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Posts Tagged ‘College of Engineering’
MbusinessLink: The Toy Man Cometh
Joshua Pokempner, a U-M alum and former architect-turned-toymaker as founder of gamebook publisher Giddy Up!, is co-sponsor of an interdisciplinary toy-design competition in conjunction with the Center for Entrepreneurship and the School of Art & Design. Ten student teams with the most creative design proposals will receive up to $200 each in funding to build a toy prototype. MbusinessLink reports that early next year, Pokempner and other members of a selection panel will pick the top three winners and award $5,000 in prize money. [Read more...]
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...]
Recession may be over, but recovery will be gradual
With the severe national recession of the past two years finally behind us, the pace of economic recovery will be slow and unemployment will remain high for quite some time, say economists at the University of Michigan. "Based on the data currently available, the recession that began at the close of 2007 appears to have ended sometime this summer—the longest and steepest drop in output since the Great Depression," said U-M economist Joan Crary. "The federal government's series of unprecedented policy actions—both fiscal and monetary—deserve much of the credit for this dramatic shift from an economy that nearly went into free fall to one that is at least clawing its way back up. We have now shifted out of reverse and into first gear." [Read more...]
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...]
1,000 Pitches exceeding its goals
1,000 Pitches is a campus-wide entrepreneurship competition where students at the University of Michigan can pitch their ideas for new products, businesses, and non-profit organizations. The winning pitches in each category will receive $1,000. Competition ends November 20, 2009. [Read more...]
Tissue-engineering researchers create replacement knee ligaments from recipients’ own cells
In a development that could lead to more complete recovery from torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries in humans, University of Michigan researchers have grown and repaired knee ligaments in rats from bone marrow stem cells harvested from the rats' own bones. The U-M researchers have tissue-engineered an advanced graft that includes an elastic ligament section in the center to accommodate joint motion and bone portions on the ends for more effective integration and attachment to the native bone of the injured knee. Their ligament design emphasizes stretchiness over initial strength, which appears to be more important for viability of the ligament and in allowing patients to regain their original mobility, says Ellen Arruda, a professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, the Department of Biomedical Engineering and in Macromolecular Science and Engineering.
Underwater Archaeology
Exploring the bottom of Lake Huron for signs of ancient human life
The bottom of Lake Huron is filled with more than shipwrecks—there are also clues left behind from ancient man. LSA Professor of Anthropology John O’Shea found archaeological evidence of a 9,000-year-old hunting culture in the depths of Lake Huron, in collaboration with U-M Professor Guy R. Meadows, Director of U-M’s Marine Hydrodynamics Laboratories. [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...]
New NIH EUREKA awards fund highly innovative research, promise big payoffs
Four U-M faculty among 56 grantees
The National Institutes of Health has awarded $67.4 million to support highly innovative research projects that promise big scientific payoffs. The new awards are part of the EUREKA (Exceptional, Unconventional Research Enabling Knowledge Acceleration) program, which helps scientists test new, unconventional ideas or tackle major methodological or technical challenges. U-M recipients of EUREKA awards are Joseph Holoshitz (Medical School), Matthew B. Soellner (College of Pharmacy), Jon-Kar Zubieta(Medical School), and H.V. Jagadish (College of Engineering). [Read more...]