Ann Arbor

Ann Arbor’s Advanced Photonix wins big Navy contract, adding jobs

By Newsroom

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February 17, 2010

Advanced Photonix is gearing up for some growth in 2010 after holding its ground last year.The Ann Arbor-based firm and subsidiary Picometrix have been able to keep its employee count at around 160, with the occasional summer intern (the same since we last checked in). But they plan to hire additional people this year. The company has openings (mostly for people with advanced engineering degrees and expertise) right now."We've added quite a few people over the years," says Rob Risser, CFO of Advanced Photonix.Advanced Photonix specializes in making optimum electronic semiconductor sensors. It recently landed a follow-up order worth $2.4 million from the U.S. Navy. The order includes providing a custom photodiode assembly and optical sensor used for the Navy's Guided Missile Systems.Advanced Photonix's sensors are used by a wide variety of fields, ranging from homeland security's search for WMDs to eye scanners for the healthcare industry. Meanwhile, Picometrix focuses on making sensors for the telecommunications industry, one of the firm's most promising new sectors.Advanced Photonix went public in the late 1980s when it was a California-based firm. It merged with Picometrix (a University of Michigan spin-off) in 2005 and moved its headquarters and most of its operations to the south side of Ann Arbor.Source: Rob Risser, CFO of Advanced PhotonixWriter: Jon Zemke

U-M represents at the Winter Olympics

By Newsroom

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Healthy Communities

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February 17, 2010

The Ann Arbor area is famous for its athletics, and not just the revenue sports at the University of Michigan. A number of amateur athletes are making a name for themselves at this year's Olympic games.Excerpt:He was eight years old and had been skating since he was three but after playing ice hockey he had developed bad habits. To improve his skating, White’s parents decided to sign him up for ice dancing lessons. One town over in West Bloomfield, Mich., nine-year-old Meryl Davis was in a similar situation. She, too, had decided to take up ice dancing and was looking for a partner. The choice seemed obvious. The two young skaters had both trained at the Detroit Skating Club for years, and White’s single skating coach at the time, Seth Chafetz, thought to himself, “Why not give it a try?”The way White, who grew up in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., and Davis came together couldn’t be further from a storybook beginning. Their first skating session was so insignificant at the time that Davis said she barely even remembers when she met her partner. “I have absolutely no recollection of it,” she said trying to think back to the introduction. “I can only remember someone asking me to skate with this crazy kid and thinking that I had no idea what I was doing.”Read the rest of the story here and more about Ann Arbor's Olympic prowess here and here.

U-M researchers develop new, tiny energy sensor system

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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February 17, 2010

The University of Michigan may have developed the most sustainable sensor to date.Researchers have created a 9-cubic millimeter solar-powered sensor that can theoretically run for the foreseeable future on renewable energy. The sensor is so small it's practically dwarfed by a penny, making it 1,000 times smaller than comparable commercial counterparts, allowing it to use 2,000 times less power.Part of what makes the sensor so significant is that it spends most of its time in sleep mode. It wakes up occasionally to take measurements, allowing it to conserve energy and only expend what it generates from its minuscule solar panels. The sensor's processor requires about half a volt to operate.Commercial uses range from bio-medical devices to bridge and building sensors. The technology was recently demonstrated by Greg Chen, a computer science and engineering doctoral student at U-M.Source: University of MichiganWriter: Jon Zemke

Accuri takes aim at next big profitable exit in Ann Arbor

By Newsroom

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Entrepreneurship

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February 17, 2010

Accuri Cytometers is trying to become the next big entrepreneurial homerun in Ann Arbor, and it's pitch hitting a locally known slugger to make that happen.Excerpt:Jeffrey Williams was looking for some time off, maybe a beach somewhere, with a few good books to read.Instead, he's looking for a three-peat ... and so are his investors. Having led two Ann Arbor biotech companies to successful sales, he hopes to lead another to a profitable exit.Williams, 43, was named the CEO of Ann Arbor-based Accuri Cytometers Inc. on Jan. 29, replacing company co-founder Jennifer Baird in a move that stunned the local high-tech community.Read the rest of the story here.

Ann Arbor art gallery feels Haiti quake all the way in Michigan

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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February 17, 2010

A Haitian art dealer who now calls Ann Arbor home was a little bit more than shaken when the earthquake hit.Excerpt:Ann Arbor -- Lee Jean-Gilles was with two interior design clients around 5 p.m. Jan. 12 when his wife called to inform him of the terrible earthquake to hit Haiti. Jean-Gilles, a Haiti native and owner of the Pierre Paul Art Gallery in Ann Arbor, canceled the appointment and immediately went home, worried about family members living in Haiti. He tried desperately to reach his brother and sister in Port-au-Prince. "For close to four days I stayed at home, not sleeping, not eating, just watching the news," Jean-Gilles, 49. Finally, he reached his family members. They were safe. Read the rest of the story here.

Ann Arbor’s entrepreneurs multi-task with a variety of start-ups

By Newsroom

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Entrepreneurship

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February 17, 2010

Ann Arbor's entrepreneurs are starting to act like musicians trying to hit the big time by joining as many bands as possible. Only this time replace the word "band" with "start-up".Excerpt:They’re extremist entrepreneurs - that is, an economic antidote of sorts for Michigan’s ailing economy.For many entrepreneurs, starting and managing a new company is supremely stressful and time consuming.But for a few Ann Arbor business leaders, managing two startup companies at the same time is second nature.Read the rest of the story here.

Pizza 2.0

By Terry Parris Jr.

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Arts and Culture

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February 17, 2010

It was only a matter of time before pizza went high-tech. From web tracking to on demand orders from your TiVo, Ann Arbor-based Domino's has created a brave new world of snarfing.

U-M’s Barbour, Newberry dorms prove long-lasting worth

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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February 17, 2010

Two of the University of Michigan's most unique dormitories once again proved their resilience as Betsy Barbour and Helen Newberry continued to hold their historic ground in a campus forever modernizing its student-housing options.The two mansion-style dorms across State Street from the Diag date from the early 20th Century and today house 221 students between the two of them. The period architecture makes the buildings easily mistaken for a fraternity or sorority.They stand in contrast to the beehive of housing that is the university's quads and Hill area dorms. In fact the university decided last week to let Barbour keep its dining facilities instead of moving them to the nearby, nearly finished North Quad. Barbour and Newberry have been able to avoid consolidation into larger dorms by carving out a niche, serving as a female-only dorm with a down home feel."It's so home like," says Ankita Mohanty, a senior with a major in psychology at U-M who has lived in Newberry for three years. "Even the lighting is a little different, a little home like. It makes us feel like we’re in a house more than a dorm."Mohanty points out that the "beautiful" architecture and high interaction between students helps improve the student living experience by providing another living option. The near constant interaction between students who live there helps encourage a more personal bond."When I leave the resident hall I am leaving a very comfortable space," Mohanty says. "Coming back is like coming back to friends and family."Source: Ankita Mohanty, student at the University of Michigan and Peter Logan, spokesman for the University of MichiganWriter: Jon Zemke

Fresh U-M grad continues push of IMU clothing line

By Newsroom

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Arts and Culture

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February 10, 2010

David Merritt is becoming the conductor of the little fashion start-up that can now that his IMU brand is starting to gain traction in Ann Arbor.Excerpt:At Sunday's IMU photoshoot, LSA sophomore Courtney Cox took a brief break from tweeting giveaways to describe her unique internship experience. Like many Michigan students, Cox had been hopelessly looking for internship opportunities in merchandising, until she came across the Facebook fan page for I Miss You, Inc. (IMU), a brand founded by David Merritt, former captain of the Michigan men’s basketball team."Have you ever had someone tell you that they miss you?" Merritt asked. "It makes you feel special. It makes you feel valued."David Merritt is not the typical self-absorbed all-star-athlete-turned-fashion-designer. If you’re looking for an entourage or the arrogant swagger that comes with leading a team to the NCAA tournament for the first time in 11 years, you won’t find it here. Instead, Merritt is so admirably humble, it’s almost frustrating. He just keeps it real — and stylish. He has everything you’d hope to find in the president and CEO of one of Ann Arbor’s hottest up-and-coming fashion lines.But how did the former hoops player combine his two seemingly disparate interests of basketball and fashion?According to Merritt, he never had any intentions of getting involved in fashion. But his experiences playing basketball with selfless teammates like School of Public Policy graduate student and former captain C.J. Lee ultimately became his inspiration for IMU. The IMU brand sells T-shirts which combine the urban style with joy and color. The shirt designs serve perfectly to illustrate the meeting point of style and service."As a captain, I learned the importance of selflessness and giving of yourself to reach team goals — goals that are bigger than you personally." Merritt said. "Like watching C.J. Lee come in every day just to motivate people in order to make the team as good as it could be. These types of goals are what's really behind IMU as a brand."Read the rest of the story here.

MASTERMIND: John Rosevear

By Constance Crump

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Entrepreneurship

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February 10, 2010

Inventor, author, former Marine and Ann Arbor original, John Rosevear has the kind of biography that makes misfits proud. And now, after 45 years of development, his greatest invention --the Skyclock-- may finally earn him his due.