Family’s $55M in gifts results in renaming of University of Michigan School of Education

University of Michigan environmental justice expert Kyle Whyte is one of seven distinguished scientists in the country named U.S. Science Envoys by the U.S. Department of State. Through the Science Envoy Program, eminent U.S. scientists and engineers travel to foreign countries as private citizens, leveraging their expertise and networks to forge connections and identify opportunities for sustained international cooperation.

The David and Lucile Packard Foundation announced today the 2022 class of Packard Fellows in Science and Engineering. This year’s class features 20 innovative early-career scientists and engineers—including University of Michigan School for Environment and Sustainability (SEAS) Assistant Professor Brian Weeks—who will each receive $875,000 over five years to pursue their research.

Misha Teplitskiy, assistant professor at the University of Michigan School of Information, was awarded a $115,655 grant from Schmidt Futures for his research project “Study of Discrimination in Science - Exploring Whether the Identities of Scientists Affect Peer Evaluations.” The award provides funding for one year. Teplitskiy’s research has frequently focused on making sure science is equitable and reproducible. For this project, Teplitski will investigate how biases show up during peer reviews and how that might affect researchers.