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Thursday, May 14, 2015
Ann Arbor, MI
Weekly Summer Edition
MichiganDaily.com
INDEX
Vol. CXXI, No. 136 | © 2013 The Michigan Daily
michigandaily.com
NEWS ....................................
OPINION ...............................
ARTS ......................................
CLASSIFIEDS.........................
SUDOKU.................................
SPORTS..................................
NEWS
Great Books
Students and faculty discuss
diversity of texts studied in
courses
>> SEE PAGE 2
NEWS
Resort Civil Suit
Treetops filing civil lawsuits
against Greek life members
for ski trip damages
>> SEE PAGE 2
OPINION
Give Us Some
Credit
Fair Student Credit Act would
help defaulting students
>> SEE PAGE 4
ARTS
Artist Profile
Student rapper discusses
his music
>> SEE PAGE 6
SPORTS
AFCAA Kicks Off
Ann Arbor’s newest minor
league soccer team proves
to be a family affair
>> SEE PAGE 12
inside
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4
6
8
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9
SOFTBALL
Michigan
wins first Big
Ten tourney
since 2006
Third-ranked
Wolverines will host
Regional Tournament
beginning Friday
By CHRIS CROWDER
Daily Sports Writer
COLUMBUS — For the first time
in the Big Ten tournament, the Wol-
verines found themselves as the
away team despite boasting the top
seed. The stadium was usually the
home to Ohio State, covered in scar-
let and gray. But on Saturday night, it
couldn’t have felt more like home. The
Michigan fan base came in bunches,
occupying more than half of the seats,
as the team led the crowd in Hail to
the Victors before the first pitch.
To the surprise of many fans,
senior left-hander Haylie Wagner
got the start in the circle. The other
pitcher on the Michigan staff, Megan
Betsa, was dominant all weekend,
only allowing one run over the first
two games of the tournament.
Things were different Saturday
night, but for the No.3 Michigan soft-
ball team, the result was the same as it
had been all weekend.
Wagner proved why she earned
the start in the Big Ten Champion-
ship final, leading her team to a 6-1
win over the Cornhuskers (17-6 Big
Ten, 34-21 overall). With the victory,
the Wolverines (21-2, 51-6) hoisted
their first Big Ten Tournament trophy
since 2006.
It was also the sixth time that they
have earned both the Big Ten regular
season and tournament title, the first
since 2005, when it won an NCAA
Championship as well.
“I’m really proud of my kids,” said
Michigan coach Carol Hutchins. “I’m
really pleased with our approach and
our togetherness … We had great
Dark matter recreated in
digital simulation display
Physics, Computer
Science and Art
programs collaborate
By SAM COREY
For the Daily
An installation in the Media
Union of the Duderstadt Cen-
ter allows visitors to experience
something often discussed in
science fiction novels. Jeweled
Net of the Vast Invisible: An
Experience of Dark Matter —
which officially opened Wednes-
day and is open until Friday
— offers the public the opportu-
nity to witness something that is
otherwise invisible to the naked
eye: dark matter.
A team of researchers and
graduate students projected a
computer simulation of data
from billions of particles in our
universe onto a 20-foot-high,
140-degree panoramic screen.
Attendees are immersed in “jew-
eled spaces” of particles and
matter that displays how the
world would have looked follow-
ing the Big Bang. Dark matter is
simulated from billions of data
regarding our solar system.
The MCubed seed grant pro-
gram, funding programs con-
sisting of faculty in a variety of
disciplines, sponsored the event.
Physics Prof. Gregory Tarlé,
who conceptualized the project,
said the idea for the installation
came from his desire to make the
beauty behind his research of
cosmology, the scientific study of
the development of the universe,
more accessible.
“When I do my research in
cosmology, I see all sorts of very
beautiful things,” Tarlé said.
“But these things are buried in
data and equations and things
that are not accessible to the
general public. And so I thought
that it might be possible, through
art, to reveal this kind of beauty
that’s in the universe to people
who are not cosmologists.”
Tarlé collaborated with both
Art & Design Prof. Jim Cogswell
and Stephen Rush, professor of
performing arts technology, to
create a visual simulation for the
University community to experi-
ence. The project team also hired
University alum Jason Eaton,
who graduated with a degree
in computer science, to work on
computer visualizations.
“We just started brainstorm-
ing, coming up with ideas about
how to visualize that which is
invisible ...the dark matter of
the universe — the cosmic web
which forms the structure into
which the stars, galaxies...”
Tarlé said.
In a preview Tuesday, a live
jazz band from the School of
Music, Theatre & Dance accom-
panied the visualizations. The
melody of jazz constantly shifted
from ominous to celebratory,
varying based on the scenes of
the simulated universe. As the
lights travelled more quickly, the
harmony quickened, providing
the sensation of actual flight.
Tarlé said having music incor-
porated in the presentation of
dark matter was essential to the
project.
SCIENCE
See SIMULATION, Page 3
See TOURNAMENT, Page 8
SAN PHAM/Daily
Students and Ann Arbor residents view a visualization of the distribution of dark matter in the universe at the perfor-
mance “Jeweled Net of the Vast Invisible: an experience of dark matter” at the Duderstadt Center.