It’s a naturally occurring brain chemical with an unwieldy name: 4-hydroxybutyrate (4-HB). Taken by mouth, it can be abused or used as a date-rape drug.

Now, a team of Ohio and Michigan scientists have determined new routes by which 4-HB is metabolized by the body. “This is new and important information,” said K. Michael Gibson, professor and chair of biological sciences at Michigan Technological University and a member of the research team.  “It may provide new clues on how to counteract the drug’s effects, or to enhance its metabolism and decrease toxicity for chronic abusers or victims of sexual assault.”

Gibson is . . .

Michigan Technological University took its traveling STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Road Show to Grand Rapids last week, inspiring thousands of elementary and high-school students to “score with science” at a hockey game and science expo.

The Grand Rapids Griffins’ annual matinee game and Score With Science Expo featured exciting, hands-on activities for the students, presented by Michigan Tech Youth Programs staff.   They showed the youngsters how to make liquid nitrogen ice cream, to “walk on water” in an oobleck pool filled with a cornstarch mixture that looks like water but acts like a solid, to blow smoke like a . . .

International students and faculty members joined dozens of guests from Michigan Tech and the community for an evening of ethnic food and music at the Memorial Union Ballroom on Saturday night, Nov. 14.

The International Club’s third annual International Food Festival featured dishes from around the world, including Bangladesh chicken, Moroccan chicken with lemon and green olives, Native American butternut squash, Indian vegetable rice, Bengali fried chicken and potatoes, Jamaican jerk chicken, Mexican chipotle chicken, spaetzle or German dumplings, and nisu, a Finnish sweet bread.

Entertainment featured Raymond Mao, singer/songwriter; Alexandra Hand, flute; Carly Charlier ,violin; Mollie Ruth, cello; Uzi Mendez, cello; . . .

It's unlikely that you'll crash the local utility system by turning on your microwave. But in smaller electric grids it's not that hard for a single, power-gobbling component—say, central air-conditioning—to blow the proverbial main fuse.

Wayne Weaver, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Michigan Tech, is interested in designing ways for all components in smaller electrical grids to share power. His work applies to systems as simple as a solar-powered home and as complex as a naval vessel, an industrial park or a military outpost.

With a three-year, $350,000 grant from the National Science Foundation, Weaver will use game . . .

Sudhakar M. Pandit, a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering-Engineering Mechanics, has been named one of nine new Fellows of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, a professional society serving the manufacturing industry.

He joins SME's prestigious College of Fellows, created to honor members who have made outstanding contributions to the field of manufacturing.

One of Pandit's main contributions to the manufacturing industry has been development of a new methodology called data dependent systems and its applications to design and manufacturing. He has written two books and is author or co-author of more than 150 peer-reviewed papers.

Others in the 2009 class of . . .