Lecture / Discussion:Friday Night AI
2026-09-11 18:30 - 19:30 (America/Detroit) | Off Campus Location - 4th floor meeting room (343 S 5th Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48104)
Panelists: Zara Burzo, Raphael Fournier, additional panelists TBD
Moderator: Prof. Rada Mihalcea
Organizer: Michigan AI Lab, in collaboration with the Ann Arbor District Library
When: September 11, 2026, 6:30pm – 7:30pm
Where: AADL Ann Arbor downtown, 4th Floor Meeting Room (343 S 5th Ave, Ann Arbor, MI 48104)

Robots are among the most challenging automated systems to build because they must operate in the complex and unpredictable physical world. Unlike software-only AI tools, robots require mechanical design, component fabrication, electrical systems, sensing, control, safety, and programming to work together as a single integrated system. A robot that can navigate a room, pick up an object, or respond to a person depends not only on algorithms, but also on sensors, motors, materials, control systems, and careful engineering tradeoffs.

What does it actually take to build a robot from scratch? How do designers decide what components it should have, how it should move, and what kind of intelligence it needs? And when a robot fails, how do engineers determine whether the problem lies in its hardware, software, or overall design? Join us for a conversation with Ann Arbor Public School students about how robots are designed, built, and tested, and why making them work reliably in the real world remains such a difficult challenge.

Sporting Event:Men's Soccer vs Indiana
2026-09-11 19:00 | U-M Soccer Stadium
Men's Soccer vs Indiana

Livestream / Virtual:Avian Lumina
2026-09-11 19:30 - 19:45, 2026-09-11 20:00 - 20:15 | Off Campus Location
Through the use of puppetry, projections and sound, *Avian Lumina* sparks hope, healing, and connection to commemorate the 25th anniversary of 9/11.

Conceived, designed, and developed by Christianne Myers in collaboration with Halena Kays, Katie Hopgood & Jess Fialko, and in partnership with Theatre & Drama students Vera Alonzo, Kelly Burkel, and Simon Nigam.

Join the livestream virtually for a 15 minute story honoring loss and renewal.

September 11, 2026 at 6:30 pm, 7:30 pm, & 8:00 pm

Presented with support from RCI (SMTD), the U-M Arts Initiative, the Center for World Performance Studies, and the Duderstadt Center.

Meeting:Friends of the UMMP Fossil Club
2026-09-11 19:30 - 22:30 | Research Museums Center - RMC 1006
The Friends of the U-M Museum of Paleontology (FUMMP) meet once a month, usually on the first Friday, with both an in-person component at the Research Museum Center (RMC) and Zoom option. The exterior building doors are locked for security reasons and someone will start letting people in the doors at RMC from 7:00 - 7:30pm, and the Zoom room will open around 7:15pm. The meeting will start at 7:30pm with a few business details discussed until about 7:45pm when the presentation or program will begin.

Dr. Matt Friedman, UMMP Director and Curator will be presenting a talk to the group this month entitled, "Drawing back the curtain: The dawn of modern marine fish diversity".

Contact bauerjen@umich.edu to request access to the Zoom link.

Learn more about the Friends of the UMMP on their website: http://michiganbasinfossils.org/.

Performance:Nicholas Walker, double bass
2026-09-11 19:30 - 21:00 | Earl V. Moore Building - Blanche Anderson Moore Recital Hall
Professor Nicholas Walker from the Department of Strings performs a recital. The recital will begin with Prof. Walker's transcription for double bass of J. S. Bach's Partita in A minor for solo flute, BWV 1013.

The second half of the program will feature 8 original works by Nicholas Walker: In April of 2017 Walker wrote *ZUGZWANG - Eight Duos for Double Basses*, for Matthew McDonald & Rick Stotijn to play at the 50th Anniversary ISB Convention in Ithaca. The three bassists have a deep love of Germanic music, although they each hail from non-German countries. This inspired a work for bassists from all cultures to play together, eight duos that depict "Eight German language words that do not exist in English, but ought to":

ZUGZWANG (2017) - Nicholas Walker (b. 1972)
- *from Chess; a situation in which an individual is required to make a move, but any move will cause a serious disadvantage.*

i. *Fernweh* - A Longing for Far-Away Places
ii. *Frühjarsmüdigkeit* - A Sense of Listlessness Brought on by the Coming of Spring
iii. *Sehnsucht* - Ardent Longing, Pining, or Yearning for Unattainable Life Experiences
iv. *Fingerspitzengefühl* - "Fingertips Feeling" - Intuitive Empathy with Things & People
v. *Weltschmerz* - Despair Caused by the State of the World
vi. *Kopfkino* - "Head Cinema" - Playing Out an Entire Fantasy Scenario in Your Head
vii. *Geborgenheit* - The Perfect Combination of Cozy, Warm, Safe, & Comfortable
viii. *Luftschloss* - An Unrealistic Dream - an "Air Castle"

FACULTY BIO

https://smtd.umich.edu/profiles/nicholas-walker/

Performance:Abigail Peel, flute
2026-09-11 20:00 - 21:30 | Walgreen Drama Center - Stamps Auditorium
Graduate student Abigail Peel performs a final master's degree recital.
