S. Joe Bhatia at UM Ross School of Business | ANSI Company Member Forum, May 2016
Related:
NIST Grant by Paul Green, University of Michigan
ARCHIVED (Ross Business School Media): University of Michigan Business School | ANSI CEO S. Joe Bhatia | October 2014
Today at the usual hour we introduce the project which will require harvesting power reliability statistics from any and all educational settlements willing to share their data. As the links before demonstrate, we have worked in this domain for many years. Join us with the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.
Types of Probability Distribution & Representative Calculation
SDC3006_Power_System_Reliability_WG_Minutes_2024-05-20
WG Meeting Agenda August 2024_final
This paper introduced the concept of reliability theory and established a mathematical framework for analyzing system reliability in terms of lumped parameters. It defined important concepts such as coherent systems, minimal cut sets, and minimal path sets, which are still widely used in reliability engineering.
IEEE Recommended Practice for the Design of Reliable Industrial and Commercial Power Systems
“Railroad Sunset” | Edward Hopper
We are tooling up to update the failure rate tables of IEEE 493 Design of Reliable Industrial and Commercial Power Systems; collaborating with project leaders but contributing to an essential part of the data design engineers use for scaling their power system designs. The project is in its early stages. We are formulating approaches about how to gather data for assemble a statistically significant data set.
Today at the usual hour we introduce the project which will require harvesting power reliability statistics from any and all educational settlements willing to share their data. As the links before demonstrate, we have worked in this domain for many years.
Join us with the login credentials at the upper right of our home page.
“On the Mathematical Theory of Risk and Some Problems in Distribution-Free Statistics” by Frank Proschan (1963): This paper introduced the concept of increasing failure rate (IFR) and decreasing failure rate (DFR) distributions, which are crucial in reliability modeling and analysis.
“Reliability Models for Multiple Failures in Redundant Systems” by John F. Meyer (1965): This paper addressed the problem of reliability analysis for redundant systems, which are systems with multiple components designed to provide backup in case of failure.
“Reliability of Systems in Series and in Parallel” by A. T. Bharucha-Reid (1960): This work analyzed the reliability of systems composed of components arranged in series and parallel configurations, which are fundamental building blocks of more complex systems.
“A Stochastic Model for the Reliability of Modular Software Systems” by John E. Gaffney, Jr. and Thomas A. Dueck (1980): This paper introduced one of the earliest models for software reliability, extending the concepts of reliability theory to the field of software engineering.
“Redundancy Techniques for Computing Systems” by John von Neumann (1956): This report by the pioneering computer scientist John von Neumann explored the use of redundancy techniques, such as triple modular redundancy, to improve the reliability of computing systems.
Open for Comment: Types of Reliability Probability Distributions
NERC Launches Project 2026‑02 to Address Reliability Risks from Computational Loads
Statement on FERC July 25, 2025 Open Meeting
Standards, Compliance, and Enforcement Bulletin June 26–July 4, 2023
Commissioner-Led Reliability Technical Conference | October 16, 10AM
General public consultation on FERC recommendations for Extreme Cold Weather Grid Operations, Preparedness, and Coordination closes July 14.
Presentation & Report | The 2026 Summer Energy Market and Electric Reliability Assessment
The Commission voted on a series of mostly consent agenda items focused on electric reliability, market rules, compliance, infrastructure, and related matters. Some of them are relevant to large, sometimes privatized, campus power systems:
Major initiative to accelerate large-load interconnections. The Commission’s headline action was the issuance of six “show cause” orders directing every jurisdictional RTO/ISO (except Texas/ERCOT) to justify or reform how they connect very large electric loads, particularly AI data centers. The objective is to reduce delays while protecting grid reliability and ensuring that costs are appropriately assigned.
Large customers expected to bear infrastructure costs. FERC made clear that new large loads should generally pay for the transmission and distribution upgrades needed to serve them, rather than shifting those costs onto existing retail customers. This principle is expected to influence future tariff filings nationwide
Encouragement of customer-owned generation. The Commission encouraged tariff structures that would allow large customers to supply some or all of their own electricity—such as on-site generation, microgrids, or other behind-the-meter resources—to reduce impacts on the bulk power system.
MISO emergency demand-resource improvements. The Commission conditionally accepted tariff revisions from MISO that improve the visibility, dispatch, and operation of demand-side resources during grid emergencies beginning with the 2028–2029 planning year. This strengthens reliability during extreme system conditions.
A clear policy shift toward speed-to-power. The June meeting signaled perhaps the strongest policy emphasis in years on rapidly connecting new electric demand while maintaining reliability. The Commission characterized the integration of very large loads—especially AI-related facilities—as a national priority and indicated that existing interconnection practices may no longer be adequate
For universities, research campuses, hospitals, semiconductor manufacturers, and data center developers, the June 2026 meeting represents a significant shift in federal policy. Rather than treating large-load requests as exceptional cases, FERC is moving toward standardized, faster interconnection procedures coupled with clearer cost-allocation rules. Institutions planning major campus expansions or new energy-intensive facilities should monitor the forthcoming tariff revisions from their regional transmission organizations, as these changes could substantially affect project schedules, interconnection costs, and opportunities to incorporate on-site generation or microgrids.
Power transformers and distribution transformers will face supply deficits of 30% and 10% in 2025
March 19, 2026
Key Reliability & Cybersecurity Actions. FERC approved important updates to Critical Infrastructure Protection (CIP) Reliability Standards. These included modernized rules for virtualization (allowing secure use of virtual machines), enhanced security management controls for low-impact cyber systems (CIP-003-11), and refinements to the definition of “control center” to better protect high-risk assets. The changes aim to strengthen the bulk-power system against rising cyber threats and extreme weather while reducing unnecessary administrative burdens.
Electric Rate and Complaint Resolutions. The Commission resolved several long-running rate complaints, including setting a base return on equity (ROE) of 9.57% for New England Transmission Owners. It addressed complaints involving spot market sales exceeding price caps in the WECC region and cost allocation issues in MISO related to DOE emergency orders. Several tariff revisions and generator interconnection filings were also accepted.
Other Actions. FERC modernized Electric Quarterly Report (EQR) filing requirements, authorized multiple asset transactions and dispositions, and approved several natural gas pipeline, storage, and abandonment projects. A presentation on the 2025 State of the Markets Report was also delivered.
FERC’s involvement in CHP plants at universities and hospitals depends on and how the facility interacts with the bulk electric power system and wholesale markets. In many cases, FERC’s role is indirect—but it can become significant under certain conditions. We cover this topic separately in our periodic US Department of Energy Combined Heat & Power eCATALOG
Next Open Meeting: May 21. Keep in mind that much “bandwidth” is devoted to administrative issues; the technical specifics of primary interest to us referenced in case dockets that are referenced here: FERC Online
December 18. The public meetings are dominated by administrative procedures and mutual admiration. Technical issues that require in-depth, expert-level understanding of complex laws, rules, guidelines, and precedents beyond surface-level awareness appear deeper into the FERC website. There you will generally find:
As interest and time allows we can pick through technical specifics regarding FERC oversight of interstate electricity with the IEEE colleagues.
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Midwest Energy Communications: What’s On a Utility Pole?
Reliability Analysis for Power to Fire Pump Using Fault Tree and RBD
Robert Schuerger | HP Critical Facilities (Project Lead, Corresponding Author)
Robert Arno | ITT Excelis Information Systems
Neal Dowling | MTechnology
Michael A. Anthony | University of Michigan
Abstract: One of the most common questions in the early stages of designing a new facility is whether the normal utility supply to a fire pump is reliable enough to “tap ahead of the main” or whether the fire pump supply is so unreliable that it must have an emergency power source, typically an on-site generator. Apart from the obligation to meet life safety objectives, it is not uncommon that capital on the order of 100000to1 million is at stake for a fire pump backup source. Until now, that decision has only been answered with intuition – using a combination of utility outage history and anecdotes about what has worked before. There are processes for making the decision about whether a facility needs a second source of power using quantitative analysis. Fault tree analysis and reliability block diagram are two quantitative methods used in reliability engineering for assessing risk. This paper will use a simple one line for the power to a fire pump to show how each of these techniques can be used to calculate the reliability of electric power to a fire pump. This paper will also discuss the strengths and weakness of the two methods. The hope is that these methods will begin tracking in the National Fire Protection Association documents that deal with fire pump power sources and can be used as another tool to inform design engineers and authorities having jurisdiction about public safety and property protection. These methods will enlighten decisions about the relative cost of risk control with quantitative information about the incremental cost of additional 9’s of operational availability.
CLICK HERE to order complete paper
“The world is changed by examples, not by opinions.”
– Marc Andreesen (Founder of Netscape, the first dominant web browser)
A dessert popular in the United Kingdom, where rhubarb has been cultivated since the 1600s, and the leaf stalks eaten since the 1700s. Besides diced rhubarb, it almost always contains a large amount of sugar to balance the intense tartness of the plant. The pie is usually prepared with a bottom pie crust and a variety of styles of upper crust.
In the United States, often a lattice-style upper crust is used. This pie is a traditional dessert in the United States. It is part of New England cuisine. Rhubarb has long been a popular choice for pies in the Great Plains region and the Michigan Great Lakes Region, where fruits were not always readily available in the spring
Related
University of Missouri: Plant rhubarb, the pie plant, in March
University of Nebraska: Rhubarb Cream Pie
TU Dublin: Rhubarb Pie Using Sweet Shortbread Pastry
It is impossible to overestimate the sensitivity of this topic but poke at it, we will. At the moment, the less written here; the better. Much of this domain is outside our wheelhouse; though it has settled on a few first principles regarding patents, trademarks and copyrights relevant to the user-interest we describe in our ABOUT.
Many large research universities have a watchdog guarding its intellectual property and trying to generate income from it, and; of course, for branding. We will dwell on salient characteristics of the intellectual property domain with which we reckon daily — highlighting the market actors and the standards they have agreed upon.
Additionally, technical standards developers are generally protected by copyright law, as the standards they create are typically considered original works of authorship that are subject to copyright protection. In the United States, the Copyright Act of 1976 provides copyright protection for original works of authorship, which includes technical standards. This means that the developers of technical standards have the exclusive right to reproduce, distribute, and create derivative works based on their standards, and others must obtain permission or a license to use or reproduce the standards.
Some technical standards may be subject to certain exemptions or limitations under copyright law. In the United States, there is a doctrine called “fair use” that allows for limited use of copyrighted works for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research, without the need for permission or a license from the copyright owner. Almost everything we do at Standards Michigan falls under the fair use doctrine. This is why we have no search feature and most pages are protected. If we err in this; let us know.
More
ASTM International Intellectual Property Policy
Healthcare Standards Institute IP Policy
International Code Council Copyright Protection
Underwriters Laboratory Patent Policy
Vad är en standard? Syftet med standarder är att skapa enhetliga och transparenta rutiner som vi kan enas kring. Det ligger ju i allas intresse att höja kvaliteten, undvika missförstånd och slippa uppfinna hjulet på nytt varje gång. https://t.co/zKhgPXPdpW pic.twitter.com/oKejdKSm47
— Svenska institutet för standarder, SIS (@svenskstandard) July 15, 2019
Innovation – Market Acceptance – Standardization – Human Right
Patents data at a glance June 2026
We celebrated our nation’s 250th birthday at the Great American State Fair on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. Director John A. Squires spent time at our exhibit and thanks all who visited. There is still time to come see us and learn about American innovation. pic.twitter.com/yNoVsAo5Ua
— USPTO (@uspto) July 6, 2026
Many universities support patent filing for students and faculty through their Technology Transfer Offices or Offices of Technology Commercialization. This often includes covering or reimbursing patent costs, especially if the university owns or co-owns the IP. Some also offer dedicated “gap,” “proof-of-concept,” or “innovation” funds.
Note: Support is common at major research universities with active TTOs (e.g., University of California system, MIT, Stanford). Always check the specific TTO or IP policy for eligibility.
2026 National Patent Application Drafting Competition (Results)
History of One Room Schools | Central Michigan University
School Construction Bonds Confirmed for August 2026 Election Referenda
| School District | Amount | Election Date |
|---|---|---|
| Harper Creek Community Schools (Calhoun County, MI) | $28,000,000 | Aug 4, 2026 |
| Homer Community School District (Calhoun County, MI) | $11,920,000 | Aug 4, 2026 |
For reasons that may be obvious, construction companies make markets with their public relation enterprises.
Why the 10-Year Treasury Note Matters to School Bonds
The yield on the U.S. 10-year Treasury note is the principal benchmark for long-term borrowing throughout the American economy, including the municipal bond market that finances schools, colleges, and universities. When Treasury yields rise, investors generally expect higher returns from tax-exempt school bonds as well. To attract buyers, educational institutions must offer higher interest rates, increasing the cost of financing new classrooms, laboratories, residence halls, athletic facilities, and utility infrastructure.
Conversely, when 10-year Treasury yields decline, borrowing costs often ease, enabling school districts and universities to finance capital improvements at lower interest expense and reducing the long-term burden on taxpayers or tuition revenue. Although the final interest rate on any bond issue also reflects the issuer’s credit quality, market demand, insurance, and overall economic conditions, daily movements in the 10-year Treasury yield remain one of the most closely watched indicators of the direction and relative cost of educational facility financing.
As a rule of thumb, every 0.25 percentage point (25 basis point) increase in the borrowing rate adds about $25,000 per year in interest for every $10 million of outstanding principal.
Albert Kahn detail at the Alexander G. Ruthven Building at the University of Michigan
New update alert! The 2022 update to the Trademark Assignment Dataset is now available online. Find 1.29 million trademark assignments, involving 2.28 million unique trademark properties issued by the USPTO between March 1952 and January 2023: https://t.co/njrDAbSpwB pic.twitter.com/GkAXrHoQ9T
— USPTO (@uspto) July 13, 2023
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