Innovation

  1. First light at the most powerful laser in the U.S.

    Michigan Engineering recently fired up the Zetawatt-Equivalent Ultrashort pulse laser System, promising new developments in medicine, electronics, and national security. Funded by the National Science Foundation, ZEUS will explore the physics of the quantum universe.

  2. Engineering tough: Taking the F-150 electric

    As chief nameplate engineer for the F-150 Lightning, Linda Zhang, BSE EE ’96/MSE CE ’98/MBA ’11, has impacted the design, development, and delivery of the electric vehicle, as well as the creation of its new manufacturing plant and Ford’s marketing campaign.

  3. U-M study: Local renewable energy employment can fully replace U.S. coal jobs nationwide

    As of 2019, coal-fired electricity generation directly employed nearly 80,000 workers. A new U-M study quantifies—for the first time—the technical feasibility and costs of replacing those coal jobs with local wind and solar employment nationwide.

  4. Emulating impossible ‘unipolar’ laser pulses paves the way for processing quantum information

    A laser pulse that sidesteps the inherent symmetry of light waves could manipulate quantum information, potentially bringing us closer to room temperature quantum computing. The study could also accelerate conventional computing

  5. 21 research takeways from ’21

    Pandemic-related stories may dominate the news, but these other significant findings and developments at U-M also deserve attention.

  6. 1,000-cycle lithium-sulfur battery could quintuple electric vehicle ranges

    A new biologically inspired battery membrane has enabled a battery with five times the capacity of the industry-standard lithium ion design to run for the thousand-plus cycles needed to power an electric car.

  7. U-M forms collaboration to advance quantum science and technology

    U-M has formed a collaboration with Michigan State University and Purdue University to study quantum science and technology, drawing together expertise and resources to advance the field.

  8. Spray-on coating could make solar panels snow-resistant

    Researchers have demonstrated an inexpensive, clear coating that reduced snow and ice accumulation on solar panels, enabling them to generate up to 85% more energy.

  9. U-M, Humotech partner to bring open-source bionic leg to research labs

    First released in 2019, the open-source leg’s free-to-copy design is intended to accelerate scientific advances by offering a unified platform to fragmented research efforts across the field of bionics.