Info Tech, Data Storage, Communications, E-Business Converge at International Conference Hosted by Colorado State

Note to Editors: Reporters are welcome to attend the ITCom conference Aug. 19-24. Photo opportunities include presentations by prominent corporate leaders and researchers from around the world as well as new technologies in the high-tech industry. For access to the conference or interviews with presenters from Colorado State University, call Jennifer Dimas at (970) 491-1543.

Cutting-edge technology, engineering and business will come together in a five-day international conference organized by the International Society of Optical Engineers and sponsored by Colorado State University and the Colorado Photonics Industry. ITCom 2001 will be held at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver Aug. 19-24.

ITCom will bring corporate leaders and top university researchers from around the world to present new ideas and direction for information technology and communications in engineering and business.

National leaders in information technology will be discussing groundbreaking discoveries and the future of the high-tech industry. Conferences will be offered in multi-media networks, interactive Web technology, high-performance and mobile computing, wireless communication and networks, optical fiber communication, information storage systems and networks and e-business.

Plenary presentations will be made by several key leaders in the high-tech industry including Yrjo Neuvo, executive vice president of Nokia; Tingye Li, manager of AT&T Labs and Research; William Pulleyblank, director of the Deep Computing Institute at IBM; Adam Dunstan, vice president of technology and systems engineering at Avici Systems; Clifford Neuman, senior research scientist at the University of Southern California and chief scientist at Cybersafe Corporation; and Thomas Sterling from the Center for Advanced Computing Research at the California Institute of Technology.

"ITCom will cover a broad range of information technology issues, ranging from networking to wireless to e-business," said Neal Gallagher, dean of the College of Engineering at Colorado State and one of ITCom’s organizers. "Networking and wireless are the future, and they will serve as a catalyst to the functioning of society just as automobiles do today."

Another conference, OptiComm 2001, is scheduled during part of ITCom. The conference will focus on optical communications and networking and will feature Nick McKeown from Stanford University as keynote speaker. Participants will have the opportunity to network, discuss product research and view optical, information and communication technologies. The OptiComm exhibition will run from August 21-22.

E-business workshops also are scheduled for ITCom, adding the business side of information technology to the conference. Workshops will include e-marketing and consumer behavior; e-services and customer relationship management; finance, business plans and investment valuation; and e-business strategy and intellectual, legal and ethical issues.

"Technology is further bonding education, industry and business, leading to exponential growth across all platforms," said Dan Costello, dean of the College of Business at Colorado State. "Much of the success we’ve seen in science, communication and e-business is inextricably linked to hi-tech innovation. This growth presents exciting opportunities and new challenges as we venture forth on a unified front toward common goals."

For more information about ITCom, call SPIE at (360) 676-3290, visit the Web at www.spie.org/info/itcom or call Gallagher at (970) 491-3366.