In the News
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May 28, 2025
America’s most powerful laser, ZEUS, recently fired up to full strength, with peak power topping out at 2 petawatts — roughly 100 times the entire planet’s power output. “This milestone marks the beginning of experiments that move into unexplored territory for American high field science,” said Karl Krushelnick, professor of nuclear engineering and radiological sciences and director of the Gérard Mourou Center for Ultrafast Optical Science, where ZEUS is housed.
Gizmodo -
May 28, 2025
“High-quality connections” at work — brief, positive interactions between colleagues — foster happier workplaces, said Jane Dutton, professor emerita of management and organizations and of psychology: “This is such a simple idea, but I’ve been stunned at how powerful it is. It doesn’t cost money. It’s easier to actually change (that) than culture, which is really hard to change in an organization.”
The New York Times -
May 28, 2025
“The Trump administration is extremely effective at playing to the weaknesses of news organizations,” said Kenneth Lowande, associate professor of political science and ISR faculty associate. “They have written relentless, daily headlines that announce President Trump’s executive actions as if they are new laws. When readers see these, they give the president credit. They see it as an accomplishment.”
Salon -
May 21, 2025
Increased tariffs on cars, parts, aluminum and steel will reduce employment growth by 13,000 jobs over the next five years, but Michigan’s economy, overall, will still add jobs “at a moderate pace,” according to economists Gabriel Ehrlich and Yinuo Zhang of the Research Seminar in Quantitative Economics. “We believe the economic momentum was solid coming into this quarter. However, we’ll likely see tariffs drag on the economy soon,” Zhang said.
The Detroit News -
May 21, 2025
Medicaid expansion has saved 27,400 lives since 2010, including nearly 8,000 young adults: “From a cost-benefit point of view, there is a lot more benefit of saving someone who is 25 than 61, not because their life is of lesser value, but because there are a lot more years left of life to live,” said Sarah Miller, associate professor of business economics and public policy and of health management and policy.
The New York Times -
May 21, 2025
A federal funding freeze is the latest setback for vulnerable communities in Detroit and other cities left behind in the transition to cleaner, cheaper power. “The current energy system has this imbalance, but if we don’t fix that, we’ll continue down that path, even as we transition to a cleaner, greener energy system,” said Tony Reames, associate professor of environment and sustainability.
Mother Jones -
May 21, 2025
“Nationwide injunctions are useful if you are an opponent to the person who sits in the White House,” said Nicholas Bagley, professor of law. “But the thing about nationwide injunctions is they’re equal-opportunity offenders. … If they were a problem during the Biden administration, you (may) want to pause and think before defending them just because they’re opportunistically useful against Donald Trump.”
National Public Radio -
May 21, 2025
While drug overdose deaths have fallen to their lowest level in six years, Allison Lin, associate professor of psychiatry, said it’s too soon to say the crisis in the U.S. is over: “It’s nice to celebrate all the hard work that people have been putting in; we’re starting to see some rewards from that. But it’s not time to move from the gas pedal.”
ABC News -
May 16, 2025
Nearly 19 million children in the U.S. have at least one parent with a substance use disorder, according to research by Sean Esteban McCabe, professor of nursing: “Over three-fourths of people with substance use disorders do not get treatment. And kids in households with parents that don’t get help are much less likely to get help themselves. It’s important for us who serve and provide care to children to … design programs to meet these kids where they’re at.”
National Public Radio -
May 16, 2025
Medicaid work requirements seem logical, but most able-bodied Medicaid enrollees already work, says Susan Dorr Goold, professor of internal medicine and of health management and policy: “Work requirements increase costs by adding bureaucracy, have no effect on employment, and disenroll eligible people who don’t navigate the bureaucratic requirements correctly.”
Newsweek
