GSA Technology Council

Archive for May, 2008

3D Systems Collaborates With 3M on Dental Model Production

Rock Hill, SC — 3D Systems Corporation, a provider of 3-D Modeling, Rapid Prototyping and Manufacturing solutions, today announced it will collaborate with 3M ESPE to offer compatibility between the 3M ESPE Lava Scan ST Design System and 3D Systems’ high-volume dental printing systems for seamless digital production of dental wax-ups.

3M ESPE’s Lava Scanner, paired with 3D Systems’ newly launched ProJet DP 3000 Production System and InVision DP 3-D Modeler, enables dental laboratories to reliably design and manufacture precision wax-ups for dental professionals. The design system includes a precision optical 3-D scanner and a PC-based design station. Computer-aided design (CAD) files are electronically transferred to the 3-D production system to “print” wax-ups layer by layer during an additive process for a smooth surface finish. The 3D Systems’ line of high-volume DP systems can manufacture more than 100 dental units each build cycle, producing full cast crowns, bridges, partial frameworks and full contour units.

“Our lab customers are continually looking for ways to grow their business and increase productivity,” said Wayne Roen, director of digital restorative dentistry, 3M ESPE. “The 3D Systems’ Rapid Prototyping technology helps labs meet this objective and is a natural complement to the Lava digital platform.”

“We are pleased to again partner with 3M to offer our digital dentistry solutions to even more dental professionals and patients,” said Abe Reichental, 3D Systems’ president and chief executive officer. “Our complementary solutions pair our reliable, high-volume 3-D dental production systems with 3M ESPE’s scanning and design system to truly transform the way wax-ups are designed and manufactured in dental laboratories.”

via 3D Systems

Photos: Tech After Five – May is Biggest Yet

Photos from May Tech After Five by Adam GautschThanks again to Adam Gautsch for taking photos at May’s Tech After Five. The crowd keeps getting bigger and each month we hear more stories of great connections at the event. The Startup Zone area featured ZipitWireless, and AtheleteFocus.com showing off the latest version of their device and website, respectively.

A few words from the attendees of May’s Tech After Five:


  • Even at my first meeting I met A) someone I helped, B) someone who is now helping me, C) an old friend I had not seen in a while, and D) a personality in local technology media. Definitely attend next month!
  • The sponsor was very cordial, the venue is great. Looking forward to returning.
  • Tech After Five allows me to network with my fellow geeks and IT folks, and at this stage of my career that type of networking is invaluable.
  • It has been great to meet new people and reconnect with old friends. Tech After Five is the perfect setting to make new connections.
  • Good beer. Friendly people. It’s like Cheers for tech nerds… except everybody doesn’t know you’re name, but we have name tags so it’s cool. ;D
  • Tech After Five is drawing a great group … that is giving our sales group an opportunity to network that we might not have otherwise and is great exposure for our company.

Tech After Five is the Third Wednesday of every month at Barley’s Taproom. RSVP online and the first beer is on us. Want to know why? Watch this.

Thanks to Keymark for sponsoring the May Tech After Five. They would like to invite you to their Horizon’s conference on June. (RSVP)

One more picture:

Evan Tishuk and John Warner at Ta5

That’s Evan Tishuk and John Warner.

It’s the only one I shot.

Cyberinfrastructure the focus of GSATC June Luncheon

The term “cyberinfrastructure” was developed by a United States National Science Foundation (NSF) blue-ribbon committee in 2003 in response to the question: how can NSF, as the nation’s premier agency funding basic research, remove existing barriers to the rapid evolution of high performance computing, making it truly usable by all the nation’s scientists,engineers, scholars, and citizens?

Cyberinfrastructure describes the new research environments that support advanced data acquisition, data storage, data management, data integration, data mining, data visualization and other computing and information processing services over the Internet. In scientific usage, cyberinfrastructure is a technological solution to the problem of efficiently connecting data, computers, and people with the goal of enabling derivation of novel scientific theories and knowledge.

“One of the key conclusions of the President’s commission that laid the intellectual framework for the President’s announcement today was that while we certainly have a history of some real attacks, some very serious, to our “cyber-infrastructure”, the real threat lay in the future. And we can’t say whether that’s tomorrow or years hence.”

- Dr. Jeffrey Hunker, Professor of Technology and Public Policy at Carnegie Mellon University

The GSA Technology Council will discuss Cyberinfrastructure, and Clemson University’s programs to develop a strong, resilent set of systems designed to propel the university into “Top 20″ status at it’s June 4, 2008 lunch meeting.

The GSATC Learning Lunch program, led by Clemson’s Chief Technology Officer and Director of High Performance Computing, Jim Pepin, is open to the public. The GSATC meets June 4, 2008, from 11:30 AM until 1:00 PM at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Greenville, SC. RSVP online at www.GSATC.org. Lunch is $15 in advance, $20 at the door.

Fluor CEO and CFO to Present at 2008 Credit Suisse Conference

Fluor’s Chairman/CEO Alan Boeckmann and CFO Mike Steuert will be giving a presentation at this years Credit Suisse 2008 Engineering & Environmental Services Conference in New York.  The presentation will be available for viewing by live webcast at http://investor.fluor.com on June 5th at 8:20 am ET.

via Fluor

Jeff Brewer

Jeff BrewerJeff Brewer has 20 years of experience within the information technology and telecommunications industries in the U.S. and Western Europe. His primary areas of focus have covered two key disciplines marked by tremendous change: IT/telecom security and selective outsourcing.

Jeff founded Business Vitals as a self-funded business deciding to bypass venture capital. His unique business model and approach have been rewarded with enduring client relationships and a rare track record of financial stability and profitability every quarter of operation since launch.

Prior to Business Vitals, Jeff held engineering, project management, and marketing management positions with TRW and GTE, later becoming the CIO for a major IT services provider. Jeff began his career with the U.S. Department of Defense/National Security Agency as a systems engineer and eventual liaison to key suppliers of confidential initiatives using leading edge security and encryption technologies.

With the explosion of the Internet for commercial use, Jeff was at the forefront of commercializing and marketing these security technologies via domestic and overseas channels before setting his sights on the emerging growth segment of IT infrastructure and applications services delivery. He has successfully helped launch two IT services firms that were later acquired.

Jeff is a graduate of USC-Columbia, receiving his BS degree in Computer Engineering and an MBA from the University of Maryland. Jeff is also a certified Information Systems Auditor.

Cyberinfrastructure – Learning Lunch is June 4

TAKE NOTE! The GSATC Meets one week earlier in June. We meet on June 4, 2008!

Cyberinfrastructure (CI), has become a key enabler for teaching, distance education, scholarly research, collaboration and learning technologies. Faculty, students, researchers and IT professionals are becoming increasingly reliant on a mixture of communications hardware and software, networking, high-performance computing and storage, virtual organizations and experienced information technology support professionals.

The US is involved in a comprehensive effort to build an advanced cyberinfrastructure to compete globally. And Clemson University is committed to building an advanced cyberinfrastructure to support its move into the Top 20 of the nation’s public universities. Learn more about Clemson and Cyberinfrastructure as we hear from Clemson University’s Chief Technical Officer, Jim Pepin.

GSATC Learning Lunch

Topic: Why Cyberinfrastructure Matters
Presented by: Jim Pepin, CTO, Clemson University
Date: Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Time: 11:30 AM – 1:00 PM

Location: Crowne Plaza (Map: I-385 at Roper Mtn.)

Agenda

11:30 – 11:55 Registration, Networking, Lunch
11:55 – 12:10 Announcements
12:10 – 12:50 Presentation
12:50 – 1:00 Door Prizes, Adjourn

This meeting features easy access from I-385, plenty of free parking, ample networking opportunities, a great presentation, and door prizes. Plan to attend.

Lunch is $15 in advance, $20 at the door.

RSVP Online

Online registration is now closed. Please register at the meeting.

Feedback About This Meeting

As always, the entertainment (you) was great – you keep the meeting moving and humorous. Jim Pepin also gave a good overview of Clemson’s efforts to be current with a research university’s role in CI.

-Bill

Mr. Pepin’s presentation was very informative. Even as a Clemson PhD student, I was not aware of the university’s contemporary use of information technology. It was also exciting to learn the active role Clemson is playing in the networking of South Carolina with other states in the region.
- Jennifer


The meeting today exceeded my expectations. I was please to be able to network with a fine group of Technology professionals and Mr. Pepin’s talk was very informative. Keep up the good work and I look forward to next month’s meeting
- Sue

the GSATC luncheon amazes me every time as you always find a way to improve over the last one. Your approach to combine technology, information and entertainment is unique and very enjoyable. The speaker was brilliant!
- Manfred

I really enjoyed the meeting yesterday! I am an IT Recruiter, and it is really important to me to hear about new advances in technology. I enjoyed Jim Pepin’s presentation and found it to be very informative.
- Tracy

It’s terrific that GSATC highlights top-flight speakers like Jim Pepin, Clemson CTO, who was in the original cadre that created Arpanet, the predecessor of the Internet, 40 years ago. We’re privileged to get a peek inside the minds of people like Jim.
John

Great meeting as usual. I wish I could make more events, and will make a better effort to attend more often.
-Dave

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Why Tech After Five is Free

In a post on his blog, Loïc Le Meur asks Jason Calacanis, formerly of Weblogs, Inc., and now Mahalo fame, why he wants to put the DEMO conference out of business. Calacanis rightly observes that Startups are usually not in a financial position to make the investment of tens of thousands of dollars to participate in DEMO. Calacanis, along with Tech Crunch’s Mike Arrington formed the TechCrunch50 conference to showcase new companies while minimizing the expense for the startup.

We share Calacanis’ point of view. It’s incumbent upon the community that has had previous success in tech to create programs that make it easy for startup technology companies to take their first few steps. It’s the least we can do.

Watch Jason Calacanis explain why he FREE is better for startups:

Loïc Le Meur interviews Jason Calacanis about the TechCrunch50 Conference

We offer technology startup companies free demonstration space at our monthly Tech After Five networking event.

Mike Baur to Remain ScanSource CEO

imageGreenville, SC — ScanSource, a distributer of specialty technology products, today announced that it’s Chief Executive Officer, Mike Baur has signed an extended employment agreement good through June 30th, 2011. As well as remaining in his position as CEO of ScanSource, Mr. Baur will also continue to serve on the company’s Board of Directors.

In the company’s official press release this morning, Board of Directors Chairman, James Foody said, “I can’t imagine a better person to help build ScanSource’s operational excellence and further its competitive lead within the industry for many years to come.”

via ScanSource

GE Energy Contracts Projects in Saudi Arabia

GE Energy today announced that it has signed contracts of over $500 million to supply gas turbine engines and generators to power plants owned by the Saudi Electric Company (SEC).  The SEC hopes to use the additional power generated with the GE engines to support economic and population growth throughout the country.

Sites and projects in Saudi Arabia, where GE Energy is expanding it’s presence, include:

  • 960-megawatt expansion of the Rabigh Power Plant in Rabigh City, on the west coast of Saudi Arabia.
  • Frame 7EA gas turbines to the Al-Toukhi Company for Industry and Trading of Riyadh, the EPC contractor, for a 260-megawatt power plant in Jizan City, southern Saudi Arabia.
  • 7EA gas turbines, also to Al-Toukhi, for a 120-megawatt power plant in Qunfutha City, western Saudi Arabia.
  • 7EA gas turbines to the National Contracting Company Limited of Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia, for a 111-megawatt facility in Aljouf City, northern Saudi Arabia.
  • 7EA units, also to National Contracting, for a 183-megawatt power project in Tabouk City, northwestern Saudi Arabia.

The gas turbines and engines will be manufactured at GE Energy’s plants in Greenville, SC and Schenectady, NY.

via GE  

Google Earth Brought to the Browsers

Today at Google I/O the release of the Google Earth API and Browser Plug-In was announced. This new release from Google will allow developers and web designers to create web pages with 3-D map applications. Google hopes that incorporation of Google Earth’s features in web pages will increase user generated content in regards to the Geoweb.

Some Key Features

  • Embed Google Earth inside any web page with only a few lines of code.
  • Use the JavaScript API to enable rich Earth-based web applications.
  • Manipulate KML and the 3D environment: create polygons, lines, placemarks, and more.
  • Convert your existing Google Maps API site to 3D with as little as one line of code.
  • View the thousands of existing 3D buildings, or add your own 3D models.
  • Switch to Google Sky mode for high-res imagery of stars, planets, and galaxies.
  • via Google