[unrev-II] 7/27/01 CITRIS News: UC Berkeley Receives $20M in 1st Year, incl. $250M from CoDIAK Parnters

From: John J. Deneen (jjdeneen@ricochet.net)
Date: Thu Aug 16 2001 - 00:29:10 PDT


"Tackle the grand-challenge social problems of today. Create the
architectures, the vision, and the fundamental technologies. Build
prototype solutions and prove the value and importance of your work.
Then industry will find a way to fill in the gaps and deliver the
commercial versions of the technology.” - James Demmel, professor of
computer science at UC Berkeley and chief scientist and associate
director of CITRIS (Center for Information Technology Research in the
Interest of Society)

7/27/01
"More than 100 faculty members in engineering, science, social science,
and other disciplines at four UC campuses will collaborate with
researchers at more than 20 supporting companies on CITRIS research.
The group recommended the research tackle tough social problems as its
main emphasis. That is, UC Berkeley should consider using problems that,
if solved, would have a clear role in improving the quality of people’s
lives - on a global scale.

... "$20 million this fiscal year with a $100 million commitment for the
overall CITRIS project, promises major energy savings for the state and
nation. Among the innovative ideas already emerging from CITRIS is that
of outfitting buildings with wireless sensor networks to monitor energy
use - technology that could save as much as $8 billion in California's
energy costs and 5 million metric tons of carbon each year. ...

... In addition to state funding, CITRIS has garnered $250 million in
additional support from business and industrial partners and federal and
state research grants. Many of the corporate sponsors played a key role
in convincing the governor and legislature that CITRIS has broad support
in Silicon Valley and would have a major impact on the information
technology industry.

Other CITRIS research projects could optimize traffic flow to conserve
37.5 million gallons of fuel annually; create an emergency lifeline
network to save lives and minimize structural damage to buildings in an
earthquake; serve more of California's students through distance
learning and the delivery of undergraduate curriculum to UC Merced;
monitor health care with state-of-the-art biomedical devices; prevent
environmental damage; and develop more efficient farming."
< http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2001/07/27_citrs.html >

"After months of anticipation and planning the faculty of UC Berkeley,
UC Davis, UC Santa Cruz and UC Merced are eager to begin full scale
implementation of their research plans," said James Demmel, professor of
computer science at UC Berkeley and chief scientist and associate
director of CITRIS. "CITRIS offers an unprecedented opportunity to have
a positive impact on society."

Issues at the heart of California's economy, quality of life, and future
success will drive the research of the CITRIS Partnership.

   * Energy Efficiency: A network of tiny, inexpensive sensors can make
     buildings vastly more energy efficient, saving as much as $55
     billion in energy costs nationally and 35 million tons of carbon
     emissions each year. In California alone, this translates into a
     savings of $8 billion in energy costs and a reduction of 5 million
     metric tons of carbon emission annually.

   * Transportation: Linking sensors in California's roadways to
     computers to analyze traffic flow could point commuters to
     efficient routes and help Caltrans and planners make solid transit
     decisions. Optimizing traffic could save Californians annually up
     to $15 billion in wages, $600 million in trucking costs, and 37.5
     million gallons of fuel.

   * Seismic Safety: A major earthquake in the Bay Area could cost
     10,000 lives, $200 billion in damage, and untold lost productivity.
     Real-time information on the conditions of buildings, bridges, and
     lifeline networks is key to reducing risk. A vast system to deliver
     reliable, personalized information in minutes to emergency teams
     would save lives.

   * Education: High-tech classrooms for distance learning can serve
     more students in California's growing universities, schools, and
     businesses.

   * First order of business: CITRIS technology will deliver the
     undergraduate program in information technology to UC Merced in the
     heart of California, a critical addition to state growth in
     education and industry.

   * Health Care: As many as 60,000 fatal heart attacks - 20% of cardiac
     deaths — could be prevented each year if at-risk people wore
     sensors now being developed to detect trouble and alert medics.
     Other medical monitoring devices would follow, including help for
     military personnel and others in remote areas.

   * Environment: From Monterey Bay to urban Southern California, CITRIS
     projects will help guard California's water, air, and environment.
     New information technologies may also be adapted later for more
     productive agriculture.

We have identified many other high-impact SIS applications as well, such
as smart farming, which we also propose to address in the future.

In organizing this ambitious research agenda, CITRIS will concentrate on
producing useful technology: design principles, architectures, software
tools, algorithms, and Societal-scaled Information Systems (SIS)
prototypes.
< http://www.citris.berkeley.edu/about_citris.html >



This archive was generated by hypermail 2.0.0 : Tue Aug 21 2001 - 18:58:48 PDT