A country of vast natural wealth, a roller-coaster economy and one of the most romanticized cultures on Earth, Brazil has assumed a significant role in the complex arena of global finance and politics. It is home to over 203 million human residents, but they are...
I left for Africa at the age of 22. What was supposed to be two years turned into nine, as I became increasingly invested in the unique challenges and opportunities I discovered around me. Working in the field of community economic development, the notion of...
Remarks to the Erb Class of 2017 One of the benefits of being a professor is that we forget that we are aging. Each year, we are met by a fresh crop of new students that are always the same age. So, in effect, we are constantly surrounded by a group of people that...
As I entered the classroom, 26 girls between the ages of 10 and 18 chanted: “Welcome to More Than Me Academy. We are the girls of Power class, What is your name?” I answered “Marianna” and watched their charismatic teacher prompt the class to spell out my name...
Note: this post is based upon the original research paper: “Lessons for Detroit from Medellín, Colombia” by the same author. Read the full paper here. (PDF) / Or read the paper in Spanish (PDF). Embarking on an Inspired Journey As I entered my final year as a...
What happens when a Cameroonian medical student, a Finnish social entrepreneur, an American public health professional, an Italian architect, and a Kenyan actor turned medical student, get together in a room? A lot of Post-it notes, a vibrant pitch presentation, and...
PG&E: Hanging on to a Ray of Hope (pdf abstract) Purchase the full report on GlobaLens (Case study # 1-429-377)– published 02/2014, 16 pages. Developed by: Chris Wolff, Masayuki Kawasaki, Natalie Guishar, and John Serron ('16) under the supervision of Andrew...
As I hiked through the towering ruins and verdant jungles of the ancient city of Tikal, it was difficult not to wonder what it must feel like to be a modern Maya; deeply aware of one’s ancestors' triumphant excesses, which led to the rise and fall of one of the great...
Within a few minutes of the plane landing this past December 8, we both had stuffy noses and irritated throats. My companion and I were in Shanghai to deliver presentations at the Mobility Conference hosted by UM-SMART and UM-SJTU Joint Institute. The smog was unreal....
In mid September I attended the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Meeting of the New Champions in Dalian, China as a student reporter. One of the most surprising themes of the conferencewas that it may already be too late to deal with overpopulation. Johan Rockström,...