Author Archives: News Staff
Beware of tax fraud and protect yourself
It’s tax season! As you read this, criminals, fraudsters, and identity thieves could be working to file fraudulent tax returns in your name and steal your tax refund. According to their latest report, IRS Criminal Investigation has identified over $5.7 billion in tax fraud in 2022 alone. ITS Information Assurance (IA) offers some tips to help protect yourself… Read More »
Collaborative tech facility to be built on Flint campus
A new, innovative academic laboratory space that promotes technology, flexibility and collaboration is coming to the UM-Flint campus. The 15,000-square-foot building will be located north of the William S. White Building on the north end of the Flint campus, and will serve as a home base for the UM-Flint College of Innovation and Technology. CIT launched in fall… Read More »
Technology startups for broad societal impact
How to safely navigate the web over the holidays
Cyber vulnerability in networks used by spacecraft, aircraft, and energy generation systems
UMSI staff awarded for outstanding work and peer-to-peer mentorship
The University of Michigan School of Information (UMSI) celebrated the persistence and excellence of two staff members in 2022. The annual recognitions, announced this year at the November staff meeting, went to Amy Homkes-Hayes, who received the Outstanding Staff Recognition award, and Michael Hess, who received the Peer-to-Peer award. The honorees are recognized for sharing their skills to uplift students… Read More »
Micro-LED research could define the future of automotive displays
Website showcases UMSI progress on diversity, equity and inclusion
The U-M School of Information (UMSI) DEI Office is launching a website to highlight the school-wide work that has been done from 2016-2021. The website comes as the school’s DEI committee begins gathering community input on priorities for a DEI 2.0 strategic plan, launching in 2023. “We want to share and acknowledge the work of our community — students,… Read More »
Bolstering 5G security for ultra-sensitive applications
A new NSF-funded project led by UM-Dearborn’s Junaid Farooq could allow the military to use commercial 5G networks without fear of getting hacked. Since the very beginning of the public conversation around 5G — the latest-generation broadband cell network boasting super fast speeds — security issues have been front and center. Most notably, back in 2019, the U.S. and… Read More »
New Canvas App Explorer tool helps faculty get the most from Canvas
In the several years since Canvas became the university’s primary learning platform, the ITS Teaching & Learning team has leveraged Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI), a standard that allows courseware and learning tools from different vendors to be launched within a learning platform, like Canvas. LTIs make available to Canvas users a significant number of external tools that can be… Read More »
ITS Service Center extended hours
Information and Technology Services (ITS) is offering extended support hours for the fall crunch, now through September 11. If you regularly share support information with your team or your community, ITS encourages you to share this information. The ITS Service Center is ready to serve students, faculty, and staff. Sunday Phone support: 2 p.m. – 7 p.m. Monday… Read More »
Vax Viewer to track COVID-19 vaccination compliance records
The University of Michigan has launched Vax Viewer, a user-friendly tool that allows campus community members to submit and view the status of their COVID-19 vaccination information all in one place. Vax Viewer shows community members the information they have submitted, the status of those submissions, and links for uploading vaccination information, as well as how to request… Read More »
Randomizer feature added to Google and Exchange calendars
U-M moves exclusively to slacks
The Michigan IT Steerage Committee is happy to announce that the university has signed an enterprise licensing agreement to use slacks. Effective April 1, 2023, only khaki slacks will be allowed for all faculty and staff on the Ann Arbor, Dearborn, Flint, and Michigan Medicine campuses. Dresses, jeans, kilts, shorts, skirts, and swimsuits will no longer be considered… Read More »
HITS embraces, innovates with remote work
Employees of Health Information Technology & Services in Michigan Medicine embraced remote work long before the COVID-19 pandemic, with some working from South Carolina, Florida, and even overseas. The lessons learned from those experiences were the topic of the latest installment of Empowering Blue, a community of practice that connects U-M staff and faculty members interested in workplace… Read More »
Feeling like a “Zoom zombie”? These five tips might help
“Zoom fatigue” have become new buzzwords for the weariness, eye strain and stress many feel from too many online meetings. And the data shows these meetings are continually on the rise, with no end in sight, ever since office workers turned to video conferencing as the most popular way to communicate during the pandemic. Try these five things… Read More »
$1M for open-source first-responder robots
An open-source perception and movement system, to be developed with NSF funding, could enable robots that partner with humans in fires and disaster areas. Tomorrow’s wildfire fighters and other first responders may tag-team with robotic assistants that can hike through wilderness areas and disaster zones, thanks to a University of Michigan research project funded by a new $1… Read More »
First year student creates unofficial bus tracking app
Engineering freshman Efe Akinci designed and programmed an unofficial app — M-Bus — that tracks when buses arrive in real-time. Akinci said, “I wanted to make my own so that when I came (to Michigan) I would be able to find bus stops and buses and have a better experience with it.” Akinci said he spent two weeks… Read More »
U-M receives Esri’s 2021 award for Geographic Information System
At this past July’s annual Esri User Conference, the University of Michigan was recognized with the prestigious President’s Award for being a model for the higher education community in how to become a true geospatial university. Receiving the award on behalf of the university, in front of a virtual audience of over 60,000, Peter Knoop, a senior programmer/analyst… Read More »