The Past 50 Years
Michigan Engineering's research achievements during the past 50 years have been stunning examples of brilliance, creative research methodologies and plain hard work. The dramatic breakthroughs are far too numerous to mention in this limited space, but here are just a few that have helped make our world a better place to live.
The Ruby Maser
Holography
The Use of Carbon for Recovery and Recycling
The Michigan Terminal System
Artificial Wetlands
Microelectromechanical Systems
Computer Security
World's First Reconfigurable Machine Tool
Bladeless Scalpel
Spectrometers
The Ruby Maser
In 1957, College of Engineering research included the use of a ruby to create the first solid-state maser. This ruby maser was lightweight, compact and generally suitable for use as a low-noise preamplifier for communications and radar systems. In 1964, Bell Laboratories put the ruby maser to work, measuring microwave radiation from Venus. Forty years later and still a vital scientific tool, the ruby maser proved to be instrumental in obtaining photographs in exploratory missions to Mars. The ruby maser was the precursor of the laser.
Holography
At the Optical Society's 1964 Spring Conference, College of Engineering researchers displayed a revolutionary laser-transmission hologram that proved to be a dramatic first step in developments that made life easier, safer and more efficient. Double-exposed holograms, for example, provided data that improved the design of containers for the transport and storage of nuclear materials. Aircraft engineers used holography to visualize shockwaves and pinpoint the areas of greatest stress on wings and turbine blades. Forensic scientists have used holograms to uncover mysteries in the body. Optical computers use holography to store data. And today's everyday credit cards use holograms to record and store information. Holography has, indeed, changed the world.
The Use of Carbon for Recovery and Recycling
Scientists of many eras have invested a great deal of time and thought in trying to recycle contaminated water -- its lethal qualities were well known. Michigan Engineering researchers of the mid-1960s took an important step in addressing this problem by developing and demonstrating the first application of activated carbon technology for the recovery and recycling of reusable water from industrial and municipal wastes. In a world where contamination from wastewater can cause millions of deaths annually, the use of activated carbon technology for recycling was a major contribution.
The Michigan Terminal System
In 1966, the University of Michigan Computing Center was experimenting with systems that could provide timesharing, which was a nascent technology at that point. However, the computers of the day couldn't run these systems properly. U-M turned to IBM, which agreed to make a unique version of the IBM 360; however, the company decided not to supply software. So U-M programmers -- a number of them from the College of Engineering -- wrote their own, which became the framework for the Michigan Terminal System (MTS), one of the first in the world that enabled people to share information and ideas electronically.
When several other universities around the world expressed interest in the MTS, U-M formed the "MTS Consortium. At its peak it consisted of 13 universities in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom.
Artificial Wetlands
Nature's wetlands are a model for treating waste products. But nature hasn't been able to keep up with the unwanted byproducts of modern industry. Whereas treatment plants have been able to process the waste, they've also degraded air quality and consumed large quantities of energy, at great expense. There has been an ongoing need for better waste treatment.
In the early 1970s, Michigan Engineering researchers took a page from nature's handbook and developed artificial wetlands, a radical approach to sewage treatment. Today, artificial wetlands are becoming increasingly popular in the treatment of drainage from mines and farms, urban stormwater, industrial wastewater and municipal sewage. The technology is also replacing many traditional septic systems. Most recently, communities of 10 to 200 homes have been sharing artificial wetlands -- a modular approach that's likely to become more prevalent in the future.
Microelectromechanical Systems
The College of Engineering was a pioneer -- and is now a world leader -- in the area of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), incredibly small devices and machines with precise, interactive electrical and mechanical components. In 2000, the National Science Foundation recognized this expertise and experience by announcing the formation of an Engineering Research Center for Wireless Integrated Microsystems (ERC/WIMS) at the College. The Center focuses on the intersection of three key areas -- MEMS, WIMS and microelectronics -- and has developed an impressive array of wholly original devices. College researchers have expanded the range of consumer electronics and computing, made significant breakthroughs in sensors and detectors and supported several innovative projects.
Lab on a Chip
Cochlear Implant
Other Innovations
a mixture of DNA and enzymes, heating the blend, separating molecules by size, then examining results. Using MEMS technology, CoE researchers developed the first "lab on a chip", a 0.5-centimeter-by-3-centimeter computer chip that not only analyzes DNA but makes this analysis portable, efficient and affordable -- and each "laboratory" costs only $6 to manufacture.
These and many other micro devices are finding their way into every nook and cranny of daily life -- transportation, manufacturing, environmental monitoring, defense systems, consumer products and healthcare.
Computer Security
According to a survey conducted by InformationWeek and PricewaterhouseCoopers, security breaches cost businesses $1.4 trillion in 2001. Clearly, computer security is a very weighty issue -- one that hasn't escaped the attention of Michigan Engineering researchers. Two of their notable solutions to this problem are ReVirt and ZIA.
ZIA is a security framework that automatically encrypts sensitive information when owners stray too far from their machines -- or vice-versa. ZIA automatically manages the identification and authentication process with the laptop via an "authentication token the user carries -- sometimes on a wristwatch. A wireless link connects the token and the laptop. As long as the token is nearby, the computer functions normally.
World's First Reconfigurable Machine Tool
In order to recoup their investment, traditional factories must build the same product, sometimes for many years -- despite the fact that demand for the product might have changed. However, with the creation of the world's first full-scale reconfigurable machine tool (RMT) in 2002, Michigan Engineering researchers have given factories an ability to respond quickly to the market's demands and changes. 
Rather than build new factories to manufacture a new product or introduce a new technology, companies will use the RMT and reconfigurable manufacturing systems to build a product family and simply upgrade or reconfigure the existing mechanisms when products need to change. Reconfigurable factories will reduce product-development time and enable manufacturers to switch production between different products with relative ease. Manufacturers will be able to offer consumers more choices in less time and for less money. The RMT will be a driver of economic growth.
Bladeless Scalpel
In 2003, a multi-disciplinary team of Michigan Engineering researchers, physicists and ophthalmologists used ultrafast laser technologies to develop the "bladeless scalpel, which has become popular in LASIK eye surgery and will likely have many other applications.
In traditional LASIK procedures, surgeons use a microkeratome -- a type of metal razor blade -- to cut a flap in the cornea of the eye. Even in skilled hands, a microkeratome is difficult to control. Flap-related complications can delay the recovery of visual acuity or occasionally lead to permanent loss of vision. The bladeless scalpel has replaced the microkeratome, reducing the overall complexity of the surgery and eliminating flap-related complications.
Spectrometers
CoE has built a spectacular array of spectrometers, devices that measure the "spectrum" 
of particles or photons. ("Spectrum" means the distribution of energy or frequency; these measurements produce rich information about the source of the radiation.) Departments at Michigan Engineering have developed spectrometers for a variety of uses. Each device satisfies a specific set of needs, but all of them have proved to be highly precise, rugged, compact and capable of rapid analysis. Two good examples are the 3-D position-sensitive gamma-ray spectrometer and the fast-imaging plasma spectrometer (below).
3-D position-sensitive gamma-ray spectrometer
Fast-imaging plasma spectrometer
The 3-D position-sensitive gamma-ray spectrometer helps astron-omers to study the evolution of the universe. Medical personnel see position-sensitive gamma-ray detection as a key to developing more accurate ways of imaging structures within the body. And the military considers the device a monumental step forward for security in which radiation is an issue -- a current prototype not only detects radiation and locates its source but the unit will soon become a hand-held instrument, making it easy for military personnel to use in the field.
No larger than a soda can, tough enough to work in incredibly hostile environments, the fast-imaging plasma spectrometer (FIPS) can measure solar winds, predict solar storms, improve weather forecasting and, in the process, make shipping safer, protect vital communications, and prevent the destruction of power grids that are highly sensitive to waves of charged particles. It's not an exaggeration to say FIPS can save lives, protect lifestyles and prevent the loss of vast sums of money.
