Space

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The Verge: May 22, 2025

The most powerful laser in the US recently produced 2 quadrillion watts of power

The Verge reports on ZEUS and its 2 quadrillion watts of power, “but don’t expect it to be harnessed to recreate the Death Star.”

Popular Science: May 21, 2025

The US test-fired its most powerful laser ever

Interesting Engineering: May 20, 2025

US fires world’s most powerful laser ever, 100 times brighter than global power

“The laser’s immense power lasted just a fleeting 25 quintillionths of a second.”

The US has a new most powerful laser

Hitting 2 petawatts, the NSF-funded ZEUS facility at U-M enables research that could improve medicine, national security, materials science and more.

National Science Foundation: April 10, 2025

Fusion energy: Pathway to abundant power

The article mentions ZEUS, the highest-power laser system in the U.S. and located at the University of Michigan. ZEUS is part of the Gerard Mourou Center for Ultrafast Optical Science.

January 29, 2025

Mark Kushner presents Distinguished University Professorship lecture

Mark Kushner is the William P. Allis Distinguished University Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (EECS), and the George I. Haddad Professor of EECS. His lecture was titled “Plasma Science and Engineering at the University of Michigan.”

Light, flexible and radiation-resistant: organic solar cells for space

Some carbon-based solar cells already show no drop in performance after three years’ worth of radiation, and the cause of degradation in others could be preventable.

Mariko Burgin receives ECE Alumni Rising Star Award

Burgin spoke about her journey as an electrical engineer interested in space, leading her to work for NASA and Blue Origin on space missions.

Space Force establishes $35M institute for versatile propulsion and power at U-M

To optimize power, efficiency and freedom to maneuver, engineers aim to demonstrate new technologies for power generation, electric propulsion and chemical rockets.

CBS News: October 17, 2023

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.

Gregory Robinson details the journey of NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope for Gilleo Lectureship

Under Robinson’s leadership, the James Webb Space Telescope project went from being years behind schedule and billions over-budget to one of NASA’s greatest achievements of the 21st century.

Laser Focus World: December 13, 2022

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

Associated Press: September 15, 2022

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.

First light soon at the most powerful laser in the US

The ZEUS laser at the University of Michigan has begun its commissioning experiments

ZEUS Joins International Community of Extreme Light Virtuosos

As a member of the X-lites program, ZEUS joins an international community of extreme light labs working together to advance laser science for the benefit of society

MRover crowned champions of the University Rover Challenge

From autonomously navigating rocky terrain to testing soil for signs of life, the Michigan Mars Rover team bested their competition and took first place at the international competition.

Katie Bouman talks legacy of the black hole imaging project and favorite U-M memories

Before Bouman became the face of the project that brought us the first ever image of a black hole, she was wowing ECE professors with design projects and hoarding Domino’s pizza with her HKN family.

Anthony England, former NASA astronaut, professor, and dean, retires

England has dedicated more than two decades of his distinguished career helping students reach for the stars to understand more about Earth and other planets.

Most powerful laser in the U.S. to begin operations soon, supported by $18.5M from the NSF

With first light anticipated in 2022, the NSF will provide five years of operations funding, ramping up as the ZEUS user facility progresses to full capacity.

IEEE Spectrum: July 23, 2021

From Spacecraft to Sensor Fusion

IEEE Spectrum profiles EE PhD alum Iverson Bell.

Tracking ocean microplastics from space

Satellites give new insights on the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, plus sources and flows of ocean microplastic.

The Washington Post: April 8, 2021

The revolution in satellite technology means there are swarms of spacecraft no bigger than a loaf of bread in orbit

The Washington Post features the history and use of CubeSats, including the University of Michigan’s MiTEE project led by Prof. Brian Gilchrist.

A MiTEE student and her quest to shape the future of space satellites

Maya Pandya, an Electrical Engineering senior, is a key member of the student team working to design a new generation of CubeSats that may revolutionize how we monitor space environments and provide a new method for interplanetary communication.

Pioneering a way to keep very small satellites in orbit

More than 250 students had a hand in a satellite launching on January 10th, the first in space for a project to keep nanosats in orbit by harnessing Earth’s magnetic field.

Knowledia: October 15, 2020

Parts from the ISS have been used to design a new type of prosthetic limb

Knowledia profiles Prof. Robert Gregg’s work designing a new kind of robotic prosthetic leg using motors originally designed for the International Space Station

Student works on a NASA quantum satellite link

ECE master’s student Conner Stevons completed a remote internship at the NASA Glenn Research Center where he worked on Marconi 2.0, NASA’s plan to bridge quantum technology with a telecommunications system.

The Future of Lasers

A research profile of Prof. Gérard Mourou and other ECE scientists talks about the future of lasers, from transmuting nuclear waste to shooting space junk.

Building CubeSats to test electrodynamic tethering in space with MiTEE

Mi-TEE (Miniature Tether Electrodynamics Experiment) is a University of Engineering project directed by Prof. Brian Gilchrist that aims to test the tethering technology in space.

Leung Tsang elected to the National Academy of Engineering

A professor of electrical engineering and computer science is awarded one of engineering’s top honors.

Katie Bouman wows U-M community with insider’s look at the black hole imaging project

Speaking to a full house in Rackham, Dr. Katie Bouman – Michigan ECE alum – explained the history and science of the project that gave us the first ever photo of a black hole.

U-M to become Mount Olympus with ZEUS, the most powerful laser to be built in the U.S.

The three-petawatt system could unlock secrets of the universe, advance cancer treatments, improve security screenings for nuclear threats, and much more.

Kamal Sarabandi welcomes Emperor and Empress of Japan at IGARSS 2019

Predicting future disasters is an important goal of those participating in the IEEE Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium

Beyond Apollo 11: U-M ECE’s role in advancing space exploration

For the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, U-M ECE takes a look back – and a look forward – to how our professors, students, and alums have made their mark on the field.

Louise Willingale creates extreme plasma conditions using high-intensity laser pulses

Prof. Willingale’s research in plasma physics advances many research areas from spectacular astrophysical phenomena to cancer treatment to fusion power.

Michigan Mars Rover Team has best ever finish at the annual University Rover Challenge

MRover placed 7th overall at the annual challenge where rovers use AI to navigate tough terrain while collecting soil samples to practice testing for evidence of life in the universe.

Undergrad Michelle Gehner engineers better ways to explore new worlds

Gehner’s academic career includes advancing power electronics and crafting new extraterrestrial vehicles for MRover. She received the IEEE Power and Energy Society Scholarship for her promising future in power and energy.

2018 Nobel Prize Laureate Gérard Mourou talks high-intensity optics

Gérard Mourou, Professor Emeritus of EECS, returned to campus to discuss winning the Nobel Prize and his work in high-intensity optics.

Extreme light: Nobel laureate discusses the past & future of lasers

Lasers of tomorrow might neutralize nuclear waste, clean up space junk and advance proton therapy to treat cancer, says Gerard Mourou.

ECE student Brandon Russell explores space phenomena in a lab

PhD student Brandon Russell is awarded the Rackham International Student Fellowship for his research on magnetic fields in high-energy plasmas, which could help advance the development of clean energy and our understanding of energetic astrophysical phenomena.

Miniature satellites to maximize global communication

Havel Liu is working on a project to revolutionize satellite systems, improving communications during natural disasters and providing a blueprint for receiving future interplanetary voicemails

Deciphering GPS satellites to see inside hurricanes

To dial in on exact wind speeds, researchers needed to reverse engineering the signals from satellites.

Mars Rover Team tackles major redesign, places in top 10 at competition

This year’s model, “Phoebe,” received a major design overhaul that gave her a speed boost and new codebase that can be used for years to come.

Huanting Huang and the mathematical shape of trees

An award-winning modeling method will help us better understand our natural environment

SMAP Update: A mission to manage water globally

The satellite mission to collect global data of surface soil moisture can help weather forecasting around the world.

Louise Willingale advancing scientific knowledge of plasmas

Using some of the best lasers in the world, Willingale is shedding light on the impact of solar events on Earth.

Professor Leung Tsang Receives 2018 Van de Hulst Award

Prof. Tsang is a world-renowned expert in the field of theoretical and computational electromagnetics, and in particular microwave remote sensing of the earth.

Historic satellite launch brings U-M history to space

Planning to launch mid-2018, an exciting team of Michigan students is designing a space-based time capsule.

Student hybrid rocket team takes first place at inaugural competition

The Michigan Aeronautical Science Association (MASA) won the first ever Spaceport America Cup, an intercollegiate rocket engineering competition with over 110 teams from colleges and universities in eleven countries.

Student Arun Nagpal develops new ENG 100 section to spotlight space science

UM-SEDS co-President Arun Nagpal develops ENG 100 section to expose freshman to space science and atmospheric sensing.

Necmiye Ozay receives NASA Early Career Faculty Award for research in cyber-physical systems

Prof. Ozay’s award-winning work will be used in future space missions

Steven Battel elected to National Academy of Engineering

Mr. Battel is an expert on low-noise instrumentation power systems and is internationally recognized for his expertise in the design and development of space high voltage systems.

Iverson Bell – Researching the future of space satellites

Mr. Bell is investigating the potential of electrodynamic tether propulsion technology to enhance the capabilities of an emerging class of smartphone-sized satellites.

‘Space tethers’ can be used to fling spacecraft into interplanetary space

The tether could be used to deorbit out-of-use spacecraft, push spacecraft from low Earth orbit into higher orbits, or even push spacecraft out of Earth’s orbit altogether.

Researchers build groundbreaking device for NASA SMAP mission

The SMAP mission is NASA’s most ambitious sensing project yet for measuring global soil moisture levels.

Iverson Bell’s small satellite wins big

Iverson developed an experimental facility to simulate key characteristics of the space environment.

Peter Tchoryk: An entrepreneurial CEO

At MAC, Peter’s been able to combine his passions for scientific research and entrepreneurial creation.

Using HERCULES to probe the interior of dense plasmas

Thanks to HERCULES, scientists are now able to study very dense plasmas — a crucial step in nuclear fusion and astrophysical research.

Chris Berry awarded 2012 Michigan Space Grant Consortium Fellowship

The proposed emitter incorporates plasmonic photoconductors to more efficiently convert power from incident laser light into terahertz radiation.

Chris Berry awarded Michigan Space Grant Consortium Fellowship

Berry is designing an emitter to operate as a light-weight, local oscillator for a terahertz spectroscopy system suitable for use in space.

Ruzbeh Akbar receives NASA Fellowship for SMAP Mission Research

SMAP is a satellite mission for mapping surface soil moisture and freeze/thaw states for the purpose of scientific advances and societal benefits.

Michael Benson receives NASA Fellowship

For his research, Benson plans to utilize SAR in order to estimate variable vegetated parameters and monitor the planet’s crustal movement.