The New Year will bring more than just snow and fitness resolutions. In the first part of 2017, you can expect improvements to how the Michigan Newsletter is published and distributed. Take our reader survey to weigh in. Your feedback will inform the direction of Michigan IT news to better serve the community. We’ve already made some changes:… Read More »
Carrie Shumaker, formerly ITS assistant director for human capital management and student administration systems, accepted a position as the interim director of information technology, strategy, and operations at UM-Dearborn. Effective December 1, Shumaker will lead all Dearborn IT efforts, including applications, network, storage, architecture, and cybersecurity.
The networked electronics found in modern vehicles provide many useful and cool benefits, such as fuel savings, parking assist, and collision avoidance. Most of these features involve passing data among vehicle systems and human drivers. This connectivity also offers hackers new potential exploits. According to research presented last month by U-M researchers Kyong-Tak Cho and Kang Shin at… Read More »
In the tech world, one of the biggest questions of the 21st century is: How small can we make transistors? Today’s transistors, at about 70 silicon atoms wide, are getting very close to the limits of current technology. Arnab Hazari, doctoral student in electrical engineering, explains how “photonic chips” that use light, made up of photons, could solve… Read More »
Twitter suspended the accounts of several high-profile leaders of the so-called alternative right last month, raising new questions about the largely online movement’s potential for influencing national debate. While the suspensions could damage the movement by limiting its ability to spread its ideology, others believe it could make the alt-right stronger by feeding into its narrative of liberal… Read More »
Experts say Facebook’s recent move to ban phony news sites from its advertising network will do little to stop the spread of such articles on its platform. That’s because fake news sites rely heavily on Facebook to steer traffic to their stories to generate ad revenue through other ad services, like Google AdSense. Gautam Hans, a clinical fellow… Read More »
An interview exploring the technology underlying home device security and the Internet of Things (IoT) was recently broadcasted by CBC Radio. Atul Prakash, professor of electrical engineering and computer science, spoke about why many IoT devices are vulnerable. “The technology is relatively new,” said Prakash. “Hardware is probably a little bit ahead of the software at this point,… Read More »
John Heron, assistant professor of materials science and engineering, and colleagues have engineered a material that could lead to a new generation of computing devices—packing in more computing power while consuming nearly 100 times less energy than today’s electronics require. Known as magnetoelectric multiferroic material, it combines electrical and magnetic properties at room temperature and relies on a… Read More »
Twenty Michigan IT staff presented at the 2016 EDUCAUSE Annual Conference held at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California on Wednesday, October 26. The EDUCAUSE Annual Conference is the premier convening of IT professionals and technology providers in higher education. The conference programming is derived from member-driven content organized across overarching IT tracks and hosts one of… Read More »
Since hackers targeted the election systems of more than 20 states, cyber security experts say Michigan should routinely audit a sample of its paper ballots to protect against election fraud. The Michigan Secretary of State’s office said the state’s voter registration lists have not been targeted or affected. “[Audits] should be done routinely in order to provide a… Read More »
Computer gaming is now a regular part of life for many people. Beyond just being entertaining, though, it can be a very useful tool in education and in science. If people spent just a fraction of their play time solving real-life scientific puzzles—by playing science-based computer games—what new knowledge might we uncover? Professor James Bardwell and Scott Horowitz,… Read More »
With a radio specifically designed to communicate through tissue, U-M researchers are adding another level to a computer platform small enough to fit inside a medical grade syringe. In the video below, David Blaauw, professor of electrical engineering and computer science, and David Wentzloff, associate professor of electrical engineering and computer science, discuss how the technology will allow… Read More »
Last month, millions of viewers used Twitter to watch live streams of NFL football and the presidential debates. If you weren’t one, here’s how it works: After opening the Twitter app and selecting Moments, you click “watch live” to join the live stream, which also integrates a Twitter feed of hashtags related to the event. Amanda Lotz, professor… Read More »
How important is WiFi on the Ann Arbor campus? Based on usage statistics for the first day of the fall term, WiFi has become a must-have for U-M faculty, staff and students. On September 6, more than 55,000 people connected to MWireless and eduroam, using almost 96,000 unique devices and exceeding 54 terabytes of traffic. To meet growing… Read More »
ECoach, a personalized education tool developed at U-M, has been expanded this fall to serve all first-year students. “The goal is to ease the transition to college for all students,” said principal investigator Tim McKay, Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Physics, Astronomy and Education, and director of U-M’s Digital Innovation Greenhouse in the Office of Academic Innovation. “By… Read More »
Parents searching for work-life balance may see smartphones and tablets as a way to escape the office in time to be home for dinner each night. But, a recent study suggests these gadgets can also be a huge distraction and source of stress. When researchers asked a group of parents to slow down and answer detailed questions about… Read More »
Online voting sounds like a dream. But ask cyber security experts and they’ll tell you it’s really a nightmare. In 2010, the District of Columbia piloted an Internet voting system and held a public trial to see if it could be infiltrated. Computer science professor Alex Halderman and his students welcomed the opportunity to legally hack their system.… Read More »
How big of a role does texting play in your life? If you are among the 97% of American smartphone owners who send at least one text every day, it might be time to take another look at your texting etiquette. According to English professor Anne Curzan, there’s a chance you’re doing it all wrong. For example, the… Read More »
The growing high-tech field of conversational computing is popularized by intelligent virtual assistants like Apple’s Siri, Microsoft’s Cortana, Amazon’s Alexa, and the Google Assistant. Interestingly, all of them use a young female voice. Because it has social and emotional dimensions not seen with keyboards and screens, conversational computing is holding a mirror to many of society’s biggest preconceptions… Read More »
The quantity and quality of media children and teens consume should change with their age, according to new guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics. The organization also says parents should oversee children’s media consumption and educate them about proper media engagement. “The big picture message is that parents have a huge role to play as guides and… Read More »