Electronics with a Twist

Jizhou Song, an assistant professor in the College of Engineering’s Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering department, has developed a new design for stretchable electronics that can wrap around complex shapes. The December 2 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences featured the discovery, made with collaborators from the University of Illinois and Northwestern University, on its cover. The noncoplanar mesh design of silicon islands joined by metal interconnects allows stretching, bending, twisting, and “other types of extreme mechanical deformation,” Song says. Myriad potential uses include electronic devices for eye cameras, smart surgical gloves, and biomedical devices.

Take This Job and Laud It

Performance Incentives for Tough Times,” an article in the March Harvard Business Review, coauthored by Chester Schriesheim, UM Distinguished Professor of Management at the School of Business Administration, highlights the power of praise in the workplace. When monetary incentives are unavailable or limited, Schriesheim and Cornell University's Timothy Hinkin write, “Managers should look for tasks at which an employee excels and respond with specific, timely verbal approval that will energize the individual.” Results come when managers praise the accomplishments that are most relevant to their employees’ desires and interests. Conversely, ignoring good performance likely leads to its decline.

Obesity’s Earliest Victims

Turns out baby fat isn’t so cute. It can cause downright ugly health problems, states a Miller School of Medicine study that sampled data from more than 3,000 3-to-6-year-olds nationwide. Lead author Sarah Messiah, Ph.D. ’05, a Miller School research assistant professor who presented the paper at an American Heart Association conference this year, says toddlers as young as 3 with high body mass indexes and large waist circumferences demonstrated risky cholesterol and artery inflammation levels, making them more likely to grow into young adults with heart disease, diabetes, and other serious illnesses.