Multimedia Features | The University Record

January 19, 2016

New hope for biodiversity

Biodiversity in tropical forest protected areas may be faring better than previously thought, according to a new study in the scientific journal PLOS Biology. In this video, lead author Lydia Beaudrot, assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology, explains how researchers with the Tropical Ecology Assessment and Monitoring Network use “camera traps” to monitor wildlife in protected areas.

January 18, 2016

Circle of Unity

Despite frigid temperatures and snow flurries, members of the campus community gathered at the Diag on Monday afternoon for the Circle of Unity, a traditional part of U-M’s annual Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Symposium. (Photo by Daryl Marshke, Michigan Photography)

January 17, 2016

Art-inspired solar cells

Solar cells capture up to 40 percent more energy when they can track the sun across the sky, but conventional, motorized trackers are too heavy and bulky for most rooftops. In this video, Max Shtein, associate professor of materials science and engineering, explains how U-M researchers are borrowing from kirigami, the ancient Japanese art of paper cutting, to develop solar cells that may expand efficiency while lowering the weight.

January 14, 2016

Improving research competitiveness

The Medical School continues to experience an extremely tight funding environment, and it’s a situation that is not expected to improve soon. In this video, Steven L. Kunkel, senior associate dean for research at the Medical School, describes the funding challenges, as well as the services offered to faculty to improve research competitiveness.

January 13, 2016

Homeland Security

UM-Dearborn Chancellor Daniel Little (left) greets U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson, who visited the Dearborn campus Wednesday to discuss ways in which the Department of Homeland Security is working with communities — specifically Muslim-American communities — to counter terrorism. Speaking to faculty, staff and students, Johnson also addressed refugee settlements, immigration, cyber security, and the balance between civil liberties and national security. (Photos by Millard Berry)

January 12, 2016

Architecture Prep

Milton S.F. Curry, associate dean for academic affairs and strategic initiatives at the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, congratulates Architecture Prep Program graduate Alfonso Pena of Cass Tech High School as Detroit Public Schools’ Irene Norde and Taubman College Interim Dean Robert Fishman look on. The college on Monday graduated 25 DPS juniors from the program, a semester-long college preparatory course on architecture, urbanism and integrated design studio practices. Its purpose is to expose underrepresented minorities to the architecture discipline. (Photo by Yojairo Lomeli, Taubman College)

January 11, 2016

Smarter UMHS facilities

The U-M Health System is taking a “smarter” approach when it comes to facilities projects. The new process involves letting faculty and staff test out future buildings and labs through “mockup” sites and exercises, and is designed to save money and time while increasing efficiency and workflow. In this video, participants discuss how the process works.

January 10, 2016

Refreshable Braille device

Reading a computer screen in Braille is a cumbersome process and slow. A team of researchers from College of Engineering and the School of Music, Theater & Dance are working on a solution that can display more than one line at a time. In this video, Sile O’Modhrain, associate professor of music and information, and Alexander Russomanno, doctoral student in mechanical engineering, explain how the technology would work.

January 7, 2016

Policy simulation

Trevis Harrold (left) and Arman Golrokhian, master’s students at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy, participate in the school’s annual Integrated Policy Exercise, which took place this week. The project tests students’ ability to make sound, responsible decisions under “real-world” time constraints and pressures. (Photo by Nick Pfost, Ford School)

January 6, 2016

Clinician Scholars

The National Clinician Scholars Program is a multi-institutional collaboration that educates nurses and physicians to serve as leaders, researchers and change agents in health care, community health and public policy. At U-M, the program operates through the Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation as the IHPI Clinician Scholars Program. In this video, Dr. Rodney Hayward, the program’s director and professor of internal medicine, and health management and policy, describes the program.