Talk of Dr. Luis Sarmenta on "Human Dynamics and the Next Billion Network"

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INVITATION
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You are cordially invited to attend a special lecture on

HUMAN DYNAMICS AND THE NEXT BILLION NETWORK

Luis F. G. Sarmenta, Ph.D
Research Scientist
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
and Faculty, DISCS, Ateneo de Manila University

When: 11 August 2008, Monday
Time: 4:30 - 6:00 p.m.
Venue: SEC A Rm. 303, Ateneo de Manila University


ABSTRACT:

Dr. Sarmenta is a Research Scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA. He was also formerly Chair of the Department of Information Systems and Computer Science (DISCS) at Ateneo de Manila University, and founder of the Ateneo Java Wireless Competency Center (AJWCC), which eventually spun-off BlueBlade Technologies, Inc.

He will talk about two of his current research interests and activities at the MIT Media Lab: Human Dynamics, and a new initiative at MIT called the Next Billion Network.

Human Dynamics research at MIT focuses on using automatically collected measurements of real-world human interactions in order to discover useful patterns and phenomena in human social behavior. Luis will give a brief overview of the topic and present some examples of projects being done at the MIT Media Lab, and discuss potential benefits to Philippine industry and society of this area of research.

The Next Billion Network is a new initiative at MIT, which seeks to encourage and enable the invention of new technologies that will empower the exploding number of people, particularly in developing countries, who are becoming connected to a whole new world of information and opportunity thanks to mobile phones and other ICT. This effort does not aim to be an ivory tower think-tank, but instead emphasizes the necessity of grounding all research efforts on the real-world by working closely with real-world partner organizations in the local target communities. Luis will share about his experiences helping to start this initiative at MIT (including co-teaching a class this past Spring semester, which produced 8 real-world projects in 7 countries), and will also discuss possible opportunities for Filipinos to take part in this effort.
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