In the News
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October 14, 2025
New technology being developed by doctoral student Daniel Sousa Schulman and Shorya Awtar, professor of mechanical engineering, could help passengers in vehicles avoid motion sickness. Awtar says that unlike drivers, passengers may not anticipate an upcoming turn or stop and could be thrown around a bit, leading to motion sickness: “They don’t know what’s about to happen.” Their technology consists of two options: a low-profile seat cushion equipped to send “haptic cues” to a passenger and a seat that tips and tilts in anticipation of vehicle movement.
Detroit Free Press -
October 14, 2025
“So far, we are not seeing evidence that it is impacting consumer sentiment one way or another. … It is not that people don’t care about the shutdown, just that it hasn’t affected how they see the economy and their personal finances yet,” said Joanne Hsu, director of the Surveys of Consumers at ISR. “Whether or not we see a decline in sentiment because of the current shutdown depends on how long it lasts — and how consumers believe it will impact pocketbook issues.”
The Conversation -
October 14, 2025
“The discovery of such a valuable find in a controlled archaeological excavation is very rare. No one ever buries a hoard of coins, especially precious metal coins, without intending to retrieve it,” said Christopher Ratté, professor of classical archaeology, whose excavation team found a small ceramic pot of Persian gold coins dating to the 5th century B.C. buried beneath a courtyard in the ancient Greek city of Notion.
Earth.com -
October 13, 2025
“We know that with large animal feeding operations … dirt and dust get kicked up into the air, and this air then has small particulate matter that lingers for hours at a time and travels significant distances,” said Benjamin Goldstein, professor of environment and sustainability. “And it can actually penetrate deep into our lungs when we breathe it in. And if we do enough of this, it can generate scar tissue within our lungs. And so this can turn into long-lasting health impacts for those who breathe it in.”
Wisconsin Public Radio -
October 13, 2025
Neil Marsh, professor of chemistry and biological chemistry, warns that chromium, a mineral often slipped into multivitamins and sold as a dietary supplement, likely won’t supercharge your workouts or control your blood sugar, no matter what the label claims: “Eight decades of research have resulted in slim evidence that people derive any significant health benefits from this mineral.”
New York Post -
October 13, 2025
“The new threat to deny back pay to federal workers at the end of the shutdown is yet another lawless abuse attempted by this White House. It demonstrates, once again, that Trump’s interest is not in resolving the impasse so much as it is in punishing those he believes to be his enemies,” wrote Samuel Bagenstos, professor of law and public policy.
MSNBC -
October 10, 2025
“In the short term, better forecasting can help people adjust their daily commute or prepare for big events like floods or an ice storm. On longer time scales, it can help predict how snowpack or runoff timing will change fresh water availability for a region,” said Claire Pettersen, assistant professor of climate and space sciences and engineering, who helped develop a system that allows for a better understanding of how different types of precipitation transition between one another.
Popular Science -
October 10, 2025
“Scaled across tens of millions of inhalers dispensed annually, these emissions drive global warming, exacerbating the very respiratory conditions inhalers are meant to relieve,” said Alexander Rabin, clinical associate professor of pulmonology, about new research that found that inhalers for asthma and COPD generated more than 2 million metric tons of carbon emissions annually over the past decade.
U.S. News & World Report -
October 10, 2025
“Right now, when books are being burned and when young people are prevented from being themselves, it seems that we need … his message more than ever,” said Magdalena Zaborowska, professor of American culture, about 20th century writer James Baldwin, known for his poignant explorations of race, sexuality and the human condition. “I certainly hope there will be more space for reflection … and connecting through our humanity rather than dwelling on divisions.”
Michigan Public Stateside (31:15 mark) -
October 9, 2025
“The magnetic field in these vortices can be strong enough to trigger a geomagnetic storm and cause some real trouble,” said Chip Manchester, research professor of climate and space sciences and engineering, whose team designed a new simulation system to account for smaller, harder-to-detect space tornadoes. Mojtaba Akhavan-Tafti, CLASP associate research scientist, said, “We need to proactively find structures … and predict what they will look like at Earth to make reliable space weather warnings for electric grid planners, airline dispatchers and farmers.”
Popular Science
