Rabbi David N. Goodman |
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March 7, 2010
Oak Park, Michigan _ Many people are saying Michigan should look outside the auto industry for the jobs of the future. The loss since 2000 of 1 million jobs, or about a fifth of the state's work force, is one measure of how urgent it is to create new employment opportunities in Michigan. So what should we think of plans by the state's Big 3 universities to make transportation research a focus of their coordinated activities? It could be the old hair of the dog -- taking a swig from the same bottle that got the state hung over in the first place. But those behind the initiative say it's both natural and shrewd to draw on Michigan's history and expertise in trying to rebuild from the economic earthquake wrought by the Great Recession. Put a Post-It note on the October calendar for the University Research Corridor's transportation summit in Detroit. The consortium created by the University of Michigan, Wayne State and Michigan State universities has launched an initiative called "Transforming Transportation: Economies & Communities." ______________ |
General Motors Co.'s Orion Township assembly plant. Charles Tines, Detroit News.
Between now and October, each campus will be bringing its own researchers together to develop plans for a region-wide focus on transportation studies. "Sitting at the historic epicenter of transportation innovation, Michigan is right now strategically placed to reclaim that role," said Susan Zielinski of the University of Michigan's Transport Research Institute. The test will be in the execution. Neither success nor failure is written in stone. |
February 8, 2010
Oak Park, Michigan _ A solar-powered sensor packed into 9 cubic millimeters debuts February 9 at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference in San Francisco. It's being presented by Greg Chen, a University of Michigan computer science and engineering grad student. The sensor is about 1,000 times smaller than what's commercially available today. Beyond the "wow" factor, the work by the U-M team could make it possible to more efficiently monitor the conditions of bridges or other infrastructure. The ultra-small, ultra-low power monitors also could have biomedical uses. The biggest challenge, associate professor Dennis Sylvester says, was power management. |
photo by Daeyeon Kim, University of Michigan
It's said that success has many parents. Certainly, this project does, with backing from the National Science Foundation, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), National Institute of Standards and Technology, Focus Center Research Program and ARM. |