Campus Briefs

:: NEWS

DIGITAL INFRASTRUCTURE FOR THE HUMANITIES. A recent report from the American Council of Learned Societies details the need for a comprehensive online infrastructure for the humanities and social sciences. John Unsworth, dean of the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign and chair of ACLS’ Commission on Cyberinfrastructure for the Humanities and Social Sciences, notes, “The humanities and social sciences have expertise in the many ways that human beings interact with information, and that expertise is key to getting this new digital infrastructure right.”

ANCIENT ROME IN 3D. The University of Virginia-Charlottesville’s Institute for Advanced Technology in the Humanities is developing a real-time 3D rendering of the City of Rome in A.D. 400. The model is based on IBM’s Cell Broadband Engine, which speeds up compute-intensive applications such as image processing and simulations.

OPTIMISM IN COMMUNICATIONS TECH. A new survey by the Association for Communications Technology Professionals in Higher Education found that higher ed communications departments are confident that they will be able to overcome budget constraints to implement leading-edge technologies. Respondents (in all, more than 100 communications technology professionals who attended ACUTA’s Fall Seminars this past October) revealed that technologists at nearly every school are seriously evaluating technologies such as voice over IP, wireless and cellular, Gigabit Ethernet, and advanced security; 93 percent said they expect to achieve their objectives.

FEDERATED ID MILESTONE. In a major step toward the use of campus identities to securely access online federal government resources, Internet2 has demonstrated the interoperability of the Shibboleth federated identity management software with the National Science Foundation’s FastLane online grant administration system.

Campus Briefs

GOOD NEIGHBOR: Colgate U’s campus
WiFi benefits adjacent downtown Hamilton, NY.

NEIGHBORLY WIFI. In response to the increasingly digital lifestyle of its students and proliferation of wireless devices on campus, Colgate University (NY) has built a WiFi network that includes outdoor areas of the campus and extends into areas of downtown Hamilton, NY, where many of its students live. While the goal wasn’t a pervasive metro network for Hamilton, the public can log in as guests at no charge in certain areas.

WHO IS J. SMITH? At Penn State, researchers are using machine learning to resolve ambiguities between authors with similar names. “It works similarly to the way humans would figure out authors’ identities—by looking at affiliations, topics, and publications,” says principal researcher C. Lee Giles.

:: PEOPLE

TO ELLIS COLLEGE OF NYIT. David Harpool is joining Ellis College of NYIT, New York Institute of Technology’s online college for working adults, as provost and chief administrative officer.

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Congratulations to the following schools, selected to receive a Canon REALiS SX6 projector and participate in CT’s high-resolution projection study: The University of New Orleans College of Engineering; Pomona College (CA); the Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine; and Herkimer County Community College (NY).

Share your success! We want to know about recent promotions, changes, and hires in your campus technology community. Forward the individual’s name; title; institution and location information; and any relevant educational and occupational background to [email protected], with the subject line “Campus Briefs.”

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