In The News

Grant Thornton of Ann Arbor’s Merit Network named Innovator of Year

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April 28, 2010

Ann Arbor-based Merit Network's Grant Thornton beat out 46 other people to become the Innovator of the Year from Lawrence Technological University.Excerpt:Donald J. Welch Jr., president and CEO of Merit Network Inc. in Ann Arbor, has been named Grant Thornton Leader & Innovator of the Year.The award was announced at an April 22 reception at Lawrence Technological University, which co-sponsors the award along with Grant Thornton LLP and WWJ Newsradio 950. Welch was chosen from among 46 nominees profiled during the past 12 months in the radio station’s daily e-newsletter, the Great Lakes Innovation and Technology Report.Around 100 people attended the reception.The Leaders & Innovators program was developed by Lawrence Tech to recognize Michigan business executives who have demonstrated unique abilities or created unique products. The profiles that appear on Tuesdays in GLITR are edited by Matt Roush, who served as the MC at the reception.Since 2006, Welch has been the leader of Merit Network Inc., a nonprofit, member-owned organization formed in 1966. It developed the statewide backbone network that makes high-speed data networking available to all of Michigan’s universities, and many of its colleges and community colleges, schools, libraries, and research organizations. Merit provides connections to and from the global Internet for users at these organizations.Read the rest of the story here.

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Q&A: How to get into U-M’s Ross School of Business

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Education

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April 28, 2010

Getting into University of Michigan's Ross School of Business is one of the most sought after tickets in the nation. Here is some inside information on how to score one, thaks the U.S. News & World Report.Excerpt:We posed questions to admissions officials at the University of Michigan—Ann Arbor Stephen M. Ross School of Business regarding the application process, what they look for in applicants and what sets their school apart. These are their responses:1. What can applicants do to set themselves apart from their peers? They really don't need to do much to set themselves apart other than tell their unique stories—through their résumés, their essays, their interviews, and their recommendation letters. No two applicants, even if they live and work in the same place, will have the same stories to tell. Differentiation shouldn't be a goal; telling one's own story well should.2. What do you look for in the application essays? What do the essays tell you about a candidate?We look for several things in the essays: Do they have clear and compelling reasons for wanting to get an M.B.A. now? Do they have a clear sense of their goals and why they've set those goals? Can they communicate well?The essays tell us whether an applicant has taken the time to think about where they've been, what they hope to achieve and why. Essays tell us whether an applicant understands what an M.B.A. is about, whether our program is a good fit for them, and whether they'll be a good fit for our program.Read the rest of the story here.

Small retail treasures in Ann Arbor: Kerrytown’s Treasure Mart

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Economic Development

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April 21, 2010

The conventional wisdom that independent stores are extinct in downtown Ann Arbor haven't been searching very hard for Treasure Mart in Kerrytown.Excerpt:When Elaine Johns' mother opened Ann Arbor's Treasure Mart in 1960, naysayers cautioned her that it wouldn't last. The neighborhood wasn't the best, and the building had been empty for many years."The whole Kerrytown area had been slated for urban renewal then," Johns says. "This was long before Zingerman's or the farmer's market."She forged ahead anyway and opened a consignment store that today is considered a city institution. Elaine started working in the shop, housed in a building that dates to the mid-1800s, in 1974."I came to work just for the summer and got sucked in," she says with a laugh. "I've never left." Read the rest of the story here.

Website speed part of Google rankings, says Ann Arbor expert

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In The News

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April 21, 2010

The nimbleness of your website is now a significant part in determining its Google search rankings. That's the latest decree from Andrew B King, an expert on websites based out of Ann Arbor.Excerpt:The Ann Arbor Web page performance optimization consultant Andrew B. King said this week that it's now official -- Web page speed is now part of search rankings.King says Google has added a page speed signal to its search rankings algorithm, officially linking performance with search engine marketing.In an article on his Web site, King says the loading speed of a Web page affects user psychology in a number of ways, and now it can effect its rankings as well.Read the rest of the story here.

New Pure Michigan focus on Ann Arbor

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Community Development

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April 21, 2010

Two of the latest Pure Michigan ads are focusing on Ann Arbor and how Tree Town is one of those special places that help makes the Great Lakes State great. The ads are currently playing on radio across the nation.Excerpt:In a world that tries so hard to look and feel like everything else, there is a place that knows exactly what it is -- Ann Arbor External Link, External Link Michigan. A place that embraces the unique and unusual. Where the art challenges the mind as much as it engages the eyes. And where trying a new taste is always on the menu. The storefronts, cafes and artists of Ann Arbor do it up a little different.Read the rest of the story here.

U.S. News & World Report ranks U-M Hospital No. 6

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Education

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April 21, 2010

The University of Michigan Medical School is ranked high when it comes to learning hospitals. The Ann Arbor-based hospital came in No. 6 as a research hospital and No. 14 with regard to primary care hospitals, according to the latest tabulations from U.S. News & World Report. Read the rest of the story here.

Ann Arbor start-ups take vast majority of VC in Michigan

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Economic Development

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April 21, 2010

The bad news is that venture capital investment is down in Michigan. The good news is there would only be one tenth of that sort of investment in the state without Ann Arbor's strong entrepreneurial community.Excerpt:Of the $20.5 million invested in Michigan, $11 million went to Ann Arbor-based HistoSonics, a University of Michigan spin-off company that's developing a medical device that uses ultrasound pulses to treat prostate disease.Another Ann Arbor start-up, Sakti3, received $7 million. It's working on next-generation lithium-ion batteries.Read the rest of the story here.

Ann Arbor proves fiery in Michigan’s hot film industry

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Arts & Culture

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April 21, 2010

The latest sequel in the "Scream" series ("Scream 4") is set to be shot in and around Ann Arbor. It serves as just the latest example of how Michigan's emerging movie industry is sinking deeper roots in Ann Arbor.Excerpt:In Michigan these days, April showers are bringing new movies -- and stars.Dimension Films confirms that it plans to shoot "Scream 4" in Michigan. Shooting is expected to begin in mid-June and take place in and around Ann Arbor. The new installment in the popular horror movie franchise will reunite original "Scream" director Wes Craven, screenwriter Kevin Williamson and stars Courteney Cox, David Arquette and Neve Campbell. The series has made $293 million in the U.S., according to Box Office Mojo. Read the rest of the story here.

U-M students focus on clean energy, entrepreneurship

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Economic Development

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April 14, 2010

More and more students at the University of Michigan are focusing their efforts on emerging new economy sectors, such as clean energy. Even more are exploring the idea of commercializing that type of new technology through entrepreneurial studies.Excerpt:Ann Marie Sastry, 42, plays two crucial roles in the advanced battery industry. In the first role, she's a professor at the University of Michigan who trains graduate students for careers in the electric vehicle industry.Secondly, she's an entrepreneur, CEO of Ann Arbor-based battery startup Sakti3, who is using her years of research to make the technology less expensive in the future."You can demonstrate things in a laboratory to your heart's content. But until you can scale, you can't address markets," Sastry said.Read the rest of the story here and about U-M's TEDx conference here.

Ann Arbor asks: Are bicycles safer on street or sidewalk?

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Community Development

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April 14, 2010

Novice bicyclists are often seen weaving between pedestrians on sidewalks while regular riders dodge automobiles on the road. People in Ann Arbor are beginning to wonder which way is safer.Excerpt:Chris Marble rarely feels unsafe on his bike, but a recent Sunday was an exception.Marble, a 71-year-old retired schoolteacher, was riding his bike on North Main Street in Ann Arbor. Suddenly, he was in heavy traffic from a University of Michigan basketball game."It wasn’t that bad, but I wouldn’t want to do it over and over again,” Marble said. "The drivers were nice. ... I don’t remember anybody cutting me close or blasting their horn or giving me the one finger peace sign.”Read the rest of the story here.