Ann Arbor startup May
Mobility successfully tested
their fleet of driverless cars
on the streets of Detroit in
October, and now plan to
expand the testing to Florida
and Texas.
Edwin
Olson,
the
CEO
of
May
Mobility,
started
out working with Toyota’s
autonomous vehicles program,
and then decided he could
make more of a difference by
creating his own company. In
January 2017, Olson created
May Mobility.
“I think that too much time
is going by, and there are a lot
of things that we can actually
do, but a lot of companies are
taking paths that will take
many more years to turn into
real world products,” Olson
said. “So part of our approach
is really about having real
world
impact
as
soon
as
possible.”
Olson discussed all of the
advantages
of
driverless
cars,
from
safety
to
the
environmental
benefits
of
switching
from
gas
cars
to a greener solution. As
an
example,
he
discussed
the
potential
commercial
benefits of being able to
have
autonomous
vehicles
transport
people
from
hotels
to
restaurants.
He
Central
Student
Government
hosted
the
kickoff
and
information
session for Innovate, a public
service
pitch
competition,
in
the
Michigan
League
Wednesday
evening
with
approximately 100 students
in attendance. Students were
able to hear information on
how to become involved in the
program, and were addressed
by several guest speakers.
Innovate is a program in
which students can sign up
to pitch a public service or
entrepreneurship
project
with the chance of winning
$10,000
to
help
fund
continuation of their created
project. The deadline to sign
up is Jan. 26, and students can
either sign up with a group or
as an individual to be paired
with
other
individuals
of
similar interests. Each group
will then receive mentors,
networks,
feedback
and
advice on public speaking and
other aspects important to
the field of entrepreneurship.
Previous
winners
range
from
online
communities
of information available to
teachers and students around
to the world to agriculture-
based programs for older
adults.
The first round of judging
will take place on Feb. 12, and
the final round of pitches will
be March 7.
CSG Chief Programming
Officer Isabelle Blanchard,
an LSA sophomore, served
as the Innovate Coordinator,
and explained students do
not need a pre-formulated
plan or solid project in order
to sign up, but simply need a
passion and an interest in a
public service idea. Blanchard
explained she looks forward
to students working to build
upon ideas they already have
enthusiasm for, and hopes
that Innovate will engage
a broader population of the
student body.
“We already have twenty
sign-ups and the projects are
all really diverse,” Blanchard
said. “I’m also excited just to
get the student body really
involved
…
We’re
hoping
to follow up with teams
throughout the competition
and really publicize their
projects to the student body,
and in the end the student
body will also be voting.”
CSG
President
Anushka
Sarkar, an LSA senior, was
the introductory speaker at
the kickoff event where she
highlighted the importance
Approximately
40
students
gathered in the Alumni Center
Wednesday night to listen as a
diverse cast of panelists — many
of them recent University of
Michigan graduates — shared
their
personal
experiences
and
answered
questions
regarding power dynamics and
intersectionality of identities in
the workplace.
The event, titled “Navigating
the Workplace: Underrepresented
and Invisible Identities,” focused
on
helping
undergraduate
students navigate the oftentimes
complicated process of applying
for jobs and internships — yet
emphasized how the process
can be even more difficult for
students
who
hold
various
underrepresented
identities
based on qualifiers such as race,
gender and class.
Panelists included Public Policy
graduate student Ammara Ansari,
who worked as a campaign field
organizer for Hillary Clinton’s
presidential campaign in 2015;
Danny Park, who works as a
success coach in the University’s
michigandaily.com
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Thursday, January 18, 2018
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INDEX
Vol. CXXVII, No. 57
©2018 The Michigan Daily
N E WS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
O PI N I O N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
ARTS...........................1B
S U D O K U . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
CL A S S I F I E DS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
A2 company
puts AV tech
on streets in
more states
Annual ISR survey aims to track
changes in sustainability culture
See MOBILITY, Page 2A
5
2,500 students
1,000 faculty members
1,000 staff members
Who are the participants?
Who will be given the results?
130 institutions worldwide
Annual Climate Survey
Initiated in 2010
th
ALEXA DI LUCA/Daily
RESEARCH
May Mobility has roots at University,
will expand driverless fleet from Detroit
MOLLY NORRIS
Daily Staff Reporter
After success on Planet Blue metrics last year, experts expect to see more improvement
The Sustainability Cultural
Indicators Program is launching
its fifth annual survey this
week,
collecting
data
from
University
of
Michigan
students, staff and faculty. The
longitudinal study is conducted
by the University’s Graham
Sustainability Institute and the
Institute for Social Research,
and
focuses
on
awareness,
attitudes and behaviors relating
to sustainability in participants.
The SCIP project has tracked
sustainability culture at the
University since 2012, though it
took a two-year break to avoid
overlapping with an ongoing
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
survey.
John Callewaert, Integrated
Assessment
Center
director
of the Graham Institute and
one of the survey’s principal
investigators, explains the SCIP
project is revolutionary because
it is the first longitudinal study
to track sustainability culture,
and its innovativeness is being
replicated at other institutes.
“It’s been used as a model
at many other institutions,”
Callewaert said. “I think we
are up to over 130 different
institutions around the world
KATE JENKINS
Daily Staff Reporter
See ALUMNI, Page 3A
University
alumni talk
diversity in
internships
CAMPUS LIFE
Underrepresented voices
headline panel on working
while navigating identity
KAELA THEUT
Daily News Editor
CHUN SO/Daily
Entrepreneur Suneel Gupta presents tips and strategies regarding how to become a successful entrepreneur at the
Michigan League Wednesday.
Innovate competition launches with
kickoff event featuring entrepreneur
Students can win $10K for project pitch on public service or entrepreneurship
JORDYN BAKER
Daily Staff Writer
b-side
This week’s b-side takes
a look at comics as a
phenomenon both inside and
outside the classrom.
» Page 1B
michigandaily.com
For more stories and coverage, visit
See INNOVATE, Page 3A
See SURVEY, Page 3A
The city of Ann Arbor,
Washtenaw
County,
Scio
Township
and
the
Huron
River Watershed Council will
be allowed to continue their
caseagainst Gelman Sciences,
Inc., the Michigan Supreme
Court ruled in an order on Jan.
12.
After
Washtenaw
County
Circuit
Court
Judge
Tim
Connors ruled the jurisdictions
and the Watershed Council
could
join
the
Michigan
Department of Environmental
Quality
as
co-plaintiffs
in
December,
Gelman
Sciences fought the decision
unsuccessfully in the Michigan
Court of Appeals, ultimately
landing the suit in the state
Supreme Court.
“The application for leave to
appeal the July 14, 2017 order
of the Court of Appeals is
considered, and it is DENIED,
because we are not persuaded
that the questions presented
should be reviewed by this
Court,” the Supreme Court
order read.
See COURT, Page 3A
Plume case
to move on
after state
judge rules
ANN ARBOR
Gelman Sciences fought
decision unsuccesfully in
state Supreme Court
ANDREW HIYAMA
Daily News Editor