Multimedia Features | The University Record

April 25, 2022

2022 TIP winners

Recipients of the 2022 Teaching Innovation Prizes are, top row from left, Michelle Bellino, Timothy Cheek, Josh Pasek and Elle O’Brien. Bottom row, from left, are LIFE team members Olivia Anderson, Thomas Bishop, Debra Mattison and Laura Smith.

Read more about the winning faculty projects

April 21, 2022

Morphable aerial drones

Vasileios Tzoumas, assistant professor of aerospace enegineering, is using his expertise to mentor students from the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program to develop the next generation of drone technology. This video explores how the UROP students are helping to develop morphable drones that are efficient during takeoff, maneuvering, and landing, resilient against the elements of nature, and agile in cluttered and dynamic environments.

Read more about the morphable drone project

April 20, 2022

Science meets art

Perennial, a new art installation that hangs in the School of Dentistry’s three-story atrium, consists of more than 900 gold-leafed elements to form a 3D rendering of a columbine flower. Created by award-winning artist Ralph Helmick, it brings a distinctive addition to U-M’s campus art portfolio. In this video, Helmick and his wife, Nan Niland, discuss the origins of his creation.

Read more and view more images of Perennial

April 19, 2022

Earth Day cleanup and recycling

Earth Day comes twice a year for U-M chemistry professor Anne McNeil and her lab — at least, it has since last year. On Earth Day 2021, the McNeil lab organized the inaugural Huron River Watershed Cleanup and the event was so successful that the group repeated the event in the fall. The community cleanup days felt like a natural extension of what McNeil’s lab focuses on: the chemical recycling and upcycling of plastics. This video highlights the work of Huron River cleanup volunteers.

Read more about the cleanup days and chemical recycling

April 18, 2022

Math games

The first five years of a child’s life are considered the most critical for development. But learning opportunities lag for many children, particularly those from low-income households. A math enrichment program called High 5s, developed at U-M to help close the achievement gap, is being implemented in the Taylor School District. In this video, Taylor School District teachers and students, and U-M’s Robin Jacob talk about the program that makes learning math fun.

2022 UROP symposium

Elizabeth Tower, a junior majoring in international studies, talks with mentor Samer Ali, associate professor of Middle East studies in LSA. The two have been working together through the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program. UROP’s annual research symposium will return in a hybrid format from 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. April 20 at the Michigan League. (Photo by Sean Carter Photography)

Smarter 3D printing

Standard metal 3D printing methods cause products to warp, which can make them unusable in the aerospace, automotive, and biomedical industries that rely on them. A U-M research team led by Chinedum Okwudire, associate professor of mechanical engineering, developed thermal-model-based software that directs printer lasers on the optimal scanning sequence to reduce warpage. This video shows how the process works.

Decolonizing U-M’s Philippines collections

U-M is 8,199 miles from Manila, the capital city of the Philippines. Spread throughout multiple campus locations is one of the largest collections of historical Filipino artifacts outside of the archipelago nation. “It’s outrageous when you think about it. What are these Philippine artifacts and photographs and archival materials doing here, halfway around the world, in the middle of the United States? Do Filipinos even know they exist?” asked Deirdre de la Cruz, associate professor of history and of Asian languages and cultures. De la Cruz (right) and Ricky Punzalan, associate professor of information, are leading a project to look at the collections with fresh eyes, repair harmful historical descriptions, and construct new models for how to best engage community members and scholars with the plethora of Filipino history stored at U-M.

Look to the rainbow

A rainbow arcing across the sky is an ethereal symbol of hope after a storm, and this photo by research lab specialist John Den Uyl, shot in Baraga County, Michigan, creates a poetic narrative. “Rainbow over the Michigamme Highlands” took first place in the 2021 Photographer-at-Large Contest conducted by LSA’s Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology. Den Uyl said he captured the breathtaking image soon after arriving at his canoe-in campsite: “I remember thinking ‘I’d better get my tent set up, those clouds to the west look pretty dark.’ Then I turned around and saw one of the most beautiful landscapes I’d ever seen.”

Read more and view other contest entries

April 6, 2022

ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Awards

The 2021 ProQuest Distinguished Dissertation Award recipients were honored April 5. Awardees received a $1,000 honorarium recognizing exceptional scholarly work and completion of their doctoral degrees in 2021. The annual competition is co-sponsored by ProQuest and Rackham Graduate School. (Photo compilation by Jameson Staneluis)

View a full list of the recipients