The vitality of IBM Research reveals itself in a variety of ways.
Talks and presentations, papers, patents, contributions to products,
customer solutions -- all testify to the breadth and creativity of its staff.
By allowing this intellectual ferment to be driven by clear-cut goals rather
than by rigid directives, Research can grapple with both the near-term needs of
the company and the long-term possibilities of information technology.
This issue of Research magazine -- more than most --
illustrates both ends of that spectrum of activities.
Knowledge management -- the theme of our cover story,
"The Business of Knowledge" -- draws on many areas of research, from cognitive
psychology and interface design to Internet search and text-mining technology.
In this multipart survey, we explore a fascinating topic whose rapid development
seems to stay one step ahead of a definitive definition. Although in no way exhausting
all of Research's -- or IBM's -- activities in this area, this story conveys a sense
of why so many companies are beginning to view knowledge management as a critical discipline.
Speaking of views, Research has made major contributions to sharper computer displays,
and in "As Fine as the Eye Can See", Gil Bassak describes the
latest fruits of that activity, including the world's highest-resolution monitor.
There will always be interesting problems whose solution exceeds the capabilities
of conventional computers. But the nascent field of quantum computing offers,
at least in principle, the prospect of vastly greater computing power.
In "A Quantum Leap for Computing", Eric J. Lerner surveys this exciting new frontier.
In "Beyond the Brink: A New View of Extinction", Gary Taubes reports on the efforts of two IBM researchers to model the dynamics of extinctions in ecosystems. Examining the question using computer simulations, they came up with a surprising answer, one that bears on other complex systems, such as the economy.
The Java programming language allows an application to run on multiple platforms,
but at the cost of speed -- so far. In "Heating Up Java",
Tom R. Halfhill describes the many Research projects that are making Java faster and better.
Among the shorter pieces in this issue, one stands out as offering a long-term glimpse
into the future of technology. In our LabNotes section, Joe Sehee recounts an extraordinary
event in which Research's worldwide summer student population, and many of its researchers,
came together to think about the world in 2020. Not all the ideas generated in that day of
brainstorming may come to pass, but at least it is clear that no "end of technology" is in sight.
Rowan L. Dordick
