Author Archives: News Staff
Last July, the Gameful Learning Summer Institute (GLSI) brought faculty, teachers, instructional designers, administrators, staff, and students together from around the world to learn about gameful ideas and how to design a course from a gameful perspective. Based on positive feedback from attendees and adoption of gameful ideas, the Office of Academic Innovation’s Gameful Learning Lab will host… Read More »
As more robots are showing up in all kinds of jobs, organizations must figure out how to successfully integrate human and robot co-workers. But how? According to a recent study co-authored by School of Information associate professor Lionel Robert, it’s by making robots more like people. The study, “Human-Robot Similarity and Willingness to Work with a Robotic Co-worker,” found that… Read More »
Aviv Ovadya, chief technologist at the School of Information’s Center for Social Media Responsibility, cautions that technology and social media that can be used to enhance and distort what is real is evolving faster than our ability to understand and control or mitigate it. “I’m from the free and open source culture,” he says. “The goal isn’t to… Read More »
Jenna Wiens, a computer scientist and assistant professor of engineering at U-M, helped create an algorithm to predict a patient’s risk of developing a C-diff infection (CDI), one of the deadliest killers in American hospitals. The algorithm uses a form of artificial intelligence called machine learning to extract warning signs of disease from patients’ vital signs and other health records—constellations of symptoms, circumstances,… Read More »
UM-Dearborn professor Marouane Kessentini founded Search-Based Software Engineering (SBSE) research lab five years ago with the goal of innovative software development. Now, through a partnership with software company Sema, Kessentini is seeing the impact the SBSE lab is making for the university, in students’ lives, and in the software industry. Through the partnership, the U-M Office of Technology Transfer licensed four… Read More »
Perry Samson, a professor of climate and space sciences and engineering, has been teaching at U-M for 38 years. In his early teaching years, Samson thought that getting through a lecture without students asking many questions was a sign of a job well done. Samson says he has since come to realize that silence in class often indicates student… Read More »
Duo Security—an Ann Arbor-based company launched by two U-M alumni in 2009—is at the forefront of a fledgling wave of early-stage technology startups that have chosen to take root, not in the San Francisco and East Coast technology hubs, but within Metro Detroit. “Ann Arbor is our home,” Dug Song, one of Duo Security’s founders, said in an October,… Read More »
U-M alum and CNN health correspondent Sanjay Gupta is returning to Michigan to support an effort to bring new ideas and tools to health communication. The Gupta Family Hackathon of rapid innovation happens March 23-25 on the U-M Ann Arbor campus. The marathon event brings together bright minds from the worlds of health, digital technology, design, communication, and… Read More »
The CA/Browser Forum is a group of SSL certificate authorities and web-browser developers who work to set standards for SSL encryption. A new CABforum rule going into effect March 1, 2018 will shorten the maximum lifetime of SSL certificates from all commercial certificate authorities. After that time, certificates obtained via the ITS “Web Application Sign-up Page” can have… Read More »
Reinventing Urban Transportation and Mobility (RITMO) aims to revolutionize public transit through an online app that turns transportation into an on-demand service. RITMO, partnering with Ford Motor Company, will allow students, faculty, and staff to use on-demand shuttle transportation linked with the U-M bus system. Pascal Van Hentenryck, a professor at the College of Engineering who leads the project, hopes… Read More »
Rolling out what it’s calling a “street view for cyberspace,” Censys—a tech startup based on technology developed at the university—has launched a commercially available version of its internet-wide scanning tool. Based on technology developed in the lab of computer science and engineering professor J. Alex Halderman, Censys continuously scans the internet, analyzing every publicly visible server and device.… Read More »
Online courses can open up a world of knowledge to anyone with an internet connection, benefitting students who have limited access to educational resources. But mounting evidence suggests that online education could hurt less proficient students who are most in need of skilled classroom teachers. In a recent article for the “New York Times,” Susan Dynarski, professor of education, public… Read More »
Proposals for Enriching Scholarshop presentations are still being accepted until Monday, February 5, 2018. The Enriching Scholarship team welcomes past presenters to submit, and are also interested in hearing from new voices. If you’ve never presented before, sharing your experiences can bring a valuable new perspective to our community. Presentations can range from a 5-10 minute lightning talk… Read More »
The Andrew File System (AFS)—a central file storage, sharing, and retrieval system that U-M websites rely on—will be relocated to new data center on February 24.
ITS is upgrading the technology behind the M-Pathways Financials & Physical Resources System within Wolverine Access. This upgrade will bring a new look and feel to the navigation on February 12, 2018.
Chaun-Che “Jeff” Huang, a School of Information PhD student, was part of the team that developed the artificial intelligence for Jibo, the first social robot for the home. It made the cover of Time Magazine’s “25 Best Inventions of 2017” November issue. Huang, who is studying human-computer interaction, describes Jibo as “highly personalized,” and programmed to be engaging.… Read More »
As the computing industry struggles to maintain its historically rapid pace of innovation, a new, $32 million center based at U-M aims to streamline and democratize the design and manufacturing of next-generation computing systems. The Center for Applications Driving Architectures, or ADA, will develop a transformative, “plug-and-play” ecosystem to encourage a flood of fresh ideas in computing frontiers… Read More »
President Mark Schlissel announced Monday that he has initiated a search for a new vice president for information technology and chief information officer. Schlissel will lead the selection process and will seek input from various university leaders and members of the university community. Andrew Rosenberg, chief information officer for Michigan Medicine, is currently serving as the university’s interim vice president… Read More »
UM-Flint has been recognized for its excellence in online education by the U.S. News & World Report in its “Best Online Program” rankings. Flint received recognition in the online graduate programs for both nursing and education. UM-Flint offers an online Doctor of Nursing Program (DNP) that prepares nurses to become family, primary care adult-gerontology, psychiatric/mental health, and adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioners. There is also an… Read More »
The Office of Academic Innovation is hosting three events in January: AIM Analytics: Making Online Learning Work for Everyone Join us on Monday, January 22 from 12:00 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. at North Quad Space 2435 (105 South State Street.) for AIM Analytics. Digital Tools & Youth Outreach Community: Privacy, Ethical Considerations and Pre-College Data Join us on… Read More »