MPACT (Michigan Parallel Characteristics Transport Code) is a new reactor analysis tool. It is being developed by students and research staff at the University of Michigan to be used for an advanced pin-resolved transport capability within VERA (Virtual Environment for Reactor Analysis). VERA is the end-user reactor simulation tool being produced by the Consortium for the Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors (CASL). The MPACT development project is itself unique for the way it is changing how students do research to achieve the instructional and research goals of an academic institution, while providing immediate value to industry. The MPACT code makes use of modern lean/agile software processes and extensive testing to maintain a level of productivity and quality required by CASL. MPACT's design relies heavily on object-oriented programming concepts and design patterns and is programmed in Fortran 2003. These designs are explained and illustrated as to how they can be readily extended to incorporate new capabilities and research ideas in support of academic research objectives. The transport methods currently implemented in MPACT include the 2-D and 3-D method of characteristics (MOC) and 2-D and 3-D method of collision direction probabilities (CDP). For the cross section resonance treatment, presently the subgroupmore » method and the new embedded self-shielding method (ESSM) are implemented within MPACT. (authors)« less