The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Monday, April 13, 2009 - 7A
Protestors clash
with Thai troops
Forty-nine people
reported injured in
ongoing protests
BANGKOK (AP) - Thai soldiers
unleashed hundreds of rounds of
automatic weapons fire to clear
rock-throwing anti-government
protesters from a major intersec-
tion in the capital in the pre-dawn
darkness Monday.
Forty-nine people were report-
ed hurt in the first serious clash
between the two sides in ongo-
ing protests that have roiled this
southeast Asian nation and came
a day after the country's ousted
prime minister called for a revo-
lution.
While the government has
declared a state of emergency, pro-
testers controlled many streets in
the capital Bangkok. They had ear-
lier commandeered public buses
and swarmed triumphantly over
military vehicles in defiance.
In the starkest example of the
chaos, a mob of the red-shirted
protesters smashed cars carrying
Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva
and his aides.
The clash began between 4 a.m.
and 5 a.m. Monday, as troops in full
combat gear lined up and advanced
to disperse the protesters, according
to witnesses and television footage.
The soldiers fired hundreds of
rounds from their M-16 automatic
rifles as they advanced, though it was
unclear whether they were firing at
or over the protesters. Some witness-
es said tear gas was also fired.
The official Erawan emergency
TICKETS
From Page 1A
ments to address the issue.
"That is why our (Athletic Direc-
tor) Bill Martin made sure single-
game ticket prices are lower this
season," he wrote.
In February, Martin announced
the price of student season foot-
ball tickets would be $200 for
the 2009 season, a decrease of an
average of $1.43 per game. Regu-
lar season football tickets also
decreased an average of $3.57 per
game, and the eight-game pack-
the michigan daily
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5 min. walk, MED, DENT, and Campus
coordination center said 49 people
were injured on both sides and
taken to hospitals.
Protesters set fires that were
still burning 1-1/2 hours later and
retreated into side streets near the
Din Daeng intersection, where there
is an on-ramp to the main express-
way leadingnorth from the capital.
The clash appeared to be an iso-
lated one, taking place several miles
away from the main encampment of
thousands of protesters outside the
prime minister's offices.
Police Gen. Vichai Sangparpai
said up to 30,000 demonstrators
were scattered around the city.
Police vans at some intersections
were abandoned and looted. Pro-
testers used buses to barricade sev-
eral major roads.
Ousted Prime Minister Thaksin
Shinawatra, regarded by most of
the protesters as their leader, called
for a revolution and said he might
return from exile to lead it.
Thaksin fled the country last
year, before a court convicted him
in absentia of violating a conflict of
interest law.
"Now that they have tanks on the
streets, it is time for the people to
come out in revolution. And when
it is necessary, I will come back
to the country," he said in a tele-
phoned message to followers out-
side Abhisit's office.
The message was broadcast over
a video link projected on giant
screens and relayed on supporters'
Internet sites.
Political tensions have simmered
since Thaksin was ousted by a mili-
tary coup in 2006 for alleged cor-
ruption and abuse of power.
age now costs $400.
"It's a tough economic time
and there's no need to increase
ticket prices," Madej told the Daily
in February. "We're fortunate
enough that we can hold the line,
and even decrease them.
Tuesday's deadline is only for
student season tickets, Madej said.
The deadline for regular season
tickets is still about a month away.
"We wanted to make sure all
U-M students know they still can
get their tickets," Madej wrote in
the e-mail. "And we also did think
the spring game would help remind
people too about the deadline."
WIND ENERGY
From Page 1A
Gov. Jennifer Granholm high-
lighted the Scandinavian country's
experience with wind power in her
weekly radio address.
"Denmark leads the world in
wind power technology, an indus-
try employing 20,000 people in a
nation with half Michigan's popu-
lation," she said. "In fact, Denmark
has a 2.2 percent unemployment
rate."
Denmarkwas completely depen-
dent on imported fuel until after
the 1973 oil crisis, when Danish
officials resolved to find alterna-
tive energy sources.
"So, in a week where we saw
our state's January unemployment
rate rise to 11.6 percent, driven in
large part by continued job losses
in the automotive manufacturing
sector," Granholm said in the radio
address, "Denmark's story is noth-
ing short of inspirational."
Now at 12 percent and steadily
rising, Michigan has the highest
unemployment rate in the country.
The state has been crippled by the
decline of the auto industry, some-
thing that has sped up as the coun-
try falls deeper into recession.
Call it lofty, or even impossible,
but Granholm is hoping that the
synergy oftwocrises -one aunique
economic struggle for the state of
Michigan and one a profoundly
existential test for humanity - will
create the "perfect storm" to spark
much-needed economic growth
and restore Michigan's place as the
world's innovative manufacturing
nerve center.
If wind power were made more
viable and, consequently, in higher
demand, Michigan could build the
equipmentrand infrastructure that
not only Michigan - which has so
much wind capture potential and
currently imports 80 percent of
its energy - but the whole world
would have its sights on. And
thanks to the near-collapse of the
American auto industry, the state
has more excess manufacturing
capacity than any other.
University alum Pete Tchoryk
is just one of the innovators in
Ann Arbor who has been working
to improve wind energy technolo-
gies.
"It's a perfect scenario for (wind
power in) Michigan," he said.
Tchoryk's company, WindSight,
is a spin-off from the Michigan
Aerospace Corporation that was
formed in 1996 to help commer-
cialize developments of the Uni-
versity's Space Physics Research
Laboratory. The company has
developed ultraviolet lasers that
provide long-range 3D mapping of
wind and atmospheric conditions
for potential wind farm sites.
"One of the things that I see as
really critical, and this is some-
thing that Michigan can really
take the lead on, is in really doing
a more thorough job than anyone
else of doing pre-assessments of
where the best locations are to do
wind farms, both onshore and off-
shore," Tchoryk said.
WindSight's lasers and accom-
panying software can simulta-
neously measure wind speed,
direction, temperature, den-
sity and water vapor. Better site
assessment translates to more
reliable and efficient wind cap-
ture, Tchoryk said, which makes
wind power a much more attrac-
tive investment.
Since the lasers can take mea-
surements from over 10 kilome-
ters away, they can assess both on
and offshore sites.
"You can have our system sit-
ting on land, and then map out the
winds over the water," Tchoryk
said. "That in particular is really
useful.
"Right now, it's just extremely
expensive to put a tower with
anemometers and weather vanes
out in the middle of the water," he
said. "And you have to drop a con-
crete pylon. It's really outrageous-
ly expensive."
The funding for WindSight's
technology, which was mostly
developed under Michigan Aero-
space, "has been quite extensive,"
Tchoryk said, coming primar-
ily from National Aeronautics and
Space Administration and the U.S.
Department of Defense.
Though WindSight is rela-
tively new and still seeking capi-
tal, Tchoryk announced in early
March that the company would
create about 60 jobs in Ann Arbor
and elsewhere in Michigan over
the next few years to start manu-
facturing the systems.
In hopes of funneling more
money into the wind energy sec-
tor, Jerry Lynch, an assistant
professor in the Civil and Envi-
ronmental Engineering and Elec-
trical Engineering and Computer
Science departments, has devel-
oped a remote monitoring system
for turbines that could cut costs
for wind farm operators and make
turbines more profitable.
"Wind turbines are somewhat
of a damage-prone engineered sys-
tem," Lynch said. "Turbine blades
may break, the turbine towers may
experience some local damage
and even the equipment inside the
turbine is prone to damage such as
the gears and the power genera-
tion unit."
Lynch's structural health
monitoring system, whose devel-
opment is funded mostly by the
National Science Foundation and
the University's Office of the Vice
President for Research, uses wire-
less micro-sensors to collect data
about the structural well-being of
wind turbines using "automated
damage detection algorithms."
"The hope is that the data we
can collect will allow us to iden-
tify damage before it becomes a
serious concern, and we can fix
that da
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nd expensive to repair," he long - adjusts its shape continu-
t actually will make long- ously as wind conditions change.
se of wind turbines more The result is 15 percent more
icient." energy captured by the turbine,
h's technology is currently certified by Sandia National Labs.
esting stages. Kota said that while the blades are
h and his collaborator Car- somewhat more expensive, they
nik, professor of Aerospace pay for themselves quite quickly
ering and director of the from the extra energy they pro-
ity's Active Aeroelasticity duce.
'uctures Research Labora- "You design a wind turbine to
gan a working partnership last 25 years," he said. "You get
ar with the University of your money back in two and a half
'r in Germany to test the years, and then you continue to get
on running turbines 15 percent more energy."
He noted that two and a half
lans on working with San- years could be an overestimate,
ional Laboratories, a U.S. as "additional gains from reduced
ment of Energy facility run stress" on the blades resulting
Lockheed Martin Compa- from his technology are difficult
est the sensors on turbines to quantify.
United States in the near Kota said that a number of
venture capital firms are "seri-
ously interested" in the Adaptive
Blades, but he's put them on hold
while Flexsys prepares for more
ts a perfect testing, including a test on a full-
scale turbine.
cenario for Additionally, a handful of Uni-
versity students came up with an
wind power idea that combines wind capture
with another revenue source -
M ichigan), advertisement.
Mechanical Engineering grad-
choryk said. uate student Joe Belter, Business
sophomore Don Tappan, Energy
Systems Engineering graduate
student Dave Clark and Prateek
h said he hopes these sen- Chourdia, an Engineering alum
n help "tip the scale" on the who graduated last fall, started
e balance between profit- UrbanWind Solutions lastNovem-
d not-so-profitable" in the ber as an entry for the Michigan
nergy industry. Business Challenge and the Clean
beneficial to make (wind Energy Prize.
a more profitable technol- From their three-minute pitch
entice more investment on YouTube:
'he said. "This technology "I'm sure you've seen the toys
eally enhance the costcom- that are sold in amusement parks
ness of wind as an energy that little kids spin in their hands.
These have small strips of LEDS
Iriving down costs isn't the in the outermost point that flicker
iy to increase profitability. to produce some text ... imagine
hanical Engineering Prof. combining this technology with
rKota has developed a tech- the three blades of a helical ver-
that significantly increases tical axis wind turbine. As the
nd capture capability of wind rotates the blades, renew-
rbines. able clean energy is not only being
is the president of Flex- fed directly into nearby buildings
c., a company he started and the grid, but it's also used to
0 after the U.S. Air Force power the LEDS that create kinet-
ed interest in his approach it advertising space."
pe-morphing technology. Although they were eliminated
unding from the Depart- in the second round of the Clean
f Defense, Flexsys success- Energy Prize, it ultimately led to
esigned, built and tested their selection for a spring break
ding a flight test - a shape- trip to San Francisco with the Col-
ng aircraft wing flap that, lege of Engineering's Center for
ng to Kota, provides the Entrepreneurship with about 30
try lift while also reducing other students to meet with ven-
hich "directly amounts to ture capitalists and alumni.
'ings." The group was also awarded
said applying the same a $1,500 "Dare to Dream" grant
ts to wind turbines seemed from the Zell Lurie Institute at the
atural progression. Ross School of Business fora "fea-
it technology readily tran- sibility study of the possible mar-
d to wind turbine blades," ket for Urban Wind Solutions,"
Tappan said.
Flexsys Adaptive Blade, a Tappan said they plan on using
oot trailing edge flap that the grant to build a table-top size
's to the turbine blade - prototype.
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CANCER RESEARCH SUMMER
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As part of its Cancer Biology Training
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START-UP
From Page 1A
The website, MyBandstock.
com, enables users to buy $1
"shares" in a band. Investors are
rewarded with various perks, like
early CD releases, backstage pass-
es and band T-shirts.
The company's founders like to
think of it as more of a movement
than a business. As the digital
world has changed the way people
acquire and experience music, the
Recording Industry Association of
America and thetraditional record
labels it represents have come
under fire for clinging to a business
model many see as obsolete.
MyBandstock, like many other
companies, hopes to fill the void
with a new vision for the music
industry - an industry that School
of Music, Theatre & Dance junior
Drew Leahy, the company's presi-
dent, called "an entrepreneurial
playground."
"Everyone is kind of scrambling
around trying to figure out how to
monetize the music industry,"Leahy
said. "We feel that selling stock in a
band is the best way for an artist to
raise money from their fan base."
The idea for MyBandstock was
borntwosummersago,whenthen-
Michigan State University student
Kevin Pritchard wondered aloud
to Leahy what it would be like to
buy stock in a band and speculate
on its future.
Leahy said the two of them soon
realized that, due to regulations,
issuingactual securities with equi-
ty would be out of the question.
He mentioned the idea to Evan
Frankfort, a California producer
with whom Leahy was interningat
Would Work Sound in Los Angeles,
and it made a distinct impression.
"He was like 'I can't stop think-
ing about the idea,' " Leahy said.
"He got his entertainment lawyer
involved, and we just started writ-
ing up proposals and going after it."
Pritchard, Leahy and Frank-
fort rounded up some others for
graphic design, Web development,
finance and marketing roles. They
got their initial funding the same
way many bands do.
"We bootstrapped," he said.
"There were 15 of us and we raised
money for the website to basically
get a living, working platform."
The site, which Leahy estimates
took over 2,000 hours of coding,
designing and tinkering before it
was ready, officially launched Jan.
15 of this year.
Along with Leahy, most of
MyBandstock's operations are
overseen by Business juniorBobby
Matson and Engineering senior
John-Michael Fischer.
Leahy said the three of them
make up "the vision, the busi-
ness brain and the tech brain,"
respectively.
For Matson, who began work-
ing with MyBandstock in January
of last year, the experience has
changed the context of his busi-
ness school education.
He said a lot of people in the
undergraduate business program
"just take the classes to get the 'A,'
and they focus on the GPA."
"I think about how these con-
cepts can help MyBandstock liter-
ally every day," he said.
Matson was admitted to the
Marcel Gani Internship, a program
through the Zell Lurie Institute at
the Business School that pays stu-
dents to execute their own busi-
ness plans during the summer.
Leahy and Matson said they
plan on using this summer to
expand the reach of the busi-
ness. Primarily, they will focus on
securing more band partnerships.
Right now, there are only eight
bands using the service, and not
all of them have attracted invest-
ment in their shares.
The business is nowhere near
profitable yet, but in time, the young
entrepreneurs believe it will grow.
They would like to attract seed
investment by the time they gradu-
ate next year, so that they can hire
four to six full-time developers.
They said they're confident that
they can attract the capital they're
seeking if they can achieve the
right amount of growth and sta-
bility. That means working long
hours, Leahy said, "adding artists,
marketing, getting out there."
PROFESSOR
From Page 1A
ment, wrote in an e-mail interview
that he could not comment on Eli-
av's return to the classroom.
Though University Spokes-
woman Kelly Cunningham said
she was also unable to comment
on Eliav's case specifically, she
explained the University's policy
pertaining to staff members with
criminal records.
"There is no policy that lays
out a blanket prohibition of hiring
people who have criminal records
because that would be illegal,"
Cunningham said.
Cunningham further explained
that the decision made by the Uni-
versity is then based on the crime
committed and the professor's
responsibilities as a teacher.
"We have to look at the connec-
tion between the person's employ-
ment responsibilities and the
crime they committed," she said.
Cunningham explained that
whether or not the person in ques-
tion is applying for a faculty posi-
tion or is already a professor, it is
the actual criminal record that is
taken into question.
Based on this policy, Eliav's
charge of a misdemeanor, using a
computer to commit a felony, was
the only thing reviewed by the
University, not the initial felony
charge of prostitution/accosting
and solicitation that was eventu-
ally dropped.
A number of Eliav's former stu-
dents said they believe his person-
al past should not interfere with
his teaching responsibilities.
LSA freshman Reed McNa-
mara, who took a class taught by
Eliav in fall 2008, said as long as
the scandal did not affect him in
the classroom, there would be no
reason he would not be able to
teach effectively again in the new
semester.
"He was a good teacher dur-
ing the semester," McNamara
said. "Unless (the case) affected
his teaching, I don't see why he
couldn't continue."
LSA freshman Cassie Hazelip,
also a former student of Eliav's,
said she believed that the separa-
tion between professional and pri-
vate life should keep the case from
interferingwith Eliav's teaching.
"I think teaching and what you
do outside of teaching should be
kept separate," Hazelip said. "If
the University can separate those
two, then the students should be
able to as well."
Many students, however,
admitted they knew very little
about the controversy that was
made public in December. Both
McNamara and Hazelip said they
knew some of the details about
the case concerning Eliav and the
female law student.
LSA sophomore Andrew Dick-
son, who also took a class taught
by Eliav in the fall, said he didn't
know much about the case,
though he said he felt Eliav was
an adequate teacher and doubted
the case would affect his teaching
abilities.
"I'm not too familiar with the
case, but I thought he was a good
teacher," Dickson said. "But from
a moral standpoint I can't really
say if I think he should return,
because I don't really know the
details."
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