UM defense spinout to manufacture products in Battle Creek
Battle Creek Unlimited, the economic development arm of the city of Battle Creek, Wednesday announced a partnership that will help Michigan Aerospace Corp. expand its operations to areas of expertise within the state. Michigan Aerospace, an advanced engineering and product company, will establish a manufacturing plant in Battle Creek, the company and several economic agencies announced. MAC’s headquarters and research and development activities will remain in Ann Arbor, where academic and business groups have supported the company for 12 years. The next steps of the new partnership are to set up and hire people for the Battle Creek manufacturing plant, which will perform machining and fabrication functions. Final assembly, integration and testing of MAC’s newly launched products will take place in MAC’s Ann Arbor facilities. More.
Laptop Design USA in European joint venture
Dearborn-based Laptop Design USA LLC Wednesday announced a partnership with a Swedish company, Coloraid AB, to form Laptop Design International AB to provide computer customization in Europe. Laptop Design USA has quickly become the market leader in providing branding and customization of computers and other electronic devices for personalization and name recognition. The company uses a high quality process to apply virtually any design, color and durable, automotive-quality finish to exterior computer surfaces. Coloraid AB, headquartered in Kungalv, Sweden, has three plants specializing in different paint systems, including automotive applications. Coloraid’s customers include Volvo, Hasselblad and Electrolux. More.
Consumers Energy goes green in training center addition
Consumers Energy is planning to add renewable energy features to its $5 million Marshall Training Center expansion, now under construction. Included in its plans are two small-scale wind turbines, a fixed-panel solar array, batteries to store the energy and inverters to convert direct current to alternating current. A small energy-efficient training building will house the batteries and inverters and serve as a platform for the solar array. More.
Deadline for $30 million state business plan competition extended Michigan Economic Development Corp. President and CEO James C. Epolito today announced the deadline for applicants to submit proposals for the 21st Century Jobs Fund Business Plan Competition has been extended to June 30. Applicants will be competing for up to $30 million to grow businesses in the areas of alternative energy, life sciences, advanced manufacturing, and homeland security and defense. “Extending the deadline will allow us to finalize a solid peer review process while providing Michigan businesses and entrepreneurs more time to prepare and submit successful proposals,” Epolito said. More.
Safety Track adds hydrogen auto power device A Belleville company that until now has been known for vehicle tracking technology has added a new product that uses oxygen and hydrogen to boost vehicle MPG. Safety Track of Michigan says it's now selling the Go Green Hydro 4000. The unit uses the electrical power source of the engine's alternator itself to crack distilled water into its constituent gases, oxygen and hydrogen, through electrolysis. Those gases are then introduced into the engine, improving fuel economy. More.
In recent years, Michaela Zint, an associate professor of environmental education and communication at the University of Michigan, found herself fielding an increasing number of calls from fellow environmental educators. All expressed a similar concern: how to evaluate their programs.
Environmental educators -- whether K-12 teachers or instructors working for government agencies or nonprofit organizations, including universities -- expressed a strong need for information to assess the quality of their programs.
These evaluations have become more important for environmental education programs as budgets shrink at funding agencies and foundations. As the cuts occur, environmental educators face more pressure to prove their programs are worth the investment and making a difference. In fact, many agencies and foundations now do not fund programs unless they incorporate evaluation.
Reflecting on her colleagues' needs, Zint initiated a project to develop a Web-based tool to assist and empower environmental educators in conducting their own evaluations. The result was "My Environmental Education Evaluation Resource Assistant" or MEERA, the latest version of which was launched this month. The site's URL is www.meera.snre.umich.edu.
"Whether you are an environmental educator or just interested in the process of evaluation, this site provides guidance on all aspects of evaluating a program, including about how evaluation can help you improve your program," said Dr. Zint, who has appointments in the School of Natural Resources and Environment and School of Education at UM.
The site contains carefully selected and reviewed evaluation resources. MEERA also indicates whether the resource is most appropriate for educators with little, intermediate or advanced evaluation skills. MEERA also includes a database of sample environmental education program evaluations that offer insights from those who conducted these evaluations.
Funded by and in partnership with the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Forest Service, MEERA enables visitors to learn about different types of evaluations; helps them choose an appropriate evaluation; guides them through the evaluation process step-by-step; and offers suggestions and insights from a number of sample environmental education program evaluations.
MEERA's visitor traffic recently spiked after the EPA's Environmental Education Division asked potential applicants of their Environmental Education Grant Program to visit the site for guidance on project evaluation.
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Wayne State researcher gets $5.8 million for autism cure study Wayne State University announced Wednesday that Dr. Diane Chugani, professor of pediatrics and radiology at its School of Medicine, has been awarded a $5.79 million grant from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. The grant from the agency, part of the National Institutes of Health, will fund a study that may open doors to finding a treatment for improving those afflicted with autism. Autism is one of the most pervasive developmental disorders. It's characterized by the impairment of social interactions and communication, severely restricted interest levels and highly repetitive behavior. And it's prevalent in more than one per 1,000 people. More.
UM compound has potential for new class of AIDS drugs Researchers have developed what they believe is the first new mechanism in nearly 20 years for inhibiting a common target used to treat all HIV patients, which could eventually lead to a new class of AIDS drugs. Researchers at the University of Michigan used computer models to develop the inhibiting compound, and then confirmed in the lab that the compound does indeed inhibit HIV protease, which is an established target for AIDS treatment. The protease is necessary for the virus to replicate, said Heather Carlson, UM professor of medicinal chemistry in the College of Pharmacy, and principal investigator of the study. Carlson stresses this is a preliminary step, but still significant. More.
Web site offers reliability data on new cars within months
The West Bloomfield Township-based vehicle reliability Web site TrueDelta.com said Wednesday that it's beginning to see reliability information on some 2008 models. "With prompt quarterly updates, TrueDelta's Vehicle Reliability Survey is making it possible to buy a new design while it's still new, without gambling that the manufacturer found and fixed bugs during development," said Michael Karesh, developer of TrueDelta.com. The conventional wisdom is that a new car design should be avoided in its first year. But TrueDelta developer Michael Karesh says his site is already seeing data on new or redesigned models like the 2008 Cadillac STS, Honda Accord, Mercedes C.Class, Nissan Rogue, Saturn Vue or Scion xB. More.
VeriSign wins patent for Internet typo redirection
The company that runs many of the Internet's core directory systems has won a patent for its controversial service that helps Internet users find sites even when they mistype addresses. VeriSign Inc. said it has no intentions of resurrecting the Site Finder service, but it declined further comment on its plans for the patent, including bloggers' speculation that it could now demand licensing fees from EarthLink Inc. and other companies that have since started similar efforts. Normally, when you mistype a Web address, perhaps switching two letters, a generic error message appears. More.
Comcast to acquire contact manager Plaxo
Comcast Corp. is buying contact management company Plaxo Inc. and plans to incorporate into all its offerings features intended to help people synchronize their address books and connect socially online. The Philadelphia-based cable company said social networking and other services will be added to its Comcast.net, Fancast.com and Fandango.com Web sites. Cable subscribers eventually will also be able to access the services through their set-top boxes and other devices. "We think the combination of Plaxo and Comcast together can supercharge both of our products," said Sam Schwartz, executive vice president of Comcast Interactive Media. "Comcast is looking at Plaxo to become the social media backbone of its products." Plaxo, based in Mountain View, Calif., is a 50-employee company funded by investors ranging from Cisco Systems Inc. to former Yahoo Inc. CEO Tim Koogle. The purchase price was not disclosed. More.
SEC charges Broadcom co-founders in stock options probe Securities regulators on Wednesday charged Broadcom Corp. co-founders Henry T. Nicholas III and Henry Samueli with falsifying the company's reported income, leading to what is believed to be the largest accounting restatement to date because of backdating stock options. A civil complaint filed by the Securities and Exchange Commission also charges former chief financial officer William J. Ruehle and general counsel David Dull. It seeks injunctions, unspecified monetary penalties as well as removing Samueli and Dull from their positions. The four men are accused of violating federal securities laws by misrepresenting the dates on which stock options were granted to its executives and employees. More.
Samsung joins forces with LG, Harris on mobile TV Samsung Electronics is combining efforts with fellow Korean electronics maker LG Electronics to develop a new standard for mobile TV broadcasts, the companies announced Wednesday. Harris Corp., an American broadcast technology company, will provide key elements of the technology, which will allow mobile devices such as cell phones to receive signals sent out by local TV stations. That technology will be competing with two others to become the standard for mobile TV, a decision that rests with the TV industry's technical standards-setting body for digital broadcasts. One of the other standards is from the French video technology company Thomson. The third is from Qualcomm Inc., which developed the MediaFLO video service currently offered for a monthly fee on mobile phones by Verizon Wireless and AT&T Inc. More.
Stocks: Yahoo shares advance on proxy fight as tech sector rises Technology stocks closed higher Wednesday as shares of Yahoo Inc. advanced following reports that billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn is considering mounting a proxy war for control of the beleaguered Web portal. Yahoo shares added 58 cents, or about 2.2 percent, to close at $27.14, after rising 5 percent Tuesday.
The Nasdaq Composite Index (COMP) managed a gain of 1.58 points or 0.1 percent to 2,496.7. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU) ended at 12,898.38, up 66.2 points or 0.5 percent. The Philadelphia Semiconductor Index ($SOX) rose 4.98 points or 1.2 percent to 411.29 and the Morgan Stanley High Tech 35 Index (MSH) rose 2.66 points or 0.4 percent to 601.33. The Amex Pharmaceutical Index ($DRG) rose 2.43 points or 0.8 percent. The S&P 500 ($SPX) rose 5.62 or 0.4 percent, to 1,408.66.
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