Technology for India (and the world)
IBM's academy awards
Technology for India (and the world)
In April of 1998, the India Solutions Research Center, IBM Research's eighth laboratory, was inaugurated in New Delhi in a rented building on the campus of the Indian Institute of Technology. Underlying the lab's formation was India's growing prominence in information technology, both as a user and as a producer. Already, says Alok Aggarwal, director of the lab, "India is second only to the United States in the number of professionals entering the IT industry annually, and is likely to overtake the U.S. soon."
The importance of IT to India's economy is heightened by the relative underdevelopment of manufacturing and the infrastructure needed to support it -- utilities, roads, railways, ports and the like. Until it further upgrades those systems, India is best positioned to compete in the global economy on the basis of its strengths in IT. For their part, the IBM lab's 30 researchers have focused on areas that, while of worldwide interest, are of particular value to India.
One such field is weather prediction. While better forecasts benefit everyone, they are especially needed in tropical climates like that of India, where dangerous storms are frequent yet weather stations are few. Accordingly, the India lab has been working on ways to compensate for the paucity of data by refining the underlying forecasting models. Other projects -- most undertaken with other IBM Research labs -- include wireless networking, collaborative computing, and work on improving speech recognition through lipreading technology.
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To accommodate
many more researchers over the next decade, the India Solutions Research Center is
expanding. The new construction, to be completed in July, will triple the lab's space
to 20,000 square feet (5,500 sq. meters).
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While e-business is part of the mix, "as we go forward," says Aggarwal, "e-business will be the primary focus. We will emphasize two or three key areas, including supply-chain management and the distribution and logistics side of business-to-business transactions." Finding optimal distribution strategies, while useful globally, is especially critical in regions where reliable transportation is not always available. "Our goal," says Aggarwal, "is to contribute to the fundamental development of e-business, both by extending its theoretical underpinnings and by working with customers to create specific solutions."
IBM's academy awards
IBM Chairman AND CEO Lou Gerstner and IBM fellow
Patricia Selinger have been elected members of the National Academy of Engineering. Gerstner, the first IBM chairman so honored, was cited for his technical leadership in enhancing the competitiveness of U.S. industry. Selinger, one of two women elected in 1999, was recognized for her contributions to relational database technology.
Election to the approximately 2,000-member academy, which advises the federal government, is among the highest distinctions an engineer can receive. Only 80 new members were chosen this year. The induction of Gerstner and Selinger raises IBM's representation in the academy to 23.]
