Rick Snyder, Ann Arbor area Republican candidate for Governor of Michigan has unveiled a You Tube Ad entitled, “One Tough Nerd”. 

The humorous ad offers viewers an insight into Rick’s education and significant business background. 

His major point, it’s time for the people of Michigan to walk away from career politicians (that’s been tried and it hasn’t worked) and instead to embrace a successful business man with the trackrecord and skills required to reinvent Michigan.

To view the ad, click below:

Site Tells How Foundation Helps Create Culture of Wellness and Foster Sustainable Community Health in Chelsea, Dexter, Grass Lake, Manchester, and Stockbridge, Michigan

Saline, MI (February 4, 2010) – The Chelsea-Area Wellness Foundation (CWF) has launched its new web site, www.5healthytowns.org, designed and developed by DesignHub, Inc. of Saline.

CWF is an organization supporting local projects that help to create a culture of wellness and foster sustainable improvements in community health in the area including the school districts of Chelsea, Dexter, Grass Lake, Manchester, and Stockbridge, MI.

The new site details CWF’s vision and mission, its history, programs, and funding sources. Site visitors can learn the foundation’s grant policies and get tips for applying for grants. The site also provides brief profiles of CWF’s board members.

Other site features include the latest news from the foundation, a blog, and information on how to contribute to CWF.

DesignHub worked with CWF to plan and design the new site, then handled its programming, build-out, testing, and launch.

The site has been built over DesignHub’s ContentHub content management system, which allows designated CWF personnel to make day-to-day updates to the site’s variable content themselves.

About the Chelsea-Area Wellness Foundation

The Chelsea-Area Wellness Foundation provides grant funding to non-profit organizations for programs that help residents eat better, move more, avoid unhealthy substances, and connect with others in healthy ways. In 2010, the foundation will focus its grant funding on programs that target youth, young adults, and young families.

CWF is a private, tax-exempt foundation governed by a volunteer board of directors. Its creation resulted from the recent merger of Chelsea Community Hospital (CCH) with Saint Joseph Mercy Health System (SJMHS). CWF is considered a legacy foundation, as the money used to fund the organization is the legacy of the community-owned hospital.

Upon the merger of CCH and SJMHS, CWF was endowed not only with funding, but also with ownership of the Chelsea Wellness Center (www.chelseawellness.org) and a 50% partnership in Silver Maples of Chelsea (www.silvermaples.org), a retirement community co-sponsored by United Methodist Retirement Communities.

More information is available from the Chelsea-Area Wellness Foundation, 310 N. Main St., Suite 203, Chelsea, MI 48118. Phone: (734) 433-4599. Email: info@5healthytowns.org.

About DesignHub

DesignHub is a creative services and marketing firm that works with clients on branding, website design and development, brochures, annual reports, newsletters, advertising, public relations, direct marketing, packaging designs, signage, and exhibits, as well as marketing strategies and plans. The company was founded in 1999.

Principals of DesignHub include: Karen Ragland, business manager and account executive; Ted Chesky, creative director and graphic designer; and Chris Kochmanski, marketing strategist, account executive, and copywriter. The firm has on-staff and freelance professionals for graphic design and Web site design and development.

Include leading entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and industry executives

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Feb. 4 /PRNewswire/ — The judges who will determine the winner of the 2009-2010 Clean Energy Prize know what it takes to turn a new idea into a successful business. Clean Energy Prize organizers have assembled 13 leaders from venture capital firms, major industrial companies and new-technology businesses to judge the semi-final and final rounds of the competition on Feb. 12 at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.

The competition, presented by DTE Energy and the University of Michigan, challenges teams to develop business plans that promise to move a new, clean-energy technology from the laboratory to the market place.

On the morning of Feb. 12, each of the eight teams will make a 15-minute oral presentation to a panel of four judges, and then respond to judges’ questions for another 15 minutes. 

Two four-judge panels have been assembled for the semi-final competition.  Each panel will judge four of the remaining eight teams.

The judges for the semi-final round are:

Patrick Finn, principal, McKinsey & Company, Detroit.
Michael Finney, president and CEO, Ann Arbor Spark, Ann Arbor.
Matt Garratt, senior associate, Battery Ventures, Menlo Park, Calif.
Michael Gross, managing director, Beringea, Farmington Hills.
Mark Huang, partner, Novus Energy Partners, Alexandria, Va.
Dhiraj Malkani, principal, Rockport Capital Partners, Boston, Mass.
Alex Taussig, senior associate, Highland Capital Partners, Lexington, Mass.
Maria Thompson, general manager, A123 Systems, Ann Arbor.

Three or four teams will advance to the final round on the afternoon of Feb. 12. The finalists will present a five-minute "pitch" to a panel of six judges, who will then have 25-minutes to ask questions of the teams. After hearing from all the teams, the judges will recess to deliberate for about 30 minutes, after which the winners will be announced.

The judges for the final round are:

Scott Everly, director of business development, North American Builder Group, Masco Corporation, Taylor, Mich.
Rodrigo Prudencio, partner, Nth Power, San Francisco.
Dipender Saluja, managing director, Capricorn Investment Group, Palo Alto, Calif.
Knut Simonsen, president, DTE Energy Ventures, Ann Arbor.
Ken Van Heel, director, Dow Ventures, Midland.

"I am honored to be associated with the other 12 individuals who have agreed to serve as judges for these final two rounds," said Simonsen. "They exemplify the vision, drive, creativity and entrepreneurial spirit that the Clean Energy Prize represents. They will challenge the teams to excel and provide them with an invaluable experience.  All eight teams that will compete on Feb. 12 have the potential to launch a successful business and bring a new technology to the market."

A total of 32 teams made up of students from six Michigan colleges and universities began the 2009-2010 competition.  All eight teams in the semi-final field are based at U-M.  The finalists will compete for the largest shares of a $100,000 prize pool. 

The First Place team will receive $50,000.  The other top prizes are $25,000 for second place, $10,000 for third place and $7,000 for fourth place. In addition, the top three teams will receive a share of in-kind services valued at $60,000.

The Clean Energy Prize competition was established by DTE Energy and the University of Michigan to encourage entrepreneurship in Michigan and the development of clean-energy technologies.  The Masco Corporation Foundation and The Kresge Foundation were Clean Energy Prize founding sponsors and they continue to support the competition.  Additional sponsors include UBS Investment Bank, Google and Nth Power, a clean-tech venture capital company.

The U-M Ross School of Business’ Ross Energy Club along with the Michigan Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute and the Michigan Initiative for Innovation and Entrepreneurship are organizing the current competition.  Several other University of Michigan entities also are providing support.  They include the College of Engineering’s Center for Entrepreneurship, the Zell Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies, the U-M Business Engagement Center and MPowered Entrepreneurship.

Details of the competition are available on the Clean Energy Prize Web site: www.dtecleanenergyprize.com.

DTE Energy Ventures is a DTE Energy company that invests in emerging energy technologies and to date has invested more than $100 million in energy-related companies and funds, making us one of the largest Michigan-based venture capital operations. Information about DTE Energy Ventures is available at www.dteenergyventures.com.

DTE Energy (NYSE: DTE) is a Detroit-based diversified energy company involved in the development and management of energy-related businesses and services nationwide. Its operating units include Detroit Edison, an electric utility serving 2.2 million customers in Southeastern Michigan, MichCon, a natural gas utility serving 1.3 million customers in Michigan and other non-utility, energy businesses focused on power and industrial projects, gas midstream, unconventional gas production and energy trading. Information about DTE Energy is available at www.dteenergy.com.

The Ross Energy Club is a group of talented business students who share an interest in energy. REC promotes career development by providing a forum for education about all aspects of business in the energy sector.

The Michigan Memorial Phoenix Energy Institute develops, coordinates and promotes multidisciplinary energy research and education at U-M. Some 75 faculty in disciplines ranging from engineering to policy to environmental science to urban planning are a part of the institute.

The Kresge Foundation is a $2.8 billion private, national foundation that seeks to influence the quality of life for future generations through its support of nonprofit organizations in six fields: health, the environment, arts and culture, education, human services and community development. In 2009, it awarded 405 grants totaling $167 million. For more information, visit www.kresge.org.

Masco Corporation is one of the world’s largest manufacturers of brand-name consumer products for the home and family. A Fortune 500 company, Masco’s products include faucets, kitchen and bath cabinets, bath and shower units, spas and hot tubs, shower and plumbing specialties, electronic lock sets and other builders’ hardware, air treatment products, ventilating equipment and pumps.  Through its foundation, the Masco Corporation Foundation, Masco actively supports a number of very specific arts, cultural, educational (through our matching gifts program), human service and civic initiatives in the cities where it does business or where a long-term relationship exists.

ANN ARBOR, MICH. – February 5, 2010 – Ann Arbor SPARK’s economic development efforts to attract and retain businesses in the region, and support jobs creation, generated meaningful results in 2009.  More than $147 million in new investment commitments were made through Ann Arbor SPARK’s work, in conjunction with state and regional partners; the creation and retention of over 3,200 jobs were committed by companies assisted by Ann Arbor SPARK.

“Despite a challenging economic climate, Ann Arbor SPARK helped companies create jobs and grow in our region,” said Michael A. Finney, Ann Arbor SPARK’s CEO.  “In 2009, the opening of SPARK East and the Michigan Life Science and Innovation Center were meaningful expansions to our business and life science incubator network.  Programs like Shifting Gears filled a void in our region by helping displaced talent, ultimately retaining key knowledge workers within our community.”

“The Ann Arbor region continues to be a bright spot in an otherwise dim economy,” Finney added.

Throughout 2009, Ann Arbor SPARK created economic opportunities in the region through 34 projects:

11 MEGA state tax credits to companies, including infrared detector company Dexter Research Center, Inc., IT call and support center, Systems in Motion and hybrid battery testing developer AVL Powertrain.

Seven companies were attracted to the Ann Arbor area, committing 1,522 jobs and over $37,500,000 in investment.
Total of $147,338,238 in committed capital investments in the Ann Arbor region.

Ann Arbor SPARK has dedicated resources and continues to focus on job creation, retention and attraction throughout the region:

34 projects resulting in 2,118 new jobs committed through employers and the retention of 1,133 jobs.
887 jobs posted through Ann Arbor SPARK by 323 companies.
Over 4,200 job seekers assisted with employment searches.

In 2009, Ann Arbor SPARK’s business attraction, expansion and retention efforts resulted in 33 businesses choosing to locate and expand in the region:

A&D Technology
Arbor Photonics
Atwell-Hicks, Inc.
Avfuel
AVL Powertrain
Axiobionics
CAS-MI Laboratories
CEI Composite Materials, LLC
Chelsea Milling Company
Dexter Research Center, Inc.
Edwards Brothers
Essen Instruments, Inc.
Jaytec LLC
LaVision
Molded Materials
NanoMag
Northern United Brewing Company
NuStep
OG Technologies
ProQuest
Quantum Learning Technologies
Scherer & Trier USA, a company that Ann Arbor SPARK assisted with two separate expansion projects in 2009.
SensiTile Systems
SoloHill Engineering, Inc.
SRI Technology Group
SRT Solutions
Systems in Motion
Terumo Cardiovascular Systems
Terumo Heart 
Toyota Technical Center
Velesco Pharmaceutical Services LLC
Xoran Technologies

Ann Arbor SPARK’s Business Accelerator, which provides business acceleration funding, business and life science incubators, and entrepreneurial education and talent services, drove entrepreneurial growth and success in the region in 2009. 

61 companies received business acceleration services, including business planning, marketing, patent and intellectual property acquisition, business introductions and funding preparation services.
78 companies were assisted as incubator tenants at Ann Arbor SPARK’s Central and East locations as well as the Michigan Life Science and Innovation Center.
28 companies received funding through the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund and the Michigan Microloan Fund Program, both administered by Ann Arbor SPARK.  The combined total invested through the funds administered by Ann Arbor SPARK was $3,652,500.

Ann Arbor SPARK’s 2006 – 2009 results:

135 project successes, generating more than $1 billion in new investment commitments.
9,172 new job commitments and 6,873 jobs retained.
Assisted 216 innovation start-ups.
42 total investments through the Michigan Pre-Seed Capital Fund totaling $8.93 million.
16 investments through the Michigan Microloan Fund Program, totaling $661,500.
78 tenants in three regional incubators.
Leveraged community investments totaling $32.5 million, through foundation, Federal and State grants, and Michigan Innovation Equipment Depot donations.
Assisted 1001 companies (794 unique) with 2,781 job postings.

ABOUT ANN ARBOR SPARK
Ann Arbor SPARK, a non-profit organization, is the driving force in establishing the Ann Arbor region as a destination for business expansion, retention, and location by identifying and meeting the needs of business at every stage, from startups to large organizations.  Ann Arbor SPARK represents all communities in the Washtenaw County. Ann Arbor SPARK collaborates with business, academic, government, and community investor partners including the University of Michigan, Eastern Michigan University, Washtenaw Community College, Michigan Works!/ETCS, Washtenaw County, the City of Ann Arbor, the Bank of Ann Arbor and the Michigan Economic Development Corporation.  For more information, please call (734) 761-9317 or visit www.AnnArborUSA.org.

Domino’s ‘Taste Test Trifecta’ wins in three hand-tossed pizza types

ANN ARBOR, Mich., Feb 02, 2010 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — Domino’s Pizza (NYSE: DPZ), the recognized world leader in pizza delivery, has continued the aggressive launch of its "inspired" new hand-tossed pizza. Not only have they proven that it’s better than their old pizza, but have now bested the competition, too – winning against Papa John’s and Pizza Hut in a national taste test of hand-tossed pepperoni pizza, sausage pizza and extra-cheese pizza.

The victory resulted from an independent, blind taste test of nearly 1,800 random pizza consumers from eight U.S. markets. In head-to-head comparisons, participants picked each of the Domino’s pizzas as tasting better than both Papa John’s and Pizza Hut by a wide margin.

"Consumer perception of our delivery and service has always been strong. Now we’re proving that our taste and quality are great, too," said President of Domino’s USA, Patrick Doyle. "Beating Papa John’s and Pizza Hut in this taste test is a very significant step in that direction."

Reinvented from the crust up, the new hand-tossed pizza – which arrived in stores in late December – features new sauce, cheese and garlic-seasoned crust. The reformulation was one of the biggest moves in the company’s 50-year history, and was inspired by its toughest consumer critics. Domino’s transparent approach to talking about this bold change has garnered much attention from the media and public in general, with the press highlighting the company’s "open and honest" treatment in its advertising.

"We listened to our consumers. They told us to change…so we did. Now, they’ve told us we’re better than we used to be – and better than our competition. We think that’s really cool," said Doyle.

Surrounded by this excitement, Domino’s still has even more to look forward to as the company approaches the kickoff of its biggest night on the calendar this Sunday. "Our stores and team members always look forward to the big game, and get about as amped up as the players themselves," said Russell Weiner, Domino’s Chief Marketing Officer. "With the momentum created by our new pizza and beating our two national competitors, this is sure to be our biggest game day yet – and we couldn’t be more excited to deliver over 9 million slices of pizza this Sunday."

About Domino’s Pizza(R)
Founded in 1960, Domino’s Pizza is the recognized world leader in pizza delivery. Domino’s is listed on the NYSE under the symbol "DPZ." Through its primarily locally-owned and operated franchised system, Domino’s operates a network of 8,886 franchised and Company-owned stores in the United States and 60 international markets. The Domino’s Pizza(R) brand, named a Megabrand by Advertising Age magazine, had global retail sales of over $5.5 billion in 2008, comprised of nearly $3.1 billion domestically and over $2.4 billion internationally. During the third quarter of 2009, the Domino’s Pizza(R) brand had global retail sales of over $1.2 billion, comprised of over $672 million domestically and over $570 million internationally. Domino’s Pizza was named "Chain of the Year" by Pizza Today magazine, the leading publication of the pizza industry. In 2009, Domino’s ranked number one in customer satisfaction in a survey of consumers of the U.S. largest limited service restaurants, according to the annual American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Domino’s has expanded its menu significantly since 2008 to include Oven Baked Sandwiches and BreadBowl Pasta, and kicked off 2010 with the debut of their ‘Inspired New Pizza’ – a permanent change to their core hand-tossed product, reinvented from the crust up with new sauce, cheese and garlic seasoned crust.

Feb. 2, 2009 — Ann Arbor, Mich. — Combining a foundation in bebop with African roots, jazz master Randy Weston seamlessly blends the two categories as one of the seminal musicians of our time. Alex Blake (bass) and Neil Clarke (percussion) join Weston as the African Rhythms Trio at Kerrytown Concert House on Saturday, March 20, with sets at 7 and 9 p.m. This concert is sponsored by the Center for Afroamerican and African Studies at the University of Michigan in celebration of their 40th anniversary.

A Brooklyn native, Weston grew up merely steps away from jazz greats such as Duke Ellington, Coleman Hawkins, Miles Davis, as well as his cousin Wynton Kelly. Thelonius Monk was one of Weston’s greatest influences, having studied with him informally for three years. "He was the most original I ever heard," Weston writes. "He played like they must have played in Egypt 5000 years ago." Weston progressed with his jazz career into the 1950s and 60s, performing with a number of jazz combos, including a sextet with saxophonist Booker Ervin. Several of Weston’s originals that came out this group have become jazz standards, including “Little Niles” and “Hi-Fly” (in reference to his towering 6’8” height). 

But while mastering the jazz idiom, Weston has been devoted to the music of his African ancestry. His dedication is due in large part to his father, Frank Edward Weston, who told his son that he was, "an African born in America." "He told me I had to learn about myself and about him and about my grandparents," Weston said in an interview, "and the only way to do it was I’d have to go back to the motherland one day." Weston spent a great deal of time performing in Africa while absorbing the style. He opened a nightclub in Morocco in the late 1960s, and also toured the continent. It was in Marrakech, Morocco that Weston collaborated with Gnawa people, whose spiritual music is often used in healing ceremonies. He continues his relationship with the Gnawa music masters, and has since recorded with them. He released “The Splendid Master Gnawa Musicians of Morocco” in 1994 on the Verve label, which was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best World Music Album the following year.

Alex Blake, bass

Born in Panama and raised Brooklyn, bassist Alex Blake was one of the major proponents of the fusion movement in the late 1970s. Most of the people who work with Blake consider him an entire rhythm section on his own: his playing evokes rhythmic guitar, steady drumming, and a lyrical bass line — all in the action of two hands. Blake currently enjoys the co-creative efforts of straight-ahead/fusion great Tommy Campbell. In addition to collaborating on each other’s own projects, they perform together with The Manhattan Transfer.

Neil Clarke, percussion

Neil Clarke has been a student of percussion for more than 35 years. Having traveled extensively, Clarke has had the opportunity to study and collaborate with masters worldwide. He has had longstanding performing, touring and recording relationships with many notable artists, including Harry Belafonte, Onaje Allen Gumbs, Dianne Reeves, David Sanborn, Miriam Makeba, Letta Mbulu, Carlos Garnet and Paul Winter, to name a few. Clarke has also performed in the Broadway production of “Timbuktu” and in the feature film Beat Street.

About Kerrytown Concert House

The Kerrytown Concert House is an arts organization focused on community engagement and bringing fine artists and their audiences together. An intimate 110-seat venue, the Concert House is home to diverse offerings in a wide range of musical styles, while rotating art exhibits are displayed on the walls of the house. Located in the Kerrytown district of Ann Arbor, Mich., KCH is available to the community, including educators, students and organizations for recitals, meetings and events. In addition, it is home to the internationally acclaimed festival Edgefest, and is a presenter of artists of the highest artistic excellence. Kerrytown Concert House is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—The University of Michigan launched a contest today aimed at increasing student participation in the 2010 census.

The contest, sponsored by the U-M Office of the Provost and the U-M Institute for Social Research, offers $3,000 in prizes for short videos designed to spur student participation in the coming census. Details are available on the contest Web site: http://census.umich.edu.

"Videos are a great way to get across the important message that for college and university students, their census residence is their dorm, apartment, or rented housing—not their parents’ home," said ISR Director James S. Jackson.

Historically, student neighborhoods in Ann Arbor and other college towns have some of the worst mail response rates for census forms. This can result in lower population counts for affected cities, counties, and states, lower funding from federal agencies, and less representation in state and federal governments.
Contest organizers hope the video contest will inspire U-M students to get the message across to peers that college students count.

The videos will be available on YouTube and U-M websites. They will also be available to area television stations and other colleges and universities.

Jackson says the video ad contest provides a way to support the outreach efforts of U.S. Census Bureau, directed by Robert Groves, former director of the ISR Survey Research Center. Census forms are scheduled to be mailed to university and college students starting in March.

Among the messages contest organizers hope the videos will convey:

• A student’s census residence is where they live and sleep most of the time as of April 1, 2010, not their parents’ home.
• Students who are graduating and planning to leave the city, state or country where they go to school should still fill out the census form sent to their campus-area residence.
• Students who are not U.S. citizens should complete and mail back the census forms they receive while at school.
• Everyone in a student’s household should be listed on the census forms as long as they have no other usual place of residence.
• It doesn’t matter who is listed as "head of household;" what matters is that everyone is counted, just once.
• Census information is confidential and never shared with other government agencies, or with parents, who may not know about student living arrangements or roommates.
• Parents of college students who live away from home during the academic year should not list students as household members on parental census forms.

"We’re confident that U-M students will be able to get these key messages across in a way that is both accurate and creative," says Jackson.
The deadline for video contest entries is Monday, March 8, 2010. For information on entering a video and judging criteria, visit the contest Web site: http://census.umich.edu.

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—As preparations are being made locally and on the national level to celebrate 50 years of the Peace Corps, those at the University of Michigan where the idea was sparked are seeking stories from faculty, staff and students who have served as volunteers, staff or consultants in the program.

And as one of the largest producers of Peace Corps volunteers—boasting 2,235 alumni in service over the program’s history—John Greisberger, director of the International Center and co-chair of the Peace Corps anniversary steering committee, says U-M undoubtedly has many people on campus with interesting stories to tell. In fact Greisberger and his wife were volunteers who served in Afghanistan and that experience led to his career in international education.

"Telling these stories gives you a chance to relive the memories, and helps you reflect on how the Peace Corps affected your life," he said. "We also hope some of these stories will be inspirational for our current students, who may be considering some form of service, either in this country or overseas."

A Web site (http://peacecorps.umich.edu/) has been created to collect the stories and showcase events planned for the semester-long anniversary celebration. The site includes events that have been scheduled to date, which Greisbeger says will grow significantly as committees work to create more activities in four goal areas: student learning, faculty engagement, showcase U-M and national symposium.

The latter goal is a major national event that is being co-sponsored by the university, the Brookings Institution and the National Peace Corps Association that will focus on the future of international service. The director of the Peace Corps will attend this event, and Colin Powell has been invited to give the keynote address.

"The Peace Corps office in D.C. asked us to serve as the kick-off event for their year of celebration," Greisberger said. "They chose three locations to celebrate the 50th anniversary: Boston, at the site of the Kennedy Presidential Library; the National Mall in D.C.; and Ann Arbor, the place where JFK challenged our students to serve this nation by serving others in developing countries."

According to Sargent Shriver, the Peace Corps’ first director, "[The Peace Corps] might still be just another idea but for the affirmative response of those Michigan students and faculty."

It was an unscheduled, impromptu, three-minute speech by then Sen. John F. Kennedy on the front steps of the Michigan Union at 2 a.m. on Oct. 14, 1960, which started a student movement that led to establishment of the Peace Corps. According to Ted Sorensen, "the Peace Corps was one of JFK’s proudest achievements, the epitome of his call for service and sacrifice…"

Kennedy, weary from a day of campaigning, had not planned to speak before resting for the night at the Union. But the presence of some 5,000 students who had been waiting for four hours compelled him to make the speech that contained provocative questions and his "call to service."

"How many of you who are going to be doctors, are willing to spend your days in Ghana? Technicians or engineers, how many of you are willing to work in the Foreign Service and spend your lives traveling around the world? On your willingness to do that, not merely to serve one year or two years in the service, but on your willingness to contribute part of your life to this country, I think will depend the answer whether a free society can compete," Kennedy told the cheering crowd.

Over the next few days, students stirred by his challenge formed a new organization to gather signatures on petitions saying they would volunteer. A couple weeks later, U-M students drove to Toledo to meet Kennedy and to present him with their petitions. This inspired Kennedy to formally propose his idea for a Peace Corps during a speech in San Francisco only six days before the election.

The Web site features a full account of Kennedy’s stop at U-M and the events that followed. An audio clip of his speech also is available.
The site also includes a complete list of the committees that are working on the celebration. Questions or comments for the teams or the oversight committee members can be sent to peacecorps50@umich.edu.

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Class size or the number of rivals in any competitive situation matters, according to University of Michigan research showing students are more willing to try hard as the number of competitors decreases.

The psychology research examined the factors that go "beyond winning probabilities” in an article for an upcoming issue of the journal Psychological Science.

"The motivation to compete increases as the number of competitors decreases,” said psychology researcher Stephen Garcia, describing a pattern he and Avishalom Tor of the University of Haifa call "The N-Effect” to explain the influence the number (N) of competitors can have on competitive behavior.

This N-effect can impact competitive behavior in the classroom, the work place and any area when people compete.

Garcia and Tor build on a series of research studies including one showing that students taking the SAT or other standardized tests in a room with fewer students often believe they have a greater likelihood of success than students who see a larger group of peers taking the same test. In all cases, the smaller the number of competitors they’re up against, the better their odds and the more they feel they will do well.

In their latest in a series of studies, they surveyed college students about how motivated they would be to work hard in a sales competition where those finishing in the top 10 percent would win a $1,000 scholarship.

Students who were told they were competing against 2,000 students were far more motivated to win than those told they would be competing against 20,000 students, the researchers found, even though that chances of winning were identical.

"Our studies have only begun identifying the N-effect, its causes and boundaries,” Tor said.

ANN ARBOR, MI, January 29, 2010 – Accuri Cytometers Inc., a life sciences company marketing innovative bench-top flow cytometer systems, today announced that co-founder and CEO Jennifer Baird has resigned and will be replaced by Jeffrey S. Williams, most recently President and CEO of HandyLab Inc., an Ann Arbor-based molecular diagnostics company acquired by Becton Dickinson for $275 million in November 2009.

“Jennifer Baird has done an outstanding job of taking Accuri from an audacious concept to a successful, high growth company in a few years’ time,” said George Dunbar, Chairman of the Board of Accuri Cytometers. “Ms. Baird led the Accuri team that successfully developed and commercialized a powerful new cell analysis flow cytometer system which is revolutionizing major aspects of life science research. As a result of the rapid expansion of the company, Ms. Baird and the Board of Directors agreed that it was appropriate to bring on a chief executive with extensive experience in growing established life science companies. We are delighted to have recruited Jeff Williams, a highly qualified candidate with local roots who is well suited to lead Accuri to the next stage.

Accuri, with headquarters in Ann Arbor, Michigan and a European office in the United Kingdom, now employs 80 people worldwide and has users on all seven continents.

Ms. Baird commented, "I have enjoyed immensely the challenges of developing and commercializing Accuri’s game-changing flow cytometer system over the last five years. I’m also very proud of the Accuri team that is responsible for our success, exemplified by the company’s outstanding performance in 2009–we tripled our sales to more than $10 million last year. I believe that our employees and shareholders are fortunate to have someone with Jeff Williams’ experience at the helm at this exciting time for the company."

Prior to HandyLab, Mr. Williams was President and Chief Executive Officer of Genomic Solutions Inc., an Ann Arbor-based life science instrumentation company. He led Genomic Solutions through a period of rapid growth culminating in an IPO and eventual merger with Harvard Biosciences, Inc. Earlier in his career, Mr. Williams held positions of increasing responsibility at several life science companies, including IRIS, Boehringer Mannheim (now part of Hoffmann LaRoche) and the Organon division of Akzo Nobel.

Mr. Williams noted, “Accuri represents a tremendous opportunity and I very much look forward to working with the Accuri team. Accuri’s flow cytometer systems represent a true breakthrough, bringing the power of this formerly complex and expensive technology to the lab of virtually any scientist in an affordable and easy-to-use format. The rapid adoption of the company’s initial products and our growing worldwide presence make Accuri well positioned for continued rapid growth and near-term profitability. I look forward to the challenge of continuing to build the company’s momentum and helping lead it to further success.”

Mr. Williams received a BS degree summa cum laude from Alma College and an MBA with high distinction from the University of Michigan.

About Accuri Cytometers
Accuri Cytometers, Inc. is a life sciences company developing and marketing revolutionary high performance cell analysis systems designed to bring the power of flow cytometry into the labs of life science researchers everywhere. Reflecting the input of hundreds of researchers, the Accuri C6 Flow Cytometer® is a full-featured bench-top cell and bead analysis system that provides similar capabilities to those of industry-leading flow cytometers in an easy-to-use format and at a fraction of their cost. The Accuri system was engineered from the start to be compact, powerful and user-friendly, while also being affordable by most research laboratories. The Accuri CSampler® adds simple, reliable and user-friendly automation to the Accuri C6 Flow Cytometer System. For more information, please visit www.AccuriCytometers.com.