Ann Arbor : In the News

Scientists can now listen to a set of solar wind data that's usually represented visually, as numbers or graphs. University of Michigan researchers have "sonified" the data. They've created an acoustic, or musical, representation of it.

The researchers' primary goal was to try to hear information that their eyes might have missed in solar wind speed and particle density data gathered by NASA's Advanced Composition Explorer satellite. The solar wind is a stream of charged particles emanating from the sun.

The process of sonification isn't new. It's how Geiger counter radiation detectors emit clicks in the presence of high-energy particles.

"What makes this project different is the level of artistic license I was given," said composer and recent UM School of Music alumnus Robert Alexander.

iPhones are being used as musical instruments in a new course at the University of Michigan.

The students -- who design, build and play instruments on their smartphones -- will perform at a public concert on Dec. 9. The concert is free and open to the public.

Building a Mobile Phone Ensemble, believed to be the first such course in the world, is taught by Georg Essl, a computer scientist and musician who has been driving the development of mobile phones as musical instruments.

Several years ago, Essl and his colleagues were the first known to use the microphone as a wind sensor -- a tactic that enables popular iPhone apps such as the Ocarina. Ocarina essentially turns the phone into an ancient type of flute. Essl is an assistant professor in the Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and the School of Music, Theatre & Dance.

"The mobile phone is a very nice platform for exploring new forms of musical performance," Essl said. "We're not tethered to the physics of traditional instruments. We can do interesting, weird, unusual things. This kind of technology is in its infancy, but it's a hot and growing area to use iPhones for artistic expression."

The Salvation Army of Washtenaw County will kick off its annual Red Kettle Campaign with an event beginning at noon on Friday, Nov. 20 inside Briarwood Mall. A giant red kettle measuring 6 feet tall and 6 feet around will be set up in the Celebration Center next to the play area in the JCPenney court. 

The Red Kettle Campaign is going high tech this year with the addition of credit card machines at three kettles in Briarwood Mall and one kettle at Sam's Club in Ypsilanti. TSA-WC is the first corps in the state of Michigan, as well as The Salvation Army’s Central Territory, to use credit card machines at its kettles.

"People who don’t tend to carry cash now have a convenient and safe way to donate to our Red Kettle Campaign," said Washtenaw County Coordinator Major John Williams. "The machines don’t hold the credit card data – the data is transmitted through a secure cellular connection."

Though the students who raced Infinium hoped to be the best in the world, or at least the best in UM history, they say they're happy sharing statistics with impressive cars from the past. Michigan finished third in the World Solar Challenge in 1990, 2001, and 2005 and is the reigning North American Solar Challenge champion. The team has won that race five times.

"We still ran a great race," said interim project manager Steve Durbin, a senior aerospace engineering major "We have a reliable car. We didn't meet our overall goal of finishing first, but we proved we are one of the top teams in the world by placing so well in the competition."

Durbin credits the team's dedication and technology for the solid performance. Through the summer, a core of 20 team members worked 80-hour weeks to get the car ready to race. And a state-of-the-art lithium battery donated by A123 Systems helped Infinium achieve a high average speed approaching 60 mph.