STATE UNIVERSITIES
NIH awards MSU researchers $8.4M to develop first malaria treatments
Terrie E. Taylor, Michigan State University University Distinguished Professor of Internal Medicine and an osteopathic physician, will use an $8.4 million grant from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the National Institutes of Health, to build on her groundbreaking research into fatal cerebral malaria in children. Taylor and team will conduct their next phases of research in Malawi’s first pediatric surgery and intensive care unit scheduled to open in April.
CMU’s new hybrid video game teaches eco-planning
“Rangers vs. Planners” — an educational game prototype created at Central Michigan University — takes one player’s actions within a board game and digitizes them into the virtual world the other player inhabits. The hybrid game, which uses HP’s Sprout technology, is the result of a collaboration between CMU faculty members Joe Packer and Tony Morelli. In addition to teaching students about ecology through active learning, the board game components make it possible for players with disabilities to participate.
$2.5M grant will enable EMU faculty to train English teachers
A federal grant totaling more than $2.6 million will enable Eastern Michigan University to support and train 300 Michigan teachers in the critically needed area of helping students learn English as a foreign language. EMU’s work under the grant will help the state of Michigan address the growing number of students whose primary language is not English — a key step in the facilitating the continuing globalization of the state and its economy.
PEER INSTITUTIONS
IU, NSWC Crane working to bolster national defense
Indiana University and U.S. Navy officials launched a new, multiyear commitment to support the integration of modern “smart” technology into existing systems critical to the country’s defense. Through the cooperative research and development agreement, scientists at the IU School of Informatics and Computing and at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division will work together to transform existing military sensor technology through machine learning and artificial intelligence.
University of Nebraska to partner in national drone journalism training
The Drone Journalism Lab at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln College of Journalism and Mass Communications is a partner in a new innovative program to train journalists in using unmanned aerial systems for news coverage. The lab, launched in 2011 by Professor of Practice Matt Waite, will join the Poynter Institute, Google News Lab, National Press Photographers Association and drone industry leader DJI in leading the sessions.
— Compiled by Meg Bauer, The University Record
