Tech Forum celebrates move to new building

The new state-of-the-art College of Computer and Information Science (CCIS) building will be officially inaugurated November 8 with the first in a continuing series of Tech Forums. The event is expected to attract high-profile industry leaders and government officials to celebrate the college’s growing status as a national leader in computer and information science research and education.

“We want to create an exciting forum for the exchange of ideas and draw attention to our role as a central player in Greater Boston’s high-tech community,” says CCIS Dean Larry Finkelstein. “The program will feature the best and the brightest from the information technology industry.”

The event will focus on future trends in information technology (IT) with two panel discussions: “Digital Protection and Survival” and “The Future of the Software Market.” Both panels will consider the economic, technology, and skills impacts of their respective topics.

“Digital Protection and Survival” will be moderated by Simson Garfinkel, a well known security researcher and commentator. Panelists will include Ed Appel, president of the Joint Council on Information Age Crime, Whitfield Diffie, VP, Sun Fellow and Chief Security Officer of Sun Microsystems, and John Manferdelli, general manager of Windows security at Microsoft.

“The Future of the Software Market” will be moderated by Frank Gens, IDC’s senior vice president, research. Panelists will include Matthias Felleisen, trustee professor at CCIS; Ian Holland, vice president, architecture and systems engineering at Kronos; Clemens Szyperski, software architect at Microsoft Research; and John Glaser, vice president and CIO of Partners HealthCare System.

“These two topics are of paramount importance to the nation’s economic health and national security,” Finkelstein says. “They also align with the college’s intellectual strengths and will give us an opportunity to showcase our leadership in the software and security fields.”

The one-day Tech Forum will also include an official inauguration ceremony and tours of the new building called West Village H. The inauguration will feature Northeastern President Richard M. Freeland, Provost Ahmed T. Abdelal, and Dean Finkelstein, as well as invited government officials. Remarks will focus on the ascendance of Northeastern in higher education, the importance of IT to the mission of the University, and the role the new building will play in helping CCIS realize its vision. A luncheon will be held for industry leaders, trustees, corporate sponsors, and other registered attendees.

Faculty and staff moved into the new building in the spring and classes began there this fall. The building features integrated learning centers in which faculty offices are surrounded by graduate student labs and plenty of space for informal faculty-student meetings. Teaching capabilities include a seventy-six-seat general purpose computing laboratory and two PClabs with forty-eight and forty seats, which will be used for teaching introductory courses. The entire facility has wireless Internet access.

While there will be only one building inauguration, Finkelstein plans to make the Tech Forum a regular event. “We hope to expand the Tech Forum over time so that members of the high-tech community think of it as a vital opportunity to learn about future trends in the information technology space,” he said.

For information on attending the Tech Forum, please visit the Tech Forum 2004 Web site: www.techforum.neu.edu.