Dr. Scott Page,
John Seely Brown Distinguished University Professor of Complexity, Social Science, and Management

Scott Page is the John Seely Brown Distinguished University Professor of Complexity, Social Science, and Management at the University of Michigan. He is also the Williamson family Professor of Business Administration, professor of management and organizations, Stephen M. Ross School of Business; professor of political science, professor of complex systems, and professor of economics, LSA.

Scott is also an external faculty member of the Santa Fe Institute. In addition to his departmental appointments, Scott holds a faculty associate position at the Institute for Social Research.

In addition to his academic pursuits, Scott is a highly sought after speaker and frequently gives talks on complex systems to non academic audiences on diversity and on complexity and has consulted on projects ranging from the possibility of panic at Y2K and the demand for movies, to the economic impact of the World Cup.

Vikesh Chandrashekar,
Project Manager, Economic Growth Institute

Vikesh Chandrashekar is a Project Manager at the Economic Growth Institute at the University of Michigan. Under the First Customer Program he supports tech entrepreneurs and start-ups across Michigan by addressing critical gaps in technology commercialization and new-customer acquisition. He graduated from the University of Michigan with a Masters in Industrial and Operations Engineering after completing his B.E in Mechanical Engineering.

Bruce Barron,
President and CEO, Barron Industries Inc.

A 1983 graduate of the University of Notre Dame with a BS in Chemistry. Started career with the Stepan Chemical Company in Northfield, IL before joining the family metal casting and machining business, Barron Industries, in Oxford, MI in 1984.

Over 35 years of metalcasting and machining experience in sales, engineering, operations and Senior level management. Former Chairman of the Investment Casting division of the American Foundryman’s society, member of the Investment Casting Institute, Vice-Chair of the Oakland Schools Regional Advisory Committee.

Currently serving on the boards of the Catholic Foundation of Michigan, St Catherine of Siena Academy and past Board Chair of Notre Dame Prep and Marist Academy in Pontiac MI.

Richard K. Norton

Professor, Urban and Regional Planning Program, Program in the Environment

734-474-4052, [email protected]

Richard Norton, professor of urban and regional planning, trains local officials and residents on coastal management to help them better understand the threats posed by climate change, especially when building near Great Lakes coastlines and within floodplains.

Allen Burton

Professor, SEAS and the Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences

937-272-9577, [email protected]

Allen Burton is a professor of environment and sustainability and of earth and environmental sciences, director of U-M’s Institute for Global Change Biology, and editor-in-chief of the journal Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry.

Sue Anne Bell

Assistant Professor, Department of Systems, Populations and Leadership

734-272-5515, [email protected]

Sue Anne Bell is an assistant professor of nursing and expert on disaster response, community health and emergency care.

Ben van der Pluijm

Bruce R. Clark Collegiate Professor of Geology and Professor of the Environment

734-678-1397, [email protected], vdpluijm55 (Skype)

Ben van der Pluijm, a geologist and professor of earth and environmental sciences, is an expert on the societal impacts of geohazards.

Drew Gronewold

Associate Professor of Environment and Sustainability

919-452-6593, [email protected]

Drew Gronewold, a hydrologist and associate professor of environment and sustainability, says the floodwaters in Midland will eventually flow into Saginaw Bay, contributing to ongoing record-high Great Lakes water levels. He can discuss historical, current and future Great Lakes water levels, including the hydrologic conditions that contribute to water level variability.

Amy Schulz

Professor, Health Behavior & Health Education

[email protected]

Amy Schulz, professor of health behavior and health education, can discuss the impact of the floods on low-income residents. Her research focuses on social factors that contribute to health with a particular focus on social and physical environmental factors and their effects on health, health equity and urban health.

The state of Michigan and Covid-19: UM School of Public Health and Michigan Medicine Pandemic Experts discuss regional and county trajectories of the spread and the role of data in guiding the reactivation of Michigan’s economy.

Vikas Parekh
Associate Chief Clinical Officer, Michigan Medicine;
Associate Vice Chair, Inpatient and Hospital Operations, Professor of Internal Medicine

Vikas I. Parekh, MD is a Professor of Medicine at the University of Michigan where he is the Associate Chief Clinical Officer for Medical, Emergency and Psychiatry Services and System Medical Director for Capacity Management. He also serves as Assistant Chair for Clinical Programs for Internal Medicine and was Associate Director of the Hospitalist Program until September 2017 when he transitioned out of that role. In these roles he provides executive physician leadership to the adult hospital’s medical units, emergency department and psychiatry units. In addition, he guides the hospital’s work on readmissions, capacity management and leads an operational analytics team working to optimize patient flow in our health system. He also has oversight of the department of internal medicine’s inpatient services which admit over 25,000 patients/year. Dr. Parekh is a graduate of the Harvard Medical School and completed his residency training at the University of Michigan. Nationally he is past-chair of the Society of Hospital Medicine’s (SHM) Academic Committee and Education Committee. He is also a member of the council for the Association of Specialty Professors (ASP) in the Alliance of Academic Internal Medicine. He was also co-chair and co-founder of the Society of General Internal Medicine’s (SGIM) Academic Hospitalist Task Force for 5 years. He is the co-director of the Academic Hospitalist Academy. Dr. Parekh has won several teaching awards including the Provost’s Teaching Innovation Prize, the Special Recognition Award for Contributions to the House Officer Teaching Program and the H. Marvin Pollard Award, the Department of Medicine’s highest award for resident teaching and was inducted into the Medical School’s League of Educational Excellence in 2015.

Marisa Eisenberg
Associate Professor of Epidemiology, School of Public Health

Marisa Eisenberg received her PhD and M.S. in Biomedical Engineering from the University of California, Los Angeles in 2009. She then spent three years as a postdoctoral fellow studying mathematical biology at the Mathematical Biosciences Institute at Ohio State University, before joining the faculty at University of Michigan as an assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology.

Emily Martin, Associate Professor of Epidemiology, School of Public Health

Emily Martin is an associate professor of epidemiology at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. Dr. Martin’s laboratory focuses on the molecular epidemiology of viral and bacterial pathogens, including a specific focus on persistent and co-infecting pathogens. She conducts infectious disease studies in hospital and outpatient settings and has a particular interest in severe infections and outcomes in individuals with chronic conditions. Dr. Martin currently participates in two CDC-funded US Influenza Vaccine Effectiveness networks based in ambulatory care and hospital settings.

Rick Neitzel, Associate Chair, Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Associate Professor of Global Public Health & Associate Professor of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health

Rick Neitzel is an exposure scientist whose research focuses on the characterization of exposures to noise, heavy metals and other ototoxins, psychosocial stressors, and injury risk factors, as well as a range of adverse health effects associated with these exposures. His work, and the work of his team in the UM Exposure Research lab, takes place in occupational and community settings both domestically and abroad. He is particularly interested in incorporating new methodologies and exposure sensing technologies into research, and also has a strong interest in translating his research findings into occupational and public health practice. He directs the UM Risk Science and Human Health Certificate program, and is also Director of the Pilot Project Research Grant Program of the UM Center for Occupational Health and Safety Engineering.