Ann Arbor

U-M professor says Michigan could be the film headquarters of the Midwest

By Newsroom

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July 15, 2009

Could Michigan become the next Toronto or Vancouver of the film industry? One University of Michigan professor thinks it’s going to happen.Excerpt:Jim Burnstein, University of Michigan professor and Hollywood screenwriter, was one of the main architects of Michigan's tax incentives for the film industry that has brought more than $125 million in film production spending since April 2008.Burstein said with investments in training and infrastructure - and the patience to let the incentives work - Michigan could become the film and television headquarters of the Midwest.And the potential for television series to start shooting in Michigan could bring more steady employment than the intermittent schedules of feature films provide, he added.Read the rest of the story here.

Ann Arbor SPARK to President Obama: ‘Michigan has a bright future’

By Newsroom

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Entrepreneurship

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July 15, 2009

People are saying Michigan has a bright future, and President Obama is listening. But will he accept SPARK's invitation to visit A2?Excerpt:Ann Arbor SPARK, the region's leading regional economic development organization, hopes to convince President Barack Obama that Ann Arbor is a prime example of what Michigan can become.SPARK CEO Michael Finney urged Obama, who is visiting southeast Michigan on July 14, to tour Ann Arbor's "diversified" economy in an open letter released last week."Michigan has a bright future and the seeds have been sown and are starting to bear fruit," Finney wrote. "With the right planning and investment, the Michigan of the future can look a whole lot like the Ann Arbor of today."Read the rest of the story here.

Ann Arbor man carries on dancing tribute to Michael Jackson with heavy heart

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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July 15, 2009

Ann Arbor’s Michael Jackson dances a little more softly these days.Excerpt:Brian Woolridge danced Saturday, as he has during so many weekend summer afternoons in downtown Ann Arbor.There he was, a familiar figure doing his dazzling impression of Michael Jackson in the backlit alley on Liberty Street, just west of the Michigan Theater.But Saturday was different. The quick, electrifying moves were the same, as was the music, blaring from a boom box set beside a shoe box for donations.But Jackson was dead, and Woolridge carried a heavy heart into the routines he's cherished since he began dancing in the alley 14 years ago.Woolridge, 37, a 1990 graduate of Huron High School who lives across from Arborland, recalls dancing to Jackson's tunes at a very young age. In 1995, he began performing in the shaded, covered alley, a perfect setting for the strutting and flourishes that typify many of Jackson's songs.Read the rest of the story here.

Why Ann Arbor is the first city to lose its only daily newspaper

By Newsroom

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Arts & Culture

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July 1, 2009

Sometimes Ann Arbor’s smarts plays against it. In this case they contributed to the impending downfall of The Ann Arbor News.Excerpt:I have been wondering for a year now which American city will be first to lose its only daily newspaper. The results are in, and the dubious distinction goes to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where the Newhouse family's Advance will shutter The Ann Arbor News in late July. Ann Arbor? Home to the huge University of Michigan, birthplace and headquarters of the Borders book chain and a pocket of relative prosperity with only light collateral damage from the auto industry, a literate place, population around 100,000, one might expect to be appreciative of what print newspapers offer. But some of those apparent strengths seem instead to have proven drawbacks -- a curious state of affairs that may provide an unexpected window into what kinds of newspapers are most vulnerable in the brutal business climate of 2009.Read the rest of the story here.

Michigan Universities boost commercialization, create entrepreneurs

By Newsroom

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Education

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July 1, 2009

Further proof that Michigan’s universities --especially, ahem, U-M-- will play a key role in reinventing the state’s economy.Excerpt:?A program to help Michigan’s public universities create new entrepreneurs and speed commercialization of research is finding success just one year after making its first grants to universities around the state, officials from the Michigan Initiative for Innovation and Entrepreneurship consortium, and researchers said Wednesday at a news conference at the State Capitol."MIIE is having a tremendous impact at universities who have research projects that require additional funding to move them toward commercialization,” said Marvin Parnes, Associate Vice President for Research and Executive Director of Research Administration, University of Michigan. “Our efforts have allowed important research projects continue that could one day create much-needed jobs and companies in Michigan.”Read the rest of the story here.

U-M students turn school into start-up – Troubadour Mobile

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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July 1, 2009

Everyone is creating application for iPhones and Blackberries these days, so a trio of University of Michigan students thought why not them, too?The School of Information students (who recently graduated) ended up creating Troubadour Mobile last year. Two of the team are now heading out west for jobs with the likes of Microsoft but one of them plans to stay in Ann Arbor and make a go with the start-up. Ghaurav Bhatnagar hopes to develop the technology into his full-time job this year.Troubadour Mobile's application allows iPhone users quickly connect with family and friends. It hopes to create three more applications by the end of the summer. A whole family of applications should be available by the end of the year. And that's not long after when the founders were trying to decided whether to focus on Blackberries or iPhones."We knew something big was going to happen, but we couldn’t nail it down," Bhatnagar says.Source: Ghaurav Bhatnagar, co-founder of Troubadour MobileWriter: Jon Zemke

U-M students invent innovative suicide bomber detector

By Newsroom

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Community Development

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July 1, 2009

Students from the University of Michigan could soon be coming to the rescue of American soldiers serving overseas. A group of students are developing a new system of metal detectors that could be used to detect IEDs and suicide bombers in war zones.The students decided to tackle the problem by seeing what combination of existing technologies worked best together. The trial-and-error process resulted in portable, palm-sized metal detectors that can be hidden in trash cans, under tables or in flower pots. These detectors report to a main database through a wireless sensor network, telling when the deadly weapons might be entering the zone. This new system uses sensors that are cheaper, lower-power and longer-range. The seven-member team plans to continue to develop the technology and even create a plug-in sensor. It hopes to commercialize the technology within the next couple of years.Source: Ashwin Lalendran, 2009 mechanical engineering graduate of the University of MichiganWriter: Jon Zemke

Ann Arbor Greenbelt brings Webster Township acreage into its fold

By Newsroom

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Development News

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July 1, 2009

Webster Township and Ann Arbor are working together to bring two large farms under the umbrella of Ann Arbor’s Greenbelt.The two municipalities are purchasing the development rights to the Smyth and Merkel farms in Webster Township. They are taking advantage of Webster Township millage funds, Ann Arbor Greenbelt monies and grants from the federal Natural Resources Conservation Service Farm and Ranchland Protection Program.When its all said and done another 247 acres adjacent to each other on Zeeb Road will be added to the Ann Arbor Greenbelt. The Smyth Farm accounts for 100 acres while the Merkel farm brings another 147 acres to the table. These farms join more than 1,000 acres protected by the Greenbelt and hundreds of acres of farmland protected in Webster Township thanks to land preservation millages. Source: City of Ann ArborWriter: Jon Zemke

Video A2 Mech Shop

By Keith Jefferies

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Economic Development

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July 1, 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.

Early Stage Partners plans to open VC office in Ann Arbor

By Newsroom

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Economic Development

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July 1, 2009

Michigan’s investment in a couple of mezzanine funds is resulting in a new venture capital office in Ann Arbor.The state’s 21st Century Investment Fund just invested $35.5 million into four funds. Among them is Cleveland-based Early Stage Partners ,which is getting a cool $10 million to invest venture capital into research companies in the Midwest. It plans to open an office in Ann Arbor soon as part of the deal.Early Stage Partners provides early stage venture capital to research-based start-ups. Those companies are usually in the educational, scientific and medical industries.The other three companies include Arsenal Venture Partners, which will receive $5 million and plans to open an office in Michigan soon, too. It also focuses on early stage venture capital but in the defense and commercial markets. Detroit-based Peninsula Capital Partners, the state’s largest mezzanine fund, got $14.5 million. Triathlon Medical Ventures also received $10 million and plans to hire a Michigan-based full-time partner.The 21st Century Investment Fund is part of Michigan’s 21st Century Jobs Fund. The $2-billion effort is focused on growing and diversifying the state’s economy over 10 years.Source: Michigan Economic Development CorpWriter: Jon Zemke