Lecture Series Archive

Abstract – Data and telecommunications networks reach to every corner of the globe. Wherever you go on the planet, you can be in touch with your work, and friends, and up to date on sports, news and entertainment. In the fruits of these tremendous accomplishments lie the seeds of disruptive change that will redefine how global networks are built and operated. The network is undergoing metamorphosis. The constraints of the past no longer apply. It’s less about technology, and more about applications. The network works, now it’s about making it work better, and to make the network personal for each end-user. The focus has changed from hardware to software. This talk will discuss how optical and electronic technologies are enabling a programmable multi-technology network that is programmability. In this new network automation, speeds deployment and reduces costs. And automation extends control to the end-users enabling new applications.

Mr. Steve West is a co-founder and CTO of Cyan, a Petaluma based networking solutions company. Steve is responsible for technology direction. Steve was previously a founding member of Turin Networks team, where he was responsible for product architecture. Prior to Turin Steve was Director of Engineering at Advanced Fibre Communications. Steve has BSc and MSc degrees in Engineering from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Abstract - In this talk, we explore the challenges and rewards of teaching overseas. We share some of our personal experiences during our 7-month stay in Ghana and point out the difficulties facing academic institutions in the country. We examine opportunities for introducing new technologies to improve the education system in developing countries. We further recount on the importance of "appropriate" technologies aiming at improving the standard of living for the developing world. We offer personal accounts as to how such technologies can greatly impact living conditions of many people and how students, particularly STEM majors, can be engaged in collaborative multidisciplinary international projects involving humanitarian technologies. Finally, we conclude by presenting available volunteer opportunities for faculty and students to visit West African countries and potential contributions they can make, while experiencing the incredible natural beauty, cultural richness, and human kindness in the region.

Dr. Farid Farahmand received his PhD in 2005 and is currently an Assistant Professor in the Department of Engineering Science at Sonoma State University. He is also the director of Advanced Internet Technology in the Interests of Society Laboratory. Prior to this position, Dr. Farahmand worked as the research scientist at Alcatel-Lucent Corporate Research and was involved in development of terabit optical routers. Dr. Farahmand holds multiple international patents, numerous reference conference articles and journal publications, and several book chapters, on the subjects of wireless communications, optical networking, green networking, and delay tolerant networks. He has also authored many educational papers focusing on eLearning and Active Learning in classrooms. Farid is actively involved in many conferences and serves as the reviewer and co-editor to a number of technical conferences and journals. He is a member of IEEE, ASEE, and Engineers Without Borders-USA.