Physical Sciences
Three U-M researchers named 2011 MacArthur Fellows
Three University of Michigan researchers— historian Tiya Miles, chemist Melanie Sanford and stem cell biologist Yukiko Yamashita—are among the 22 new MacArthur Fellows announced today by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Each will receive $500,000 in "no strings attached" support over the next five years from the MacArthur Foundation. Read More
X-ray telescope finds new voracious black holes in early universe
Using the deepest X-ray image ever taken, U-M astronomer Marta Volonteri and her colleagues have found the first direct evidence that massive black holes were common in the early universe. This discovery from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory shows that very young black holes grew more aggressively than previously thought, in tandem with the growth of their host galaxies. Read More
Zoom-up star photos poke holes in century-old astronomical theory
UM astronomers has found major flaws in a 90-year old theory that relates surface gravity, brightness and temperature between a rapidly rotating star's poles and its equator. Using a technique called interferometry the UM researchers have essentially zoomed in to take close-up pictures and measurements of the winter star Regulus. The astronomers found that the actual difference in temperature between its equator and poles is much less than the old theory predicts. "Our model fitting of interferometry data shows that while the law correctly describes the trend of surface temperature variation, it deviates quantitively," said Xiao Che, a doctoral student in the Department of Astronomy who is first author of a paper on the findings to be published in Astrophysical Journal on April 20. It's important to get this number right, says John Monnier, an associate professor in the U-M Department of Astronomy. "In some cases, we found a 5,000-degree Fahrenheit difference between what the theory predicts and what our actual measurements show," Monnier said. "That has a big effect on total luminosity. If we don't take this into account, we get the star's mass and age and total energy output wrong.Read More
Solar power without solar cells: A hidden magnetic effect of light could make it possible
A dramatic and surprising magnetic effect of light discovered by UM researchers could lead to solar power without traditional semiconductor-based solar cells. The researchers found a way to make an “optical battery,” said Stephen Rand, a professor in the departments of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Physics and Applied Physics. In the process, they overturned a century-old tenet of physics. “You could stare at the equations of motion all day and you will not see this possibility. We’ve all been taught that this doesn’t happen,” said Rand, an author of a paper on the work published in the Journal of Applied Physics. “It’s a very odd interaction. That’s why it’s been overlooked for more than 100 years.” Read More
Early-career researchers receive Sloan fellowships
Two U-M professors are among the 118 researchers across the nation chosen as 2011 Alfred P. Sloan research fellows. Volker Elling, an assistant professor in the Department of Mathematics, and Anne McNeil, an assistant professor in the Department of Chemistry, each receives a $50,000 fellowship. Elling is working on partial differential equations and fluid dynamics, an important area of applied mathematics. McNeil's research focuses on creating new and useful organic materials and exploring the basic mechanisms involved in their synthesis, assembly and operation. Read More
U-M updates innovation web site
The "Innovate!" web site has been launched as a refreshed version of the innovation economy site that has existed for the last 18 months. The new site also features a series of vignettes on faculty and student innovators and entrepreneurs. Read more
U-M faculty named Fulbright Scholars
Three U-M scholars from the Ann Arbor campus and one from UM-Dearborn were awarded U.S. Department of State Fulbright Scholar grants to conduct research abroad. The recipients are Farina Mir (Department of History), Pieter Smith, (Department of Chemistry), Molly Yunker, (School of Education), and William DeGenaro (Department of Language, Culture and Communication, UM-Dearborn). The Fulbright Scholar Program sends 800 U.S. faculty and professionals abroad each year. These prestigious grants provide funding for recipients to lecture or conduct research abroad for periods of two to 12 months in 140 countries. [Read more...]
Mercury “fingerprinting” provides new insights into San Francisco Bay contaimination
Mercury contamination, a worldwide environmental problem, has been called "public enemy No. 1" in California's San Francisco Bay. Teasing out all of the possible sources of contamination was not possible in the past, but with the use of a mercury "fingerprinting" technique, researchers from the University of Michigan, the University of California, Davis, and the San Francisco Estuary Institute, have identified the main sources of mercury in bay floor sediments and shown that small fish near the base of the food web acquire their mercury from those sediments. "Without a clear answer to what was responsible for mercury in fish in San Francisco Bay, we needed a way to trace its origins," said Joel Blum, who is the John D. MacArthur Professor of Geological Sciences and a professor of ecology at U-M. "This is the first study to track mercury directly from source to sediment to food web." [Read more...]
Nine university scientists and engineers named AAAS fellows
Nine University of Michigan faculty members are among 503 newly elected fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), who are honored for their distinguished efforts in advancing science, AAAS announced today. U-M faculty honored are: Kon-Well Wang, chair of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Stephen P. Timoshenko Collegiate Professor; Joel Blum, the John D. MacArthur Professor of Geological Sciences and a professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Lee Hartmann, a professor in the Department of Astronomy; Lori Isom, a professor in the departments of Pharmacology, and Molecular and Integrative Physiology, as well as director of the Program in Biomedical Sciences at the U-M Medical School; Farnam Jahanian, chair of computer science and engineering and the Edward S. Davidson Collegiate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science; Anna Mapp, a professor in the Department of Chemistry; Adam Matzger, a professor in the Department of Chemistry as well as a professor of macromolecular science and engineering in the College of Engineering; and John Montgomery, a professor in the Department of Chemistry; Melanie Sanford, professor in the Department of Chemistry. [Read more...]