarty
  • The article is about analysis of governance issues of the Loss and Damage Fund established as one of the major outcomes from COP27.

• The Department of Social Sciences offices will be closed the duration of the Thanksgiving Break (November 20-24).  
• A new spring course we want to highlight: 
  • SS 2720 Statistics for Social Sciences - this course starts at a beginner level to teach students applications of statistical methods to social science research.  It counts as three credits towards your math general education requirement and as a methods class in our majors.
• Graduating in Spring 2024?
  • Anyone planning for graduation in spring 2024, make sure you fill out your application for graduation as soon as possible. It only takes a few minutes. 
• Graduating in Fall 2023?
  • Your advisor should do a final audit check with you for your degree. Make sure to touch base with your advisor on this so your audit is finalized.
  • We are planning an informal celebration for our graduates in the department on December 8 at noon. Hope you can all be there!

• SEAS Webinar Series
  • The University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) will be hosting webinar series from October 24 to November 16 for students who are considering graduate programs in sustainability and the environment.
    • November 7, 2023 @ 5 p.m. ET
      • Funding and Careers
      • Learn about employment trends in the environment and sustainability sector, the range of professional roles and compensation SEAS graduates attain, and the funding and financial aid options available to SEAS students.
    • November 14, 2023 @ 5 p.m
      • ET Student Resources and EdTech
      • Discover student resources and engagement opportunities offered at SEAS. You’ll also be introduced to online resources available to you even before joining SEAS, as well as the generative AI and educational technology plans of our school.
    • November 16, 2023 @ 5 p.m. ET
      • SEAS Application Workshop
      • Get tips on how to create a compelling application for admission. We’ll review the online application, and you’ll have the opportunity to ask questions.

• Rural Clean Energy Organizer at Groundwork
  • This is a full-time position with flexible hours, generous vacation and health benefits, retirement contribution matching, and a competitive salary range.
  • This is a project coordinator level position with a salary range of $48,000–$53,000, commensurate with experience.
  • Groundwork Center is located in northwest lower Michigan, and candidates must be able and willing to be located within the region by February of 2022. 
  • Please send a one-page cover letter, resume and three references to: jobs@groundworkcenter.org with the subject line: Rural Clean Energy Organizer.
  • Applications will be accepted until 11 pm on Friday, December 1st, 2023. 
• Director of Professional Master's Degree in Earth and Environmental Management
  • The School of the Earth, Ocean and Environment (SEOE) at the University of South Carolina invites applications for a Professional Track Faculty Member and Director of the Masters of Earth and Environmental Resources Management (MEERM) professional master’s degree program. 
  • Responsibilities of the position include identifying, developing, and maintaining internship and cooperative opportunities for SEOE students; leading marketing and recruitment efforts for the MEERM program; and leading improvement of the curriculum to ensure it meets the needs of students and employers. 
  • For additional information, please contact Dr. David Fuente (fuente@seoe.sc.edu).
  •  Review of applications will begin on December 4, 2023 and will continue until the position is filled.
• Curator, Professor, and Chief Conservation Scientist
  • The American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) seeks a Curator in the area of Conservation Science.
  • The Curator, Professor, and Chief Conservation Scientist’s research and activities are expected to complement and strategically expand the Museum’s impact in conservation, as well as synergize with other areas of AMNH science and establish or strengthen local, regional, and global collaboration.
  • The expected salary range for the Curator, Professor, and Chief Conservation Scientist is $140,000 – 185,000.
  • Inquiries about the position should be directed to Jin Meng (jmeng@amnh.org).
  • Consideration of applications will begin December 4, 2023, but applications will continue to be accepted after this date
• Research assistant professor position posting at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln: human dimensions of diversified cropping systems
  • Dr. Angie Carter's frequent collaborator and colleague, Dr. Andrea Basche, is hiring a new position that will support several social science research projects starting on her team.
  • She is seeking an excellent researcher with a strong background in social science methods as well as familiarity with Midwestern/Great Plains cropping systems.
  • She hopes to have someone in place for this position early next year and has at least three years of funding support.
  • One of the projects this position will assist with is a new United States Dept. of Agriculture North Central region Sustainable Ag Research and Education (USDA NC SARE) grant, on which Dr. Carter is a co-PI, studying cohort engagement in support of conservation action among women farmland owners in Eastern Nebraska and small/beginning farmers in Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
  • Deadline for application is December 8, 2023.
• Assistant Professor- Environmental Justice
  • The Department of Environmental Studies at The State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY ESF) in Syracuse, NY invites applications for an academic year, tenure-track position at the Assistant Professor rank, starting in the Fall of 2024.
  • We seek individuals who will advance research and teaching in environmental justice.
  • We are interested in scholars whose work intersects and engages with current conversations on (but not limited to) decolonization, antiracism, migration and displacement, status concerns, class, sexuality and gender, food, water, climate or energy justice, extractivism, or geographic vulnerability.