University of Michigan Heritage

The First Flu Shot

As World War II loomed, the military turned to U-M experts to fight a deadly enemy: Influenza

Francis gained his original expertise as a lab researcher, but as an epidemiologist, he turned to the compiling of data.

Incontrovertible evidence is now available that the resistance of man to infection by the viruses of influenza A and B can be enhanced.

– Tommy Francis and Jonas Salk

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Blue Angel

^“We go around the world like a lot of sorry ghosts, being forever ashamed of a thing we’ve no reason to be ashamed of.^”
– Kurt Gray, from “Better Angel”

After coming out of the closet at 86, alumnus Forman Brown revealed he was the author of a groundbreaking novel about being young and gay at U-M.
The Prisoner’s Dilemma

^“The Prisoner's Dilemma captured the essence of the tension between doing what is good for the individual and what is good for everyone.^”
– Robert Axelrod

How a U-M social scientist used the most famous puzzle in game theory to help make sense of human behavior.
The Arsonist Was a Scholar

^“He was at worst emotionally unstable. He was sort of a ‘lone duck,’ living all by himself.^”
– Warren E. Blake, classical studies professor

After burning down a campus building, an alumnus began life anew at another university.

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