SRI International Digest #27, Fall 2008

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IN THIS ISSUE

Events: SRI Celebrates the 40th Anniversary of the "Mother of All Demos"

R&D News: From Miniature Satellites to Sleep Disorders

Meet Our Researchers

SRI in the News

Café Scientifique Silicon Valley

Events: SRI Celebrates the 40th Anniversary of the "Mother of All Demos" — And You’re Invited

They call it the “mother of all demos”. On December 9, 1968, Dr. Douglas C. Engelbart and the Augmentation Research Center at Stanford Research Institute (now SRI International) staged a 90-minute public multimedia demonstration at the Fall Joint Computer Conference in San Francisco. It was the world debut of personal and interactive computing: for the first time, the public saw a computer mouse, which controlled a networked computer system to demonstrate hypertext linking, real-time text editing, multiple windows with flexible view control, cathode display tubes, and shared-screen teleconferencing.

It changed what is possible. The 1968 demo presaged many of the technologies we use today, from personal computing to social networking. The demo embodied Doug Engelbart's vision of solving humanity's most important problems by using computers to improve communication and collaboration.

On December 9, SRI International will present a commemorative 40th anniversary of this historic event. Join us to hear original participants recount what led up to the 1968 demo, the drama of the demonstration itself, and its impact — which no one could have imagined at the time. Learn about Doug Engelbart's vision to use computing to augment society’s collective intellect and ability to solve the complex issues of our time.  

R&D News

Groundbreaking Ceremony at St. Petersburg

St. Petersburg's Mayor Rick Baker, SRI International’s President and CEO Curt Carlson, and other SRI executives, joined by government and business leaders, broke ground on October 30, on a new research and development (R&D) facility at the Port of St. Petersburg.

SRI has been operating in St. Petersburg for about one year, with 60 staff; the new state-of-the-art facility will provide a home for 100 SRI researchers and staff conducting cutting-edge R&D in areas such marine science and technology, port security, energy and the environment. The new marine technology research facility is located near numerous oceanographic and marine science agencies in Bayboro Harbor. In January 2007, SRI officially began operations by accepting the transfer of approximately 40 staff members from the University of South Florida's (USF) Center for Ocean Technology in St. Petersburg.

Mobile Video Surveillance System for Public Safety Expanded in Lakewood, N.J.

The Lakewood, N.J. Police Department is expanding deployment of SRI’s Aware™ mobile video surveillance system to provide the town’s main street business district with real-time, on-demand visibility. The department first deployed the system in September 2006.

SRI’s system provides instant, portable broadband wireless networks for video surveillance, incident command and management, and public safety communications. As an interoperable and open platform, SRI's Aware™ mobile video surveillance system allows Lakewood to leverage their existing infrastructure by easily reconfiguring the system as the needs of the department and community change.  

Miniature Satellites Closer to Launch Pad

CubeSat satellite frame: actual size compared with cell phone

The National Science Foundation (NSF), in collaboration with the University of Michigan, has awarded SRI a contract to support the use of CubeSats 10-centimeter cube-shaped satellites weighing about one kilogram. CubeSats can be applied in science missions dedicated to space weather and atmospheric research. The first mission under the new program is a ground-to-space bistatic radar experiment — the "Radio Aurora Explorer (RAX)", a collaborative project to be undertaken by SRI’s Hasan Bahcivan and James Cutler at the University of Michigan Ann Arbor.

DTRA Funds Anti-Bioterror Drug Discovery and Development Work at SRI

Under a new three-year, $8.3 million contract from the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA, an agency of the U.S. Department of Defense), SRI will develop broad-spectrum antibiotics against a broad range of bioterror agents, including anthrax, plague, and tularemia. SRI will optimize and develop compounds from its proprietary bis-indole drug platform for both prophylaxis and treatment of biological warfare agents. The discovery of the bis-indole drug platform was originally made by Ling Jong, Ph.D., medicinal chemistry program director in SRI’s Cancer Research Center.  

New Treatments Sought for Tuberculosis, a Global Health Crisis

Tuberculosis, commonly known as TB, claims nearly two million lives each year, and drug-resistant strains are found in every country in the world where the disease is prevalent. SRI recently launched a large-scale initiative to screen, evaluate, and develop new drugs and treatments for TB. The program builds on SRI's nearly two decades of preclinical drug development work with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID). Among its drug development resources, SRI has the capability to test up to 30,000 compounds per year against Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains.  

Volunteers Needed to Test New Parkinson's Disease Diagnosis and Therapy Technology

SRI's Computer Science Laboratory is developing computer-based technology to objectively assess Parkinson's Disease (PD). The technology uses Nintendo's Wii remote control and games to assess motor and cognitive skills.

SRI seeks volunteers with PD, as well as healthy individuals as part of the control group, to participate in a 30-minute data collection study. Volunteers will perform a series of tests in front of a TV while holding a Wii wireless controller. Tests include drawing lines and circles at various speeds. Data will be analyzed to determine characteristics that could lead to early recognition of PD and individualized treatment. If you or someone you know has PD and is interested in this study, contact Grit Denker at grit.denker@sri.com or 650-859-6058.

San Francisco Bay Area KIPP Students Outperform Peers, Says New Study

A new report by SRI identifies specific features of San Francisco Bay Area Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) schools that lead to success. Success factors include receiving more time for learning than traditional schools, support for struggling students, and a philosophy of continuous improvement. The study, commissioned by The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, shows that when combined, these features foster higher student achievement.  

New Microscope Takes a Closer Look at Structural Failures

SRI is using a new scanning electron microscope (SEM) with four secondary electron detectors to explore new applications in fracture mechanics, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), coatings, ceramics, and biology. Specifically, it will be used to further develop SRI's FRASTA (Fracture Surface Topography Analysis technology, which analyzes failures in materials and structures to disclose when cracks began and how fast they grew. The SEM is enabling failure analysis down to nanometer scales. Elionix Inc., a Japanese SEM manufacturer, is providing the three-dimensional microscope to SRI in exchange for technical feedback on how to further utilize the equipment.  

Homeland Security Experiment Focuses on Enhancing Nation’s Port Security

In August, the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard, and SRI tested advanced port security technologies and tactical procedures as part of a homeland security experiment in Tampa Bay. SRI supported in-water operations by surveying an underwater test area where inert mines and improvised explosive device (IED)-like objects had been placed. The SRI team also deployed high-resolution 3-D sonar for the change-detection technology it used to confirm the identity of potential threats.  

Also in the news: The Tampa Tribune, August 29

Cultural Awareness Receives Boost with IraqComm Translator System Deployment

SRI successfully delivered 150 IraqComm™ speech-to-speech translation systems to the U.S. Government for its forces in Iraq. The IraqComm system performs spontaneous bidirectional translation, and has a vocabulary of tens of thousands of English and Iraqi Arabic words. The IraqComm system was developed as part of the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency’s (DARPA’s) Spoken Language Communication and Translation System for Tactical Use (TRANSTAC) program.  

Fight-or-Flight Response: The Secret of Stress-Induced Analgesia Unveiled

Stress-induced analgesia is a key component of the body’s defensive behavioral “fight-or-flight” response. SRI researchers have found that the body’s ability to temporarily isolate pain is due to the direct interaction between two neuropeptide systems—hypocretins/orexins (Hcrt) and nociceptin/orphanin FQ (N/OFQ). When individuals find themselves in life-threatening or other highly stressful situations, they are often able to ignore physical pain to accomplish tasks that might not otherwise seem possible.  

Sleep Disorders: The Answer May Lie in Rare Sleep-Activated Neurons in the Cerebral Cortex

Insomnia and other sleep disorders will soon be better understood — and relief might follow in the near future — thanks to novel findings by SRI researchers.

An SRI team identified neurons that are activated in the cerebral cortex during slow wave sleep (SWS). The research, led by Dmitry Gerashchenko and Thomas Kilduff, has been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) in a paper titled Identification of a Population of Sleep-Active Cerebral Cortex N7eurons.

“These neurons will be important in the study of sleep disorders such as insomnia.  Activation of these cells during sleep may have important implications for aspects of our behavior and cognitive activities that depend heavily on sleep, such as our daytime performance, memory and mood.” , according to SRI’s Thomas Kilduff.

To read the entire paper, visit http://www.pnas.org/content/105/29/10227.full.pdf+html

Meet SRI’s Researchers

Award recipients

Peter Karp and Jeremy Roschelle, 2008 SRI Fellows

The SRI Fellowship Award recognizes exceptional staff members for their outstanding accomplishments. It is SRI’s highest recognition for technical, scientific or professional contributions. The 2008 Fellows are:

Peter Karp

Peter Karp works in the interdisciplinary field of bioinformatics, which develops computer-science methods for managing and analyzing the burgeoning quantities of biological data and knowledge. As director of SRI's Bioinformatics Research Group, Dr. Karp has been a pioneer in metabolic-pathway bioinformatics.

Jeremy Roschelle

Jeremy Roschelle, co-director of SRI's Center for Technology in Learning, investigates how to democratize access to advanced mathematics. Through his leadership, the SimCalc project has integrated interactive and visual technology with curriculum and teacher training to enable low-income and minority students to progress rapidly in their understanding of rates, proportionality, and linear functions.

Geneva Haertel, 2008 Mimi Award Recipient

SRI's Mimi Award is the highest recognition offered to staff members who inspire co-workers and contribute to their professional development and success. This year's winner is Geneva Haertel, Ph.D., a senior educational researcher in SRI’s Center for Technology in Learning. Dr. Haertel has conducted research on student learning for more than 25 years. An expert who can negotiate complex technical issues while drawing out the expertise of others, she is making a mark in the field by developing the next generation of researchers with the same passion, quality, and vision that characterize her own work.

Meet ...

	Serena Villalba, Research Analyst, Center for Technology in Learning
	Grit Denker, Senior Computer Scientist, Computer Science Laboratory
	Spiro Sarris, Research Engineer, Communication and Radar Systems Program
	Kevin Willoh, Research Engineer, Remote Sensing Program

SRI in the News

What is that Giant Dish near Stanford?

KPIX Channel 5

The SRI “Dish”, a radio antenna facility visible from Silicon Valley’s Highway 280 and a well-known landmark in the hills above Stanford University, has several other interesting uses. KPIX featured the Dish in a September 17 newscast.

View the clip.

Georgia on My Mind

New York Times

In his September 8 column, columnist Thomas L. Friedman quotes SRI President and CEO Curt Carlson, stating that “Innovation is now the only path to growth, prosperity, environmental sustainability and national security for America.”

Fueling a Controversy

Metro Silicon Valley

Truth and myth often come face to face in the food-versus-biodiesel debate. Barbara Heydorn, director of SRI’s Center for Excellence in Energy, and Ripu Malhotra, associate director of SRI's Chemical Science and Technology Laboratory, are quoted throughout this July 9 article. Heydorn explains how different needs must be met via different types of fuels, suggesting a balanced combination of renewables. Malhotra warns that while palm oil is more efficient than soy oil, the environmental damage caused by cutting down tropical rainforests offsets its benefits.

A Step into "Virtual Worlds" at the Latest Café Scientifique

Café Scientifique Silicon Valley is hosted at SRI on the second Tuesday evening of every month (except for December and July). Visit the Café Scientifique website to learn more about upcoming speakers, and sign up to receive event notifications. The event is free and open to the public.

Dr. Jeremy Bailenson, director of Stanford's Virtual Human Interaction Lab spoke about "Humans in Virtual Environments" on November 11.

Dr. Gary Swan, director of SRI's Center for Health Sciences, talked at the October 14 event about "Aging Independently: Turning the 'Silver Tsunami' Into a 'Golden Tide'".

CONTACT US

For more information on SRI's innovations and how we can help you, contact SRI Digest editor Marty Mallonee at marty.mallonee@sri.com. The SRI Digest welcomes your feedback. Please send suggestions or comments to newsletter@sri.com. Start or discontinue a subscription by sending an email to newsletter@sri.com.

Copyright 2008 SRI International. All rights reserved.