Monday, May 7, 2007
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
'U' to address
climate change
With tutor program,
Engin profs take on
economic inequity
IPCC study prompts
immediate action
By ARIKIA MILLIKAN
Daily News Editor
A new report from the Inter-
governmental Panel on Climate
Change released Friday stresses
that policymakers must act now
to curb growing environmental
threats before irreversible conse-
quences ensue.
The University is taking steps
to see that they do.
The University's School of Nat-
ural Resources and Environment
is hosting a national summit in
the Biomedical Science Research
Building May 8 through May 10
for anybody from policymakers to
environment experts to address
methods of coping with climate
change.
School of Natural Resources
and Environment Dean Rosina
Bierbaum said a reason for hold-
ing the summit is to "have the
experts in the same room as the
stakeholders."
Ann Arbor Mayor John Hieftje
will discuss how Ann Arbor will
adapt and leaders in environmen-
tal sciences will address improv-
ing mitigation efforts at the state
and national levels. "The topic has
SUBJECTS AND SPEAKERS
AT THE SUMMIT
* Climate Update Thomas Karl, director of
the National Climate Data Centerfor the U.S.
Department of Commerce
" Adapting to a Changing Climate: Energy
Susan Terry, managing principal oftthe Analysis
Group, former assistant secretary of energy
* Adaptingtoa Changing Climate:
Water QualityJoel Scheraga, national
directorfor the Global Change Research
program and the Mercury Research Program,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
* Adapting to a Changing Climate:
Public Health Anthony McMichael,
director oftthe National Centerfor
Epidemiology and Population Health at
the Australian National University
* Coping with Climate Change?
A look at Fisheries Edward Miles a
Marine and Public Affairs professor
at the University oftWashington
* Adaption and Local Policy
Ann Arbor Mayor John Hieftje
been ignored for about a decade,"
Bierbaum said. "If we don't think
about natural resource planning
and management with a lens of
climate change impact, we will
make inefficient and ineffective
decisions."
See CLIMATE, Page 3
By EMILY BARTON
Daily News Editor
Engineering Profs Pierre
Kabamba and Semyon Meerkov
said they often talk about how to
change the world for the better.
One of the ideas the two brain-
stormed was helping high school
students from economically under-
privileged homes become better
prepared for college.
"We wanted to do something
about that," he said. "We've gone a
long way in discussing this."
The professors are working to
found a free after-school tutor-
ing program called the University
of Michigan Pre-College Acad-
emy that operates on campus to
help students from low-income
households gain admission into
prestigious universities and be
successful science and engineering
fields, Meerkov said.
A UMPA committee of Engi-
neering professors is planning to
implement the program in Fall
2008.
The program's founders want to
make it easier for underprivileged
students to compete with students
who can afford superior private
school educations, Meerkov said.
According to an outline of
the program, it will include four
groups of students that will meet
four days a week for two fifty-min-
ute sessions on math and physics.
The first session will be a lecture
and the second a recitation. Facul-
ty volunteers will lead the lectures
and graduate students will lead the
recitations.
Each group will consist of about
twentystudentswhowillbechosen
from high schools in the Ann Arbor
and Ypsilanti school districts.
The program will start with a
group of ninth graders, one faculty
member and one graduate student.
Each year the committee plans to
add another ninth grade group
until they have groups for all four
high school grades.
Each student must come from a
low-income home of about $10,000
or less, per family member.
Students will be recommended
by their high school counselors and
will be interviewed to determine if
they meet expectations, Meerkov
said.
The students' grade point aver-
ages don't affect their eligibility as
long as they have a "desire to put an
effort to study math and physics,"
he said.
The program's main expense
will be busing students back and
forth from their schools to the Col-
lege of Engineering.
He said he doesn't know if fund-
ing will come from the University
or outside donors.
"Atthis point there is no funding
whatsoever," Meerkov said
Right now the program orga-
nizers are in the process of form-
ing sub-committees to oversee the
curriculum, recruiting and logis-
tics of the program.
Kabamba said that he and
Meerkov have been discussing this
for about two years but submit-
ted a proposal to create UMPA to
the Senate Assembly Committee
of University Affairs in December
2006.
In February 2007, the commit-
tee met with principals and vice-
principals of Ann Arbor's middle
schools to explain the goal of the
program, Kabamba said.
He said the response was over-
whelmingly enthusiastic.
"All of a sudden this was taking
momentum," he said.
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RecycleMania 2007 is complete and everyone did
a great job of reducing and recycling!
How did UM finish?
Grand Champion 8th with 43.4% recycling rate
Per Capita Classk -59 with 21.41 lbs. recyclables/person
Waste Minimization - 0" with 49.31 lbs. waste/person
Your efforts were enough to save 8,621 trees!
Keep reducing, reusing, and recycling and get ready
for next year's RecydeMania competition!
University of Michigan Waste Management Services
www.ecyce.umih.edu