Earlier this week,  I had the privilege of attending the tenth annual “BIO-IT World Conference and Expo,” at which some 2500  information technology professionals participated in a 12-track program featuring more than 200 presentations on scientific and technologic developments.

From  keynote speakers Jill Mesirov, PhD, and Martin Leach, PhD,  respectively the Associate Director and Chief Information Officer  of the Harvard-MIT Broad Institute,  I learned that exponential increases  in computing power promise to bring personalized medicine –allowing highly individualized diagnosis and treatment –to doctors offices within ten years. I also learned how hard it is to keep track of the petabytes  ( a PBs is a unit of information equal to one quadrillion  bytes, or 1024 terabytes )  used to keep it all going.

Mesirov announced the upcoming launch of “Genome Space“–a new Web-based technology to help scientists make sense of and collaborate in using such data.

And in a talk entitled “BIG,”  Leach described the difficulty of defining “big data,” because the amount of available information is growing so rapidly.   He described an event held recently at the Broad to celebrate the Institute’s ability to store and analyze ten pedabytes of data –his glee soon tempered by  his recollection that in 1993, NIH’s Institute of Medicine was thrilled with its ability store 16 gigabytes–which anyone can now do on a cell phone.

Today,  Leach said, we are  seeing “increasing big data with a decreasing footprint.” [that is, smaller systems needed for gathering and retrieval].

Mentioning that he has an autistic son and would like to be able to figure out what causes the disorder, Leach  asked, “Why is there no Google search for data, no way to access thousands of data repositories?

“We need a new application ecosystem and a breed of data scientist who knows how and where to push this data, ” he said.  He predicted that there will soon be 50 thousand jobs in the  “big data” arena.

In the exhibit hall,  I was pleased to see that  see that Wingu, headquartered in the Cambridge Innovation Center, where I work, had been nominated for a best of show award for its pharmaceutical, contract research and academic collaboration software.

The winners, announced last night, were Recentris, Opscode, Clear Trial, and Cambridge Semantics. [More info at http://www.bio-itworld.com/2012/04/26/2012-best-of-show-winners.html]. Best Practice Grand Prizes went to big Pharma: Merck, Pfizer, and Merck KGaA (Germany)  went to and two genomics organizations, BGI Shenzhen and the University of Utah/Omicia. http://www.bio-itworld.com/2012/04/25/bio-it-world-announces-winners-2012-best-practices-awards.html.

BIO-IT World is sponsored by  Insight Pharma Reports, Samsung, and the Portland Group. It runs through April 27, 2012.

—Anita M. Harris

c. AMH 2011

At 1PM, on Friday, September 18, collaborators from MIT, CIC, the Marion Ewing Kauffman Foundation for Entrepreneurship, several venture funds, the City of Cambridge, Ernst & Young and others will inaugurate the world’s first “Walk of Fame” for entrepreneurs, according to an email from  Tim Rowe, president of  the Kendall Square Association.

The event, open to the public, will be held at the Kendall Square T stop in front of the Marriott Hotel’s  newly redesigned plaza.

Seven of the greatest entrepreneurs of all time will be honored with granite stars unveiled in the public way, according to Rowe.

While many of these individuals have passed away, one of these seven will be on hand for the ceremony (the identities of the honorees are secret until the event).

In future years, additional stars will be placed, building a kind of
“freedom trail” of innovation through Kendall Square.

“The Entrepreneur Walk of Fame has a mission to inspire young people to
consider careers as entrepreneurs,” Rowe wrote.  “While there are public efforts to
honor great athletes and actors, nowhere today is there a public place
where entrepreneurs are honored for their contributions to society.
Those contributions are significant. Entrepreneurs bring new
innovations to market in ways that improve the human condition, and
entrepreneurs help millions of people become productively employed,
thereby building healthy economies.”

-Anita Harris

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New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group, an award-winning public relations and marketing communications firm located in Kendall Square. Cambridge.

The City of Cambridge has proclaimed tomorrow (September 22, 2010) as “CCTV Day.” Cambridge Community Television–one of the City’s best resources for anyone who wants to learn TV production and computer skills–has asked everyone to spread the word. I’ve taken a number of good courses, there.  CCTV’s announcement follows.
–Anita M. Harris  
New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group of Cambridge, MA.

CCTV News, September 21, 2010                  Special Announcement! 9/22/10 is CCTV Day!     What is CCTV Day?  The City of Cambridge has declared 9/22/10 (for CCTV’s Channels 9, 10 & 22!) “CCTV Day,” recognizing CCTV as a forum for Cambridge residents since 1988. To commemorate this special declaration and day, CCTV is hosting special programming and events in the evening of Wednesday, September 22. Please spread the word about the following, and tune in for the special programming! 1) Go to Harvard Square, Porter Square or Lechmere and look for our camera crews from 6-7pm. Tell your friends and neighbors, then tune in to Channels 9, 10 & 22 at 8pm to see yourself on TV! 2) Take a tour of our studio from 7-8pm. The first nine Cambridge residents (who have not been members) to stop by will receive a FREE CCTV membership! (Must show proof of Cambridge residency) 3) Tune in at 8pm to Channels 9, 10 & 22 for a LIVE program featuring Cambridge residents who use their CCTV programs for positive contributions to the community. (followed by footage from the squares; see #1).  computerCENTRAL Internships Open   CCTV’s computer lab seeks interns for our fall schedule. Unique   opportunity with great benefits and experience.The following internships are available: Public Access Computer Lab Hours – Sunday 4-5:30pm Provide support for members of the public in a variety of computer uses. Web Media Help – Friday 3pm-6pm Provide CCTV producers basic to advanced web media production help. Details and benefits of interning:     * Work 2-3 hours per week for up to 4 months     * Receive free membership to CCTV     * Take free classes for the duration of the internship     * Production opportunities available     * College credit possible     * Network with the local video production community     * Get valuable teaching experience. If interested in applying, please email your resume, 2 references, and availability to nicole@cctvcambridge.org. See http://www.cctvcambridge.org/computerinterns for more   information.   In This Issue CCTV Day computerCENTRAL Interns Needed This Week in NeighborMedia What’s Next: Aging in Cambridge Panel Discussion Urban Ag-Fair Celebrates Local Products Cambridge Carnival International 2010 is a Big Hit! Free Adult Education and Family Literacy Classes Cambridge Eyesores: For Sale and Now Only $1 Million! ACT Artist Interview: Merline Sylvain-Williams What Will the New Signage Regulations Mean for Cambridge? Want to be a NeighborMedia Correspondent? Click here to learn more!   Register as a User on CCTV’s web site Connect with the community, contribute blog posts, and more! www.cctvcambridge.org   Join our list

The Cambridge Innovation Center and quite a few companies will be holding open houses this Thursday in Kendall Square, Cambridge–as part of the nine-day Cambridge Science Festival.

Billed on its Web site as “the first of its kind in the nation,”  the annual Festival opened on Saturday, April 24, to showcase  Cambridge as an internationally recognized leader in science, technology, engineering and math.  A multifaceted, multicultural event held every spring, the Cambridge Science Festival makes science accessible, interactive and fun.

A myriad of events–ranging from talks and panel discussions to demonstrations, luncheons, museum exhibits, elementary school science fairs  and company open houses–are listed at the  Festival’s Schedule of Events.

I expect to be at the Cambridge Innovotion Center open house at 1 Broadway  on Thursday evening–as will my client, InVivo Therapeutics, and   Vitality, Seeding Labs, Acorn Product Development,   HubSpot and other companies.   The Venture Cafe, on the 11th floor,  will be open to the public  from 6-9 pm.

Last night’s reading in Lincoln went well.  People laughed. In the right places.

That’s Neil O’Hara, facilitator of The Write Stuff, my wonderful writers group, in the background. The reading was held  held  in the beautiful  Lincoln, MA, public library, which along with the Lincoln Review, sponsors our group and the occasional public event.

Other readers included Susan Coppack, Mary Ann Hales,  Ellen Morgan and Manson Solomon.   Here’s a link to the Write Stuff Blog, http://lincolnwritestuff.blogspot.com/ which, in turn, links to this and other write stuffers’ blogs,  courtesy of  blogmeister Geoff Moore.

Mark S. Hoffman took the photo. Thanks, Mark!

New Cambridge Observer is a publication of the Harris Communications Group of Cambridge, MA. We also publish Harriscomblog and Ithaca Diaries blog.