Science and Technology

  1. Detail of a thin piece of a composite film in the Kotov Lab at the North Campus Research Center of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor on Friday afternoon, May 24, 2024. The film was created by Jun Lu, a postdoc and an adjunct research investigator with the Michigan Engineering Department of Chemical Engineering and COMPASS. Although the film is made from nanoplates that don't twist light, grooves in the film can cause photons to spin in either a left-handed or right-handed spiral as they pass through the film. The angle of the grooves inside the film determines the direction of the spin. This composite film can twist light into a spiral, thanks to microscopic grooves that cause horizontally and vertically oscillating light waves to pass through the film out of phase. Unlike existing materials that can do this, the film maintains its light-twisting properties when heated up to 250 degrees Celsius. Photo: Brenda Ahearn/University of Michigan, College of Engineering, Communications and Marketing

    Nanoscale engineering brings light-twisting materials to more extreme settings

    Imaging the hot turbulence of aircraft propulsion systems may now be possible with sturdy sheets of composite materials that twist light beams, according to new research led by U-M and the Air Force Research Laboratory.

  2. drawing of an ear with a loud bell ringing outside. Canvas is pink, outline of ear is blue, and bell is red. Indicates tinnitus and U-M-led Apple Hearing Study findings.

    U-M-led Apple Hearing Study reveals prevalence of tinnitus

    About 78% of participants in the Apple Hearing Study, conducted by researchers at U-M, have experienced tinnitus — the perception of sound that others do not hear. The study focused on the demographics and characteristics of people with tinnitus to inform future research on potential treatments.

  3. Michigan’s local leaders overwhelmingly support adding rooftop solar infrastructure in their communities, while a majority strongly oppose developing nuclear power. According to the Michigan Public Policy Survey, 86% of local government leader respondents either strongly or somewhat support adding rooftop solar panels. This image shows an overhead view of buildings with solar panels on the roofs.

    Most local officials support rooftop solar, a majority opposes nuclear power

    Michigan’s local leaders overwhelmingly support adding rooftop solar infrastructure in their communities, while a majority strongly oppose developing nuclear power. According to the Michigan Public Policy Survey, 86% of local government leader respondents either strongly or somewhat support adding rooftop solar panels.

  4. The entropy-stabilized oxide is sandwiched between the superconductor YBCO, on which it was grown, and a titanium and platinum electrode. The many colors represent the different components of the entropy-stabilized oxide. By tweaking the ratios of the components, the team could create memristors that relaxed at different rates after exposure to an electrical current, mimicking the way that neurons sense time. Credit: Sieun Chae and Sangmin Yoo, University of Michigan.

    AI chips could get a sense of time

    Timekeeping in the brain is done with neurons that relax at different rates after receiving a signal; now memristors—hardware analogues of neurons—can do that too. Artificial neural networks may soon be able to process time-dependent information, such as audio and video data, more efficiently.

  5. Phone user displays screen that reads "Time Limit."

    Managing screen time by making phones slightly more annoying to use

    The best way to help smartphone users manage their screen time may be to make phones progressively more annoying to use, according to new U-M research. Delaying a phone’s swiping and tapping functions forces users to think harder, making it easier for them to consider whether to keep scrolling.

  6. Researchers create human aortic aneurysm model

    Using human cells in laboratory rats, Michigan Medicine researchers have developed a functional model of thoracic aortic aneurysm, creating new opportunities for understanding disease development and treatment. No treatments currently exist for the condition, which is a weakening and bulging at the body’s largest blood vessel in the chest.  

  7. Researchers in robotics lab

    Better battery manufacturing: Robotic lab vets new reaction design strategy

    New chemistries for batteries, semiconductors, and more could be easier to manufacture, thanks to a new approach to making chemically complex materials that researchers at U-M and Samsung’s Advanced Materials Lab have demonstrated.

  8. Scientists look at computer screen and mapping atlast of the human ovary

    First atlas of the human ovary with cell-level resolution is a step toward artificial ovary

    Insights could lead to treatments restoring ovarian hormone production and the ability to have biologically related children, according to U-M engineers. Researchers could potentially create artificial ovaries using tissues that were stored and frozen before exposure to toxic medical treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation.

  9. Mysterious, starry image

    The most precise measurement of our expanding universe

    With 5,000 tiny robots in a mountaintop telescope, researchers can look 11 billion years into the past. Now, using the largest 3D map of our cosmos ever constructed, the Dark Energy Spectroscopic Instrument reveals the most precise measurements to date of how fast the universe has expanded throughout its history.

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