The SRI International Digest #5, Fall 2002

U.S. ARMY NEWS
SRI Joins Lockheed WIN-T Team
SRI is one of seven subcontractors for the Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T) contract recently awarded to Lockheed Martin by the U.S. Army. The Lockheed Martin vendor team is one of two groups that will compete to take the WIN-T system to production. The WIN-T communication system will use commercial technologies for wired and wireless data, voice, and video applications. Army CECOM Grants 5-Year Contract to Rosettex
U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM) has awarded Rosettex Technology & Ventures Group, a joint business venture of SRI International and Sarnoff Corporation, a five-year contract to develop and prototype advanced technologies and systems in military communications, command and control, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance applications. The agreement has a potential value of $24 million. More about Rosettex: http://www.rosettex.com
Read the press release: http://www.sri.com/news/releases/10-21-02.html
 
DFIRST Training System Demonstrated in Kentucky
SRI recently demonstrated DFIRST, its state-of-the-art training system for live armored warfare training exercises, at the Army National Guard's Wendell H. Ford Regional Training Center in Muhlenberg County, KY. "DFIRST" - for "Deployable Force-on-Force Instrumented Range System" - was designed to improve the combat readiness of Army National Guard armored units. It uses a unique combination of wireless technology, geo-positioning, and simulation techniques to increase combat realism during force-on-force training exercises. Current and future DFIRST sites include Army National Guard training centers in CA, ID, WA, TX, VA, and MS. More info: http://www.sri.com/esd/dfirst/
 
LIFE SCIENCES NEWS
DARPA Releases BioSPICE Software
SRI is the lead integrator for the BioSPICE project of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). With the open-source software modules of BioSPICE Version 1.0, released in mid-2002, life sciences researchers can create computer models of cellular processes. Investigators employ BioSPICE to simulate cell division, circadian rhythms, and gene transcription networks. BioSPICE is expected to aid in simulating pathogenic agents, leading to biological-threat response. More information about BioSPICE: http://www.biospice.org
 
NIH Awards Grant for Pathway Tools
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has awarded a $1.1M grant to the Bioinformatics Program in SRI's Artificial Intelligence Center. The grant will help further develop the Pathway Tools software that underlies the EcoCyc database, which describes the genome and metabolic pathways of the bacterium E.coli. EcoCyc was the first in the growing collection of pathway/genome databases called BioCyc. The software can lead to a greater understanding of biological systems, improved scientific collaboration, and more rapid integration of disparate sources of bioscience knowledge. To date, SRI has licensed Pathway Tools to more than 20 academic and industrial groups.
More information about BioCyc: http://www.BioCyc.org.
More information about the AI Center: http://www.ai.sri.com/
 
BioCyc Receives Sun Microsystems Grant
Sun Microsystems has given an academic equipment grant to SRI's BioCyc project to support the use of open standards and machine augmented data abstraction. Designed especially for biologists, scientists can use BioCyc to visualize the layout of genes within a chromosome, or of an individual biochemical reaction or complete biochemical pathway.
See the Sun Microsystems press release.
Visit the BioCyc home page: http://biocyc.org/
 
NCI Awards New Contract for Anti-Cancer Formulation Analysis
The National Cancer Institute has awarded a new five-year, $4 million contract to SRI to analyze anti-cancer chemical and pharmaceutical formulations. SRI's work for NCI on this project began in the 1960s and is a cornerstone of SRI's commitment to the discovery and development of cancer medications. This pharmaceutical analyis contract is part of SRI's preclinical development work for NCI, which also includes the chemical synthesis of new compounds for testing, and toxicology and pharmacology studies of new drugs to prepare them for clinical studies. SRI has been a contractor and grantee for NCI continuously since 1959. Our preclinical development work complements a wide variety of basic science studies that range from the study of hypoxic cancer cells to nicotine dependency in smokers.
More info about SRI's Biosciences Division: http://www.sri.com/pharma
 
EDUCATION NEWS
Final Palm Education Pioneers (PEP) Report Available Soon
SRI has completed the final report of the two-year PEP program, the first objective, large-scale study of the use of handheld computers in K-12 classrooms around the country. Watch for the report and learn more at http://palmgrants.sri.com.
 
Fulbright Scholar Program Impact Evaluated
SRI has announced results of a two-year assessment of the U.S. Scholar component of the Fulbright Educational Exchange Program, the government's flagship international educational exchange program. SRI found strong evidence that the program is achieving its mandate of promoting mutual understanding and cooperation between the U.S. and other nations, and that it has diverse and often powerful impacts.
More info: http://www.sri.com/news/releases/09-10-02.html
 
NSF Grants $3.2M for Undergrads to Participate in Developing Educational Software The National Science Foundation (NSF) has awarded SRI $3.2M to investigate factors that enable college students to play key roles in the creation of K-12 educational software. The initiative, "Training and Resources for Assembling Interactive Learning Systems", or TRAILS, brings together SRI's Center for Technology in Learning with Stanford University and the University of Colorado at Boulder to develop and offer university course modules that integrate students from education and computer science programs.
More info: http://www.sri.com/news/releases/09-16-02.html.
 
TRANSPORTATION NEWS
Study for FAA Shows Airplane Fuel Tank Deposits Could Ignite
Airplane fuel tank residues could cause an explosion under certain conditions, according to tests performed for the Federal Aviation Administration by an SRI-led team of organizations. Researchers found that the residues that form in the presence of low-sulfur jet fuel, water and silver-coated surfaces are conductive, and can ignite jet fuel when exposed to electrical power as low as that from a radio battery.
Read the Dayton Daily News article.
 
Automotive Innovations on Display
SRI recently participated in Convergence 2002, the world's premier global transportation electronics conference. SRI showcased four technology solutions for the automotive industry: smart material components, high-performing polymers, perceptive vision systems, and intelligent speech recognition. SRI President and CEO Curt Carlson spoke on a "super session" panel with senior industry executives and analysts.
More info about SRI's "artificial muscle" smart materials: http://www.artificialmuscle.com.
More info about SRI's high-performing polymers: http://www.sri.com/psd/catalysis/ and http://www.sri.com/rd/hot.html#polymer.
More info about SRI's speech recognition projects: http://www-speech.sri.com/.
 
STAFF NEWS
John Bramer moves from SRI's Menlo Park office to our Washington D.C. office as its new director. Formerly the director of SRI's Engineering & Systems Division, John takes on this new role from William Mohr, who will focus on business development in the strategically important National Security and Intelligence Community markets.
 
Rae Lyn Burke, Ph.D., former senior director of virology and vaccine research at Chiron, has joined SRI as senior director of vaccine and biotherapeutics development. More info: http://www.sri.com/news/releases/09-03-02.html.
 
Curt Carlson, SRI's president and CEO, was one of four people awarded Worcester Polytechnic Institute's Robert H. Goddard Alumni Award for Outstanding Professional Achievement for 2002. Dr. Carlson was cited for his national and international renown and for his technological and entrepreneurial acumen and leadership.
 
David Cooper, an expert in optical physics and laser spectroscopy, and Larry Toll, who studies the pharmacology of drug abuse, were named SRI Fellows for 2002. More info: http://www.sri.com/about/people/fellows/sri_fellows.html
 
John "Matty" Mathieson, director of SRI's Center for Science, Technology and Economic Development, was given SRI's Mimi Award for his extraordinary mentoring abilities and keen sense for effective team building. The Mimi Award is the highest recognition offered to staff members who have fostered the personal and professional growth of their co-workers. More info: http://www.sri.com/about/Mimi/mimi.html
 
Kristien Mortelmans, senior microbiologist in SRI's Biosciences Division, received the 2002 Charles Porter Award for outstanding contributions to the Society for Industrial Microbiology (SIM). More information: http://www.sri.com/about/awards/porteraward.html
 
Peter Neumann, principal scientist in SRI's Computer Science Lab and a noted figure in computer security, was given the 2002 Computer System Security Award by the Commerce Department's National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). Dr. Neumann's book, "Computer-Related Risks", is in its fifth printing. Read the NIST press release: http://www.nist.gov/public_affairs/releases/neumann.htm
 
Joe Raguso, former deputy secretary of the State of California Technology, Trade & Commerce Agency's Division of Science, Technology and Innovation, has joined SRI as vice president of strategic partnerships. More info: http://www.sri.com/news/releases/09-19-02.html
 
Peter Ryan, director of SRI's Organizational Development and Training group, received a Founders' Award from The First Tee (a World Golf Foundation initiative) in recognition of his work on their Life Skills curriculum. The First Tee provides affordable golf access for youths who otherwise might not have an opportunity to play the game.
Read the press release: http://www.sri.com/news/releases/10-29-02.html.
 
Nora Sabelli, Ph.D., co-director of SRI's Center for Technology in Learning, was awarded one of nine fellowships for women in science for 2002 from the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). She will be one of nine U.S. women scientists who will share their career experiences with colleagues in various Latin American locations.
 
EVENTS
SRI is an exhibitor at the Society for Neurosciences annual meeting in Orlando, FL, November 2-7.
 
Visit SRI's booth at the annual meeting of the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists, November 10-14 in Toronto, ON. More info: http://www.aapspharmaceutica.com/annualmeeting/
 
Larry Dubois, SRI's VP of Physical Sciences, gives his perspective on fuel cells for portable power applications at the 2002 Fuel Cell Seminar at the Palm Springs, CA Convention Center on November 19. More info: http://www.gofuelcell.com
 
ABOUT SRI INTERNATIONAL
SRI is celebrating more than 55 years as the "soul of Silicon Valley". SRI introduced the computer mouse and the foundations of personal computing in 1968, demonstrated the first mobile wireless Internet transmission in 1977, developed life-saving cardiovascular drugs in the 1980s, and designed revolutionary speech recognition systems in the 1990s. SRI International, a nonprofit corporation, was founded as Stanford Research Institute in 1946, and has been independent since 1970. Visit our website at www.sri.com. CONTACT US:
For more information on SRI's innovations and how we can help you, contact bizdev@sri.com.
 
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