Environment and Energy

Gifts to Michigan Engineering over the past eight years are contributing to the pursuit of several interdisciplinary initiatives, including environmental studies, energy development and the advancement of entrepreneurship.

The Graham Environmental Sustainability Institute

The University’s Graham Environmental Sustainability Institute (GESI) creates opportunities and encourages collaboration among science, policy, engineering and business faculty to extend the knowledge of, and offer solutions to, complex environmental sustainability issues. The Graham Institute has recognized six areas of research in which theoretical and applied knowledge are critical to reaching the goal of environmental sustainability:

• Energy
• Freshwater and marine resources
• Human health and environment
• Biodiversity and global change
• Sustainable infrastructure, built environment and manufacturing
• Environmental policymaking and human behavior

Don Graham

Don Graham (BSE IE ’55, MSE ME ’56), founder of The Graham Group, initiated a study in February 2004 that led to the establishment of GESI. He selected the University of Michigan to host GESI because of the University’s strength in the many disciplines that had to work together to formulate a complete sustainability package.

• Read more about Graham
• Read more about GESI and the U-M environmental initiative

Michigan Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute

The Michigan Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute (MMPEI) creates a focal point for energy-related education and four research thrusts:

• Energy policy, economics and societal impact
• Carbon-neutral electricity sources
• Energy storage and utilization
• Transportation and fuels

The MMPEI provides a unified voice for the University’s existing energy-related research, policy studies and educational activities. The College expects the Institute to attract more of the world’s leading researchers and help secure funding for research efforts. The MMPEI also will enable corporate partners and local governments to take a leadership role in developing alternative energy sources.

• Read more about the MMPEI

Creating Entrepreneurs

Center for Entrepreneurship - To enhance entrepreneurial activity, Michigan Engineering created the Center for Entrepreneurship (CFE), which can help students and other members of the U-M community assess ideas and evaluate risks, and provide continuing education, consultation, legal advice and connections to potential partners.

• Read about the CFE

The Samuel Zell & Robert H. Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies, which is part of the Stephen M. Ross School of Business, collaborates with the CFE to include
business courses in the Michigan Engineering curricula to help students bridge the gap between inventor and venture capitalist.

• Read about the Institute

The Medical Innovation Center (MIC), a partnership of the College of Engineering, the University of Michigan Medical School, the Stephen M. Ross School of Business and other campus units, develops innovative ideas and works with entrepreneurial companies to accelerate the     transformation of promising medical technologies into commercially viable products.

• Read about the MIC

SoundSpecs, developed by Robert Littrell (MSE ME ’05, PhD ’09), are safety glasses that
indicate, in real time, when noise levels are high enough to damage hearing. Sound Specs is one of many student innovations.

Mohammed Islam, a professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and
Computer Science, teaches “High Tech Entrepreneurship” (EECS 499), in which students
learn to think entrepreneurially.

MPowered is a student organization with nearly 1,000 students who participate in activities
that foster entrepreneurial interactions among students, faculty, alumni and industry.

• Read about MPowered

Entrepreneurship Hours are a series of weekly lectures about innovative ideas. High-
profile entrepreneurs speak about different aspects of entrepreneurship.

• Watch the Entrepreneurship Hours

Business Engagement Center - The University of Michigan’s new Business
Engagement Center (BEC) shares space with the recently relocated Office of Technology Transfer. The two offices work together to strengthen U-M ties to business and community partners,
while helping to revitalize and diversify the State of Michigan’s economy. 

• Read about the BEC