ISRI SEMINAR SERIES

The Role of Information Technology for the Emerging Economies

Raj Reddy, Carnegie Mellon Universiy, ISRI

Thursday, October 6 2005, 12 pm NSH-1305
Lunch will be provided

Abstract:

Abstract: The Grand Challenges in IT for the Emerging Economies are
universal availability, accessibility, and affordability of information
and communication technologies to the 4 billion people who subsist on
less than $2000 per year income.  This talk will review why the world's
poor have more to gain in relative terms from this technology than the
affluent nations of the world and review the barriers that make it
difficult to realize the potential benefits.  Universal availability,
accessibility, and affordability will in turn require solutions to
"Connectivity, Computer-access, Capacity-building, and Content", the 4Cs
of the Information Society. This talk will present research issues that
arise in the study of these problems by referring to specific CMU
projects in these areas.

Bio:

Dr. Raj Reddy is the Mozah Bint Nasser University Professor of
Computer Science and Robotics in the School of Computer Science at
Carnegie Mellon University.  He began his academic career as an
Assistant Professor at Stanford in 1966. He has been a member of the
Carnegie Mellon faculty since 1969. He served as the founding Director
of the Robotics Institute from 1979 to 1991 and the Dean of School of
Computer Science from 1991 to 1999.

Dr. Reddy's research interests include the study of human-computer
interaction and artificial intelligence. His current research projects
include Million Book Digital Library Project; PCtvt: an Information
Appliance for rural environments (PC, TV, PVR, Video Phone, Audio
Phone all in one) for use by illiterate people; FTTV: Fiber To The
Village Project; Mobile Autonomous Robots; and Learning by Doing.

He is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the American
Academy of Arts and Sciences. He was president of the American
Association for Artificial Intelligence from 1987 to 89. Dr. Reddy was
awarded the Legion of Honor by President Mitterand of France in
1984. He was awarded the ACM Turing Award in 1994. He served as
co-chair of the President's Information Technology Advisory Committee
(PITAC) from 1999 to 2001.