Futuristic technology reveals secrets in ancient Vesuvius Scrolls
When Italy’s Mount Vesuvius erupted in AD 79, it buried the palatial villa of Lucius Calpurnius Piso Caesoninus, Julius Caesar’s father-in-law. These black and brittle papyri may look like charred croissants, but U-M classicist Richard Janko believes they contain lost masterpieces of literature, history, and philosophy.
-
XR and U-M: Extended reality stage expands global education
Michigan explores the academic outer limits, introducing extended and virtual reality to the classroom. Its XR studio opens a new chapter on scalable, personalized, and immersive learning technologies. Oh, the places you’ll go!
-
College athlete unions: Would they be effective?
In a first for college sports, the National Labor Relations Board recently ruled that men’s basketball players at Dartmouth College are school employees and ordered a union vote. Sports economist Richard Paulsen, assistant professor of sport management at U-M’s School of Kinesiology, discusses how unions might look for college athletes.
-
Snakes do it faster, better: How a group of scaly, legless lizards hit the evolutionary jackpot
A large new genetic and dietary study of snakes, from an international team led by University of Michigan biologists, suggests these legless wonders are ‘evolutionary winners.’ Massive shifts in traits associated with feeding, locomotion, and sensory processing have allowed them to be ‘evolutionarily flexible,’ researchers say.
-
Want to teach? U-M program helps solve shortage
The Michigan Alternate Route to Certification, offered in U-M’s Marsal Family School of Education, was designed for anyone with a bachelor’s degree interested in becoming a teacher in Michigan. Participants work as certified teachers (with salary and benefits) for three years while enrolled in and supported by the program to earn their standard teaching certificates.
-
Michigan Minds podcast: For lasting fitness, prioritize moving your body — not the numbers on the scale
Though it’s only February, many of the millions of people who resolved to lose weight in 2024 have already fled the dreaded bathroom scale. Focusing primarily (on) the numbers is not an effective way to track our progress, says clinical exercise physiologist Laura Richardson. Start thinking about how you feel, not how much you weigh.
-
George Gershwin’s first musical rediscovered after nearly a century
Performances by students at U-M’s School of Music, Theatre & Dance mark the first recordings with full orchestration of music from “La, La, Lucille,” George Gershwin’s first complete score, written when he was just 21 years old. The production opened on Broadway in May 1919, toured the Northeast in 1920 and California in 1922, and then was lost to history.
Columns
-
President's Message
AI’s promise for teaching and learning
As U-M customizes Gen AI tools on campus, President Ono focuses on best practices defined by accessibility, privacy, integrity. -
Editor's Blog
Something old, something new
Who's ready for an excellent adventure? Just keep an eye peeled for the (virtual) hot lava. -
Climate Blue
Order from disorder
Ricky Rood explains the organizing principles behind weather, which is how we feel climate. -
Health Yourself
Getting a leg up on sciatica and piriformis syndrome
Victor Katch compares and contrasts sciatica and piriformis syndrome and explains how to ease that pain in your butt.
The Art Show
Founded in 1990 with a single theatre workshop, the Prison Creative Arts Project (PCAP) is a program of U-M’s Residential College. Courses serve as gateways for undergraduate participation in prison arts workshops and provide academic training in issues surrounding incarceration and practical skills in the arts. The program’s Annual Exhibition of Artists in Michigan Prisons (“the art show”) is one of the largest exhibits of artwork by incarcerated artists in the world. The annual exhibition, free to the public, is presented with support from the Michigan Arts and Culture Council. It runs through April 2 at the Duderstadt Gallery. (Click on the images to enlarge. Images are courtesy of PCAP.) Learn more about PCAP.