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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.

