Honoring an historic athlete
New campus parking permit rates will be effective July 1
The University of Michigan’s parking permit rates will increase by 2% for the fiscal year 2025 for all annual permit categories. The increase in parking permit fees in FY ’25 helps support the campus parking and transportation system including operations, maintenance and debt service. It also supports alternative transportation options including the MRide and vanpool programs. Parking permits for FY ’25 are valid from July 1 through June 30, 2025, and are now available to order online. For customers needing to purchase a permit at a Parking Customer Services office, 2025 sales begin at the offices on June 17. A list of new parking permit rates is available.
CO2-to-methanol project aids leap toward carbon neutrality
U-M researchers have developed a catalyst material known as cobalt phthalocyanine that converts carbon dioxide — a significant driver of climate change — into renewable fuels such as methanol. Published in the journal ACS Catalysis, U-M researchers studied using cobalt phthalocyanine as a catalyst to convert carbon dioxide into methanol through multiple reaction steps. The first step converts carbon dioxide (CO2) into carbon monoxide (CO) and the second step converts the CO into methanol. This approach presents a sustainable method for reducing greenhouse gas emissions while offering an avenue to produce clean energy. Read more about this research.
U-M leads campaign to study winter storms in western U.S.
A new science expedition in Yampa Valley, Colorado, will improve forecasts of snowfall and estimates of how climate change will impact snowpack and water availability in the western U.S. mountains, funded with $4.8 million from the National Science Foundation. The field campaign, led by U-M, brings together scientists from the University of Washington, University of Wisconsin, University of Utah, Colorado State University and Stony Brook University. The team will use an extensive suite of radars and snow-sampling instruments to measure the size and shape of snowflakes and aerosols. The resulting catalog of data will help estimate water availability in the region, where around 67% of the water in large reservoirs comes from melting snow and low winter snowfall can lead to more severe wildfires the following summer. Learn more about this project.
App would manage screen time by making phones more annoying to use
The best way to help smartphone users manage their screen time may be to make phones progressively more annoying to use, according to new U-M research. The study shows that interfering with swiping and tapping functions is around 16% more effective at reducing screen time and the number of times an app is opened than forcibly locking users out of their phones. The lockout strategy currently is used by many screen-time-management apps, and such apps also send users a notification offering more time before locking. The researchers’ InteractOut app is more effective at limiting screen time because it is less restrictive and harder to ignore than hard lockouts. Read more about this research.
— Compiled by James Iseler, The University Record
