The Michigan Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute (MMPEI) will change its name to the University of Michigan Energy Institute, effective Feb. 1, 2012. The name change will clarify the Institute’s identity as an interdisciplinary research unit of the Office of the Vice President of Research that draws on expertise from across the entire University to develop, coordinate, and promote energy research and education.

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The U-M Ann Arbor campus debuted its first diesel-electric hybrid bus in January. Sporting a maize-and-blue color scheme and new graphic treatment, the 40-foot buses use a roof-mounted battery system to supplement their diesel engines, allowing for better fuel mileage and lower emissions. Officials expect an improvement of 30 percent over a conventional bus.

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Prof. Heath Hofmann, left, will be expanding his impact on the field of electric machines and drives in a newly funded project supported by the Bosch Energy Research Network. The research could potentially result in huge energy savings due to the widespread use of these machines and the applicability of Hofmann’s research project to these devices.

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The Energy Institute’s John DeCicco helps explore the difference between advertised automotive mpg and the actual fuel efficiency drivers achieve on the road. Mpg, he says, is best thought of as a relative term.

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BP and the oil industry drilling in the Gulf of Mexico lacked the proper safety attitude to handle the large risks of deep-water drilling, leading to the many bad decisions behind the nation’s worst offshore spill, according to a national panel chaired by the University of Michigan’s Donald Winter.

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