All Research News

Cars could detect drunk and impaired drivers using technology developed by U-M engineers

Local news source Concentrate interviewed Mohammed Islam about his plan to keep drunk and impaired drivers off the road with inexpensive technology that can be incorporated into cars in the near future.

Scientists use biometrics, behavior analysis for drunk driver detection

News outlet Biometrics Update reports on Mohammed Islam’s solution to detect drunk and impaired drivers. They describe the solution as “More economically viable for mass adoption than in-car breathalyzer.”

This tiny swimming robot can think for itself

With the help of the Michigan Micro Mote, researchers at U. Pennsylvania have developed programmable microscopic autonomous robots. David Blaauw and Dennis Sylvester were collaborators on the paper presented at an American Physical Society meeting in March 2024.

How EV batteries can power up your house during outage

Prof. Al-Thaddeus Avestruz describes using an electric vehicle to power their home in the advent of a power outage.

Can this city’s microgrid plan skirt the traditional utility model?

Ann Arbor has a goal of using 100% renewable energy by 2030. One way to do this may be through community microgrids that connect to existing utility infrastructure. It is a model that could be used across the nation. Prof. Johanna Mathieu supports this effort, and comments on how this could work.

Navigating Academia to Startup: What Kind of Companies Do Scholars Create?

Prof. Jason Corso, CEO and co-founder of Voxel51, shares his experiences as a faculty entrepreneur.

Why the world’s most powerful lasers could unlock secrets of the cosmos

In this piece on how laser systems are helping scientists probe the fabric of the Universe, the BBC features U-M’s ZEUS, the most powerful laser system in the U.S., and Prof. Karl Krushelnick, as well as Nobel Laureate and Prof. Emeritus Gérard Mourou’s acclaimed research on Chirped Pulse Amplification.

University of Michigan unveils new super powerful laser

In this video, John Nees and Gerard Mourou talk about the ZEUS laser and the 30-year journey to achieve the three-petawatt laser (100x the world grid power, says Nees). The laser is open to researchers around the world.

Midwest educational and industrial leaders form NSF-funded semiconductor workforce training network

Becky Peterson is co-PI in the NSF-funded project, MSN Force: A Midwest Semiconductor Collaborative Network for Work Force Training, led by Wayne State University. The goal is to prepare more highly skilled individuals to meet the growing demand in the semiconductor industry, particularly in the Midwest.

Zetian Mi’s research team from University of Michigan makes progress shaping the future of ferroelectric semiconductor applications

Researchers from the University of Michigan made significant progress that could shape future ferroelectric semiconductor applications, and they designed ferroelectric semiconductors that are only 5 nanometers thick. ECE Prof Zetian Mi is the lead of the team and the co-corresponding author of the study.

Off the Grid

Ian Hiskens comments on the problems energy companies are having incorporating wind and solar power into the grid, due to a lack of suitable computer models.

NTT Research PHI Lab Scientists Address Bias in AI

Doctoral student Ekdeep Singh Lubana is first author on a paper addressing bias in AI in a collaboration with researchers at Harvard, U of Cambridge, and NTT Research Inc. The authors, including Prof. Robert Dick, propose a new algorithm to help overcome bias in deep neural networks (DNNs).

The Significance of III-V Semiconductors in Future Electronics

A team of researchers at U of M led by Prof. Zetian Mi reported breakthroughs in ferroelectric III-V semiconductors unlocking new potentials for ultra-efficient memory, powerful electronic devices, and even revolutionary quantum technology applications.

Si/GaN Technology Unlocks New Potential for Hydrogen Fuel Production

Scientists from the University of Michigan made important discoveries regarding the semiconductive use of gallium nitrate (GaN) three years ago, focusing on the advantages it has to offer solar energy technology. ECE Prof Zetian Mi was one of the inventors of artificial photosynthesis devices using Si/GaN about ten years ago.

Eight research teams chosen for new Boost program

Prof. Aline Eid will be working on “Advancing Battery-less Sensing for Sustainable Living and Civil Infrastructures” for the first cycle of the University of Michigan’s newly launched Boost program as part of the Bold Challenges Initiative.

Zooming across time and space simultaneously with superresolution to understand how cells divide

Prof. Somin Lee describes how she’s helping to understand how cells divide through a new technique using superresolution microscopy.

U-M to pioneer inter-disciplinary research institute with $55 million investment in Quantum research

Co-chair Mack Kira says that what’s unique about quantum is that “it’s so interdisciplinary, so you have to have multiple stakeholders. You need physicists, engineers, computer scientists, chemists, mathematicians; all of them have to come together to look at the quantum from different points of view and bring something together.”

The Science Behind How Metal Detectors Work

Ever wonder how those metal detectors work? Prof. Kamal Sarabandi fills us in on what’s happening in the magnetic field to lead to ultimate success, or failure.

Entanglement-enhanced optomechanical sensors offer unprecedented precision

Zheshen Zhang and his team are exploiting quantum entanglement to provide optomechanical sensors with unprecedented measurement sensitivity and speed. The research was recently published in Nature Photonics.

Dingell Announces $1 Million for Clean Hydrogen Project at University of Michigan

Congresswoman Debbie Dingell (MI-06) announces Prof. Zetian Mi’s clean hydrogen project funded by the Department of Energy.

U-M launches institute to accelerate quantum research, education

To solve global quantum challenges and prepare a next-generation workforce to catalyze new discoveries, the University of Michigan will invest $55 million to launch a multidisciplinary Quantum Research Institute, for which Professors Steven Cundiff and Mackillo Kira will serve as co-directors.

U-M leads research translating semiconductor innovation for broad societal impact

ECE Professors talk about the University of Michigan’s commitment to translating semiconductor research and innovation for broader societal impact.

Oxynitrides enabled photoelectrochemical water splitting with over 3,000 hrs stable operation in practical two-electrode configuration

Prof. Zetian Mi co-authors this new study published in Nature Communications on the practical application of photoelectrochemical devices and systems for clean energy.

Qing Qu receives Amazon Research Award

Qu’s research project in the area of machine learning algorithms and theory is called “Principles of deep representation learning via neural collapse.” Awardees, who represent 54 universities in 14 countries, have access to Amazon public datasets, along with AWS AI/ML services and tools.

Swimming Robot Borrows from Nature (and more)

In this video, the National Science Foundation features the breakthrough research led by Prof. Zetian Mi on producing inexpensive, sustainable hydrogen through solar power.

Cognitive performance variability may predict severity of viral infection, a UMich collaborative study finds

According to Prof. Al Hero, who led this portion of the research, “computerized cognitive tests could be used to measure cognitive health for data collection in future studies as well. The web-based tests could help physicians and public health authorities assess the susceptibility of a particular population to respiratory infections.”

Can simple brain quizzes predict who gets a virus?

Listen to this interview with Prof. Al Hero and collaborator Dr. Murali Doraiswamy (Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke U.) regarding their recent discovery linking cognitive performance and one’s vulnerability to getting sick.

Solar Powered Sustainable Hydrogen

The NSF Discovery Files features Prof. Zetian Mi’s renewable approach to producing hydrogen fuel using a novel semiconductor catalyst, concentrated natural sunlight and fresh or salt water.

U-M Developed Solar Panel Achieves Sustainable, High-efficiency Hydrogen Production

A new kind of solar panel that mimics a crucial step in natural photosynthesis by achieving 9 percent efficiency in converting water into hydrogen and oxygen has been developed by Prof. Zetian Mi and his team. The first author on the Nature paper is Dr. Peng Zhouho.

Sun-powered water splitter produces unprecedented levels of green energy

A new breakthrough by Prof. Zetian Mi’s group resulted in a device that triples the efficiency of previous setups.

Photosynthesis photodetector

Prof. Stephen Forrest talks about a new type of high-efficiency photodetector inspired by the photosynthetic complexes plants use to turn sunlight into energy, developed by his group.

Meet ZEUS, the highest-power laser in the U.S.

Dr. Anatoly Maksimchuk describes Zettawatt-Equivalent Ultrashort pulse laser System (ZEUS), the most powerful laser in the U.S., in a short recorded interview

What is Batteryless IoT?

Everactive’s Co-Founders & Co-CTO’s, Ben Calhoun & David Wentzloff, discuss batteryless IoT and its future use cases in this podcast by IoT for all.

A game changer: Epitaxially grown nitride ferroelectrics

Compound Semiconductor features Zetian Mi’s breakthrough research on epitaxially grown nitride ferroelectrics.

Computer Engineering Education

Prof. Robert Dick participated in a virtual roundtable for IEEE on computer engineering education.

UMich research lab houses most powerful laser in the U.S., tests for future studies

The Michigan Daily features ZEUS, the new laser system at CUOS, which is the most powerful laser in the U.S.

These Tiny Sensors Are Saving Snails

This video shows how the Michigan team’s tiny computers (called the Michigan Micro Mote) are being used for conservation efforts for even small invertebrates.

Univ. of Michigan’s ZEUS will be most powerful laser in US

ZEUS is a 3 petawatt laser. And “3 petawatts is 3,000 times more powerful than the U.S. power grid,” said Louise Willingale, Assoc. Director of the laser facility.

University of Michigan designs photodetector inspired by photosynthesis

The new device, created by members of Prof. Stephen Forrest’s group, makes practical use of polaritons, pointing to a “goldmine of polariton applications.”

New photodetector design inspired by plant photosynthesis

Phys.org features Prof. Stephen Forrest’s research on a new type of high-efficiency photodetector inspired by the photosynthetic complexes plants use to turn sunlight into energy.

Why hasn’t Henry Ford’s ideal power grid become a reality?

Johanna Mathieu sees a cooperative approach to energy usage as one of the solutions to a more sustainable approach to powering homes and businesses.

MemryX Begins Customer Sampling of AI Accelerator Chip

MemryX Inc., a pioneering start-up co-founded by Prof. Wei Lu that designs breakthrough silicon for artificial intelligence (AI) processing for edge devices, announced today it has begun customer sampling of its revolutionary MX3 AI Accelerator.

Machine learning begins to understand the human gut

In this Next Byte podcast, the hosts discuss Prof. Al Hero’s recently published research that describes how machine learning can be used to better understand the human gut.

MemryX Is A New AI Company We Actually Need

Co-founded by Prof. Wei Lu in 2019, MemryX is developing a fundamental core architecture for Edge AI with high flexibility and reconfigurability. In a crowded space, it seems MemryX has what it takes to succeed.

Is DTE ready for the electric vehicle future in Michigan

DTE says it’s ready to handle 20% of the population having EVs right now. Others respond, including Prof. Ian Hiskens who describes a more nuanced reality

This 17-Year-Old Designed a Motor That Could Potentially Transform the Electric Car Industry

Prof. Heath Hofmann is quoted in this article by the Smithsonian about the sustainable manufacturing of electric vehicles that do not require rare-earth magnets.

Inside Clean Energy: What’s Hotter than Solar Panels? Solar Windows.

Inside Climate News features Prof. Stephen Forrest’s work developing a peel-off patterning technique that could enable more fragile organic semiconductors to be manufactured into semitransparent solar panels at scale.

Michigan universities might be developing the next big thing: transparent solar panels

Read about the efforts of Prof. Stephen Forrest’s group to use buildings to generate renewable solar power through the use of transparent solar panels in windows. Doctoral student Xinjing Huang also talks about the research in a video.

Dynamic control over exciton transport achieved at room temperature

Physics World described Parag Deotare’s work in dynamically-controlled exciton transport, which takes a big step toward room temperature, practical excitonic devices including cooler and more efficient electronics.

2021 Precision Health Investigators Awards

Prof. Zhongming Liu (co-PI) and Jeffrey Fessler are members of a team newly funded by U-M Precision Health to investigate “Deep Learning for Prediction of Mild Cognitive Impairment and Dementia of the Alzheimer’s Type.” Prof. Honglak Lee is part of a team funded to investigate “Rapid Intraoperative Molecular Diagnosis of Diffuse Gliomas Using Stimulated Raman Histology and Deep Neural Networks.”

Smart Bandages, Vehicle-Damage Trackers and More Data-Collecting Devices of the Future

Prof. Pei Zhang’s work about capturing vibrations to predict diseases is mentioned in this article, along with Stanford collaborator, Prof. Noh.

How driverless cars will change our world

Prof. Necmiye Ozay shares her perspective based on her own research and that of others being tested regularly at Mcity.

Novel transparent solar cells show promise for power-generating windows

The transparency-friendly solar cell, developed by Prof. Stephen Forrest’s group, pairs high efficiencies with 30-year estimated lifetimes.

U-M Receives $1M Grant for Bipedal First Responder Robots Project

A new University of Michigan research project led by Prof. Jessy Grizzle and funded by a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation will enable robots to navigate in real time without the need for a preexisting map of the terrain they traverse.

Everactive and Armstrong International Partner on Smart Steam Trap Management With Real-Time Batteryless Monitoring

Steam Trap Management Industrial IoT Solution Combines Everactive’s Batteryless Sensors and Armstrong’s Deep Thermal Energy Expertise. Everactive was co-founded by Prof. David Wentzloff.

Novel approach for thermophotovoltaics promises higher efficiencies

Prof. Stephen Forrest and a team of U.S. researchers have proposed a new approach to fabricate solar thermophotovoltaics (STPV) with higher power densities, bringing the technology a step closer to practical viability.

Turning thermal energy into electricity

Science Daily features a project with Prof. Stephen Forrest that’s turning thermal energy into electricity that could provide compact and efficient power for soldiers on future battlefields

Tiny snail computers

Michigan Radio talks about innovative technology that came out of ECE and EEB to help figure out what’s killing tiny snails.

Snail Computers

Prof. David Blaauw talks with BYUradio about the Michigan Micro Mote and how it helped solve a snail mass extinction mystery.

Tiny computers mounted on snail shells helped reveal how one species escaped extinction

In this feature story, CBC showcases the new study done by ECE and EEB researchers using the Michigan Micro Mote to learn how some snails use sunlight to hide from invasive predators

A tribal chief

CBC’s “As It Happens” interviewed U-M EEB researcher Cindy Bick on how snails & the world’s smallest computer helped solve a Tahitian mass extinction mystery w/ a suspect “wolf in snail’s clothing” & how sunshine and white shells saved the day (starts at 21:10)

How Do You Solve an Extinction Mystery? Put a Tiny Computer on a Snail.

The New York Times features the Michigan Micro Mote and how it helped solve a mass extinction snail survivor mystery.

Energy equity depends on data, and experts say there isn’t enough of it

Utility Dive interviews Prof. Johanna Mathieu about her work with energy testbed, Pecan Street, which is expanding its residential network into Detroit to gather more insights from communities of color regarding the clean energy transition.

Revamped OLED Electrodes Could Cut Power Consumption

Optics & Photonics News covers research by L. Jay Guo and his efficient organic LED (OLED) that emits more light with the same amount of power.

Snail Survivors (The Poetry of Science)

UK author of the blog “The Poetry of Science” wrote a poem called Snail Survivors about the research collaboration between developers of the world’s smallest computer and biologists.

Artificial photosynthesis devices that improve themselves with use

Nanowerk shares Prof. Zetian’s Mi research on a water-splitting device that becomes more efficient with use, which could make artificial photosynthesis a practical method for producing hydrogen fuel.

Tracking Monarch Butterfly Migration with the World’s Smallest Computer-Pittsburgh

The University of Pittsburgh highlights the contribution of Inhee Lee, an ECE alum, in the project using Michigan Micro Motes to track monarch butterfly migration.

Tracking monarch butterfly migration with the world’s smallest computer

Phys.org re-publishes our piece on how researchers from ECE and Ecology and Evolutionary Biology are using the Michigan Micro Mote to track monarch migration in unprecedented ways.

3 New Chips to Help Robots Find Their Way Around

Intel and academic groups, including the team of Blaauw, Kim, and Sylvester, are designing specialized hardware to speed path planning and other aspects of robot coordination

These four tech teams just won $12 million in the ERA carbon Grand Challenge

Zetian Mi is a member of a team initiated at McGill University in Canada that will receive up to $3M by reaching the second round of the Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA) Grand Challenge: Innovative Carbon Uses.

This is the world’s smallest computer

Computers used to consume whole rooms, but now one computer can fit on the edge of a nickel. At just one millimeter cubed, the Michigan Micro Mote (M^3) is the smallest autonomous computer in the world.

Researchers unveil first mm-scale computing system

Researchers at the International Solid-State Circuits Conference in San Francisco demonstrate a prototype implantable eye pressure monitor and a tiny new radio.