Category Archives: Campus News

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U-M invests in advanced transportation technologies

By | July 26, 2017
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Two men installing tech in a vehicle.

An optimal travel planning search engine and a cognitive computing solution for autonomous driving were among the seven technologies that will receive $600,000 from U-M’s Michigan Translational Research and Commercialization Statewide Innovation Hub to continue their advancement into the commercial market. The advanced transportation innovation hub is part of a statewide initiative, in partnership with the Michigan Economic Development Corporation’s… Read More »

The promise of learning data interoperability

By | July 25, 2017
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gears

Students and instructors use multiple systems and applications every day that collect vast amounts of data about learners. However, much of the information produced by the current learning data ecosystem is poorly understood and poorly utilized. In a recent article for Educause, Sean DeMonner, executive director of teaching and learning for ITS, and two colleagues from the University of… Read More »

Better writing through automation

By | July 20, 2017
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M-Write logo

This fall, U-M will test whether an automated text analysis tool can help integrate more writing into large introductory science courses without imposing significant new time constraints. The tool is the latest addition to M-Write, a program run by the Gayle Morris Sweetland Center for Writing. Anne R. Gere, professor of English language and literature who serves as director of the… Read More »

Social media “faux friendships” could harm health

By | July 20, 2017
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As people spend more time on social media, the lack of true friendship or in-person connections could be harming their health. Robert Pasick—a psychologist, author, and adjunct professor at the Ross School of Business—says the lack of authentic, in-person connections can lead to health problems, or even early death. According to Pasick, social media sites, like Facebook, are giving… Read More »

HITS staffers share research tools at BRCF Showcase

By | July 12, 2017
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Several staff members from the HITS Research Applications & Advanced Computing (RAAC) division participated in the 6th annual Cores Technology & Services Showcase, sponsored by the Biomedical Research Core Facilities (BRCF). The Showcase, which took place June 14 at Palmer Commons, brought together more than 35 U-M units and partner vendors, including HITS, to share the latest technology… Read More »

Michigan Medicine wins ‘Most Wired’ award

By | July 11, 2017
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For the third consecutive year, Michigan Medicine has been named one of the nation’s “Most Wired” health systems by Hospitals & Health Networks magazine, a publication of the American Hospital Association. The award recognizes hospitals and health systems that excel in using information technology to advance patient care and population health, protect the privacy and security of patient… Read More »

Michigan IT News wants YOU!

By | July 10, 2017
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Michigan IT News is published by and for the U-M IT community to provide updates, answer questions, and spark conversation about how to improve IT services and invest in technologies that support U-M’s current and future needs. We are guided by a dedicated group of Michigan IT staff who make sure we keep focused on the issues, interests, and developments that… Read More »

HITS improves its online presence

By | July 5, 2017
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screenshot of new HITS site

Health Information Technology & Services (HITS) launched a new website. The new site provides essential information regarding the many products and services HITS provides, along with search options and intuitive navigation designed to make finding this information quicker and easier. It also links to an improved HITS Knowledgebase. This is an important next step in the unification of MCIT and… Read More »

HITS volunteers upgrade tech at Ronald McDonald House

By | July 5, 2017
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Ronald McDonald House logo

  Over the past three years, a group of volunteers from Health Information Technology & Services (HITS) has completely upgraded all technology services at the Ronald McDonald House of Ann Arbor, a valuable resource for thousands of families with children requiring critical and essential medical care. Many HITS staff members generously donated their time and skills to make… Read More »

Halderman testifies in Senate’s Russia probe

By | June 28, 2017
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J. Alex Halderman testifies at a Senate hearing

J. Alex Halderman (second from right), professor of electrical engineering and computer science, testified before the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence at a June 21 hearing titled “Russian Interference in the 2016 U.S. Election.” It focused on the federal government’s role in safeguarding U.S. elections from outside interference. Halderman emphasized that “our highly computerized election infrastructure is vulnerable… Read More »

Data and your online identity

By | June 27, 2017
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John Cheney-Lippold, assistant professor of American culture at U-M and author of the book We Are Data: Algorithms and the Making of Our Digital Selves, helps explain the difference between data that is trying to sell you a product, and data that truly knows who you are as a person. “I think we should take the idea of U.S. privacy… Read More »

Mcity uses AR to help test automated vehicles

By | June 27, 2017
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A research team in U-M’s Mcity Michigan Traffic Lab led by Professor Henry Liu has developed an augmented reality (AR) system that enables engineers and researchers to evaluate challenging and dangerous scenarios in a safe environment. The traffic lab controls all of the signalling and tracks the vehicles on the facility. It collects and archives data from those… Read More »

U-M participates with Help Desk Institute

By | June 16, 2017
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Lisa Callihan (LSA IT customer experience manager) presented at the HDI 2017 (Help Desk Institute) conference on May 11 in Washington D.C. Her presentation, Implementing a Major Incident Process, focused on the work she did in creating and implementing the ITS Significant Incident process used today. HDI is the professional association and certification body for the technical service and… Read More »

Can Alexa turn your kid into a brat?

By | June 14, 2017
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crying angry boy

Experts at the crossroads of pediatrics, psychology, and AI say there’s a lot we don’t know about how virtual assistants might affect young, developing minds. Jenny Radesky, a U-M pediatrician who studies how digital media shapes children, says research around how kids understand digital assistants is limited, and studies that do exist on children and robots suggest children see… Read More »

Good boy! Domesticating AI to protect humans

By | June 8, 2017
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golden retriever

U-M computer science professor Igor Markov believes an attack by artificial intelligence on humans would sort of be like when the Black Plague hit Europe in the 14th century, killing up to 50 percent of a populatioin that had no idea what was happening or why. “This would be illustrative of what you might expect if a superintelligent AI would… Read More »

U-M wins NCWIT NEXT Award

By | June 6, 2017
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The College of Engineering’s Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) division received a NCWIT Extension Services Transformation (NEXT) Award for excellence in efforts to attract undergraduate women to the field of computing. Sponsored by the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT) and Google, NEXT Awards honor academic departments that show improved outcomes in increasing women’s meaningful participation in computing education. CSE’s… Read More »

U-M team takes home IMS Global Leadership Awards

By | May 30, 2017
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Anthony Whyte and Lance E Sloan of ITS Teaching & Learning (TL) each received leadership awards at IMS Global’s Learning Impact Leadership Institute 2017 annual conference held in Denver May 16-19. Both were recognized for their work on the IMS Caliper Analytics™ specification. Also recognized was Charles Severance from the School of information who received the Bill Graves… Read More »

LSA & ITS team win President’s Staff Innovation Award

By | May 30, 2017
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Congratulations to Jeff Dils, Victoria Green, Chris Mueller and MaryBeth Stuenkel (ITS), and Monika Dressler (LSA) for receiving the Presidential Staff Team Award for Innovation for ExamScan, a new service that digitizes hand-written and graded exams and makes it easier for instructors to return and review exams with students. ExamScan allows large classes to conduct literature-based, data-driven examinations… Read More »