Third Thursday at CEIE |Dialogue
Harry Kolar, IBM

IBM Centennial Keynote: Smarter Rivers for a Smarter Planet

 Coinciding with IBM's centennial, Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries will present a talk by IBM Distinguished Engineer Harry R. Kolar, Ph.D., that features an exciting glimpse into the intelligent systems and cyber-infrastructure technologies available for real-time water monitoring. The event will take place on Thursday, June 16, 2011, at Beacon Institute's Center for Environmental Innovation and Ediucation at Denning's Point in Beacon.

In his talk, titled Smarter Rivers for a Smarter Planet, Dr. Kolar will illustrate the computing technologies behind IBM's Smarter Planet initiative, which sees the world as an intelligent, instrumented and interconnected system. Beacon Institute, Clarkson University and IBM are collaborating on the River and Estuary Observatory Network (REON), the first technology-based monitoring and forecasting network for rivers and estuaries. REON allows for minute-to-minute monitoring of physical, chemical and biological data through a network of sensors, robotics and computational technology.

"When you consider the staggering global demands on our freshwater resources by humans, agriculture and industry, the ability to accurately monitor both quantity and quality of water becomes critical," states Dr. Kolar. "REON is changing the way environmental science is conducted by combining real-time environmental monitoring in the river with a very sophisticated cyber-infrastructure that can intelligently collect and analyze data. It is a great example of how we can employ sophisticated computing technologies, not only to understand why changes are occurring in the ecosystem, but also to better manage the use of our precious water resources."

Dr. Harry R. Kolar is a Distinguished Engineer in IBM Research and has worked across several IBM divisions in technical, management, and executive roles to advance cross-industry application of new technologies. These include advanced analytical methods (involving signal processing, data mining, massively parallel processors, and very large databases), information and knowledge management, pervasive and embedded real-time intelligent systems, and sensor-based and cyberphysical systems.  Dr. Kolar was formerly the Chief Architect for Sensor-Based Solutions in the IBM Microelectronics Division, concentrating on environmental monitoring and management (Advanced Water Management Solutions) through the IBM Big Green Innovations initiative.