As the Director of Licensing for U-M Tech Transfer, Bryce supports the Licensing Staff in working with faculty from around campus to commercialize inventions created at U-M.
(Photo by Mike Waring, Washington Office)

Bryce Pilz (second from left) speaks at the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday at a conference about how current patent laws and regulations are stifling innovation. Pilz, director of licensing for U-M’s Office of Technology Transfer, cited two examples of medical diagnostic tests developed at U-M that failed to get patent protection, hindering the development of those technologies. The conference focused on ways Congress and the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office can improve the situation.

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Allison Steiner: Associate Professor of Climate and Space Sciences and Engineering
College of Engineering

Algae has been an increasing problem in Lake Erie over the past decade, and they can create toxins that impact a critical source of drinking water, recreation, and fishing. U-M professor Allison Steiner is leading a research team funded by the National Science Foundation that’s trying to pinpoint the main drivers of harmful algal blooms, how to better predict them, and how to develop usable information for coastal stakeholders.

Steiner is giving an overview of the project this week at the Coalition for National Science Funding’s annual Capitol Hill exhibition.

“We will be highlighting this interdisciplinary project that brings together physical and social scientists to develop strategies for reducing harmful algal blooms in western Lake Erie,” said Steiner. “We are understanding how climate influences freshwater ecosystems, and have scientists and stakeholders working together to improve coastal decision-making and sustainability.”

The research team includes:

Allison Steiner (right), associate professor of climate and space sciences and engineering, and earth and environmental sciences, was in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday to discuss her research on harmful algal blooms.

• Allison Steiner, PI, University of Michigan
• Don Scavia (co-I), University of Michigan
• Dan Obenour (co-I), North Carolina State University
• Frank Lupi (co-I), Michigan State University
• Maria Carmen Lemos (co-I), University of Michigan
• Christine Kirchhoff (co-I), University of Connecticut
• Margaret Kalcic, Ohio State University
• Rebecca Muenich, Arizona State University
• Isabella Bertani, University of Michigan
• Awoke Teshager, University of Michigan
• Nate Manning, University of Michigan
• Colleen Long, University of Michigan
• Yu-Chen Wang, University of Michigan

Kelly Road forms the 1.2 mile-long boundary between Greater Regent Park, a neighborhood in northeast Detroit, and Harper Woods, a small suburb of Detroit.

Leaders from the City of Harper Woods and LifeBUILDERS, a non-profit organization serving the Greater Regent Park community in northeast Detroit, asked a team of eight graduate students from the Taubman University of Michigan Urban and Regional Planning Program to identify strategies to enhance retail and economic vitality. The project was shaped by community engagement that included resident focus groups and interviews, along with a survey of area business owners along the corridor. Urban Planning’s Harley Etienne and Eric Dueweke identified the Capstone project and led their students through the research and design process.

Kelly Road forms the border between the cities of Detroit and Harper Woods in the northeast corner of Wayne County, Michigan. It was once a thriving commercial corridor, providing goods and services for local residents. In the present day, Kelly Road struggles with vacancy, blight, and declining economic activity.

Kelly Road is remembered by many residents as a vibrant, family-centered retail and residential corridor that served the neighboring communities. As population and incomes declined, Kelly Road suffered from disinvestment which resulted in many commercial vacancies and a loss of vibrancy. The imminent closing of Eastland Center, a large shopping mall located in Harper Woods, adds to the declining retail landscape.

“Kelly Road had a diner called TJs and it was a Friday night staple where family could meet. Waitresses knew what your kids ate…Kelly Road was a social atmosphere,” said one resident.

“Biggest thing is teenagers that don’t have a place to hang out. [We need] some kind of place for kids to go.” said another.

Bridging the Border Team: Grace Cho, Yu-Hung Kuo, JP Mansolf, Michelle Rubin, Anna Shires, Jordan Solano-Reed, Dewi Tan, Emilie Yonan

Through research, the collaborative effort crafted recommendations to strengthen the retail corridor in ways that reflect the desires of residents and business owners. Recommendations focus on recapturing revenue lost to alternative shopping destinations, galvanizing business owners and their consumers to further invest in the corridor, and reviving the local economy by:

1. Increasing the variety of retail businesses
2. Marketing Kelly Road
3. Encouraging local entrepreneurship
4. Supporting existing business owners
5. Improving consumers’ opinions on quality of goods and services