Science and technology

News

Hausman encourages updating electrical grids with modern technologies, including AI

Sep 27, 2024

Increases in extreme weather conditions have been burdensome for utility companies. The New York Times reported, "Utility companies [have]’ increasing vulnerability to extreme weather events that are becoming more common and more intense under...

In the Media

Moynihan pushes for human centered design in digital benefit distribution systems

Sep 18, 2024 State Scoop

Recent efforts to alleviate consumer burden have been made within states by enhancing their digital systems used to distribute government benefits. With these efforts, Donald Moynihan argues for a system that focuses on reducing "administrative...

News

Hassan awarded U-M anti-racism grant

Sep 10, 2024

Ford School assistant professor Yousif Hassan has been chosen for a University of Michigan research grant for his work that explores how AI innovations and data can center social justice and address racial and economic inequalities in African...

Publication

Prioritizing equity among the great challenges of AI, says Parthasarathy

May 29, 2024

As generative artificial intelligence becomes ubiquitous, University of Michigan expert Shobita Parthasarathy says technical revisions to the mechanics may address some harms built into the technology so far.Yet, she argues, “it will always be...

State & Hill

Meet new assistant professor Yousif Hassan

Apr 24, 2024

Expert in AI, equity, and science and technology studies joins the facultyMy story has been shaped by many lived experiences at different events and places,” says Yousif Hassan, who, after seeing members of his family safely conveyed from war-torn...

News

Bold AI policy proposals awarded at Ford + Munk case competition

Apr 22, 2024

Fifty-one students engaged on pressing AI-related policy questions during this spring’s Ford+Munk case competition. Held annually, the Ford+Munk conference has students from the Ford School and the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global...

A group of students at the annual Ford+Munk conference

News

Stacey Abrams, other policymakers and leading scholars to join Ford School symposium

Mar 12, 2024

The Ford School of Public Policy is happy to announce the Dean’s Symposium, which will take place April 11 and 12 at Weill Hall, with the theme, “Policy Innovation for Our Times.” The two days will feature keynote appearances by voting rights...

News

Ford school faculty available to weigh in on 2024 elections

Jan 28, 2024

The University of Michigan has published an experts guide to the 2024 elections. Ford School faculty are available to offer insights on relevant issues impacting the elections, including the following: Economics Betsey Stevenson, professor of...

Red, white, and blue balloons and stars with a large white checkmark

News

Rabe comments on COP28 climate deal

Dec 14, 2023

At the COP28 climate summit in Dubai, nearly 200 nations approved a global pact that calls for transitioning away from fossil fuels—a first. The deal also calls for tripling the use of renewable energy, doubling energy efficiency and slashing...

News

Electric, autonomous vehicles offer promise, but broad-based benefits elusive without public role - Gerber

Dec 7, 2023

Autonomous and electric vehicles can be a positive force for people and the planet, but widespread gains require government incentives and investment to ensure access for users across the economic spectrum. That's a key finding of research by...

Publication

Axelrod autobiography gives insight to his “Passion for Cooperation”

Nov 10, 2023

Ford School professor emeritus Robert Axelrod has had a 50-year career that has made him what some people have called “one of the most influential social scientists of his generation.” After being recognized by President Kennedy for being a...

News

Lantz launches online course about public policy fundamentals

Sep 25, 2023

A new open online course available on Michigan Online helps learners understand the fundamentals of public policy and how policy can confront societal challenges in social welfare, public health, the environment, education, criminal justice, and...

News

Simulation software ViewPoint ready for next chapter after licensing agreement with ed tech firm Summit Venture Studio

Sep 13, 2023

In partnership with CAI, Ford School professor Liz Gerber was able to take an idea scribbled on a napkin and turn it into a powerful simulation tool for teachers and students. Following more than 100 simulations involving more than 4,000 users...

In the Media

9 Russians charged with cyberattacks targeting US companies

Sep 8, 2023 ABC News

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News

Ford School teams receive Boost support from U-M Bold Challenges Initiative

Sep 6, 2023

Three research teams with Ford School affiliations have been selected among eight programs across the U-M campus to participate in the first cycle of the Bold Challenges Initiative's newly-launched Boost program. The Boost program supports new...

In the Media

"Appropriative" patents a long-term problem - Parthasarathy

Sep 1, 2023 NPR Planet Money

The way that a lot of pharmaceutical companies got their knowledge was often from going to other countries and finding out about Indigenous knowledge and then coming back and testing that. So there's a famous case of Eli Lilly patenting a treatment...

Professor Shobita Parthasarathy leads a discussion in the Betty Ford Classroom

News

Will courts limit the use of climate-combatting technologies?

Aug 30, 2023

Ford School professor Barry Rabe is concerned about how a set of recent court decisions mean for new climate technologies. In a commentary piece for Brookings, Rabe notes that while the U.S. has been a world leader in accelerating the transition...

News

Ford School welcomes Yousif Hassan as faculty

Aug 21, 2023

Yousif Hassan will join the Ford School faculty as an assistant professor in January 2024. Hassan’s work examines the social, economic, and political implications of emerging technologies including artificial intelligence (AI) and data focusing on...

News

Ford School welcomes new faculty that bridge research and policy engagement

Aug 21, 2023

A former foreign minister to Mali, a leading educational economist, a tech entrepreneur who explores indigenous technoscience are among the outstanding new faculty that add depth to the Ford School and connect student education, rigorous academic...

Publication

Parthasarathy calls for reimagining the innovation process

Jul 19, 2023

The basic model of technological innovation in the U.S. has relied upon academic research and private sector commercialization. While the standard approach has stimulated macroeconomic growth, produced many valuable products, and created jobs,...

News

Engaged Learning Student Projects Catalog: Preparing Ford School students for leadership

Jun 29, 2023

During the Winter Term 2023, Ford School students were involved in projects with federal, state, county, city, and township governments, school districts, non-profit organizations, and commissions. They worked with the school’s numerous research...

Weill Hall entrance with "Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy" etched into the glass

In the Media

Parthasarathy: ChatGPT reinforces human biases

Jun 18, 2023 WDET

Shobita Parthasarathy says ChatGPT simply reiterates language that humans have already created, and that often the ideas and biases that humans exhibit are reinforced by the tool. “[ChatGPT] is not magic. It’s also not an asteroid. It is us. It...

News

STPP receives grant to study STEM-in-Society training

Apr 21, 2023

As science becomes more central to our daily lives—whether for predicting the impacts of climate change, transforming our physical and cognitive capabilities, or developing life-saving pharmaceuticals—socially responsible research and innovation are...

In the Media

FBI warning about public USB charging ports shows sophistication - Ali

Apr 11, 2023 ABC News

Javed Ali, ABC News: "The tweet's message that public USB ports have been used by 'bad actors' as points of origin to load malware or spyware on electronic devices connected to those public charging stations suggests a fairly high level of technical...

In the Media

Horner analyzes use of social media by local governments

Apr 9, 2023 Daily Telegram

Debra Horner, The Daily Telegram: "Back in 2012, only about 18 percent of local officials told us their governments used social media (including 48 percent of jurisdictions with more than 30,000 residents). In 2021, that was up to 29 percent...

Photo of the upper half of the northwest corner of Weill Hall

News

Surveillance technology can have unintended consequences, Kleinman tells The New York Times

Apr 2, 2023

Nationwide, police departments are integrating facial recognition technology into their investigative processes. The technology has been criticized as "exacerbating racist policies," because of false identification, especially among African American...

In the Media

Ali analyzes congressional hearing on threat of TikTok

Mar 23, 2023 ABC News

Javed Ali, ABC News: "There definitely is a lot of skepticism right now on the Hill, despite the claims from the TikTok CEO about these steps or actions the company has taken to minimize the risk. But I have been listening to the voices of my former...

News

STPP gift to expand educational opportunities for undergraduates

Mar 22, 2023

The Science, Technology, and Public Policy (STPP) program has received a $250,000 gift to expand educational opportunities for undergraduates across campus. The gift comes from Phil (LSA ’87) and Julie (LSA ’88) Hollyer, parents of Keegan (Ford BA...

Glasses rest on a desktop with various coding windows open on a screen behind

In the Media

AI will 'turbocharge' inequalities in health care - Parthasarathy

Mar 16, 2023 Bridge Michigan

Shobita Parthasarathy, Bridge Michigan: "Health care systems don't even know what data they're missing. That (AI) gets integrated into medical care as a mechanism for achieving efficiency. But they do that without realizing that it's going to...

News

ChatGPT: Ford School expert can discuss AI chatbots, their reach, impact, concerns, potential

Mar 3, 2023

As ChatGPT hits three months in operation, its reach and uses continue to widen along with a range of efforts and research to grasp and anticipate the upside and downside of using artificial intelligence to do what humans would normally do. Ford...