Multimedia Features | The University Record

April 11, 2024

Better battery manufacturing

New chemistries for batteries, semiconductors and more could be easier to manufacture, thanks to a new approach to making chemically complex materials that researchers at U-M and Samsung’s Advanced Materials Lab have demonstrated. Their new recipes use unconventional ingredients to make battery materials with fewer impurities. This video illustrates how a robotic lab tests these new designs.

Read more about the new battery research

April 10, 2024

Ginsberg Building progress

Donors William and Inger Ginsberg sign a ceremonial beam April 5 for the new Edward and Rosalie Ginsberg Building being constructed on Central Campus to house the Edward Ginsberg Center for Community Service and Learning. The Ginsbergs donated $10 million toward the building’s construction in honor of William Ginsberg’s parents. The beam-signing ceremony marked the near completion of the building’s steel frame, and the signed beam will become a permanent part of the building. The project is expected to be completed by spring 2025. (Photo by Marc-Gregor Campredon, Office of University Development)

Read more about the Ginsberg Center’s new building

April 9, 2024

Look to Michigan

With the launch of Vision 2034, U-M’s strategic vision for the future, the university seeks to sharpen its impact and determine where it will go and what it will achieve. In this video, university leaders and students discuss the components of Vision 2034 that they believe will help show the world the excellence that U-M offers.

A vision for U-M

After a year of gathering input from the campus community, U-M has released its strategic vision for the next 10 years. In his April video message to the university, President Santa J. Ono outlines how the impact and commitment areas of Vision 2034 seek to make U-M “the defining public university, boldly exemplified by our innovation and service to the common good.”

Charging the future

Jeff Sakamoto, adjunct professor of mechanical engineering, and Neil Dasgupta, associate professor of mechanical engineering and of materials science and engineering, are at the helm of a pioneering effort to supercharge the electric vehicle industry. This video explores how, backed by an $11 million U.S. Department of Energy grant, their team is partnering with Oak Ridge National Laboratory and others to forge new paths in advanced battery fuel cell development and manufacturing, aiming to revolutionize efficiency and spur widespread adoption of electric vehicles.

April 1, 2024

AI in the classroom

Kas Kasravi (center), a lecturer III in industrial and manufacturing systems at UM-Dearborn, helps students in his prototype-design lab use AI to write code to create microcontrollers. Kasravi is among various U-M faculty members that are exploring how the fast-growing technology of generative artificial intelligence can aid how they teach, and how students learn. (Photo by Scott C. Soderberg, Michigan Photography)

UMCI taking shape

These artist’s renderings show various aspects of the U-M Center for Innovation in Detroit, for which the Board of Regents has approved a schematic design and authorized construction to proceed. Clockwise from top: an exterior view of the six-story building; an aerial view of the UMCI (in foreground) in downtown Detroit; and the interior atrium. (Drawings courtesy of Kohn Pedersen Fox)

How do we measure poverty?

A new data map showcasing diverse indicators of poverty and well-being throughout Michigan highlights the key challenges confronting residents in different parts of the state and suggests interventions for the state’s most critical needs. In this video, Amanda Nothaft, Poverty Solutions director of data and evaluation, speaks about measures of poverty and how researchers use this data in their work.

Read more about the Poverty Solutions data map

March 26, 2024

Chinese art project

These are some of the Chinese art objects stored at the U-M Museum of Art, which was recently selected to house the renowned Chinese Object Study Workshops, which offer a vital platform for training graduate students enrolled in Ph.D. programs in the Chinese art field. UMMA will use its strengths in Chinese art scholarship and conservation, along with its extensive Asian art collection, to sustain and strategically advance the program, which was created by the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of Asian Art. (Photos by Christopher Ankney, U-M Museum of Art)

Read more about the Chinese Object Study Workshops

March 25, 2024

Spring honorary degrees

Five leaders in the fields of writing, medicine, journalism and philanthropy are being recommended for honorary degrees at the Ann Arbor campus’ 2024 Spring Commencement. Top row, from left, are: Brad Meltzer, award-winning author; Alexa I. Canady, groundbreaking neurosurgeon; Robin D. Givhan, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist; and bottom row: philanthropists Stanley and Judith Frankel.

Read more about the Spring Commencement honorary degrees