How MSU's research powers Michigan's economy and its future

A top global public research university, MSU has built a research enterprise that reaches every part of Michigan, driving the state’s economy and contributing to a stronger, healthier present and future.

For Peter Savolainen, Michigan’s roadways demand earnest, ongoing attention.

 

The chair of Michigan State University’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and an MSU Research Foundation Professor, Savolainen has been a prominent figure in the state’s efforts to reduce traffic-related crashes, injuries and fatalities. His research into rumble strips, high-tension cable barriers and roundabouts helps agencies like the Michigan Department of Transportation take thoughtful action to improve roadway safety and lower the nearly 300,000 traffic crashes that occur on Michigan roadways each year.

“Ultimately, this research is about creating a better, safer Michigan,” says Savolainen, a native of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.

Improving Michigan’s roads is just one way MSU research benefits its home state.

A research powerhouse and anchor of Michigan’s dynamic University Research Corridor alliance, MSU reached a record $844 million in total research and development expenditures in 2023 — an 11% increase over 2022. MSU-formulated knowledge and discovery directly and profoundly pushes the state forward, generating an economic impact to Michigan totaling $6.8 billion.

Spartan researchers are enhancing crop yields at Michigan farms, supporting clean drinking water in Michigan homes, improving the academic performance of Michigan schools and stimulating breakthroughs in health care and technology to improve quality of life for Michigan residents. They are emboldening futures, driving Michigan’s economic revitalization and powering industries central to the state’s identity and future.

Engineering Michigan’s future

Engineering research at MSU prioritizes areas bolstering Michigan’s economy and advancing the state’s engineering and digital innovation professions.

 

Michigan has long been one of the global epicenters of automotive innovation and, today, Spartan engineers are keeping it at the forefront by developing and enhancing next-generation vehicles and technology through MSU Mobility. MSU chemical engineers are supercharging the performance of electric vehicle batteries; computer scientists as well as electrical and computer engineers are amplifying the communications systems and sensor-based data fusion architectures of autonomous vehicles for safe operation; and materials scientists are formulating lightweight composites to improve efficiency.

Beyond automotive, MSU engineering researchers are leading discoveries in other exciting areas, from creating robotics that could streamline surgical procedures in Michigan hospitals to developing smart barriers to control the movement of invasive species into the Great Lakes.

“By sharing our knowledge and innovation with statewide partners and collaborating on novel projects, we’re supporting Michigan now and into the future,” says John Papapolymerou, an MSU Research Foundation Professor and interim dean of MSU’s College of Engineering.

To help meet the current national shortfall of testing capacity for advanced microelectronics, including those used for commercial spaceflight, wireless technology and autonomous vehicles, the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams, or FRIB, at Michigan State University operates the FRIB Single Event Effects, or FSEE, Facility. FSEE uses heavy-ion beams to measure the response of electronic components to such ions, simulating in a few minutes the effect of cosmic rays on electronics over decades of operation. Photo courtesy of the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams.

Looking toward that future, MSU has made addressing national priorities for semiconductor and microelectronics research, education and workforce development a priority, partnering with 11 other Midwestern colleges and universities.

A building block of the digital world, semiconductors exist in nearly every modern electronic and advance technology in everything from health care to transportation. Through groundbreaking research, including investigating semiconductors in energy generation, storage and conversion as well as in extreme environments like space, MSU is positioning Michigan to be an attractive hub in the semiconductor and microelectronics supply chain.

MSU is also planning the Engineering and Digital Innovation Center, which will further support researchers, students and industry in advancing Michigan’s technology sector. The state-of-the-art facility will provide space for more than 50 research teams and propel innovation in high-growth and emerging areas such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, data science, quantum computing and advanced manufacturing.

A healthier Michigan

MSU helps improve the health and well-being of Michigan residents through innovative partnerships across the state, such as the rapidly expanding Rx Kids program launched in the city of Flint and led by Dr. Mona Hanna. Photo by Claudia Price.

In collaboration with more than 9,000 statewide partners, MSU-led health research and care extend to residents across the state, improving their well-being and confronting health inequities. Spartans’ innovative work reaches many rural communities affected by health care shortages and champions key initiatives like tackling the opioid crisis and addressing household food insecurity and childhood obesity through creative programs like Eat My ABCs.

In Flint, for instance, MSU has established a groundbreaking national model for public health initiatives working side by side with community members. Spartan researchers and partners developed the Rx Kids program to help address maternal and infant health. The first-of-its-kind program is designed to counter longstanding linkages between income and health by prescribing cash to new moms. Following demonstrated results in Flint, the novel program is expanding to Kalamazoo in 2025.

“When moms and babies are supported, we uplift a community village and help the next generations for years to come,” said Shearese Stapleton, executive director of the Michigan-based Mothers of Joy Institute for Parenting and Family Wellness, Inc.

 

As in Flint, it’s MSU’s presence in the community and relationships with the people who live there that enables transformational change and impact. MSU demonstrated its commitment to the west side of the state 14 years ago when the MSU College of Human Medicine established its headquarters in Grand Rapids, becoming an integral part of the Medical Mile. More than 200 faculty members are focused on research and discoveries in cancer, women’s health, pediatrics and neurosciences like Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease and autism.

And MSU’s health research promises to continue accelerating with the 2027 opening of the Henry Ford Health + Michigan State University Health Sciences Research Center in Detroit. MSU’s largest research center to date, this facility will strengthen the already impactful partnership between Henry Ford Health and MSU. The research center will house more than 500 investigators tasked with expanding discovery in areas such as cancer, immunology, neuroscience, hypertension and more.

“This investment pushes the boundary of medical knowledge and signifies a commitment to advancing biomedical research and MSU’s commitment to the people of Detroit and the broader Michigan community,” MSU Board of Trustees Chair Dan Kelly says of the research center.

Environmental stewardship

From investigating agricultural irrigation to coastal erosion, MSU researchers work with Michigan partners and residents to protect the state’s diverse ecosystem and lift its agricultural industry.

MSU AgBioResearch is a network powered by more than 15 research centers across Michigan as well as on-campus facilities that combine scientific expertise and practical applications to advance agriculture in Michigan. Tasked with innovating solutions and strategies to sustain the state’s natural resources and champion economic prosperity, AgBioResearch supports producers sustainably growing the highest quality produce and works to ensure Michigan remains a prime tourism destination for natural wonders for years to come.

MSU researchers partner with farmers to advance agriculture in Michigan, from developing a robotic apple picker to finding solutions for obstacles caused by climate change. Photo by Nick Schrader.

Over the last two decades, various efforts from "Project GREEEN,” or Generating Research and Extension to meet Economic and Environmental Needs, have bolstered Michigan agriculture, helping growers adapt to the effects of climate change and make Michigan crops like cherries, apples, potatoes and corn more sustainable.

At Wunsch Farms, a sixth-generation family farm based in Traverse City, operations manager Raul Gomez says MSU-produced agricultural research has helped his team navigate climate obstacles, conserve water and maintain soil health.

“We have to be good stewards of our land and environment,” Gomez says. “For us, it’s been important to figure out how to maintain moisture in our soils and how to water when and where it makes sense.” 

With the new Agricultural Climate Resiliency Program, a partnership with the Michigan Plant Coalition and the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, MSU AgBioResearch and MSU Extension will help growers address long-term climate and water issues impacting many of the state’s plants. Meanwhile, the new Dairy Cattle Teaching and Research Center and the renovated Plant Science Greenhouses will also help transform Michigan food production.

“It’s been a long time since anyone in the country has built a state-of-the-art, modern dairy research facility, and Michigan is the place to do it because of our dairy production,” Michigan Farm Bureau senior industry relations specialist Ernie Birchmeier says.

Michigan research with impact

As it has since its 1855 founding, MSU learns from the communities it serves and generates knowledge and innovation crucial to Michigan’s success.

Creating next-generation vehicle technologies to solidify the state’s status as a global automotive leader, developing programming and technologies to enhance human health and producing environmental research driving the vitality of Michigan’s agricultural ecosystem — Spartan-formulated insights continue to unlock new opportunities and embolden the state’s future.

Led by passionate and collaborative researchers, meaningful partnerships and thoughtful investments, MSU is tackling complex challenges of the 21st century with an unwavering commitment to improve life in Michigan and serve the common good.

According to MSU President Kevin M. Guskiewicz, Ph.D., “It’s this spirit of inquiry that drives innovation, fosters discovery and leads to the breakthroughs that define us as a leading global public research university and, in fact, Michigan’s state university.”