Multimedia Features | The University Record

January 24, 2016

‘SmartCarts’

U-M researchers have received a custom, 3D-printed vehicle that could be the first in a fleet of “SmartCarts” to transport students, faculty and staff around North Campus. In this video, Edwin Olson, associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science, and members of his team talk about how they’re getting the test vehicle ready to go.

January 21, 2016

Dow Sustainability Fellows

The Dow Sustainability Fellows Program prepares future sustainability leaders to make a positive difference in organizations worldwide. In this video, some of the full-time graduate students and postdoctoral scholars in the program discuss how they are working to find interdisciplinary, actionable and meaningful sustainability solutions on local-to-global scales.

January 20, 2016

Safe teen driving

The C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health shows that while parents believe they are setting limits for teen drivers their kids may not always perceive the same rules as their parents report. This video illustrates some of the poll’s findings and offers suggestions for what parents can do to help promote safe teen driving.

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.