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IBM Establishes the Smarter Energy Research Institute to Advance the Utility of the Future

Hydro-Québec (Canada), Alliander (Netherlands) and DTE Energy (USA) Join as the First Members

YORKTOWN HEIGHTS, N.Y. – 25 Oct 2012: IBM today announced the launch of the Smarter Energy Research Institute, a new industrial research collaboration model aimed at accelerating innovation across the global energy and utilities market. Hydro-Québec (Canada), Alliander (Netherlands) and DTE Energy (USA) join as the first members.

The Smarter Energy Research Institute is a new collaboration between corporate research and the energy and utilities industry to transform leading energy companies through the use of predictive analytics, system optimization and advanced computation to deliver better services to their customers. Combining IBM Research’s expertise in the areas of mathematical sciences, computer science and high-performance computing with the deep-power engineering and operational know-how of the participating members, the Institute will focus on five core innovation tracks to pursue joint research and where shared investments, knowledge and capabilities will benefit every member. Each company will identify and be active in up to two tracks that match their business and operational priorities. The areas include: (more…)

Racial ‘Hierarchy of Bias’ Drives Decision to Shoot Armed, Unarmed Suspects, CU-Boulder Study Finds

Police officers and students exhibit an apparent “hierarchy of bias” in making a split-second decision whether to shoot suspects who appear to be wielding a gun or, alternatively, a benign object like a cell phone, research conducted by the University of Colorado Boulder and San Diego State University has found.

Both the police and student subjects were most likely to shoot at blacks, then Hispanics, then whites and finally, in a case of what might be called a positive bias, Asians, researchers found. (more…)

Science Supports Sex Addiction as a Legitimate Disorder

UCLA researchers test proposed criteria for diagnosing ‘hypersexual disorder’

The idea that an individual might suffer from a sexual addiction is great fodder for radio talk shows, comedians and late night TV. But a sex addiction is no laughing matter. Relationships are destroyed, jobs are lost, lives ruined.

Yet psychiatrists have been reluctant to accept the idea of out-of-control sexual behavior as a mental health disorder because of the lack of scientific evidence.

Now a UCLA-led team of experts has tested a proposed set of criteria to define “hypersexual disorder,” also known as sexual addiction, as a new mental health condition. (more…)

Commentary: John E. Savage – Cybersecurity Needed in the Public Domain

President Obama designated October as National Cyber Security Awareness Month. We asked John E. Savage, the An Wang Professor of Computer Science, to share his views on what can and should be done to ensure cybersecurity at the national level. Savage is active in cybersecurity from both a policy and technology point of view, having spent the 2009-10 academic year in the U.S. Department of State as a Jefferson Science Fellow.

In a major policy speech delivered last week, Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta sparked a new discussion of cyberwarfare threats, warning that cyberattacks “could virtually paralyze the nation.” (more…)

Archivist an Expert on All Things ‘Born Digital’

No longer primarily paper documents, donations to the Yale University Library now also come in digital forms and formats — including floppy disks, CDs, DVDs, and flash drives. Archivists are faced with a new and challenging dilemma: how to preserve “born-digital” collections in a form that can be read by available technology and also saved in a way that will be accessible in the future.

At Yale Library’s Manuscripts & Archives department, Mark Matienzo, Digital Archivist, is helping to develop strategies to reclaim and organize information that was created within the past 20 years — on media that may be already becoming obsolete. (more…)

Science Working to Combat Deadly White Nose Syndrome in Bats

New findings on white-nose syndrome are bringing scientists closer to slowing the spread of this deadly bat disease, according to recent and ongoing studies by the U.S. Geological Survey.

WNS has killed more than 5 million bats since it first appeared in New York in 2007, and the disease, caused by the fungus Geomyces destructans, has spread to 19 U.S. states and four Canadian provinces (view map). (more…)

IBM Announces Student Winners of Watson Case Competition from Cornell University

Faculty award winners from Nine Universities Also Announced; Professors to Receive $10,000 Grants for Watson Curriculums

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – 23 Oct 2012: Cornell University and IBM today announced the winners of the second Watson Academic Case Competition. The contest helps students build skills in analytics, big data and cognitive computing by identifying new ideas for applying IBM Watson to solve societal and business challenges. (more…)

Best Travel Apps for Extended Trips

It is comparatively easy and simple to plan a tour that is well-known in advance. Entire details will be noted and the execution will be done without many complications but what if there is a sudden change in the plan? If there is an extension of the trip which is unexpected then, how will it be managed? (more…)