()NI l r i r II \IN ' I I 1 1141 III Ann Arbor, Michigan Thursday, January 16,2014 michigandaily.com _ , _ - ADMINISTRATION Regents to meet with leaders in New York Engineering graduate student Brian Buss demonstrates how to use the walking robot on North Campus Monday. The robot is aided by a balancing poll to keep it from felling over, After two years, ipeda ob kd Researchers create MARLO to develop understanding of leg locomotion By ARIANA ASSAF Daily StaffReporter Mythical creatures have a tendency to sparkle in sunlight, but a walking robot that exists on the University's campus was working on something far more impressive when it ventured out into the open air. MARLO, a bipedal robot, is helping researchers develop the science of leg locomotion for machines. Essentially, the goal of working with MARLO is to get robots to walk just as well as, if not better than, humans. MARLO was designed and built by Jonathan Hurst, assis- tant engineering professor at Oregon State University, using funding provided by the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency, a program funded bythe Department of Defense. MARLO is one of three robots created using Hurst's ATRIAS principle, or "assume the robot is a sphere." The other two robots are housed at Oregon State University and Carnegie Melon University. For the past two years, Engi- neering Prof. Jessy Grizzle has led a team of University scientists on a quest to program MARLO in the best, most stable way pos- sible. He said in the future, these robots could be used to assist in situations that might threaten human life. Grizzle said robots like MARLO could play a critical role in recovering from natural disasters like the tsunami that hit Japan in 2011. The tsunami struck the Fukushima nuclear power plant and caused enor- mous damage and subsequent radiation leaks that proved too dangerous for humans to try to fix. "We want machines to go into situations that are too dangerous for humans, or more dangerous than we'd want to be sending See ROBOTS, Page SA Diversity, healthcare and fundraising on the agenda for unofficial meetings By SAM GRINGLAS, CLAIRE BRYAN & YARDAIN AMRON Daily News Editor & Daily Staff Reporters Jay Z must have gotten it right. In place of their monthly pub- lic meeting, the University's Board of Regents will spend Jan. 16 and 17 in New York City glean- ing some Empire State inspira- tion from a handful of the East Coast's most prominent higher education leaders. Between meetings, the regents will also court the region's vast network of alumni and donors at two events planned by the University's Office of Development. Following their Jan. 2013 trip to California, the University's delegation plans to confront an array of issues, including digital education, diversity on campus and college affordability. Like Los Angeles, New York City has one of the largest popu- lations of University alumni and around 2,000 Universitystudents call the state home. In an e-mail, Regent Andrea Fischer Newman (R), chair of the Board of Regents, said although a similar fact-finding trip had not occurred for more than a decade, the regents found that last year's trip included "the best sessions ever in their many years of ser- vice on the board." Newman said the trip is intended to provide the regents and the University's top officers with an opportunity to discuss pressing issues in higher educa- tion and chart the instiution's course into the future. "Taking time to do a little blue- sky thinking and asking ourselves 'what if' questions is really impor- tant and very valuable," Newman wrote. "It is especially pertinent this year as we search for the next president of the University." See REGENTS, Page 3A HOSPITAL Local counties report multiple deaths by flu SPOTLIGHT Dozens in intensive care at UMHS as HiNi influenza outbreak spreads By PAULA FRIEDRICH Daily Staff Reporter Forty patients are currently being treated at the University Hospital for influenza, and over a dozen of those are in intensive care. In Washtenaw County, two adult patients - one of whom was treated at University Hospital - have died from the flu. Oakland County has suffered three patient deaths, all of whom were in their 20s, The Detroit News reported Tuesday. Statewide, six adult deaths and one pediatric death have been reported. While the state only official- ly tracks pediatric flu-related deaths, counties may choose to report adult deaths at their own discretion. In response to the uptick in influenza cases, the University of Michigan Health System has put a visitor restriction policy in place. This measure means any- body coming to visit a patient in the hospital is asked to stayhome if they have flu symptoms, and children under the age of 12 may not visit any patient who is hospi- talized with the flu. Most of UMHS influenza patients have contracted H1N1, though UMHS spokeswoman Kara Gavin said the hospital has only tested for specific strains in certain cases. The H1N1 strain of influenza is most commonly associated with the 2009 pandemic. At that time, there was no vaccine and the dis- ease killed over 470 individuals in the U.S. alone. However, research since the outbreak lead to the creation of the vaccine currently being offered. Eden Wells, a clinical associate professor at the School of Public Health, said it's hard to predict how this flu season will continue, but that the public health com- See FLU, Page 3A Architecture junior Mary Milford begins drawing out plans foran assignment in the Art and Architecture building among her peers in an open studio format. ANN ARBOR City infrastructure mostly unhfarmed by severe cold CAMPUS LIFE Lecturer examines conflicts in Caucasus Speaker offers view of lingering issues in post- Soviet Armenia By CARLY FROMM Daily StaffReporter The Armenian Studies Pro- gram is continuing to foster dis- cussion around the history and current events of the Caucasus Mountains in Eastern Europe. On Wednesday, a University post-doctorate fellow held a lec- ture called "Drawing Borders, or Creating Conflicts in the Cauca- sus?" at the International Insti- tute. The ASP and Center for Rus- sian and East European Stud- ies hosted University lecturer Arsene Saparov to present his research on the region. More than two dozen people attended the lecture. Armenia is a mountainous nation of three million located See CAUCASUS, Page 3A Spokesman says weather response plans worked well By MATT JACKONEN Daily StaffReporter After nearly a week of tem- peratures hovering around zero degrees, the city of Ann Arbor is recovering. However, the city is more equipped to handle the frigid temperatures and above aver- age snowfalls than it might have seemed during the wintry trip back to Ann Arbor after break. Robert Kellar, the city's communications specialist for public services, said that the damages done to the roads and property were minor, and the extended below-freezing tem- peratures were not that out of the ordinary for this time of year. "This is not totally unusu- al for this area," Kellar said. "There is the normal wear and tear onthe roads because plow- ing is not a frictionless process, and you have the occasional mailbox that is a victim." Keller added that the extreme weather may cause a few more water line breaks than usual. However, the lack of dam- See COLD, Page 3A The architecture b-side An in-depth look at the Taubman College of Architecture. t r :t! INSIDE WEATHER Hl:30 GOT A NEWS TIP? TOMORROW LO: 14 Call 734-418-4115 or e-mail news@michigandaify.com and let us know. 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