Event Summary

Quantum computing is a new kind of computing that leverages the properties of subatomic particles—quantum physics—to enable potentially tremendous computational power. While we have learned to build very powerful ‘classical’ computing systems by harnessing the properties of electrons and semiconductor materials, quantum computing systems are quite different, and ‘weird,’ because they are based on non-classical physics including superposition and entanglement of these subatomic particles. If this seems confusing, remember that most people don’t know how classical computers work either—and yet we all use them every day. In this extended lecture, we will cover how classical computers work, provide an overview of quantum physics, and then explain how quantum computers work and why they are so potentially powerful. We will then discuss the kinds of problems that require this kind of computational power—including some that will likely never be solvable with classical computers—and share what industries and companies are investing in this technology *now* to ensure they are leaders in innovation in the coming years. We will also talk about the quantum cryptography problem and solutions, the national interests in global competition and the market, and the timeline—as best we know it now! 

So, if you’re quantum curious and/or want to understand whether your company should start paying attention now, join us for this extended lecture on quantum computing! You may also consider reading “Quantum Computing For Dummies” in advance, or (for the bold/mathematically skilled, “Dancing with Qubits” (though we will not dive that far into the mathematics, and none is required to get most of the benefits of this lecture.)

(This is an updated version of an extended overview talk given by Jay Boisseau in January 2024, and will be followed by a class on programming quantum computers in October 2024.)

Presenter

Jay Boisseau is an experienced, recognized leader and strategist in advanced computing technologies, with over 25 years in the field. Jay is the executive director and founder of The Austin Forum on Technology & Society, which he created in 2006 and is the leading monthly technology outreach and engagement event in Austin--and now attracts national and international attendees online. The Austin Forum is one of the pillars of the Austin tech scene, providing connections to information, ideas, collaborations, and community overall. In addition, Jay is CEO, co-founder (June 2014), and a partner in Vizias, a small team of passionate professionals with expertise in high-performance computing (HPC), artificial intelligence (AI), technology community building, and technology outreach & event planning. Vizias staff lead, execute, and support the Austin Forum through Vizias Research, Education, and Outreach, a non-profit dedicated to using technology for positive social impact. Jay has held previous leadership positions at Dell Technologies, the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) at The University of Texas at Austin, the San Diego Supercomputer Center and the Arctic Region Supercomputing Center. He received his doctorate in astronomy from UT Austin, and his undergraduate degree in astronomy and physics from the University of Virginia. For Jay's full professional bio, visit here.

Agenda

​6:00 - 7:30 p.m. Discussion

Event Summary

Increased usage of limited resources of carbon-based fuels are creating growing environmental and societal challenges around the world. Join us for a meetup for people working or interested in sustainability and climate technologies. This meetup is open to all and will have sustainable and climate tech professionals serving as facilitators to encourage introductions and conversations, and to summarize recommendations and action items discussed throughout the evening.

Attendance Instructions

Join us in person at the St. Edwards University Library.

Parking Information

1. Park in Lot F or C (both are next to the library).

2. Use this link for parking validation.

3. Enter code: Meetup

4. Once you have filled out the information and clicked “Start” you will receive confirmation that you have registered for event parking.

5. Vehicle registration for this event allows parking in Faculty (black), Standard (green), and Economy (yellow).

PANELISTS

Patricia Baumhart is an Intelligent Infrastructure Economic Zone Strategist focused on emerging tech, Patricia served on leadership teams at SGI, Accenture and PwC and helps lead efforts in Intelligent Infrastructure for autonomous and AI systems. Patricia will speak on how new approaches in leveraging AI, technology and Intelligent Infrastructure can sustainably build stronger and more connected communities.

Savannah Bush is a strategic partnerships associate at Climeworks where she supports the firm’s commercial growth, scoping, and research to facilitate rapid scale-up of climate solutions. Her unique perspective is shaped by a depth of experience in oil and gas operations, decarbonization strategy, and energy economics. Prior to joining Climeworks, Savannah served as a consultant at Adamantine Energy, a boutique advisory firm developing sustainability and decarbonization strategies for oil and gas companies. Here, she learned first-hand the pressures facing traditional energy companies, and how carbon removal technology can help bridge the gap in reaching climate goals. Savannah is passionate about securing the role of Generation Z in our energy future and serves on the leadership board of the Young Pipeline Professionals organization as community chair. Savannah holds bachelor’s degrees in business administration and environmental science from Emory University. Climeworks empowers people and businesses to fight climate change by permanently removing CO2 from the air with direct air capture technology.

Sylvie has a passion for helping companies transform their business and implement sustainability strategies to find new opportunities for success: to generate efficiency, cost savings and future-proof their business. She helps companies engage with all their stakeholders to understand their expectations and foster collaboration. She helps promote and communicate companies’ commitments to ESG (Environmental Social Governance) and their achievements. She knows how to bring people together and drive the success of cross-functional complex projects. She has a Master's in Marketing Strategy and recently graduated from the ClimateBase fellowship program as well as the OnePointFive Academy in Sustainability consulting.

Roy Johnson is a certified arborist and Sustainability Coordinator at St. Edward's University, managing the campus tree plan and serving on the Tree Campus USA committee.  Roy is leading the use of fiber optic sensors to measure minute changes in temperature and moisture levels within individual trees. The data gathered can reveal how trees are responding to different climate factors such as temperature fluctuations, drought, and excessive rainfall. 

Aamar is the founder of Modgarden. Once a Wall Street banking professional with roles ranging from iBanking to Technology Management Aamar found himself stuck and sick from his life and food.  To address his health crisis, Aamar channeled his years spent in banking into an entrepreneurial solution to his own problem.

Joanna helps lead product development at Regrow Ag, a science and tech company helping consumer products and agriculture brands measure greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to meet their climate goals. Her expertise is in GHG emissions data from global environmental systems like crop land, pastures, grazing operations, etc. Prior Joanna spent much of her career consulting food and agriculture brands on product development and innovation.

Nancy Salisbury is dedicated to collaborative sustainability efforts, believing in our collective power to create positive change and add value. Nancy is the CEO of ADelta Impact which supports organizations with climate action, sustainability strategies, communication programs, and stakeholder engagement. At St. Edward’s University, Nancy teaches corporate communication, social media, and public relations courses and leads the Environmental Justice Committee’s communication efforts. She is the author of AWARE! 5 Steps to Communicate Sustainability, currently in editing. Nancy champions steadfast optimism and leading with purpose.

Event Summary

SXSW 2024 is almost here, filling our city with tremendous creative energy, passion for impact, and opportunities to learn, network, and meet future collaborators. This year’s tech program is the largest ever, with a week-long huge program featuring hundreds of thought leaders, innovators, creators, and technology experts on topics ranging from AI and quantum computing to transportation and climate/sustainability tech to UX design and content creation—and much, much more. Keynotes, panels, workshops, meetups, mentor sessions, book readings, and other formal presentations and events will be complemented by activations, networking events, and countless other opportunities to learn, share, network, and be inspired. It’s impossible to drink it all in, but you can have a plan that helps maximize your SXSW experience—and we’re here to help! Join us for a meeting just 3 weeks before SXSW 2024 starts to hear from SXSW Co-President and Chief Programming Office about the many opportunities to learn, share, and network at SXSW 2024, plus his personal favorites and his tips for creating your own ‘best’ plan and how to take advantage of SXSW even if you do not have a badge. Then, network with other techies and SXSW registrants to hear additional ideas on what great content is coming to town and what to see, prioritize, and experience. Join us for a great meetup with passionate, creative techies, and leave with a plan—and even more motivation!

Speaker

Hugh Forrest is Chief Programming Officer for SXSW. He oversees content for the SXSW Conference, as well as the Music Festival, Film Festival and EDU aspects of the program. Hugh was named “Austinite of the Year” in 2012 by the Austin Chamber of Commerce and in 2014, he and other SXSW Directors were named Austin Entrepreneurs of the Year by Ernst & Young. He recently received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Kenyon College, his alma mater.

Beyond SXSW, he has served on the National Advisory Board for the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida. He is part of the Board of Directors for Austin Habitat for Humanity and also serves on the Board of Directors for the Austin-based accessibility company Knowbility. Before joining the SXSW team, he founded The Austin Challenger and wrote for several other newspapers and publications.

Event Summary

Quantum computing is a new kind of computing that leverages the properties of subatomic particles—quantum physics—to enable potentially tremendous computational power. While we have learned to build very powerful ‘classical’ computing systems by harnessing the properties of electrons and semiconductor materials, quantum computing systems are quite different, and ‘weird,’ because they are based on non-classical physics including superposition and entanglement of these subatomic particles. If this seems confusing, remember that most people don’t know how classical computers work either—and yet we all use them every day. In this extended lecture, we will cover how classical computers work, provide an overview of quantum physics, and then explain how quantum computers work and why they are so potentially powerful. We will then discuss the kinds of problems that require this kind of computational power—including some that will likely never be solvable with classical computers—and share what industries and companies are investing in this technology *now* to ensure they are leaders in innovation in the coming years. We will also talk about the quantum cryptography problem and solutions, the national interests in global competition and the market, and the timeline—as best we know it now! 

So, if you’re quantum curious and/or want to understand whether your company should start paying attention now, join us for this extended lecture on quantum computing! You may also consider reading “Quantum Computing For Dummies” in advance, or (for the bold/mathematically skilled, “Dancing with Qubits” (though we will not dive that far into the mathematics, and none is required to get most of the benefits of this lecture.)

Moderator

Jay Boisseau is an experienced, recognized leader and strategist in advanced computing technologies, with over 25 years in the field. Jay is the executive director and founder of The Austin Forum on Technology & Society, which he created in 2006 and is the leading monthly technology outreach and engagement event in Austin--and now attracts national and international attendees online. The Austin Forum is one of the pillars of the Austin tech scene, providing connections to information, ideas, collaborations, and community overall. In addition, Jay is CEO, co-founder (June 2014), and a partner in Vizias, a small team of passionate professionals with expertise in high-performance computing (HPC), artificial intelligence (AI), technology community building, and technology outreach & event planning. Vizias staff lead, execute, and support the Austin Forum through Vizias Research, Education, and Outreach, a non-profit dedicated to using technology for positive social impact. Jay has held previous leadership positions at Dell Technologies, the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) at The University of Texas at Austin, the San Diego Supercomputer Center and the Arctic Region Supercomputing Center. He received his doctorate in astronomy from UT Austin, and his undergraduate degree in astronomy and physics from the University of Virginia. For Jay's full professional bio, visit here.

Event Summary

Generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Bard have been used by hundreds of millions of people to generate text products such as emails, stories, poems, blog posts, marketing plans, and much more. (And these tools can do more than create—they can synthesize and analyze text, too.) Just as markable, though, are the generative AI tools for creating images—even photo-realistic images—and video. The use of these tools—MidJourney, Stable Diffusion, DALL-E, Adobe Firefly, and many others—for creating art, graphics, illustrations, ‘photos,’ and even videos are exploding, and the quality is increasing rapidly as the tools are improving and trained on more data. However, it is also important to understand how to use these tools most effectively for your personal, creative, or business purposes. So, join us for a meetup at which we will share and show examples of images/videos and the prompts/inputs used to create them on a big screen while networking and sharing tips, lessons, and contact information to help us all become power users and creators with these fascinatingly powerful generative AI tools!

Moderator

Jay Boisseau is an experienced, recognized leader and strategist in advanced computing technologies, with over 25 years in the field. Jay is the executive director and founder of The Austin Forum on Technology & Society, which he created in 2006 and is the leading monthly technology outreach and engagement event in Austin--and now attracts national and international attendees online. The Austin Forum is one of the pillars of the Austin tech scene, providing connections to information, ideas, collaborations, and community overall. In addition, Jay is CEO, co-founder (June 2014), and a partner in Vizias, a small team of passionate professionals with expertise in high-performance computing (HPC), artificial intelligence (AI), technology community building, and technology outreach & event planning. Vizias staff lead, execute, and support the Austin Forum through Vizias Research, Education, and Outreach, a non-profit dedicated to using technology for positive social impact. Jay has held previous leadership positions at Dell Technologies, the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) at The University of Texas at Austin, the San Diego Supercomputer Center and the Arctic Region Supercomputing Center. He received his doctorate in astronomy from UT Austin, and his undergraduate degree in astronomy and physics from the University of Virginia. For Jay's full professional bio, visit here.

Event Summary

Want to understand the fundamentals of AI, what it can and cannot (yet) do, when to use different AI techniques, and for what kinds of use cases? If so, join us for the fast-paced introduction to AI in which we go from first principles to hands-on examples (bring your laptop to get maximum value from this workshop). No AI or programming experience is required, but be prepared to learn fast!

Moderators

Jay Boisseau is an experienced, recognized leader and strategist in advanced computing technologies, with over 25 years in the field. Jay is the executive director and founder of The Austin Forum on Technology & Society, which he created in 2006 and is the leading monthly technology outreach and engagement event in Austin--and now attracts national and international attendees online. The Austin Forum is one of the pillars of the Austin tech scene, providing connections to information, ideas, collaborations, and community overall. In addition, Jay is CEO, co-founder (June 2014), and a partner in Vizias, a small team of passionate professionals with expertise in high-performance computing (HPC), artificial intelligence (AI), technology community building, and technology outreach & event planning. Vizias staff lead, execute, and support the Austin Forum through Vizias Research, Education, and Outreach, a non-profit dedicated to using technology for positive social impact. Jay has held previous leadership positions at Dell Technologies, the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) at The University of Texas at Austin, the San Diego Supercomputer Center and the Arctic Region Supercomputing Center. He received his doctorate in astronomy from UT Austin, and his undergraduate degree in astronomy and physics from the University of Virginia. For Jay's full professional bio, visit here.

Luke has spent the last 20 years advancing the state of the art in high performance computing and artificial intelligence through roles in academia, finance, and technology. In 2005 Luke joined the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) and The University of Texas at Austin as a member of HPC research staff and lecturer in the Department of Statistics and Scientific Computation. While at TACC Luke helped in the design, deployment, operations, and programming of more than a dozen Top500 systems from vendors such as IBM, Sun Microsystems, Dell, and Cray. In 2016 Luke became Director of Training and Professional Development at TACC and developed the successful and popular TACC Institute Series of week-long training courses in HPC, Data Analytics, Cloud Computing, HPC Administration, and HPC Leadership.
In 2017 Luke made the move to Dell Technologies, where he served as Chief Data Scientist and Distinguished Engineer for HPC/AI in the Infrastructure Solutions Group. While at Dell Luke led the development and publication of dozens of patents in areas such as infrastructure configuration, cloud computing, and containerization.

In 2022 Luke joined market maker and high-frequency trading firm Optiver as Head of Global Research Infrastructure, where he let a global team advancing their compute, storage, networking, and software strategies and deployments. Luke holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Texas at San Antonio and has worked on many high-profile projects, including providing data processing support for the Nobel Prize-winning LIGO project and introducing performance and parallel scaling optimizations for early transformer neural networks, paving the way for technologies like GPT-3/ChatGPT. He is the author of more than two dozen peer-reviewed research papers. Outside of work Luke enjoys science fiction and superhero movies, classical history and Egyptology, golf, and spending time with his wife and 2 children.

Event Summary

After the Austin Forum’s huge September presentation event on quantum computing featuring Strangeworks founder and CEO, whurley,  it became clear that there is strong interest in quantum computing in Austin—including a number of professionals working in this field for various companies. So, we’re going to have a meetup and see just how strong this interest is, and hopefully help people learn how they can contribute to, transition into, or at least learn a lot more about quantum computing! Please join us and bring any friends and colleagues who are interested in, or working in, quantum computing and adjacent fields!

Moderators

Amy Golem, Senior Regional Sales Manager, PASQAL

Brance Hudzietz, Senior Director of Partnerships, Infleqtion

William "whurley" Hurley, Founder and CEO, Strangeworks

Anu Osibajo, Corporate Development Associate, Infleqtion

William V. Oxford, Ph.D., CEO, Anametric, Inc.

Nash Palaniswamy, Chief Commercial Officer, Quantinuum

Stacy Vu, Chief of Staff, Strangeworks

Event Summary

​ChatGPT has created an explosion of interest in AI since its release, and a large number of other similar efforts. Companies and consumers have been using AI for a while to analyze, classify, predict, translate, etc., but the new branch of generative AI tools allows humans to actually generate new works. There are generative AI tools for creating images, sounds, and video, but ChatGPT and other LLMs are so powerful because everyone can relate to reading and writing text, to conversational language, to crafting prose for articles, reports, essays, user guides, and more. LLMs give us the ability to create the kind of content we consume, and that we need to create for others to consume. However, they are not perfect, and they can be used more effectively with careful prompting, fine-tuning, and more. Join us for this discussion of LLMs and how we can use them and make them better for work and other practical projects. Bring your laptop if you want, and join us as we become more effective users of ChatGPT, Bard, and other LLMs.

Moderators

Jay Boisseau is an experienced, recognized leader and strategist in advanced computing technologies, with over 25 years in the field. Jay is the executive director and founder of The Austin Forum on Technology & Society, which he created in 2006 and is the leading monthly technology outreach and engagement event in Austin--and now attracts national and international attendees online. The Austin Forum is one of the pillars of the Austin tech scene, providing connections to information, ideas, collaborations, and community overall. In addition, Jay is CEO, co-founder (June 2014), and a partner in Vizias, a small team of passionate professionals with expertise in high-performance computing (HPC), artificial intelligence (AI), technology community building, and technology outreach & event planning. Vizias staff lead, execute, and support the Austin Forum through Vizias Research, Education, and Outreach, a non-profit dedicated to using technology for positive social impact. Jay has held previous leadership positions at Dell Technologies, the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) at The University of Texas at Austin, the San Diego Supercomputer Center and the Arctic Region Supercomputing Center. He received his doctorate in astronomy from UT Austin, and his undergraduate degree in astronomy and physics from the University of Virginia.

Luke has spent the last 20 years advancing the state of the art in high performance computing and artificial intelligence through roles in academia, finance, and technology. In 2005 Luke joined the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC) and The University of Texas at Austin as a member of HPC research staff and lecturer in the Department of Statistics and Scientific Computation. While at TACC Luke helped in the design, deployment, operations, and programming of more than a dozen Top500 systems from vendors such as IBM, Sun Microsystems, Dell, and Cray. In 2016 Luke became Director of Training and Professional Development at TACC and developed the successful and popular TACC Institute Series of week-long training courses in HPC, Data Analytics, Cloud Computing, HPC Administration, and HPC Leadership.
In 2017 Luke made the move to Dell Technologies, where he served as Chief Data Scientist and Distinguished Engineer for HPC/AI in the Infrastructure Solutions Group. While at Dell Luke led the development and publication of dozens of patents in areas such as infrastructure configuration, cloud computing, and containerization.

In 2022 Luke joined market maker and high-frequency trading firm Optiver as Head of Global Research Infrastructure, where he let a global team advancing their compute, storage, networking, and software strategies and deployments. Luke holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Texas at San Antonio and has worked on many high-profile projects, including providing data processing support for the Nobel Prize-winning LIGO project and introducing performance and parallel scaling optimizations for early transformer neural networks, paving the way for technologies like GPT-3/ChatGPT. He is the author of more than two dozen peer-reviewed research papers. ​Outside of work Luke enjoys science fiction and superhero movies, classical history and Egyptology, golf, and spending time with his wife and 2 children.

Event Summary

SXSW has become one of the largest conferences/festivals in the world, and “SXSW Interactive’ content forms the largest portion of the conference programming, drawing tens of thousands of techies from around the world. The technology programming at SXSW has a strong focus on how these technologies impact all aspects of society. Join us for a recap and discussion of some of the technology news, highlights, discussions, and more from SXSW 2023, moderated by Austin Forum director Jay Boisseau. This meetup will enable everyone who attended SXSW to share information and perspectives, and for everyone who attends to collectively discuss what the Austin Forum should cover in future programming.

Moderators

Jay Boisseau,​ Executive Director, Austin Forum on Technology & Society
Jeff Brooks, Director of America, Helena Group Foundation
Mike Carr, Lead Adviser, FMP Wealth
Hugh Forrest, Chief Programming Officer, SXSW
Jenalea Howell, VP, Informa Tech
Susan Meredith, CEO, MentaMorph Money
Keiarra Ortiz-Cedeno, Computer Science Student
Maxime Peabody, Senior Software Engineer, Wombo.ai
Kristin Pilsner, Transition Specialist, Realty Austin
Michael Scharf, Co-Host, Austin Next LLC
Ryn Wilcox, Product Manager, Artemis Health

Event Summary

Almost everyone now has many different digital identities, mostly disconnected from each other—and yet companies are exchanging/selling data and monetizing your personal identity data. Can we simplify how we manage our digital identity and add compensation while enhancing privacy and control of when our data is sold?

Join us for the discussion (meetup format) with opening and closing comments from thought leaders, experts, and practitioners. Share ideas, reactions, and recommendations that may help you, your company, or other companies and organizations improve the security and value of digital identities. After the discussion at Capital Factory, we invite you to join us at Upstairs at Caroline for networking.

Moderators

Mike Kiser is insecure. He has been this way since birth, despite holding a panoply of industry positions over the past 20 years—from the Office of the CTO to Security Strategist to Security Analyst to Security Architect—that might imply otherwise. In spite of this, he has designed, directed, and advised on large-scale security deployments for a global clientele. He is currently in a long-term relationship with fine haberdashery, is a chronic chronoptimist (look it up), and delights in needlessly convoluted verbiage. He speaks regularly at events such as the European Identity Conference and the RSA Conference, is a member of several standards groups, and has presented privacy-related research at Black Hat and DefCon. He is currently the Director of Strategy and Standards at SailPoint Technologies.

​Jay Williams has been a chief technology officer and consultant to many of the Fortune 500. As a consultant he has developed a highly refined process for managing a company’s technology infrastructure, including applications, security, and network assets. Jay is a highly sought-after, enterprise systems architect and problem solver. He has advised a number of high profile technology companies on their products and is known for a rare combination of deep technology expertise, expert problem solving ability and business acumen. Jay is widely respected by peers and has influenced many pivotal technology consortia and industry steering groups. He regularly consults with senior technology and business executives and is frequently consulted by venture and capital investors for analyses of new technology strategies.

Amy Winecoff (Ph.D., Psychology & Neuroscience, Duke University) is a research fellow at Princeton University’s Center for Information Technology Policy (CITP) and Center for Statistics and Machine Learning (CSML). Using a combination of qualitative, quantitative, and simulation techniques, she studies how technology communities develop algorithmic systems such as artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain platforms and how these systems evolve over time. She also serves on the advisory board of the eLab startup accelerator program hosted by Princeton’s Keller Center for Innovation in Engineering Education and conducts workshops on incorporating ethical deliberation into technology development processes. Prior to joining Princeton, Winecoff worked as an Assistant Professor of Psychology at Bard College and as a data scientist for e-commerce technology companies, where she developed large-scale machine learning systems for providing product recommendations. She has published numerous academic articles and book chapters on psychology, neuroscience, machine learning, and human-computer interaction. 

Event Summary

Misinformation and disinformation are growing problems in society, contributing to health risks (e.g. false information about vaccines), societal divides and polarization, and misinformed views on issues of race, gender, and more. We’re not going to solve the problems in one evening, but each of us can do little things to help. We will have some experts in misinformation, and we’ll mingle, discuss, ideate, and close the night with people’s best ideas for how individuals can help, and what ideas researchers and companies (maybe a new startup?) should explore. Come join us for this great in-person Austin Forum discussion event.

Moderators

Mitch Chaiet, Creative Technologist, Accenture
Sherri Greenberg, The University of Texas
Dr. Steve Kramer, Chief Scientist, KUNGFU.AI
Chad Swiatecki, Author, Austin Monitor​