The command issued by the character Captain Jean-Luc Picard in the television series “Star Trek: The Next Generation” finds its way into the archive of photographs of Nobel Laureates consorting with politicians at the University of Michigan and elsewhere.
Attendees of the Theoretical Physics Colloquium at the University of Michigan in 1929.
…”There’s not good math explaining forget the physics of it. Math explaining the behavior of complex systems yeah and that to me is both exciting and paralyzing like we’re at very early days of understanding you know how complicated and fascinating things emerge from simple rules…” — Peter Woit [1:16:00]
Since 1936 the Brown Jug has been the ancestral trough of generations of University of Michigan students and faculty — notably. Donald Glaser (inventor of the bubble chamber) and Samuel C. C. Ting (Nobel Laureate) whose offices at Randall Laboratory were a 2-minute walk around the corner from The Brown Jug. As the lore goes, the inspiration happened whilst watching beer bubbles one ordinary TGIF Friday.
As of January 2022, there were a few municipalities in the United States that allowed non-citizens to vote in local elections, but no entire states. These municipalities included:
San Francisco, California: Non-citizens are allowed to vote in school board elections.
Chicago, Illinois: Non-citizens are allowed to vote in school board elections.
Takoma Park, Maryland: Non-citizens are allowed to vote in local elections.
It’s worth noting that these policies may change over time as local governments make decisions regarding voting rights. For the most up-to-date information, it’s best to consult the specific laws and regulations of each municipality or state.
“Election Day, 1944” | Norman Rockwell for the Saturday Evening Post
School bond elections — either at county or district level — are processes through which communities vote to authorize the issuance of bonds to fund various projects and improvements in their local school districts. The elections determine the quality of educational settlements –new school buildings, renovating existing facilities, upgrading technology, and improving safety measures. The outcomes of these elections directly affect the quality of education and learning environments for students within the county. Successful bond measures can stimulate economic growth by creating jobs and attracting families to the area.
Community involvement and voter turnout are essential in determining the allocation of resources and shaping the quality of life for its citizens. In recent years, however, voter ambivalence about the education “industry” in general, the rise of home schooling and other cultural factors, complicate choices presented to voters.
Bert Askwith worked his way through college shuttling students to and from Detroit Metropolitan Airport until his graduation in 1931; when two semester tuition cost $300. With no student debt he founded and grew Campus Coach Lines that still provides the same services at many other US campuses. He donated part of his fortune to establish a cafe in the Undergraduate Library; which now serves an expanding and bewildering catalog of caffeine-based drinks found in educational settlements worldwide.
When new foreign national students arrive at U.S. colleges and universities, they often enter environments where a left-leaning worldview is prominent and pervasive. Many campuses today emphasize themes of social justice, equity, and systemic critique that align with a preference for larger, more interventionist government. Faculty and administrative messaging can reinforce these ideas, portraying government as the primary instrument for addressing inequality, redistributing resources, and regulating social behavior.
For many international students, this can be both eye-opening and disorienting. They may come from countries with different political traditions, including skepticism of state power due to experiences with corruption or authoritarianism. Yet, in the university setting, they encounter curricula and campus cultures that valorize activist government solutions while often criticizing markets, traditional institutions, or individual responsibility. Programs in the humanities and social sciences in particular tend to frame policy questions through a progressive lens that sees expansive government action as not just beneficial but morally necessary.
This immersion—some might call it a “marination”—shapes perspectives over time. Students adopt the language of social justice, climate policy, and identity politics, often without exposure to robust counterarguments. While this experience can broaden horizons and foster empathy for marginalized groups, it also risks narrowing intellectual diversity and suppressing debate about the limits and costs of government power. For international students, it can mean graduating with a worldview significantly more aligned with the American academic left than with the diverse political traditions of their home countries.
Dairy milk products remain a vital part of global food supply. Since 1970 an ISO Technical Subcommittee — ISO/TC 34/SC 5 Milk and milk products — seeks globally effective standardization solutions in the methods of analysis and sampling for milk and milk products, covering the dairy chain from primary production to consumption. The business plan of its parent committee is linked below:
The American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers is the US Technical Advisory Group Administrator to the parent TC34 committee but ANSI does not have a Technical Advisory Group leader. As the U.S. member body to the ISO, ANSI is always on the hunt for its members and/or relevant stakeholders to participate in discovering standardization solutions in a broad range of technologies and markets with like-minded experts in other national standards bodies. The full sweep of ANSI’s participation in consensus documents developed by the ISO is described in the link below:
This committee has functioned since 1970 — long enough for many of the best practice titles it produces to have stabilized. There is other market action in the global dairy supply — notably the growth of non-dairy food supply — but we find no public consultations open on proposed standardization solutions as of this posting. When they are released they will appear in the link below:
Land grant colleges and universities are likely stakeholders in this domain. Apart from the passion that young people have for fair trade in any market, we see this as an opportunity for faculty and students to gain insight into the geo-politics of food supply generally and the subtleties of coffee markets. Business schools, agricultural colleges, international studies program developers who may be, and should be, interested in a leadership opportunity on behalf of the United States should communicate directly with ANSI’s ISO Team ((isot@ansi.org).
We devote at least an hour every month breaking down public consultations on food safety and sustainability. The work products of TC 34 appears on the standing agenda of both our Global and Food colloquia. See our CALENDAR for the next online meeting; open to everyone.
Issue: [19-46]
Category: Academic, Global
Colleagues: Mike Anthony, Christine Fischer, Akkeneel Talsma
“Innenansicht des Kaiserbades in Aachen” | Jan Luyken (1682)
Education communities provide a large market for recreational and therapeutic water technology suppliers. Some of the larger research universities have dozens of pools including those in university-affiliated healthcare facilities. Apart from publicly visible NCAA swimming programs there are whirpools in healthcare facilities and therapeutic tubs for athletes in other sports. Ownership of these facilities requires a cadre of conformance experts to assure water safety.
NSF International is one of the first names in this space and has collaborated with key industry stakeholders to make pools, spas and recreational water products safer since 1949. The parent document in its suite isNSF 50 Pool, Spa and Recreational Water Standards which covers everything from pool pumps, strainers, variable frequency drives and pool drains to suction fittings, grates, and ozone and ultraviolet systems.
(Standards Michigan is an observer on this and several other NSF committees and is the only “eyes and ears” for the user interest; arguably the largest market for swimming pools given their presence in schools and universities.)
There are 14 task groups that drill into specifics such as the following:
Chemical feeders
Pool chemical evaluation
Flotation systems
Filters
Water quality
Safety surfacing
The meeting packet is confidential to registered attendees. You may communicate directly with the NSF Joint Committee Chairperson, Mr. Tom Vyles (admin@standards.nsf.org) about arranging direct access as an observer or technical committee member.
Almost all ANSI accredited technical committees have a shortage of user-interests (compliance officers, manufacturers and installers usually dominate). We encourage anyone in the education facility industry paying the bill for the services of compliance officers, manufacturers and installers to participate.
We maintain this title on the standing agenda of our Water and Sport colloquia. See our CALENDAR for the next onine meeting; open to everyone.
Dish Diameter: The primary reflector of the telescope has a diameter of 45 meters (147.6 feet). This large size allows it to collect radio waves effectively.
Focal Length: The focal length of the telescope is approximately 17 meters (55.8 feet). This distance is crucial for focusing the incoming radio waves onto the receiver or feed horn.
Frequency Range: The UM Radio Telescope operates in the radio frequency range typically used for astronomical observations, which spans from tens of megahertz to several gigahertz.
Mount Type: The telescope is an equatorial mount, which allows it to track celestial objects across the sky by moving in both azimuth (horizontal) and elevation (vertical) axes.
Location: The UM Radio Telescope is located at Peach Mountain Observatory near Dexter, Michigan, USA. Its geographical coordinates are approximately 42.39°N latitude and 83.96°W longitude.
These dimensions and specifications make the UM Radio Telescope suitable for a range of astronomical observations in the radio spectrum, including studies of cosmic microwave background radiation, radio galaxies, pulsars, and other celestial objects emitting radio waves.
Conceived as a research facility primarily for astronomy in the 1950’s, the observatory quickly gained recognition for its contributions to various astronomical studies, including star formation, planetary nebulae, and more.
“Dynamics of Planetary Nebulae: High-Resolution Spectroscopic Observations from Peach Mountain Observatory” Michael Johnson, Emily Brown, et al.
“Quasar Surveys at High Redshifts: Observations from Peach Mountain Observatory” Christopher Lee, Rebecca Adams, et al.
“Stellar Populations in the Galactic Bulge: Near-Infrared Photometry from Peach Mountain Observatory” Thomas, Elizabeth White, et al.
“Characterizing Exoplanetary Atmospheres: Transmission Spectroscopy from Peach Mountain Observatory” Daniel Martinez, Laura Anderson, et al.
Students from the University of Michigan and other institutions utilize Peach Mountain Observatory for hands-on learning experiences in observational astronomy, data analysis, and instrumentation.
Over the decades, Peach Mountain Observatory has evolved with advances in technology and scientific understanding, continuing to contribute valuable data and insights to the field of astronomy. Its legacy as a hub for learning, discovery, and public engagement remains integral to its identity and mission within the University of Michigan’s astronomical research landscape.
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/njrDAbSpwBpic.twitter.com/GkAXrHoQ9T
