Jane Snowden, Senior Manager, General Business, Energy & Environment: Intelligent Buildings and Smarter City Research, IBM will speak at CleanTechCenter’s workshop on “SmartBuildings and the Smart Grid”
The Clean Tech Center is pleased to be a collaborator with the SyracuseCoE on its highly successful Healthy Buildings 2009 International Conference and Exhibition which is expected to attract more than 1,000 attendees from nearly 50 countries, as well as business and industry leaders from across the northeast.Held in Syracuse from September 13 to 17, it is a prestigious gathering of experts in the areas of energy efficiency, green buildings and healthy built environments.The conference has been in Lisbon, Singapore, Stockholm, Milan and other locations around the globe, and was held only once before in the US. The SyracuseCoE brought the event to Syracuse and is serving as conference coordinator for an outstanding series of events that include lectures, workshops, exhibits and dynamic interactions between participants.
The CleanTechCenter worked with the SyracuseCoE to sponsor several events as part of an opportunity exchange (OppEx) portion of the program.A featured workshop on September 14 co-sponsored by the Clean Tech Center and National Grid focuses on “Smart Buildings and the Smart Grid” with keynote speaker Dr. Jane L. Snowdon, Senior Manager, General Business, Energy & Environment: Intelligent Buildings and Smarter City Research at the IBM T. J. Watson Research Center.Panelists include regional companies creating innovative products in the “smart” sector, including Ron Kadah, President and CEO, ICM Controls, and Carmen Branca, President and CEO, New Visions Powerline Communications.Linda Hartsock, Director of the CleanTechCenter, moderated the session.
Dr. Snowdon will give a global picture of IBM’s “Smarter Planet” initiative, including strategies and research efforts to create innovative solutions for small and medium-sized businesses in areas such as intelligent buildings.Jane recently co-led the IBM Corporate Strategy sponsored study on Industry Impacts of Climate Change and is an active contributor to the IBM Corporate Strategy Intelligent Building Study, as well as the IBM Corporate Strategy Smart Cities Study.
The CleanTechCenter and SyracuseCoE also is also sponsoring another workshop on September 14, “Incubating and Accelerating Your Clean Tech Business: The Road to Innovation.”The workshop features technical and business support services to help bring clean tech concepts or products to the marketplace. The discussion will focus on the critical components of a good incubation or acceleration plan, as well as the role of incubators. Panelists include: Paul Brooks, Vice President, Entrepreneurship Programs, Syracuse Tech Garden; Mitchell Patterson, Economic Development Coordinator, MDA of Syracuse and Central New York; Lisa Cleckner, Assistant Director of Operations, SyracuseCoE; and Linda Hartsock of the Clean Tech Center.
One of the innovative ways to showcase the region is an “OppEx Matchmaking Forum” on September 15 sponsored by the Clean Tech Center, US Department of Commerce and Empire State Development.The matchmaking forum features business-to-business or academic-to-business meetings between conference participants led by federal, state and regional economic development professionals. Panelists include John Tracy, International Trade Specialist, US Commercial Service, US Department of Commerce; Ed Kowalewski, Director, New York State International Trade Programs; ; Jerry Shaye, Director, International Trade Development, Empire State Development; Bonnie Palmer, Business Development Specialist, Empire State Development; Greg Hitchin, Business Development, Onondaga County Economic Development; Michael Novakowski, Director of Business Development, MDA and the Central Upstate Regional Alliance. The CleanTechCenter is also hosting a display booth at the OppEx exhibition.
