posted by Lorie Wigle on November 20, 2009
All the buzz about energy and climate makes for an interesting backdrop to the SuperComputing ‘09 conference that has converged on soggy Portland this week. Globally, according to Gartner, information and communications technologies are responsible for ~2% of global CO2 emissions and HPC (High Performance Computing) data centers are amongst the most energy intensive. A fascinating aspect of this week’s conference is the extent to which HPC can have a positive impact on reducing the other 98% of emissions - in other words reinventing industries and applying technology to have a positive impact on the environment.
SuperComputing gathers a very large contingent of the HPC community annually for a wide range of technical talks, demonstrations, workshops, and great keynotes (more on that in a bit!). One of the themes for this year’s SC09 conference is “sustainability”. Portland, Oregon was a great choice of a host for this year’s conference because of all the environmentally aware programs and activities here in the city. A quick Internet search of “top green cities rated” will invariably have Portland at or near the top. This conference is so large that it spills over into multiple venues. It’s a lot of fun to see the whole HPC community shuttling around Portland on the environmentally inspired Max light rail and street cars.
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tagged: eco-technology, environment, green, HPC, Justin Rattner, SC09, SuperComputing, sustainability
posted by JoZell Johnson on November 19, 2009
The 5th Annual Intel + UC Berkeley Technology Entreprenuership Challenge concluded tonight with “Ihealth” from Tsinghau University, China winning both the First Prize award of $25k and the People’s Choice Award. Second and third prize were respectively CaptchaAd and Zimplistic. The IBTEC Challenge is a business plan competition focused at combining technology and business development. Technology encompassed in the competition included everything from saving the rainforest through social networking, medical diagnostics for TB, DNA transfer at room temperature,
Ihealth tackled the problem of creating a better bone screw for addressing fractures in load bearing bones/limbs. Current common practice utilizes metal screws which provide the strength for supporting load bearing bones - but must be operated on to remove them after the bone has healed. Alternatively there are bones screws that are biodegradable and the body will eventually reabsorb them but they are not suitable for the “big bones” (load bearing) and create acidic response that can cause inflamation. Now this may have been a rather clinical explanation of the problem - but the team highlighted their new invention which allowed physicians to utilize new biodegradable bones screws which provide the strength to support the big bone breaks and still be reabsorbed by the body without side effect. The team engaged the audience by reviewing the Houston Rockets center Yao Ming’s fractures for roughly the last 5 years - proving that he would have been able to return more quickly to the game - saving Houston millions from the lost revenue generated by winning games. A fun twist on the benefits
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tagged: education, Entrepreneurship, innovation, technology
posted by Hosam Haggag on November 18, 2009
When I heard that the Leonid meteor shower this year was predicted to be one of the most active in years past, I was determined to head out and catch the sight of the “shooting stars” myself. And boy was it an amazing sight to see! Sitting under a moon-less night with nothing but the stars and the frequent meteor to light up the sky was nothing short of breathtaking. Granted, it was quite a chilly night even for California weather, but that didn’t stop me from staying out for quite some time in the wee hours of the night.
You may be wondering, “What does the Leonid meteor shower have anything to do with social responsibility?”
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tagged: corporate social responsibility, CSR, CSR awards, Intel, Leonid Meteor Shower, The Tech Awards
posted by Suzanne LeGette on November 18, 2009
Intel and the Wall Street Journal have sponsored a contest called the Education Challenge, where people have provided their perspectives on what can be done to improve students’ engagement with science and math curriculum in the U.S. Five finalists have been selected from hundreds around the country who provided ideas. The winner receives 5K. And YOU can become a key player in solving America’s education challenge by casting your vote here on which finalist came up the best idea.
According to the Education Challenge website “The United States lags significantly behind two dozen other advanced nations in educational performance in science and math.” Shelly Esque, Intel’s VP of Legal and Corporate Affairs, says that every year Intel invests over $100 million dollars world wide to help improve education standards. “As our nation focuses on rebuilding the economy, Educators, Business leaders, governments, and parents must come together to improve education in America,” said Esque. The WSJ Challenge offers an opportunity for us all to ponder the finalists’ perspectives and create awareness about why the United States lags in the critical curriculum areas of science and math. Awareness is the first step in making a difference.
Take a closer look at what the Challenge is about…
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tagged: education, math, math and science curriculum, science
posted by Lucy Kuria on November 03, 2009
We got to Thika late Monday night after traveling all day from Rusinga Island and encountering the dreaded Nairobi rush hour traffic on Thika Road. We spent four days at the Karibu Centre run by Orphan’s Overseas. Karibu Centre has a pre-school for children from surrounding slums, and a support program for pregnant girls from the community.
The first day was spent installing software on Intel powered classmate PCs which Karibu Center purchased or received as donations. After a long day of mounting and installing one CD after the next, on one computer after another, hearing the jingles of preschool computer games playing over and over and over, the team could barely talk. Our communication skills were reduced to grunts.
It was a welcome relief to spend much of the next day training the preschool teachers. Before long, the computer game jingles were back on as the teachers got used to the software they would use to enhance their classrooms. We also spent some time working with the social worker who counsels the young girls, to help her integrate computer training to her curriculum.
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tagged: classmate PC, Education, IESC, Intel Education Service Corps, Kenya, Orphan's Overseas
posted by Julie Clugage on November 02, 2009
What an exciting two months it has been for the Intel Education Service Corps! We launched the first pilot project in September when six employees from Intel’s Technology & Manufacturing Group (three from the US and three from Vietnam) went to work in two orphanages in Vietnam, training the children and staff how to use Intel-powered classmate PCs to connect with other kids around the world. We were supporting the work of a non-governmental organization (NGO) called Orphans Overseas, and they made a very inspiring video of the project while our volunteers were there. See if it makes you cry when you watch it, or maybe it’s just me! The Orphans Overseas staff became our heroes as we witnessed their amazing work with the children in Vietnam, so it was a big thrill to hear from the project coordinator after our team finished their work that he was “the number one fan of the Intel Education Service Corps.” Our employees loved it too, with one commenting that it was “the best experience in my 18 years at Intel!”
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tagged: CARE, classmatePC, Ed Service, education, IESC, Intel, Intel education, Kageno, Orphans Overseas
posted by Bibhuti Banerjee on November 01, 2009
Intel Education Service Corps, Bangladesh - Week 2
Four Intel employees recently took on the task of introducing computers in two primary schools in a remote corner of Bangladesh. Working with our Save the Children USA partners over 9 hectic days (Oct. 14th.-22nd., 2009), we installed 60 Classmate PCs (CMPCs) donated by Intel’s World Ahead Program and provided basic computer training to the teachers and students. We were able to bring a spark of excitement and hope in the lives of a thousand students and their 19 teachers in a small town near the western border of Bangladesh, where electricity is undependable and many kids do not get three square meals a day.
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tagged: Bangladesh, computers in primary schools, CSR, Intel Education Service Corps, Save the Children USA
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