For the first time, a team of faculty and students participated in the The Global City Teams Challenge (GCTC) Tech Jam and presented their project proposal within the Internet-of-Things (IoT) Enabled Smart City Framework. The event was sponsored by National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), USIgnite, IBM and additional organizations and took place on the NIST campus in Gaithersburg, MD on March 22-23, 2016. Nearly 200 researchers, business and city representatives, and scientists from 10 countries attended the Tech Jam. SSU's Action Cluster was led by Dr. Farid Farahmand from the Department of Engineering Science and Dr. Chris Halle, representing the Center for Environmental Inquiry.
Jarrett Baglietto (pictured), a senior Electrical Engineering student at Sonoma State University presented the Action Cluster's project, "the Advanced Flood Warning and Environmental Awareness System for the City of Rohnert Park (AFWEAR) for the (City of Rohnert Park)".
This project was supported by Sonoma County Water Agency. "We met with many other programs from around the world also creating smart initiatives to help their cities and communities solve a variety of issues. Taking part in these discussions with such distinguished colleagues from so many different fields really emphasized Sonoma State's involvement in helping to solve global issues. It was very impressive to see that many other programs around the world are working on projects very similar to those we are working on in the Sonoma State labs." Explained Mr. Baglietto. "Actively participating in such events helps us put SSU on the map; it also highlights our endeavor in conducting research and training required to bring together technology, innovation, and the environment.” Emphasized Farahmand. SSU Action Cluster Team is planning to participate in GCTC Expo in June 2016 in Austin to present its first prototype.
Sonoma State University will be hosting its own Nature!Tech Conference on Saturday May 7, 2016. The goal of this conference is to bring together representative from local companies, government agencies, higher institutions, computer and students to share their ideas and efforts in using technology to advance environment understanding.