2009 – Page 10 of 98

U-M scores top ranking in online media interest

By Newsroom

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November 11, 2009

The University of Michigan's brand has become the leader when it comes to "chatter". A new study singles out U-M as the marquee university for generating public interest in a combination of media coverage, Internet traffic and social media mentions.Texas-based Global Language Monitor's newest Predictive Qualities Indicator survey measured the buzz around university brands using an online-based word analysis. Michigan (previously No. 4) knocked off Harvard (now No. 3) for the top spot. Other followers included MIT, University of Chicago and Stanford University.Global Language Monitor President Paul Payack attributed the shift in public sentiment to the 2008 financial market meltdown, which cost Harvard's endowment $11 billion. Those losses forced Harvard and other elite private universities that rely on their endowments to make major cuts this year, and allowed the big prestigious public universities like U-M and University of Wisconsin to gain ground.Payack is a word analysis expert who has taught scientific and technological communications and other forms of expository writing at the University of Massachusetts and University of Texas. He also founded yourdictionary.com and Global Language Monitor.Source: University of MichiganWriter: Jon Zemke

U-M prof’s HOT AIR exhibit celebrates fall of communism

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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November 11, 2009

Thirty six years ago Anca Trandafirescu's family fled communist-controlled Romanian when she was six years old. Today the assistant professor of architecture at the University of Michigan has returned an artistic hero.Trandafirescu is the designer and fabricator who made the HOT AIR exhibit happen in Timisoara, Romania. The giant inflatable head exhibit celebrated the fall of communism 20 years ago by placing a giant inflatable head laying on its side in Victory Plaza where the revolution began."It looks like what a fallen statue would look like when a regime is toppled," Trandafirescu says. "Like when revolutionaries topple the statues of the old regime and drag them out of the square."The exhibit measured 12 meters long and five meter high. The face was not of anyone in particular, although some compared it to Lenin's face. It remained in the square from Nov. 3-7 to mark the revolution. It's called HOT AIR because heat was rationed in those days and it was unusually warm during the revolution."It helped people stay outside longer," Trandafirescu says.The exhibit was funded with $6,700 in grants, including $3,200 from the University of Michigan. The head is in transit back to the U.S. and will go on display over the next few years to commemorate the fall of communism in Romania.Source: Anca Trandafirescu, assistant professor of architecture at the University of MichiganWriter: Jon Zemke

Tangent Medical Tech expands to 6 people in Ann Arbor

By Newsroom

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Entrepreneurship

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November 11, 2009

Tangent Medical Technologies is traveling along an increasingly popular road for University of Michigan innovators-turned-entrepreneurs.A small group of students, that were part of a fellowship at the Medical Innovation Center at the university, have come up with a new breakthrough in biotech. They sorted through 130 ideas, parred them down and landed on a new needle application for IVs."It turns out that half of the time IVs fall out and need to be reinserted, which means more sticking and more pain," says Elyse Kemmerer, co-founder and director of market development for Tangent Medical Technologies. "Our systems stays in place longer."The group has now grown the fledgling company by six people since May, including adding a CEO and lead investor. They are still building the prototype and expect to have FDA approval within a year. They are also looking to line up some venture capital funding.If successful, the downtown Ann Arbor-based firm, which is working out of Ann Arbor SPARK's Central Business Incubator, hopes to finish developing the new technology in Washtenaw County and create the jobs to do that here. Just another step in a journey that's becoming more and more familiar with U-M spin-offs in Ann Arbor.Source: Elyse Kemmerer, co-founder and director of market development for Tangent Medical TechnologiesWriter: Jon Zemke

Students inventions take center stage at U-M’s 1,000 Pitches contest

By Newsroom

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Entrepreneurship

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November 11, 2009

Could the bright ideas of some of Michigan's brightest young minds help turn the state's economy around?Excerpt:We've all got them -- those ideas that we know, just know, would make a fortune if we could get them to a store shelf.Now, some University of Michigan students are hoping to tap into that genius. MPowered Entrepreneurship is challenging students to make their pitches -- whether for ideas they've mulled for years or an unexpected flash of brilliance."It's 'Hey, you're waking up at 3 a.m. with an idea. What is it?' " said MPowered president Lauren Leland, 20, of West Bloomfield.The spiels range from the intriguing (sidewalks that capture kinetic energy from pedestrians) to the sensible (disposable dishrags for dorm rooms) to the silly (a robot clock that pummels you awake)."Let's face it: In terms of an economic turnaround in the state of Michigan, there's no question it will come from the entrepreneurial sector," said Rich Sheridan, chief executive of the Ann Arbor-based software company Menlo Innovations, one of the program's sponsors. "If we're going to place a bet anywhere in Michigan, this is a great place to put it -- in wild, energetic, creative minds that aren't constrained by corporate thinking."Read the rest of the story here.

Ypsilanti resident climbs a tree to save his trees

By Newsroom

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In The News

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November 11, 2009

One Ypsilanti man is fighting the man by climbing a tree the man wants to cut down.Excerpt:Bill Riney is heading back into the trees.Nearly five months after he prevented the removal of large pine trees lining his backyard by camping out in them, the Ypsilanti Township man said he intends to climb them again after losing in court today."Those trees probably took 40 years to grow, and I can't imagine my backyard without them," Riney lamented after Washtenaw County Circuit Judge David Swartz granted International Transmission Company access to his property to have the trees removed."We're just heartbroken about it, and they're going to cut them down unless we stop it," he said.Read the rest of the story here.

Ann Arbor non-profit leads in air quality research

By Newsroom

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In The News

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November 11, 2009

That new car smell isn't as good as you would think, and the Ann Arbor-based Ecology Center knows why.Excerpt:WHEN the Ecology Center, a nonprofit environmental advocacy group, released its 2009 guide to toxic chemicals in cars in September, the results held a pleasant surprise. For the first time since the center began rating vehicle interiors in 2007, a car built in the United States by a Detroit automaker had the lowest levels of toxic chemicals among all the models evaluated.The vehicle that earned the best rating was the Cobalt from General Motors' Chevrolet division, a compact whose low price appeals to customers eager to buy a factory-fresh car. The good grades indicate that Cobalt buyers will have a much lower chance of encountering one of the least appealing aspects of owning a new vehicle: chemical odors in the car that are strong enough to make occupants ill. "What many refer to as new-car smell is actually the result of chemicals in the car's interior being released into the passenger compartment," said Jeff Gearhart, research director for the Ecology Center, based in Ann Arbor, Mich. "When inhaled, some of these chemicals can have serious effects on the health of vehicle occupants."Read the rest of the story here.

Ann Arbor’s record stores find a way to survive

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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November 11, 2009

Where does a record store fit in in a downloadable society? In Ann Arbor.Excerpt:Walking into Encore Records is like stumbling into a corn maze, a disheveled college bedroom and a natural history museum all at once — just 20 times more overwhelming than any of those places. The walls are practically crawling with musical artifacts from the past century, teeming with an otherworldly sort of life that’s completely missing when you’re browsing for obscure records on allmusic.com.But as daunting as walking into a "mom-and-pop" record store can be, there’s also something incredibly warm and fuzzy about browsing records in a culture den surrounded by fellow music lovers. There's something magical about pulling a vinyl record from a shelf based purely on the merit of its cover art, handing it to the store clerk and having him play it for you.This might all sound hunky-dory, but if the financial wallop peer-to-peer music sharing delivers to these stores continues, this experience could be gone faster than you can say "Lady GaGa."It's disturbing to consider how much the market for these homespun businesses has collapsed over the years. "Ten to 15 years ago, there were actually about 12 record stores in (Ann Arbor). There was a way oversupply," says John Kerr, the owner of Wazoo Records. Read the rest of the story here.

Sundance looks at coming to downtown Ann Arbor

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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November 11, 2009

Local film aficionados are getting excited because the Sundance Film Festival is looking at the Michigan Theater as a potential venue.Excerpt:Organizers of the Sundance Film Festival have a plan to beam outward some of the energy that pulses through Park City, Utah, each January to select theaters across the country, including Ann Arbor's Michigan Theater. The new program announced Thursday would transmit select Sundance films to eight independent theaters Jan. 28 and also dispatch the filmmaker to lead discussions in those satellite locales.Read the rest of the story here.

Forbes calls Ann Arbor an affordable collegetown to buy a home

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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November 11, 2009

Most people think of buying a home after college, but Ann Arbor is one of those places where you can think of doing it during college.Excerpt:In a new article from Forbes, Stephane Fitch identifies the most and least expensive college towns to own a home in. Those who go to school in the Midwest have the best chance of buying a home while still in college. College towns with cheap real estate include Akron, Ohio (where the average home costs $121,800) and Ann Arbor, Michigan (where the average home costs $148,000). If the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit is extended, some college students could use the credit to make up half of their down payment.Read the rest of the story here.

Double Lives: Josh Weston

By Tanya Muzumdar

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Arts and Culture

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November 11, 2009

See that speck on the Lake Michigan horizon? Rolling across choppy waves, skateboard on one foot, surfboard on the other, Josh Weston does double time as a web designer for Ann Arbor's MS&L and as the founder of Einfach Skate. Concentrate chats with the man who's struck a balance between pavement and PC.