About the Symposium

MISSION

Now in its third year, the mission of the IST Graduate Symposium is to provide an opportunity for graduate students in IST and related fields to share and discuss their research and practices around the space of information, technology, and people. Organized and hosted by graduate students, the Symposium places special emphasis on promoting the professional development of graduate students, broadening horizons through exposure to multidisciplinary and cutting edge research from a diverse set of research programs, and fostering the growth of a community around the intellectual space of information, people, and technology.

THIS YEAR’S SYMPOSIUM

Organized and hosted by graduate students in IST and developed in collaboration with students in the Smeal College of Business, this year’s theme revolves around Creativity and Innovation: The Future of Information, Technology and the Enterprise. Covering a broad range of disciplines, submissions topics cover areas such as the future of information search, strategic role of IT in innovation, future of workspaces, social networks and virtual worlds, supply chain and service science, creativity in design and information sciences, IST in developing worlds, and security and privacy.

New this year, the Symposium has expanded into a 1.5 day event and will include a number of new session formats (click here for a complete Program of Events). We are also very excited to have the opportunity to invite a number of research and industry professionals from leading organizations. A list of participating organizations will be continually updated as guests confirm their available.

EVENTS

Click on each to learn more.

• Keynote Speakers*
• Industry/Research Panels
• Graduate Student Panels
• Graduate Student Presentations
• Doctoral Consortium
• Posters/Demos
• Tutorials

*A reception will follow the Opening Keynote on Thursday evening.
**A light breakfast, lunch, and snacks will be served for registered attendees on Friday.
***A more detailed program of events is available under our Program page.

IMPORTANT DATES

Submissions Close January 18th
Early Registration Closes January 28th
Symposium is January 31st and February 1st

PARTICIPATING BUSINESS AND INDUSTRY REPRESENTATIVES

• Google - Dr. Peter Norvig, Director of Research
• Steelcase - Joyce Bromberg, Director of Workspace Futures
• IBM TJ Watson Research Center
  • Dr. David Cohn, Directory of Business Informatics
  • Dr. Christopher Ward, Research Staff Member
  • Dr. Liang-Je Zhang, Research Staff Member
  • Dr. Lexing Xie, Research Staff Member
• MIT Lincoln Lab - Dr. Antonio Pensa, Assistant Director
• GE Global Research - Dr. Piero Bonissone, Chief Technologist, Coolidge Fellow
• ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company - Dr. Limin Song, Advanced Sensing and Control Science
• SPARTA National Security Systems - Dr. Erik Mettala
• The Electric Sheep Company - John Swords

SPONSORS

We are very grateful to this year’s sponsors, the Enterprise Informatics and Integration Center and the College of Information Sciences and Technology. The Committee would also like to recognize in specific the tremendous efforts and insights of Dr. Petrick, Dr. Yen, Dr. Tapia, Julie Coughlin, Karen Brewster, Charles Dubois and the many others who helped put this event together.

Please see the Organizers page for a complete list of the 2008 IST Graduate Symposium Committee members.