Initiative in Innovative Computing

IIC Panel Discussion 

Thursday, November 30, 2006; 4:00pm

Future of Computer Intensive Science in the U.S.

Dr. Daniel Reed, Vice Chancellor for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and Director of the Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI)

and

Dr. Sangtae Kim, Donald W. Feddersen Distinguished Professor, Purdue University, West Lafayette, Indiana, Schools of Engineering



Dr. Daniel Reed Title of Talk: The Challenge of Consilience

Abstract

Ten years – a geological epoch on the computing time scale. Looking back, a decade brought the web and consumer email, digital cameras and music, broadband networking, multifunction cell phones, WiFi, HDTV, telematics, multiplayer games, electronic commerce and computational science. It also brought spam, phishing, identity theft, software insecurity, outsourcing and globalization, information warfare and blurred work-life boundaries. What will a decade of technology advances bring in communications and collaboration, sensors and knowledge management, modeling and discovery, electronic commerce and digital entertainment, critical infrastructure management and security? What will it mean for research and education?

As new discoveries increasingly lie at the interstices of traditional disciplines, computing is the enabler for a scholarship in the arts, humanities, creative practice and public policy. This talk will describe emerging opportunities in the arts, humanities, science and engineering where interdisciplinary Renaissance approaches can have profound impact on discovery and creative expression.

Dr. Sangtae Kim Title of talk: Cyberinfrastructure and Economic Curvature Creating Curvature in a Flat World

Abstract

The role of classical infrastructure (roads, power grids, and water utilities) as foundational elements for economic growth is well understood and appreciated by the leaders and planners promoting economic development. Today, with the pervasive presence of information technology, an increasingly important role is being played by another type of infrastructure, called "cyberinfrastructure." This is the IT infrastructure made up of computers, software, databases, transmission lines and facilities, as well as the people and services needed to make the system work.

Cyberinfrastructure is central to scientific advancement in the modern, data-intensive research environment. For example, the recent revolution in the life sciences, including the seminal achievement of sequencing the human genome on an accelerated time frame, was made possible by parallel advances in cyberinfrastructure for research in this data-intensive field. But beyond the enablement of basic research, cyberinfrastructure is a driver for global economic growth despite the disruptive 'flattening' effect of IT in the developed economies. But even at the regional level, visionary cyber investments to create smart infrastructures will induce 'economic curvature' a gravitational pull to overcome the dispersive effects of the 'flat' world and the consequential acceleration in economic growth.

Date and Time:             Thursday, November 30, 2006; 4:00pm; Full Refreshment Buffet at 3:45pm

Location:                        60 Oxford Street, Room 330

Parking:                         Parking is available in the 52 Oxford Street Garage. Please tell the attendant that you are attending the IIC Seminar.  A map is available on line at http://iic.harvard.edu/contactphp.

Upcoming IIC seminars

Dec. 6, 2006  - Richard Gabriel, Distinguished Engineer

The Seminar Series schedule is available on the IIC website – http://iic.harvard.edu/events.php. The website will be updated often with additional information and seminars. 

All IIC seminars will be held at the 60 Oxford Street Building, Room 330 unless otherwise noted.