U-Michigan launches strategic vision, pledges to be ‘the defining public university’
After a year of gathering input from the campus community, the U-M administration has released its strategic vision for the next 10 years. Vision 2034 — detailed in an initial 43-page report — calls upon the University to leverage its interdisciplinarity and excellence at scale to educate learners, advance society, and make groundbreaking discoveries.
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Human stem cells coaxed to mimic the very early central nervous system
The first stem cell culture method that produces a full model of the early stages of the human central nervous system has been developed by a team of engineers and biologists at U-M, the Weizmann Institute of Science, and the University of Pennsylvania. The model, which resembles all three sections of the embryonic brain and spinal cord, could shed light on developmental brain diseases.
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Bridge in a box: Unlocking origami’s power to produce load-bearing structures
For the first time, load-bearing structures like bridges and shelters can be made with origami modules — versatile components that can fold compactly and adapt into different shapes. It’s an advance that could enable communities to quickly rebuild facilities and systems damaged or destroyed during natural disasters, or allow for construction in places that were previously considered impractical, including outer space.
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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.
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Thirteen days in 1970: The BAM strike
In February 1970, U-M students operating as the Black Action Movement called a strike on classes. They interrupted lectures, banged garbage-can lids in classroom buildings, and hassled fellow students attending class. Their demand to President Robben Fleming: Increase Black enrollment from 3.4 percent to 10 percent.
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Michigan Minds Podcast: Purpose and mattering, featuring John Piette, professor at the U-M School of Public Health
Purpose and mattering. They’re essential to happiness and healthiness, researchers say. But those feelings can be hard to attain, especially for individuals who may be more prone to feeling purposeless. Professor John Piette, director of the U-M Center for Managing Chronic Disease, discusses V-SPEAK, his latest project with U.S. veterans.
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Community force: How a holistic program is changing Detroit one toddler at a time
Brilliant Detroit creates community hubs by transforming houses in need of repair into welcoming sites that deliver early childhood education and family support. More than 19,000 children in 18 area neighborhoods have benefited to date.
Columns
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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.