Please join GDAHC and DWIHN for the 5th Annual Opioid and Substance Use Disorder *VIRTUAL* Summit taking place over two engaging half days on November 12 & 13.

Registration closes tomorrow, Wednesday, November 11 at noon!

Summit Spotlight

Updates from the State of Michigan

Governor Gretchen Whitmer

Allen Jansen, Senior Deputy Director, Behavioral Health & Developmental Disabilities, MDHHS

Featuring a special address from Governor Gretchen Whitmer!

As opioid overdoses continue to rise due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the need to come together, collaborate to create innovative and equitable solutions, and support each other is more pressing than ever. We are elated to announce that this year’s summit will feature a special address to attendees by Governor Gretchen Whitmer, serving as a reminder of their necessity and as a call to action.

In addition to hearing from Governor Whitmer, attendees will also hear from MDHHS’s Senior Deputy Director for Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, Allen Jansen. During his presentation, Jansen will provide critical updates and strategic priorities for addressing the opioid crisis and substance use disorders across the state.

Read Full Story on Michigan Impact: This is Michigan

It’s the first presidential election since Michigan voters approved a 2018 proposal to vote by absentee ballot without stating a reason. Add in the coronavirus pandemic, and there’s been a huge increase in ballot requests, inundating clerk’s offices as they work long hours to keep up. A lot of their time is spent answering phone calls from voters wanting to know if their ballot has been sent or received by the clerk.

Part of the Citizen Design Interaction program, students worked with the Secretary of State’s office. As the team interviewed some of the 1,500 township and city clerks across Michigan, they kept hearing the resource challenges offices faced with extraordinarily high demand for mail-in ballots.

Using a process pioneered by Nick Sexton and Steve Gerhart from the city of Ann Arbor, the team worked with municipal IT departments to create and pilot an automated email notification system. As clerks update information in the statewide Qualified Voter File about ballot status, emails are automatically sent to voters in those cities and townships.

Read Full Story on Michigan Impact: This is Michigan

On Tuesday, October 6th, the University of Michigan Club of Greater Washington, D.C., in conjunction with the U-M DC office, hosted a virtual panel discussion about space policy.

Thomas H. Zurbuchen (right) presenting slides during his keynote address

U-M’s Robert J. Vlasic Dean of Engineering Alec Gallimore provided introductory remarks, including an overview of the cutting-edge research being conducted by the College of Engineering. The event featured a keynote address by NASA Associate Administrator and former U-M Professor Thomas H. Zurbuchen, where he discussed the state of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate and the importance of STEM education. Dr. Zurbuchen invited a former student, Joan Ervin, to discuss how her U-M education uniquely prepared her for her current professional role.

The keynote address was followed by a panel discussion moderated by U-M’s Samuel A. Graham Dean of the School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) Dean Jonathan Overpeck, and featured Dr. Zurbuchen, as well as Dean Alec Gallimore, U-M SEAS Professor and Dean Emerita Rosina Bierbaum, and Head of Airbus’s U.S. Space Systems and U-M alumna Debra Facktor. The panelists answered questions about the future of space missions, the current projects they are involved in, and how the path towards decreased carbon emissions may look. Panelists discussed the ways that research can be transferred into private sector innovation, and Debra Facktor mentioned the impact that reusable launch materials from companies like SpaceX could impact the future of the space industry.