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Monday, February 20, 2012 - 5A

The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Monday, February 20, 2012 - 5A

NOVAK
From Page 1A
and raced up the floor.
Michigan had numbers -
three maize jerseys streaking to
the hoop, with two scarlet-clad
defenders trying to protect their
basket. Novak was the slowest
of the five, but at the moment, it
didn't matter.
* He bypassed his teammates
first and then made his attack
at the rim. Between two Ohio
State defenders, the ball rolled
off of his fingers, off the glass
and through the net.
The play epitomized Novak's
four years in Ann Arbor. He was
thrust into the starting role as
a freshman. As an unathletic
guard, he was asked to battle
the Big Ten's best big men, but
he kept winning low-post bat-
tles on grit, out-hustling players
with more ability than him.
Like his coast-to-coast scor-
ing path, he took Michigan from
a program that once viewed an
NCAA Tournament berth as
its pinnacle to where it is now
- a team that looks destined to
become a perennial contender
for conference championships.
Novak picked up steam,
eventually defying the odds and
beating his faster competition
- reminiscent of the 2010-11
squad. That team was tabbed
as a Big Ten bottom feeder,
but it gained momentum at a
rapid rate down the stretch and
earned a March Madness bid
against all odds.
Before you could blink,
Michigan was ahead, 6-0. The
fans - the same ones who didn't
show up for years, scarred from
the embarrassment of the Fab
Five sanctions and the appalling
ICE SKATING
From Page 1A
it was an imitation made from a
plastic sheet coated with a layer
of glycerin. The event offered
free ice skating and skate rentals,
and was open on both Friday and
Saturday.
Winter Blast teamed up with
UMix on Friday night, a program
held various times throughout
the semester and organized by
the Center for Campus Involve-
ment, to bring more than 700
students who attended a winter
wonderland, despite the unsea-
sonably warm weather. After
students got off the ice they
enjoyed a buffet and beverage
station with hot chocolate was
available for attendees and on
Friday, Amazin' Blue, a Univer-
sity a cappella group, also gave a
musical performance.
LSA sophomore Juston Jaco,
a program assistant for the Cen-
ter for Campus Involvement, said
his team worked diligently to
organize an event for the winter
semester that would provide stu-
dents with a more exciting North
Campus atmosphere.
"Our goal was to make an
event that everyone would want
(to attend) in the winter," Jaco
said. "We were brainstorming
* and thought the ice rink would
be the best option. (We thought)
North Campus would be the
best place (to have it) because

North Campus, from a student's
perspective, doesn't get a lot of
respect."
He added that it's been diffi-
cult to increase interest in North
Campus and bring more students
to the area.

years that followed - were on
their feet, roaring.
Zack Novak slowly jogged
to the bench, exasperated, and
took a seat. With the Wolverines
ahead, 29-24, two minutes into
the second half, he picked up
his third foul and knew he'd be
on the bench for an extended
period.
In about a month, Novak will
be taking another seat - but
this time he won't be getting
back in the game. The time
remaining in his career is wan-
ing. The program that he built
practically from the ground up
will be left in the hands of his
younger apprentices.
Saturday night, knowing
there was nothing he could do
from the bench, Novak looked
on helplessly. He said he had
confidence that his teammates
could hold the lead, but the
six consecutive losses against
archrival Ohio State - games
that often painfully slipped out
of Michigan's reach in heart-
breaking fashion - must've
been playing in his head.
But Jordan Morgan, Trey
Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr.
took charge. With Novak sit-
ting, the Wolverines outscored
the Buckeyes, 8-6. It wasn't a
run that significantly widened
the margin, but it was perhaps a
sign of what will happen when
Novak leaves. His younger, more
naturally talented teammates
will take what he left them -
the groundwork and a blueprint
for success - and improve upon
it. It might be slow. Don't expect
National Championship banners
to hang in two years, but watch,
as the program will continue to
move on an upward trajectory.
Zack Novak threw his hands
in the air as the game clock

finally hit 00:00. Burke smiled.
The Victors blared. Michigan
had just upset the sixth-ranked
Buckeyes, 56-51. It was celebra-
tory, but relatively low key.
Two years ago, students
mobbed the court after Michi-
gan upset No. 15 Connecticut,
raising eyebrows around the
nation. It was telling that Wol-
verine fans found a win over a
team outside the top-10 monu-
mental.
Twice in the last three years,
with Michigan sitting on the
bubble, Crisler Arena played
host to a Selection Sunday party.
When the Wolverines earned
a bid, elated players and fans
sprung out of their chairs and
turned the hardwood into a
dance floor.
But on Saturday, fans stayed
in their seats. And come Sunday,
March 11, there will be no fes-
tivities when Michigan's name
pops up on a bracket.
"Without a doubt," Novak
said, he'd remember this as one
of the most memorable games
as a Wolverine, but he was then
quick to quell its magnitude.
"It's just another step in the
right direction."
Zack Novak's climb is com-
ing to an end, and there's no tell-
ing how many steps remain in
his career. The Wolverines are
closer to a Big Ten Champion-
ship than anyone could've pre-
dicted this year, but still, they'll
likely fall just short. Novak
probably won't cut down any
nets this year, but in the future
- the near future - Michigan
will. Its players will climb a
ladder with steps built by Zack
Novak.
- Wasserman can be reached
at dwass@umich.edu.

LUTZ
From Page 1A
does not address questions asked
by society, it should not be con-
sidered a true innovation.
"Innovation for the purpose
of innovation is not innovation at
all," Lutz said. "Finding a differ-
ent way to do the same thing is
not true innovation."
He pointed toward Apple's
iPod, iPhone and iPad as break-
through technologies that offer
functionality and appeal.
"(Apple) did something that
(has) never been done before, and
did it brilliantly," Lutz added.
Leading into a discussion
of clean energy, Lutz ensured
the audience that he is a strong
supporter of environmentally
friendly power sources, despite
previous misinterpretations of
his views of his criticism of global
warming.
"For the industry, the nation,
the economy, the future of energy
demand and supply on this earth,
we do need some clean energy
solutions," Lutz said. "Clean ener-
gy must, at some point, for long-
term success, be the most efficient
long-term solution."
In his introduction of Lutz,
Engineering Prof. Thomas Zur-
buchen said Lutz is a remarkable
figure in the automotive industry
and a "true innovator."
"He's always honest," Zur-
buchen said. "He doesn't copy
others ... (he) always has impec-
cable style. His perspective is not
always the most popular, but it's
always absolutely interesting and
exciting to me."
During his address, Lutz said
the Chevrolet Volt, a plug-in
hybrid car, is the ultimate exam-
ple of a combination of innovation
and clean energy, adding that the
automobile industry is on its way
to becoming an entirely electric-
driven business in the near future.

"Electrification of the trans-
portation sector is real, it's com-
ing," Lutz said. "It is perhaps ...
going to be more gradual than
many people think."
Lutz added that he is optimistic
about the clean-energy future of
the United States, but noted that
due to recent fossil fuel discover-
ies in North America, gasoline-
powered vehicles will not be
completely replaced in the near
future.
Lutz said a future of clean
energy depends on innovative
minds like those of students at
the University.
"That future ... looks a lot
brighter to me because of the
likes of folks like you and the
work being done in this program
and others like it."
Engineering freshman Aaron
Podell said he agreed with the
topics thatLutz addressed, par-
ticularly the importance in
redirecting focus to sustainabil-
ity and environmentally friendly
initiatives.
"I think he was very accurate
in what he said - if you're going
to do something, it has to be for
a purpose, for a reason," Podell
said. "I think he showed that it's
important that we demonstrate
a need to move toward cleaner
energy, but we have to recognize
that we have years of technology
based on gas products and we
can't just abandon those."
Before the winners were
announced, the teams each gave
a three-minute presentation to
the audience of their clean ener-
gy prototype.
Wayne State University stu-
dent Yating Hu, a team mem-
ber of Piezo PowerTech, which
clinched first place and $50,000
in the showcase, said the clean
energy industry has a lot of
competition among innova-
tors because it's a relatively new
market. However, Hu said she
believes her company has a fair

chance in the business.
"We'll definitely be the solu-
tion in the future ... for this kind
of work to push the new tech-
nology on clean energy is very
important for us to get started,"
Hu said.
Hu said the Michigan Clean
Energy Venture Challenge
Prize will help her team further
advance its existing prototype by
capturing the attention of poten-
tial investors and other compa-
nies.
"Eventually, we are looking
forward to making this commer-
cialized as soon as possible and
have the jobs created in Michi-
gan as soon as possible," Hu said.
Hu added that the next step for
her team is to represent the state
of Michigan in the national com-
petition in Chicago.
In an interview after the event,
Lutz said he was impressed with
Piezo PowerTech's electric tire
gauge, which proposes to replace
battery-powered technology
with a device that would gen-
erate energy from vibrations,
rather than a source that could
otherwise produce waste.
"It makes all the sense in the
world to me," Lutz said. "If it can
store the necessary amount of
energy I think that could really
work ... that would be a tremen-
dous cost saving (technique) and
would add real value."
Though the ideas presented
in this competition are at the
beginningstages of development
and require further progress,
Lutz said he believes the designs
have a lot of potential. Specifi-
cally, he noted that small, clean-
er engines made by PicoSpray,
the second place team from the
University of Michigan, have the
potential to significantly reduce
motor emissions.
"That again would be a huge
boom in terms of saving energy
and cleaning up the air," Lutz
said.


"This gives students an oppor-
tunity to do something where
they live, because a lot of fresh-
men live in Baits I, Baits II and
Bursley," Jaco said.
After Friday's high turnout,
Winter Blast hosted an ice carv-
ing competition on the North
Campus Diag on Saturday, fea-
turing the University's Ice Carv-
ing team, as well as teams from
Henry Ford Community College
and Oakland Community Col-
lege.
Numerous University organi-
zations, including Do Random
Acts of Kindness, Sexual Assault
Prevention and Awareness Cen-
ter and the Inter-Cooperative
Council, were also at Winter
Blast to show their support, and
the College of Engineering spon-
sored a pizza dinner and movie
showing.
Nate Cradit, program advi-
sor for the Center for Campus
Involvement, said he was glad
that the event brought a large
number of participants, since the
groupspent a substantial amount
of time and money planning it.
"This (ice rink idea) started
back in early fall," Cradit said.
"We launched our new office
Nov. l and part of that new office
was a push to have creative,
engaging programs that the
(University) hadn't seen before."
He continued: "For the number
of students and family members
that have been (skating), it was
totally worth it."
LSA senior Emily Samuelson,
who competed as an ice dancer
in the 2010 Winter Olympics
in Vancouver, offered skating
advice and gave a skating dem-
onstration at Winter Blast. Sam-
uelson said she enjoyed her time

at the event because she was
able to fully experience North
Campus.
"I don't spend much time on
North Campus (because) I'm
an International Studies major,
so all of my classes are back on
Central Campus," Samuelson
said. "It is really nice for me
to get out and really see what
North Campus has to offer. I like
North Campus, it's a bit calmer
than Central Campus."
LSA freshman Ryan Overhis-
er, who lives in the Baits I Resi-
dence Hall, said he decided to
attend Winter Blast on Friday to
try something new, adding that
he thought bringing the rink and
other big events to North Cam-
pus will benefit the area.
"I've never skated before, so
it was something I thought I
would try out," Overhiser said.
"I feel like North Campus is kind
of boring, so anything (Center
for Campus Involvement) can
do to get people excited or will-
ing to come out and (attend) this
kind of event is a good idea."
Engineering freshman Liam
Choi said bringing Winter
Blast and the ice rink to North
Campus helps foster a sense of
community in the area while
redirecting attention from the
already popular Central Cam-
pus.
"I think it's more about com-
munity. There are a lot of people
on Central Campus that don't
know what is on North Cam-
pus," Choi said. "I bet most
people, like freshmen from Cen-
tral Campus, have never been to
North Campus. I think (Winter
Blast) helped make students
aware of what's actually here on
North Campus."


SPLINTERS
From Page 1A
but Singh and Mersol-Barg,
who also sought the nomination
that night, have splintered from
MForward and developed their
own parties.
Singh, however, said she was
never a formal member of MFor-
ward and ran with the Michigan
Vision Party in representative
elections during her freshman
and sophomore years. She noted
that MVP is currently "dis-
solved" and that it has no active
members.
The source - who has ties to
the University's Indian commu-
nity - said Singh's candidacy
draws voters from the same pool
as Sathi.
"(Her candidacy) will defi-
nitely somewhat split the Indian
vote," the source said.
Singh and Sathi have both
been involved with the Indian
American Student Association.
In a Feb. 3 interview regarding
MForward's nominations for this
year's presidential race, Singh
praised Sathi as a qualified can-
didate.

"Aditya will be a great choice
for our presidential nominee."
She said. "I think the nomination
process was very fair ... (MFor-
ward) selected a good candidate."
Singh said her praise for Sathi
still rings true, but added that
she and her running mate, LSA
junior Ethan Hahn, chair of
CSG's LGBT Issues Commission,
believe they will clinch the presi-
dency in March.
"(Sathi is) going to be a great
competitor," she said.
Hahn said youMICH's plat-
form will focus primarily on
"academics, student organiza-
tions and the campus environ-
ment."
According to Hahn, potential
programs that will highlight
youMICH's platform include
increasing student awareness of
financial aid, overhauling Maize
Pages - a website cataloging
student organizations at the
University - and helping stu-
dents find affordable off-campus
housing through facilitating bet-
ter dialogue with realtors and
students.
Singh also announced that
youMICH will be running a full
slate of candidates for represen-

tative positions within CSG.
"(The candidates are)
extremely qualified and
extremely proactive individu-
als," she said. "They have pretty
great ideas that they want to
implement."
While Singh had yet to declare
her candidacy, she said she had
considered running for president
for a long time.
"I definitively decided (to run)
in September," she said. "But it's
always been in the back of my
mind as something that I would
like to pursue."
Singh added that her entrance
into the race will spur healthy
competition.
"I've always believed that the
more competitive a race is, the
best candidate will prevail," she
said. "I think it's going to be very
interesting to see how things
play out this year, but it's going to
be very exciting."
Singh said this year's race,
which now features three major
candidates, will make the elec-
tions more visible to the student
body.
"Maybe this will help us reach
a 20-percent turnout (in the elec-
tions)," Singh said.

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What's gone so wrong
with Congress?
A Ford School conversation with Congressman John D. Dingell
Hosted by Richard L. Hall
Professor of Public Policy, Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy
Professor of Political Science, College of Literature, Science & the Arts

Wednesday,
February 22, 2012
4:00-5:00 p.m.

1120 Weill Hall Free and open to the public.
735 South State Street Reception to follow.
Ann Arbor, Mt More information, 734-e15-3893.
ssw.ordschool.umich.edu
Join the conversation:
#fordscl-ooldingell

Gerald R. Ford
School of Public Policy