July 12, 2024
The University of Missouri recently hosted information technology leaders from all Southeastern Conference (SEC) schools for their annual meeting. It was the first time Mizzou was selected to host the meeting, an achievement important to University of Missouri System Vice President for Information Technology and MU Chief Information Officer Ben Canlas.
“This is the first time Mizzou has hosted this event, and it was a great opportunity to increase Mizzou’s visibility throughout the SEC and show how we’re innovating and leading,” Canlas said.
Throughout the two-day meeting, chief information officers, chief information security officers and leaders of research IT discussed topics unique to their roles, including emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum computing.
“When planning the event, these conversations are exactly what we wanted to facilitate,” Canlas said. “There are many common challenges in IT for higher education, and this event gave us the opportunity to share experiences, ideas and solutions.”
In-person sessions also streamed virtually for participants unable to come to Columbia. This flexibility allowed those unable to join in person the opportunity to participate in conversations and learn more about the exciting things happening at Mizzou.
Because the meeting rotates locations each year, the campus hosts have the opportunity to showcase their latest innovations and initiatives. On the first day of the meeting, Matt Sanford, executive director of the University of Missouri Research Reactor (MURR), presented a keynote address about MURR’s history, how it makes a difference and what’s next for the reactor.
MURR opened in October 1966 and currently runs 24 hours per day, 6.5 days per week. The half day when it is not running is when the radioisotopes are collected, usually on Sunday evenings, Sanford said. MURR is the only place in the United States creating four radioisotopes used to detect and treat cancer.
During his address, Sanford shared the next step for MURR: NextGen MURR. This expansion will have a larger capacity and be twice as powerful, operating at 20 megawatts. The larger facility and increased capacity will allow those working at MURR to extend their cancer-fighting research by producing more radioisotopes.
“MURR and NextGen MURR are perfect examples of how Mizzou is innovating and leading,” Canlas said. “Few higher education institutions have a reactor that provides these isotopes, and certainly none in the SEC.”
Attendees got the chance to see MURR firsthand during a guided tour, which built on the excitement of the keynote. It was an engaging start to the meeting, and energized attendees for the rest of the speakers and breakout sessions.
Wanting to foster open communication, meeting planners structured sessions to be more freeform.
“I want to deepen relationships with the other leaders and learn how others are approaching some of the challenges we all share,” Canlas said.
To aid these conversations, the entire Mizzou IT leadership team was in attendance to address topics and answer questions that came up organically, even if they weren’t part of the planned discussion.
For Canlas, the most important part of the meeting was deepening existing connections and forging new ones through shared experience and innovation.
“It’s an honor to have the IT leadership from all these universities come to Mizzou,” Canlas said. “I hope attendees came away with ideas and plans that they can put into effect at their universities. I also hope they enjoyed their time in Columbia and see what’s great about the University of Missouri.”
Story written by Liz Alexander
