Bicentennial
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Friday, September 15, 2017 — 11

March 29, 2016 - Far away from

the hills and hot weather of Silicon
Valley, where Google has made
headlines with their driverless car
testing, the University of Michigan
is helping bring the national
spotlight on the race to build
driverless cars to the state.

On
the
University’s
North

Campus there’s a 32-acre urban
environment with freeways, dirt
roads, road signs and highway
tunnels — known as “Mcity.”
The field grabbed national and
international attention when it
opened in July 2015, becoming the
world’s first site designed for the
purpose of testing driverless cars.

But why here?
The University did not build

Mcity alone. Mcity was designed
and developed by the University’s
Mobility Transformation Center,
a research partnership between
industry
and
government
to

improve
transportation
safety

and sustainability. The Michigan
Department
of
Transportation

partnered with MTC to create
and help fund Mcity, and the site is
currently led by corporate partners
like Ford, Toyota, State Farm
Mutual Automobile Insurance and
General Motors.

In partnership with prominent

auto
industries
in
Southeast

Michigan and the city, state and
federal
governments,
Mcity

represents the ways local leaders
are working to usher in a new era
of transportation in the same area
that Henry Ford redefined mobility
over a century ago.

How the University leads

driverless car development

Alongside
Mcity’s
various

highways, intersections and dirt
roads sit graffiti covered road signs,
steep hills and building facades
that can be brought just inches
away from the road — all details
meant to create life-like scenarios
to challenge autonomous vehicles.

Ford became the first motor

company to test an autonomous
vehicle in Mcity in November
2015, and they used the site again
to challenge their technology in
snowy conditions in January 2016.

Jim McBride, Ford technical

leader for autonomous vehicles,
said Mcity was an ideal site because
of its simulated imperfection,
creating odd scenarios driverless
cars might experience in the real
world.

“Mcity allows us the ability

to create that situation and find
a safe environment and test it
repeatedly,” McBride said.

Creating all kinds of life-like

challenges for driverless cars is
exactly what Mcity was designed
for, according to Huei Peng,
director of MTC.

MTC and Mcity were created in

an effort to expand development of
automation and connected vehicles
both at the University and in the
state. Gradual steps in advancing
non-driver controlled technology,
as well as in connecting cars to
each other and their environment
like an Internet, are ways in which
engineers are moving toward fully
autonomous vehicles.

“Mcity is a test track designed to

have future connected automated
vehicle concepts in mind,” Peng
said.

Cars on the market today

already have partially driverless
vehicle features. Cruise control,
automatic braking and assisted
parking
systems
are
features

in a vehicle that occur without
direct driver input, referred to as
“automated.”

SAE International — originally

founded
as
the
Society
of

Automotive
Engineers
—

characterizes
the
degree
of

automation in on-road vehicles in
six levels, zero being completely
driver-controlled and five being
completely system-controlled. A

driverless car is a vehicle with a
system that controls all dynamic
driving tasks under all roadway
and environmental conditions.

Many cars on the road are at a

level one standard for automation,
and include features such as cruise
control and automated braking. In
the next few years, however, Peng
said there will be an emergence of
level two and level three features
— like highway cruise, traffic jam
assist and automated valet parking
— in production vehicles.

Engineers
of
driverless

cars
are
also
developing

wireless
connection
channels,

called
dedicated
short-range

communications, to allow cars to
communicate with each other on
the road. Peng explained that when
personal computers are connected
to each other, every PC becomes
more useful; similarly, cars can
reduce risk and improve efficiency
if they connect to other vehicles.

“If we continue to broadcast the

vehicle’s motion to other cars, it
will make traffic safer, potentially
more efficient, and (lead to) less
energy consumption,” Peng said.

Even before Mcity garnered

international
attention,
the

University had been a pioneer in
mobility transformation research.

Noting
research
on
tire

dynamics, engines and vehicle
safety developed at the University,
Peng said vehicle design and
vehicle manufacturing have been
pillars of strength at the College of
Engineering for years.

“We have been the top, if not one

of the top, automotive engineering
research
education
providers

among other universities in the
world,” he said. “We will continue
to do that; there is no reason we
give up that tradition of strength.”

Michigan as a hotbed for

mobility transformation

Since
being
elected
to

Congress in 2014, Sen. Gary
Peters (D–Michigan) has joined
the Senate Commerce, Science
and Transportation Committee
and
has
actively
promoted

legislation to allow for more
funding to implement for vehicle-
to-infrastructure
technology.

According
to
Peters,
these

efforts are to ensure the state of
Michigan’s influence in the future
of mobility.

“This technology is incredibly

important for our safety and it
represents the future of the auto
industry,” Peters said. “We have
to make every effort to make sure
it continues to be centered in
Michigan.”

Alongside Peters’ efforts at the

federal level, MDOT and state
legislature have been proactive in
allowing for driverless car testing
on the roads. In December 2013,
Gov. Rick Snyder (R) signed into
law a bill approving the testing of
driverless cars on Michigan roads,
joining only a handful of other
states in approving such legislation.

Matt Smith, program manager

at MDOT, said because of the auto
industry’s location within the state,
the Michigan state legislature has
allowed for automated vehicle
research on state roads long before
driverless cars existed.

“The state of Michigan has

allowed experimental technology
on roadways for many, many
years,” Smith said.

Even within Ann Arbor, local

government
has
pushed
for

testing experimental automated
technology.
In
2013,
Ann

Arbor City Council approved a
$622,884 federal grant to install
telecommunications fiber, sensors
and
electronic
equipment
in

public intersections to allow for
vehicle-to-vehicle and vehicle-to-
infrastructure communication in
driverless cars.

Peters said the reason legislators

are
interested
in
pursuing

autonomous technology in the
state is to keep jobs related to the
auto industry within Michigan.

Kevin Kerrigan, senior vice

president
of
the
Michigan

Economic
Development

Corporation,
noted
that
the

automotive industry continues to
be the largest industry in Michigan,
attracting many businesses and
growing local jobs. Currently, one
out of every 24 jobs in the state
comes from the auto industry,
according to the Mackinac Center
for Public Policy. Jobs within the
auto industry increased by 67
percent after the recession ended,
compared to 10.6 percent gain in
all jobs.

“A big percentage of jobs in

Michigan are directly related to
the auto industry,” Peters said.

“If we were to lose some of

the technological advantage of
advanced
computer
systems

related to cars, I would be
concerned we would start losing
automotive jobs to a different
region of the country.”

McBride said Ford’s interest

in
pursuing
driverless
car

development was in part to
ensure the company stays relevant
when the technology advances.
Kodak and Nokia, he said, are
examples
of
companies
that

could not adapt to the changes
in the telecommunication and
digital world, which led to their
breakdowns.

“It’s very relevant right now

that we maintain ownership of
the software and ownership of the
technology if we want to be viable
in the future of transportation
industry,” McBride said. “Every
company wants to be relevant
in the long term, and that’s not
different for Ford.”

Michigan has recently taken a

step further in leading the charge
for automated and connected
vehicles
by
announcing
the

American Center for Mobility
in January — a joint partnership
between government, business
and University leaders to help build
another driverless car testing site
— this time, at 335 acres. The new
site will be placed in Willow Run,
where B-24 bombers were made
for troops in a Henry Ford factory
during World War II.

John Maddox, assistant director

of MTC and recently named
president and CEO of ACM, said
the new testing site was designed
due to the success and demand of
Mcity. While Mcity is primarily
designed
to
test
early
stage

research, once vehicles “graduate”
from the smaller testing site, they
can use the larger testing site for
product development.

Maddox
said
Michigan’s

location as the birthplace and
home to the auto industry is one
of a kind in the world, and puts the
state in the center of driverless car
development.

“There
is
a
significant

concentration of expertise and
activity happening in Southeast
Michigan,” Maddox said. “In fact, I
would say it’s unique in the world,
not just in the United States, for
having such a concentration in a
local area of so many companies
and individuals and universities
working
on
this
automotive

technology.”

The future of autonomous

vehicles and robotics

When
asked
whether
the

emergence
of
connected,

autonomous vehicles will lead to a
transportation revolution similar
to when Henry Ford helped bring
cars to the mass market in 1908,
Maddox said no — it would be
bigger.

He equated the growth of

connected, driverless cars to how
the Internet helped connect people
in new ways, and brought about
new job opportunities. In the same
way, he said, autonomous vehicles
have the potential to transform
mobility to allow for a whole new
economic sector.

The City That Runs Itself:
Mcity and the Future of
Automated Transportation

October 6, 2016 - After over a

year of planning, The University
of Michigan launched its five-year
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
strategic plan Thursday morning.

The
University-wide
plan

includes
49
individual
unit

plans, which are individualized
for the schools, colleges and
administrative,
athletic
or

other departments within the
University.

“The campus-wide plan is a

set of actions for today,” Schlissel
said. “We cannot live up to our full
potential as a University unless
everyone has an equal opportunity
to contribute and to benefit.”

Three key themes tie together

the University-wide initiatives
to the operational unit plans:
creating an inclusive and equitable
campus
climate,
developing

a
diverse
community,
and

supporting inclusive scholarship
and teaching. At the plan’s
introduction Thursday morning
in the Power Center, Schlissel said
the University will commit $85
million over the next five years
to fund DEI efforts, in addition
to the current annual fund of $40
million a year.

Nearly 700 audience members

attended the introduction, though
student attendance was noticeably
low in comparison to the full
student body, a common factor
in
many
University-sponsored

diversity events.

Rob
Sellers,
current
vice

provost of equity, inclusion and
academic affairs — who may serve
as
the
University’s
inaugural

chief diversity officer pending
Board of Regents approval later
this month — presented a short
executive summary of the plan.
Unit-level actions specified include
recruitment efforts like Wolverine
Pathways — a program giving local
high schoolers of underrepresented
minorities the chance to earn a
tuition scholarships — and new
investments in urban schools and
underrepresented
populations

such as first-generation and Native
American students.

Additionally, students, faculty

and staff will all undergo some
form of intercultural training,
with special emphasis on DEI
professional development for the
University’s deans and executive
leadership team.

Sellers said the plan’s success

rests on commitment from all
levesls of campus community.

“I accept this position, but in

no way does this fall on me alone,”
he said, pointing in particular to
his recommendation of creating a
chief diversity officer. “It takes a
village to raise a plan.”

Many of the morning session’s

speakers,
including
Schlissel,

Sellers, Provost Martha Pollack
and Regent Mike Behm (D), made
references to a series of racially
charged incidents on campus
in the last few weeks, which
prompted a series of student
protests.

After anti-Black, anti-LGBTQ

and anti-Muslim flyers were
posted
on
Central
Campus,

multiple student protests and
statements have criticized the
administration’s DEI initiative
as too farsighted and lacking in
immediate solutions.

Pollack said recent events

highlight
the
urgency
and

importance of the DEI strategic
plan.

“It’s only human to respond

with anger and sometimes with
fear, emotions that have been felt
deeply on this campus,” she said.
“I share the grief and outrage
felt by our students, faculty and
staff. We must cling to the vision
of what the world must be ... and
that is what the Diversity, Equity
and Inclusion plan is all about.”

In response to the fliers,

Schlissel
held
a
community

conversation Sunday afternoon
and
also
debuted
several

administrative
changes
at
a

leadership breakfast Wednesday
morning
tied
to
the
plan,

including two student advisory
groups on race and the creation
of the chief diversity officer.

“In recent weeks, ugly and vile

hatred have singled out groups
in our community and sought
to divide us,” Schlissel said
Thursday. “We have to learn from
our failures and mistakes ... our
Michigan is better for it.”

Behm also acknowledged the

importance of student activism in
motivating some of these changes,
and
affirmed
the
Regents’

commitment to the plan’s success.

“We want U of M to be a place

where there is no doubt everyone
in our community belongs,” he
said. “Honest conversations about
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
are difficult.”

University launches diversity
strategic plan after year of planning

Read more at
MichiganDaily.com

ALLANA AKHTAR

Daily News Editor

RIYAH BASHA
Daily Staff Reporter

AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily

DEI Officer Latisha Cunningham speaks at the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
forum for staff members at Lorch Hall on September 26, 2016.

SAM MOUSIGIAN/Daily

FE ATURE D PEOPLE

“We are provided with so many
resources from all of the people that
came before us. For example, for
the Muslim Students Association,
we are one of the oldest MSA’s to
ever form in the U.S. The fact that
we had people 60 years ago with
the vision to come and form these
organizations that we today have
that available to us, that’s why the
Bicentennial is so important to me.
It’s not just a number, it’s the rich
history that is associated with 200
years of innovators, of scientists, of
people who really cared and were
passionate about what they did
and invested it in their four years
here and even after when they were
alumni.”
Engineering senior Ahsan Ansari,
Vice President of Internal Affairs of
Muslim Students’ Association

“A timeless truth — the best
way to see forward is to look
backward. At a time when the
nation seems to be slipping
backward, the University’s
Bicentennial is an opportunity
to reflect on how far we have
come and realize just how
critical our leadership will be
for the future.”
Zachary Ackerman, Ann Arbor
City Councilman (D-Ward 3)

COURTESY OF ZACHARY ACKERMAN

2005 — Playwright and alum

Arthur Miller dies

2009 — Abandoned Pfizer lot

purchased and turned into the North

Campus Research Complex

2010 — Barack Obama gives

commencement address

2010 — Chris Armstrong becomes the first

openly gay person elected Central Student

Government president

2011 — University starts third century

initiative to inspire innovative programs that

enhance learning experiences and develop

creative approaches to the world’s greatest

challenges

2008 — The Board of Regents approves the decision to

negotiate the purchase of the former Pfizer pharmaceutical

research campus, expanding North Campus

2006 — Prop 2 bans affirmative

action in the state of Michigan