ANN ARBOR — Until switching banks is as painless as switching cell phone providers, at least 21 percent of customers feel like they’re being held captive by their current bank.
And despite the growing popularity of online banking, nearly half (49 percent) of customers still want access to a physical branch.
These are just some of the key findings from a newly released banking report conducted by ForeSee, the Ann Arbor-based customer experience analyst.
TROY — PayAnywhere, the Troy-based mobile payments provider, announced it will offer its new PayAnywhere 2-in-1 Bluetooth Credit Card Reader free to new PayAnywhere customers.
WILMINGTON, Del. — The AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation’s Connections for Cardiovascular Health program announced nearly $1 million in grants to 10 organizations working to help improve cardiovascular health in their communities.
Among the winners this year was Catherine’s Health Center in Grand Rapids, which received $100,000.
ROYAL OAK — The latest on women in technology, automotive tech, drone law and IT security — all will be covered on the Monday, Sept. 18 edition of the M2 TechCast.
SOUTHFIELD – Technology has forever altered the practice of architecture, but architects will always need a deep human connection with their clients to make projects successful.
That was the word Thursday night from John A. Vitale, president of Royal Oak-based Stucky Vitale Architects, as he received the 2017 Distinguished Alumni Award from Lawrence Technological University’s College of Architecture and Design.
In his lecture that followed the presentation of the award, Vitale outlined the many changes in the profession since he earned a Bachelor of Science in Architecture in 1976 and a Bachelor of Architecture in 1980 from LTU.
“The digital revolution has transformed architecture,” he said – noting that the ability of computers and software to create completely accurate three-dimensional models of designs, spin them around, and “fly” through them has made it far easier to communicate design concepts to clients.
However, he said, architects still should “always listen to the client. I can’t stress that enough.” And that goes beyond merely being attentive, he said – it involves a deep understanding of the ideas the client is trying to convey.
Vitale joined the firm he now leads in 1986 after working at Giffels Associates Inc. in Southfield. He became president of the firm in 1997.
Stucky Vitale has 20 employees and has been involved in numerous high-profile projects in the Great Lakes area, including the conversion of an industrial building into the headquarters of now-defunct Borders Inc., the Palladium in downtown Birmingham, the headquarters of Asset Acceptance Corp., the Pontiac domestic violence shelter HAVEN, and others. A current major project is the design of a 70-story mixed-use skyscraper in downtown Columbus, Ohio.
Lawrence Technological University students, alumni and friends await the Distinguished Architecture Alumni lecture Thursday night on the LTU campus.
Lawrence Technological University, http://www.ltu.edu, is a private university founded in 1932 that offers more than 100 programs through the doctoral level in its Colleges of Architecture and Design, Arts and Sciences, Engineering, and Management. PayScale lists Lawrence Tech among the nation’s top 100 universities for the salaries of its graduates, and U.S. News and World Report lists it in the top tier of best Midwestern universities. Students benefit from small class sizes and a real-world, hands-on, “theory and practice” education with an emphasis on leadership. Activities on Lawrence Tech’s 107-acre campus include more than 60 student organizations and NAIA varsity sports.
(In the photo above, John A. Vitale, winner of the 2017 Distinguished Architecture Alumni Award from Lawrence Technological University, is flanked by Nicole Gerou, a 2013 Bachelor of Science in Architecture and 2016 Master of Architecture graduate of LTU and chair of the LTU Architecture Alumni Cabinet, and Constantine G. “Guss” Pappas, a 1977 Bachelor of Science in Architecture graduate of LTU, a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, and principal at CGP Architecture in Royal Oak. Pappas won the LTU Distinguished Architecture Alumni Award in 2006.)
TROY — The Troy-based engineering technology developer Altair Inc. said Thursday it had acquired Componeering Inc., a Helsinki, Finland-based technology company specializing in structural analysis and design of composite structures.
Componeering, now known as Altair Engineering Finland Oy, is the developer of composites simulation software called ESAComp.
ANN ARBOR — Michigan’s second event to showcase the state’s academic drug R&D activities will be held Tuesday, Oct. 10 and hosted by Wayne State University.
The “Cutting Edge Drug Discovery & Development in Michigan Symposium” will feature how new therapeutic entities are being discovered and advanced from idea to clinical proof-of-concept at the University of Michigan, Wayne State University and Michigan State University, which make up the University Research Corridor (URC).
SOUTHFIELD — At a time when technology is all too often used to divide and exclude, who is using technology to unite and empower?
Lawrence Technological University will explore the topic and provide positive examples in “Inclusive Technology: Seeking to Do Good” in the annual President’s Symposium Series.
Sponsored by LTU’s College of Architecture and Design, the event will be held Tuesday, Sept. 26 at 6:30 p.m. in LTU’s Mary E. Marburger Science and Engineering Auditorium, Room S100 of the Science Building. LTU is located at 21000 W. 10 Mile Road in Southfield. Free parking is available. For details, see http://www.ltu.edu/map.
The panel discussion will be moderated by Lilian Crum, assistant professor in art and design, and director of the graphic design and interaction design programs at LTU. She is a founder and partner of Unsold Studio LLC, a collaborative art and design studio that focuses on producing work for creative culture and the public good.
Panelists are:
• Mercedes Mane, a serial entrepreneur and president and CEO of Urbana, Ill.-based OSO Technologies, manufacturers of PlantLink – technology to help people grow better plants
• Malcom McCullough, professor of architecture in the Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
• Julie Bateman, director of operations at Vayu LLC, an Ypsilanti-based manufacturer of unmanned aircraft designed to connect rural villages to medical facilities in larger population centers around the world
• Meg Green, experience architect at Pillar Technology, an Ann Arbor technology, marketing and strategy consultant
”As a technological university, Lawrence Tech educates students on how to use and master various technologies and develop new innovations,” said Karl Daubmann, dean of the college of architecture and design at LTU. “The most ambitious part of this mission is to help these future leaders understand and pursue the positive role that technology can have on our society.”
The event is open to the public but seating is limited. For more information, contact Kathryn Roy, assistant to the dean at the LTU College of Architecture and Design, at (248) 204-2805 or kroy@ltu.edu.
Lawrence Technological University, http://www.ltu.edu, is a private university founded in 1932 that offers more than 100 programs through the doctoral level in its Colleges of Architecture and Design, Arts and Sciences, Engineering, and Management. PayScale lists Lawrence Tech among the nation’s top 100 universities for the salaries of its graduates, and U.S. News and World Report lists it in the top tier of best Midwestern universities. Students benefit from small class sizes and a real-world, hands-on, “theory and practice” education with an emphasis on leadership. Activities on Lawrence Tech’s 107-acre campus include more than 60 student organizations and NAIA varsity sports.
HOUGHTON — Detecting cancer could soon be as easy as a home pregnancy test.
Currently, commercially available test strips are not sensitive enough to detect the very low concentrations of cancer biomarkers in blood, compared to pregnancy biomarkers present in urine.
Now, platinum-coated gold nanoparticles developed by a team led by Michigan Technological University researchers could change that to make cheap and simple cancer detection by test strip a reality.
ANN ARBOR — Entrepreneurship programs from across the University of Michigan are teaming up to host the annual Entrepalooza symposium on Friday, Sept. 22 at the Michigan League, 911 N. University Ave. in Ann Arbor.
This year’s event, focused on the theme of “Nuts and Bolts,” will explore what it really takes to start a business — going beyond innovative ideas, determination and the more enticing elements of entrepreneurship to dig deep into the personal implications and practical aspects that go into identifying, forming and running a business.
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