Board of Regents to meet March 23 in University Hall
The Board of Regents is scheduled to meet at 4 p.m. March 23 in University Hall in the Alexander G. Ruthven Building. Members of the public also will be able to watch a livestream of the meeting at umich.edu/watch/. Those wishing to make comments during the meeting must attend in person. An agenda will be posted at noon March 20 at regents.umich.edu/meetings/agendas/. To offer public comment at the meeting, sign up before 9 a.m. March 22 at regents.umich.edu/meetings/public-comments/form. People with disabilities who need assistance should contact the Office of the Vice President and Secretary of the University in advance at 734-763-8194. For more information, go to regents.umich.edu.
Proposals sought for next round of OVPR Anti-Racism Grants
The Office of the Vice President for Research is seeking applicants for Anti-Racism Grants that fund research and scholarship related to societal and racial inequalities, and that inform actions to achieve equity and justice. For each program cycle, OVPR will provide funding for up to seven proposals: five from $25,000-$50,000 and two up to $100,000. Applications are due June 1. These grants were developed in partnership with the Provost’s Anti-Racism Initiative and are jointly administered and advanced in partnership with the National Center for Institutional Diversity’s Anti-Racism Collaborative. The program invites proposals that aim to grow the current scope of research on racial inequality and anti-racism, develop new knowledge through interdisciplinary scholarly engagement, and include collaboration in the service of increasing the impact of the research. For more information and how to apply, go to research.umich.edu/rci/anti-racism-grants/.
Students’ anxiety, depression higher than ever; so are efforts to receive care
While rates of anxiety, depression and suicidal thoughts are at all-time highs, more college students than ever before report receiving therapy or counseling, according to a new report. The report from the annual Healthy Minds Study found that 44% of students reported symptoms of depression, 37% reported anxiety disorders and 15% reported having seriously considered suicide in the past year — the highest recorded rates in the history of the 15-year-old survey. More positive data showed that more than a third of students surveyed, also a record, reported having one or more therapy or counseling sessions in a one-year time period. From 2020-22, the number of students who participated in counseling or therapy increased from 30% to 37%, the most significant increase since 2018. Additionally, the use of alcohol was at its lowest in the survey’s history with 54% of students reporting no alcohol use in the two weeks prior to taking the survey. Read more and find a link to the report.
New transistor could shrink communications devices on smartphones
One month after announcing a ferroelectric semiconductor at the nanoscale thinness required for modern computing components, a team at U-M has demonstrated a reconfigurable transistor using that material. The study is a featured article in Applied Physics Letters. “By realizing this new type of transistor, it opens up the possibility for integrating multifunctional devices, such as reconfigurable transistors, filters and resonators, on the same platform — all while operating at very high frequency and high power,” said Zetian Mi, professor of electrical and computer engineering who led the research. “That’s a game changer for many applications.” Ferroelectric semiconductors stand out from others because they can sustain an electrical polarization, like the electric version of magnetism. But unlike a refrigerator magnet, they can switch which end is positive and which is negative. In the context of a transistor, this capability adds flexibility — the transistor can change how it behaves. Areas of particular interest for this device are reconfigurable radio frequency and microwave communication as well as memory devices in next-generation electronics and computing systems. Read more and find a link to the study.
Emotional benefits from friendships differ for Black, white Americans
Black Americans and white Americans may receive different benefits from their networks of friends, family ties and other relationships, according to a U-M researcher. A new study from postdoctoral scholar Crystal Ng shows that while white American adults receive a positive boost to their mood through interactions with friends, Black Americans generally receive the same mood boost only from interacting with members of their family, church or other personal communities. While some younger Black participants in the study reported a similar benefit to their moods as white respondents generally did, overall, Black respondents said they did not receive the same benefit from interacting with friends. Ng, who has appointments at the Institute for Social Research and Michigan Medicine’s Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, surveyed 169 adults of all ages from ISR’s Stress and Well-being in Everyday Life Study. Read more and find a link to the study online.
— Compiled by James Iseler, The University Record
