IT Symposium coming next month
Registration is open for the 2019 Michigan IT Symposium, which runs from 1-5:30 p.m. Nov. 25 and 8 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Nov. 26 in the Michigan League. Join information technology colleagues from across U-M for an opportunity to learn new skills, connect with other IT professionals, and hear from campus leaders and innovators who are employing technology to empower the leaders and best. This year’s event will include a keynote presentation, leadership panel discussions, 33 breakout presentations and 54 poster presentations. The event is open is open to all U-M IT and technology professionals and advocates. For more information or to register, visit the website.
Artist creating mural depicting U-M’s first African-American student
Detroit artist Tylonn J. Sawyer is working with U-M students to create a mural honoring Samuel C. Watson, the first African-American student admitted to the university. The project is part of Sawyer’s residency at the Institute for the Humanities. Watson, who was admitted to U-M in 1853 and attended until 1857, went on to become one of the first African Americans to receive a Doctor of Medicine degree from Cleveland Medical College. In 1867, he was Detroit’s richest black property owner and would eventually become its first African-American elected city officer. Sawyer and U-M students are painting the mural this month inside the Modern Languages Building. A related exhibition, “WHITE HISTORY MONTH VOL. 1,” runs Nov. 18-Dec. 19 at the Institute for the Humanities Gallery.
Solar Car Team finishes third in Bridgestone World Solar Challenge
The U-M Solar Car team took third place at this year’s Bridgestone World Solar Challenge in Australia, the only American team to cross the finish line among more than 40 contenders. Michigan reached Adelaide, South Australia, after a five-day, 1,800-mile race across the Australian outback. The preparation that went into building Michigan’s car, Electrum, proved worthwhile, and the vehicle only required a few roadside stops. The team’s new lightweight lithium polymer cells, a risk in their design, were a reliable substitute to the traditional lithium ion batteries used in the past. The race down the outback wasn’t easy. On the fourth day, the weather soured in central Australia, with spotty cloud cover and high winds.
Pulse Survey launches for Michigan Medicine employees
Many Voices, Michigan Medicine’s Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Pulse Survey, launched Oct. 14 and is available through Oct. 25. The online survey gives employees the opportunity to share their opinions on topics such as communication, respect and teamwork. Employees can access the survey by clicking the generic link sent to their work email address from “Michigan Medicine DEI Pulse Survey.” A password is required to participate. Unique participant information is retained by third-party vendor Press Ganey and not shared with Michigan Medicine, guaranteeing confidentiality.
Clements Library celebrates iconic 1776 Benjamin West painting
A new exhibit at the William L. Clements Library highlights its robust historical sources related to the 1759 siege of Québec — a major turning point of the colonial era in which the British wrested control of Canada from France. About 18 years after the conflict, American artist Benjamin West depicted the storied battlefield death of British General James Wolfe in an epic oil painting, which has been part of the Clements Library collection for 91 years. For the first time since 2012, West’s painting “The Death of General Wolfe” has been installed with new custom lighting in the library’s Avenir Foundation Room. Painted in honor of the French and Indian War’s climactic Battle of Québec, also known as the Battle of the Plains of Abraham, the work is widely considered an iconic masterpiece. As the only original full-size copy in the United States, “The Death of General Wolfe” has been called “the single most recognizable item from the Clements Library collections” by Clayton Lewis, curator of graphics.
IRWG announces first Mcubed incentive award
The Institute for Research on Women & Gender presented its first IRWG-Mcubed Research Incentive award to the Mcubed 3.0 Cube project called “The Future of Ethics, Society, and Computing.” The researchers on the project are Christian Sandvig, the H. Marshall McLuhan Collegiate Professor of Digital Media and professor of information, communication and media in the School of Information; Irina Aristarkhova, associate professor of art and design in the Penny W. Stamps School of Art & Design; and Stephanie Rosen, associate librarian and accessibility specialist. Now in its third cycle of funding, Mcubed 3.0 brings together faculty members from at least two campus units to collaborate and receive immediate seed funding for interdisciplinary research projects. The IRWG-Mcubed Research Incentive offers Mcubed collaborators additional funding to expand their research projects in the realms of women, gender and sexuality, or projects that could benefit from additional expertise.
— Compiled by Ann Zaniewski, The University Record
