Category Archives: Campus News

Got some news to share, or know someone who deserves a shout-out? Let us know! (You must be logged in with your UMICH Level-1 password to access the form.) Subscribe to the Campus News RSS feed.

Big data and precision health

By | November 8, 2017

An army of U-M scientists and engineers is part of an effort, known broadly as precision health, that aims to help doctors customize treatments to individual patients’ genetic makeup, lifestyle, and risk factors, and predict outcomes with significantly higher accuracy. One major branch of precision health is the development of big-data tools to customize treatments. Experts envision a… Read More »

Will the AI jobs revolution bring about human revolt, too?

By | November 7, 2017

The rise of artificial intelligence threatens to eliminate white-collar and “creative class” jobs once considered impossible to automate, including real estate brokers, insurance claims adjusters, lawyers, and business managers. In a recent article, Kentaro Toyama, associate professor of technology and global development at the School of Information, examines if anything good could come of mass unemployment, or whether it… Read More »

Screen time tips for parents

By | November 7, 2017

A new report found that the amount of time young children in the United States spend with mobile screens has tripled in just four years. Jenny Radesky, an assistant professor of developmental behavioral pediatrics at C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, wrote a commentary in the new report and offers some screen time tips for parents. According to Radesky, infants and young… Read More »

Wearables to boost security of voice-based log-in

By | November 6, 2017

A security-token necklace, ear buds, or eyeglasses developed at U-M could eliminate vulnerabilities in voice authentication—the practice of logging in to a device or service with your voice alone. “Increasingly, voice is being used as a security feature but it actually has huge holes in it,” said Kang Shin, professor of electrical engineering and computer science at U-M.… Read More »

Software improves captioning for those with hearing deficits

By | November 3, 2017

Hiring a professional captioning service to help students with hearing disabilities get information presented in class or at events requires a lot of advance planning and can be costly. Automatic speech recognition programs, while quick and convenient, have unusually high error rates. However, a program called Scribe, developed by Walter Lasecki, assistant professor of information and of computer science… Read More »

HITS showcases support for NCRC at Expo

Over 400 visitors attended the 5th Annual North Campus Research Complex (NCRC) Expo on Wednesday, October 18, 2017. Two teams from Health Information Technology & Services (HITS) were on hand to showcase tech support and research support tools. The Help Me Now walk-up support team talked about the on-demand support they provide for IT products and services, including… Read More »

U-M faculty & staff to present at EDUCAUSE

A contingent of U-M faculty and staff will make their mark at the EDUCAUSE Annual Conference this year, including VPIT-CIO Kelli Trosvig. She is one of ten representatives from the university who will present at the event, which takes place October 31–November 3 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia. Trosvig will co-host a session on Supporting Innovation and Collaboration… Read More »

Register NOW for the Michigan IT Symposium

Learn how members of the U-M IT community are employing technology to empower the leaders and best! Register now for the Michigan IT Symposium, where you’ll learn new skills, connect with other IT professionals, and hear from campus leaders and innovators. Details at a Glance When: November 20 (3:30–5:30 p.m.) & November 21 (8:30 a.m.–4 p.m.) Where: Michigan League, Central Campus (Parking… Read More »

How to create better privacy policies

By | October 13, 2017

A 2008 study estimated that it would take 244 hours a year for the typical American internet user to read the privacy policies of all websites he or she visits—and that was before smartphones with dozens of apps, cloud services, and smart home technologies. If you’re like most people, you don’t read them. Florian Schaub, assistant professor of information at… Read More »

How social media affects disaster coverage

By | October 11, 2017

Cliff Lampe, an associate professor of information, says there’s a definite connection between social media and how news organizations cover disasters. For example, after Hurricane Irma hit the U.S. Virgin Islands on Sept. 6, stranded islanders flocked to social media to reach families and friends. Facebook groups quickly formed with residents posting photos, updates, and requests for assistance. As… Read More »

More data transparency needed on Ph.D. programs

By | October 10, 2017

Association of American University members want more institutions to follow U-M’s example when it comes data transparency of their Ph.D. programs. U-M makes publicly available data on admissions, enrollment, funding, time to degree completion and completion rates, along with the results of a basic doctoral exit survey and job placement information. Chief academic officers representing AAU campuses at their annual… Read More »

Social media in higher ed

By | October 9, 2017

Social media have changed how colleges interact and communicate with the world. Every post paints a picture of what a college is like, who makes up its community, and what’s important to them. It’s a 24/7 job that didn’t even exist a few years ago. For Nikki Sunstrum, U-M’s director of social media, that means constant monitoring of what’s happening… Read More »

Adapting technology to enhance Michigan Medicine’s mission: Q&A with Ranjit Aiyagari, MD

Ranjit Aiyagari, M.D. was recently named chief medical information officer for Michigan Medicine. Aiyagari oversees the Office of Clinical Informatics and works closely with the organization’s chief information and chief clinical officers to bridge the gap between provider-facing technology systems and the strategic goals of the clinical enterprise. Aiyagari recently discussed his role and how it differs from —… Read More »

Meet the Contact Centers CoP

By | September 22, 2017

An interview with the co-facilitators of the Contact Centers Community of Practice: Lisa Callihan (Customer Experience Manager, LSA IT) and Jennifer Herron (IT Business Planning Lead, ITS Infrastructure). What were the initial goals of the Contact Centers Community of Practice? The initial goals of this community were to: Bring together disconnected contact centers from across our 3 campuses Keep track of… Read More »

First-day WiFi traffic triples

By | September 20, 2017

Last year, we reported the amazing, first-day usage statistics that made it clear just how much the U-M community relies on WiFi. That was nothing. On the first day of fall term, September 5, 2017, wireless network traffic increased by three times compared to fall 2016. ​Total unique devices observed: 100,087 Number of authenticated users on MWireless: 57,789 Number of… Read More »