Michigan Radio documentary about Flint water crisis honored
The Michigan Radio documentary “Not Safe to Drink” has been recognized as an award winner by the Third Coast International Audio Festival. The annual Third Coast / Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Competition honors the most creative and compelling audio work being produced worldwide. Michigan Radio’s “Not Safe to Drink” documentary was selected as one of 10 award winners out of more than 550 entries from 17 countries. The documentary traced the story of the Flint water crisis, and how the water in Flint became unsafe to drink, bathe in and use for cooking. It first aired on Michigan Radio in December 2015 and also has aired nationally on public radio’s “Reveal” program.
LSA introduces new postdoctoral fellowship to promote diversity
LSA recently announced the launch of the LSA Collegiate Postdoctoral Fellowship Program, which will promote a diverse academic environment by encouraging and supporting promising scholars with a commitment to diversity to enter academia at U-M. The new initiative aims to recruit 50 new fellows over the next five years. It will foster and support scholars in any LSA field who have an interest, specialty, or background in diversity, and whose research, teaching, and service will contribute to diversity and equal opportunity in higher education. The two-year fellowship will provide these early-career faculty members with dedicated research time, mentorship, travel funding and professional development opportunities in order to support their transition into tenure-track positions within LSA. The program will be administered by the National Center for Institutional Diversity, which is now part of LSA. The application period for scholars is open. For more information, or to apply, go to myumi.ch/LSAcollegiatepostdoc.
U-M battery startup enters $1.5M joint venture
In an effort to make safer, longer-lasting lithium-ion batteries for technologies like electric vehicles, smartphones and laptops, a U-M startup has formed a $1.5 million joint venture with two major players in the industry. Ann Arbor-based Elegus Technologies recently announced their new partnership with Michigan-based lithium-ion battery manufacturing companies XALT Energy and Energy Power Systems. Elegus has developed an advanced battery separator that allows for increased energy density in lithium-ion cells without compromising safety. Increased energy density means longer battery life, which translates to greater range-per-charge for an electric vehicle, for example.
UMHHC receives excellence award for quality and accountability
The U-M Hospitals and Health Centers were recently awarded the 2016 Bernard A. Birnbaum, M.D., Quality Leadership Award. The award, presented by Vizient Inc., recognizes the organization for demonstrating superior performance as measured by Vizient’s Quality and Accountability Study, which has been conducted annually since 2005. The study helps academic medical centers and community hospitals identify structures and processes associated with high performance in quality and safety across a broad spectrum of patient care activities. The Institute of Medicine’s six domains of care — safety, timeliness, effectiveness, efficiency, equity and patient centeredness — were used as a guide in structuring the study criteria.
— Compiled by Jill A. Greenberg, The University Record
