In the News

  1. October 6, 2022

    Jessy Grizzle, professor of electrical engineering and computer science, and director of Michigan Robotics, says Tesla’s car-making experience, and its expertise in batteries and electric motors should help in its efforts to build a humanoid robot: “To go from a man in a suit to real hardware in 13 months is pretty incredible.”

    WIRED
  2. October 6, 2022
    • Sanjukta Paul

    A major factor in the decline of journalism is the rise of powerful internet platforms, which currently control the bulk of digital advertising, wrote Sanjukta Paul, professor of law: “A straightforward solution … is to allow newspapers and media companies to band together for the purpose of negotiating with the internet platforms for payment for the content they create.”

    Los Angeles Times
  3. October 5, 2022
    • Genevieve Plant
    • Eric Kort

    Flaring — the fires that burn excess gas at oil fields — pollutes the atmosphere five times more than previously thought, say assistant research scientist Genevieve Plant and associate professor Eric Kort, both of climate and space sciences and engineering. “It basically means flares go from being a pretty small part of the methane problem to ‘Wait a second. This is actually a big number,'” Kort said. “By either reducing flaring volumes or bringing flares up to perform as they’re designed to, we can reduce a lot of methane from leaking into our atmosphere and affecting the climate,” Plant said.

    The Detroit News
  4. October 5, 2022

    “Our findings suggest that high blood pressure causes faster cognitive decline and that taking hypertension medication slows the pace of that decline,” said Deborah Levine, professor of internal medicine and director of the Cognitive Health Services Research Program. Her team examined why Hispanic people face a 50% higher risk of dementia by the end of their life than non-Hispanic white people.

    Daily Express (U.K.)
  5. October 5, 2022
    • Germine Awad

    “It’s not enough to have these restaurants available to people, this cuisine has to be recognized for how complex and amazing it is. That’s the true next step for expanding the idea of the average culinary experience,” said Germine Awad, professor of psychology, on the proliferation of fast-casual West African restaurants in the United States.

    The New York Times
  6. October 4, 2022
    • Headshot of Melvyn Levitsky

    “I believe the use of nuclear weapons by Russia is highly unlikely. … Russia’s use of even a small tactical nuclear weapon makes no sense. Radiation from such use would affect Russia’s own troops in the Donbas region and spread to Russia itself,” said Melvyn Levitsky, professor of international policy and practice.

    19FortyFive
  7. October 4, 2022
    • Patricia Hall

    “(I) didn’t expect to see all of this light music with titles like ‘The Most Beautiful Time of Life.’ It was a tremendous surprise reading titles like that in a concentration camp. I certainly did not expect these pieces to sound as beautiful and expressive as they do based on the extremely unusual instrumentation that they had,” said Patricia Hall, professor of music theory, who discovered archived manuscripts of songs performed by prisoner orchestras at Auschwitz-Birkenau.

    The Detroit Jewish News
  8. October 4, 2022
    • Daniel Crane

    “This is an existential threat to dealers — they realize they’re going to be cut out. Consumers want to deal with the company that made the vehicle, and they want to be able to make a decision without someone breathing down their neck,” said Daniel Crane, professor of law, on the ability of electric carmakers in some states to sell their vehicles directly to customers online.

    TIME
  9. October 3, 2022
    • Photo of Jeffrey Veidlinger

    “I think many Russians actually believe this is a war against Nazism,” said Jeffrey Veidlinger, professor of history and Judaic studies. “The war against Nazism is really the defining moment of the 20th century for Russia. What they’re doing now is in a way a continuation of this great moment of national unity from World War II.

    UNILAD
  10. October 3, 2022
    • Eric Brandt
    • Tammy Chang

    Hunger affects 4 in 10 people with heart disease — more than double what it was two decades earlier — according to research by Eric Brandt, clinical lecturer in cardiovascular medicine, and Tammy Chang, associate professor of family medicine. Getting heart disease increases a person’s risk of “developing socioeconomic problems that could reduce access to adequate and quality food,” Brandt said.

    UPI