In the News
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March 9, 2020
“The sustained data record will allow us to track and characterize surface processes on time scales from days to seasons to years with unprecedented resolution,” said Chris Ruf, professor of climate and space sciences and engineering, whose research team installed an advanced GPS receiver on an Air New Zealand passenger plane to try to improve the forecasting of flash floods and the understanding of how climate change is affecting the South Pacific island nation.
DBusiness -
February 28, 2020
“(Michigan) is as compelling a location as any. We’re starting to see a lot of different companies developing new rockets and new launch capabilities, and Michigan wants to be a part of that,” said Justin Kasper, professor of climate and space sciences and engineering, on the possibility that the Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport near Lake Huron could be a spot for a horizontal rocket launch site.
Michigan Radio -
February 28, 2020
“Scholars and journalists have strong incentives to write quickly on ‘hot’ topics such as police militarization. However, speed can be the enemy of careful data collection and curation. After five years of research, we are still a long way from understanding the impact of giving local police weapons and equipment designed for military use,” wrote Kenneth Lowande, assistant professor of political science, and undergraduate student Ayse Eldes, who contend that claims by the Trump administration that military equipment improves policing are based on flawed data.
The Washington Post -
February 28, 2020
The institutional norms that have eroded under the Trump presidency are weakening U.S. democracy, says Richard Primus, professor of law: “The more Trump does what Trump does, the more the idea that American leadership is based on a set of ideals — and not just about power in service of a set of corrupt people looking out for themselves — dissolves. And that weakens us tremendously in exactly the way that Putin hoped it would.”
Public Radio International -
February 27, 2020
“Detroit’s economy should continue to grow, and it should outpace the state economy in terms of employment and income growth. In fact, we expect Detroit’s ongoing recovery to form a key component of Michigan’s economic growth through 2024. … Despite that progress, Detroit’s economy continues to face well-known challenges, including an elevated poverty rate and relatively low educational attainment among its residents,” wrote Gabriel Ehrlich, director of the Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics.
The Detroit News -
February 27, 2020
“At low temperature, the (lithium ion) battery resistance grows dramatically because the electrolyte’s ability to shuttle the lithium ions reduces dramatically (slows down). The high resistance decreases the battery operating voltage sometimes to a level that the phone functionality is crippled,” said Anna Stefanopoulou, professor of mechanical engineering and director of the Energy Institute, describing what happens when your smartphone eventually shuts down in below-freezing temperatures.
Mic -
February 27, 2020
Comments by Elliot Tapper and Jessica Mellinger, both assistant professors of gastroenterology and internal medicine, were featured in a story about the growing rates of alcohol- and cirrhosis-related deaths among people ages 25 to 34: “What is particularly tragic about deaths due to liver disease in young people is that these are people who do not have other major comorbidities. These are people who were going to go on and raise families and be productive members of society. … That’s what makes dying in your 20s much more of an urgent public health problem,” Tapper said.
U.S. News & World Report -
February 26, 2020
“It’s about the principle of someone with great wealth distorting certain debates or certain social movements or influencing the direction of actual political elections … no one person should have that much influence in the public sphere,” said Megan Tompkins-Stange, assistant professor of public policy, on the clout of Democratic presidential candidate and billionaire Michael Bloomberg, who has created a network of powerful people and groups through his vast philanthropic efforts.
The Associated Press -
February 26, 2020
“It certainly would be an interesting contrast between seeing a commercial where (Michael) Bloomberg is making it seem almost like President Obama is endorsing him, and then in the debate you’re seeing Joe Biden complaining that Bloomberg did not support the signature legislative accomplishment of the administration. … More people are going to see the advertisements than saw the debate,” said Aaron Kall, director of the U-M debate program.
MLive -
February 26, 2020
“I think people will basically be unable to get second-trimester abortions in this state if this passes. This makes it a crime to provide the safest, most evidence-based care. It pits doctors against patients, and doctors against medicine. Will I be considered a criminal for providing that care?” said Jennifer Villavicencio, clinical lecturer in obstetrics and gynecology, on a potential ban in Michigan of an abortion procedure known as dilation and evacuation.
Michigan Radio
