Contact: Louise Hanson, event manager, (785) 832-9234
LAWRENCE - The latest technological developments in research, collaboration and education will be among the topics of a conference at the University of Kansas early next month.
The National Computational Science Alliance has chosen KU as the site for one of this year's Alliance Chautauqua 2000 technology conferences. The conference will run Aug. 1 to 3 in Budig Hall, featuring demonstrations of advances in computation and communication research, such as the Internet2, emerging grid technologies, capability computing, cluster computing and remote collaboration.
Such technology plays an important role in the Human Genome Project and other high-profile endeavors, said Kenneth Bishop, KU professor of chemical and petroleum engineering and Kansas representative to the alliance.
"Any field that is quantitative in nature and has large-scale problems that must be solved quickly should be interested in this conference," he said.
The conference is modeled after the Chautauqua gatherings of the Seneca Indians of western New York at the turn of the previous century, used to inform tribal members about vital community news. The conference goal is to inform people of the latest technological advances.
"In fact," Bishop said, "the actual technology we're using to put on the conference is part of the message itself."
The latest in parallel virtual video conferencing will enable participants to interact with alliance sites in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago and other cities as the program is broadcast around the country by Internet2, a high-speed computer network.
Bishop said he hopes the conference will clear up some misconceptions about technological advances - namely that they are too costly. In fact, he said, technology can help bridge the gap between states with established research facilities and federal funding and states that have been left behind.
"This is the first time in 50 years when there will be an opportunity to redress that situation," he said. "And it doesn't take brick and mortar to build new laboratories, it just takes a commitment to information technology and the necessary infrastructure."
The conference is co-sponsored by the National Computational Science Alliance, the Kansas NSF EPSCoR program and KU. Cost is $100, including continental breakfast and lunch each day, a dinner and a Kansas barbecue at a nearby ranch. Graduate students can attend at a reduced rate. For more information or to register, call (785) 864-5823, or, toll free, (877) 404-5823, or visit the Web site at www.kuce.org/app/chautauqua.