Three new tech labs launched; three more due in the future

By Julie Wernert

McRobbie

Photo by Michael Vaughn, IU Foundation
Gannon

Pervasive computing envisions a world where computing, telecommunications and information are truly pervasive and range from intelligent networked biosensors taken like tablets (which could become a routine part of health management) to personal digital assistants able to directly interact with the world’s most advanced atomic particle accelerators.

Pervasive Technology Labs will ultimately house six distinct labs, including the Advanced Network Management Lab, Open Systems Lab and Community Grids Lab.

Funded by a $30 million grant from the Lilly Endowment, Pervasive Technology Labs will contribute to the development of Indiana’s IT sector through technology transfer, commercialization of innovations produced in the labs, and joint research and development partnerships with industry.

“Indiana University is appointing world-renowned researchers and technologists, including Geoffrey Fox, Andrew Lumsdaine and Steve Wallace, to lead the Pervasive Technology Labs,” said IU President Myles Brand. “The research their labs will do can be expected to have a significant impact on the Indiana economy through technology transfer and industry partnerships. They also represent a significant influx of new scientific talent into Indiana University.”

“The first three labs—the Advanced Network Management Lab, the Community Grids Lab and the Open Systems LabÑare are being established and will work in diverse, though related aspects of pervasive computing. They will focus on key technologies that underpin pervasive computing and will begin to build a critical mass of research in these areas,” said Michael McRobbie, IU vice president for information technology and CIO and CEO of Pervasive Technology Labs.

Pervasive computing is the increasingly powerful integrated combination of high-speed computers and intelligent devices, ranging from scientific instruments of all kinds and sizes, to home appliances, low-cost ubiquitous sensors, personal communicators and information stores, and online digital libraries—all completely interconnected by wired and wireless networks accessible anywhere in the world.

Pervasive computing envisions a world where computing, telecommunications and information are truly pervasive and range from intelligent networked biosensors taken like tablets (which could become a routine part of health management) to personal digital assistants able to directly interact with the world’s most advanced atomic particle accelerators.

“Leading research in pervasive computing anticipates the acceleration of three major trends in information technology—rapid improvements in size, speed, and cost as smaller, faster and less expensive networked devices become integrated into every aspect of day-to-day life,” said Dennis Gannon, chairman of the IU Bloomington Department of Computer Science and science director of the Pervasive Technology Labs.

“This convergence will have an increasingly major impact in the areas of education, manufacturing and design, health care, home safety and entertainment.”

• The Advanced Network Management Lab, the first lab established by Pervasive Technology Labs, will develop technology to help manage the convergence of data, video and voice over the Internet. Directed by veteran network technologist Steven Wallace, who led the implementation and design of the Internet2 Abilene network, the lab will initially employ 10 individuals, including researchers, post-doctoral researchers and graduate students.

• The Community Grids Lab, directed by internationally renowned scientist Geoffrey Fox, will focus on grid computing, integrating peer-to-peer computing with distributed processing and parallel computing, converging IT research in the areas of architecture and middleware for computing grids. Computing grids are analogous to power grids in that they aim to provide access on demand to computing and storage resources appropriate for a task in the same way that power grids provide power on demand. Fox is a pioneer in the development and application of parallel computers and was at CalTech for many years. He has been appointed a professor in computer science, physics and informatics.

• The Open Systems Lab is under the leadership of Andrew Lumsdaine, previously of the University of Notre Dame. This lab will focus its research on open source software and software interoperability—technologies that allow communities of experts to develop and share standard protocols, processes and tools, and to evolve them in a collaborative and decentralized environment. The combined intellectual resources of research communities worldwide can be brought to bear on individual software projects. The Open Systems Lab will support existing open source projects and establish new ones that enable pervasive computing technologies.

Pervasive Technology Labs will also work with IU’s newly established School of Informatics and its Advanced Research and Technology Institute (ARTI) to increase the number of graduates trained in information technology and to elevate the university’s involvement in supporting and expanding economic development in the state’s technology sector.