IT-oLogy to Host Connections 2014

COLUMBIA, SC – June 11, 2014 – Registration for the second Connections event, Connections 2014, is now open as hosts IT-oLogy and Connect South Carolina prepare to share advances in hardware, software, infrastructure, and processes across a variety of industries and highlight efforts to increase broadband access, adoption, and use. Among the keynote presenters are Garima Prasai, chief evangelist for the IBM Watson Group and Dr. Jerry Tessendorf, Clemson University Division of Visual Computing professor and Academy Award winner for Technical Achievement.

Garima joined IBM in June 2013 and has been involved in the launch efforts of Watson’s first commercial product offering, Watson Engagement Advisor, and has been involved in market development and sales. As a key member of the core strategy group that productized the Watson Ecosystem, Garima helped build the Ecosystem business model while owning client relationships as partner engagement manager for partners such as Welltok, IBM’s first Ecosystem and capital funded partner. Garima is also a member of IBM’s Blue Spark team, a millennial leadership development program under Mike Rhodin. Garima works with IBM’s research and executive teams to leverage cognitive technology to solve complex business challenges and deliver real competitive advantage for clients globally.

Dr. Tessendorf’s highly influential career in the visual effects industry was recognized in 2008 by an Academy Award for Technical achievement, in honor of his development of custom fluid dynamics tools. He is widely acknowledge throughout the computer graphics industry and research communities as the one who taught us how to efficiently simulate and render highly realistic ocean surfaces, through lectures presented at the SIGGRAPH Annual Conference from 1999 to 2004. Among the numerous films to which he has contributed directly are Titanic, Waterworld, the X-Men series, The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, the Night at the Museum series, and Superman Returns. It is safe to say that any film including wave effects produced since 2000 has been strongly influenced by his work. Besides his work on wave simulation, Dr. Tessendorf is also the author of a number of key technical papers in areas as diverse as the use of Feynman Path Integrals for computing radiactive transport, rendering of clouds and other atmospheric phenomena, and river simulation.

“We couldn’t be happier with the lineup that is taking shape for Connections 2014,” said IT-oLogy Director of Grow IT Initiatives Jim Stritzinger. “This event is designed for technology professionals and highlights innovative uses of technology across a variety of industries. Our goal is to have everyone walk away seeing something that they’ve never seen before.”

“We are excited to again partner with IT-oLogy to host this year’s Connections event,” said South Carolina Community Technology Advisor Lindsay Conrad. “We are looking forward to sharing our work in communities around the state and highlighting just how beneficial life with broadband can be.

IT-oLogy Connections 2014 in partnership with Connect South Carolina will be held on Wednesday, June 11, from 9 am – 5 pm EDT at the IT-oLogy Theater located at 1301 Gervais Street, Suite 101, in Columbia, South Carolina. For more information, please contact Stritzinger at [email protected] or (803) 978-1558 or Conrad at [email protected] or (803) 743-5851.

To register: https://itconnections2014.eventbrite.com

About IT-oLogy: IT-oLogy is a non-profit collaboration of businesses, academic institutions, and other organizations dedicated to growing the IT talent pipeline and advancing the IT profession. IT-oLogy has three major initiatives: Promote IT (K-12 schools), Teach IT (Higher Education) and Grow IT (Professionals and Businesses). For more information about IT-oLogy, visit www.it-ology.org or contact Rachel Barnett at [email protected] or 803-354-5735.

About Connect South Carolina: As the State Broadband Initiative grantee, Connect South Carolina is leading the effort to increase high-speed Internet access, adoption and use to ensure South Carolina’s competitiveness in the connected global economy of the twenty-first century. Connect South Carolina is a public-private partnership designated by the state to work with all broadband providers to create South Carolina’s first interactive map of broadband coverage. This work serves as a foundation for addressing remaining service gaps while also engaging state, regional and local leaders in workforce development activities designed to bridge South Carolina’s digital divide. For maps, research or to get involved with efforts in your community please visit: www.ConnectSC.org.