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Looking for fun and affordable activities to enjoy with friends, family and coworkers this summer? Look no further than the Huskie Den, where you can experience hours of bowling, billiards and more!

The Huskie Den summer hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, ensuring plenty of time for you to squeeze in a game or two after work or classes. During the week you can take advantage of the daily rates and summer specials, which are as follows:

Pricing (available to all):

  • Students, staff, and faculty pay $1.50 per game.
  • Community members and guests pay $2.50 per game.
  • Shoe rental is $1.50 per pair. Children six and under are free.

Dollar Tuesdays (available to all):

  • Bowling games for $1.00 per game.
  • Shoe rental is $1.00 per pair. Children six and under are free.

Throwback Thursdays (available to all):

  • Each bowling game is only 50 cents.
  • Shoe rental is 50 cents per pair.

Orientation Special (available only to orientation guests on orientation days):

  • Bowling games for $1.00 each.
  • Shoe rental is $1.00 per pair. Children six and under are free.

If you have questions or are interested in learning more, visit the about the Huskie Den’s website.

Date posted: July 24, 2023 | Author: | Comments Off on Huskie Den offers specials during summer hours

Categories: Faculty & Staff Homepage Students Uncategorized

For many entrepreneurs, coming up with a great business idea is an arduous task, and implementing that idea can be even more challenging. Regardless, rising junior management student Jada Samuels has made it all look easy with her natural smoothie company, Jada Juice.

Jada Samuels recently won first place at Depaul University’s Pitch Madness Competition. Photo courtesy of Depaul University.

On July 19, Samuels won first place overall and was also voted as the audience favorite at DePaul University’s Pitch Madness event, which was held at the Holtschneider Performance Center. The event hosted student entrepreneur teams from 10 universities from across the Midwest. This is the first time NIU participated in this competition — sponsored and supported by the NIU Office of Innovation in the Division of Research and Innovation Partnerships as well as the College of Business’ De La Vega Innovation Lab.

Jada walked away with a whopping $7,000 — $6,000 for her first-place win and $1,000 for being the audience favorite — to help continue her business.

Jada founded Jada Juice when she was 17 years old in March 2020, after realizing how much a poor diet can influence a person’s health. Through her company, she is determined to help address food insecurity issues in minority communities.

“My mom struggled with migraines and high blood pressure for as long as I can remember” Samuels said. “Once she changed her diet, we began to see progress. I did a lot of research on different fruits and their benefits, and decided to create my own smoothie recipes, each targeting their own specific health benefits. This was when I realized that my community, especially, needed to become more educated on how to naturally maintain healthier lifestyles. My vision is to create generational health within not only minority communities, but across all communities, despite socioeconomic backgrounds.”

Samuels noted that taking part in this competition — as well as the College of Business’ inaugural De La Vega Innovation Pitch Competition in April, where she took home second place — allowed her to discover her own potential.

Photo courtesy of DePaul University.

“Being an entrepreneur can be very challenging, it can be easy to put a lot of pressure on yourself to over-exceed,” Samuels said. “Leading up to the competition, my nerves were sky high. I didn’t know what to expect. Being able to get on that stage and perform with confidence taught me that I could do anything that I put my mind to.

“Entrepreneurship forces us to break out of our shells, because if we don’t, we won’t be able to effectively share our vision with the world.”

Becca Husar, associate director of innovation and partnership development for the College of Business, had the opportunity to mentor Samuels as she prepared her pitch for both competitions. Throughout the process, she was struck by Samuels’ drive for perfection.

“From the moment we selected Jada as one of our NIU students to participate in the University Pitch Madness Competition, Jada immediately got to work writing her script, memorizing her pitch and perfecting her stunning pitch deck,” Husar said. “With every one-on-one meeting we had, Jada did not hold back from asking questions and was receptive to critical feedback or suggestions. Seeing her open-minded and agile work ethic demonstrated the key traits of the entrepreneurial mindset that we are trying to instill in all our students. This hunger for improvement and tenacity in preparation represents the grit and pride of all Huskies.”

While Samuels certainly spent long hours preparing for her pitch, she credits faculty and staff for helping her plan for the event.

“The NIU leadership did an amazing job at making sure I was adequately prepared for both the De La Vega pitch competition, as well as the DePaul Pitch Madness competition. I especially liked the one-on-one sessions where I got the chance to practice in person with the coaches. They did an amazing job at providing guidance and advice throughout the entire process,” she said.

So, what comes next for Jada Juice? After winning two competitions, Samuels has even more confidence in her business. Samuels is working toward establishing the first official Jada Juice smoothie bar in the heart of Chicago while also striving toward continuing to impact young people by making her smoothie products available in school cafeterias around Chicago. Additionally, she is actively pursuing retail partnerships with local grocery stores where she plans to showcase her Jada Juice smoothie popsicles.

Wherever her entrepreneurial path leads her, Samuels feels ready, thanks to the skills she has built in the College of Business.

“While I do value the insights gained from hands-on business experience, I firmly believe that learning essential business fundamentals through college education holds equal significance,” she said. “The NIU College of Business not only provides numerous opportunities to network and establish valuable connections, but it also grants credibility — a crucial attribute for any aspiring business owner.”

NIU was represented by two student businesses, Jada Juice and the ASSIST Project, which was led by students Emily Flynn and Annahi Contreras. Both teams were selected to attend Pitch Madness based on their performances at the Inaugural De La Vega Innovation Lab Pitch Competition this past spring. For the DePaul event, only one team from each school was eligible to make it to the finals, but both teams did a fantastic job representing their businesses and NIU.

As with all business programs at NIU, experiential learning is a key objective in preparing our students for their future careers and ventures.

“Across NIU, academic pursuits can be put into practice with the plethora of resources and cocurricular opportunities that are available,” Husar said. “Jada has taken an active role in her education by pursuing these opportunities. Jada has consistently taken on challenges that have helped her to grow. Students across NIU can grow their confidence and competitive advantage by taking that initiative, asking for opportunities, and pushing themselves out of their comfort zone.”

Once students like Jada pursue these real-world business experiences, they have a more diversified résumé and graduate with the confidence and skills needed to be career-ready.

 “Jada’s story is one that reflects the success of many young entrepreneurs and business students in our college,” said Interim Dean Denise Schoenbachler. “Through hard work and a vision for where she wants to go, Jada has been able to take advantage of all the top-notch opportunities and resources available to her and make her dreams a reality. We are so proud of Jada and all our College of Business students who are accomplishing their goals. We cannot wait to see what she does next!”

Date posted: July 24, 2023 | Author: | Comments Off on Management major Jada Samuels wins first prize at DePaul University’s Pitch Madness Competition

Categories: Faculty & Staff Homepage Students Uncategorized

They say you have only one chance to make a first impression, and organizers of the fall Move-In and Week of Welcome are seeking volunteers to make sure NIU gets it right this fall.

“The impressions that students and families get when they arrive on campus are crucial, and having enough volunteers is critical to that process,” says NIU Housing Administrator Tim Trottier who has helped plan and/or lead Move-In efforts for more than 20 years. “Just having friendly faces on hand to help unload a car, answer questions or provide useful information can go a long way toward easing some of the stress that goes with sending a student off to college.”

Like many other activities on campus following the pandemic, participation in Move-In has been a bit down the last two years, and Trottier is hoping to reverse that this year with a rebound in the number of faculty and staff that participate in the Move-In process for new students on Aug. 23 and 24.

“It truly is one of the best days of the year, and we would love for more people to experience it,” Trottier said. “Even if you aren’t up to doing a lot of lifting, there are many ways to contribute. We need people to help direct student volunteers, we need folks to greet families and explain the process, and we need people who just know how to make people feel welcome.”

Trottier is also looking for student groups – clubs, fraternities, sororities, etc. — who are interested in helping. Interested groups can contact Trottier at 815-753-0546.

Even if you are not available to help move students into residence halls, you can help make them feel part of the Huskie community by volunteering to staff Week of Welcome activities, says Jenna Pracht, the program director for Orientation & First Year Programs.

“When faculty and staff show up to help ensure that our Week of Welcome activities run smoothly it demonstrates to students that all of us at NIU are here to help the succeed, which can go a long way toward helping a student feel part of a caring community,” Pracht said.

Volunteers are needed to assist at the Band Run, the Kick-Off Event, the Color Run, the Campus Block Party and more.

To see a full list of events, and time slots, for volunteer opportunities visit the online volunteer registration form.

Date posted: July 24, 2023 | Author: | Comments Off on Preparing for Move-in and Week of Welcome

Categories: Faculty & Staff Homepage Students Uncategorized

On countless occasions Steve has assisted me interpreting transcripts and credit reports. No matter what the issue, Steve brings his very professional yet friendly and and gracious manner to the table. I am so grateful for his amazing efficiency and the ability to help solve problems.

Date posted: July 23, 2023 | Author: | Comments Off on Steven Squire – Registration and Records

Categories: Applause

Salina is a phenomenal mentor! The first week I was new to NIU she made me feel welcome. She answers any question I have for her and if she does not have the answer, she will always get back to me as soon as she does. HRS is lucky to have her in their corner. Thank you, Salina, for all your guidance and being very patient with me as I navigated my first year here at NIU.

Date posted: July 23, 2023 | Author: | Comments Off on Salina Heller – Human Resource Services

Categories: Applause

Special thanks to Bridgett Davis in HR for her exceptional customer service! Recently, I had a complex question regarding benefits. Bridgett was prompt, walked me through the benefits process, and followed up to make sure that all of my questions were answered. In the past, Bridgett has helped me with other matters and provided the same outstanding service. Thank you so much for your guidance and support.

Date posted: July 18, 2023 | Author: | Comments Off on Bridgett Davis – Human Resource Services

Categories: Applause

Rebecca is awesome! We were stuck on a enrollment waitlist issue and Rebecca walked us through how to correct the issue and then quickly answered a MyNIU access issue. Thanks Rebecca!

Date posted: July 18, 2023 | Author: | Comments Off on Rebecca Rahe – Registration and Records

Categories: Applause

Travis goes out of his way to help and stays with you until the problem is solved. His customer service acumen is exceedingly welcomed in this day and age when such soft skills have fallen to the wayside. Thank you as always, Travis, for all your help; particularly on this last road block that you cleared superbly. I appreciate you.

Date posted: July 18, 2023 | Author: | Comments Off on Travis Reidl – Division of Information Technology

Categories: Applause

Wei-Chen Hung
Wei-Chen Hung

Faculty in the Department of Educational Technology, Research and Assessment (ETRA) are now more skilled in the delivery of “HyFlex” – hybrid-flexible – teaching.

Such courses provide “both a classroom and at least one online participation option, or mode, to students. Students are free to choose which option to use for each class session,” according to the HyFlex Learning Community.

Brian Beatty, a professor of Instructional Technologies at San Francisco State University who pioneered the development and evaluation of HyFlex course design for blended learning environments there, led a May 16 workshop in Gabel Hall.

Participants “deepened their understanding of the HyFlex teaching, its benefits and best practices for implementation,” ETRA Chair Wei-Chen Hung says.

“Our faculty and instructors are committed to offering HyFlex courses to foster equity, opportunity and inclusion, ensuring all students have flexible, accessible and diverse learning experiences regardless of their location, schedule or personal circumstances,” Hung says. “We also outfitted our classrooms to be HyFlex-ready.”

Agenda topics included confirming the strategy, including clarification of the “why” and the expectations of all stakeholders, and examining the importance of engaged learning and the role of social engagement in learning.

Tom Smith
Tom Smith

Tom Smith, an ETRA faculty member and early adopter of the HyFlex teaching model, found that his students expressed appreciation of the convenience of online learning but also of the familiar comfort and kinship of face-to-face classes.

“I really wanted to make the classes I was teaching more accessible to a broader range of students, and so I wanted to formalize that process,” says Smith, a Distinguished Teaching Professor who specializes in research methods, educational statistics and data analysis.

“HyFlex is a new challenge in teaching – it’s something new for me,” he adds, “and it’s something that presents issues and problems that I think are interesting from a pedagogical standpoint and from a research standpoint on how to best design a course that meets the needs of students who need different support systems in their learning processes.”

Much of Beatty’s presentation, which also included a discussion of measuring, assessing and revisiting expected outcomes and aligning pedagogy with assessment, as well as a look at issues and solutions others encountered in pursuing HyFlex teaching, focused on “the big question.”

“Dr. Beatty kept emphasizing that it’s really important to clarify in our minds why we’re offering a multimodality approach – not just to do it, but to think about why we’re doing it,” Smith says, “and then to try to design the courses in a unified way so that all students, regardless of the modality that they’re attending, will get something of the same experience.”

Brian Beatty
Brian Beatty

ETRA students play a critical role in the process – and, ultimately, develop self-directed and active learning abilities.

“The student is the driver of their own learning more than the instructor is. The students are making their own decisions in terms of their learning much more than in a traditional face-to-face class where you tell students, ‘You come to class every day, and you do this and you do that,’ ” Smith says.

“With the HyFlex approach, the student has much more flexibility – that’s the ‘flex’ part – in choosing what they want to do and when they want to do it,” he adds. “The student might decide, ‘Well, today I really need to cover the class. I’m going to come to class face to face,’ and maybe another day, ‘You know, I don’t need this much today,’ or, ‘My schedule today makes it easier for me to attend online.’ ”

Convenience is especially important to adult learners with work and family responsibilities as well as to students with disabilities, all of whom Smith says should benefit from HyFlex.

And, thanks to the support and work of Dan Hyde, IT manager with the College of Education’s Technology Innovation Learning Services, ETRA’s lab equipment has been upgraded and is now ready for HyFlex teaching in the fall.

Judy Puskar
Judy Puskar

That’s good news for students, says Judy Puskar, academic program advisor in ETRA, because “Hyflex is the ultimate in offering the most flexibility in class meeting options.”

“For students, HyFlex means their choices are broadened and optimized to keep themselves on track with courses and engagement in content,” Puskar says.

“It means students won’t be prevented from taking a class because it’s not offered in a mode they are able to attend,” she adds. “Out-of-state students can attend online, and on-campus students can enjoy the benefits of in person, while all can engage and make the class experience even better.”

Date posted: July 18, 2023 | Author: | Comments Off on ETRA faculty attend workshop to understand, consider HyFlex teaching

Categories: Faculty & Staff Homepage

A thin layer of gold or silver helps improve the efficiency of perovskite solar cells, but researchers have found a less expensive material that could enable commercialization of the technology without exorbitant cost.

“Our team has identified a potentially disruptive technology that could help reduce the infrastructure investment for use of highly promising perovskite solar cells in solar panels,” NIU Chemistry Professor Tao Xu said.

Xu and Kai Zhu, a senior scientist in the Chemistry and Nanoscience Center at the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), led a research team that details its findings in a new paper, “Nickel-Doped Graphite and Fusible Alloy Bilayer Back Electrode for Vacuum-Free Perovskite Solar Cells.” The paper appears in the journal ACS Energy Letters.

“A layer of gold in a solar panel or even a layer of silver is probably too expensive,” Zhu said. “It would make the solar panel not affordable for most people.”

Instead of a precious metal, Xu and Zhu used a nickel-doped graphite layer coupled with a bismuth-indium alloy layer. The two layers can be easily integrated into the perovskite device through painting them on, offering a low-cost fabrication method.

NIU Professor Tao Xu

“Our approach replaces costly gold, commonly used to make the back-metal electrode in these solar cells through an expensive high-temperature vacuum-chamber process,” Xu said. “Instead of gold, we use inexpensive materials that can be readily laminated to thin films at atmospheric pressure and mild temperatures. We think this will be an appealing low-cost solution that could help speed commercialization of perovskite solar cells.”

The research team included four of Xu’s NIU Ph.D. students: Mengyuan Li, Jianxin Wang, Owen S. Wostoupal and Xudong Xiao. Other members of the team were from NREL, Northwestern University and Argonne National Laboratory.

Zhu said the perovskite solar cell made with the new materials yielded a laboratory efficiency of 21%. Further research should boost the efficiency higher and closer to that of perovskites made with precious metals, which hold a record efficiency of 26%. Metal is better than carbon at conducting electricity.

Xu and Zhu have previously collaborated on ways to sequester lead should a perovskite solar cell become damaged, as the cells contain a minute amount of the element.

Perovskite solar cells are made by depositing chemicals onto a substrate. Individual layers all serve a purpose, with the perovskite layer serving as the semiconductor. The photons from sunlight trigger electrons to move in one direction, creating a vacancy—or “hole”—that then moves in the opposite direction. The right energy level is needed to spark this movement, in the process creating an electric current. The graphite material and gold both possess the right energy level.

By eliminating a layer of precious metals, the cost to manufacturer perovskites will be significantly cheaper, the researchers calculated. An analysis suggests that for a perovskite-based solar plant with a gigawatt of power output, using the graphite/alloy bilayer will slash costs of the contact electrodes by a factor of between 4 and 1,000 depending on the other types of materials used for back materials.

“That’s the selling point for this approach,” Zhu said.

The research was funded in part by the Department of Energy’s Solar Energy Technologies Office and by the National Science Foundation. The work is also highlighted by Chemical and Engineering News, a weekly news magazine of the American Chemical Society.

Date posted: July 18, 2023 | Author: | Comments Off on Substitute for gold layer in perovskite clears way for cheaper commercialization

Categories: Faculty & Staff Homepage