Multimedia Features | The University Record

April 24, 2025

ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Awards

The 2024 ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Award recipients are, back row from left, Rackham Graduate School Dean Mike Solomon; Jennifer Triplett, sociology; Alisher Duspayev, physics; and Darian Santana, microbiology and immunology; and front row from left Emily Coccia, English and women’s and gender studies; Alejo Stark, romance languages and literature; Felicia Hardi, psychology; and Noam Gannot, oral health sciences and biologic and materials sciences. Not pictured are Subha Maity, statistics; Rodrigo Tinoco Figueroa, earth and environmental sciences; and Emily Wearing, chemistry. The awards recognize exceptional work produced by doctoral students for the high caliber of their scholarship and the significance and interest of their findings. (Photo by Jose Juarez)

New home for a Tappan Oak descendant

Chayce Griffith poses with a plaque and a shovel April 22 after helping plant a sapling from the historic Tappan Oak at its new site near the Alumni Center. When he was a student at U-M, Griffith collected acorns from the Tappan Oak and tried growing several saplings. Two took hold, and when he learned of the Tappan Oak’s removal in 2021, he offered one to U-M. The sapling was planted at its new home on Earth Day. (Connor Titsworth, Michigan Commons)

Read more about the planting of the Tappan Oak sapling

April 22, 2025

‘counting sheep’

The winner of the Arts Initiative’s recent Peaceful-themed Photo Competition is “counting sheep” by Erin Murphy, a senior studying English at UM-Dearborn.

View all the finalists in the competition

April 20, 2025

Winning Wolverines

The men’s gymnastics team celebrates after winning the program’s seventh NCAA Championship on April 19 at Crisler Center in a meet that was decided on Paul Juda’s final vault. The victory secured U-M’s first NCAA title since 2014. Seven Wolverines combined for 17 All-America citations, with Fred Richard earning All-America honors on all six events and in the all-around. (Michigan Photography, courtesy of Athletics)

Read more about the team’s national championship

April 17, 2025

The order that launched a revolution

Cheney Schopieray, curator of manuscripts at the William L. Clements Library, with manuscripts from the Thomas Gage Papers collection. The start of the Revolutionary War 250 years ago can be traced to one manuscript containing the orders for the Concord Expedition on April 18, 1775. The physical quill-to-paper draft orders written by famed British Army officer Thomas Gage’s hand, which sparked the battles of Lexington and Concord, are housed at the William L. Clements Library. (Jeremy Marble, Michigan News)

Read more about this piece of history on display at U-M

April 15, 2025

Solving global issues without breaking the bank

Rather than working on hypothetical case studies, U-M undergraduate business and MBA students in the Vienna Spring Break program through the Stephen M. Ross School of Business got real-world, hands-on experience. Taught by faculty at the Vienna University of Economics and Business, students collaborated with Austrian companies facing real business challenges — and thanks to a redesign of the program, did not need to spend a lot of money to do so. In this video, Jessica Oldford, managing director of Ross Global Initiatives, and Ross student Vanessa Perozo discuss the program and the experience.

April 14, 2025

A life preserver for U.S. shipbuilding

Thomas McKenney, clinical associate professor of naval architecture and marine engineering, and his students toured the Mark W. Barker while it was laid up for the winter at the Nicholson Dock in River Rouge. Another ship, the Herbert C. Jackson, is moored next to Barker. As the White House looks to shore up U.S. shipbuilding, U-M is leading efforts to train the needed workforce and develop a statewide maritime strategy with one of the nation’s few departments dedicated to naval architecture and marine engineering, which was established by Congress more than 140 years ago. (Photo by Marcin Szczepanski, College of Engineering)

April 9, 2025

Paying for the patient portal

A study by a team from the U-M Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation looks at what percentage of older adults have a patient portal account and use it to send secure messages to their physician or another member of their care team. The study also identifies what percentage of older adults have paid a copay for a patient portal message, and how this varies by insurance status. In this video, Terrence Liu, clinical instructor in internal medicine, discusses patient portal messages and the study findings.

Speed of need

Early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, U-M leaders brought engineers into emergency discussions to identify dangers and protect public health. Five years later, the ripple effects of COVID-19 research are still visible. Here is a collage of photos featuring the work of U-M researchers during the COVID-19 pandemic featuring, clockwise from upper left, wastewater-based epidemiology; specialized chips that can sequence a genome; mass N95 mask production; and personal respiratory protection.

Read more about the research done during and after the COVID-19 pandemic

April 3, 2025

Up north clean-up

Building and facilities supervisor Eareckson Myers, left, and facilities manager Scott Haley work to clean up at the U-M Biological Station in Pellston on April 1 after severe ice storms in northern Michigan. Crews continue to assess damage and clean up after ice storms swept through northern Michigan, downing trees and power lines and leaving thousands without power. (Photo by Renee Kinney, UMBS)

Read more about the impacts at the U-M Biological Station