News Staff

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Author Archives: News Staff

U-M releases tool to assess cybersecurity in self-driving cars

By | January 8, 2018

A new white paper by U-M researchers working with Mcity illustrates the breadth of the cybersecurity challenges that must be overcome before autonomous and connected vehicles can be widely adopted. While every new generation of auto tech brings new security risks, the vulnerabilities that come along with advanced mobility are both unprecedented and under-studied, the paper states. The… Read More »

UM-Flint’s new video production studio enhances online learning

By | January 5, 2018

UM-Flint’s Office of Extended Learning (OEL) has opened a new video production studio in the Northbank Center to help faculty enrich their online courses. Crews from the university’s Information Technology Services, Engineering Departmentand Facilities and Operations renovated an old locker room into the new professional space. The sound-proof studio features a 10-foot wide green screen and an 8-foot wide lightboard, which is “an internally illuminated sheet… Read More »

New web accessibility group forming

By | January 5, 2018

Interested in web accessibility and want to learn more? Check out the Ann Arbor Web Accessibility Meetup group. Their first general meeting will be held Tuesday, January 30 at Deque Labs, 2100 S Main St, Ste D.  The group is for developers, designers, content creators, and anyone who is interested in digital accessibility and inclusive design. They will host talks,… Read More »

Memristors power quick-learning neural network

By | December 26, 2017

A new type of neural network made with memristors can dramatically improve the efficiency of teaching machines to think like humans. The network, called a reservoir computing system, could predict words before they are said during conversation, and help predict future outcomes based on the present. The research team that created the reservoir computing system, led by Wei… Read More »

U-M, WCC will share programming course

By | December 22, 2017

Faculty at the School of Information and Washtenaw Community College will collaborate on an open-source course with the goal of encouraging more students to consider a U-M Bachelor of Science in Information (BSI) degree. The two institutions have teamed up to offer WCC students, particularly those underrepresented in STEM fields, an introductory class in the popular programming language… Read More »

Net neutrality and you

By | December 21, 2017

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) voted to end net neutrality on Thursday, which could mean the end of the open internet as we know it. In an interview with “Mashable”, Florian Schaub, assistant professor of information, discusses what internet users need to know about the decision and how it might impact access. Despite the quick vote from the FCC, throttled… Read More »

Help students Get Connected in 2018

By | December 21, 2017

Want to help students start off the new year right? ITS Get Connected Tech Consulting Stations will be available to assist new and returning students with technology questions the first week back from break. Stations will be active Wednesday, January 3 thru Monday, January 8 (including Saturday and Sunday) inside the Angell Hall Fishbowl and both Computer Showcase… Read More »

U-M team working on unhackable computer

By | December 20, 2017

By turning computer circuits into unsolvable puzzles, a University of Michigan team aims to create an unhackable computer with a new $3.6 million grant from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. Todd Austin, U-M professor of computer science and engineering, leads the project, called MORPHEUS. Its cybersecurity approach is dramatically different from today’s, which relies on software—specifically software patches… Read More »

U-M research in AI & machine learning is booming

By | December 15, 2017

Research using machine learning and artificial intelligence—tools that allow computers to learn about and predict outcomes from massive datasets—has been booming at U-M. The potential societal benefits being explored on campus are numerous, from on-demand transportation systems to self-driving vehicles to individualized medical treatments to improved battery capabilities. The ability of computers and machines generally to learn from… Read More »

Dearborn receives grant for STEM program for underrepresented youth

By | December 14, 2017

University of Michigan-Dearborn has received a $1.2 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to implement a math and science program for underrepresented youth. The Office of Enrollment Management and Student Life (EMSL) recently received a five-year renewable federal grant to implement an Upward Bound Math and Science Program, which encourages high school students to develop their… Read More »

High school students tour the MACC

By | December 6, 2017

On November 9, computer science students from Skyline High School were treated to a special tour of the Michigan Academic Computing Center (MACC). Seventy-one students were split into shifts to walk through the data center, talk about what makes it work, and see some of its key components. Brock Palen, director of Advanced Research Computing-Technology Services (ARC-TS), arranged the… Read More »

Microsoft Lync to be decommissioned Jan. 29

By | December 5, 2017

Since the university’s adoption of services such as Google’s G Suite and BlueJeans, the user base for Microsoft Lync, an instant messaging and conferencing tool, has been slowly declining. Because of this, the Ross School of Business, which has hosted and maintained the service for use by campus, will retire Microsoft Lync on January 29, 2018. Current users of… Read More »

Court case could affect your digital privacy

By | December 1, 2017

A case pending before the Supreme Court could affect all Americans’ digital privacy for decades to come, according to H.V. Jagadish, professor of electrical engineering and computer science. The case involves the appeal of man whose conviction for armed robbery was based, in part, on location data provided without a warrant to the F.B.I. by his cellphone provider. Jagadish, whose… Read More »

The future of TV? Think shopping mall.

By | December 1, 2017

Amanda Lotz, professor of media studies at U-M, writes in a recent article that the entry of large content providers like Disney into the realm of internet-distributed video doesn’t mean that a single service will eventually dominate, or that video services will necessarily compete against each other. Instead, Disney’s new streaming service points to the growing range of offerings… Read More »

U-M study examines Twitter style of India’s PM Modi

By | November 30, 2017

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has more than 36 million followers on Twitter, used political humor and sarcasm to become broadly appealing and refashion his political style, according to a U-M study of his tweets led by Joyojeet Pal, assistant professor of information. The study, published in the International Journal of Communication, shows that Modi tweets under nine broad themes: cricket, opposition… Read More »

UM-Dearborn to launch new Information Systems Security minor

By | November 29, 2017

UM-Dearborn’s College of Business will offer a new Information Systems Security minor beginning this winter as a response to the growing digitization of business data. The 15-credit minor may not have been essential to business five years ago, but it is today, said Information Systems Management Associate Professor Jun He.  “Although businesses have always known there’s a security risk when going digital, having a… Read More »