Rose-Hulman Conference to Feature World Wide Web Creators

Joining Cailliau and Nelson as featured speakers will be French researcher Louis Pouzin, the inventor of datagrams that enabled the Internet to expand quickly and inexpensively; Paul Kunz, known as America's first Webmaster for his development of the first Web server outside of Europe; and Doug Engelbart, the inventor of the computer mouse and the graphical user interface that was critical to the development of e-mail and a variety of word processing options. Also featured will be Jean-Francois Abramatic, the former chairman of the World Wide Web Consortium which was created to develop common standards for the evolution of the Web.

Other nationally known experts will discuss the influence the Web has had on our lifestyle during the conference which is titled, "WWW@10: The Dream and the Reality." The conference marks the tenth anniversary of the public availability of the Web. Other featured speakers include Lee Rainie, founding director of the Pew Internet & American Life Project which produces reports that explore the impact of the Internet on our daily lives; and Charles Nesson, founder and co-director of the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at the Harvard Law School which explores the development and standards of cyberspace.

Also on the program is author Cory Doctorow, the European affairs coordinator for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a member-supported nonprofit group that works to uphold civil liberties in technology law, standards and policy. A prolific science fiction writer, Doctorow recently won the Locus Award for Best First Novel for his debut, "Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom." He is also a contributing writer to Wired magazine and a columnist for Popular Science magazine.

Cailliau will deliver the second annual Paustenbach Lecture during one of the conference keynote presentations titled, "Are We All Caught in the Web?" at 5:15 p.m. on Sept. 30 in Hatfield Hall. The Paustenbach Lecture was funded last year by Rose-Hulman alumnus Dennis Paustenbach to encourage students to think in new ways about a career in science and technology.

Cailliau provided essential support at CERN, the world's largest particle physics laboratory in Geneva, Switzerland to Tim Berners-Lee, who then conceived and developed the software that combined hypertext links with the Internet in a way that linked computer networks anywhere in the world. Cailliau then worked with Berners-Lee to publicize and promote the adoption of the free World Wide Web software. Cailliau is now head of external communication in the Education and Technology Transfer Unit of CERN where he responsible for CERN's Intranet public communications.

Cailliau will also join other invited speakers on Oct. 2 at 11 a.m. to discuss, "What will the WWW be in 2014?" The presentation will take place in the Kahn Room.

The cooperation and competition involved in building the Web, bringing the Web to America and the Internet's coming of age are topics that will be discussed during a session featuring Abramatic, Kunz and Pouzin. Their discussion begins at 1:20 p.m. Sept. 30 in Hatfield Hall.

The key elements to the success of the Web will be the focus of a panel discussion involving Abramatic, Engelbart, Kunz, Nelson and Pouzin. They will be featured from 3:35 until 5 p.m in Hatfield Hall.

Other first day presentations include a keynote address by Nelson which is titled, "The Metaphysics of Structure and the Future of Literature." His presentation is scheduled at 9:15 a.m. in Hatfield Hall.

In addition to the invited speakers, the three-day conference will include presentations from faculty representing 15 colleges or universities. Faculty will present papers on various topics ranging from privacy and ethical issues and the Web, Web-based course management and language support for mobile Web browsers.

How the Internet is influencing our daily lives will be discussed by Rainie at 9 a.m. on Oct. 1 in Hatfield Hall. Since 1999, Rainie has examined how people's Internet use affects their families, communities, health care, education, civic and political life, and work places. The Pew Internet & American Life Project has issued more than 80 reports based on surveys and other research on these social issues and important public policy questions such as trust and privacy online, e-government, intellectual property, broadband adoption, and the digital divides. Rainie is the former managing editor of U.S. News & World Report.

Doctorow will speak Oct. 1 on the topic, "Web 2.0=AOL 1.0? How the Forces of Darkness are conspiring in Smoke-Filled Rooms to Break the Internet---And You're Not Invited." The author's one-hour presentation begins at 1:35 p.m. in Hatfield Hall.

"Digital File-Sharing: P2P's Challenge to the Law" is the subject of a presentation Oct. 2 by Nesson. His presentation at 9 a.m. takes place in Hatfield Hall. At the Berkman Center, he works to explore and understand cyberspace, its development, dynamics, norms, standards, and need or lack thereof for laws and sanctions. Nesson is also the William F. Weld Professor of Law at the Harvard Law School. He served as associate dean of the law school until 1982.

There is a registration fee to participate in the conference, however, the public can attend the opening keynote addresses Sept. 30, Oct. 1 and 2, and the Paustenbach Lecture at 5:15 p.m. on Oct. 1 at no cost. The fee to attend the entire conference is $250 for adults and $75 for non-Rose-Hulman students. There is a one-day charge of $100 for adults to attend on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1. The fee to attend the half-day session on Oct. 2 is $50. The daily rate for non-Rose-Hulman students is $25.

The conference is co-sponsored by the Rose-Hulman departments of humanities and social sciences, and computer science and software engineering. It is also supported by the Paustenbach Lecture Series, the Elsie Pawley Fund, SEP Inc., and Reba Weaver. Co-directors of the conference are Mark Ardis, professor of computer science and software engineering; and William Pickett, professor of history.

Further information about the conference can be obtained at the following Web site, www@10.cs.rose-hulman.edu

Source: Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology