Engineering Features

A Blaze of Innovation

Patrick Dunn Wednesday, April 24, 2013

While most kids are wasting their time mastering Xbox, high schoolers Albert Foo and Sharath Anand are developing a new fire-fighting technology, one that extinguishes interior flames from outside the building. So far ExtinBreachR has landed them top science fair awards and a couple of small grants. But they've got bigger plans.

Maker Works: The Revolution Will Be Robotized

Richard Retyi Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Maker Works is the future of manufacturing! Tom Root, managing partner of Zingerman's Mail Order, has help found the ultimate D.I.Y. workshop, a place where members can access high-tech machines and learn to bring their designs to fruition.

Manufacturing The Future

Dennis Archambault Wednesday, November 03, 2010

While much of the world may be going virtual, most businesses still have to make stuff. Putting together teams of engineering and business students, U-M's Tauber Institute plays matchmaker for companies that are looking to improve their manufacturing process. It's a partnership that provides students with a valuable skill set and saves participating firms up to millions of dollars.

A Passage From India

Constance Crump Wednesday, August 19, 2009

With a population of nearly 1.2 billion, India occupies a rather large corner of the world. And with its growing technological industries it was bound to discover Ann Arbor's deep well of innovation. But is our region making the kinds of international connections that are necessary to thrive in today's global economy?

Tech Transfer: Reinventing Ann Arbor's Economy

Jon Zemke Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Tech Transfer is the university buzzword these days. Concentrate sits down with Stephen Forrest, Vice President for Research at U-M, to candidly discuss how the commercial exploitation of academic discoveries can transform Michigan's economy and create an environment for innovation and investment.

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Engineering Videos

All Hands Active

Keith Jefferies Wednesday, August 10, 2011

Make it yourself. Or get others to help you. All Hands Active lives up to its name as Ann Arbor's ever-industrious hackpace, a place where inventors, innovators, designers, and crafters plot the overthrow of the status quo... or just make some really cool stuff.

Real World Learning

Keith Jefferies Wednesday, December 01, 2010

Academic theory is all well and fine but how do you apply what you've learned to real-life scenarios? U-M's MAP program teams students with companies and non-profits to help institute real-world strategies and solutions. It's an innovative program that provides students with a unique on-the-ground education while strengthening the university's relationship with both local and global businesses.

Jacobsen Daniels: Planning Airports and the Aerotropolis

Keith Jefferies Wednesday, November 18, 2009

In eight years this airport planning firm has grown more than ten fold, bought a building in downtown Ypsilanti and count many of the nation's biggest airports as their clients. From internships to aerotropolis development, Jacobsen Daniels is not only the kind of new economy business Michigan needs more of, they are passionately invested in their community's future.

A2 Mech Shop

Keith Jefferies Wednesday, July 01, 2009

It's all about playing nice together. Concentrate has reported on everything from food co-ops, to co-living communities to coworking facilities. It only seems fair to throw a little love to the A2Mech Shop, a shared technical space for entrepreneurial engineers and innovative mech heads.

Adaptive Materials

Keith Jefferies Wednesday, December 10, 2008

By any measure Adaptive Materials is exactly the kind of green collar company Ann Arbor wants. Innovative, well-funded and ambitious, this fuel cell technology firm is a model for our region's economic transformation.