Big chill? Not in this ‘Circle of Estrogen’

A pack of Michigan alumni, caucasian females dressed in Hail shirts, looks very happy.

It’s been 40 years since ‘The Big Chill’ examined the nature of lifelong bonds — the ones forged in college — that couldn’t survive the real world. In the case of 12 alumnae who met as U-M freshmen in 1985, those bonds remain as solid as the day they moved into Alice Lloyd Hall.

  1. Are you there, AI? It’s me, God

    As artificial intelligence apps such as ChatGPT have proliferated, so have chatbots with a religious bent. In this video and Q&A, Webb Keane, U-M professor of anthropology, shares his thoughts about so-called “godbots,” and the danger of giving moral authority to artificial intelligence.

  2. Study: Average teen received more than 200 app notifications a day

    A report explores tween and teen relationships with phones, offering families guidance to promote healthier technology habits. The top three most popular social platforms among 11- to-12-year-olds were TikTok, Snapchat, and gaming platform Discord.

  3. Improvements in human genome databases offer a promising future for cancer research

    A gene sequencing method called ribosome profiling has expanded our understanding of the human genome by identifying previously unknown protein coding regions. Also known as Ribo-seq, this method allows researchers to get a high-resolution snapshot of protein production in cells.

  4. A pill to treat postpartum depression? It’s here

    The fast-acting pill, paired with psychosocial treatment, offers a comprehensive treatment plan, but price concerns remain

  5. University seeks nominations for honorary degree recipients

    Nominees may be individuals who have advanced their field of endeavor in significant ways, or who have made compelling contributions to society. Nominating deadline for candidates to be considered for the 2024 Spring Commencement Exercises is 5 p.m. Oct. 16.

  6. Life at Prettyman’s

    Horace and Jennie Prettyman’s sprawling manse on North University was Ann Arbor’s best-known boarding house, serving more than a million meals to students from 1875 to 1914 — including Fielding Yost’s varsity football players, who ate there nightly.

Higher ed meets higher purpose

Call it action-based learning, community engagement, applied academics, or any other catchy term you can conjure. Since the University’s founding, its faculty experts, alumni, and enterprising students have combined research, fieldwork, and passion to impact the state’s economy and its citizens. Projects and partnerships span the Mitten, impacting everything from children’s health to the maritime industry. Learn more about how these Wolverines are using education and experience to create actual value — in the real world — every single day.

  • Live Coal rocks on

    Yvette Rock, a teacher at The School at Marygrove, earned her MFA in painting from U-M in 1999 and created the Live Coal Gallery in Detroit. Among its offerings, Live Coal has an 18-foot traveling gallery and workshop space and hosts an arts-infused greenspace and arts hub in Detroit’s Brightmoor neighborhood. While at U-M, Rock conceived Detroit Connections, a program that continues today and links U-M students, staff, and faculty with Detroit schools. Read more.

    Group of creative looking characters in an art gallery surround its founder in a celebratory moment.
  • Michigan maritime

    Research by Ford School students has been foundational in the growth strategies of Michigan’s Port of Monroe, says port director Paul LaMarre III. Their work has contributed to policies, legislation, and investment; their efforts have led to new jobs, improved port infrastructure, and an increased number of state ports with Green Marine environmental certification. LaMarre is chairman of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s Port Advisory Committee. Read more.

    Man stands in front of a red ship in a small port.
  • Healthy choice

    Project Healthy Schools is a community-U-M collaboration created to reduce childhood obesity. It’s designed to get kids  exercising and socializing in a way that reinforces healthy choices. The program began in 2004, and is one of only a few school-based programs to demonstrate immediate and lasting improvements in health behavior and cardiovascular risk factors. More than 150 middle schools within 47 Michigan counties have implemented Project Healthy Schools; the retention rate is 75%. Read more.

    Three girls pose on playground equipment with lots of green space around them.
  • From garden to growth

    Cadillac Urban Gardens on Merritt in Detroit’s Mexicantown was the brainchild of U-M grad Sarah Clark, who earned her master’s in urban planning and is now director of Land and Water Programs at Southwest Detroit Environmental Vision (SDEV). The organization has repurposed 331 shipping containers from GM and turned them into raised beds to grow fresh peppers, tomatoes, lettuce, kale, and other vegetables and fruits the community can harvest without cost. Read more.

    Woman stands amid greenery with urban landscape, chain link fence.
  • Building real dreams

    ArcPrep is a collaboration between the U-M Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning and Detroit Public Schools Community District that expands opportunities for high school juniors who want to learn about the field of architecture. It also connects students with architects and designers throughout the city. Nearly 500 students have gone through the program since its founding in 2015. Read more. 

     

    A woman in glasses reviews architetcural designs spread on a table as two students look on.
  • Rocket man lands in the UP

    Orbion designs and manufactures plasma thrusters that move small satellites around in space. Alumnus Brad King (right), a space systems professor at Michigan Technological University, founded the company in 2016 in Houghton, Mich., in part because of its vibrant community of innovators connected with Michigan Tech. Orbion now counts Raytheon and General Atomics among its customers. (Also pictured is alum and Orbion co-founder/CTO Jason Sommerville.) Read more.

    Two caucasian men pose with Orbion logo and other scientific equipment.
  • Rehab ready

    A free clinic for stroke, Parkinson’s and other patients is boosting the quality of life for uninsured and underinsured patients in Genesee County. The HEART Clinic (Health Equity. Action. Research. Teaching.) is a no-cost student and faculty clinic that offers physical therapy, occupational therapy, nursing, and more. The clinic, founded about 13 years ago, is staffed by UM-Flint graduate students in occupational therapy and physical therapy and undergraduate nursing students. Read more.

    Group of student therapists surround an African American patient in need of PT or OT assistance.
  • Fit as a family

    It’s estimated that only 23% of U.S. kids get the recommended hour of daily physical activity. InPACT at Home, a fitness program developed by U-M with state and national partners, received $1 million in COVID-19 CARES funds during the pandemic and solidified a partnership with PBS Michigan Learning Channel to air exercise videos that acclimate kids to at-home fitness. Programming includes cardio routines, nutrition messaging, and learning activities, all accessible on smartphones, tablets, and computers. Read more.

    A child and adult shoot baskets in the driveway of a low-income brick home with a metal awning.
  • College confidant

    The Michigan College Advising Corps is a U-M partnership that helps high school students determine and pursue their academic goals. They do this through training — and providing guidance to — a team of advisers, all recent college graduates, who work full-time in schools statewide. The program, started in 2010, has helped more than 20,000 students select and apply for colleges and scholarships. Read more.

    Young woman in Michigan sweatshirt stands in front of red and white banner for Holland High School.
  • Ring my bell

    U-M researchers found 1 in 4 adolescents self-reported at least one concussion in 2020, up from about 20% in 2016. The U-M Concussion Center created the Michigan Sports-Related Concussion Training Certificate to satisfy a state-mandated requirement for concussion training for coaches working with Michigan High School Athletic Association athletes. Coach Stefanie Miller relies on the training as a Paw Paw high school math teacher and cheerleading coach. Read more.

    Group of children in red shirts seated on the floor with a standing teacher who touches one young girl on the neck, explaining the impact of concussion.