Spring Review Marked by High Attendance, Industry Experts, Competition Kick-off

Chris Bowick, CTO, Cox Communications; Giorgio Grasso, CEO, Pirelli Labs, and Hank Kafka, Chief Architect, BellSouth Corp., discuss how broadband services are reshaping the communications industry.

ATLANTA (April 25, 2006) — Attendance topped 800 at the recent 2006 Spring Review conference at the Georgia Electronic Design Center (GEDC). Technologists came from North and South America, Europe and Asia to participate in the two-day conference, held April 24-25 at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

The Spring Review included a major kick-off event for the upcoming IMS Research Competition, an industry-sponsored contest offering $100,000 in awards to Georgia Tech student teams that develop winning applications for the Internet Protocol Multimedia Subsystems (IMS) wireless services architecture.

Spring Review participants also witnessed two ground-breaking demonstrations at GEDC, a world-class mixed-signal research center at Georgia Tech. In one demonstration, engineers established a new world record for the highest data rate transmitted wirelessly at 60GHz. In another, GEDC demonstrated the worldís first complete Cognitive Radio (CR) Testbed.

"This yearís Spring Review was a major success, exceeding all our expectations," said Joy Laskar, director of GEDC. "The demonstrations performed for the Review were unique, and there was intense student interest in the IMS competition."

Gerhard Fettweis, Chief Scientist of Philips Semiconductors, gives a keynote address during a social event at the Georgia Aquarium.

Focus on the Future

At the annual Spring Review event, GEDC and its associate center, the Georgia Tech Analog Consortium (GTAC), invite their 41 member companies to GEDCís headquarters in the Technology Square Research Building. Industry representatives meet with faculty and students and examine research being performed at GEDC.

On April 24, more than one-hundred industry technologists and other participants attended a opening-event panel discussion at Georgia Techís Global Learning and Conference Center. An expert panel — Chris Bowick, CTO, Cox Communications; Giorgio Grasso, CEO, Pirelli Labs, and Hank Kafka, Chief Architect, BellSouth Corp. — tackled the issue of how broadband services are reshaping the communications industry.

Gerhard Fettweis, Chief Scientist of Philips Semiconductors, gave a keynote address on "4G" wireless technology during an evening event that included a tour and dinner at the Georgia Aquarium. Addressing invited quest from industry, state and university, Fettweis outlined the business and technical complexities of implementing coming fourth-generation wireless technologies.

Barry S. Perlman, associate director of technology for the Armyís Communications-Electronics RD&E Center, reviews defense-research priorities during a keynote address at the Technology Square Research Building.

On April 25, Barry S. Perlman reviewed defense-research priorities during a morning keynote at the Technology Square Research Building. Perlman — associate director of technology for the Armyís Communications-Electronics RD&E Center (CERDEC) — gave attendees an overview of CERDEC and outlined the current research priorities. After Perlmanís presentation students researchers from Georgia Tech briefed attendees on current GEDC/GTAC research highlights. The briefing was followed by an extensive poster show of current and future research activities.

Kick-Off Event Turnout

The IMS Research Competition kick-off event April 25 attracted more than 400 students to the Technology Square Research Building. The competition invites students to come up with new and creative kinds of IMS-based services.

"This project provides a unique opportunity for the students and faculty at Georgia Tech to gain experience with a compelling new platform for next-generation wireless applications," said Ron Hutchins, associate vice provost for research and technology and chief technology officer at Georgia Tech.

Student teams that participate in the competition can win a $35,000 grand prize or one of several smaller cash awards.

Georgia Tech students enjoy the IMS Research Competition kick-off event at the Technology Square Research Building.

The competition, sponsored by Siemens Communications Inc., Cingular Wireless, Georgia Tech and the Georgia Research Alliance, is the first event in an expanded partnership between Georgia Tech, Siemens and Cingular.

This public-private partnership will include development of an IMS laboratory at Georgia Tech, under GEDC and the Office of Information Technology, for use by students and researchers. A public demonstration of the IMS lab, which will contain $5 million of equipment donated by Siemens, is scheduled for October 2006.

Competition winners will be recognized at a ceremony to be held in May 2007.

Students attending the kick-off event flocked to information kiosks to learn more about IMS and to sign up for the competition. Among the eventís attractions were musical entertainment, food, and a variety of gaming devices.