Matt Davenport

Harper to the judge: "Your driver's license doesn't list your height and weight at birth. It doesn't list where you used to live. It identifies who you are now."

A composite image of me from the red carpet at the Hoppers premiere with the Hoppers logo and several hoppers characters.

After about 5 years (!) of keeping secrets, I am so excited that Disney Pixar's Hoppers is finally coming out on March 6th!

Back in 2021, Pixar emailed me asking if I could give a talk about my research to their employees. Then another talk. And another.

📸 Disney/Jesse Grant/Getty Images

Climate change sucks, but at least it won't kill your EV battery Older EVs, but not newer ones, may lose up to 30 percent range in a warming world.

Such a good headline. arstechnica.com/cars/2026/03...

Screenshot of ProPublica webpage titled “Explore Financial Disclosures From President Trump and 1,500 of His Appointees,” accompanied by this blurb: “Use this database to explore potential conflicts of interest for President Donald Trump and his team. The documents disclose positions officials have held outside government, their assets and their debts, among other things.” A search bar prompts the user to search for a person or financial holding.

THREAD: We just released a tool that allows you to search billions of dollars in wealth, ties to the most powerful companies in the country, and details of the personal finances of President Trump and over 1,500 of his appointees.

Here’s how it works 1/

“The future is not fixed... Conservation, restoration and renewed connections between people and nature can improve ecosystem health and strengthen community resilience.”

On @pablo.show I talked about the limits of generative AI, and why the brainstorming process—which LLMs mostly eliminate, imo—is fundamental to doing *good* work.

"Michigan remains the only state in the nation that exempts the governor’s office from the Freedom of Information Act. It’s also one of just two states where FOIA does not apply to the Legislature."

www.mlive.com/opinion/2026...

Motorcycle helmet repeal linked to 26% rise in crash-related hospital costs A study of motorcycle crash-related hospital costs in Michigan and three comparison states shows a rise after the helmet requirement was repealed.

I remember when Michigan's legislature repealed the motorcycle helmet law, and the governor went along.

Now, a team of University of Michigan trauma surgeons has published a study of what happened next, just in terms of hospital costs for crash survivors. www.michiganmedicine.org/health-lab/m...

This is my new favorite piece of science writing and quite possibly my new favorite piece of writing.

Blood Moon setting over Lake Superior. Another Great Lake looking great!

woohoo, the Cooperative Institute for Great Lakes Research is now on bluesky! @ciglrum.bsky.social #GreatLakes

We're bringing in advocates from across the Great Lakes region to D.C. this week for Great Lakes Day! You can learn more about what we're talking to Congressmembers about at HealthyLakes.org/latest-news #GreatLakes #CleanWater

Iran attack prompts war powers debate in Michigan's 7th Congressional District race • Michigan Advance The U.S. military’s joint assault on Iran has ignited a sharp debate over presidential war powers in Michigan’s 7th Congressional District race, drawing comparisons to the Iraq War, as President Donal...

Back on the beat for Michigan's 7th Congressional this cycle. @michiganadvance.com
michiganadvance.com/2026/03/02/i...

This is a great awards program for science communication. Enter now (before April 3) and/or please encourage others to do so. Categories include researchers (early, mid- & late career), journalists, independent & institutional. From @nationalacademies.org & @schmidtsciences.bsky.social

Supreme Court’s Michigan pipeline case is about Native rights and fossil fuels, not just technical legal procedure - Great Lakes Now The issue in front of the US Supreme Court is seemingly mundane, about federal or state jurisdiction. But it is actually much bigger, encompassing some key questions of the 21st century.

The issue in front of the US Supreme Court is seemingly mundane, about federal or state jurisdiction. But it is actually much bigger, encompassing some key questions of the 21st century.

Story by @theconversation.com: www.greatlakesnow.org/2026/03/02/s...

A titan of vaccine development sees his field’s achievements slip away Stanley Plotkin, the 93-year-old "godfather of vaccines," is watching his field’s achievements slip away.

Stanley Plotkin had a major hand in the development of a number of vaccines in use today; he designed the rubella vaccine. He remembers the world before widespread use of vaccines & knows what's coming as vaccine policy is rewritten & vaccine confidence is eroded. www.statnews.com/2026/03/02/s...

On moonshots and Minneapolis Space exploration can bring people together and reflect deep societal divisions.

This is painful, and beautiful, and sad, and hopeful, all at once.

How do we feel awe and wonder at space (or science in general), when we are seeing ICE kill people, seeing funding get slashed? www.sciencenews.org/article/moon...

By @astrolisa.bsky.social

College Journalism Students, Apply Now for SPJ Detroit Scholarships 2026

College students in Michigan who are into journalism: We want to give you $$$.

Apply for the SPJ-Detroit scholarship!

Know someone who is a great fit for this? Let them know!

We want to boost up the next generation of journalists.

spjdetroit.org/college-jour...

We'll be there too, with resources about paddling safety and aquatic invasive species -- drop by!

UP preserve includes Finnish cabin, old-growth forest. What to know Jon and Christina Sarri donated 40 acres and a land swamp added 40 more to a new preserve in the Upper Peninsula.

Jon and Christina Sarri donated 40 acres and a land swamp added 40 more to a new preserve in the Upper Peninsula.

Incredible front-page story from Ukraine by a reporter and photojournalist that the Post just laid off wapo.st/4rKFape

Anna: Do you want to build a snowman?
Disembodied voice from the cosmos: Heck yes.
Anna: It doesn't have to be a snowman.
DVFTC: Yes it absolutely does.

join me: www.zeffy.com/en-US/donati...

Robyn Fralick named USA Basketball women's U18 assistant coach - The State News Michigan State's Robyn Fralick has built one of the Big Ten's most exciting programs in just three seasons, and now she's taking her winning ways to the international stage.

Michigan State women's basketball head coach Robyn Fralick has been selected to serve as an assistant coach for the USA Basketball women's U18 National Team, USA Basketball announced.

Hubble spotted a ‘dark galaxy’ that’s at least 99.9% dark matter Search through space telescope’s archival images reveals unusually dim galaxy

Using the Hubble Space Telescope in combination with other observatories, astronomers identified an unusually dim galaxy, known as candidate dark galaxy-2, that appears to be almost entirely dominated by dark matter.

Learn more: https://scim.ag/4tOuvLz

The Supreme Court hears a Line 5 oil pipeline case with high stakes for treaty rights The Straits of Mackinac aren't just ecologically critical — they're the center of the Anishinaabe creation story.

The Supreme Court hears a Line 5 oil pipeline case with high stakes for treaty rights

Line 5's history, legal standing and environmental impact: U-M experts weigh in Several University of Michigan experts are available to comment on Line 5's history, legal standing and potential environmental impact as the story develops. Full Q&As with each expert are available a...

For more background on Line 5 and these issues, be sure to check out our Q&A series from last year. news.umich.edu/line-5s-hist...

A quote graphic shows the Mackinac Bridge with a small photo of Mike Shriberg, the directory of the University of Michigan Water Center. There's also a quote from Shriberg that reads, "I see this moment in the Supreme Court as one layer of a complex debate that Line 5 has stirred up about states' rights, Indigenous rights and the future of the fossil fuel economy."

On its surface, it may seem like a mundane, procedural case in the saga of the Line 5 oil pipeline through the Straits of Mackinac. But there's a lot at stake at a deeper level, Shriberg writes.

Supreme Court’s Michigan pipeline case is about Native rights and fossil fuels, not just technical legal procedure The issue in front of the US Supreme Court is seemingly mundane, about federal or state jurisdiction. But it is actually much bigger, encompassing some key questions of the 21st century.

@realshri.bsky.social has a brand new article for @theconversation.com with some super helpful insights and context for today's oral arguments in front of the U.S. Supreme Court for Enbridge Energy, LP v. Nessel. theconversation.com/supreme-cour...

Threats to independent government oversight Paul Martin, former inspector general at USAID, speaks about the need for independent oversight bodies within federal government agencies.

Hi folks: If you are in Ann Arbor on 3/11, I will host a discussion with Paul Martin, the former Inspector General of USAID. Trump fired Martin after he issued a report documenting the damage being done by the dismantling of USAID. Free & open to the public.
fordschool.umich.edu/event/2026/t...