Research

This page includes sustainability progress and goals data from a prior year. Click here for current progress and goals updates.

At U-M, many disciplines come together to solve complex sustainability challenges and improve lives on local-to-global scales through innovative discoveries in the following areas:

Water

Larger-than-average summer ‘dead zone’ predicted for Chesapeake Bay

A U-M ecologist and colleges from several institutions forecasted a larger-than-average “dead zone” in Chesapeake Bay. Last summer’s Chesapeake Bay hypoxic or “dead zone,” an area of low to no oxygen that can kill fish and aquatic life, was expected to be approximately 1.89 cubic miles — nearly the volume of 3.2 million Olympic-size swimming…

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Communities

Ann Arbor stormwater management smart technology

Autonomous “smart” technologies for aging stormwater systems are being developed at the U-M to lessen the impacts of flooding—potentially saving lives and billions of dollars in property damage. Through a $1.8 million grant from the National Science Foundation, Branko Kerkez, an assistant professor in the U-M Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, is leading a…

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Climate

Best time for better bulbs

A study from U-M researchers published in the fall recommends replacing all incandescent and halogen light bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) or LED bulbs in households. But when it comes to existing CFLs and LEDs, it may be best to wait until LEDs use even less energy and are even lower in cost before…

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