• Professor Pingsha Dong, the Robert F. Beck Collegiate Professor of Engineering, surrounded by Abdul Khan, left, and Yuning Zhang, both PhD students in naval architecture and marine engineering, at the Herbert H. Dow Building on the North Campus of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, on Friday, November 18, 2022.   Their research involves welding plastic to metal in a newly discovered technique where a thin strip of a nylon-6 (PA6) film provides the oxygen needed to force the formation of a nice, connected interface between the metal and plastic.   Image credit: Brenda Ahearn/University of Michigan, College of Engineering, Communications and Marketing

    Plastic to metal, steel to aluminum—the future of welding and lightweight vehicles

    Making vehicle structures out of a combination of metals and plastics could make them dramatically lighter, stronger, safer and more environmentally friendly than the all-steel or all-aluminum approaches that dominate today.

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  • 2022 National Research Conference on Firearm Injury Prevention logo

    National conference convenes leaders in firearm injury prevention research

    In an effort to expand the pipeline for, and foster collaboration in, the field of firearm injury prevention research, more than 500 researchers are gathering Nov. 30-Dec. 1 for the 2022 National Research Conference on Firearm Injury Prevention in Washington, D.C.

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  • Plastic waste. Image credit: Marc Newberry, Unsplash.com

    U-M team recycles previously unrecyclable plastic

    PVC, or polyvinyl chloride, is one of the most produced plastics in the United States and the third highest by volume in the world. PVC makes up a vast amount of plastics we use on a daily basis. Much of the plastic used in hospital equipment—tubing, blood bags, masks and more—is PVC, as is most Read more

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  • Firearm Injury Prevention Among Children & Teens: Massive Open Online Course

    U-M launches comprehensive firearm injury prevention open online course

    The University of Michigan’s Center for Academic Innovation launched a new firearm injury prevention online course this month that is free and publicly accessible, offering the most comprehensive, free evidence-based online learning opportunity in this field of study to date. The course, designed and developed by the Firearm Safety Among Children and Teens Consortium (FACTS), Read more

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  • The illustration shows how the honeycomb structure reconfigures into a pinwheel structure. The ability to make these twisted structures at the nanoscale could have applications in sensing, machine vision and more. Image credit: S. Zhou et al, Nature, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05384-8

    ‘Transformer’ pinwheels offer new twist on nano-engineered materials

    Producing chirality, a property found throughout nature, through large-scale self-assembly could lead to applications in sensing, machine perception and more  A newly discovered pinwheel structure—self-assembled from pyramid-shaped nanoparticles—may enable unique material properties that could be useful in areas like machine vision, armor, chemical and biological sensing, and more. The finding comes from a research collaboration Read more

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  • Stressed businessman sitting in front of digital stock market downturn. Image credit: iStock

    High interest rates, stock market turmoil add to consumer worries

    Consumer sentiment declined 5% below October, eroding about one-third of the overall gain seen since the historic low in June, according to the University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers.

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  • In an illustration, WASP-39 b, a hot, puffy gas giant planet inhabits the foreground while its star shines beyond it.

    New from JWST: An exoplanet atmosphere as never seen before

    NASA’s JWST has scored another first in its release of stunning images: a molecular and chemical portrait of a distant world’s skies. The telescope’s array of highly sensitive instruments was trained on the atmosphere of a “hot Saturn,” a planet about as massive as Saturn orbiting a star some 700 light-years away, known as WASP-39 Read more

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  • FIFA World Cup Trophy. Image credit: Rhett Lewis, Unsplash

    Qatar World Cup: U-M experts can discuss

    The 22nd FIFA World Cup, featuring 32 nations—the first soccer competition ever held in the Middle East—has been surrounded by controversy since its announcement. From views on LGBTQ rights, alleged corruption in the selection process, the economic impact and the country's treatment of migrant workers, University of Michigan experts are available to comment.

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  • A nearly empty mall escalator. Image credit: Naim Benjelloun, Pexels.com

    A retail tale: U-M experts can comment on Black Friday, Cyber Monday and influence of inflation

    University of Michigan faculty are available to discuss Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales, and can offer insight about where the retail industry is heading in the critical fourth quarter with inflation concerns and any lingering supply chain issues. Joanne Hsu is the director of the Surveys of Consumers and a research associate professor at Read more

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  • Kelly Phil (left) and Rafael Pierry

    Three-peat: U-M Debate Team wins third straight fall term ‘national championship’

    The University of Michigan Debate Program, led by students Kelly Phil and Rafael Pierry, has won the 2022 66th annual Franklin R. Shirley Classic—widely considered the national collegiate debate championship of the fall semester. The two College of Literature, Science, and the Arts students captured the championship title, defeating Wake Forest University on a 2-1 Read more

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  • COP27 climate conference in Egypt: U-M experts available to discuss

    EXPERTS ADVISORY Global climate talks in Egypt are heading into the home stretch with many issues still unresolved. Negotiators from nearly 200 countries have gathered in Sharm el-Sheikh for the COP27 conference in an effort to curb greenhouse gas emissions and avoid the worst ravages of climate change. University of Michigan experts are available to Read more

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  • U.S. Capitol Building. Image credit: Harold Mendoza, Unsplash

    Michigan local leaders give high marks on the state of local democracy while federal outlook remains grim

    Michigan local leaders are generally optimistic about how democracy is functioning in their jurisdictions, but are far less praiseworthy about the national picture, according to a new University of Michigan report.  When asked to rate the functioning of democracy in their own community on a 10-point scale—where one means a “total breakdown of democracy” and Read more

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  • Child care concept image, hands holding cutout of a family unit. Image credit: iStock

    New website answers child care providers’ questions about Michigan child care subsidy

    Researchers interviewed parents, providers in Emmet, Washtenaw, Wayne counties to identify barriers to subsidy use A new website answers child care providers’ frequently asked questions about Michigan’s Child Development and Care Subsidy—an underused resource that can help families pay for child care. The University of Michigan’s Poverty Solutions developed the Updated Michigan Child Development and Read more

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