Features

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January 31, 2013

Solving a gypsy moth mystery

U-M undergraduate researchers and their faculty adviser have discovered why leaf-munching gypsy moth caterpillars are fond of oak trees, while sugar maple trees appear to be resistant to them. Their research revealed that both leaves had similar protein quality but that maple leaves contained lower quantities of protein, making them less nutritious than oak.

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January 30, 2013

Planet Blue thrives

There has been immense growth in sustainability education, research and operations at U-M, according to a new interactive report tracking its progress. The 2012 Sustainability Progress Report reveals sustainability research funding at U-M has increased by 200 percent since 2003, and that there are currently 640 sustainability-related courses and 667 faculty with sustainability backgrounds.

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January 29, 2013

Thank you, Mr. Taubman

Taubman Scholars recently gathered for a luncheon at the Michigan Union to thank A. Alfred Taubman for his generous support. An endowment that he created in 1999 has provided merit-based aid to 912 students, including 35 scholars this year, from the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning.

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January 28, 2013

Wallenberg at Michigan

Before rescuing thousands of Jews during World War II, Raoul Wallenberg (B.S. Arch. ’35) learned and grew at Michigan. To learn more about him and other people who have shaped, and been shaped by, Michigan, visit the new Heritage Project website, an immersive, digital experience featuring a collection of multimedia stories about U-M's past.

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January 25, 2013

Singing dentists

The U-M School of Dentistry recently held its first ever talent show allowing students and faculty to showcase their non-dentistry related talents. Singers, dancers and musicians came out in full force to entertain the audience. The school plans to make the event an annual tradition.

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January 24, 2013

Practicing policy

For three days in early January, Ford School master’s students role play as stakeholders in a large-scale, intensive and continually evolving simulation of a real policy issue. This integrated policy exercise allows them to experience first-hand the complexity of policymaking, hone much-need skills and interact with real policy experts.

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January 23, 2013

Michigan’s World Class

Stories of life-changing classroom experiences, inspiring faculty members, and students working on societal problems are the focus of a new series at U-M. The Michigan's World Class website celebrates teaching and learning by sharing stories about how U-M's schools and colleges, and the faculty in them, are challenging today's students in new ways.

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January 22, 2013

Black and Blue

“Black and Blue: The Story of Gerald Ford, Willis Ward, and the 1934 Michigan-Georgia Tech Football Game” will show at 4 p.m. Jan. 23 in Annenberg Auditorium at Weill Hall. The screening will be followed by a panel discussion featuring Senator Buzz Thomas (grandson of Willis Ward) and Steve Ford (son of President Gerald R. Ford).

Photo: Courtesy of Bentley Historical Library

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January 20, 2013

(R)Evolution of the Dream

The theme "50 Years Later: (R)Evolution of the Dream" guides the 27th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Symposium at U-M this month. Morris Dees, co-founder and chief trial counsel of the Southern Poverty Law Center, will deliver the symposium's Keynote Memorial Lecture at 10 a.m. on Jan. 21 at Hill Auditorium.

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January 17, 2013

Raise the roof

The Collage XXXVI Concert, presented by the U-M School of Music, Theatre & Dance on Jan. 19, will raise the roof in celebration of Hill Auditorium’s 100th anniversary. It will showcase student talent from across all of the performing arts disciplines, while paying homage to one of the country’s finest concert halls.

Photo: Peter Smith

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January 16, 2013

Financial advice

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke recently discussed the state of the U.S. economy with Susan Collins, dean of the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at Rackham Auditorium. He also took questions from students and audience members via Twitter. He was visiting U-M as part of the Policy Talks @ the Ford School lecture series.

Photo: Austin Thomason, Michigan Photography

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January 15, 2013

Cuba as a classroom

Ruth Behar, the Victor Haim Perera Collegiate Professor of Anthropology at U-M, has been taking students to her native Cuba for a three-month study abroad program through the Center for Global and Intercultural Study since 2010. Students take classes in the morning and spend the afternoons immersing themselves in the country’s culture.

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January 14, 2013

Collaborating contraptions

Members of the Living Arts community recently gathered to construct a Rube Goldberg machine in the basement of Bursley Hall. Living Arts is an interdisciplinary residential community on North Campus that brings together undergraduates in the arts, architecture, engineering and other fields to explore innovation, creativity and collaboration.

Photo: Joseph Xu, Michigan Engineering Communications & Marketing

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January 11, 2013

Revamping a popular site

In 1995 a U-M biologist created the Animal Diversity Web, a searchable database and multimedia encyclopedia of animal natural history, that has become one of the largest and most used natural history websites in the world. The site was recently redesigned to include more graphics, new navigation tools and added features such as daily "animal headlines."

Photo: Jeffrey N. Jeffords

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January 10, 2013

Developing invisible scalpels

Engineering researchers at U-M have discovered a therapeutic ultrasound approach that could lead to the development of an invisible knife for noninvasive surgery. The new technique uses a carbon-nanotube-coated lens that can convert light to sound and focus high-pressure sound waves to finer points than ever before.

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January 9, 2013

Protecting the Great Lakes

More than 75 researchers, advocates and policymakers from the U.S. and Canada are gathering at U-M on Jan. 9 for the Great Lakes Futures Project, a partnership between 21 research institutions. Formed in Oct. 2012, the group plans to propose a set of long-term research and policy priorities to help protect and restore the lakes.

Photo: Michigan Sea Grant

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January 8, 2013

Connecting students around the world

A pilot program at the U-M School of Nursing recently allowed community health nursing students to collaborate with peers from the Faculty of Nursing Science of the Episcopal University of Haiti. Students examined community assessments in their region and compared findings during videoconferencing sessions.

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January 7, 2013

Peaceful pause

Aimee Xia's "Pause" came in first place in the latest “As I See It” Photography Competition. Aimee is the first two-time winner of the contest. Her photo “Jump” won last fall. Arts at Michigan holds photo contests for students throughout the year. Entries are narrowed down by staff and voted on in the Unions and online.

Photo: Aimee Xia, Junior in Mechanical Engineering

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January 4, 2013

Screen time

A screen-printing enterprise project created by students from Detroit Community High School, and U-M undergraduates from the Stamps School of Art and Design, Engineering and LSA was chosen to receive funding at Detroit SOUP, a monthly micro-funding event in Detroit. The students were also interviewed about their project by NBC Nightly News.

Photo: SOUP

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January 3, 2013

Design debut

Students test out one of the 85 design projects recently at the Michigan Engineering Design Expo. The expo showcases the achievements of undergraduate students in engineering design and prototyping, and demonstrates applications of their studies that solve real-life problems.

Photo: Joseph Xu, Michigan Engineering Communications & Marketing

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January 2, 2013

Miniature Michigan

U-M can seem like a big place, but a new video from the U-M Alumni Association, with its one-of-a-kind perspective, makes the campus feel much smaller.

Photo: Alumni Association video