Access to Technology

The family of former Tetra Tech employee Dave Donley, Jr., has established a memorial scholarship for Canadian post-secondary information technology (IT) and computer studies students. The Dave Donley Memorial Scholarship is accepting applications through April 30, 2019.

Tetra Tech has been named as a finalist for the prestigious Franz Edelman Award, which recognizes the ways that operation research and analytics are improving how people live and work around the globe. This nomination recognizes Tetra Tech’s partnership with the Louisville Metropolitan Sewer District (MSD) in Kentucky to implement real-time control (RTC) software to manage the city’s sewer network. The Edelman Award is the highest award in operation research and analytics. This year’s finalists include IBM; Microsoft; the Boston School Board; the Spanish National Aviation Authority; and Vattenfall, one of Europe’s largest producers of electricity.

Anyone following tech news these days understands that the coexistence of artificial intelligence (AI) and mankind – and the ethical conflicts that may arise from it – is no longer science fiction. There is unease about AI influencing our online shopping and social media habits; about it replacing both menial and high-skilled jobs; enhancing surveillance and policing, and contributing to the development of more sophisticated weapons.

Artificial intelligence and the internet of things have the potential to drive unprecedented productivity, reduce pollution, and improve human health. With the rollout of advanced, high speed wireless connectivity known as 5G in the next few years, the number of connected devices will explode: 28.5 billion devices are expected to be networked by 2022 growing to 300 billion connected devices and things by 2030.

The ten winning organizations will receive a total of $1 million and the winning teams will get access to Verizon’s 5G Labs and support from Verizon engineers and mentors to enhance their solutions.

Industry leaders like Cisco, Google, Microsoft and Mastercard are all applying fourth industrial revolution technologies to tackle humanitarian challenges, enhance innovation, and deliver better social welfare, economic and governance outcomes.

In addition to going on excursions via VR, students could check out powerful PCs, including OMEN by HP gaming laptops, desktops, accessories, HP Chromebooks and smart whiteboards. They also learned in immersive, hands-on workshops, including one where they had the chance to code their own drone flight path.

Arrow Electronics and customer Unlimited Tomorrow unveiled the latest version of its 3D-printed prosthetic arm at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas earlier this month. The prosthetic is designed to be cheaper and more accessible for children, who require new devices as they grow.

Over lunch at a recent workshop, Agbor Ashu, the co-founder and medical director of social enterprise GiftedMom, showed me a small icon of a pregnant woman on his smartphone: “That’s the app,” he says. “You just click here and land on this homepage where you have multiple options: if you’re a mother-to-be, you can get advice based on your pregnancy stage; if you have a new-born baby, you can read about special care.

Benevity announces 42 new clients have launched programs on the company’s platform in the last quarter.