“Designing Bits and Pieces”

Very interesting symposium at MIT’s Media Lab on May 10:

On May 10, the MIT Media Laboratory and the Consumer Electronics Association will co-host a symposium at MIT’s Kresge Auditorium, followed by a research open house at the Media Lab. Walt Mossberg, Personal Technology columnist at the Wall Street Journal, will serve as emcee.

Topics include new materials and design/fabrication methods for them, new communication networks, incremental and limitless scalability, self-managing device ecosystems, new power sources, new sensors and displays. The goal is simple, ubiquitous, easy- and delightful-to-use devices that know a great deal about one another, the world, and the people in their proximity. This meeting marks the launch of CELab, a new consumer electronics research program at MIT.

Agenda
8:00 – 9:00 Registration and Continental Breakfast
9:00 – 9:30 Opening Remarks
V. Michael Bove, Jr.
Director, CELab, MIT Media Laboratory

Gary Shapiro
President and CEO
Consumer Electronics Association

Nicholas Negroponte
Chairman, MIT Media Laboratory
9:30 – 10:00 Innovation
Nolan Bushnell
CEO and Founder, uWink, Inc.
Known as the “Father of Computer Entertainment,” Bushnell has founded over 20 companies, including Atari Corporation and Chuck E. Cheese Pizza Time Theater, and is a member of the Video Game Hall of Fame. In 2000, he was also honored as one of the first 50 inductees into the Consumer Electronics Association’s Hall of Fame.
10:00 – 10:30 Identity
Geoffrey Frost
Chief Brand Officer, Motorola, Inc.
Previously known for his innovative brand campaigns at Nike, Frost joined Motorola in 1999, and was named the company’s first brand officer in 2003. Under Frost’s direction, Motorola has received many creative awards, including the Effie Award for advertising effectiveness.
10:30 – 11:00 Break
11:00 – 11:45 Wireless
David Reed
Adjunct Professor, Viral Communications
MIT Media Laboratory; Fellow, HP Labs

Vanu Bose
President and CEO, Vanu, Inc.

Richard Beckwith
Research Psychologist
People & Practices Research, Intel Corporation
11:45 – 12:30 Power
Joseph Paradiso
Sony Associate Professor
Responsive Environments, MIT Media Laboratory

Dave DeMuro
Manager of Advanced Development
Energy Systems Group, Motorola, Inc.

Ted Selker,
Associate Professor
Context-Aware Computing, MIT Media Laboratory
12:30 – 1:30 Lunch
1:30 – 2:00 Creativity
Bran Ferren
Co-Chairman and Chief Creative Officer
Applied Minds, Inc.
An award-winning designer/technologist, Ferren was formerly President for Creative Technology and Research and Development at Walt Disney Imagineering. Ferren has earned numerous theater, film, scientific, and engineering honors for his innovations, including three Academy Awards for scientific and technical achievement.
2:00 – 2:30 Design & Materials
John Maeda
Muriel R. Cooper Associate Professor
Physical Language Workshop, MIT Media Laboratory

Joseph Jacobson
Associate Professor
Molecular Machines, MIT Media Laboratory
2:30 – 3:00 Sensors, Actuators & Displays
Hugh Herr
Biomechatronics, MIT Media Laboratory

Sile O’Modhrain
Principal Research Scientist
Palpable Machines, Media Lab Europe
3:15 – 6:30 Open House & Reception
MIT Media Laboratory