Research Publications

The energy efficiency of the average clothes washer in the United States improved by 88.4% from 1981 to 2003 (AHAM 2005). Replacement of old vertical-axis washers with new horizontal-axis washers resu...

Hydrogen has received great attention in recent years as an energy storage and transmission medium, given its potential environmental, national energy security, and performance benefits. DTE Energy an...

Refrigerators-freezers are one of the most energy consuming home appliances accounting for 14% of electricity consumption of the entire US households in 2001. With tightened efficiency standards be...

In April of 2004, The University of Michigan Environmental Task Force (ETF) issued their advisory report to President Mary Sue Coleman. This report, included as Appendix A, proposed an environmental a...

The impact of cruise ships on the environment is an important issue that needs to be addressed in order to mitigate damage to the surrounding ecosystem. Cruise ships generate significant quantities of...

Global climate change is said to be the greatest forthcoming human-environmental problem of the 21st Century. This report is the first greenhouse gas emissions inventory developed for the State of Mic...

Vehicle scrappage programs have emerged in the US to address the challenge of regional fleets that contain older, often inefficient vehicles with higher emissions and lower fuel economy. These prog...

Concrete infrastructure represents an enormous investment of materials, energy, and capital, and results in significant environmental burdens and social costs. There is an ongoing effort to identify m...

Concrete infrastructure systems require large capital investments and resource flows to construct and maintain. An integrated life cycle assessment and cost model was developed to evaluate i...

Electricity is a key energy carrier for residential, commercial and industrial activities, particularly in developed countries. In the United States, electricity generation accounts for 39% of ...

Short-rotation woody crops (SRWC) along with other woody biomass feedstocks will play a significant role in a more secure and sustainable energy future for the United States and around the world. I...

The photovoltaic (PV) system on the roof of the School of Natural Resources and Environment (SNRE) serves as another model for the installation of PV systems in urbanized areas, which could play a maj...

Concrete infrastructure systems require large capital investments and resource flows to construct and maintain. An integrated life cycle assessment and cost model was developed to evaluate infrastruct...

In 1998 the United States Automotive Materials Partnership published the life cycle inventory of a generic US family sedan. Several years later, researchers at the University of Michigan expanded t...

Traditionally, the foremost concern among transportation engineers has been the safety and reliability of major infrastructure components. Until recently, sustainability has not been included in most ...

It has been widely recognized that environmental protection is a global issue and developing countries are making increasingly significant contributions to global environmental problems. Studies sh...