Office of Research & Economic Development

Stories of support, collaboration, research and community engagement

Professor Mihai Burzo: The Autonomous Vehicle

Posted by & filed under Artificial Intelligence, Award, Computer science, Demography, Faculty Profiles, Flint community, Motor life, Research Matters, Spotlights, Student Research Spotlight, Technology, UM-Flint Research.

Daba Coura Mbow Professor Mihai Burzo, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Michigan Flint, is delving into the future of automotive technology with his groundbreaking work on autonomous vehicles. Born in Transylvania and armed with a Ph.D. from Southern Methodist University, Professor Burzo’s expertise spans microelectronics, computational dynamics, and mechanical engineering,

A Journey of Entrepreneurial Spirit and Innovation

Posted by & filed under Award, Faculty Profiles, Flint community, Research Matters, Spotlights, UM-Flint Research.

Daba Coura Mbow Mark Simon, the esteemed director of the Hagerman Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Michigan-Flint, is set to retire this year. With a career spanning ventures in wilderness canoe trips, import-export businesses, and educational product development, Simon’s entrepreneurial journey has been nothing short of remarkable. Born into a family

Interdisciplinary Innovations in Community Revitalization: Collaborative Approaches to Design, Environmental Justice, and Education in Flint

Posted by & filed under Art, Award, Faculty Profiles, Flint community, Justice, Societal, UM-Flint Research.

Daba Coura Mbow Benjamin Gaydos is a nationally recognized designer and associate professor of Art and the University of Michigan-Flint.   He holds an MFA in Visual Communication/Design from Virginia Commonwealth University. He is co-founder of the social impact design studio, goodgood, with offices in Boston and Detroit, and is the driving force behind the

Dr. Shirl Donaldson: Bringing STEM Education to Life with Donk Racing

Posted by & filed under Faculty Profiles, Motor life, Physics, Research Matters, Societal.

Daba Coura Mbow Dr. Shirl Donaldson, a passionate educator from Detroit, is an Assistant Professor at the University of Michigan Flint. She grew up in metropolitan Detroit where cars are more than just machines; they’re a way of life. Growing up in an automotive family, Dr Donaldson knew that the “motor life” was her destiny. As a professor

Jacob Lederman awarded fellowship at the Institute for the Humanities in Ann Arbor

Posted by & filed under Art, Faculty Profiles, Research Matters, Societal, Spotlights, UM-Flint Research.

Jacob Lederman, associate professor of sociology, has been awarded a much sought after fellowship at the UM-Ann Arbor’s Institute for the Humanities for the 2024-2025 academic year. Lederman will use this opportunity to work on his next book manuscript. The Institute for the Humanities, located in the U-M’s college of Literature, Sciences and the Arts (LSA), examines

IST: Examining the Societal Impact of Technology

Posted by & filed under Faculty Profiles, Flint community, Research Matters, Societal, Technology, UM-Flint Research.

Daba Coura Mbow Jacob Lederman, associate professor of sociology, is the driving force behind the newly established Institute for Society and Technology (IST) at the University of Michigan-Flint.  IST emerged from a discussion during the pandemic about the growing relationship between technology and society. Lederman, with a deep-rooted curiosity about the relationship between changes in

Persistence and Mattering in Undergraduate Education

Posted by & filed under Faculty Profiles, Flint community, Research Matters, UM-Flint Research.

Daba Coura Mbow A group of educators from different departments at U-M Flint has joined forces to enrich undergraduate education. As part of a joint research effort known as the PMUE (Persistence and Mattering in Undergraduate Education), Kazuko Hiramatsu, Stephanie Roach, Jennifer Alvey and others have been working on teaching methods that help students think

Mapping the Health of Flint River: Bridging Data and Ecology for Ecosystem Preservation

Posted by & filed under Biology, Computer science, Data science, Ecosystem, Faculty Profiles, Flint community, Research Matters, Student Research Spotlight, UM-Flint Research.

Daba Coura Mbow A key project for IDEAS (the Institute for Data Engineering, Analytics, and Science) this fall, explains its Director Cam Mcleman, associate professor of mathematics, connects UM-Flint’s wildlife biology faculty with scientists at the Flint River Watershed Coalition (FRWC). Joining ongoing efforts to monitor the river’s health, looking at organisms inhabiting the watershed,

Advancing Pediatric Telehealth: Equity, Engagement, and Enhancing Care

Posted by & filed under Faculty Profiles, Flint community, Research Matters, Spotlights, Student Research Spotlight, telehealth, UM-Flint Research.

Daba Coura Mbow Dr. Gergana Kodjebacheva’s research revolves around parental and child health, with a particular focus on understanding the effects of socioeconomic circumstances. Her journey into this field began during her time as a master’s student at UCLA, where she collaborated with mentors Leo Estrada and Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris on a project aimed at improving

Professor Receives Grant To Bring Anthropology Student to Indonesia

Posted by & filed under Faculty Profiles, Research Matters, Uncategorized.

A UM-Flint student will be getting some hands-on anthropological experience this summer. Keaton Reese, a sophomore at UM-Flint, will be traveling with UM-Flint professor Daniel Birchok on an upcoming research trip to Indonesia. Birchok is an associate professor of anthropology at UM-Flint and has a background in historical anthropology. He studies religion, specifically Islam, in