Technology & Innovation

Cars that drive themselves. Robots that march through the toughest terrain. Reality stretched through wearable headsets. All across the University of Michigan’s campuses, the stuff of science fiction is quickly becoming reality. In U-M’s third century, engineers, programmers, designers, and inventors are paving the way to a brighter, more dynamic future.

At U-M’s MCity, a nationally recognized testing ground for autonomous vehicles, researchers are redefining the way we’ll travel in the near future. On North Campus, U-M’s bipedal robot Cassie Blue is mastering the Wave Field with the help of faculty and student researchers. Meanwhile, virtual reality is reshaping the way we work, learn, and play in U-M classrooms thanks to an exciting new initiative at U-M’s School of Information. Architects and designers are creating innovative new spaces at Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning. And in Detroit, sensors that fit in a shoebox are teaching us how people interact on the riverfront and. in doing so, opening up the doors to scientific discovery for high school students.

From nanomechanical research to cloud computing in Big Data, no challenge is too big or too small for the thinkers, tinkerers, and researchers at U-M. The only limit to possibility is the imagination—and at Michigan, there’s no shortage of big ideas and bright minds to meet them.

“I want Michigan to be the place where society turns for solutions to problems,” says the Robert J. Vlasic Dean of Engineering, Alec Gallimore. Thanks to your support throughout the Victors for Michigan campaign, U-M is more well equipped than ever to meet the world’s most pressing needs. You created more support for its students, more engaged learning opportunities, and empowered bold ideas that will shape and reshape our collective future.