In 1977, Whitley Hill arrived as a freshman at U-M and met her roommate: a talented, eccentric dynamo named Madonna. Hill’s new book remembers the girl who would become an icon.

Nell Gable was just 11 years old on 9/11/2001, but she remembers the day vividly, and continues to live today with the uncertainty it caused.

Stephen Forrest is Vice President for Research at the University of Michigan. U-M receives millions in research funding from the federal government, and some of that is for defense-related research. Michigan Today asked Forrest to describe some of the ways 9/11 and its aftermath have affected research in the US and at U-M.

Steve Fetter was working in the financial district of Manhattan on 9/11. What he saw that day transformed his life completely. Here is a pair of excerpts from his play about the day and its aftermath, “A Blue Sky Unlike Any Other.”

Marine second-lieutenant Patrick Callahan serves in the University of Michigan’s Naval ROTC program. Michigan Today asked Lt. Callahan to describe the impact of the 9/11 attacks on his military experience.

Seems more people are interested in eating fresh, healthy foods. An alumnus and his co-author wife, who have built their own “farmstead” offer tips to get you started on the healthy, do-a-little-bit-more-yourself lifestyle.

On the 10-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, U-M students, alums and faculty talk about how the world has changed.

• The eyewitness: “Suddenly, I knew I must run.”
• The Marine: “I wanted to be in combat.”
• The terrorism expert: “Today, al-Qaeda itself is dead.”
• The researcher: “The wars shrank the defense research horizon dramatically.”
• The student: “My teacher returned moments later, visibly shaken.”
• The lost: 18 Michigan alums were killed on 9/11.

U-M’s legendary gymnastics coach Newt Loken passed away this summer; one of his protegées looks back at his life and career.

Plus: Exclusive photos from fall football practice

The playwright and screen- writer would have turned 100 this year, and U-M is celebrating.