News From U-M
Two faculty named to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
U-M professors Sharon Glotzer and Scott Page have been named to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a prestigious society that recognizes individuals who have made significant contributions in scholarly and professional fields. Glotzer, the Stuart W. Churchill Collegiate Professor of Chemical Engineering, conducts research in the areas of computational nanoscience and simulation of soft matter, self-assembly and materials design. Page, the Leonid Hurwicz Collegiate Professor of Complex Systems, Political Science, and Economics, is the principal investigator for the IDEAS IGERT grant, funded by the National Science Foundation. He studies the importance of diversity and complexity in social systems and is the author of more than 60 articles and four books including the recently released “Diversity and Complexity.” 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
Next Generation Learning Challenge grant to U-M prof for ECoach physics aid
UM professor Timothy McKay has been awarded a grant from the Next Generation Learning Challenge, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates and William and Flora Hewlett Foundations. The grants were awarded to 29 institutions for projects that improve learning and graduation rates through the use of technology. McKay, an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Physics, will use new software to provide individualized expert coaching for thousands of students in large introductory physics courses. Known as ECoach, the system will provide thousands of undergraduate physics students with the advice, training and encouragement that they need to achieve at the highest levels. The one-year pilot program will be launched during the winter 2012 semester. The grant was for $249,000. "Too few students come to see me when I have office hours," McKay said. "This is what I would tell them if they were sitting in front of me, and I would like to reach them all." Read More
Five U-M faculty members awarded Guggenheim Fellowships
Five U-M faculty were recently awarded prestigious Guggenheim Fellowships by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. The fellowships went to 180 individuals, from a pool of 3000 applicants, for distinguished achievement in the past and exceptional promise for future accomplishment. The U-M fellows are Arun Agrawal, professor and associate dean for research, School of Natural Resources and Environment; Jeffrey Gardner Heath, professor of linguistics; Mark Mizruchi, professor of sociology and business; Endi Poskovic, artist and associate professor of art and design; and Jennifer Ellen Robertson, professor of anthropology. Read More about their projects
Quest for designer bacteria uncovers a Spy
Scientists have discovered a molecular assistant called Spy that helps bacteria excel at producing proteins for medical and industrial purposes. Bacteria are widely used to manufacture proteins used in medicine and industry, but the bugs often bungle the job. A research team led by James Bardwell, who is a professor of molecular, cellular and developmental biology and of biological chemistry, as well as a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator, at the U-M, developed a way to coerce bacteria into making large quantities of stable, functional proteins. Then, in exploring why these designer bacteria were so successful, the scientists discovered the molecular helper, Spy. 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
Global warming may reroute evolution
Rising carbon dioxide levels associated with global warming may affect interactions between plants and the insects that eat them, altering the course of plant evolution, research at the University of Michigan suggests. Researchers Rachel Vannette and Mark Hunter investigated whether different genetic "families" of the common milkweed from a single population in Northern Michigan would respond differently to increasing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere and if so, how those responses might affect the plants' chances of being eaten by insects. Read More