Multimedia Features | The University Record

October 26, 2023

Smashing pumpkins, smashing stress

A UM-Flint student takes a whack at a stress-relief pumpkin Oct. 25 as part of an event hosted by Counseling and Psychology Services to help students blow off steam during mid-term season. Students were invited to write their stressors on a pumpkin and then take a baseball bat to them. Outside of the splash zone, CAPS shared additional resources regarding stress awareness and healthy stress relief strategies.

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October 24, 2023

Medal of Science recipient

President Joe Biden leads the applause for U-M neuroscientist Huda Akil at an Oct. 24 White House ceremony announcing her as a recipient of the National Medal of Science. The medal is the nation’s highest scientific honor. Akil, the Gardner C. Quarton Distinguished University Professor of Neurosciences, was recognized for her contributions to the understanding of depression, anxiety, addiction and more. (Photo by Ryan K. Morris and the National Science and Technology Medals Foundation)

Read more about U-M’s latest Medal of Science recipient

October 23, 2023

Introducing ZEUS

What will be the most powerful laser system in the United States, built and run by the University of Michigan, is about to begin hosting research teams from around the world. The findings could advance health care and microelectronics, provide insights into extreme astrophysics, and more. The zettawatt-equivalent ultrashort pulse laser system — or ZEUS — was recently opened. This video offers a look at the new system and its potential.

Learning about DEI 2.0

More than 150 people attended the DEI 2.0 information session at the Michigan League Ballroom on Oct. 18, while others watched a livestream. The event was an opportunity to learn about and discuss the details of U-M’s second five-year strategic plan for diversity, equity and inclusion, which is designed to help propel the institution toward a more welcoming, diverse and inclusive future.(Photo by Scott C. Soderberg, Michigan Photography)

Hisss-toric first

The U-M Museum of Zoology recently acquired tens of thousands of scientifically priceless reptile and amphibian specimens, including roughly 30,000 snakes preserved in alcohol-filled glass jars. The newly acquired reptiles and amphibians boost the university’s collection of those animals to roughly half a million specimens, including some 70,000 snakes. With the latest additions, U-M now maintains the largest research collection of snakes anywhere in the world, according to museum curators. In this video, Ph.D. students unpack some of the new specimens and discuss what they will mean for future research.

Read more about U-M’s vast snake collection

October 13, 2023

Student housing milestone

A groundbreaking ceremony took place Oct. 13 for a new 2,300-bed housing and dining complex that will be the first residential facility built specifically for first-year students since 1963. The five-building, $631 million residential complex will be built near Hoover Avenue and Division Street on Central Campus. One of the buildings will be named after E. Royster Harper, vice president emerita for student life. (Photos by Eric Bronson, Michigan Photography)

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October 12, 2023

2023 Wallenberg Medalist

LSA Dean Anne Curzan and President Santa J. Ono present the Wallenberg Medal to farmworkers’ rights advocate Lucas Benitez during a ceremony at which Benitez also delivered U-M’s annual Wallenberg Lecture. He call for a “vaccine” needed to combat the disease of worker exploitation throughout the world. (Photo by Erin Kirkland, Michigan Photography)

Truth Telling

Hip-hop artists David Banner (left) and Rapsody talk about their support for each other at the 2023 DEI Summit community assembly Oct. 9. They were part of a panel discussion that explored the summit’s theme, “Truth Telling: The Kinship of Critical Race Theory & Hip-Hop.” (Photo by Erin Kirkland, Michigan Photography)

Read more about the DEI Summit community assembly

October 9, 2023

Godbots

As generative artificial intelligence apps such as ChatGPT gain popularity, so have religious chatbots. In this video, Webb Keane, George Herbert Mead Distinguished University Professor of Anthropology and professor of anthropology in LSA, talks about what he calls “godbots,” and the danger of giving moral authority to artificial intelligence.

Read a Q&A with Webb Keane about godbots

October 6, 2023

Begob

Created by Alexander Liberman, this steel sculpture, titled “Begob,” sits on the east side of the Lurie Engineering Center on North Campus, It was a gift of the College of Engineering class of 1945 and NROTC classes starting in 1942. The proportions of the piece reflect what Liberman describes as “…the two crucial elements for a sculpture to be successful. First, the use of scale. In America, sculpture must compete with the size of our country and our buildings. … Secondly, the sculpture must have a distinct form. The form created by the repetition of shapes; it is this repetition that gives the object a sense of rhythm.” The Record periodically highlights pieces of public art at U-M.

Browse an online listing of public art at U-M