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Vice President for Research Cyberinfrastructure at the University of Michigan, dean of the School of Information, Interim Dean and Associate Dean for Research at the College of Engineering. Papers include materials relating to research in technologically-based collaboration, institutional leadership, teaching and service.

The Daniel E. Atkins papers document his research and administrative roes at the University of Michigan. The papers include materials relating to research in technologically-based collaboration, institutional leadership, teaching and service,including meetings and activities as Dean of the School of Information. The papers comprise 11.6 linear feet in three major series: University of Illinois, U-M College of Engineering, and U-M School of Information. In addition, there is a series of digital material related to Atkins' work on the U-M IT Council.

The Gary M. Olson papers largely document the work done at the University of Michigan and Carnegie Mellon University, during the mid-1980s, to create a computer application called the Experimental Research in Electronic Submission (EXPRES). The goal of the work was to create a collaborative, networked application, which would allow researchers - using different hardware and software environments - to electronically share research. The EXPRES application was intended for electronic submission of grant proposals to the National Science Foundation (NSF).

The Gary M. Olson papers largely document the work done at the University of Michigan and Carnegie Mellon University, during the mid-1980s, to create a computer application called the Experimental Research in Electronic Submission (EXPRES). The papers do not fully document Olson's career. Rather they give insight a key collaborative project. The papers have been organized into four series: Meetings and Reports; Publicity and Presentations; Publications; and Subject Files.

Karl L. Zinn, a specialist in computer-assisted instruction, joined the University of Michigan faculty in 1963 as a research associate with the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching. Promoted to research scientist in 1969, Zinn was instrumental in establishing the MERIT computer network and developing CONFER, the first computer-based conferencing systems on campus. Papers document the development and utilization of CONFER and contain extensive examples of print-outs of conferences, particularly those relating to the use of computers in instruction. Topical files chronicle various technological issues, including the development of MERIT and early uses of computers in the classroom.

The Karl Zinn papers document the development and utilization of CONFER, the first computer-based conferencing system on campus, and contain extensive examples of print-outs of conferences, particularly those relating to the use of computers in instruction. Topical files chronicle various technological issues, including the development of MERIT, the Michigan state-wide computer network, and early uses of computers in the classroom. The Zinn papers are organized into three series CONFER, Topical Files and User Reference Documentation.

Merit (once an acronym for Michigan Educational Research Information Triad) was an organization developed to research the effects of connecting large research universities together by means of a computer network. Officially established in 1966 and still operating today, Merit contributed greatly to networking and the growth and expansion of the Internet. Most of the materials in the Merit record group documents Merit's early growth and development in the 1960s through Merit's post-NSFNET involvement in the late 1990s. Correspondence, project contracts and proposals, meeting minutes, and administrative records make up the bulk of the records.

Most of the materials in the Merit record group document Merit's early growth and development in the 1960s through Merit's post-NSFNET involvement in the late 1990s. Correspondence, project contracts and proposals, meeting minutes, and administrative records make up the bulk of the records.

This record group contains the following series: Administrative, Correspondence, Networks, Staff Files, Audiovisual, and Publications.

Michael T. Alexander was a member of the research staff of the University of Michigan's Computing Center and Information Technology Division Research Systems from 1965 to 1996. Collection contains records of Alexander's duties as well as extensive documentation for the Michigan Terminal System, including manuals and systems reports.

The Michael T. Alexander papers document the work of Alexander and other University of Michigan Computing Center programmers and staff in developing the Michigan Terminal System (MTS) and other software.

The title of this collection acknowledges Michael T. Alexander as the primary collector and donor of the papers. The collection includes a varsity of administrative records relating to MTS with an emphasis on the development of certain aspects of the Michigan Terminal System environment such as email.

Researchers should be aware that these records use the term "MTS" in three different respects:

1. MTS the UMMPS Job Program with which most end-users interact;
2. MTS the software system, including UMMPS, the MTS and other Job Programs, Command Language Subsystems (CLSs), public files (programs), and documentation; and
3. MTS the time-sharing service offered at a particular site, including the MTS software system, the hardware used to run MTS, the staff that supported MTS and assisted end-users, and the associated administrative policies and procedures.

In the first instance, "MTS" would be considered a part of the UM Multiprogramming Supervisor (UMMPS). In the other instances, however, the UMMPS would be considered a part of "MTS." The researcher should, therefore, exercise caution when assuming a particular hierarchical relationship between MTS and UMMPS in these records.

The records of the Michael T. Alexander collection are organized in six series: Administrative Records; Budget Material; Distribution Tapes and Documentation; Software Manuals and Programming; Systems Reports; and Vendors.