Dr. Qingxu "Bill" Jin is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Michigan State University. A licensed Professional Engineer (PE) in Michigan and Maryland, Dr. Jin is dedicated to advancing concrete technologies that aim to transform the construction industry. His pioneering work on “Self-heating, self-healing bendable concrete” has gained significant public interest, featured in media outlets such as The Detroit News, Detroit Free Press, Yahoo! News, and local stations WILX 10, WDIV Local 4, and WLNS 6. Beyond the lab, Dr. Jin is a passionate advocate for STEM education, serving as an ASCE ExCEEd Fellow and a STEM Ambassador for MSU. He earned his Ph.D. from the Georgia Institute of Technology, with a minor in Materials Science, and holds dual Master’s degrees from the University of Michigan. He has also served as a guest researcher at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and is a member of the Sigma Xi and Chi Epsilon honor societies. Presentation title – Can Concrete Bend, Heat, and Heal Itself? An MSU Innovation to Help End Pothole Season
A total of $40,000.00 was approved by the Rotary Club of Lansing Foundation Board for International Grants from the committee. Each week we will highlight one of the non-profits receiving our checks.
Global Dental Relief
During their clinic visit, each child receives a comprehensive exam, a cleaning when possible, and all restorations or extractions needed to ensure they are restored to full dental health. If needed, children return to the clinic for follow-up care duing the week to complete their treatment plan. Children also receive a new toothbrush, thoroush toothbrushing instructions in their local language, and a preventive fluoride varnish treatment.
Dental care is out of reach both physically and financially for those living in this remote area of Guatemala. Global Dental Relief teams provide restorative and preventive dental care at no cost to the children in this community.
A healthy mouth leads to a healthy life. Without the critical care provided by GDR volunteers, children live with chronic pain and infection. This pain and infection affects their ability to sleep at night, eat properly or pay attention during school.
Global Dental Relief was awarded a grant of $3,000.00 and John Person was the sponsor.
With profound love and hope in the promise of eternal life, the family of Melinda Ione Roznowski announces her passing on February 11, 2026, at the age of 66, after a long and courageous battle with Frontotemporal Dementia, with her husband, Steve by her side.
Melinda was born on January 25, 1960, in Lansing, Michigan, to Max and Betty Strother. From an early age she possessed a gentle heart, deep empathy, and a natural instinct to care for others - qualities that would guide the course of her life and vocation. She graduated from Everett High School and went on to attend Olivet College before earning her Master's Degree in Social Work from Western Michigan University. She dedicated her professional life to social work and counseling, serving in a wide variety of settings and touching countless lives.
Her great love story began in the eighth grade, when a boy named Steve Roznowski sat behind her in class and played with her hair. From that moment on, their bond was unavoidable. Their relationship grew over the years around a common love of music, and they spent many years playing in local bands and churches - Melinda singing with passion and joy, and Steve accompanying on guitar. They were married on October 2, 1982, and shared 43 years of marriage filled with faith, devotion to their children and perseverance.
Melinda's proudest role was being a mother to her five children. She sacrificed herself to become a mother, with difficult pregnancies due to her Type-1 diabetes, and she later pushed Steve to take a leap of faith and adopt their two youngest from Guatemala. She gave up her social work career and committed herself to her family, home-schooling the children, filling the house with music, encouraging creativity through art, crafts and nature, and teaching kindness by example. Later, she delighted in becoming "Grandma" to Ivy, Octavia, and Solanus. Her faith shaped every part of her life. A devout Christian, Melinda faithfully served at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Lansing and, following her conversion to Catholicism, at Immaculate Heart of Mary in Lansing and Saint Mary's in Williamston.
She offered her musical talents, compassionate presence, and listening ear wherever she went. She believed deeply in radiating God's love to others - especially those struggling with addiction, trauma, or despair. Proud of her own sobriety and recovery journey, she became a source of comfort and understanding for many who felt alone. Even during her illness, Melinda's hope in Heaven gave her courage. She often reminded those around her: "Breathe and do the next right thing." Her faith and strength turned suffering into witness and fear into trust. Melinda found joy in God's creation - in animals, gardens, and the changing seasons. She loved cooking meals that gathered family together, creating art with her hands, and simply sitting outdoors in peaceful reflection.
In a piece of writing from her childhood, she wrote: "Life is like all the single seasons of the year, combined. And each season brings a new part of life."
She embraced every season - youth, motherhood, recovery, service, and even illness - with grace. She was preceded in death by her father, Max Strother, and her grandchild, Francis Roznowski. She is survived by her beloved husband Steve; her children Joshua, Keenan (Cilicia), Mara, Naidalyn, and Manuel; her grandchildren Ivy, Octavia, and Solanus; her mother Betty Strother; and her brother Mike (Lisa) Strother, along with many friends, parish communities, and individuals whose lives she forever changed through compassion and faith. Melinda's life was a testament to love in action - steady, sacrificial, creative, and deeply rooted in God. Her legacy lives on in the people she comforted, the family she nurtured, the songs she sang, and the faith she carried through every season of life.
Though she will be profoundly missed, her family finds peace knowing she has reached the joy she long trusted awaited her - whole, restored, and home. Services Visitations will be on Thursday, February 19th from 2:00–4:00 pm and 6:00–8:00 pm, with Rosary at 7:30 pm at St Martha's Catholic Church in Okemos. Funeral Mass will beon Friday, February 20th at 11:00 am, with visitation one hour prior to Mass at St Martha's Catholic Church in Okemos. Luncheon to follow at University Club of MSU, 3435 Forest Rd. Lansing, MI 48910.
In lieu of flowers, please make memorial donations to Mother Teresa House at MotherTeresaHouse.org.
Pres. Chris Swope called today’s meeting to some semblance of order and recited the 4-Way Test. He announced that today, Friday the 13th is the anniversary of his first date with his spouse many years ago and, further, today wore the suit today he wore for his wedding. This was quickly followed by another Rotarian calling out it was also his anniversary of the first date with his spouse.
And not to be outdone by other Rotarians, upon opening up for the Reflection, Julie Pingston announced it was also HER anniversary of her first date with her spouse. Julie went on to deliver a very moving reflection commemorating the 3rd anniversary of the shooting on MSU’s campus, a tragic day for our entire community but especially for the three students who were tragically killed and the others who were injured.
Hari led the group in a Patriotic song on piano, My Country Tis of Thee.
Sam Tucker passed the microphone around for the introduction of visiting Rotarians and guests. Pres. Chris reported two family deaths under the Health of the Club. Laura Appel’s mom, Diane Appel, passed away recently at home. Steve Roznowski’s wife, Melinda, died last week.
Today’s special music and entertainment began with a short Valentine’s Day poem by Terry Terry, who then introduced Lansing’s Poet Laureat Ruelaine Stokes who introduced a Valentine’s event at Urban Beat and then recited two love poems, one titled “Open the Bag of French Chocolate”…and the second one which escaped me because I was completely focused on bags of French chocolate! (Oui, Oui!)
Our newest member presentation was from Twesigye Jackson Kaguri from Uganda, Africa. Despite walking four miles in barefoot to school each day, (This is actually true…not the same tale our grandparents told us about their own childhood.) Through unique encounters, he went on to graduate from Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda and became a visiting scholar at Columbia University and also studied at Harvard. He’s received multiple PhDs. His nonprofit, Nyaka, was founded in 2001 after Jackson promised his dying brother he would create educational opportunities for orphans of people who died of HIV/AIDS in Uganda. He took the $5,000 he was saving for a house and built the first, two-room school for the Nyaka community! The nonprofit has invested more than $150 million in Nyaka for education, micro-loans and entrepreneurial training for tens of thousands of “grandmothers” who look after children orphaned by HIV/AIDS. Jackson has been Rotarian for 34 years and has authored seven books. Welcome Jackson!
Chair of the Day, Janet Lillie, introduced today’s presenter, Mollie Woods, director of MSU Product Center. As part of MSU Extension, the Product Center supports business innovation in food product development, assisting entrepreneurs and economic developers in agriculture, food, natural resources and the bio-economy. It also oversees: FPIC (Food Processing Innovation Center), FARM (Food Agriculture Research and Manufacturing Center) and MSU Dairy Foods Complex, including the very famous Dairy Store! Mollie shared a recent favorite product launch worked on by the Product Center. It’s called Protein Pints, a high-protein ice cream. The founders were small-scale producers and started working with MSU to scale up production. The product was accepted by in Meijer and the owners were self-distributing. After working with MSU, the brand has major distributions in Target and other large chains and found a facility that could help them produce at mass scale. Protein Pints’ founders were just listed in Forbes as a 30-Under-30.
With profound love and hope in the promise of eternal life, the family of Melinda Ione Roznowski announces her passing on February 11, 2026, at the age of 66, after a long and courageous battle with Frontotemporal Dementia, with her husband, Steve by her side.
