Great Lakes TechSurge convenes at NMC

Sep 26, 2019 | Intercom, Student News

TRAVERSE CITY — A first-of-its kind conference at NMC next week will offer an opportunity for Great Lakes researchers and advocates to better predict, plan for and manage challenges like the high lake levels that swallowed beaches this summer.

Great Lakes TechSurge: Lakebed 2030, a regional conference of the Marine Technology Society, will convene at NMC’s Great Lakes Campus Oct. 1-2. Internationally recognized for its conferences and technical symposiums, host cities for other upcoming MTS events include Houston, Seattle and Rio de Janiero, Brazil. The Traverse City event is held in parallel with a global initiative, Seabed 2030, which aspires to map the bottom of the world’s oceans by 2030.

Great Lakes Water Studies Institute Director Hans Van Sumeren, the Great Lakes section chair of the MTS, said he proposed the conference here to be sure the lakes weren’t left out of that initiative. Dr. Vicki Ferrini, research scientist at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and head of Seabed 2030, will give the conference’s opening keynote address.

“Mapping in general provides multiple users the ability to better understand impacts,” Van Sumeren said. Those impacts include fisheries, invasive species, navigation — both commercial and pleasure — and coastal resiliency, or changes due to climate impacts and water levels.

“Things that are real in the Great Lakes today,” Van Sumeren said. “All those things require some level of mapping and subsurface data collection.”

Less than 10 percent of the Great Lakes lakebed has been mapped at high resolution, he estimated. The conference will allow MTS members from academia, government and industry to discuss and prioritize what data to collect and how to do so.

“It won’t happen unless we have the conversations about prioritization and collaboration,” Van Sumeren said. “It furthers the opportunity for everyone to help shape what we’re doing.”

The event, which is still open for registration, will include speakers and demonstrations from NMC vessels and in the Great Lakes campus harbor. For NMC Marine Technology students it will also include a career fair.

“They’re actively looking for students with our skills,” Van Sumeren said of the conference attendees. NMC offers the nation’s only bachelor’s degree in marine technology in the nation. Begun in 2015, the program just had its largest fall enrollment to date. A total of forty students are enrolled.

“The student success is building momentum,” Van Sumeren said.

Release date: Sept. 26, 2019

For more information:

Hans Van Sumeren
Executive Director, Great Lakes Water Studies Institute
hvansumeren@nmc.edu
(231) 995-1793 (o)
(231) 392-9690 (m)

Success Story: Great Lakes campus hosts pair of prestigious conferences

Sep 25, 2019 | Intercom, Student News

September 25, 2019

Marine Technology student Max CroweA pair of conferences at the Great Lakes campus over the next week will advance national dialogue in two key program areas, showcase NMC’s top-tier marine technology (pictured) and culinary programs and facilities, and offer students an early glimpse at career prospects.

Great Lakes TechSurge: Lakebed 2030, a regional conference of the Marine Technology Society (MTS), will convene at NMC’s Great Lakes Campus Oct. 1–2. Internationally recognized for its conferences and technical symposiums, host cities for other upcoming MTS events include Houston, Seattle and Rio de Janiero, Brazil. The Traverse City event is held in parallel with a global initiative, Seabed 2030, which aspires to map the bottom of the world’s oceans by 2030.

Great Lakes Water Studies Institute Director Hans Van Sumeren, the Great Lakes section chair of the MTS, said he proposed the conference here to be sure the lakes weren’t left out of that initiative.

“Mapping in general provides multiple users the ability to better understand impacts,” said Van Sumeren, including fisheries, invasive species, navigation and coastal resiliency, or changes due to climate impacts and water levels.

“Things that are real in the Great Lakes today,” said Van Sumeren, who estimated less than 10 percent of the Great Lakes lakebed has been mapped at high resolution. The conference will allow MTS members from academia, government and industry to discuss and prioritize what data to collect and how to do so.

“It won’t happen unless we have the conversations about prioritization and collaboration,” Van Sumeren said. “It furthers the opportunity for everyone to help shape what we’re doing.”

Great Lakes TechSurge comes on the heels of Farms, Food & Health, set for Thursday–Sunday at both the Great Lakes Culinary Institute and the Hagerty Center. It’s the second time the campus has hosted the event connecting farmers and local food advocates with health care providers. NMC chef instructors will offer culinary medicine training for accredited healthcare professionals in addition to speakers, workshops and a vendor expo.

Last held in 2017, a new addition to this year’s event is student scholarships. NMC student Maya Koscielny, who is studying both culinary sales and marketing and fruit and vegetable crop management, will attend thanks to an NMC scholarship that covers her registration fees.

“People just need to be made more aware of the health implications,” of their diet, said Koscielny, who hopes for a career in sustainable farming practices. She’s even going to trade in her Saturday morning free time to attend.

“I’d rather be going to (the conference) than sleeping in,” she said.

Registration for Farms, Food and Health is closed, but the public is welcome to attend the free expo from 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday at the Hagerty Center.

Meanwhile, Marine Technology students have the opportunity to see their research published via a poster symposium, and attend a career fair that’s part of Great Lakes TechSurge.

“They’re actively looking for students with our skills,” Van Sumeren said of the attendees. NMC offers the nation’s only bachelor’s degree in marine technology in the nation. Begun in 2015, the program just had its largest fall enrollment to date. A total of forty students are enrolled including Max Crowe, pictured top, conducting mapping and surveying work in Isle Royale National Park in Lake Superior this summer.

“The student success is building momentum,” Van Sumeren said.

Great Lakes TechSurge is still open for registration and include speakers and demonstrations from NMC vessels and in the Great Lakes campus harbor.

Info Sec Alert! Keep Our Data Safe, Update Your Personal Devices

Sep 19, 2019 | Intercom, Student News

 Keep Safe, Stay Updated

Here at NMC we work rigorously to keep our software up-to-date to provide students and employees with a quality experience while using the software and ensuring that data is secure. Although NMC’s devices are kept up-to-date on campus, users frequently access NMC services from personal devices. Consider this: When was the last time you delayed an update on your smartphone or your personal computer? These updates give you the current version of your operating system and fix bugs. More importantly, updates fix security flaws. For this reason, it is important to keep your personal devices up-to-date. Security is an extremely important concern in all workplaces, classrooms, businesses, etc. At NMC, protecting employee and student privacy, including personal information, class information, files and documents, is always our priority.

Personal Devices to Keep up-to-date on:

Smartphones/Tablets

• iPhone IOS or Android OS
• Installed Apps

Laptops

• Windows or MacOS
• Installed Programs
• Webcam, Mouse, and Keyboard drivers

To start with, navigate to your device’s settings menu and look for the updates page.  Update your device and explore the different features that the new updates brings. What are you waiting for? Take a deep dive into your phone or laptop and see what you can learn.

Music community mourns Dave Parrish’s passing

Sep 19, 2019 | Intercom, Student News

The NMC family, as well as the larger Traverse City music community, mourn the passing of Dave Parrish. Dave lost a heroic eight-year battle with cancer last Friday, passing away peacefully at home, surrounded by family and friends.

Dave made an enormous impact on the community — bringing joy, love and wonderful music to all who knew him and worked with him. Dave wore many hats in the TC music community — NMC Children’s Choir Director, TCAPS Music Department Chair, TCAPS Choir Director, TCCHS Humanities Instructor, NMC Extended Education lecturer… the list goes on and on.

There will be a Memorial Service at Central United Methodist Church on Saturday, October 12, at 11 a.m. to celebrate Dave’s life and legacy.

NMC’s Women in Aviation Chapter hosts Girls in Aviation Day 2019

Sep 19, 2019 | Intercom, Student News

TRAVERSE CITY — The NMC Chapter of Women in Aviation International (WAI) will host a free program Oct. 5 to introduce local girls ages 8 to 17 to the career possibilities available in the aviation field. The day’s activities will take place at 2600 Aero Park Drive, Traverse City from 9 am to 1 pm. More than 40 girls along with their chaperones are expected to attend.

“We want our local girls to see that there are exciting careers available to them as engineers, astronauts, pilots, dispatchers, air traffic controllers, and dozens of other jobs with the aviation community,” says NMC’s WAI President Kate Hauch. “We will introduce girls to role models and educate them in a fun and supportive atmosphere.”

Limited to the first 50 girls, the NMC Chapter will join Women in Aviation International chapters around the world for this outreach event on Oct. 5, seeking to inspire the next generation of women in aviation. Chapters all over the world are putting on their own unique programs, and the U.S. states are proclaiming October 5, 2019 to be Girls in Aviation Day in their state. Attendees will also be able to earn the WAI Aviation Girl Fun Patch. Please reserve tickets through EventBrite.com.

“This program is free for participants and their chaperones with lunch provided,” added Kate Hauch. “We just want to see girls interacting with positive role models and considering aviation as they make their college and career plans.”

Women in Aviation International is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to providing networking, mentoring, and scholarship opportunities for women and men who are striving for challenging and fulfilling careers in the aviation and aerospace industries. This is the second year the NMC chapter has hosted the event.

Release date: September 19, 2019

For more information:

Kate Hauch
Women in Aviation International NMC Chapter
(989) 450-9910
kmhauch@gmail.com