Indiana entrepreneur, inventor to talk at Purdue
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — One of Indiana's leading high-tech entrepreneurs will speak about robotics research and development at Purdue University.Scott A. Jones, president and CEO of Indy Robotics LLC, will speak from 2:30-3:30 p.m. Jan. 24 in Stewart Center's Fowler Hall. The event is free and open to the public.
Jones holds several patents on voicemail technologies used by nearly half a billion people around the world. His companies also have made contributions to the development and production in digital music, movie convergence and data storage.
His latest venture, IndyRobotics, is a leader in the field of robotics research and development. The company's Indy Robot Racing Team's autonomous vehicle competed in the U.S. Department of Defense DARPA Grand Challenge National Qualification Event last October at the California Speedway in Fontana, Calif. DARPA stands for Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
The Indy Robot Racing team consisted of engineers and other volunteers from Purdue, Indiana University, Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, high-technology businesses and marketing professionals.
Purdue University College of Engineering, College of Science, Krannert School of Management, Discovery Park, Graduate School and Office of the Provost contributed $50,000 to support the entry in the unmanned-vehicle race.
The DARPA competition was sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense to develop unmanned vehicles as part of a congressional mandate that by 2015 one-third of all military vehicles will be autonomous. A vehicle from Stanford University won the competition.
"Research in autonomous vehicles continues, and advances in the field of robotics research will impact the next generation greatly," said Mark Smith, the Michael J. and Katherine R. Birck Professor and head of electrical and computer engineering at Purdue. "The applications for autonomous vehicles are vast — from the way we travel, the way firefighters enter burning buildings, the way bomb squads search for explosive devices, the way we till our fields and many other ways.
"In his talk, Scott Jones will provide much insight into the future of this field for Purdue students and others interested in robotics research."
Jones' involvement in forming new businesses expands beyond voicemail technologies and robotics research. He and Indianapolis businessman Gerry Dick co-founded Grow Indiana Media Ventures in 2000. The company hosts Inside INdiana Business with Gerry Dick.
Jones graduated from Indiana University in 1984, was a research scientist at MIT's Artificial Intelligence Lab and founded Boston Technology in 1986. Boston Technology's equipment was purchased by Southwestern Bell and BellSouth and later merged with Comverse Technology Inc., a multi-billion-dollar company in voicemail technologies.
He serves on the boards of the Indianapolis Zoo, Sycamore School and The Children's Museum. In 1994, he founded the Scott A. Jones Foundation, which provides children with new learning technologies through educational and research organizations.
Writer: Cynthia Sequin, (765) 494-4192, csequin@purdue.edu
Source: Mark Smith, (765) 494-3539, mjts@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
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