Tech Vista 2008

TechVista, Microsoft Research (MSR) India's annual research symposium, features some of the best recognized scientists from across the world as speakers. TechVista brings together the research community, academia and government onto a common platform. Previous editions of TechVista include Turing award winners Dr. Butler Lampson, Dr. Raj Reddy and Sir Tony Hoare, and technical Academy award winners Dr. Ken Perlin and Dr. Michael Kass, in addition to world renowned scientists like Prof. Maria Klawe, Prof. Takeo Kanade and well known Indian scientists like Prof. Ashok Jhunjhunwala.

TechVista 2008 will be held at Chennai, at the Chennai Convention Centre, on October 1, 2008.

The speakers at TechVista 2008 include:

• Prof. John Hopcroft, IBM Professor of Engineering and Applied Mathematics in Computer Science at Cornell University. Prof. Hopcroft has also been honored with the A.M. Turing Award.
  

Talk title: Computer Science in the Future. Abstract

• Prof. Shafi Goldwasser, RSA Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and of computer science and applied mathematics at Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel. Prof. Goldwasser has twice won the Gödel Prize, first in 1993, and again in 2001.
  

Talk title: Program Obfuscation and One-Time Programs. Abstract

• Prof. Shree Nayar, T. C. Chang Chaired Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Columbia University. He was elected to the National Academy of Engineering, the National Academies, Washington DC in 2008, and received the NTT Distinguished Scientific Achievement Award from the NTT Basic Research Laboratory, Japan, in 1994.
  

Talk title: Computational Cameras: Redefining the Image. Abstract

• Dr. Rick Rashid, Senior Vice President, Microsoft Research. Dr. Rashid was presented with the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Emanuel R. Piore Award in 2008. He was inducted into the National Academy of Engineering and the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in 2003 and 2008 respectively.
  

Talk title: Making an Impact, Microsoft Research. Abstract

• Dr. Rick Szeliski, Group Lead, Interactive Visual Media Group, Microsoft Research. He was elected an IEEE fellow in 2004.
  

Talk title: Weaving the World's Photos. Abstract

• Dr. Vijay Chandru, Chairman, Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, Strand Life Sciences. He is an academic turned entrepreneur. A co-founder of Strand Life Sciences, a leading in silico life sciences company, he currently serves as Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of the company. He also co-founded the Association of Biotech led Enterprises (ABLE) and continues to serve as an executive council member. Dr. Chandru is the recipient of several awards and honors.
  

Talk title: Computational Biology and Vice Versa. Abstract

TechVista highlights the impact research has had in various fields and demonstrates the benefits and rewards of taking up research as a career, in addition to bringing the latest developments in various research areas to the audience through the speakers. TechVista has rapidly grown from an audience of 250 people in 2005 to more than 800 participants in the New Delhi 2007 edition, a testament to the value participants see in the symposium.

In addition to globally recognized speakers, TechVista also features an exhibition/ poster session where it showcases the best projects from computer sciences and electrical engineering by PhD students from India's leading technical institutions.