Purdue News
Purdue News
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March 4, 2004 Purdue conference offers e-business research to Indiana companiesWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Purdue University is bringing all its e-business and applied information technology research together under one roof, and the guest of honor will be Indiana businesses. The occasion is the March 22-24 Energizing the Enterprise conference on the West Lafayette campus. This dual-track conference revolves around two important themes: e-enabled business transactions and information security. E-enabled business applications include advanced manufacturing, supply-chain management, transportation-distribution-logistics, as well as biometrics, computer-aided design, laser applications and other leading-edge technologies. Information security focuses on cybercrime, digital forensics, identity management, information assurance and how these issues affect business, industry and private computer users.
The conference is sponsored by Purdue's e-Enterprise Center in Discovery Park and the Center for Education and Research in Information Assurance and Security (CERIAS). Guy Gardner, a former astronaut who recently returned to his alma mater to help oversee, manage and attract multidisciplinary, high-technology research projects, describes the Energizing the Enterprise conference as a dialogue between the university and business. "Purdue's Discovery Park is doing great things," said Gardner, who is Purdue's director of superproject development. "We're still building the buildings for the park, but there's already great energy here, and we're already running many significant projects out of temporary facilities. We're now inviting Indiana businesses in to help us chart the direction of the e-Enterprise Center and Discovery Park."
Eugene Spafford, a computer science professor and executive director of CERIAS (pronounced serious) whom the "Washington Post" profiled as one of the nation's most influential policy experts in information security, said his center's work is strongly linked to productivity. "It is almost impossible to do business today without a significant use of computers and networks," Spafford said. "But that technology also opens new possibilities for attacks, fraud and loss, including losses from viruses and hackers. The researchers at CERIAS are devoted to finding ways of protecting information systems from these threats – information systems in Indiana, in the United States and around the world." The focus of the conference sessions on Monday, March 22, in the Purdue Memorial Union will be on supply-chain management, transportation-distribution-logistics and the business applications of emerging technologies. One such technology is biometrics, which is devoted to identification of individuals using biological traits, including those based on retinal or iris scanning, fingerprints or face recognition. Joe Pekny, director of the e-Enterprise Center, will kick off the Tuesday, March 23, program, which will proceed on two tracks – one devoted to the work and research of the e-Enterprise Center and one to that of CERIAS. Karl Kempf, Intel Fellow with responsibility for directing the continuity of decision-making processes in Intel's supply chain, will speak to all attendees at 8:45 a.m. in Stewart Center, Room 218, on "Technical and Cultural Issues in Supply Chain Management." Pekny said he has big goals for the conference. "Purdue's e-Enterprise Center is open for business," he said, "During the conference, we will be presenting specific ways that business and industry can partner with the e-Enterprise Center and Purdue. "We want companies to bring their agendas so we can direct our research and find out how we can compete together as Indiana Inc." Ned Howell, the managing director of the e-Enterprise Center, said the conference offers built-in networking opportunities for businesses wishing to tap Purdue's high-tech expertise. "On Tuesday, we'll showcase active Purdue projects with applicability to Indiana's business needs," Howell said. "A luncheon will provide the opportunity for Purdue researchers and business representatives to mix and exchange ideas. This opportunity will continue at a poster session that will provide a central point of entry into the broad arenas of e-business and information security research and education. The day ends with a reception in Rawls Hall, the Krannert School of Management's new facility." Parney Albright, deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, will offer the keynote for CERIAS' Cyber Security In Context track of the conference at 7 p.m. in the North Ballroom of the Purdue Memorial Union. Wednesday, March 24, is dedicated to computer security, with speakers and panels considering such topics as information security and policy in Indiana and the United States, translating ideas to marketplace opportunities and cyberterrorism. The luncheon speaker is Indiana Lt. Gov. Kathy Davis. The conference wraps up at 5:30 p.m. Each of the conferences' schedules and registration information is available at the Discovery Park Energizing page and the CERIAS web page. Admission to e-Enterprise track is free; the CERIAS track costs $60 for the general public and $30 for CERIAS sponsors, affiliates and board members. Maps also are available online. A block of hotel rooms at the Purdue Memorial Union has been reserved for conference attendees. For information on the e-Enterprise portion of the conference, contact Wendy Madore, e-Enterprise Center communications coordinator, at (765) 496—2068, wmadore@purdue.edu. For information on the CERIAS-sponsored track of the conference, contact Teresa Bennett, CERIAS manager of strategic relations, (765) 494-7806, tkbennet@cerias.purdue.edu. The Discovery Park e-Enterprise Center is an umbrella organization that is the central point of access to a wide range of e-enterprise-related research activities at Purdue. There are currently more than a dozen centers and academic areas exploring aspects of e-enterprise. CERIAS is a multidisciplinary academic center in information security and privacy. The center is affiliated with more than 100 faculty and graduate students on the Purdue campus and numerous others at affiliate universities. CERIAS faculty, staff and students interact with business, industry and government to conduct research on privacy, computer and network protection, e-commerce safety, cybercrime prevention and investigation, forensics, computer-based terrorism, and national defense. Writer: Mike Lillich, (765) 494-2077, mlillich@purdue.edu Sources: Guy Gardner, (765) 494-9258, g2@purdue.edu Eugene Spafford, (765) 494-7825, spaf@purdue.edu Joe Pekny, (765) 494-3153, pekney@purdue.edu Ned Howell, (765) 494-4891, ned@purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu Note to Journalists: Video of Purdue's biometric research laboratory, in which research is performed for both e-business and information security concerns, is available by contacting Mike Lillich, (765) 494-2077, mlillich@purdue.edu. Related Web site:
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