Made at Michigan: Engineering Alumni Stories

University of Michigan Engineering
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A University of Michigan Engineering degree opens doors. Our alumni launch startups, lead major companies, design life-saving technologies and make an impact across industries. They are innovators, leaders and problem-solvers. Their journeys show the power of engineering to change lives, including their own.  Listen to audio versions of short stories that highlight a few of Michigan Engineering’s 100,000+ alumni by subscribing to Made at Michigan: Engineering Alumni Stories, available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.  Or you can read them here: https://news.engin.umich.edu/alumni-impact/ *These stories were written by Michigan Engineering staff. The audio was generated using AI. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Episodes

  1. Jul 13

    Aisha Harris: Making healthcare accessible–and relatable

    Aisha Harris (BSE ChE ’11) developed a passion for the field of medicine while studying chemical engineering. She found herself gravitating toward work in fields like pharmaceuticals and health technology, but still saw herself, first and foremost, as an engineer. Original article: https://news.engin.umich.edu/2025/06/building-health-building-community/ About the show: A University of Michigan Engineering degree opens doors. Our alumni launch startups, lead major companies, design life-saving technologies and make an impact across industries. They are innovators, leaders and problem-solvers. Their journeys show the power of engineering to change lives, including their own.  Listen to audio versions of short stories that highlight a few of Michigan Engineering’s 100,000+ alumni by subscribing to Made at Michigan: Engineering Alumni Stories, available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.  Or you can read them here: https://news.engin.umich.edu/alumni-impact/ *These stories were written by Michigan Engineering staff. The audio was generated using AI. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Aisha Harris: Making healthcare accessible–and relatable

  2. Jul 13

    Paul Debevec: Alum wins Emmy

    Everything changed for Paul Debevec (BSE CE ’92) in 1991 when, as a U-M undergrad, he created a computer-generated visualization of his Chevette. Inspired by the opening sequence of Back to the Future, Part 2, the model combined techniques from computer vision and computer graphics. Original article: https://news.engin.umich.edu/2023/05/a-flying-chevette/ About the show: A University of Michigan Engineering degree opens doors. Our alumni launch startups, lead major companies, design life-saving technologies and make an impact across industries. They are innovators, leaders and problem-solvers. Their journeys show the power of engineering to change lives, including their own.  Listen to audio versions of short stories that highlight a few of Michigan Engineering’s 100,000+ alumni by subscribing to Made at Michigan: Engineering Alumni Stories, available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.  Or you can read them here: https://news.engin.umich.edu/alumni-impact/ *These stories were written by Michigan Engineering staff. The audio was generated using AI. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  3. Jul 13

    Gideon Billings: New technologies for exploring our oceans

    We generally think of robots as tools. But what if they could become collaborators that proactively help researchers explore the natural world and gather insight on global issues? Gideon Billings (BS ECE ‘16, MS ROB ‘19, PhD ROB ‘21) is working toward that goal, helping to develop autonomous underwater robots that are smarter, easier to use, and capable of exploring even the most remote places. It’s a space that’s growing in importance as the underwater world increasingly hosts human activities like off-shore wind farms and deep-sea mineral exploration. And it’s a quest that has carried Billings to opposite ends of the globe as a postdoctoral researcher. Original article: https://news.engin.umich.edu/2025/09/building-curious-robots/ About the show: A University of Michigan Engineering degree opens doors. Our alumni launch startups, lead major companies, design life-saving technologies and make an impact across industries. They are innovators, leaders and problem-solvers. Their journeys show the power of engineering to change lives, including their own.  Listen to audio versions of short stories that highlight a few of Michigan Engineering’s 100,000+ alumni by subscribing to Made at Michigan: Engineering Alumni Stories, available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.  Or you can read them here: https://news.engin.umich.edu/alumni-impact/ *These stories were written by Michigan Engineering staff. The audio was generated using AI. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  4. Jul 13

    Aisha Bowe: First Alumna in Space

    In 2025, Aisha Bowe (BSE Aero ’08, MSE SED ’09) became the first female U-M grad and the sixth Black woman to cross the Kármánline—the internationally recognized boundary of space. She rode on Blue Origin’s 11th mission with humans onboard and the first all-female mission since Valentina Tereskhova’s solo flight in 1963. Original article: https://news.engin.umich.edu/2025/09/first-alumna-in-space/ About the show: A University of Michigan Engineering degree opens doors. Our alumni launch startups, lead major companies, design life-saving technologies and make an impact across industries. They are innovators, leaders and problem-solvers. Their journeys show the power of engineering to change lives, including their own.  Listen to audio versions of short stories that highlight a few of Michigan Engineering’s 100,000+ alumni by subscribing to Made at Michigan: Engineering Alumni Stories, available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.  Or you can read them here: https://news.engin.umich.edu/alumni-impact/ *These stories were written by Michigan Engineering staff. The audio was generated using AI. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  5. Jul 13

    Brad King: Bringing the space industry to Northern Michigan

    In 2016, three-time aerospace alum Brad King (Aero BSE ’93, MSE ’94, PhD ’98) merged his passion for space technology with his Michigan roots by founding Orbion Space Technology in the Upper Peninsula town of Houghton. The company builds electrically powered thrusters, called Hall-effect thrusters, that move small satellites around in space. Electric propulsion is a preferred method for getting around in orbit, particularly for the small satellites that ride-share on a single rocket and then need to take their positions. Original article: https://news.engin.umich.edu/2025/09/bringing-the-space-industry-to-northern-michigan/ About the show: A University of Michigan Engineering degree opens doors. Our alumni launch startups, lead major companies, design life-saving technologies and make an impact across industries. They are innovators, leaders and problem-solvers. Their journeys show the power of engineering to change lives, including their own.  Listen to audio versions of short stories that highlight a few of Michigan Engineering’s 100,000+ alumni by subscribing to Made at Michigan: Engineering Alumni Stories, available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.  Or you can read them here: https://news.engin.umich.edu/alumni-impact/ *These stories were written by Michigan Engineering staff. The audio was generated using AI. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  6. Jul 13

    Zhen Xu: Treating cancer with sound waves

    In 2002, in a North Campus lab, years of persistence suddenly seemed to have paid off for U-M biomedical engineering master’s student Zhen Xu (MS BME ’03, PhD ’05). She had successfully used ultrasound waves to create a hole in a pig heart which, suspended in a tank of water, served as a stand-in for human tissue. Her success in the lab would eventually change the lives of cancer patients around the world. Original article: https://news.engin.umich.edu/2025/11/treating-cancer-with-sound-waves/ About the show: A University of Michigan Engineering degree opens doors. Our alumni launch startups, lead major companies, design life-saving technologies and make an impact across industries. They are innovators, leaders and problem-solvers. Their journeys show the power of engineering to change lives, including their own.  Listen to audio versions of short stories that highlight a few of Michigan Engineering’s 100,000+ alumni by subscribing to Made at Michigan: Engineering Alumni Stories, available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.  Or you can read them here: https://news.engin.umich.edu/alumni-impact/ *These stories were written by Michigan Engineering staff. The audio was generated using AI. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Zhen Xu: Treating cancer with sound waves

  7. Jul 13

    Gus Alaka: Flying Into hurricanes to save lives

    Two things were on Ghassan Alaka’s (BSE CLaSP ’08) mind as he flew into the eye of Hurricane Dorian in August 2019. Where would the storm make landfall? And would his family’s home in Miami be in its path? Original article: https://news.engin.umich.edu/2025/09/storm-hunter/ About the show: A University of Michigan Engineering degree opens doors. Our alumni launch startups, lead major companies, design life-saving technologies and make an impact across industries. They are innovators, leaders and problem-solvers. Their journeys show the power of engineering to change lives, including their own.  Listen to audio versions of short stories that highlight a few of Michigan Engineering’s 100,000+ alumni by subscribing to Made at Michigan: Engineering Alumni Stories, available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.  Or you can read them here: https://news.engin.umich.edu/alumni-impact/ *These stories were written by Michigan Engineering staff. The audio was generated using AI. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  8. Jul 13

    Danny Vargovick: Baseball meets engineering

    In 2025, the Detroit Tigers major league baseball team gave fans its best season in decades. Helping to drive that success was Michigan Engineer Danny Vargovick (BSE CSE ’17). The 2025 season was Vargovick’s second as the Tigers’ assistant director of research and development. Original article: https://news.engin.umich.edu/2025/10/baseball-meets-engineering/ About the show: A University of Michigan Engineering degree opens doors. Our alumni launch startups, lead major companies, design life-saving technologies and make an impact across industries. They are innovators, leaders and problem-solvers. Their journeys show the power of engineering to change lives, including their own.  Listen to audio versions of short stories that highlight a few of Michigan Engineering’s 100,000+ alumni by subscribing to Made at Michigan: Engineering Alumni Stories, available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.  Or you can read them here: https://news.engin.umich.edu/alumni-impact/ *These stories were written by Michigan Engineering staff. The audio was generated using AI. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

  9. Jul 13

    Annie Kritcher: New energy for fusion power

    Andrea (Annie) Kritcher (BSE NERS ’05) led and designed the 2022 National Ignition Facility (NIF) experiment that achieved the world’s first fusion ignition—a milestone in which the energy emitted by a fusion reaction “shot” is more than the energy used to compress the fuel. Original article: https://news.engin.umich.edu/2025/09/star-power/ About the show: A University of Michigan Engineering degree opens doors. Our alumni launch startups, lead major companies, design life-saving technologies and make an impact across industries. They are innovators, leaders and problem-solvers. Their journeys show the power of engineering to change lives, including their own.  Listen to audio versions of short stories that highlight a few of Michigan Engineering’s 100,000+ alumni by subscribing to Made at Michigan: Engineering Alumni Stories, available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.  Or you can read them here: https://news.engin.umich.edu/alumni-impact/ *These stories were written by Michigan Engineering staff. The audio was generated using AI. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Annie Kritcher: New energy for fusion power

  10. Season 1 Trailer

    Trailer - Made at Michigan: Engineering Alumni Stories

    A University of Michigan Engineering degree opens doors. Our alumni launch startups, lead major companies, design life-saving technologies and make an impact across industries. They are innovators, leaders and problem-solvers. Their journeys show the power of engineering to change lives, including their own.  Listen to audio versions of short stories that highlight a few of Michigan Engineering’s 100,000+ alumni by subscribing to Made at Michigan: Engineering Alumni Stories, available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.  Or you can read them here: https://news.engin.umich.edu/alumni-impact/ *These stories were written by Michigan Engineering staff. The audio was generated using AI. About the show: A University of Michigan Engineering degree opens doors. Our alumni launch startups, lead major companies, design life-saving technologies and make an impact across industries. They are innovators, leaders and problem-solvers. Their journeys show the power of engineering to change lives, including their own.  Listen to audio versions of short stories that highlight a few of Michigan Engineering’s 100,000+ alumni by subscribing to Made at Michigan: Engineering Alumni Stories, available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.  Or you can read them here: https://news.engin.umich.edu/alumni-impact/ *These stories were written by Michigan Engineering staff. The audio was generated using AI. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

    Trailer - Made at Michigan: Engineering Alumni Stories
  • 1 Trailer
    9 Episodes

Trailer

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A University of Michigan Engineering degree opens doors. Our alumni launch startups, lead major companies, design life-saving technologies and make an impact across industries. They are innovators, leaders and problem-solvers. Their journeys show the power of engineering to change lives, including their own.  Listen to audio versions of short stories that highlight a few of Michigan Engineering’s 100,000+ alumni by subscribing to Made at Michigan: Engineering Alumni Stories, available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and YouTube.  Or you can read them here: https://news.engin.umich.edu/alumni-impact/ *These stories were written by Michigan Engineering staff. The audio was generated using AI. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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