Multimedia Features | The University Record

October 24, 2017

2017 Neubacher Award recipient

Regent Katherine White presents Robert Adams, associate professor of architecture and of art and design, with the 28th annual James T. Neubacher Award. For several years, Adams has focused his scholarship on the intersection of disability culture, civic infrastructure and design. The Council for Disability Concerns established the Neubacher Award in 1990 as a memorial to alumnus Jim Neubacher, who was a Detroit Free Press columnist and an advocate for equal rights and opportunities for people with disabilities. (Photo by Scott C. Soderberg, Michigan Photography)

October 23, 2017

Why model organisms?

Ever wonder why fruit flies are used so often in biological research? It’s because genetically the tiny insects have much in common with humans. This video from the Life Sciences Institute shows why researchers don’t study fruit flies, yeast and other model organisms to learn more about them — but rather to learn more about fundamental biological processes that are important for human health and disease.

October 22, 2017

Guide to health benefits

One of the most important decisions made during Open Enrollment is choosing a health plan. This video offers a brief guide to some of the key differences in the plans offered to U-M faculty, staff and retirees. Open Enrollment runs through Nov. 3.

October 19, 2017

On the value of research

Rebecca Cunningham, associate vice president for research – health sciences, testified Wednesday before the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Federal Spending Oversight and Emergency Management about federal support for research. She highlighted the crucial role the federal government provides in supporting basic, curiosity-driven research alongside applied research and engineering, along with the economic benefits of federally supported research. The committee will use testimony by Cunningham and other witnesses as they consider legislation regarding how the government awards federal research dollars. Read her full testimony or watch a video of the hearing.

October 18, 2017

Printable medications

A technology that can print pure, ultra-precise doses of drugs onto a wide variety of surfaces could one day enable on-site printing of custom-dosed medications at pharmacies, hospitals and other locations. This video illustrates the technique, which was developed at U-M.

October 17, 2017

PolicyMaker

Elisabeth Gerber, professor of public policy, has used role-playing simulations for the past dozen years to help teach students how policies are developed. In this video, she describes how PolicyMaker, a new platform she developed, allows her to customize role-playing simulations. Joining other U-M inventors, Gerber will display PolicyMaker at the 17th annual Celebrate Invention event 3-6 p.m. Wednesday at the Michigan League Ballroom.

October 16, 2017

Cassie Blue

The latest member of Michigan Robotics, dubbed Cassie Blue, arrived in late summer and is ready to help U-M roboticists take independent robotic walking to a whole new level. In this video, Jessy Grizzle, the director of Michigan Robotics and the Elmer G. Gilbert Distinguished University Professor of Engineering, explains how two more joints in each leg not only give Cassie the potential to be better at the independent walking pioneered by its predecessor, MARLO, but it opens a host of new possibilities.

October 15, 2017

Architecture challenge

Teams of architecture students in an engaged learning workshop called Practice Sessions work with professional mentors over a long weekend to help solve real-world design challenges. In this video, students, faculty and professionals discuss the project, which is funded with a $350,000 grant through U-M’s Third Century Initiative.

October 12, 2017

Floodproofing cities

In this video, Brandon Wong, doctoral student in civil and environmental engineering, discusses how he and his team from the Real Time Water Systems Lab are trying to change not only how a city can dynamically manage water on-site, but also how they can control water. He is working with Branko Kerkez, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, to develop “smart” stormwater systems to lessen the impacts of flooding. The project has received a $1.8 million National Science Foundation grant.

October 11, 2017

Frogs in Peru

A U-M ecologist and his colleagues have discovered three more frog species in the Peruvian Andes, raising to five the number of new frog species the group has found in a remote protected forest since 2012. In this video, Rudolf von May, a postdoctoral researcher in the Rabosky Lab at the Museum of Zoology and the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, talks about how they found the tiny creatures that live in the mountain forests and Andean grasslands of central Peru.