"If we really are going to go toward electric vehicles or hybrid vehicles, the storage capacity simply has to improve,” University of Michigan President Mary Sue Coleman told The Free Press. “There just hasn’t been a breakthrough.”

"The University of Michigan created a master’s of energy systems engineering program a couple of years ago, with a concentration in transportation power," the article says. "Of the nine colleges and universities that received federal funds for battery and electric vehicle programs, seven, including Purdue, Colorado State and West Virginia University, have ambitions to create or expand their graduate level degrees."

U-M got $2.5 million for graduate and undergraduate energy systems programs, the article says.