Over the centuries the Upper Peninsula has grown and developed due to
many immigrants who arrived. Some of their stories are known but most
have been lost to time. One of these stories belongs to Tsu-Ming Han, a
Chinese immigrant, a geologist and senior research laboratory scientist
at Cleveland-Cliffs Iron Company (now Cliffs Natural Resources). He came
to the Upper Peninsula in the 1950s and was instrumental in the
development of lower grade iron ore refinement processes and
pelletization, which had a direct impact on the region and its people.
In his spare time as a geologist, he identified an ancient fossil,
Grypania Spiralis. Additionally important to the story is his family:
Joy his wife and his children; Dennis, Timothy, and Lisa. This is
another major effort of Northern Michigan University's Center for Upper
Peninsula Studies to shed new light and ideas on the history of the U.P.