An international group of scientists, including University of Michigan astronomers, has mapped the chemical composition of protoplanetary disks surrounding five nearby young stars—an effort that will allow the astronomers to search the disks for planet formation in real time.

EXPERTS ADVISORY University of Michigan faculty are available to discuss the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 report on poverty and income statistics, to be released Sept. 14. The poverty rate in 2019 was 10.5% (34 million people), a decrease of 1.3 percentage points from 11.8% (29.8 million people) a year earlier. The latest figures are likely Read more

Avery Williamson, an Ann Arbor-based interdisciplinary artist, spent lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic drawing the lines of her tropical houseplants again and again—until the leaves became organic, abstract forms. “There’s so much more meaning to the rhythms of our domestic spaces since the pandemic began,” Williamson said. “I was thinking about the distance to the Read more

In a dazzling presentation from start to finish, the Michigan Marching Band’s Sept. 11 halftime show on Saturday commemorated the 20th anniversary of the terrorist attacks. Michigan stadium erupted in applause as the marching band’s members spelled out the word “heroes” to start the show while launching into John Williams’ “Summon The Heroes.”

Algorithms are everywhere. They use personal information to offer up suggestions for our entertainment experiences; they filter our social media content; and they’re also used for purposes we’re not always aware of—like predicting the likelihood of repeat offenders in the criminal justice system. But have you ever wondered who creates the codes for these algorithms? Read more

A new transparency-friendly solar cell design could marry high efficiencies with 30-year estimated lifetimes, research led by the University of Michigan has shown. It may pave the way for windows that also provide solar power. “Solar energy is about the cheapest form of energy that mankind has ever produced since the industrial revolution,” said Stephen Read more

In its 10 years of existence, the Raoul Wallenberg Fellowship at the University of Michigan has become one of the most prestigious self-designed, independent study-abroad projects for students. From Kenya and India to South Africa and Peru, nine U-M graduating seniors—one each year since 2013 have had the opportunity to study abroad, immerse themselves in Read more

The University of Michigan Concussion Center and Detroit Public Schools Community District have partnered to develop a concussion toolkit to improve concussion prevention, identification and care for student-athletes. The toolkit addresses gaps in concussion education, lists available resources and provides information about follow-up care, and was the product of a meeting with leadership from both Read more

A new University of Michigan study provides stark statistics about a reality that 6 million Americans with dementia and their families live every day: one where people with dementia receive hundreds of hours a month in unpaid care from spouses, adult children and other relatives, and where some rely on paid help including nursing home Read more

For developing a series of pioneering learning and weather-related tools and technologies and launching successful companies around them that serve millions of people, University of Michigan professor Perry Samson has earned this year’s Distinguished University Innovator Award. Samson, a professor of atmospheric science, will receive the award Oct. 6. The Distinguished University Innovator Award honors Read more

Producing the fertilizer that helps feed Earth’s 7.8 billion people comes with an environmental cost—one that University of Michigan engineers are hoping to lessen with a new strategy that favors sunlight over fossil fuels. The National Science Foundation has awarded U-M researchers $2 million to study the effectiveness of a new ammonia production process aimed Read more

ANN ARBOR—In a key step toward improving the feasibility of reusing wastewater as drinking water, the Environmental Protection Agency has granted University of Michigan researchers $1.2 million to study how well current treatment methods remove viruses from wastewater. The team believes that existing techniques may already be effective at removing pathogens, potentially reducing the complexity Read more

Tomorrow’s wildfire fighters and other first responders may tag-team with robotic assistants that can hike through wilderness areas and disaster zones, thanks to a University of Michigan research project funded by a new $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation. A key goal of the three-year project is to enable robots to navigate in Read more