|  Leadership Focused

Impact Driven  |  Leadership Focused

UM Biocatalysis Impact Institute – Sustainability through enzyme chemistry

Participating Units: Life Sciences Institute | College of Literature, Science, and the Arts | College of Pharmacy | Medical School

Alison Narayan, PhD
Director
Mary Sue Coleman Collegiate Professor in the Life Sciences
Research Professor, U-M Life Sciences Institute
[email protected]

The UM Biocatalysis Institute aims to revolutionize chemical innovation and address pressing environmental challenges—like the carbon footprint of the Haber-Bosch process—by advancing interdisciplinary research in enzyme-mediated synthesis, aligning with U-M’s core values and fostering cross-unit collaborations in science and sustainability.

Institute for Food, Nutrition, and Health Policy

Participating Units: School of Public Health | Medical School | College of Architecture and Urban Planning | College of Literature, Science, and the Arts | Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy | Institute for Social Research | School of Nursing | School of Social Work

Kate W. Bauer, PhD, MS
Director
Associate Professor, Nutritional Sciences,
School of Public Health
[email protected]

Eric J. Brandt, MD, MHS, FACC
Co-Director
Assistant Professor, Cardiovascular Disease
Department of Internal Medicine
Michigan Medicine
[email protected]

The Institute for Food, Nutrition, and Health Policy brings together interdisciplinary expertise at the intersections of food, nutrition, health, and policy. As a hub for innovative, community-informed policy research, leadership development and trusted knowledge the IFNHP will inform health-focused food and nutrition-related legislation, regulations and programming.

Impact Institute of Intelligent Electronics (IIIE)

Participating Units: College of Engineering | College of Literature, Science, and the Arts | Dearborn Campus | Medical School

Zetian Mi, PhD
Director
Pallab K Bhattacharya Collegiate Professor of Engineering
Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Professor of Materials Science and Engineering
College of Engineering
[email protected] 

Di Liang, PhD
Co-Director
Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
College of Engineering
[email protected]

Parag Deotare, PhD, MS
Co-Director
Chen-Luan Family Faculty Development Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering
Associate Professor, EECS – Electrical and Computer Engineering
[email protected]

The Impact Institute for Intelligent Electronics (IIIE) at U-M aims to revolutionize electronics and energy systems by developing ferroelectric nitrides—a pioneering material that enables ultra-efficient computing, communications and sustainable fuel production—addressing the rising electricity demand from AI and data centers.

Institute for Advanced Construction Futures (IACF)

Participating Units: College of Architecture and Urban Planning | College of Engineering | School for Environment and Sustainability | College of Literature, Science, and the Arts | School of Social Work | Ross School of Business | Erb Institute | Center for Sustainable Systems | Institute for Energy Solutions | Center for Social Solutions | Center for Equitable Family & Community Well-Being | Employment Equity Learning & Action Collaborative | Weiser Center for Real Estate 

Kathy Velikov, MA
Director
Associate Dean for Research and Creative Practice
Professor of Architecture
Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning
[email protected] 

Vineet Kamat, PhD, FASCE
Co-Director
John L. Tishman Family Professor of Construction Management and Sustainability
College of Engineering
[email protected]

Charlene Zietsma, PhD, MBA
Co-Director
Max McGraw Professor of Sustainable Enterprise
Erb Institute Director
School for Environment and Sustainability
[email protected]

The Institute for Advanced Construction Futures (IACF) at U-M will drive a “Construction 4.0” transformation by integrating advanced manufacturing, automation, AI and digital technologies to address America’s urgent housing and building infrastructure needs more sustainably, efficiently and affordably.

University of Michigan Advanced Manufacturing Institute (UMAMI)

Participating Units: College of Engineering | Dearborn Campus | Flint Campus | Institute for Social Research | Ross School of Business | School for Environment and Sustainability

Chinedum Okwudire, PhD
Director
Professor, Mechanical Engineering
Professor, Integrative Systems and Design
College of Engineering
[email protected] 

Jeffrey Abell, PhD
Co-Director
Professor of Practice, Mechanical Engineering
College of Engineering
[email protected] 

The University of Michigan Advanced Manufacturing Institute (UMAMI) will be a national leader in human-centered, resilient and sustainable manufacturing, integrating engineering, behavioral science and organizational design to address automation, supply chain and climate challenges. UMAMI will also build a symbiotic translational ecosystem to ensure that innovations rapidly deliver real-world impact.

University of Michigan Maternal Health Institute: Transforming perinatal Health through Innovation and Artificial Intelligence (THEIA)

Participating Units: Medical School | College of Engineering | School of Public Health | College of Literature, Science, and the Arts

Julie S. Ivy, PhD
Director
Department Chair, Vivian L Carpenter Collegiate 
Professor of Industrial and Operations Engineering
College of Engineering
[email protected]

Alex Friedman Peahl, MD, MSc
Co-Director
Assistant Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology
Medical School
[email protected] 

Jenna Wiens, PhD
Co-Director
Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
College of Engineering
[email protected]

The University of Michigan Maternal Health Institute: Transforming perinatal Health through Innovation and Artificial Intelligence (THEIA) aims to transform maternal and child health through AI. IMHIE brings together interdisciplinary expertise to improve maternal health outcomes by harnessing large-scale multimodal data, developing advanced methods to generate data-driven insights which address gaps that limit prevention of maternal morbidity and mortality. 

THREADS Collaborative for Natural Fiber Futures

Participating Units: College of Literature, Science, and the Arts | College of Engineering | Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design | School for Environment and Sustainability | Matthaei Botanical Garden

Melissa Duhaime, PhD
Director
Associate Professor of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
College of Literature, Science, and the Arts
[email protected] 

Mihaela Banu, PhD
Co-Director
Professor, Mechanical Engineering
College of Engineering
[email protected]

The Michigan THREADS Collaborative will address the environmental and social harms of society’s dependence on synthetic fiber by developing regionally sourced natural fiber solutions for sustainable textiles, composites and building materials in ways that support local supply chains, uplift material cultures and connect people with the places and systems that sustain them.

University of Michigan Institute for Social Prescribing 

Participating Units: School of Music, Theatre & Dance | Medical School | School of Social Work | Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs | Arts & Humanities (Arts Initiative) | Alliance Arts in Research Universities | Matthaei Botanical Gardens/Nichols Arboretum | Michigan Dining | Michigan Recreation | Ginsberg Center | Student Life: University Health & Counseling | Wolverine Wellness | Well-Being Collective | Human Resources

Mark Clague, PhD
Director
Executive Director, U-M Arts Initiative
Professor of Music
School of Music,Theatre & Dance
[email protected]

Lindsey Mortenson, MD
Co-Director
Clinical Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry
Medical School
[email protected]

Facing increased rates of social isolation and loneliness at U-M and institutions nationwide, the Institute for Social Prescribing aims to transform campus well-being by developing, researching and scaling a comprehensive social prescribing program that encourages health and social care professionals to connect individuals to enriching community experiences, such as arts, nature, movement, service and shared meals, while serving as a resource and catalyst for research and advocacy for social prescribing, nationally and internationally.

The Global Supply Chain Intelligence Institute

Participating Units: School for Environment and Sustainability | College of Literature, Science, and the Arts | Ross School of Business | School of Information | College of Engineering | Office of the Vice President for Research – Innovation Partnerships | Institute for Global Change Biology | Michigan Institute for Data Science | Economic Growth Institute

Joshua Newell, PhD
Director
Professor of Environment and Sustainability
School for Environment and Sustainability
[email protected]

The Global Supply Chain Intelligence Institute at U-M will address urgent challenges of transparency, sustainability and resilience in supply chains for critical minerals, agriculture products and other vital commodities by integrating interdisciplinary expertise and pioneering federated AI approaches to analyze fragmented and sensitive global data.

Institute for AI-Driven Therapeutics Discovery (AI-Tx)

Participating Units: College of Pharmacy | Medical School | College of Engineering | Life Sciences Institute | School of Information

Duxin Sun, PhD
Director
Associate Dean for Research
Charles R. Walgreen Jr. Professor of Pharmacy and Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences
College of Pharmacy
[email protected]

Kayvan Najarian, PhD
Co-Director
Professor of Computational Medicine and Bioinformatics
Professor of Emergency Medicine
Medical School
[email protected]

The Institute for AI-Driven Therapeutics Discovery (AI-Tx) at U-M will integrate artificial intelligence and machine learning to address root causes of drug development failures, aiming to revolutionize the discovery of small molecules and biologics and position the university as a global leader in this field.