What began as a doctoral project at U-M is now spreading like red clover across the Great Lakes region to help farmers improve their soil and prevent fertilizer from washing into waterways. The Great Lakes Cover Crops Project officially launched about five years ago. Between then and fall 2025, more than 225 farmers from six states have enrolled nearly 600 fields in the project.

A research collaboration, including a team of U-M students, recently published a report that dives into an understudied aspect of the changing ice cover on the Great Lakes. The study explores how such changes are affecting recreation, business, and even the identities of coastal communities.

U-M is partnering with Los Alamos National Laboratory to develop a high-performance computational research facility. In this Q&A, Steven Ceccio, project lead and the Vincent T. and Gloria M. Gorguze Professor of Engineering, helps unpack the complexities of this project.

A new U-M study, supported by models from Argonne National Laboratory, shows that fully electric used vehicles offer consumers the greatest savings over a lifetime of ownership. That’s highly significant, since transportation is the second-largest portion of the average household’s budget.

Out of nearly 25,000 comments posted to more than 1,750 wildlife YouTube videos, just 2% featured a call to action that would help conservation efforts, a new study shows. Researchers point to the ‘tremendous untapped potential’ to improve messaging for viewers who appreciate the aesthetics and majesty of wildlife.

Located at the North Campus Facilities Services Building, the installations include both a rooftop array and a solar carport. Together, they provide nearly 600 kilowatts of renewable power; enough to supply electricity for about 100 average Michigan homes. They represent the first step in the University’s plan to add a total of 25 megawatts of solar capacity across all campuses.

The piping plover is the highest profile endangered species in the Great Lakes region. U-M researchers find that as long as they’re being protected, the sites where they nest are also protected from development or land use that is unhealthy for the ecosystem.

The Great Lakes shape Michigan’s identity, economy, and way of life. With federal support for science in question, the choice is clear: Invest in the research that safeguards our waters — or risk losing decades of progress. In this issue of ‘Michigan Research,’ U-M experts say the Great Lakes’ future depends on the decisions we make today.

Choosing a more electrified vehicle will reduce drivers’ greenhouse gas emissions, regardless of where they live in the contiguous U.S. A new study estimates emissions per mile driven across 35 combinations of vehicle class and powertrains: conventional gas pickups, hybrid SUVs, and fully electric sedans, among others.