Feed of Latest U-M Research News
Energy
Smartphone app illuminates power consumption
A new application for the Android smartphone shows users and software developers how much power their applications are consuming. PowerTutor was developed by doctoral students and professors at the University of Michigan. Battery-powered cell phones serve as hand-held computers and more these days. We run power-hungry applications while we depend on the phones to be available in emergencies. "Today, we expect our phones to realize more and more functions, and we also expect their batteries to last," said Lide Zhang, a doctoral student in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and one of the application's developers. "PowerTutor will help make that possible." [Read more...]
The Limits of Carbon Pricing: Can High Prices Alone Cut Emissions?
U-M Professor Andy Hoffman writes in his latest Perspectives blog posting that "we place too much faith in pricing as a singular mechanism for solving environmental problems in this country. The most vivid example is the call to create a price for carbon as the solution to the climate change problem. As the logic goes; if we set a price for carbon high enough, innovators will create new gadgets that emit fewer greenhouse gases, investors will invest in them, companies will adopt them and consumers will buy them. But, not so fast. We are not like some sort of mice chasing a piece of cheese whenever it is placed in front of us. Unlike mice, we are not so singular in focus. We actually care who is placing the cheese and we may even ignore the cheese if it is not placed in the right way." This first appeared on the Newsweek.com “Green Business” blog on November 18, 2009. [Read more...]
U-M joins the launch of new web site: ScienceWorksForUs.org
The University of Michigan and other leading public and private research universities today announced the launch of ScienceWorksForUS, an initiative that will highlight the scientific research and related activities that have been made possible by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), also known as the stimulus. The centerpiece of the initiative is a Web site that highlights Recovery Act-sponsored research in all 50 states, telling the stories of the research and the researchers contributing to America's recovery. The web site went live today at www.ScienceWorksForUS.org.
U-M energy institute director tapped to help shape state’s wind future
Dennis Assanis, director of the Michigan Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute at the University of Michigan, has been selected by Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm to help shape the state’s strategy to harness offshore wind energy. He will serve on the Great Lakes Wind Council, an advisory body within the Michigan Dept. of Energy, Labor, and Economic Growth that provides citizens with a public forum to begin to identify where, in the Great Lakes, wind energy systems may be prudently sited. [Read more...]
U-M has received more than $200M in stimulus funds through October 2009
In data assembled by the U-M's Division of Research Development and Administration, the U-M has received funding for 342 projects through October, 2009 under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). The total dollar value of these projects is $206.4M. To date, the five largest grants support solar energy research, diabetes research, an ongoing study of health and retirement issues in the U.S., the creation of a database to support genetic research in the behavioral and health sciences, and a study of pulmonary fibrosis. [Download table of project awards by U-M schools, colleges and other major units...]
New $10-million Department of Energy center to focus on plasma research
A new center at the University of Michigan College of Engineering will enable fundamental research on low-temperature plasmas—ionized gases with vast potential for practical technological advancements in fields such as energy, lighting, microelectronics and medicine. The Center for Predictive Control of Plasma Kinetics is funded by a $10-million, 5-year grant from the U.S. Department of Energy. The research that will be conducted at the center could lead to more efficient solar cells, finer-featured microchips and new medical tools that cut and heal tissues with plasma- activated chemistry, rather than heat, as lasers do. For example, plasma surgical tools could allow wounds to heal faster, says Professor Mark Kushner, the center's director. [Read more...]
Electric cars offer new opportunities for entrepreneurs
Inc. magazine features entrepreneurs working in the growing electric car sector. Ann Marie Sastry, a U-M professor in the College of Engineering and a founder of Michigan battery maker Sakti3, is one of the entrepreneurs featured. [Read more...]
Deal of the Year - University of Michigan’s North Campus Research Complex
Pfizer departure paved the way for major university expansion
The 2008 departure of pharmaceutical giant Pfizer from its 174-acre campus in northern Ann Arbor was the single biggest blow to the region's economy in decades. But Pfizer's exodus, which displaced more than 2,100 workers, paves the way for the University of Michigan's biggest expansion in five decades. U-M, which acquired the site in June for $108 million, plans to hire 2,000 to 3,000 workers to populate the 2 million square feet of facilities over the next 10 years. The acquisition of the ex-Pfizer site, renamed the North Campus Research Complex, is AnnArbor.com Business Review's "Deal of the Year" for 2009. [Read more...]
Michigan Solar Car Team finishes third in Australian race
For the fourth time in U-M Solar Car Team history, the students placed third in a biennial 1,880-mile race across Australia. Infinium crossed the finish line in Adelaide Wednesday evening (EDT), after competing for five days in the Global Green Challenge, formerly known as the World Solar Challenge. Tokai University of Japan won the race. Michigan fought hard with four-time champion team Nuon of the Netherlands for second place. On day four, the teams leap-frogged six times. But Infinium received a 10-minute penalty when the students had to push it up a tough hill toward the end of the race. That solidified Nuon’s lead. [Read more...]
A Very Loud Number
In this blog post, U-M Vice President for Research discusses the broader meaning of the $1B milestone in research spending: "By now, many have heard that the University of Michigan broke the $1,000,000,000 threshold for research expenditures in Fiscal Year 2009 (FY09). Indeed, by National Science Foundation accounting, U-M has moved into third place for research expenditures by U.S. universities in 2008 (the latest year for which such numbers are available). Only the University of California at San Francisco and the University of Wisconsin rank higher." [Read more...]