Researchers fear that the same issues with supply chains that caused toilet paper shortages at the beginning of the pandemic in the United States may result in the same problem with the fine chemicals needed to synthesize COVID-19 therapeutics and vaccines. Now, a U-M team of medicinal chemists have used artificial intelligence to find alternative pharmaceutical building blocks… Read More »
It goes without saying that COVID-19 changed many things at Michigan Medicine. One major change has been the restricted hospital visitor policy, significantly limiting the number of people and time visitors can spend with a patient. For clinicians, this has upended patient-family communications, typically conducted face-to-face. “Not being able to share information with families in-person has been a… Read More »
As COVID-19 swept across the city of Detroit, it brought with it a wave of food insecurity, particularly among low-income residents and seniors who rely on public transportation and can only afford to buy small amounts of food at a time. Now, a U-M research team has stepped in to help identify solutions. Funded by a National Science… Read More »
Tiny wireless sensors for recycled N95 masks could verify, in real time, whether the respirators are being exposed to proper decontamination conditions. These batteryless sensors are being developed and tested at the University of Michigan through a new National Science Foundation RAPID COVID-19 grant. They are designed to provide more accurate and less cumbersome monitoring during the decontamination… Read More »
A team of students at the College of Engineering have developed an online tool called “MI Symptoms” to help Michigan residents track potential COVID-19 symptoms, enabling state officials and employers to make the right call about reopening workplaces during the pandemic. Among the web application’s key audiences are employers who will need to make sure they’re correctly following… Read More »
Facing a surge in requests for help, HITS used new tools, streamlined processes, and called on volunteers to keep Michigan Medicine working. Because of the shift to remote work due to COVID-19, HITS experienced a significant surge in requests for help. Help Me Now locations were closed to ensure worker safety, phone wait times increased substantially, and there… Read More »
As lockdown restrictions lift, COVID-19 is changing how we use indoor spaces, challenging those who manage these spaces, from homes to offices to factories. One of the biggest challenges concerns heating and cooling. In response to the need for smart, more flexible climate control to keep people comfortable without heating and cooling entire empty buildings, researchers from the… Read More »
Wendy Skinner, like thousands of K-12 Michigan teachers, wasn’t sure where to turn when the Michigan Department of Education released its “Learning at a Distance” guidelines in early April which required teachers to continue student learning at home during the pandemic. Looking for guidance, Skinner attended a webinar on the Collabrify Roadmap Platform. Roadmaps, developed by the Center… Read More »
Students in a Michigan Engineering spring/summer course called “Software against COVID-19,” taught by David Chesney, are working on six projects to help people during the COVID-19 pandemic. The course is usually called “Software for Accessibility,” but Chesney, the Toby Teorey Collegiate Lecturer in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, decided to offer this special session from May through August. … Read More »
Lei Ying, a professor of electrical engineering and computer science, is developing algorithms to quickly and accurately identify COVID-19 “patient zero” and reconstruct the virus’s path with limited information. Ying’s approach combines big data, network science, and stochastic systems, using information such as human mobility data, social network data, and genetic network analysis to track the spread of… Read More »
From the fight against the novel coronavirus to ICU transfer and patient rehabilitation, the Michigan Center for Integrative Research in Critical Care (MCIRCC) is developing intelligent prediction software to support health systems. Technology is transforming every corner of the health care industry, including the way clinicians monitor patients. Current systems have demonstrated that early detection of patient deterioration… Read More »
University of Michigan students from the Ann Arbor, Dearborn, and Flint campuses have free access for a limited time to more than 4,000 learning experiences from top universities and industries through the new Coursera for Campus initiative. With more than 70% of the world’s students impacted by the coronavirus pandemic, Coursera worked with its partners, including U-M, to provide free… Read More »
The first step of preparation for hybrid teaching, with some in-person time and some remote time, is to plan what activities will have the strongest impact done synchronously (live, at the same time). Synchronous time, whether in-person or via videoconference, is a precious resource in hybrid courses. Do not use your synchronous time for extended lectures, demonstrations, or… Read More »
The virtual interviewer uses therapeutic writing techniques to help users cope with difficult situations. A virtual interviewer powered by natural language processing offers socially-distanced support for people facing trying times. The dialogue system, designed by a collaborative team from the University of Michigan and the University of Texas at Austin, takes inspiration from counseling strategies like motivational interviewing… Read More »
ECE Senior Electronics Technician Jesse Cross and MSEL Assistant Director Shawn Simone both have their assigned 50-pound MakerBot Replicator 3D printers running on their kitchen tables. Senior engineering technician Matt Brown figured out the basement was the best place to muffle the printer’s regular “beeps and boops.” And Engineering Technician Josh Postell tucked his in a spare bedroom… Read More »
Transitioning to online lecturing may seem daunting at first, but LSA Learning and Teaching Technology Consultants have shared some tricks and tips for making it easier. According to the consultants, recording an hour-long lecture with slides to mimic a typical, in-person meeting reduces information retention and effectiveness of the instruction. Instead, lecturers should consider making shorter video lectures… Read More »
High-touch, hands-on engagement programs are continuing to connect students with community organizations by finding more creative ways to serve and offer programming. Although COVID-19 has paused and scrambled many engagement activities and programs, Leaders of Project Community in the Department of Sociology; Citizen Interaction Design out of the School of Information; the College of Literature, Science, and the… Read More »
optiMize, a student-led incubator at the University of Michigan, launched a $25,000 Community Aid Relief Fund in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The relief fund aims to provide mutual aid and community-based projects in Washtenaw county. Students at U-M, Eastern Michigan University, and Washtenaw Community College were eligible to apply for up to $5,000 in funding. optiMize received… Read More »
The Michigan Institute of Data Science (MIDAS) recently awarded three University of Michigan School of Information (UMSI) researchers COVID-19 data science grants. Research fellow Quan Nguyen, assistant professor Christopher Brooks and assistant professor Daniel Romero will receive funding for “Students’ mobility patterns on campus and the implications for the recovery of campus activities post-pandemic.” This project will examine… Read More »
Almost overnight, the sleep and wake patterns of nearly four billion people may have changed because of COVID-19-spurred lockdowns. A free app built by University of Michigan researchers will help users understand their own sleep rhythms, shedding light on how their biological clock is responding to lockdowns, and give tips about how to shift their potentially disrupted rhythms… Read More »