Features

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May 31, 2012

Celebrating Ford School grads

As a warm-up to official commencement activities, Ford School of Public Policy students, family and friends recently flocked to Weill Hall for an informal celebration of the 2012 graduates' achievements. Attendees at the fourth annual Graduation Open House mingled with faculty and staff and enjoyed tours throughout the building.

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May 30, 2012

First degree of its kind

The School of Information (SI) plans to offer the first bachelor's degree in information in the nation beginning fall 2014. SI currently offers a professional master's degree program, a doctoral degree, and a master's degree in health informatics through a joint program with the School of Public Health.

Photo: Scott C. Soderberg, Michigan Photography

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May 29, 2012

Far-out project

A U-M undergraduate took advantage of the advanced technology available on North Campus to "visualize the universe" for her senior project. Utilizing 3-D modeling software and the virtual reality MIDEN at the Duderstadt Center, she created an interactive experience that allows users to travel through a model of the universe with a game controller.

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May 25, 2012

Early bloomers

Last winter’s warm weather has put the peony garden at U-M Nichols Arboretum on an early schedule. Don’t miss the chance to see the largest collection (10,000 blooms) of antique and heirloom peonies in North America during the annual Peony Festival May 15-June 5. This year marks the garden’s 90th anniversary.

Photo: Scott R. Galvin, Michigan Photography

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May 24, 2012

URC shines brightly

The University Research Corridor ranks among the best innovation clusters in the country. A new benchmarking report shows that URC's member institutions—U-M, Michigan State University and Wayne State University—remain competitive as research hubs and as economic engines when compared with university consortia across the United States.

Photo: Courtesy of Image Science & Analysis Laboratory, NASA Johnson Space Center

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May 23, 2012

Dancin’ in the streets

Audiences will walk along a four-block route in downtown Ann Arbor to watch dancers from Ann Arbor Dance Works, the resident dance company of the U-M Department of Dance, perform in historic buildings, alleys, sidewalks and in a garden during “Corsets, Grains, & Greenways: Dancing Downtown Ann Arbor” June 7-9.

Photo: Beth Wielinski

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May 22, 2012

Documenting nature

Volunteers from U-M’s Strategies for Ecology Education, Diversity, and Sustainability program recently brought 40 students from a Detroit high school to Nichols Arboretum. They were participating in the 2012 BioBlitz, an event to increase awareness about local biodiversity, environmental stewardship and careers in ecology.

Photo: Scott C. Soderberg, Michigan Photography

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May 21, 2012

Something to smile about

Students from the U-M School of Dentistry spent spring break providing dental care to 200 patients with little access to care in urban and rural Guatemala. Through long hours and incredible teamwork, the group provided more than 800 procedures from general cleanings to more advanced restorative procedures such as root canals to help restore beautiful smiles.

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May 18, 2012

Racing under water

The Human-Powered Submarine Team from the College of Engineering works in the Marine Hydrodynamics Laboratory as they prepare for the European International Submarine Races in Gosport, England in late June. They plan on racing against other students and amateur engineers through a demanding slalom course in this unique engineering challenge.

Photo: Laura Rudich, Michigan Engineering

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May 17, 2012

Bring it on

More than 1,000 U-M students danced for 30 hours straight recently to raise money for programs at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital. Dance Marathon at the University of Michigan, one of the largest student-run, nonprofit organizations on campus, celebrated its 15th year of helping kids by raising a record-breaking $510,325.76.

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May 16, 2012

Women’s rowing champs

The U-M women's rowing team was third place in the standings heading into the final two races of the Big Ten Championships on May 13 at Eagle Creek Park, but wins in the first and second varsity eight races earned the Wolverines their fifth Big Ten title, their first league crown since 2004.

Photo: Pat Lovell, Michigan Photography

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May 15, 2012

Mulch ado about composting

U-M is working to shrink the amount of waste it sends to landfills by 40 percent by 2025. Its pre-consumer food waste composting program is transforming vegetative food waste from campus dining halls into organic matter that can be used as soil amendment or fertilizer. In 2011 alone, the program transformed 126 tons of food waste into compost.

Photo: Mike Shriberg

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May 14, 2012

Beyond the classroom

The International Institute’s (II) annual photo contest showcases critical work that U-M students are doing around the world. At left is a photo taken by a student investigating drinking water conditions and health outcomes in Bhopal, India. Each year, the II distributes nearly $4 million to faculty and students to support research, teaching, internships and study opportunities abroad.

Photo: Emily Yu

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May 11, 2012

Blade runner

A U-M aerospace engineering student tests a composite motor blade with dual active flops (helicopter propeller) in the Active Aeroelasticity and Structures Research Laboratory of Professor Carlos Cesnik. The lab is dedicated to the exploration of multidisciplinary problems related to airplanes, helicopters and reusable launch vehicles.

Photo: Marcin Szczepanski, University of Michigan CoE Multimedia Producer

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May 10, 2012

Getting the scoop

U-M School of Public Health students take part in an ice cream social to celebrate the school's more than 80 percent participation rate in a recent student life survey. SPH has been gathering feedback and comments from students in order to evaluate and improve its climate and services.

Photo: Mary Beth Lewis

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May 9, 2012

Power to the professors

MCubed, a first-of-its-kind research funding initiative, gives $15 million to U-M professors to jumpstart projects they believe in. To qualify, three researchers from different disciplines need to come up with an idea and agree to work together. The grassroots program is designed to encourage bold research at the interfaces of academic fields, where big breakthroughs tend to happen.

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May 8, 2012

Mowing down the competition

U-M's Supermileage Team is aiming to break fuel barriers—with a lawnmower engine. This summer, they’re competing in the SAE International Supermileage Challenge, where student teams design and construct fuel-efficient vehicles with small four-stroke engines. The team's goal is to beat the North American record by reaching 3,300 miles per gallon.

Photo: Courtesy of the U-M Supermileage Team

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May 7, 2012

Smooth operators

U-M’s Tauber Institute for Global Operations was awarded the first UPS George D. Smith Prize for effective and innovative preparation of good practitioners of operations research, management science or analytics. Created to strengthen ties between industry and schools, the $10,000 prize is awarded to an academic department or program that excels at teaching operations research.

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May 4, 2012

Celebrating Title IX

U-M hosts the "Title IX at 40: Progress and Promise—Equity for All" conference May 9-11 to celebrate the 40th anniversary of federal legislation that enabled women and girls to become high school and college athletes, and to succeed professionally in all fields of endeavor. The keynote speaker will be Laila Ali, world champion boxer and president of the Women's Sports Foundation.

Photo: Martin Vloet, Michigan Photography

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May 3, 2012

For Whom the Bells Toll

During his 1921 commencement address, U-M President Marion Leroy Burton suggested a campus bell tower as a fitting memorial to the 236 men from U-M who had died in World War I. Burton Memorial Tower, an iconic masterpiece of inventive design, was dedicated in 1936. Today, it remains the principal central campus facility of the School of Music, Theatre & Dance.

Photo: Eric Bronson, Michigan Photography

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May 2, 2012

Sharing U-M's expertise online

At least seven U-M professors will be offering free online courses on topics such as finance, electronic voting, computer vision, and fantasy and science fiction using a new web-based platform called Coursera. U-M plans to make web-based courses available at no cost through the coursera.org website along with Princeton University, the University of Pennsylvania and Stanford.

Photo: Scott R. Galvin, Michigan Photography

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May 1, 2012

Bike friendly campus

U-M is one of only 35 campuses nationwide to receive the designation of a Bike Friendly University by the League of American Bicyclists in recognition of its programs and commitment to bicycling on campus. The selection criteria is based on a campus biking program’s engineering, education, encouragement, enforcement, and evaluation and planning.

Photo: Angela J. Cesere, AnnArbor.com