Brad Meltzer, BA ’92, tells Class of 2024: ‘Unleash your kindness’

Four men stand in a line opening their commencement gowns to reveal big Block M's in maize.

2024 commencement speaker Brad Meltzer shares how magic provides insight to shape lives, aligning with classmate Desmond Howard (far left), and 2023 national champions Blake Corum and J.J. McCarthy, to drive home the point.

  1. Dr Larry Brilliant gives polio drops to baby

    Calling Dr. Brilliant

    When this seasoned epidemiologist launched his unconventional career in 1969, he fit the bill as the ‘hippie doctor’ with a penchant for Ram Dass and Wavy Gravy. Since then, this aptly named frontline worker has won public health victories over smallpox, blindness, Ebola, and COVID-19. Next? Monkeypox.

  2. The fellows and the WCEE team. Image credit: WCEE

    U-M supports Ukrainian scholars at risk

    As academic research in Ukraine ceased due to the Russian invasion in February 2022, U-M created a 12-month fellowship that offers a life-saving and intellectual home to Ukrainian scholars. Research areas vary from human rights to cyber warfare.

  3. #end gun violence in chalk on the street

    U-M reports record $1.71B in annual research volume

    Total research volume at the University increased by 8.4% in FY ’22, fueling innovations in global health, Great Lakes water quality, firearm violence, and driverless vehicle technologies. FY ’22 also marked a record high of $973M in federally sponsored research expenditures.

  4. Laser engineer Lauren Weinberg, research scientist John Nees and research engineer Galina Kalinchenko pose for photos while working on the ZEUS laser at the NSF ZEUS laser facility in a Michigan Engineering lab. Image credit: Marcin Szczepanski, Michigan Engineering

    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.

  5. Michigan Engineering alum Linda Zhang.

    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.

  6. David Carter: Video game archivist for the Computer and Video Game Archive and comics librarian

    Librarian combines loves of comics, games

    David Carter is one of the lucky ones: As U-M’s video game archivist for the Computer and Video Game Archive and comics librarian, he has combined his two childhood loves into a fulfilling career.

‘Gateway for innovation’

The December groundbreaking at the U-M Center for Innovation (UMCI) in Detroit helped kick off Vision 2034, the University’s 10-year blueprint for the future. Preliminary site work has been ongoing with a projected opening in 2027. “The UMCI is a catalyst for positive change and, as such, presents itself along Grand River Avenue as a ‘gateway for innovation,’” said Hana Kassem, FAIA, design principal, Kohn Pedersen Fox (KPF). The first two floors will house public programs, a cafe, and shared office space for the U-M Detroit Center, Admissions Office, School of Environment and Sustainability Clinic, and others. Levels three through six are planned for multidisciplinary graduate research. Watch: UMCI design approved, construction ramps up. (All images by Kohn Pedersen Fox.)

  • Engaging the passerby

    “The UMCI design proudly bears the University of Michigan spirit focusing on progress and inclusivity, which is embodied in its dynamic forward-leaning form and the portal that cuts through it, inviting access to all,” said KPF’s Kassem. “Its transparent facade at street level engages the passerby, showcasing innovation, by putting making and research on display.”

     

    Modern office building

  • Ground breaking

    The project broke ground in December at the intersection of Grand River Avenue and West Columbia Street. The proposed 200,000-gross-square-foot building will be the first of three buildings to be constructed on the site, with the other two — an incubator space and a residential building — developed at a future date.

    Aerial view of proposed UMCI

  • Mixed models

    UMCI will be a world-class research, education, and entrepreneurship center designed to advance innovation and community development that will propel  job creation and inclusive economic growth. Programming at the UMCI will offer a mixed-model approach that includes both master’s degrees and workforce development programs that focus on technology and innovation.

    People sit at tables in modern courtyard

  • Open doors

    UMCI also will host a multitude of community engagement activities for the residents of Detroit, ranging from K-12 programs like the Michigan Engineering Zone to the Detroit Neighborhood Entrepreneurs Project and many more.

    Interactive, creative lab

  • Catalyst for growth

    “UMCI will bring together the best of the University of Michigan to catalyze economic development in the city of Detroit,” said U-M Provost Laurie McCauley. “It will house a robust portfolio of academic programs, including new interdisciplinary graduate degrees and certificate programs aligned to the skills of the future.” The ultimate goal is to attract startups as well as major employers to the region, she said. Read more about the UMCI.

    Atrium filled with people in a modern office building