The following is a list of major research advances made at the U-M since 1945. See also items about research and discoveries in category of FIRSTS.
ANTHROPOLOGY:
- Study of the evolution of the gene for sickle cell anemia (1950's), by Frank B. Livingstone, professor of anthropology.
ASTRONOMY:
- Discovery that radio signals from quasars and quasi-stellar objects were variable (1965), by then U-M graduate student William Dent.
- Discovery of a great void, 300 million light-years in diameter, in the direction of the constellation Bootes (1981), by Prof. Robert Kirshner.
- Evidence discovered for black hole at the center of galaxy outside the Milky Way called the Large Magellanic Cloud (1983), by Prof. Anne Cowley.
- Evidence discovered for massive black holes in center of the Andromeda Galaxy and its satellite galaxy M32 (1987), by Prof. Douglas Richstone, professor of astronomy.
BIOLOGY:
- Analysis of social structure of naked mole rats and establishment of a breeding colony in the United States. Naked mole rats are the only species of mammals to live underground in insect-like social organizations (1984); by Richard D. Alexander, Theodore H. Hubbell Professor of Evolutionary Biology and curator of insects at the Museum of Zoology.
ECONOMICS:
- Michigan Model for Economic Forecasting started in 1951. The Model quarterly forecasts of U.S. economic conditions and has been among the most accurate produced by any public or private forecasting group.
ENGINEERING:
- Development of the ruby maser (1957 at Willow Run Laboratories); by Chihiro Kikuchi, professor of nuclear engineering.
- Major improvements in synthetic aperture radar technology, including development of an all-range focus system and optical processing techniques (1952-70 at Willow Run Laboratories), by former faculty members Louis Cutrona and Westin
Vivian with Emmett N. Leith, professor of electrical engineering and computer science.
- Discovery of new technique that solved major stumbling block in development of three-dimensional holography (1960 at Willow Run Laboratories), by Emmett N. Leith, professor of electrical engineering and computer science, with former faculty
member Juris Upatnieks.
- Development of instrumentation for Voyager, Pioneer, Galileo, Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, and other space exploration missions (1970's to present), by U-M Space Physics Research Laboratory.
- Discovery that Venus probably had oceans like Earth and lost them to a greenhouse effect (1982); by Thomas Donahue, professor of planetary science.
MEDICINE:
- Discovery that sickle cell anemia is caused by defective
genes affecting hemoglobin production (1940's), by James V.
Neel, M.D.
- Development of the Extra-Corporeal Membrane Oxygenation System (1985), a device similar to a heart-lung machine that can be used for extended periods of time. Has been used with newborns with impaired respiratory systems and cardiac patients
awaiting heart transplants, by Robert Bartlett, M.D.
- Discovery of genes for cystic fibrosis (1989) and neurofibromatosis (1990), by Francis Collins, M.D.
- First human gene therapy trials performed outside the National Institutes of Health for treatment of familial hypercholesterolemia, a lethal disease of extremely high levels of cholesterol which causes heart attacks and early death (1991), by James Wilson, M.D.
- First human clinical trials injecting a potentially therapeutic gene directly into patient. The experiment will evaluate therapy for treatment of malignant melanoma, a deadly form of skin cancer (1992), by Gary Nabel, M.D.
- U-M Neurosurgeon Richard Schneider co-invented a pneumatic football helmet that has significantly reduced head injuries for college and professional players.
PALEONTOLOGY:
- Discovery of underwater meat caches used by Paleo-Indians related to continuing research on why mastodons became extinct (1989), by Daniel C. Fisher, professor of geological and biological sciences and curator, Museum of Paleontology.
- Discovery of 40-million-year-old fossilized whale with feet (1990), by Philip D. Gingerich, professor of geological and biological sciences and director, Museum of Paleontology.
PHARMACY:
- Creation and development of pharmacokinetics---a field that uses mathematical models to study the metabolism of drugs in the human body, and determine safe and effective dosage levels and regimens (1968-1982), by John G. Wagner, professor of pharmacy.
- Discovery that nitric oxide is a biochemical signal that activates components of the human immune system (1991), by Michael A. Marletta, professor of medicinal chemistry and pharmacognosy.
PHYSICS:
- Invention of racetrack synchrotron, a significant improvement in particle accelerator technology (1950); by H. Richard Crane, professor of physics.
- Invention of liquid bubble chamber, a device that allowed physicists to see paths left by moving subatomic particles (1952-53); by Donald Glaser, professor of physics. Glaser won the Nobel Prize for this work in 1960, after leaving U-M for Berkeley.
- Discovery of how to measure free electron spin contradicting the prevailing wisdom that measuring spin was impossible (1950-53), by H. Richard Crane, professor of physics.
- Invention of a technique to surround glass fibers with material that prevented signal interference in bundles of optical fibers---the basis of medical endoscopy technology (Mid-1950's). by C. Wilbur Peters, professor of physics, and Lawrence E.
Curtis, undergraduate student.
- First report on the generation of optical harmonics (Early 1960's). by C. Wilbur Peters and Gabriel Weinreich, professors of physics.
- Development of first positron microscope (1988), by Arthur Rich, professor of physics, and James C. Van House, research investigator.
PUBLIC HEALTH:
- Nationwide field trials to determine safety and effectiveness of Salk polio vaccine (1954-55), by Thomas Francis, Jr., professor of epidemiology.
- Former School of Education Dean Wilbur Cohen is generally recognized as one of Medicare's principal designers. Cohen chaired the Kennedy Administration task force that drafted the proposal for the Medicare system that guaranteed health care for elderly Americans. Cohen also assisted in the design of the Social Security program.
SOURCE: Research News, July-August, 1986.
- Since 1956, the School of Public Health has conducted a longitudinal Tecumseh Community Health Study. It is the first longitudinal study that has confirmed risk factors for heart disease and is one of only two long-term studies of factors and
attitudes that influence health and disease.
The Institute for Social Research (ISR) is the nation's longest-standing laboratory for interdisciplinary research in the social sciences. Among its many ongoing studies are---
- Surveys of Consumers, the nation's oldest continuing index of consumer confidence and the only survey included in the U.S. Commerce Department's index of leading economic indicators (1946-present).
- Survey of American public opinion and voting behavior
compiled in the National Election Studies---a database of more than 30,000 in-depth interviews with the American electorate conducted during every election 1952-present.
- Panel Study of Income Dynamics---a longitudinal study of 38,000 representative Americans to monitor household income and economic status (1968-present).
- "Monitoring the Future," is a long-term (1975-present) study of trends of attitudes among high school and college
students, including attitudes and practices of drug and alcohol use. Trend data have been reported for high school seniors since 1975, college students since 1980 and 19- through 28-year-olds since 1986. In 1991, eighth and tenth graders were added to the study.
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