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INDEX
Vol. CXXX, No. 84
©2022 The Michigan Daily
N E W S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
A R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
STATEMENT. . . . . . . . . . . . 4
M I C . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
O PIN IO N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
S P O R T S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
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UMich undergraduate robotics
program to open this fall
First dedicated robotics program among the top 10 engineering schools in the
United States opens its doors
The
University
of
Michigan
undergraduate robotics program
will open its doors this fall,
becoming
the
first
dedicated
robotics department among the
top 10 engineering schools in the
United States. First announced by
the College of Engineering in Fall
2021, the program is now open for
enrollment for the upcoming fall
semester after receiving approval
from the Michigan Association
of State Universities on June 2.
The Michigan Daily sat down
with students, professors and the
incoming
department
chair
to
discuss the unique opportunities the
program has to offer.
How did we get here? A brief
history of Michigan Robotics
A University press release cited
a figure from the U.S. Bureau of
Labor Statistics stating that demand
for robotics-educated professionals
has continued to increase over
the past few years, rising by 13%
in 2018. Much like the industry at
large, robotics at the University has
emerged and grown rapidly within a
relatively short period of time.
Engineering
professor
Dawn
Tilbury, who will become the
robotics department’s first chair
on July 1, spoke with The Daily
about the first steps taken toward
establishing a robotics program at
the University just over a decade ago
in 2011.
“I was asked to chair a committee
to think about the future of robotics
at the University of Michigan,”
Tilbury
said.
“That
committee
met and just proposed to the
(University) in 2012 that we should
have a graduate program in robotics,
independent of any department; an
institute that would bring the faculty
together
around
research,
and
some shared space for the graduate
students who are working in all
these different departments around
robotics to work together.”
5 bills to watch in the
Michigan legislature:
June 2022
The Michigan Daily breaks down five bills in the Michigan
legislature for students to be aware of
The following article explains
five bills that have been introduced,
passed or signed into law by the
Michigan
legislature
or
Gov.
Gretchen Whitmer throughout the
past month.
Each month, The Michigan Daily
publishes a compilation of bills in the
Michigan legislature for students
at the University of Michigan to be
aware of.
1. Expanding gun restrictions
to combat “ghost guns”
Status:
Introduced
in
the
House
Introduced on June 15 by state
Rep. Jeffrey Pepper, D-Dearborn,
H.B. 6228 aims to amend Act 328
of the Michigan Penal Code (1931),
which limits the sale, manufacture,
and possession of guns and other
weapons. The amendment expands
the definition of firearms to include
firearms that are created by 3D
IRENA LI
Summer News Editor
NIRALI PATEL
Summer News Editor
printing. In a June 16 press release,
Pepper said banning firearms made
by 3D printing helps regulate “ghost
guns,” privately made firearms
that are untraceable by security
technology such as metal detectors.
Ghost guns are not marked with
serial numbers and no background
check is required for someone to
purchase their parts. On April 11,
President Biden issued regulations
on ghost guns classifying many
ghost gun kits as “firearms” under
the Gun Control Act. Illinois is set to
be the first state in the Midwest to
have legislation on regulating ghost
guns after passing a bill banning the
weapons in May 2022.
“As a gun owner, I understand
the importance of the Second
Amendment — but that shouldn’t
stop us from enacting sensible
legislation to curb the senseless
violence happening daily across our
state,” Pepper said.
The
University
introduced
a
Master’s and Ph.D. program in
robotics
through
the
Rackham
Graduate School in 2014, which
allowed students to obtain graduate
degrees in the field for the first time.
The U-M Robotics Institute was
created in 2017 as a dedicated space
for faculty who were interested in
robotics.
In
the
spring
of
2021,
the
University opened the Ford Motor
Company
Robotics
Building,
a
134,000-square-foot
complex
on
North Campus dedicated to robotics
research, assembly and education.
The building currently houses the
U-M Robotics Institute and will
allow undergraduate students in the
new degree program to design, build
and test robots of all kinds.
After
offering
a
handful
of
robotics courses to students at
the University for a few years, the
College of Engineering announced its
undergraduate robotics program.
Design by Priya Ganji
Read more at michigandaily.com
Design by Priya Ganji
Read more at michigandaily.com