GEDC's Fall Industry Review Marked by Strong Corporate Attendance, Research Demonstrations

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ATLANTA —Robust attendance numbers, cutting-edge research demonstrations and top industry speakers highlighted the recent 2006 Fall Industry Review at the Georgia Electronic Design Center (GEDC).

Held Oct. 23-25 at the Technology Square Research Building (TSRB) on the Georgia Institute of Technology campus, the Fall Review attracted more than 60 companies and 700 attendees in addition to GEDC's faculty/staff and student researchers.

"This was one of our most successful reviews yet," said Joy Laskar, director of GEDC. "Industry participation was especially strong, indicating that our advanced mixed-signal research and reputation for all-out cooperation with industry goals is gaining broad recognition."

On Oct. 23, GEDC, Siemens Communications Inc. and the Georgia Tech Research Network Operations Center dedicated the multi-million dollar IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystems) Research Laboratory in TSRB. The lab is initially being used to support an IMS research competition that includes $100,000 in cash awards to students. Tech students from various disciplines are competing to develop new communication applications for handheld devices.

Oct. 24 featured a welcoming address by Dr. Gary Schuster, Georgia Tech's new provost, as well as keynote speeches by:

• Dr. Fred Kish, Jr., vice president of Photonic Integrated Circuits with Infinera, California;
  
• Mr. Kursat Kimyacioglu, director of Business Development with Philips Research, Netherlands;
  
• Dr. Jussi Tuovinen, vice president of R&D Microtechnologies and Sensors with VTT Information Technology, Finland.

  Also featured was a poster demonstration in which students presented information in a number of GEDC research areas. Researchers also gave demonstrations in the areas of cognitive radio, gigabit wireless, RFID/sensors and agile optical network technology.

  The three-day program concluded Oct. 25 with Samsung and GEDC hosting a "Samsung Day" reception. The event included dignitaries from Samsung's headquarters in Korea, the Korean Consulate of Atlanta and a number of industry guests. Samsung representatives reviewed areas of research interest and provided an opportunity for students and industry leaders to interact in a casual setting.

  GEDC's next review event, the Spring Industry Review, is scheduled for the week of April 16, 2007.