Panels / Panel+
The Panels/Panel+ moderators and panelists will be renowned experts in computing and geospatial fields from federal governments, prestigious universities, and leading industries.
Panel - FEMA: Loss Estimation Applications within the Federal Government
Panel+ - Microsoft SQL Server: Geostreaming: We Can See the Light at the End of the Tunnel
Panel+ - ORNL: Emerging Geospatial Science and Technology for Sustainable Bioenergy
Panel+ - Microsoft Azure: Windows Azure Platform and Application Development
Loss Estimation Applications within the Federal Government
Moderator:
Eric Berman
HAZUS Program Manager
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Panelists:
Doug Buzalsky,
Program Analyst, Applicant Services and Mike Greer
FEMA National Processing Service Center
Krishna Banga
Structural Engineer
Veterans Administrations
Eddie Pool
Senior Technical Advisor to the Associate Administrator
Small Business Administration (SBA)
Abstract:
HAZUS is nationally applicable standardized methodology
that combines science, engineering and mathematical modeling
with GIS technology to estimate losses of life and property—and
shows those losses on a map.
Developed by FEMA, HAZUS-MH operates as an extension of
ESRI’s ArcGIS software to map and display region-specific
hazard data along with the results of loss and damage assessments.
HAZUS estimates impacts to the physical, social and economic
vitality of a community from earthquakes, hurricane wind
and floods to help save lives and protect property.
The panelists representing the SBA, the VA and FEMA will
each discuss how they use the geospatial technologies within
HAZUS to estimate losses for disaster assistance.
Small Business Administration (SBA) –The
SBA’s Office of Disaster Assistance uses HAZUS to estimate
pre and post disaster losses related to the delivery of
the Federal disaster loan program.
Veterans Administration (VA) – The VA uses
HAZUS to do earthquake assessments for all VA structures
across the nation.
FEMA Individual Assistance Center – FEMA
IA uses HAZUS’ geospatial technologies to assist with planning
and scheduling of resources to help homeowners and renters
affected by disasters with their housing needs and necessary
expenses.
Organizer:
Rebecca Blankenship, CGMP
Outreach Process Partners, FEMA
HAZUS Program
Biographies:
Mr. Eric Berman is FEMA HAZUS Program Manager. He has approximately 20 years of hazard identification studies and mapping experience with an emphasis on GIS. He holds a bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from Tennessee Technological University and represents the Department of Homeland Security on the U.S. Board on Geographic Names.
Geostreaming: We Can See the Light at the End of the Tunnel
Moderator:
Mohamed Ali
Software Design Engineer, Microsoft SQL Server
Microsoft Corporation
Panelists:
Balan Sethu Raman
Distinguished Engineer in the Database Systems Group
Microsoft Corporation
Ed Katibah
Principal Program Manager at Microsoft SQL Server
Microsoft Corporation
Erik Hoel
Computer Scientist, Geodatabase Development Lead
ESRI
Farnoush Banaei-Kashani
Research Associate, Information Laboratory (InfoLab)
Univeristy of Southern California (USC)
Abstract:
“We still have a long way to go! But we can see the light at the end of the tunnel!†This statement represents a vision that has brought together Microsoft SQL Server, ESRI, and the University of Southern California’s Information Laboratory (USC InfoLab) to sketch the road map of an end-to-end solution in geostreaming. Geostream data refers to the datasets that are acquired continually over time and needed to be processed and/or visualized on-the-fly. These datasets include geographical extents such as geographical coordinates of a point, a line, or a polygon. The coordinates may or may not change over time.
Microsoft SQL Server StreamInsight is a powerful platform for developing and deploying complex event processing (CEP) applications. Its high-throughput stream processing architecture and familiar .NET-based development platform enable developers to quickly implement robust and highly efficient event processing applications. With its extensibility infrastructure, Microsoft SQL Server StreamInsight enables developers to integrate their domain expertise within the query pipeline as user defined operators and aggregates. Also, the Microsoft SQL Server Spatial Libraries deliver comprehensive spatial support that enables organizations to seamlessly consume, use, and extend location-based data through spatial-enabled applications which ultimately helps end users make better decisions. ESRI is the world leader in GIS (geographic information systems), spatial modeling, and mapping software. ESRI’s long experience and sound technologies add the necessary domain expertise to the data streaming platform provided by Microsoft StreamInsight. The applied information management research at the USC InfoLab and its domain expertise in two areas of smart oil field technologies (through its projects with USC’s CiSoft center) and transportation systems (through its projects with USC’s METRANS transportation center) bridge the gap between academia and industry, and brings the latest technologies in managing unconventional data types to CiSoft and METRANS end users: Chevron, USDOT and Caltrans.
This special session covers geostreaming from various angles and brings together experts in the field from academia, industry, and research labs to discuss the lessons they have learned over the years, demonstrate what they have achieved so far, and listen to the geospatial community so we can build the future of our community hand-in-hand. Read more...
Emerging Geospatial Science and Technology for Sustainable Bioenergy
Panel Members:
Dr. Robert Tetrault
Program Manager
United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Dr. Brad Doorn
President of ASPRS and Manager of Agriculture and Water
Applied Science
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
Dr. Alison Goss Eng
Manager, Sustainable Bioenergy Production
United States Department of Energy (U.S. DOE)
Dr. Alex Philp
CEO and Chairman
Rocky Mountain Supercomputing Center, Inc. USA (RMSC)
Dr. Budhendra Bhaduri
Group Leader, GIST, Computational Sciences and Engineering
Division
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
Dr. Ranga Raju Vatsavai
Research Scientist, GIST, Computational Sciences and Engineering
Division
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
Abstract:
With recent national emphasis on increasing biofuel development for reducing dependency on foreign oil and reducing carbon emissions from energy production and consumption, the agricultural land cover and land use patterns in the United States and many other regions of the world are expected to change in the coming years. Although remote sensing data analysis is a well recognized approach for addressing bioenergy sustainability, biomass monitoring over large geographic regions using remote sensing images poses several scientific and technical challenges.
Data Challenges. There is great need for continuous coverage of high-temporal data with moderate to fine spatial resolution. Panel will discuss data challenges in monitoring biomass at regional and global scales, takes a view on current and future satellite programs.
Analytical Challenges: Conventional techniques are either inadequate or do not scale well for continuous biomass monitoring over large geographic regions. Panel will discuss the recent advances in spatiotemporal data mining, especially the techniques that exploit the subtle multidimensional signals through the joint use of high temporal resolution (MODIS) data and moderate- and fine-spatial resolution satellite images for extracting multi-temporal biomass change information, including crop types and their conditions.
Computational Challenges: Scaling spatiotemporal data mining techniques for large geographic regions is a computationally challenging task. Panel will discuss the challenges in embracing modern computing infrastructure, especially distributed and cloud computing for biomass and bioenergy monitoring and simulation needs.
In addition, this panel discusses recent government programmatic initiatives in the area of biomass and bioenergy.
Windows Azure Platform and Application Development
Moderator:
Dr. Zhiming Xue
Senior Architect Evangelist
Microsoft Corporation
Panelists:
Wayne Beekman
Co-Founder of Information Concepts
Information Concepts
Vishwas Lele
Chief Technology Officer
AIS
Mark Eisenberg
Windows Azure Solutions Specialist
Microsoft Corporation
Abstract:
During this interactive panel discussion we will share
our thoughts about the Microsoft’s cloud computing platform,
discuss application development and deployment with Windows
Azure and SQL Azure, and answer your questions regarding
Windows Azure and cloud computing.
Biographies:
Wayne Beekman is a Co-Founder of Information Concepts. Wayne started Information Concepts with his partner, Cary Toor in 1982. Wayne oversees the development of new business and technical direction for Information Concepts. He is a charter member of Microsoft’s .Net Partner Advisor Board, which began in 1999. He holds both a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Science degree in Science of Information Systems from George Washington University.
Wayne was recently featured in several tech publications
for his work in Cloud Computing:
"Making a Cloud Play" (Redmond Channel Partners, October
2009)
"It's Time to embrace Cloud-Based Development" (CXO
Magazine, August 2009)
"Cloud computing has appeal for Web applications" (Government
Computer News, May 2009)
Vishwas Lele is an AIS Chief Technology Officer and is responsible for the company vision and execution of creating business solutions using .NET technologies. Vishwas brings close to 20 years of experience and thought leadership to his position, and has been at AIS since 1994. A noted industry speaker and author, Vishwas is the Microsoft Regional Director for the Washington, D.C. area and a member of the Connected Systems Division Advisors group. Additionally, Vishwas has received an MVP (Most Valuable Professional) for Solution Architecture award for both 2006 and 2007. Prior to joining AIS, Vishwas worked for Tata Unisys and Microstrategy. Vishwas received his Bachelor’s degree in Electronics Engineering from Nagpur University in India and his Master’s degree in Computer Science from Johns Hopkins University.
Mark Eisenberg is a Solutions
Specialist focused exclusively on the Windows Azure Platform.
With his software architecture and development background
he was able to immediately see the potential impact for
Windows Azure on all flavors of organizations that rely
on computing technology. Bringing over twenty years
of high-tech sales experience and over a decade in design
and development he is well equipped to spot significant
new trends. He holds a BS degree in Electrical Engineering
from the George Washington University in Washington, DC.
Zhiming Xue “Z" is a senior
Microsoft Architect Evangelist with DPE US based in the
Mid-Atlantic area. While working with customers to help
architect enterprise solutions, he is passionate about both
smart client and web technologies and an active blogger
on Microsoft MSDN site. During his tenure with Microsoft
Services, he played technical and architectural roles on
many consulting projects for large enterprise customers
in both the commercial sector and the public sector.
He has presented various topics at Microsoft events including
TechEd China and local community events. He holds a Ph.
D. in Management Science from the Isenberg School of Management
at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, a professional
certification from American Production and Inventory Control
Society (APICS), and several Microsoft certifications.