The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Friday, December 2, 2011 - 7A The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Friday, December 2, 2D11 - 7A 'U' entrepreneurial group hosts 1000 Pitches summit n 0 n 1 . . t . M Daniel Atkins presents at the Humanities, Arts, Technology Advanced Collaboratory conference in Rackham Auditorium on Friday. Experts discuss digital age atfftHannual A tec Exp geonin in aca at Rac weeke Cati profes was th at the Arts, Advan ferenc Saturd "Digit cation, digital the stu univer ational event to the 21st century academia. i i e iDavidson, co-founder of HAS- draws global TAC - a nationwide network of hnology leaders scholars committed to maximiz- ing the potential of new technol- ogy - spoke to the amphitheater By ALEXANDRA of professors, activists and stu- MONDALEK dents about the institution of Daily StaffReporter learning and how it must change to accommodate growth in the erts spoke about the bur- post-industrial age. g growth of the digital age "We have great institutions demics in front of a crowd that do a good job of preparing us kham Auditorium this past for the 20th century," Davidson nd. said. "How do we rethink those by Davidson, an English institutions for the 21st century?" sor at Duke University, Panels and presentations at ie first of several speakers the conference offered by a vari- fifth annual Humanities, ety of professionals from schools Science and Technology such as Columbia University ced Collaboratory con- and Cornell University sought e held Thursday through to investigate the nuances of the lay. This year's event, titled digital age. al Scholarly Communi- Philosophy professor Daniel focused on improving Herwitz, professor and director technology available to of the University's Institute for dents and staff of research the Humanities, said the Univer- sities, as well as adapting sityhas become asignificantplay- er in the digital era. According to Herwitz, this period emphasizes the importance of student adapt- ability to technology. Herwitz added the three most important qualities of students in the digital age are "the ability to think synergistically between different kinds of technolo- gies, the ability to have a critical approach to complex social prob- lems and the ability to negotiate global divides." LSA senior Paris Von Habsburg-Lothringen, HAS- TAC's event coordinator, said she supports the University's efforts at becoming a more digital com- munity. "Digital humanities allow peo- ple to connect across the various concentrations," Von Habsburg- Lothringen said. "I see that there's a lot of professors now who try to integrate technology into the classroom as a teaching aid and a way to improve learn- ing." Stu leade Univi toget dents the 1 await Th for tI es Su dent MPon ness i on St the fo comp to gu advic pitch Ea dents prene comp categ best earn event the C Cente the U Goog Ml they this the ex Busin Chris proje helpe the Nov. Semi-finalists MPowered hosts in the winter semester. network at "People are engaged and moving forward and meeting [Poweredevent great mentors today," Christo- pher said. "We're giving (the By STEVE ZOSKI semi-finalists) the people they Daily StaffReporter need to reach out to and learn from so they can take the next tdent entrepreneurs, big step." rs of local start-ups and One of the keynote speak- ersity professors came ers, Marc Weiser, managing her this weekend as stu- director of RPM Ventures - ' entrepreneurial ideas in an Ann Arbor-based venture 000 Pitches competition capital company that invests :judgment. in businesses developed in the e participants gathered Midwest - said in his speech he inaugural 1000 Pitch- that networking is essential for ummit held by the stu- entrepreneurial success. entrepreneurship group "Today is about your first wered at TechArb, a busi- step," Weiser said. "Entrepre- incubator on East Liberty, neurship is not a destination, it aturday. Semi-finalists of is not a thing you become, it is a aurth annual 1000 Pitches state of mind." etition met and listened Weiser, an adjunct assistant est speakers, who offered professor of entrepreneur- e on entrepreneurial and ial programs in the College of ing skills. Engineering, offered advice ch fall, University stu- about networking. submit their entre- "Don't confuse networking urial ideas to the with notoriety," he said. "You etition, which has 10 don't have to have everyone in ories. Students with the the world know who you are. pitch in each category will You just have to know every- a $1,000 award from the body you want." 's sponsors, which include Doug Neal, managing direc- College of Engineering's tor of the Center for Entre- er for Entrepreneurship, preneurship, told the event's niversity Law School and participants that competition le, on Dec. 11. is an opportunity for students Powered members said to become entrepreneurs while decided to hold a summit still in school. year because it enhances "When I was in school and xperience for participants. there was no entrepreneurship less sophomore Scott program, I just wanted to get topher, a 1000 Pitches out," Neal said. "I wanted to ct director, said the event get into the world and experi- d bridge the gap between ence it. submission deadline of But Neal explained that as a 18 and related events that student, he didn't have access to the resources that University students do to pursue his entre- preneurial interests right away. "The resources on our cam- pus are incredibly valuable ..." he said. "This and the other programs all linked together provide all sorts of resources. Students can stay in school and can achieve results while they're here." LSA junior Gautam Muth- usamy, an 1000 Pitches partici- pant at Saturday's event, said he hoped to network to enhance his penny stock company into an investor relations company. "I'm looking for the next phase," Muthusamy said. "That's primarily why I came here - to network with people and find some venture capital." Engineering seniors Kins- huk Rajan and Andrew Copp collaborated to create a proto- type of a medical testing device that is currently beingtested by a doctor at the University Hos- pital. "My idea is a simulator that simulates a fundamental test that doctors use to assess dehydration and peripheral perfusion," Rajan said. "Unfor- tunately, it's a test that many younger doctors are bad at doing, soI built a simulator that simulates the test and allows them to practice with it." Copp said the idea can still be improved upon, and one rea- son he came to the summit was to find ways to pitch the simu- lator better. "One of the reasons I'm here is to try and find better ways to explain what exactly it is we're doing," he said. "Even my parents don't really get what exactly it is I'm making." SUGAR BOWL From Page 1A While there were indications that Michigan was headed for the Sugar Bowl, due to more to its large fanbase than its 10-2 record, its rumored opponent changed throughout the week- end. Houston was the most likely, but its loss in the Confer- ence USA Championship Game on Saturday left the door wide open. "We really didn't know," said senior tight end Kevin Koger. "We kept hearing differ- ent stuff. ...We were just going through every scenario pos- sible, Googling all the scenarios as each game went on." The final announcement was CONFERENCE From Page 1A SAM in the past, it has been increasing its role in the pro- gram. "Having the conference here in Ann Arbor symbolizes our recommitment to the Student Association of Michigan," Wals- er said. This weekend's meeting drew participants from 11 of Michi- gan's 15 public universities. The agenda included a wide array of issues, including discussion on the impact of state legislation on students. Gage said SAM has been achieving tangible goals, like aiding to defeat a bill in the state House of Representatives that would have cut $13 million in funding from Wayne State University and $18 million from Michigan State University. Earlier this fall, SAM started a petition opposing the bill and collected signatures from stu- dent leaders at the 15 schools. Kevin Tatulyan, vice president of SAM and a student at Wayne State University, also met with state Rep. Bob Genetski (R-Sau- gatuck), who introduced the bill, to discuss their grievances, according to Gage. After the meeting, Genetski pledged that the bill would not a bit of a surprise. It was the Hokies, a team the Wolverines have never played. The two pro- grams find themselves in simi- lar situations. The Hokies were blown out of the ACC Cham- pionship Game, losing their chance at the Orange Bowl. But Virginia Tech fell to just No. 11 in the BCS rankings, leav- ing them in contention. They weren't a popular choice, as many fans and analysts thought teams like Boise State or Kansas State were more deserving. "I think there's a lot of rea- sons why Virginia Tech would be an attractive team to a BCS bowl," said Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer in a teleconfer- ence last night. "The number of years we've won 10 straight games, I think that's another thing, the only team to do that. leave the committee, and while Gage said SAM cannot take full credit for Genetski's decision, he emphasized the ability of the organization to influence state legislation. "That's a really tangible result," Gage said. "We may not be able to win the cuts just yet, but let's work on smaller, more obtainable goals. Let's work on keeping that bill in committee and saving $31 million." Tyler Helsel, a SAM spokes- man and a student at Lake Supe- rior State University echoed Gage's sentiments, and said student governments now have more of an active relationship with state lawmakers. "SAM has built this bridge to where (student governments) can go, and we can discuss these issues with the decision-mak- ers," Helsel said. Jeremy Jones, a student gov- ernment representative from Saginaw Valley State University who attended the conference, said SAM works on issues that affect both current and future students. "As a future teacher, I defi- nitely want to see my students go on to college, and obtain degrees and have successful careers," Jones said. "Personally, (because) I pay for my education myself, it's definitely important to me that it remains affordable Over the years I think the Vir- ginia Tech name has gotten to be a very good name." Michigan has only reached two bowls since the 2007 loss to USC - a 41-35 win over Florida in the 2008 Capital One Bowl and a 52-14 loss to Mississippi State in last season's Gator Bowl. As questions over whether each team deserves to make the trip to New Orleans begin to fade, Michigan will move for- ward. Hoke said the team will have the week off "a little" bit during finals week and a couple of days off near the holidays. But other than that, it's back to work. "That Ohio game is long gone," Hoke said. "It's been a while ago. So we've got to look forward and we've got to work forward toward the bowl game." and that I can graduate without a lot of debt." During the conference, MSA introduced aresolution to oppose a House bill that would eliminate benefits for domestic partners of employees at public universities in the state. According to Omar Hashwi, an LSA sophomore and MSA representative who spoke at the conference, 570 adults and 48 children would lose benefits due to the new legislation. SAM passed MSA's resolution unanimously, and it will now be sent to lawmakers. Despite its mission to unite members of student govern- ments within the state, not every university or college in Michi- gan has consistently sent repre- sentatives to the organization, and Gage said he would like to see increased attendance in the future so students can work together to combat issues like cuts to higher education. "Regardless of the size, regardless of the quality of edu- cation, we're all in this same boat together," Gage said. "If you cut one (budget), you cut another." According Helsel, SAM's vis- ibility isn't widespread around the state, but is something they would like to improve. "A lot of people don't know what SAM is and what we do," Helsel said. MOTT. From Page 1A and about 300 volunteers, most- ly comprised of members of the UMHS community, contributed to the effort. To ensure patients were well fed and hydrated, meals were provided from Plum Market in Ann Arbor. To make the move more exciting for patients, the staff developed a theme of traveling on an airplane and provided small gifts, such as backpacks, blankets and coloring books. Kathy Wade, director of social work for UMHS, said the theme was intended to create a welcoming environment for the hospital community. "We really tried to address it from babies to kids to ado- lescents to teenagers that are moving," Wade said. "And the families, we've involved them since the very beginning." Gavin said nurses and staff members of one intensive care unit even made Top Gun T-shirts to follow the theme. ing in the old building have been "It was a way of making it fun prepping for this and waiting for the kids and for the staff and for this," Gavin said. "Now that of thinking about it as a jour- it's finally here, all this training ney," Gavin said. "A very short is paying off." journey, but a journey." Pat Warner, executive direc- Throughout the day, updates tor of the new hospital, said were posted on UHS's Facebook the transition went smoothly and Twitter pages. Photos and throughout the day, adding that postings generated comments staff members were prepared from those connected to the for any possible interruption to hospital, many offering memo- the move, including deliveries ries of the hospital or thank- of babies or emergency situa- ing hospital staff. Others wrote tions like cardiac arrests. questions about where new "With a move like this, you departments will be located and plan every contingency you can how the move was progressing. think of," Warner said. "Have Gavin said parents of past we along the way had to make patients and future patients tweaks in the plan? Yes. But were eager to see the develop- have there been any barriers or ments online. things we didn't have an imme- "They're asking questions diate solution to? No." and commenting," Gavin said. According to Warner, there "So this virtual community that were no emergencies, but the is being built around Mott is day did not pass without some also being engaged today." excitement. The first baby was Gavin added that all the prep- born in the new hospital at aration added to the anticipa- 8:45 a.m. yesterday, before the tion of the opening of the new move was completed to parents building. Yasmina Debieb and Ali Mah- "Staff who have been work- moudi. LIBRARY From Page 1A initiatives. "The ability to join these resources together in a help- ful format for people to use for research and inquiry is really amazing," Green said. The new library features presentation and event spaces with dual projectors, screens, a whiteboard and seating for more than 30 students. It also includes nine workstations with software for spatial and statisti- cal analysis, data visualization and a high-quality scanner. "The librarians and resourc- es help the process from start to finish," Green said. "People can find the data they need, can get information for the way they are collecting data and can cre- ate an end point, with data com- putation and presentation." The library also has a maps and materials viewing bar that spans the length of the library. Green said the bar provides increased space for students to conduct research and has moni- tors that allow for simultaneous access to maps, data and statis- tical software. "Where the maps were pre- viously located, on the eighth floor of the Hatcher Library, the maps were difficult to access and the viewing area was cramped," Green said. "Now with the assistance of a librar- ian, several maps can be taken out and viewed at once with the large space on the table." The library's namesake, Ste- phen S. Clark - a 1974 alum of the College of Engineering and 1976 graduate of the Ross School of Business - said he donated to the library because he valued the libraries during his time at the University. - "I needed a quiet refuge to study (in college) so that is how I discovered the libraries," said Clark, who is now president of Dwyer Instruments, Inc. "They saved my college career." Margaret McKinley, director of development for University Libraries, worked with Clark in deciding how to utilize his past contributions to the library sys- tem, which included providing funding for increased techno- logical resources in many of the libraries on campus. "I toured the libraries with Stephen to show him all the innovations his contribu- tions have made," McKinley said. "After several visits, he expressed that he was thinking about funding a new library so we worked on ideas and decided on combining the three units." Clark said he was impressed by the libraries' ability to adapt to technological advances, par- ticularly through the Google Books Library Project - a col- laboration with universities around the nation to digitize thousands of books and make them accessible online - and wanted to help facilitate growth of its programs. "I liked how the library was adapting to change, rather than hiding from it," Clark said. "The library was embracing the change, starting with the Google Books Project. I liked the idea of linking books and sharing on the Internet - that's how I knew the libraries would be around for a while and would be a good use of my funds." if 'LIKE' THE DAILY ON FACEBOOK