After 3 years of publication, with our 3rd birthday this

In June 2010, the Globe Innovator changes will be announced. We’re looking at updating the publication, to provide more ongoing content on innovation across cities, business and policy. We’re also examining more frequent shorter content centred on single ideas.

Let’s look back over the last 3 years. There’s already been a lot of change since our 2007 inception, and what it is about that change – is that it changes us.

A Jaunt around the Boston Common. Our birthday of our first post from Boston MA, on April 23rd , 2007 tracks how far this site has come from a travel journal of innovation in cities worldwide. > Read our first post on Boston Walking City.

This was during the announcement of the first Innovation Cities ranking 2007 (now Index), and first Global Innovation Review process. I was staying in the Westin Copley Place at the time, and writing about Innovation Cities.

Cities of Innovation. Since that time, this year 2thinknow are into the 4th year of Innovation Cities, now featuring a Report, Program, Index and Framework (published in the aforementioned report).

Changing Formats. Over the same period this site has morphed immediately into a journal of change in politics and foreign affairs, then briefly into a journal of a broader view of innovation, and a finally an innovation analysis / news site moving domains only in 2009, and growing to its current standalone domain address.

Web 2.0. I still recall the panicked responses to my (albeit overwhelming) first seminar on web 2.0 in Melbourne, Australia later in 2007. Now some of the newbies of that period are leading social media voices in Australia.

The GFC Prediction. During this time our readers saw us (well, mainly me!) predict a “September 2008 shock turmoil event” for shares, a U.S. recession and even a potential depression as far back as October 2007 and in detail on December 2007. I said Australian shares would fall to 4,500 at the same time most forecasters saw only “blue sky”.

At the same time in February 2008, I warned our readers of U.S. bank nationalisation. this was foreseen by virtually no major U.S. commentators… Ultimately though, I was one of the handful of voices like Harvey Dent who analysed the basics, and saw a different view.

The prediction differed in that they were specific not general, time-limited and contained no ‘counter-predictions’.

The one that got away. The one area I was wrong is Australian house prices. I believed I undervalued 4 factors – 1) the sentimental flight to bricks and mortars of scared investors, 2) the government willingness to prop-up property prices at all costs, 3) relatedly, the size of the consequences of falling prices to create a general economic collapse and 4) foreign purchasing of Australian assets due to trade and legislation.

Wither Finance. Yes, I warned of the financial services industry over-dominance at a city-level in 2007 book – the Global Innovation Review 2007 Annual. Indeed, this was a major reason why I took the sometimes criticised decision to rank London low for innovation in 2007. I (rightly) saw that creativity-led innovation would drive successful cities into the future, all socio-political factors otherwise being equal.

Some more thoughts…

Often this site became a test ground for these ideas in other speeches, workshops or printed reports. Sometime the ideas copped flack – like my infamous bogan piece railing against Australian anti-intellectualism, which we later archived as it came to dominate all comments and over-shadow ideas. When Melbourne’s Lord Mayor Robert Doyle was elected, anti-bogan hoon-ism (if there’s such a term that can be conceived) was part of his platform. I felt that in some small way we contributed to that.

Ideas need testing, and thinking needs validating – and occasionally rejecting. Like markets readers are great validators (or not) of ideas. Whilst I always preferred civility, some of our commenters were not so kind.

For this reason, I see change as a process, innovation as a process, and this site as a testing ground for ideas leading that process. But it is this testing and validation that enables ideas to turn into implementable business concepts, and ultimately models. And 2thinknow is at that stage.

Now we stand in 2010, awaiting the ides of August-November 2010 to know how deep the trouble goes. As Mises and Hayek would point out you can only delay the inevitable, inevitably. And I see 2 cycles that have a probability of occurring, but the outcome 2021 is the same.

Oh, and yes, updates have been non-existent over the last 6 months. Why? Well, we are in implementation phase for launching new products and services, and Globe Innovator, is a part of that.

The key is to be relevant, and commercial, and that’’s what we’re working on ensuring our relevance. But the times must match the ideas, and the ideas must match the times. Those who see only the din and clash, who hear sound and fury, miss the sense of what actually is happening. It’s ripples in a pond.

Right now, we face an uncertain period, conversely, that can be perceived with certainty. So, as an innovation agency, we are seeking to position this publication at the right point in the continuum from innovation to conservatism, relative to the time. So, this publication must adapt to the current global circumstance. There is also, always, the value equation.

By the by, in the mean time, I will post some economic thoughts soon, regarding innovation policy and process and economic effects at the macro and micro level.

P.S. Thanks to those of you who have written us saying you miss our updates!

Keep innovating,

Christopher Hire

LONDON, December 1 /PRNewswire/ — The global carbon market has grown from $11 billion in 2005 to $126 billion in 2008 accoring to a new report on http://www.companiesandmarkets.com.

The Global Carbon Market 2009: Trading Thin Air – http://www.companiesandmarkets.com/r.ashx?id=5rZnm7564169138

Global climate change and reduction of greenhouse gasses (GHG) are an important concern for many US businesses and throughout the world, and are shaping policies and initiatives. The United States is responsible of 23% of the world’s GHG emissions but as of 2009, there are no federal restrictions and no binding federal carbon trading system. However, many states and corporations have committed to cutting GHG through emissions trading.

Carbon emission credits are a key component of national and international emissions trading schemes that have been implemented to mitigate global warming. They provide a way to reduce greenhouse emissions on a large scale by capping total annual emissions, allowing the market to assign a monetary value to any shortfall through trading. Credits can be exchanged between businesses or bought and sold in international markets. Credits can also be used to finance carbon reduction schemes between trading partners and around the world. There are also many companies that sell carbon credits to commercial and individual customers interested in lowering their carbon footprint, on a voluntary basis.

For trading purposes, one allowance is equivalent to one metric ton of CO2 emissions. There are three legally binding carbon trading arrangements and one major voluntary market. The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement with two main trading devices, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI). The European Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) is a government-backed trading program adopted by the European Council. The United States does not participate in the Kyoto Protocol but the US voluntary carbon markets can be divided into two main segments: the voluntary, but legally binding, cap-and-trade system that is the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) and the broader, non-binding, over the counter (OTC) offset market.

Some of the main markets for carbon reduction projects include renewable energy (solar, wind and hydropower), energy efficiency / demand-side management, methane capture or waste-to-energy, reforestation, carbon capture and storage (sequestration), power plant revamping and fuel switching. These are all sectors in which the United States excels, providing gateways into carbon market participation.

Emissions trading is on track to play a key role in the world’s transition to a low-carbon economy. As countries meet their commitments under the Kyoto Protocol, the global carbon market has experienced rapid growth. From 2005 to 2008, the market grew from $11 billion to $126 billion. This growth and accompanying diversification has been made possible by an increasingly elaborate set of players. In addition to the suppliers, intermediaries and end users in the carbon market, services providers are also needed in the areas of quality control, legal advisory services, information and analysis and capacity building. Legal frameworks and regulatory bodies are also present.

Although the Kyoto Protocol will expire in 2012, there is general consensus that a cap-and-trade system will be established in the United States and a global carbon trading system will be a fixture in the world economy for decades. Carbon is predicted by some to become a commodity with its emissions regulated worldwide.

The Global Carbon Market 2009: Trading Thin Air – http://www.companiesandmarkets.com/r.ashx?id=5rZnm7564169138

Contact: Mike King, info@companiesandmarkets.com, +44-0203-086-8600

SOURCE Companiesandmarkets.com

BEIJING, November 23 /PRNewswire/ –

- New Campaign Launched in the Asian Market

The Eurail Group G.I.E. is swiftly expanding by inviting the Chinese market to discover the European continent by train. Every year the number of Asians travelling through Europe with a Eurail Pass continues to grow and the number of Chinese travellers increased by a staggering 25% in 2008. Eurail launches a new marketing campaign starting with two Travel Trade seminars in Beijing and Shanghai on 23rd and 24th November, 2009.

According to Zhu Shanzhong, from the China National Tourism Administration “China remains Asia’s largest source of outbound tourism and exceeds the average world level,” Eurail supports this trend by further endorsing the Eurail Pass sales in China. For this purpose, representatives and journalists from the Chinese Travel Trade industry will participate in the Eurail marketing seminars in Beijing and Shanghai to further educate and inform the Chinese market about the advantages of travelling through Europe by train.

During 2009, Eurail Group celebrated its 50th Anniversary and in the five decades since 1959 (when only one type of pass was available), Eurail has become the market leader in European rail passes. From humble beginnings when little more than 5,000 passes were sold to overseas travellers in their first year, the idea of a pre-paid pass allowing unlimited mileage across the European continent has become a huge success story. In fact, a staggering 430,000 international Eurail Pass holders trekked across Europe in 2008.

Ever growing concerns about climate issues coupled with recent major European rail investments means that travelling the continent by rail is a cleaner, less expensive and more enjoyable choice. With 160,000 miles of track in today’s European railway system covered by Eurail Passes, many major towns and villages are connected and offer excellent international connections.

The jointly promoted student offer with ISIC (the International Student Identity Card Association), makes travelling with a Eurail Pass even more appealing to the youth. Nevertheless, the Eurail Group offers a broad product range to attract all age groups by accommodating most budgets and, the brand name continues to be universally appealing with pass sales transcending across the globe.

Eurail Group will further continue to boost the development and expansion of Eurail Pass sales in the Chinese market during 2010 via the strong distribution network. “China is one of the most important new markets for Eurail and shows huge potential,” Ana Dias e Seixas, Eurail Group’s Marketing Director, says. “We would like to embrace this opportunity to highlight the many advantages of the Eurail products to more Chinese customers. In the coming year, we will concentrate on offering additional customer benefits to make the product range more attractive.”

More information: http://www.eurailgroup.com or http://www.eurailtravel.com

SOURCE Eurail Group G.I.E.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa, November 24 /PRNewswire/ — Globally, mobile banking will become three times more popular than traditional banking by 2011 and MXit, the mobile social network and instant messenger, is poised to offer banks in Africa a safe, seamless transaction platform that eliminates entry barriers like data costs and safety.

Jaco Hattingh, CEO for MXit Africa, predicts that in Africa, where there are over 300 million adults with no access to financial services, there will be a mass move from traditional banking services, that offer savings and cheque accounts, to those that allow for person-to-person transactions through mobile devices.

“According to Gartner, 73 million transactions are expected for 2009, however there is room for further growth if we overcome challenges like financial literacy in developing countries, as well as trust issues involved with mobile technology and the related costs of accessing the internet via a mobile phone,” says Hattingh.

“This is where MXit comes in. The low data costs of operating a mobile social network and instant messenger allows banks to deliver mobile banking solutions that cost a fraction of the cost of normal data downloads through traditional mobile internet platforms. We have proven that this can work through the transactional platforms that we’ve provided on MXit for two of South Africa’s leading banks. We’ve offered First National Bank (FNB) and Standard Bank clients the ability to do mobile banking solutions via MXit,” continues Hattingh.

Any FNB account holder can purchase MXit Moola (MXit’s virtual currency) for friends and family in a cost effective and safe manner via the MXit platform. Traditionally, Moola could only be purchased by means of a FNB credit card or a premium rated SMS. The Standard Bank mimoney payment method is for individuals who would like to transact on a website or mobi-site, but do not have access to a credit card. mimoney clients can now buy MXit Moola via mimoney without having to use a credit card.

These products are designed to meet the needs of the mobile savvy market. 40% of the South African population, even though it is considered the most developed banking country in Africa, do not have access to a bank account.

“Mobile phones present an opportunity to provide quality banking solutions for all. In developing countries like Africa, with a huge unbanked market, innovative banking and payment services like these could provide the first step towards breaking out of the poverty trap for low-income individuals. While in developed markets it simply means convenience for an increasingly mobile lifestyle,” says Hattingh.

The challenges of increased access to mobile banking are clear – however by working with platforms such as MXit these challenges can be overcome by offering clients access to a cost effective mobile banking application that is available anytime, anyplace. The mobile banking model is based on serving all income groups: teenagers, students, business, high net worth individuals and the informal sector are all able to access financial services via their mobile phones

The banking industry’s growth in the African informal market is further aggravated by the tough anti-money laundering regulations set by governments which require proof-of-identity documents to be presented at a bank branch. Presenting these documents, in order to open an account, can often be prohibitively expensive for low-income customers

“We believe that our transaction platform is an opportunity for all developing markets, not only Africa. Currently there are 4 billion mobile phones, but only 1.6 billion bank accounts. There is an enormous opportunity to reach the unbanked by means of mobile banking that is driven by MXit’s transaction platform. Developing countries are short of both physical banks and internet outlets, so banking from mobile phones is the logical solution,” continues Hattingh.

The combination of mobile payment solutions, combined with the ease of use, makes this the perfect solution for all individuals, across all income groups.

“The ability to access money transfers, mobile communication, mobile banking, mobile payments and the reduced risk of theft is an appealing solution for individuals who want access to financial services without the worry of going in to a branch or being PC-bound,” says Hattingh.

“Banks and financial service institutions would do well to partner with established mobile social networks like MXit, with a proven record in developing business platforms for the banking sector – it will certainly address the issue of cost as transacting on the MXit platform is relatively free,” concludes Hattingh.

MXit, with close to 17 million subscribers, has already secured its place as the most popular mobile social network and instant messenger in Africa and is currently on a massive expansion drive to secure its leadership in South East Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean. Its growth and success is firmly based on its ability to read global trends and develop the level of innovation that has endeared it to its massive subscriber base.

About MXit

MXit is a free instant messaging and mobile social networking application for both mobile phones and PCs. It allows members to chat to other MXit users anywhere in the world. It also allows users to send text messages to and from mobile phones and PCs using GPRS or 3G instead of using standard SMS technology, which is expensive.

The social networking element of the business is the cornerstone of its growth. MXit is a new generation company that boasts just over 17 million members globally and is growing by 20, 000 and 28,000 users per day – while processing 250 million messages per day. It is in constant evolution to match the needs of its users and is set on becoming one of the biggest instant messaging mobile networks in the world and the preferred mobile social network for communicating with young people in South East Asia, Latin American, Africa and globally.

The company introduced mobile instant messaging to South Africa. It started as a mobile game developer and evolved into a mobile instant messaging company, allowing its users to send messages at a fraction of the cost of traditional SMS.

To download MXit: Open your mobile browser, type in http://www.mxit.com/wap and simply follow the prompts.

Issued by:

FD Beachhead

Sandra Sampayo, +27(0)79-167-6863 or +27(0)21-487-9000, sandra.sampayo@fd.com

Jean Dennis, +27(0)83-500-5302 or +27(0)21-487-9000, jean.dennis@fd.com

SOURCE MXit

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NEW YORK, Nov. 23 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — “There is at least an 80% profit margin difference in farmers growing coca rather than coffee.” “Water is not a commodity.” “The average American produces over 1,500 pounds of garbage per year.” These were just some of the thought-provoking presentations at the Ninth Annual Dare to Dream Conference held on November 17th in New York City. The theme of this year’s conference, hosted by The Institute for Civic Leadership (ICL) and The Dwight School (an IB World School), was “Human Rights: The Next Generation.”

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20091123/DC16211)

As part of the conference, thirteen groups of students presented on topics ranging from music censorship to the political ramifications of using Twitter. “The Dare to Dream Conference received over 2,000 hits from students and schools during our first hour of live-streaming the presentations over the Internet,” said Daren Khairule, ICL Executive Director. “That is an excellent sign, indicating that many others are interested in learning about and, hopefully, advocating for human rights.”

Following is a brief description of some of the more popular presentations:

Water Warlords

Humans need water to survive. Should water cost money? This presentation delves into how profit-driven corporations use the world’s water, a natural resource, as a means to gain wealth. With your cooperation and support, we can help put an end to this practice.

Myoo­Zik: Right or Frivolous Activity?

In many cultures, music is associated with negative connotations or even banned, which raises the question: “Is music a human right?” This presentation addresses music’s value in today’s society, as well as the different presence it has outside of the United States.

Trick or Tweet?

Is Twitter a positive social force, or is it causing conflict between countries? While many argue it is a positive development, some governments do not share this opinion.

Milk and Sugar with Your Cocaine?

Have you ever thought how coffee made its way from the farmland to your cup? Today, many farmers have only two options: They can either grow various coffee beans for a small profit or grow coca plants to produce cocaine, which yields a higher profit margin. Which one would you choose?

Mafia Today

Was the Mafia always an evil organization full of corruption and imbalance? How were mobs started, and how popular do they remain today? Does organized crime infringe on human rights?

Please visit www.iclny.org to watch all of the student­led presentations and learn about the human rights challenges facing the next generation. The Institute for Civic Leadership is an international non­profit organization whose mission is to inspire and to educate students to be global leaders and to provide take action opportunities in educational development, public health service, poverty alleviation, peace initiatives, and environmental protection, and, in so doing, produce engaged global citizens.

SOURCE The Institute for Civic Leadership

MIAMI, Nov. 18 /PRNewswire/ — Latin America’s rapid recovery from the global financial crisis, its abundance of raw materials and the burgeoning purchasing power of its people are driving China’s confidence in that region, said representatives of several Chinese banks during the 43rd Annual Assembly of the Latin American Federation of Banks (FELABAN).

“The future between Latin America and China is very bright. We’re at a moment of adaptation and growth that will lead to bigger and better exchanges,” said Shiqin Li, chief representative, Agricultural Bank of China.

“We need one another,” she added.

According to John Weinshank, senior VP, China Construction Bank, there is ample scope for bilateral trade due to China’s need for raw materials and Latin Americans’ enhanced purchasing power.

Feng Liu, first VP of the Bank of China, New York branch, predicted that trade flows (which totaled $140 billion in 2008) will grow between Latin America and his country, although he said it is a time for analysis.

“At this time, China needs raw materials and Latin America manufactured products. But, we need to study how these trends will change in the future in order to maintain a strong trade structure,” he said.

The panelists underscored China’s efforts to learn about Latin Americans’ needs with a view to future investment in manufacturing and other sectors.

“In the West it’s said that Rome wasn’t built in a day. In China, the proverb says it took a century to build the Great Wall. Likewise, China and Latin America need time to shape their (trade) relations,” he said.

For his part, Douglas Smith, Standard Chartered Bank’s head of research for Latin America, predicted that the “natural trade relationship between Asia and Latin America will expand in the future, including an increase in bilateral free-trade agreements between China and other countries of Asia and Latin America.”

Meanwhile, John Rodriguez, president of the Florida International Bankers Association, said that “both in Florida and Latin America we’re looking very carefully at China with a view to diversifying exports. At present, 10% of the region’s exports go to China.”

Ricardo Marino, president of FELABAN, said that “in a less robust global environment relative to the past, economic dynamism will have to come from China and other emerging countries.”

Like China, the U.S. government also expressed its confidence in the region. Dr. Nancy Lee, deputy assistant secretary for the Western Hemisphere, U.S. Treasury Department, said Latin America “has not had a financial crisis…This didn’t happen by accident, but rather by deliberate and sometimes difficult policy commitments made by many leaders in the region.”

Information:

www.asambleamiami.com

SOURCE FELABAN

December Event at Four Seasons Hotel to Address New Economic Landscape in Ukraine

NEW YORK, Nov. 19 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — The Ukrainian Foundation for Effective Governance (FEG), in partnership with the Financial Times, will host “Ukraine: Opportunities and Challenges,” a strategic conference focusing on Ukraine’s economic outlook, evolving business environment, key investment opportunities, and the challenges that need to be overcome for those opportunities to be realized. The event will be held on the morning of Tuesday, December 8, at the Four Seasons Hotel in Midtown Manhattan.

Chaired by Chrystia Freeland, the Financial Times’ U.S. Managing Editor, this high-level conference will feature a keynote address by William Taylor, former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine, along with contributions from the Right Honourable Kim Campbell, Chair of FEG’s International Advisory Board and former Prime Minister of Canada, and many leading experts on the country including Ralph Judah, Senior Partner, Monitor Group and Elena Kuznetsova, Senior Manager, McKinsey & Company.

Panels will be presented by Ukrainian business and political leaders including Vladislav Kaskiv, Advisor to the Prime Minister of Ukraine on Foreign Investment, Parliament of Ukraine; Maxim Timchenko, Chief Executive Officer, DTEK, a leading Ukrainian energy company; Andriy Sadovyy, Mayor of Lviv, a key city in Western Ukraine; Boris Kolesnikov, Member of the Parliamentary Committee of Economic policy, Parliament of Ukraine; Irina Akimova, Deputy Chair of the Parliamentary Committee of Economic policy, Parliament of Ukraine; and Borys Krasnyansky, Managing Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers-Ukraine.

“This conference will address a number of important issues, including the question: is it reasonable to focus on long-term solutions in the current political and economic environment in Ukraine? If we continue to follow short-term goals and address only situational political issues, the country will never be able to move forward. If there is no vision of the economic architecture that we eventually want to attain, it is likely that we will not be able to avoid or at least minimize mistakes in today’s decision-making process,” stated Nataliya Izosimova, Managing Director of the Foundation for Effective Governance. “In all the projects that the Foundation is running, we are trying to maintain a balance between strategy and tactics, with short-term and longer-term perspectives being always practical and end result oriented.”

Discussions will be interactive and highly focused, combining up-to-date information with cutting-edge analysis, and giving attendees insight into possible investment strategies within the wider economic and political context. Topics will include:

• How bright is the outlook for Ukraine as it begins to come out of its economic and financial crisis, and ahead of key presidential elections in 2010?

• What measures need to be taken to improve the business environment and create incentives for international companies to invest?

• Where are the most promising regional investment opportunities?

• Which established industrial and service sectors offer the best returns in the short, medium and long term? What are the most promising new opportunities for investment?

• Taking all of these issues into account, what are the key challenges to be overcome for Ukraine to become a major destination for international investors?

“As Ukraine begins to emerge from the financial crisis, this is an important time to reassess the economic potential of the country and examine how investment opportunities can be realized. This conference will give a clear, objective view of the challenges that need to be tackled for the country to achieve its undoubted potential,” stated Chrystia Freeland, U.S. Managing Editor, Financial Times.

The event will begin with breakfast at 8:30 am and close with a networking lunch at 1:10 pm. Attendees will include U.S. and Ukrainian government officials and regulators, and senior representatives of multilateral institutions, Ukraine-based companies, multinationals, international banks, private equity firms and specialist funds, research groups, NGOs and media. More information is available at www.ftconferences.com/ukraine/agenda.

About The Foundation for Effective Governance: The Foundation for Effective Governance (FEG), an independent public policy institution, was formed in 2007 by Ukrainian businessman Rinat Akhmetov. FEG’s main objective is to encourage the development of long-term national economic programs for Ukraine, through the formulation of practical policy solutions to the political, economic and social challenges facing the country. The basic principles governing FEG’s activities are independence, a focus on economic development, openness, and a practice-oriented approach. FEG’s International Advisory Board includes former Prime Minister of Canada Kim Campbell, Chair; former U.S. Sen. Lincoln Chafee; and Gyorgy Suranyi, former president of the National Bank of Hungary. More information on FEG is available at www.feg.org.ua/en.

About the Financial Times: The Financial Times, one of the world’s leading business news organisations, is recognised internationally for its authority, integrity and accuracy. Providing extensive news, comment and analysis, the newspaper is printed at 23 print sites across the globe, has a daily circulation of 412,854 (ABC figures, October 2009) and a readership of 1.3 million people worldwide. FT.com is the definitive home for business intelligence on the web, providing an essential source of news, comment, data and analysis for the global business community. FT.com attracts 11.4 million unique users, generating 83.2 million page views (ABCe figures, March 2009) and now has over 1.6 million registered users.

SOURCE Foundation for Effective Governance

Scientists perform cat-scale cortical simulations and map the human brain in effort to build advanced chip technology

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PORTLAND, Ore., Nov. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Today at SC 09, the supercomputing conference, IBM ( IBM) announced significant progress toward creating a computer system that simulates and emulates the brain’s abilities for sensation, perception, action, interaction and cognition, while rivaling the brain’s low power and energy consumption and compact size.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20091118/NY13328 )

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20090416/IBMLOGO )

The cognitive computing team, led by IBM Research, has achieved significant advances in large-scale cortical simulation and a new algorithm that synthesizes neurological data — two major milestones that indicate the feasibility of building a cognitive computing chip.

Scientists, at IBM Research – Almaden, in collaboration with colleagues from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab, have performed the first near real-time cortical simulation of the brain that exceeds the scale of a cat cortex and contains 1 billion spiking neurons and 10 trillion individual learning synapses.

Additionally, in collaboration with researchers from Stanford University, IBM scientists have developed an algorithm that exploits the Blue Gene® supercomputing architecture in order to noninvasively measure and map the connections between all cortical and sub-cortical locations within the human brain using magnetic resonance diffusion weighted imaging. Mapping the wiring diagram of the brain is crucial to untangling its vast communication network and understanding how it represents and processes information.

These advancements will provide a unique workbench for exploring the computational dynamics of the brain, and stand to move the team closer to its goal of building a compact, low-power synaptronic chip using nanotechnology and advances in phase change memory and magnetic tunnel junctions. The team’s work stands to break the mold of conventional von Neumann computing, in order to meet the system requirements of the instrumented and interconnected world of tomorrow.

As the amount of digital data that we create continues to grow massively and the world becomes more instrumented and interconnected, there is a need for new kinds of computing systems — imbued with a new intelligence that can spot hard-to-find patterns in vastly varied kinds of data, both digital and sensory; analyze and integrate information real-time in a context-dependent way; and deal with the ambiguity found in complex, real-world environments.

Businesses will simultaneously need to monitor, prioritize, adapt and make rapid decisions based on ever-growing streams of critical data and information. A cognitive computer could quickly and accurately put together the disparate pieces of this complex puzzle, while taking into account context and previous experience, to help business decision makers come to a logical response.

“Learning from the brain is an attractive way to overcome power and density challenges faced in computing today,” said Josephine Cheng, IBM Fellow and lab director of IBM Research – Almaden. “As the digital and physical worlds continue to merge and computing becomes more embedded in the fabric of our daily lives, it’s imperative that we create a more intelligent computing system that can help us make sense the vast amount of information that’s increasingly available to us, much the way our brains can quickly interpret and act on complex tasks.”

To perform the first near real-time cortical simulation of the brain that exceed the scale of the cat cortex, the team built a cortical simulator that incorporates a number of innovations in computation, memory, and communication as well as sophisticated biological details from neurophysiology and neuroanatomy. This scientific tool, akin to a linear accelerator or an electron microscope, is a critical instrument used to test hypotheses of brain structure, dynamics and function. The simulation was performed using the cortical simulator on Lawrence Livermore National Lab’s Dawn Blue Gene/P supercomputer with 147,456 CPUs and 144 terabytes of main memory.

The algorithm, when combined with the cortical simulator, allows scientists to experiment with various mathematical hypotheses of brain function and structure of how structure affects function as they work toward discovering the brain’s core computational micro and macro circuits.

After the successful completion of Phase 0, IBM and its university partners were recently awarded $16.1M in additional funding from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for Phase 1 of DARPA’s Systems of Neuromorphic Adaptive Plastic Scalable Electronics (SyNAPSE) initiative. This phase of research will focus on the components, brain-like architecture and simulations to build a prototype chip. The long-term mission of IBM’s cognitive computing initiative is to discover and demonstrate the algorithms of the brain and deliver low-power, compact cognitive computers that approach mammalian-scale intelligence and use significantly less energy than today’s computing systems. The world-class team includes researchers from several of IBM’s worldwide research labs and scientists from Stanford University, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Cornell University, Columbia University Medical Center and University of California-Merced.

“The goal of the SyNAPSE program is to create new electronics hardware and architecture that can understand, adapt and respond to an informative environment in ways that extend traditional computation to include fundamentally different capabilities found in biological brains,” said DARPA program manager Todd Hylton, Ph.D.

Modern computing is based on a stored program model, which has traditionally been implemented in digital, synchronous, serial, centralized, fast, hardwired, general-purpose circuits with explicit memory addressing that indiscriminately over-write data and impose a dichotomy between computation and data. In stark contrast, cognitive computing — like the brain — will use replicated computational units, neurons and synapses that are implemented in mixed-mode analog-digital, asynchronous, parallel, distributed, slow, reconfigurable, specialized and fault-tolerant biological substrates with implicit memory addressing that only update state when information changes, blurring the boundary between computation and data.

For more information about IBM Research, please visit www.ibm.com/research.

Technical insight and more details on the SyNAPSE project and recent milestones can also be found on the Cognitive Computing blog at http://modha.org/.

The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the official policies, either expressly or implied, of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency or the U.S. Government.

    Contact:
    Sara Delekta Galligan
    IBM Media Relations
    O: 408-927-2272
    M: 917-868-4502
    sdelekta@us.ibm.com

SOURCE IBM

International opinion leaders and prominent figures to contribute and attend the global summit

DOHA, Qatar, Nov. 16 /PRNewswire/ — Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al Missned, Chair of Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, launches the first-ever World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) today in Doha, Qatar at the Ritz Carlton Hotel.

The agenda for WISE, an initiative of the Qatar Foundation, puts forth a comprehensive program designed to generate international dialogue and debate during the three day summit. Attendees will participate in plenary and breakout sessions exploring three key themes: pluralism, sustainability and innovation in education.

Her Highness Sheikha Mozah is scheduled to deliver the opening address in the presence of 1,000 participants from the public and private sectors, NGOs and media from 120 countries.

Among key participants, WISE will welcome Guest of Honor Irina Bokova, Director General of UNESCO. Mrs. Bokova will address the WISE worldwide community of opinion leaders in her first official engagement abroad.

Other distinguished speakers to address the Summit include: Gerhard Schroder, former German Chancellor; Kiyotaka Akasaka, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and Public Information, United Nations; Sheikha Abdulla Al-Misnad, President, University of Qatar; Anthony Salcito, Vice President, Microsoft – Worldwide Education, Biz Stone, Co-Founder of Twitter; and Ruth Dreifuss, Chancellor, University for Peace, former President of the Swiss Confederation (1999).

WISE aims to trigger a coordinated and comprehensive international effort to address educational challenges of the 21st century. Throughout the meeting, delegates will pool their expertise, share new ideas, detail best practices in education and work toward developing a blueprint for sustainable, innovative and pluralistic education.

Among the stand-out features of the WISE agenda are five plenary sessions and 19 breakout sessions aligned with the Summit’s main theme: “Global Education: Working Together for Sustainable Achievements.”

Breakout sessions will allow renowned leaders and educational specialists to present their visions while engaging with the audience for an interactive experience. These sessions will focus on some of education’s most pressing challenges: funding issues, community development, sustaining education in conflict zones and preparing students for a global economy, among others.

The ultimate goal of WISE is to find constructive ways to turn words into actions in order to collaboratively identify future trends and address current education challenges at local, national and international levels.

On November 18th, the closing plenary session will focus on the creation of a final declaration, which will sum up main conclusions and determine concrete actions for the next years to come. These conclusions will provide a foundation for the “WISE Final Report,” helping to create a follow-up structure that ensures concepts are converted into measurable actions and new international collaborations are initiated.

Explore the entire agenda on WISE Website: http://www.wise-qatar.org/en/day-1

ABOUT WISE

WISE (World Innovation Summit for Education) is a global, groundbreaking, collaborative initiative established by the Qatar Foundation under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al Missned. WISE seeks to monitor and contribute to 21st century challenges and their impact on education. With 1,000 leading education stakeholders, opinion leaders and decision-makers from diverse disciplines in over 120 countries participating, WISE endeavours to propose visionary thinking on education, offer new ways of addressing current global challenges and untapped opportunities and anticipate future education models. The WISE Forum will take place in Doha, Qatar, from November 16th to 18th, 2009. Full details may be found at www.wise-qatar.org.

ABOUT QATAR FOUNDATION

Founded in 1995 by decree of His Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, Emir of Qatar, Qatar Foundation is a non-profit organization focusing on education, scientific research and community development. Under Qatar Foundation’s umbrella are Education City, which comprises elite universities, several academic and training programs and Qatar Science and Technology Park, which boasts more than 21 world-class companies involved in scientific research and development.

Chaired by Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al Missned, Qatar Foundation also aims to enhance lives through community development initiatives including Doha Debates, Reach- out To Asia and Al Jazeera Children’s Channel.

Joint venture partnerships in the areas of design, ICT, telecommunications, policy studies and event management contribute to fulfilling the objectives of the Qatar Foundation.

For more information, please visit: www.qf.org.qa

SOURCE World Innovation Summit for Education – WISE

Materials Science and Mathematics Research Honored at Nation’s Premier High School Science Competition

2009 Siemens Competition Regional Winners Announced at The University of Texas at Austin; Will Move on to National Finals for Chance at $100,000

Peter Hu Wins Top Individual Prize; Sean Karson, Dan Liu and Kevin Chen Win Top Team Prize

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AUSTIN, Texas, Nov. 14 /PRNewswire/ — Research projects in the areas of materials science and mathematics scored top marks this evening, as Peter Hu of Denton, Texas and the team of Sean Karson of Winter Park, Florida, Dan Liu of Austin, Texas and Kevin Chen of Missouri City, Texas received the highest honors at the Region Two Finals of the 2009 Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology, the nation’s premier high school science competition.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070904/SIEMENSLOGO )

Tonight’s winners will receive thousands of dollars in college scholarships and be invited to compete at the National Finals in New York City on December 3-7, where the winners of six regional competitions across the United States will vie for scholarships ranging from $10,000 to the top prize of $100,000. The Siemens Competition, a signature program of the Siemens Foundation, is administered by the College Board.

“These students have just earned their place among the nation’s greatest high school scientists,” said James Whaley, President of the Siemens Foundation, based in Iselin, New Jersey. “Each year, the students’ work becomes more impressive, and in a record-setting year such as this one, their achievements become even more outstanding. We are proud to welcome them into our family of Siemens Scholars and look forward to their participation at the national finals in New York City.”

The students presented their research this weekend to a panel of judges from The University of Texas at Austin, host of the Siemens Competition Region Two Finals.

Individual Winner

Peter Hu, a senior at the Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science in Denton, Texas, won the individual category and a $3,000 college scholarship for his materials science project that aimed to develop a novel and biologically compatible material for protein drug delivery. While similar delivery systems for therapeutic proteins are known in scientific literature, many of these materials were found to be carcinogenic. Mr. Hu’s research, titled Novel Thermogelling Dispersions of Polymer Nanoparticles for Controlled Drug Delivery, focused on an alternative FDA-approved material to mimic the behavior of these previous delivery systems, effectively avoiding prior toxicity issues.

“While all of the projects were very impressive today, Mr. Hu’s research was successful on many levels,” said Dr. Christopher Bielawski, Associate Professor in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry at The University of Texas at Austin. “This research project established a key proof of concept in the laboratory and the materials presented are poised for examination in living systems. Mr. Hu’s work is very advanced and comparable to that of a second or third year graduate student; with minimal tweaks, this research project stands an excellent chance at being published in a top-tier scientific journal and will likely make quite a splash in many scientific communities.”

Mr. Hu is a senior who aspires to one day lead a research team at a university or facility, such as the National Cancer Institute. Currently, he is the Vice President of the Junior Engineering Technical Society, and is organizing a science demonstration team in order to promote interest in math and science among elementary and middle school students. Mr. Hu is also a member of his school’s Research Organization.

Both of Mr. Hu’s parents are physicists, spurring his interest in science at a young age. In addition to his academic pursuits, Mr. Hu plays piano and violin, as well as basketball and table tennis in his free time. His mentor for this research project was Professor Liping Tang of the Department of Bioengineering at The University of Texas at Arlington.

Team Winners

Sean Karson, a senior at Trinity Prepatory High School in Winter Park, Florida; Dan Liu, a junior at the Liberal Arts and Science Academy High School in Austin, Texas; and Kevin Chen, a junior at William P. Clements High School in Sugar Land, Texas, won the team category and will share a $6,000 college scholarship for their mathematics project entitled Relating Missing and Decycling Edges in Directed Graphs. The team’s mathematics project has the potential to increase efficiency in real world networks by establishing an upper bound on the minimum number of connections that must be removed to destroy all cyclic pathways in systems like the World Wide Web and transcontinental trade routes.

“The team’s work was truly impressive in that it focused on a topic in pure mathematics,” said Dr. Haskell Rosenthal, John T. Stuart III Centennial Professor Emeritus in Mathematics at The University of Texas at Austin. “With new and delicate techniques, they have advanced the infrastructure and knowledge of graph theory by providing better bounds, which is of fundamental importance to the mathematics community. Their depth of knowledge was remarkable, and their work was on the same level of that of a Ph.D.”

Mr. Karson is a senior who has received Excellence Awards for Honors Computer Programming C++, Graphics I, Honors Chemistry, Honors Precalculus, AP JAVA and AP Chemistry. He has also received the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute Math & Science Award, and is recognized as a National Merit Semifinalist. Mr. Karson is Captain of the Quiz Bowl Team, President of Mu Alpha Theta, a member of the Spanish Honor Society and the National Honor Society and volunteers for the Center of Math, Arts and Science Achievement. He has also received the Varsity Baseball Coach’s Award and the Most Valuable Defensive Player Award, and has been the starting third baseman on the Varsity Baseball Team since his sophomore year. Mr. Karson has also leveraged his love of puzzles to create a club called Rubik’s Revenge, aimed to teach middle school students how to solve Rubik’s Cubes.

Mr. Liu is a junior who aspires to one day become a computer or electronics engineer or programmer. He is currently Vice President of the InvenTeams Club, Co-Director of his school’s Math Team, and a member of the Liberal Arts and Science Academy’s (LASA) National Honor Society Chapter. Mr. Liu is also a part of the LASA Camerata Orchestra and Science Olympiad Team. He is a part of the Circle C Swim Team, and also plays badminton and ping-pong.

Mr. Chen is a junior and is a member of his school’s Mu Alpha Theta, Junior Engineering Technical Society and Computer Science Team. He is also an active volunteer at a local middle school Math Club. Mr. Chen’s dad is a computer engineer and has taught mathematics and physics in the past, playing a large role in sparking his interest in math when he was young. His mother is also very encouraging and supportive of his passion for math and science, helping to foster his current academic interests. He enjoys practicing piano, playing tennis and programming games in his free time.

The team’s mentor was Dr. Jian Shen, Professor of Mathematics at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas.

Regional Finalists

Regional Finalists each received a $1,000 scholarship.

Regional Finalists in the individual category were:

• Sai Achi, Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science, Denton, TX
• Somak Das, Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science, Denton, TX
• Prianka Ghoshal, Westlake High School, Austin, TX
• Sahil Khetpal, Texas Academy of Mathematics and Science, Denton, TX

Regional Finalists in the team category were:

• Fayen Bastani and Jonathan Lin, Jasper High School, Plano, TX
• Sumit Gogia and Patrick Kim, The Science Academy of South Texas, Mercedes, TX; and Vincent Yu, Sha Tin College, Sha Tin, Hong Kong
• Sunil Pai, The Kinkaid School, Houston TX; and Aneesh Sampath, Ward Melville High School, East Setauket, NY
• Tianjiao (Tom) Zhang and Liang Gu, Bellaire High School, Bellaire, TX

The Siemens Competition

The Siemens Competition was launched in 1998 to recognize America’s best and brightest math and science students. In another record-setting year, 2,151 students registered to enter the Siemens Competition in Math, Science and Technology in 2009 – more than ever before – for a total of 1,348 project submissions – a 14% increase in project submissions over 2008 figures and more than a 12% increase in the number of registrations.

Entries are judged at the regional level by esteemed scientists at six leading research universities which host the regional competitions: California Institute of Technology; Carnegie Mellon University; Georgia Institute of Technology; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; University of Notre Dame; and The University of Texas at Austin.

Winners of the regional events are invited to compete at the National Finals at New York University in New York City, December 3 – December 7, 2009. Visit www.siemens-foundation.org on December 7, 2009 at 9:30 am EST to view a live webcast of the National Finalist Award Presentation. You can also log into and follow the Siemens Foundation on Twitter (http://twitter.com/SFoundation) for the latest information and announcements throughout this year’s competition.

About the Siemens Foundation

The Siemens Foundation provides more than $7 million annually in support of educational initiatives in the areas of science, technology, engineering and math in the United States. Its signature programs, the Siemens Competition in Math, Science & Technology and Siemens Awards for Advanced Placement, reward exceptional achievement in science, math and technology. The newest program, The Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge, encourages K-12 students to develop innovative green solutions for environmental issues. By supporting outstanding students today, and recognizing the teachers and schools that inspire their excellence, the Foundation helps nurture tomorrow’s scientists and engineers. The Foundation’s mission is based on the culture of innovation, research and educational support that is the hallmark of Siemens’ U.S. companies and its parent company, Siemens AG.

For further information, visit www.siemens-foundation.org.

The College Board

The College Board is a not-for-profit membership association whose mission is to connect students to college success and opportunity. Founded in 1900, the College Board is composed of more than 5,700 schools, colleges, universities and other educational organizations. Each year, the College Board serves seven million students and their parents, 23,000 high schools, and 3,800 colleges through major programs and services in college readiness, college admission, guidance, assessment, financial aid, enrollment, and teaching and learning. Among its best-known programs are the SAT®, the PSAT/NMSQT® and the Advanced Placement Program® (AP®). The College Board is committed to the principles of excellence and equity, and that commitment is embodied in all of its programs, services, activities and concerns.

For further information, visit www.collegeboard.com.

SOURCE Siemens Foundation