Selected News Coverage

SRI International is featured in many press articles and broadcast news segments. The following is a sampling of our news coverage, arranged chronologically. Links are given where available.

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|2010|

Reuters, Dec. 23, 2010
Can a 'Global Thermostat' Turn Climate Change Around?

This article reports that Global Thermostat is a startup company that aims to address the threat of climate change by capturing carbon dioxide from the air, and then making productive use of it. According to the article, the CO2 could be used to help plants grow faster in greenhouses, as a feedstock for algae, for enhanced oil production, as an ingredient in bottling plants, as a natural refrigerant, or as a circulating fluid in a geothermal energy installation. “There are several reasons to take Global Thermostat seriously. First, it's more than an idea–to test the idea, the company opened a pilot plant in October at SRI International in Menlo Park, CA. SRI is a big research institute, which works for governments, FORTUNE 500 companies and startups. Second, its founders — Graciela Chichilnisky and Peter Eisenberger — have impressive pedigrees.”

JMU, Dec. 14, 2010
JMU Senior Researches Deadly Disease With Leading Research Firm SRI

This article reports that senior biology major Tina Safavie has been fascinated by viruses since her sophomore year of high school, when she attended a presentation on the topic. According to the article, “this summer the JMU student got some hands-on experience working with a little-known tropical virus at one of the premier biotech companies in the world: SRI International.” Safavie first learned of dengue — and the internship offered by SRI — in a global infectious diseases class taught by assistant professors Chris Lantz and Amanda Biesecker. Lantz has worked directly with SRI since the 2007 opening of its Center for Advanced Drug Research (CADRE). Dengue fever (DHF), which is now endemic in more than 100 countries, qualifies as a major disease. Which gives some urgency to the project at SRI. The goal is to create an effective anti-virus, and ideally, a vaccine that prevents the transmission of dengue. Dr. Krishna Kodukula, director of CADRE and leader of the dengue project at SRI is quoted.

JMU, Dec. 14, 2010
JMU, SRI Formalize Partnership

This article reports that “a partnership that began more than four years ago when James Madison University helped woo SRI International to the Shenandoah Valley will continue to benefit both institutions for years to come.” According to the article, the university and SRI recently signed a memorandum of agreement that, among other things, will provide JMU faculty and students research opportunities at SRI while affording SRI employees access to university labs and other resources. The agreement states that the pact will provide for the mutual exchange of services and expertise allowing both organizations to advance their missions. It also states that the partnership will develop a skilled workforce for SRI and the Shenandoah Valley.

St. Petersburg Times, Dec. 3, 2010
Countryside High May Get Program Focusing on Cyber Security

This article reports that plans for a new, cutting edge technology program at Countryside High School are taking shape. According to the article, “the high school, which doesn't have an attractor now, may soon have a magnet with a study path tailored to the burgeoning field of cyber security. The details of the program, called the Institute for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, or ISTEM, are a work in progress. But, according to the latest draft of proposed offerings, ISTEM also would include study paths for database programming and digital video production. Just two months ago, the Science Center of Pinellas County teamed up with Raytheon, SRI International and St. Petersburg College to kick off a cyber security education program.”

Examiner: Dec. 2, 2010
SRI International Survey: Post-High School Outcomes-Students with Disabilities

This article reports that SRI International recently released a study which found that students with disabilities are attending college in greater numbers and are more concerned with their communities than previous generations. According to the article, the study focused on graduates from 1990 through 2005 and was released through the US Department of Education’s National Center for Special Education Research. “The study looked at areas such as postsecondary education enrollment, community involvement, employment status and financial independence. The disabilities that were examined include speech impairment, language impairment, hearing impairment, orthopedic impairment, learning disabilities, mental retardation, emotional disturbances and autism.”

Florida Trend: Dec. 2010
Weapons of Math Instruction (PDF available — email press@sri.com if interested)

This article reports that “effort now under way in Florida that could become a game-changer, at least in the area of teaching algebra.” According to the article, in 2007, SRI opened a facility in St. Petersburg, Florida. In the process, connections were made between local officials, particularly the mayor at the time, Rick Baker, and SRI’s overall research efforts, which include education. SRI researchers identified a number of essential concepts in algebra and developed a teaching strategy that integrates technology, teaching materials and teacher training. The SRI-Florida connection led to the introduction of the SunBay Digital Math program in Pinellas County.

With funding from SRI, the Helios Foundation, the Pinellas County Education Foundation and Progress Energy, the program had been extended for a second year, and educators are working on the second of eight instructional units.

National Defense, Dec. 2010
Marines Field New ‘Smart’ Video System for Urban Combat Exercises

This article reports that the Marine Corps is now deploying “intelligent” video systems that will be used at urban combat training facilities. “Successfully commercialized by L-3 GS&ES, the originating technologies were developed by Sarnoff Corporation under the Office of Naval Research (ONR) sponsorship in the early 2000s,” according to the article.

Education Week, Nov. 30, 2010
More Students with Disabilities Attending College, Volunteering

This article reports that the latest report from a longitudinal study of students with disabilities shows that these youth are attending college and participating in community and volunteer activities in far greater percentages than they were 15 years ago. According to the article, SRI International, compared outcomes using two long-term studies of youth with disabilities.

San Francisco Chronicle, Nov. 28, 2010
SRI Researchers Work on Wall-Climbing Robots

This article reports that Harsha Prahlad, “senior research engineer at SRI International, leads development efforts at the famed research institute focused on electroadhesion, a proprietary technology harnessing the same phenomenon that makes hair-rubbed balloons cling to surfaces for more practical purposes.” According to the article, SRI has been working on electroadhesion for several years, but the technology is finally reaching the point where it's ready for practical uses. “Several government agencies recently awarded the firm its first contract for an electroadhesion application. SRI says that electroadhesion, for which it has earned several patents and is awaiting determinations on several more, represents one of the best all-around solutions: It's relatively cheap, requires little power, and works on dusty, smooth and rough surfaces.”

Third Factor, Nov. 24, 2010
Reducing Lines with Positive ID Goal of 'Iris on the Move'

This video interview with Mark A. Clifton, acting president and CEO of Sarnoff Corporation, explains how the company’s history (dating back to RCA Research Labs) and the experience with video has helped it to build an iris recognition system, known as Iris on the Move, that works well at a distance. “In the past you almost had to press your eye up against the camera to get an iris identification, and now that is no longer the requirement,” said Clifton. “We can capture it at a distance anywhere from one meter to three meters while you’re moving around.”

CBS News, Nov. 2010
Rocket Loaded With Solar Sail and Satellites Blasts Off From Alaska

This news story reports that a rocket carrying seven different satellites, including one that will attempt to deploy a small solar sail into orbit, successfully blasted off from an island in Alaska on Friday night, Nov. 19. According to the article, the Minotaur 4 rocket launched from the Alaska Aerospace Corporation's Kodiak Launch Complex. The rocket's many different payloads will attempt to demonstrate several new space technologies, including novel command and control frameworks and satellite propulsion systems - all while keeping costs down. “The Radio Aurora Explorer, or RAX, is a 6-pound (2.8-kg) nanosatellite. It's a joint effort of the University of Michigan and SRI International, and it's sponsored by the U.S. National Science Foundation.”

Post Chronicle, Oct. 29, 2010
Strange & Interesting News
This article reports that on Oct. 29, 1969, the first connection on what would become the Internet was made when bits of data flowed between computers at UCLA and the Stanford Research Institute. According to the article, this was the beginning of ARPANET, the forerunner to the Internet developed by the Department of Defense.

CNET, Oct. 26, 2010
At SRI, Developing an Expertise in R&D, Innovation
This describes SRI as a "Silicon Valley research and development--and incubation--powerhouse" and explains SRI's history of innovations. "SRI has been leveraging high-tech R&D into start-ups for years." Included in the article are photos and descriptions of SRI projects in robotics, education, drug development, speech translation, and medical devices. The article also mentions SRI spin-offs Siri and Intuitive Surgical, and SRI’s innovation process and workshops.

ZDNet Asia , Oct. 26, 2010
BLADE: Can it Stop Drive-By Malware?
This reports that BLADE (BLock All Drive-by download Exploits), the brainchild of researchers from College of Computing at Georgia Institute of Technology and SRI International, is positioned to help stem the tide of drive-by malware. According to the article, this is big deal according to Dasient.com, the company is tracking over 200 thousand different Web-based malware threats. BLADE is a browser-independent operating system designed to prevent unauthorized content execution.

eSchool News, Oct. 22, 2010
The Computer Ate My Teacher! Technology and the Face of Today's Classroom
This article reports that the explosion of technology and social media has made it second nature for students of all ages to stay connected at all times. According to the article, with this shift in mentality, many education institutions are being challenged to expand their online learning portfolio by integrating social media or leveraging digital resources. "In fact, a recent study on online education, conducted by SRI International for the U.S. Department of Education, reported that students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction."

MedCompare, Oct. 22, 2010
Telementoring May Address Need for Surgical Subspecialty Expertise in Remote Locations
This press release reports that telementoring may be an effective way for subspecialist surgeons to assist remotely located general surgeons in the care of patients in need of emergency subspecialty surgical procedures, according to new research findings published in the September issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons. In the study, eight general surgery residents with no formal subspecialty training participated in three mock operations using animal cadavers intended to simulate live procedures. When telementored, the residents achieved higher overall mean performance scores. The study was conducted as a Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center-funded collaboration between the U.S. Army, the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Hospital Department of Surgery, the University of California, San Francisco, the San Francisco Veterans Affairs Hospital, and SRI International.

News Chief, Oct. 19, 2010CFCD Industry Cluster Study Selected for Bright Ideas Award by Harvard This article reports that the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University has selected the Central Florida Development Council's (CFDC) innovative regional industry cluster study performed by SRI International as one of its national Bright Ideas awards. According to the article, the Bright Ideas award is designed to recognize and share creative government initiatives throughout the country with interested public sector, nonprofit and academic communities. The CFDC requested that SRI International tap into the strengths, trends and special demographics sets of three over-lapping regional planning organizations to design its study for Polk County. In providing its strategy, SRI International incorporated data from two contiguous, smaller population counties (Hardee and Highlands) and two nearby metro counties, Hillsborough (Tampa) and Orange (Orlando).  

Security Products, Oct. 19, 2010Sarnoff, ePortation Demonstrate Iris Identity Verification System This article reports that the Sarnoff Corporation and ePortation recently announced the new Glance iris recognition system for high-speed biometric identification at ports and other critical infrastructure. According to the article, using Sarnoff’s proven iris image capture system that quickly images the iris of a person in motion and at a distance, the system offers high-speed and highly accurate identity verification even in outdoor climates. While other iris scanning technologies require users to stop or closely stare into a scanner, Sarnoff’s technology works differently. It verifies identities in seconds, at an arm’s length distance, allowing quick and easy access.  

IEEE Spectrum, Oct. 18, 2010DARPA Seeking to Revolutionize Robotic Manipulation This article reports that the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) recently unveiled an ambitious program to significantly advance robotic manipulation. According to the article, the four-year Autonomous Robotic Manipulation, or ARM, program aims at developing both software and hardware that would enable robots to autonomously perform complex tasks with humans providing only high-level direction. There are three major tracks: software, hardware, and an outreach track. According to the article, SRI has been selected to develop both hardware and software for a robotic hand.  

San Francisco Chronicle, Oct. 18, 2010Search Engines Learning to Anticipate User's Needs This article reports on developments in search engine technology. SRI spin-off Siri is described in the article, which notes that SRI continues to work on virtual personal assistants that address short comings in search engines. "With most of the systems right now, we express it piece by piece. It's up to us, in our head, to make sure the pieces all flow together and at the end combine to meet our intent," said Bill Mark, vice president of information and computing sciences at SRI. "We're moving to a world where the technology does a better job of understanding higher level intent and completes the entire task for us."  

The New York Times, Oct. 17, 2010Going Long Liberty in China This column says that one of the most intriguing political science questions in the world today is: Can China continue to prosper, while censoring the Internet, controlling its news media and insisting on a monopoly of political power by the Chinese Communist Party? A featured quote in the article is from Curt Carlson, president and CEO of SRI International, stating that “Today’s knowledge industries are all being built on social networks that enable open collaboration, the free sharing of ideas and the formation of productive relationships — both within companies and around the globe. The logic is that all of us are smarter than one of us, and the unique feature of today’s flat world is that you can actually tap the brains and skills of all of us, or at least more people in more places. Companies and countries that enable that will thrive more than those that don’t.”  

Tampa Bay Business Journal, Oct. 8, 2010
Judges Determine the Up & Comers
This article reports that 55 honorees for the Tampa Bay Business Journal’s 2010 Up & Comers Awards have been named. One of this year’s honorees is Alan Suskey from SRI International, St. Petersburg. According to the article, an awards event will celebrate the accomplishments of rising professionals throughout the Tampa Bay area. 

Computer World: Oct. 7, 2010
Security Concerns Prompt D.C. to Suspend Web-based Overseas Voting
This article reports that security issues have prompted election officials in the District of Columbia to suspend a service that aimed to allow overseas voters to cast their ballots via the Web in the November elections. According to the article, details of the flaws were not immediately available. However, one of them, discovered by a researcher at the University of Michigan, was so serious that it allowed the researcher to take complete control of the system hosting the Web application and tweak it so users who voted would hear a rendition of "Hail to the Victors," a University of Michigan fight song, said one observer of the tests. Jeremy Epstein, a senior computer scientist at SRI International and one of those who have reviewed the design of the system, said recently that he is familiar with the testing conducted last week by University of Michigan researchers. “While he would not comment on the specifics of the testing, he said that one of the flaws allowed a researcher to take over the system and modify it so it would play the fight song.” The tests confirmed long-standing concerns about the vulnerability of Web based voting systems to issues such as denial-of-service attacks, Web redirection attacks and client-side attacks, designed to manipulate the manner in which ballots are marked, he said. Epstein was one of several signatories to a letter sent to a D.C. council member last month expressing concern over the use of the Web system for returning marked ballots. The letter noted concern over the fact that the system had never been tested before, or certified for use by any agency. 

Security Products: Oct. 7, 2010
BLADE Software Eliminates 'Drive-By Downloads' From Malicious Websites
This article reports that “insecure Web browsers and the growing number of complex applets and browser plug-in applications are allowing malicious software to spread faster than ever on the Internet.” According to the article, some websites are installing malicious code, such as spyware, on computers without the user’s knowledge or consent. A new tool that eliminates drive-by download threats has been developed by researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology and SRI International. BLADE -- short for Block All Drive-By Download Exploits -- is browser-independent and designed to eliminate all drive-by malware installation threats. Details about BLADE were presented at the Association for Computing Machinery’s Conference on Computer and Communications Security. The BLADE development team includes Lee, Georgia Tech graduate student Long Lu, and Vinod Yegneswaran and Phillip Porras from SRI International. Funding for the BLADE tool was provided by the National Science Foundation, U.S. Army Research Office and U.S. Office of Naval Research. 

The New York Times: Oct. 2, 2010
Third Party Rising
In this column about current political and economic conditions in the U.S., Thomas L. Friedman writes that he’s “just spent a week in Silicon Valley, talking with technologists from Apple, Twitter, LinkedIn, Intel, Cisco and SRI and can definitively report that this region has not lost its “inner go.” But in talks here and elsewhere I continue to be astounded by the level of disgust with Washington, D.C., and our two-party system — so much so that I am ready to hazard a prediction: Barring a transformation of the Democratic and Republican Parties, there is going to be a serious third party candidate in 2012, with a serious political movement behind him or her — one definitely big enough to impact the election’s outcome.” 

CTV News: Oct. 2010
Future Energy Use Answers Can Be Found in a Cubic Mile of Oil
This article reviews A Cubic Mile of Oil: Realities and Options for Averting the Looming Global Energy Crisis,” and calls the book  “an original, illuminating and entertaining way to experience the energy debate.”  The book was written by three SRI International scientists, bioengineer Hewitt Crane, energy technologist Edwin Kinderman and organic chemist Ripudaman Malhotra. It explains how one cubic mile of oil (CMO) equals the oil that the world consumes every year and three CMOs equal the energy that the world consumes every year.  The article notes that Hewitt Crane died shortly before publication of the book. “It was he who devised the concept of the CMO, as he sat in a gas pump lineup during the energy crisis of 1974.”  

Signal: Oct. 2010
Processing Goes Portable
This article reports that the Sarnoff Corporation has developed a product called Acadia II. According to the article, this system-on-a-chip solves the problem of getting information into the hands of commanders quickly. It performs real-time contrast enhancement and stabilization, multisensor fusion and tracking on a single chip that is slightly larger than a postage stamp and smaller than a Saltine cracker. Another alternative to timely data processing is the company’s solution called Terrasight, which enables control processing from the base station where the commander can prioritize information and send different data to different people in different ways, he adds. This product enables sensor information from the air and ground to be incorporated into a common operational picture in real time. Sarnoff’s Mike Piacentino, technical director of vision systems, and Jon Bradburn, senior director of business development, are quoted in the article.

Source Security, October 1
ASIS Recognizes Security Industry’s Most Innovative Surveillance Solutions
This announcement reports that ASIS International, the pre-eminent organization for security professionals worldwide, has selected its 2010 ASIS Accolades winners. The Sarnoff Corporation was selected as one of this year’s winners for VerifIR, which enables real-time surveillance of crowds in unstructured environments without a need for subject cooperation or knowledge. VerifIR delivers these capabilities in a mobile, portable format that is affordable and easy-to-use. Sarnoff Corporation, a leader in vision, video, and semiconductor innovations, to be fully integrated into SRI effective January 1, 2011, exhibited.

Design News, September 27
Robotic Surgical System Overcomes Manual Limitations
This article reports the da Vinci system is based on foundational robotic surgery technology developed at SRI (formerly known as Stanford Research Institute). According to the article, Intuitive Surgical later formed relationships with IBM, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Heartport Inc. to further develop the system. The FDA cleared the da Vinci for a range of general, thoracic, urological, gynecological, head and neck, and cardiac procedures in both adults and children.

El Mercurio, September 23
Fontaine: "The Goal of Creating 100,000 New Projects is in Force"
This article in a Chilean daily newspaper discusses Chilean Minister of Economics Juan Andrés Fontaine's visit to Silicon Valley. According to the article, Fontaine is focusing his portfolio on innovation and entrepreneurship. The article reports that the Chilean Ministry of Economics and SRI International signed an agreement that aims to identify the areas in which Chile has strengths over other countries. The article reports that Curtis Carlson, Ph.D., president and CEO of SRI, advised that it's important to think globally, do collaborative work, have a regulatory framework that creates incentives for innovation, and identify market needs.

Florida Trend, September 21
Entrepreneurial Environment
This article lists the top ten reasons to do business in Florida, and number four on the list is the entrepreneurial environment. According to the article, at the Florida Institute for Commercialization of Public Research in Boca Raton, a collaborative effort of university tech transfer offices statewide, venture capitalists and entrepreneurs looking for investment opportunities can find information about Florida's newest innovations, as well as business plans for startup companies seeking venture capital support. Founded in 2007 to promote research at Florida's public universities, the institute's scope has since been expanded to other non-profit research institutions, including SRI International, H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center & Research Institute, Kennedy Space Center, Scripps Florida, the University of Miami, the National Center of Excellence for Simulation and Training, and others.

Bio Photonics, September 2010
Inexpensive "Dipstick” Tests for Diseases
This article reports that scientists from the Center for Infectious Diseases at SRI International are "developing a simple test for some parasitic diseases that could help poorer parts of the world combat the infections and poverty they engender." According to the article, the new test uses UV light to highlight a particular dye that has been found to act as a biomarker for all these parasitic diseases, such as sleeping sickness, Chagas disease, and leishmaniasis. Ellen Beaulieu, postdoctoral fellow at SRI, is quoted in the article.

Administrative Professional Today, October 2010
Adding Value, No Matter Where You Sit
This article reports that Eileen Behr, administrative assistant at SRI International, recently won the 2010 Office Team Administrative Excellence Award. According to the article, one of Behr's colleagues described her as being an effective communicator and workflow manager, being willing to take on any task, solving problems before they occur and having technological prowess. Behr is quoted in the article.

URL: Not available, please email press@sri.com if interested.

MadduxPress, September 16
Communities Come Together to Address Future Jobs
This article reports that earlier this year, the Tampa Bay Partnership and the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council were awarded a $540,000 grant from the Economic Development Administration (EDA) to begin work on the "Discovery Phase" of a targeted industry cluster study and a workforce skills gap study. According to the article, SRI International's Center for Science, Technology and Economic Development was selected and has begun the research to ascertain the region's future value-added industries and appropriate workforce skills necessary to sustain these industries. As part of the research phase, SRI has conducted an initial Industry Cluster Analysis of the Tampa Bay Region based upon existing data on current industries. SRI is completing in-field interviews with over 100 industry and workforce leaders throughout the region to get insights and input on the data from people in the field who work in these industries every day. Following the field interviews, next steps by SRI will include market trends analysis, innovation systems analysis and case studies of key competitor cities. SRI's industry cluster analysis will be completed by December 2010 and the workforce assessment completed by March 2011.

Op-Ed News.com, September 15
Californians Say Science Education Should be a Priority for Schools
This article reports that Californians believe that science education should be a priority for the state's schools and want it to be taught early and more often, according to new public opinion research released today by the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning and its partners in the Strengthening Science Education in California Initiative. According to the article, to strengthen science education, the public wants schools to have the labs and equipment they need, strongly supports providing teachers with specialized training and wants schools to spend more time teaching science. The report, A Priority for California's Future: Science for Students, is based on a telephone survey of 1004 adults in California, including cell phone and Spanish language interviews. The report was conducted as a part of Strengthening Science Education in California, a new initiative that brings together educators, researchers, and others to examine the status of science teaching and learning, and to develop recommendations for improving science education throughout the state. Partners in this initiative include the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning, the University of California, Berkeley's Lawrence Hall of Science, SRI International, Belden Russonello & Stewart, Stone's Throw Communications and Inverness Research Associates.

San Francisco Business Times, September 13
SRI to Test NASA Online Game
This article reports that SRI International will test a NASA online game meant to attract students to careers in science. According to the article, NASA will pay SRI to evaluate the effectiveness of "Astronaut: Moon, Mars, and Beyond," a multiplayer game set in 2035" where participants control avatars that traverse space, and other-worldly landscapes such as Mars, the asteroid belt, and moons of Jupiter or Saturn." Marianne Bakia, a senior policy analyst at SRI, said teaching games like this can be effective at reaching kids today, because they spend a lot of time playing games. SRI will try to improve the teaching value of the game and give advice on making future games better.

WVU Alumni Magazine, September 2010
WVU on the Hill
This article reports that West Virginia University (WVU) has produced some of the most influential people in the nation's capital, but that influence hasn't resided only within the city limits. According to the article, much of it drifts right back to West Virginia, in the form of innovation and education. Few understand the process better than Ellen Schiller, manager of disability policy in the Center for Education and Human Services at SRI International. Schiller, a graduate of WVU, conducts national studies that help to improve academic outcomes for students in the margins. At SRI, she now as the task of observing education programs and interpreting educational data. Her studies end up in the hands of policy makers who set the standards in special education classrooms across the country, including the ones in WV where Schiller used to teach.

Federal News Radio, September 8
Commerce's Locke Promises Changes
This news story reports that Commerce Department Secretary Gary Locke is promising major changes in his agency as part of the major initiatives the Obama administration is taking to accelerate innovation and entrepreneurship in the private sector. "The country's innovation engine is not as efficient as it needs to be," Locke said recently at the first meeting of the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship at the Commerce Department. "We all have to do a better job, and that is why we formed the council. You are our advisors. The competitive advantage we as a country once had is being matched by others around the world. We just have to look how other governments are putting power behind companies to compete," said Locke. According to the article, council members are from an assortment of areas - universities such as the University of North Carolina and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, R&D companies such as SRI international, venture capitalists, consultants and owners of companies such as Robyn Chase, who founded Zipcar.

Medical News Today, September 8
Penn Receives NIH Grant For Personalized Smoking Cessation Research
This article reports that a variety of smoking cessation treatments are currently available for the more than 18 million Americans who try to quit smoking each year, but success rates vary widely. According to the article, despite the importance of quitting smoking, more personalized approaches to smoking cessation treatment are needed to help smokers pick the right method that will work best for them. A major new personalized medicine clinical trial, led by addiction researchers at the University of Pennsylvania, will study how a smokers' genetic make-up influences their quitting success. The trial is co-led by Dr. Rachel Tyndale at the University of Toronto and includes the University of California, San Francisco, MD Anderson Cancer Center, SRI International, University of Southern California, and the State University of New York at Buffalo. The grant is supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, and the National Human Genome Research Institute as part of the Pharmacogenetics Research Network (PGRN) Initiative.

KGO-TV, September 7
Changing the Future of Health Care for Infants
This broadcast news story reports that Stanford doctors and SRI International engineers are teaming up to change the future of health care for infants. According to the story, they are working on the tools that cater to pediatric surgery because the medical device industry does not often make the investments needed to make those tools to operate on children. "Dr. Sanjeev Dutta is a pediatric surgeon at Stanford's Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. Pablo Garcia is an accomplished engineer at SRI International in Menlo Park. Together the two men share one goal: develop desperately needed surgical instruments to use on the tiniest of patients. It is a niche market that is widely ignored by big companies." According to the story, SRI is working on a patented product that will allow Dutta and his colleagues around the world to reach the point of surgery through the mouth.

San Jose Silicon Valley Business Journal, September 6
China Investment Veteran Spots Next Sunrise
This article reports that Ta-lin Hsu, founder and chairman of private equity firm H&Q Asia Pacific, attributes the company's $2.7 billion presence overseas to connections he made as an adviser to the Taiwanese government while working at IBM during the early 1970s to mid-1980s. According to the article, during this time, a group of scientists and engineers from Bell Laboratories, Hewlett-Packard Co. and IBM, which included Hsu, provided the Taiwanese government with the help needed to set up the country's high-tech industry. "Taiwan wanted to emulate Silicon Valley, and set up two universities — National Tsing Hua University and National Chiao Tung University — next to Hsinchu Science Park. The government also established Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) to emulate SRI International, the Stanford University research offshoot."

Education Week, September 3
Study Links Tech to Algebra Achievement
This article reports a summary of findings from a four-year study recently released, which concludes that Algebra I teachers who were trained in, and used, a program that allowed them to monitor students' progress on graphing calculators led to significantly improved achievement by their students on a researcher-designed test. According to the article, the study, which is part of Ohio State's Classroom Connectivity in Mathematics and Science research project, illustrates a direct link between the implementation of classroom technology and professional development with academic achievement. The research, conducted from 2005 to 2009, was funded by the Institute of Education Sciences and the U.S. Department of Education. Jeremy Roschelle, the director for the Center for Technology in Learning at SRI International, and a consultant on the study, is quoted in the article.

Xconomy, September 2
U.S. Innovation and Entrepreneurship Council Quietly Holds First Meeting in D.C., Starting with Steve Case Hosted Dinner
This article reports that "it's a big day for U.S. innovation strategy." According to the article, the National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship is holding its first meeting at the Department of Commerce in Washington, D.C. Curt Carlson, president and CEO of SRI International, is part of the selected group of 26 national leaders in business, technology, and academia charged with helping the Obama administration "develop a broader strategy to spur innovation and enable entrepreneurs to develop breakthrough technologies and dynamic companies, and to create jobs all across America." Carlson is quoted in the article.

The New York Times, September 1
To Win Over Users, Gadgets Have to Be Touchable
This article reports that scientists and academics who study how we interact with technology say touching screens has seeped into people's day-to-day existence more quickly and completely than other technological behaviors because it is so natural, intimate, and intuitive. According to the article, device makers in a post-iPhone world are focused on fingertips, with touch at the core of the newest wave of computer design, known as natural user interface. "Though scientists have been working on natural user interface, Apple made touching, swiping, and flicking at screens mainstream, said Harsha Prahlad, Ph.D., a research engineer who works with robots and sensors at SRI International. "All of the technologies existed, but by bringing it together in a seamless fashion, the iPhone had a lot to do with it," Prahlad said.

Green Soil Tech, August 31
Will Biofuels Go Mainstream?
This article reports that cheap, plentiful biofuels could ameliorate a host of global problems, such as carbon emissions, trade imbalances, and the need for agricultural employment in rural areas of the country and in emerging nations. "The world consumes the equivalent of 1.06 cubic miles of oil globally a year, according to A Cubic Mile of Oil, the new book by Hew Crane, Ed Kinderman and Ripu Malhotra at SRI International. That's close to 1.1 trillion gallons a year, or more than enough to fill 1,500 sports stadiums."

NPR, August 31
Google Unveils System for Prioritizing E-Mail
This NPR news story reports that Google is releasing a feature for its Gmail service that will help set priorities for your inbox and ease up that sense of information overload. The new Google system sorts through all of your messages and files the important ones in a separate priority inbox. According to the article, "the question is, how can you develop technology that gets around the human tendency to waste time? Michael Freed, Ph.D., program director at SRI International is working on an answer. Freed explains how he wants your inbox to actually do tasks for you."

ASBMB Today, August 2010
From Aha! To Entrepreneur
This article is about the founders of Omniox, a company created to commercialize novel oxygen delivery technology based on their research at Berkeley. One of the founders, Stephen Cary, said, "Though we were four co-inventors, I was the lone entrepreneur." According to the article, Cary shifted his focus from science to the intricacies of starting a business. "With the support from UC Berkeley's Office of Technology Licensing and SRI International (whose PharmaSTART program helps academic researchers advance promising compounds past the discovery phase), Cary began to gain an understanding of, as he calls it, the "landscape of drug development." URL: Not available; Please email press@sri.com for a PDF of the article if interested.

Aviation Week, August 24
DARPA Asks: Why Can't a Robot Be More Like a Man?
This article reports that the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is looking for ideas on ways to develop highly autonomous robots that can perform dangerous and complicated tasks, from manning a vehicle checkpoint to firing a mortar with limited human control. According to the article, the project, known as the Autonomous Robotics Manipulation (ARM) program, seeks software and hardware that will improve the ability of robots' hands to grasp and manipulate objects and perform complicated tasks. DARPA selected six teams to research improving robots' hand-coordination: the University of Southern California, HRL Laboratories, NASA-Joint Propulsion Lab, iRobot, Carnegie Mellon University, and SRI International.

Dance with Shadows, August 24
Once-a-Day Tablet TAS-108 for Resistant Breast Cancer on Way
This article reports that TAS-108, a new one-a-day tablet to treat drug resistant breast cancer, will soon go on pivotal studies on patients. According to the article, TAS-108 is an oral steroidal anti-estrogen drug developed by SRI International through collaborative programs. The drug is touted to be more effective and safer than the currently used breast cancer agents like tamoxifen and aromatase inhibitors class of drugs. SRI will now take TAS-108 for further clinical development in cooperation with Taiho Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd., a leading Japanese pharmaceutical company.

Read Write Web, August 24
Consumer Info Overload - Meet the US Navy's Relevance Technology
This article reports that Apple acquired the military-technology spin-off, mobile personal assistant app called Siri this Spring, but Siri isn't the only consumer startup cut from the cloth of the $200 million DARPA investment in an artificial intelligence project called CALO. According to the article, the "next SRI/CALO app" to launch may be TrapIt, a news feed reading and recommendation service designed to act as a "cognitive prosthetic" to "adapt to unexpected events" in situations of "intense information overload". The spin-off company has lots of high-profile backing, including Li Ka-shing, who previously invested in Facebook, Spotify and Siri. TrapIt will launch later this year or in early 2011.

Defense Aerospace, August 19
DARPA Unveils New Robotics Program
This article reports that DARPA's Autonomous Robotic Manipulation (ARM) program, envisions robots with a high degree of autonomy requiring only high-level supervision by an operator. According to the article, the goal of the four-year ARM program is to develop software and hardware that enables a robot to autonomously grasp and manipulate to perform complicated tasks with a human providing only high-level direction. Three research teams are participating in the hardware track of this program: iRobot, Sandia National Laboratories, and SRI International are developing designs for a new multi-finger hand with an emphasis on robust design and low cost. Six teams working in the software track will develop software that enables the robot to perform several tasks. Software researchers include Carnegie Mellon University, HRL Laboratories, iRobot, NASA-Jet Propulsion Laboratory, SRI International, and University of Southern California.

Xconomy, August 19
Nonprofits and the Valley of Death in Drug Discovery
In this article, Walter H. Moos, vice president of SRI's Biosciences Division, discusses the important role of nonprofit organizations in transforming the way drugs are developed and brought to market. Nonprofits such as SRI are helping to broaden the scope of research and develop effective drugs that will have a real impact on human health and diseases. Moos explains how SRI is trying to provide pragmatic solutions to advance the drug discovery process.

The New York Times, August 16
Step 1: Post Elusive Proof. Step 2: Watch Fireworks.
This article reports that the potential of Internet-based collaboration was vividly demonstrated this month when complexity theorists used blogs and wikis to pounce on a claimed proof for one of the most profound and difficult problems facing mathematicians and computer scientists. According to the article, the computer science community has long been an innovator in the design of science-collaboration tools. "Indeed, the ARPAnet, the forerunner of the Internet, was initially created in 1969 to make one of the first computerized collaboration tools, Douglas Engelbart's oNLine System, or NLS, available from remote locations. During the 1980s physicists at the physics research center CERN near Geneva created the World Wide Web to facilitate the sharing of scientific research."

Silicon Valley San Jose Business Journal, August 13
Pediatric Doctor Works to Fill Void in Children's Surgical Devices
Excerpt of full article:

"One of the most common pediatric surgeries is hernia repair. And one of the most common instruments used in that surgery is a kitchen spoon. The kitchen spoon is a "garage technology" kind of solution, and an elegant one at that, said Lucile Packard Children's Hospital surgeon Dr. Sanjeev Dutta. The reason surgeons throughout the years have turned to the spoon is because the proper instrument simply doesn't exist. It's a problem that Dutta, along with colleagues at Menlo Park-based SRI International and two other hospitals, are taking on. If the outcome of their efforts is successful, a new generation of surgical instruments could be produced."

Los Altos Town Crier, August 10
Summer Fellowships Inspire Local Teachers to Raise Student Interest in Math and Science
This article reports that when Blach Junior High School science teacher Lorena Rolland prepares lesson plans, she strives to find new ways to engage her seventh- and eighth-graders in the subject. According to the article, Rolland believes her experiences this summer working at Menlo Park-based SRI International will make that task easier. Rolland's project, finding a cure for Alzheimer's disease under the direction of SRI International, involved testing the effectiveness of specified chemical reactions in treating the disease. SRI sponsored Rolland's fellowship through Industry Initiatives for Science and Math Education (IISME), a professional development program for teachers established in 1985 to address the critical need for a skilled work force in science and engineering.

Scobleizer.com, August 10
The Story Behind the 2010 Startup Success: Siri (Why It's So Important to Apple's Future)
This video interview includes a discussion regarding the success of Siri, an SRI International spin-off company that was recently acquired by Apple. In this video interview Robert Scoble interviews Norman Winarsky, vice president of ventures, licensing & strategic programs at SRI, Gary Morgenthaler, general partner of Morganthaler Ventures, and Shawn Carolan, managing director of Menlo Ventures.

Forbes.com, August 9
Our Energy Challenge, in Cubic Miles of Oil
This opinion article was written by Curtis R. Carlson, president and CEO of SRI International and Ripu Malhotra, research fellow at SRI and a co-author of the book A Cubic Mile of Oil: Realities and Options for Averting the Looming Global Energy Crisis. In the article, Carlson and Malhotra explain that a comprehensive national energy policy will acknowledge the magnitude of the world's energy challenges - and developing a practical energy policy starts by understanding the scale of the problem. "Currently we have no clear way to talk about this challenge. Units such as terawatts, joules and BTUs mean little to our policymakers and citizens, adding confusion to an already difficult topic. To help address this issue, our late colleague Hewitt Crane coined the term a "cubic mile of oil." The authors analyze how many CMOs the world uses per year, and what needs to be done to address the growing energy challenge.  

CuriosityBox, August 7
Cold Fusion - Updates
This article, in Italian, reports that in 1989 Martin Fleishmann and Stanley Pons had announced "cold fusion" to the world. According to the article, it promised to be efficient, infinitely available, and clean. But as quickly as it was introduced, cold fusion was soon discredited to the point of being labeled as "garbage science". However, today Michael McKubre, senior staff scientist at SRI International, states that cold fusion is the most powerful source of energy known to humankind. Even Rob Duncan,  independent scientist and vice director of research in energy measurement at the University of Missouri, who had dismissed cold fusion as most others, after following the experiments has become convinced that "excess heat is real". DARPA has also conducted its own experiments and concluded that "with no doubt an abnormal amount of heat is being generated with these experiments."

Career Corner Stone, August 2010
Profiles of Computer Scientists
This article includes an interview with Jeremy Roschelle, director of the Center for Technology in Learning at SRI International. In the interview, Roschelle discusses his college experience and why he chose a career as a computer scientist. He also discusses SimCalc as something positive he worked on that has impacted the world. "Although we started small, we've now done very large studies with thousands of students, hundreds teachers and in several states – and we have solid data that shows how much more students learn with SimCalc than with a typical textbook."

Twins Magazine, August 2010
Studying Twins for the Advancement of Science & Medicine
This article reports that for nearly two decades, Gary Swan, director of the Center for Health Sciences at SRI International, has been using twin studies to uncover clues as to why people start smoking, and why certain individuals have a harder time quitting once they start. According to the article, Swan's work in this area proved so fruitful that it inspired the Center for Health Sciences to create the Twin Research Registry™ at SRI International, an active database of twins of all ages and backgrounds who volunteer to participate in research studies. Swan and his team manage the registry.

Vital Signs, August 2010
Cancer Research Moves Forward
This article reports that in the last year SRI International started to study the epigenetic changes in cancer stem cells, which give rise to tumors. Lidia Sambucetti, Ph.D., senior director of the Center for Cancer Research, Biosciences Division, at SRI International, is quoted in the article.

PDF Available - please email press@sri.com if interested.

Florida Trend, August 1
Marine Technology Meets the Gulf Oil Disaster
This article reports researchers from SRI's marine technology program study marine environments - surface-level and undersea - using some of the world's most sophisticated sensors. According to the article, after the Gulf spill SRI deployed a highly sensitive instrument called a mass spectrometer, which is lowered into the water and then raised back to the surface, providing continuous onsite readings of the chemical composition of the water, including the presence of toluene, methane and other hydrocarbons associated with oil. The article includes an interview with Larry Langebrake, director of SRI's marine technology program in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Industry Week, July 30
IW 50 Best: Intuitive Surgical Puts Robots in the Operating Room
This article reports that the original prototype for da Vinci was developed in the late 1980s at SRI International under contract to the U.S. Army. According to the article, initial funding for the work was aimed at developing a system for performing battlefield surgery remotely, but possible commercial applications for minimally invasive surgeries became apparent and in 1995 Intuitive Surgical was founded to develop such a system.

NewsRX, July 29
Investigators at SRI International Target Central Nervous System
This article reports about a recent SRI International study published in Neuroimage. The study, "Double dissociation between action-driven and perception-driven conflict resolution invoking anterior versus posterior brain systems," found the ability to select and integrate relevant information in the presence of competing irrelevant information can be enhanced by advance information to direct attention and guide response selection. The study was conducted by T. Schulte and colleagues, in the Neuroscience program at SRI International.

Smart Planet, July 29
Fighting Deadly Parasitic Infections with a UV Flashlight
This video interview with Ellen Beaulieu, a medicinal chemist at SRI International, shows how SRI researchers are using fluorescent dyes and a simple ultraviolet flashlight to create a test that can detect parasitic infections in human beings. The new test will make it easier to stop the spread of diseases, such as Chagas, Leshmaniasis and African Sleeping Sickness, by providing a low cost, low technology diagnostic for medical personnel in developing countries.

NewsRX, July 28
Research from SRI International, Biosciences Division Broadens Understanding of Amino Acid Oxidoreductases
This article reports that an SRI study, 'Further characterization of sleep-active neuronal nitric oxide synthase neurons in the mouse brain,' contains newly published data in Neuroscience. According to the article, the study was undertaken to evaluate the specificity of this state-dependent activation of cortical nNOS cells. The study was conducted by R.K. Pasumarthi and colleagues in SRI International's Biosciences Division.

MassDevice
Institute for Pediatric Innovation, Stanford and SRI International to Bring Neonatal Devices to Market
This article reports that The Food & Drug Administration awarded the MISTRAL Collaborative of SRI International and the Stanford University School of Medicine a $1 million grant to support the agency's work to commercialize medical devices for newborn intensive care units. MISTRAL, which stands for Multidisciplinary Initiative for Surgical Technology Research Advanced Laboratory, is working in conjunction with the Cambridge, Mass.-based Institute for Pediatric Innovation, which has had success spurring commercialization of medical devices for treating children.

San Francisco Examiner
Star-Studded Celebration of Disneyland's 55th Year
This article reports that "old-timers and industry insiders reminisced and told stories at The Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco's Presidio recently to celebrate Disneyland's 55th anniversary. According to the article, among the esteemed guests at the gathering were Walt Disney's daughter and museum co-founder Diane Disney Miller – who, when asked if she'll be penning a book on her famous father, said, "This museum is my book." "Miller was joined by Buzz Price, a former Stanford Research Institute economist who was instrumental in selecting the site for the park, noting that weather, traffic patterns, population, smog and land availability were factors considered in determining Harbor Boulevard in Anaheim as the best spot."

St. Petersburg Times
Scientists from St. Petersburg Find High Methane Readings Near Oil Disaster Site
This article reports that two years before the Deepwater Horizon explosion, scientists from SRI International took readings on the levels of methane in the Gulf of Mexico less than 10 miles from the rig. According to the article, SRI also took readings again last year. "Now, after the rig blew up and gushed oil for more than 80 days, SRI's scientists from St. Petersburg have returned to the same area just northwest of the disaster and taken fresh readings."

VentureBeat, July 23
SRI Chief: Now's the Best Time for Innovation – Just Don't Choke It
This article is a Q&A with Curt Carlson, SRI's president and CEO. He shares his perspectives on innovation and R&D: "The good news is this is the best time for innovation in the history of the world. Every field is wide open. The internet doesn't work. It isn't fast enough or secure enough. We can't find things as fast as we want. We can't sort them. Nothing has helped in the last 20 years. Healthcare is going through its biggest transformation ever, from anatomy, chemistry, biology and physics to becoming an information industry. There are many opportunities there. Energy technologies are not where they need them to be in terms of cost. Education is transitioning to networks in the classroom. That has always been the dream. We tried one system that got transformation results in Texas and Florida. Media is being turned upside down and there are opportunities there. Every field has opportunities."

Education Week, July 14
Calling for a New Research Agenda on OST STEM
This article reports that as interest continues to climb in out-of-school science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) initiatives, there's a growing need to develop new research questions and methods to evaluate the programs, a new report says. According to the article, Out-of-School Time STEM: Building Experiences, Building Bridges cites survey data indicating that more than 90 percent of after-school providers would like to increase science offerings for children. The report synthesizes findings presented at a 2009 conference and research supported by the National Science Foundation through its Academies for Young Scientists program. "The Learning and Youth Research and Evaluation Center at the Exploratorium in San Francisco and SRI International in Menlo Park, Calif., conducted the research for the "Building Experiences, Building Bridges" report."

Hydro International, July 14
Corals and Water Column Study for Gulf Oil Spill Response
This article reports that a science team on the research vessel Seward Johnson recently departed Fort Pierce, FL, for the eastern Gulf of Mexico to gather baseline data against which to measure change if oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill reaches the area. According to the article, the expedition will use a submersible, a ROV and other technology to assess and record conditions in the water column and on the seafloor. The mission is funded by NOAA's Cooperative Institute for Ocean Exploration, Research and Technology and is led by Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute and the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. "Other partners include SRI International in St. Petersburg, FL and the University of Miami."

News Blaze, July 14
Steam Could Remove CO2 to Regenerate Capture Materials
This article reports that because they can remove carbon dioxide from the flue gases of coal-burning facilities such as power plants, solid materials containing amines are being extensively studied as part of potential CO2 sequestration programs designed to reduce the impact of the greenhouse gas. "We have demonstrated an approach to developing a practical adsorption process for capturing carbon dioxide and then releasing it in a form suitable for sequestration," said Christopher Jones, a professor in the School of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. According to the article, Jones and his team from Georgia Tech, SRI International and Global Thermostat took a different approach, heating the sorbent amine in steam at a temperature of approximately 105 degrees Celsius, causing the carbon dioxide to separate from the material. The steam can then be compressed, condensing the water and leaving a concentrated flow of carbon dioxide suitable for sequestration or other use - such as a nutrient for algae growth.

NOAA News, July 9
NOAA, U.S., Brazilian Partners Send Ship to Study Corals, Water Column for Gulf Oil Spill Response
This article reports that a science team on the research vessel Seward Johnson recently left Fort Pierce, Fla., for the eastern Gulf of Mexico to gather baseline data against which to measure change if oil from the Deepwater Horizon spill reaches the area. According to the article, the expedition will use a submersible, a remotely operated vehicle and other technology to assess and record conditions in the water column and on the seafloor. The mission is funded by NOAA's Cooperative Institute for Ocean Exploration, Research and Technology and is led by Florida Atlantic University's Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute and the University of North Carolina, Wilmington. Other partners include SRI International in St. Petersburg, Fla. and the University of Miami.

San Jose Mercury News, July 7
Smart Gadgets May One Day Anticipate Our Needs
This article reports that "within a decade or two, researchers at Silicon Valley companies and elsewhere predict, consumer gadgets will be functioning like hyper-attentive butlers, anticipating and fulfilling people's needs without having to be told. Life would not only be more convenient, it might even last longer: Devices could monitor people's health and step in when needed to help them get better." The article includes quotes from Michael Freed, an artificial intelligence specialist and program director at SRI International.

Venture Beat, July 7
SRI's Chief Believes Future iPhones — and Other Gadgets — Will Have Cool Virtual Assistants
This article reports that Curt Carlson, president and CEO of SRI International, "is very excited about the Siri intelligent agent technology" that was recently acquired by Apple. According to the article, he expects it will show up in future iPhones, but he also believes that SRI's additional technologies from virtual assistant research will become part of even more rich applications in the future. This article discusses SRI's history, as well as Douglas Engelbart and the invention of the computer mouse. According to this article, "Siri isn't the end of SRI's research. It is just one part of it. Another startup using the SRI technology is Chattertrap, a Menlo Park, Calif.-based startup that will apply the personal assistant concept to online content. The idea is to create a personal information service by figuring out what kind of news you like and delivering a personalized newspaper to you."

Madridiario, July 2
Madrid Will Have a New Research Center to Commercialize R&D
This article reports that the creation of Madrid Research International (MRI) in Spain will make the region the center of innovation in Europe and the gateway to innovation to Latin America. According to the article, the new research center is supported by SRI International. The MRI will work in the areas of biotechnology, materials and nanotechnology, energy and environment, and information technology. Chaired by Curtis Carlson, president and CEO of SRI International, the MRI will consist of a scientific committee consisting of renowned doctors to counsel, advise, evaluate and propose strategies. The center is sponsored by the Madrid Institute for Development (IMADE), Madrid Network and La Salle Innovation Park.

Military & Aerospace Electronics, June 30
SRI International to Provide Chemical Warfare Mapping for Strategically Important Regions in $9 Million DARPA Contract
This article reports that SRI International will develop an advanced chemicals analysis system for chemical warfare defense that provides chemical mapping and reconnaissance after processing and identifying chemicals in the atmosphere under terms of a $9 million contract awarded recently by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). According to the article, SRI will do the work as part of phases-2 and -3 of DARPA's Panoptic Analysis of Chemical Traces (PACT) program. "The chemicals analysis system that SRI International will develop for DARPA will provide high-throughout, cost-effective, high fidelity identification of chemical constituents. Ultimately, SRI International experts are trying to develop a chemicals analysis system able to analyze 100,000 samples every eight hours to revolutionize understanding of the chemical environment and enable routine chemical mapping of strategically and tactically important regions."

Silicon Valley San Jose Business Journal, June 28
SRI, Stanford in Medical Device Collaboration
This article reports that SRI International and Stanford University School of Medicine recently established a program to accelerate the innovation of medical devices and bring them to market faster. According to the article, a key objective of the MISTRAL (Multidisciplinary Initiative for Surgical Technology Research Advanced Laboratory) Collaborative is "the effective and safe transformation of innovative medical device ideas into products that will improve the quality and reduce the cost of health care in several key areas, such as pediatric medical products, trauma care, telemedicine and endoscopy," said Menlo Park-based SRI. MISTRAL is led by co-founders Pablo Garcia, principal research engineer at SRI, and Dr. Sanjeev Dutta.

The New York Times, June 28
Facebook Investor Backs Chattertrap, a Personal Assistant for Content
This article reports that Chattertrap, a startup coming out of SRI that promises to help users find personally relevant articles and links has raised $1.5 million in a seed funding. The article notes that SRI's most recent success was Siri, a personal assistant for the iPhone that was acquired by Apple. According to the article's author, "I was impressed by Siri when I tried it out, particularly the way the application translated spoken requests into tasks that could be accomplished on your phone. That technology came from SRI's Cognitive Assistant that Learns and Organizes (CALO) project, and a spokesman told me that Chattertrap comes from the same project. The Menlo Park, Calif. startup will be applying Siri's personal assistant concept to online content."

The New York Times, June 28
Technology Innovator's Mobile Move
This article reports that "SRI International is hoping to bring the concept of virtual personal assistants closer to reality." According to Norman Winarsky, vice president for licensing and strategic programs at SRI, "...right now, half of the companies we're thinking of creating are strongly related to virtual personal assistants." The article reports that SRI's newest venture is a Web-based personalized news feed, Chattertrap, that monitors what people are reading to learn what they like, and then serves up articles and links that suit their interests. The article also discusses Apple's recent acquisition of Siri, an SRI spin-off company, which was born out of SRI's CALO (Cognitive Assistant That Learns and Organizes) project. "But SRI is betting that its expertise in artificial intelligence will help make software that can break away from the pack. And it has high hopes that Chattertrap will be as successful as Siri."

The New York Times, June 25
Computers Learn to Listen, and Some Talk Back
This article reports that the artificial intelligence technology that has moved furthest into the mainstream is computer understanding of what humans are saying. According to the article, people increasingly talk to their cell phones to find things, instead of typing. "Perhaps the furthest along is Siri, a Silicon Valley company offering a "virtual personal assistant," a collection of software programs that can listen to a request, find information and take action. In this case, Siri, presented as an iPhone application, sends the spoken request for a romantic restaurant as an audio file to computers operated by Nuance Communications, the largest speech-recognition company, which convert it to text. The text is then returned to Siri's computers, which make educated guesses about the meaning." Siri and Nuance Communications are SRI International spin-off companies.

Government Video, June 2010
School Surveillance: A Failing Grade?
This article reports that SRI International has developed a two-way data radio system that allows passing police patrol cars to wirelessly log into a school's video system. According to the article, branded as Aware Mobile networks, this system uses a radio transceiver attached to the school's LAN and two-way radio cards installed in patrol laptop PCMCIA slots to make these connections happen. Paul Callahan, SRI International's business development manager, is quoted in the article.

Stanford News, June 23
'I wanted to see with my own eyes the origin of success,' Russian President Tells Stanford Audience
This article discusses Russian President Dmitry Medvedev's recent trip to Stanford University. According to the article, Medvedev realizes that Russia must embrace a combination of innovation, education, and entrepreneurship if the country really wants to duplicate Silicon Valley. The article also mentioned that, "Stanford has played an integral role in the area's development. Following World War II, the university was at the forefront of government-sponsored technological research, becoming the focal point of innovation in the area. Frederick Terman, an electrical engineer and dean of Stanford's School of Engineering, taught students like William Hewlett and David Packard - encouraging them to combine an entrepreneurial spirit with their technological creations. The university also established the Stanford Research Institute, where Douglas Engelbart developed the computer mouse and other ubiquitous personal computing components in the 1960s."

Tampa Bay Business Journal, June 25
BP Oil Spill Money Filters Down to Researchers
This article reports that while some businesses await the Florida Institute of Oceanography (FIO's) plan of action and resulting funding for outside products and services, SRI St. Petersburg already is at the forefront of the oil spill's real-time scientific data collection. According to the article, several of the research facility's scientists are in Louisiana working with NOAA to map out oil spill effects in the gulf using SRI-developed mass spectrometers. Other SRI researchers are aboard a NOAA ship and using the company's chemical analysis instrument to sample for ocean acidification.

San Francisco Business Journal, June 18
James Irvine Foundation Makes Grants of $8.6M
This article reports that San Francisco's James Irvine Foundation recently announced $8.6 million in new grants. According to the article, the 15 grants will all further the foundation's mission of expanding opportunities for California residents and to create a vibrant, successful, inclusive society in the state. SRI International was one of the Bay Area recipients included in this funding round, receiving a grant for $450,000.

Boston Globe, June 14
Practicing War — and Watching It — in Real Time
This article reports how SRI simulation technology was used to support a large military training exercise held at Camp Edwards in Massachusetts. According to the article, Army and civilian analysts used 3-D images to study each soldier in real time as the unit moves toward a facsimile of an Afghan village. They watched the soldiers crouch, they watch them shoot, they watch the "enemy,'' and they watch as the town is captured during a firefight with blank ammunition. "This armchair quarterbacking, made possible by a GPS device planted on each soldier, is part of a system developed by SRI International, a nonprofit scientific research institute that the National Guard uses to prepare units across the country for combat in Afghanistan and Iraq." The article includes video footage and quotes Patrick Young, an Army veteran and SRI manager.

Xconomy, June 14
The Story of Siri, from Birth at SRI to Acquisition by Apple - Virtual Personal Assistants Go Mobile
This article details the timeline of Siri - how it began and how it was eventually acquired by Apple. The article describes how Siri was born out of SRI International's CALO (Cognitive Assistant that Learns and Organizes) project. SRI's Norman Winarsky, vice president of ventures, licensing, and strategic programs, and Bill Mark, vice president of Information and Computing Sciences Division are quoted throughout the article.

CBS Radio, June 12
Interview with SRI's Erika Gaylor
This CBS radio clip of the Charles Osgood program includes an interview with Erika Gaylor Ph.D., early childhood policy researcher at SRI International, regarding the recent study linking regular bedtimes to better language, reading and math skills in preschool children.

URL: Not available - email press@sri.com for an audio clip of the interview

The Guardian, June 2010
Why Apple's Siri Acquisition Points to the Future of Mobile
This article reports that Siri was "born out of a defense research project at SRI International." According to the article, "the roots of the organization go back to 1946, and included work by Douglas Engelbart in 1968 on pioneering human/computer interfaces, like the mouse. It began work on a military version of a 'personalized assistant that learns' in the early 1990's. Eventually the Siri app was spun out in 2008 to make money for the project."

The New York Times, June 9
A Gift for Grads: Start-Ups
In this opinion piece, columnist Tom Friedman writes that "Innovation and competitiveness don't seem to float Obama's boat. He could use a buoyant growth strategy. What might that include? I asked two of the best people on this subject, Robert Litan, vice president of research and policy at the Kauffman Foundation, which specializes in innovation, and Curtis Carlson, the chief executive of SRI International, the Silicon Valley-based innovation specialists." According to the article, Carlson would begin by creating a cabinet position exclusively for promoting innovation and competitiveness to ensure that America remains "the world's new company formation leader." This cabinet positions would be focused on pushing through initiatives — including lower corporate taxes for start-ups, reducing costly regulations (like Sarbanes-Oxley reporting for new companies), and expanding tax breaks for research and development to make it cheaper and faster to start new firms. Additional quotes from Curt Carlson are included in the article.

ABC.com, June 7
Kids Should Get a Minimum of 11 Hours Sleep
This news story reports that "getting children to sleep at a regular time every night can be a challenge, but according to new research, it can have a big payoff." According to the story, SRI International researchers interviewed 8,000 parents about their child's sleep and academic achievements. Children who had routine early bedtimes took less time to fall asleep and had longer total sleep times than children who had inconsistent bedtimes. "We know that getting proper sleep is not only important for mood and behavior and not being tired. But it helps the memory," said Dr. Christopher Tolcher, American Academy of Pediatrics. "We know that school aged children do better in school when they get proper sleep -- even in high school."

The Telegraph, June 7
Children with Regular Sleep Patterns 'Smarter at School'
This article reports that researchers found that children who had a regular bedtime performed better at languages, reading and math than those who went to bed at different times. According to the article, scientists at SRI International, found the earlier a child went to bed, the better he or she performed at school.

NewsRX, June 3
Reports from SRI International Describe Recent Advances in Cholinergic Receptors
This article reports that "data on cholinergic receptors are presented in the report 'Nicotinic receptor-mediated reduction in L-DOPA-induced dyskinesias may occur via desensitization.' " L-DOPA-induced dyskinesias in Parkinson's disease are a significant clinical problem for which few therapies are available. Scientists writing in the Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics report said, "we recently showed that nicotine reduces L-DOPA-induced abnormal involuntary movements (AIMs) in parkinsonian animals, suggesting it may be useful for the treatment of L-DOPA-induced dyskinesias,". T. Bordia and colleagues, along with researchers from SRI International concluded: "These data have important implications for the treatment of L-DOPA-induced dyskinesias in Parkinson's disease."

San Francisco Business Times, June 2
SRI International Sells License to Sensors Inc.
This article reports that SRI International has granted a license for a camera that can "see" vibrations to Michigan business Sensors Inc., which hopes to build a test system using the technology. According to the article, Sensors Inc. hopes the new tests can be used to look for noise, vibration, and other signs of trouble in engines, pumps, structures, and even wind turbines.

Tampa Bay Business Journal, June 2
Former St. Pete Mayor Rick Baker Lands Corporate Development Role at USF
This article reports that St. Petersburg, Florida's former mayor, Rick Baker, will join the University of South Florida for a "much longer-term endeavor, related to the business community." According to Michael Hoad, the university's vice president of communications, "We're working on creating a corporate development unit that Baker would run to build on our success with Draper Labs and SRI International. There is a great deal of potential for similar projects. The idea is to call it USF Innovation Partnerships." According to the article, "Baker, a Republican, has powerful political allies, including U.S. Rep. C.W. "Bill" Young, R-Indian Shores, who was instrumental in bringing SRI International to St. Petersburg. Young was on hand at a press conference with SRI in 2007 when the nonprofit company announced it was awarded a five-year, $36.5 million contract to develop sensing technologies for port security in the United States."

MarketWatch, June 1
Gulf Oil Disaster Showcases Need for Better Robotics
This article reports that "from the Florida Gulf coast to Monterey Bay, crews of scientific teams have been sending boats equipped with sea-faring robots to gather data from various points around the Gulf of Mexico from BP PLC's disastrous oil spill." According to the article, these small, autonomous robots are in addition to the big, remote-controlled industrial robots used by BP in its efforts to try to stanch the gushing oil well 5,000 feet below the ocean's surface. The smaller bots, known as gliders, are slowly prowling in the Gulf, gathering data for groups of oceanographers around the country to help them predict where the spilled oil will travel next. According to the article, "It seems to be a mixed experience with robots so far in this national disaster, but one thing is clear: There is a need for better robotics in these deep sea waters." Larry Langebrake, director of the marine technology program at SRI International, is quoted in the article.

Fresh Business Thinking, May 25
What Is a SWOT Analysis?
This article reports that the "SWOT analysis is an excellent strategic planning method that can be used to analyze and compare pretty much anything you do in business." According to the article, "It is mainly used in marketing", and stands for: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats. Most sources credit the invention of the SOFT and SWOT analyses to Albert Humphrey, a business and management consultant who researched the system at the Stanford Research Institute in the 1960s and 1970s. According to Humphrey, "the research was funded by the Fortune 500 companies to find out what had gone wrong with corporate planning and to create a new system for managing change."

Tampa Bay Business Journal, May 21
Regional Medical Trauma Center Plan Fuels Development
This article reports that the Florida Department of Health has accepted Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point's application to become a trauma center, and the state says the facility has 18 months to meet the tough standards required to make it real. According to the article, the advanced services a trauma center offers could attract medical and health care businesses to the county, said John Hagen, president and CEO of the Pasco Economic Development Council. "The council hopes to get specific data on potential employment in a couple of months from an analysis of target industries commissioned by the Tampa Bay Partnership and conducted by SRI International."

TMCNet, May 14
SRI, V.C.O.R.E. Provide Products for National Emergencies
This article reports that SRI International has partnered with V.C.O.R.E. (Virtual Command Operations & Response Environments) Solutions to provide security products that will allow first responder organizations to communicate more effectively during emergencies. According to the article, SRI has been working on command and control systems, emphasizing development of systems that can work with minimal or no network infrastructure. "SRI's Aware Mobile Networks  operate independently of existing systems when necessary, but can leverage the existing networks if available. The Aware system is software installed on PCs, laptops, or mobile data computers in first responder vehicles. The users are connected via a simple radio card installed in the PC radio slot and the users are linked using mesh radio software that treats every user as a repeating node. This links users and extends networks into areas with limited or no connectivity." Paul Callahan, business development manager at SRI International, is quoted in the article.

Gulf Coast Business Review, May 21
Gulf Coast Week: May 21 - May 27
This article reports that the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council and the Tampa Bay Partnership received a $540,000 grant by the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration to study which targeted industries they should go after and how to fill gaps in local workers' skills. According to the article, the studies will help local economic development groups determine steps needed for sustainable job creation over the coming decade, and help the region create and retain a higher skilled, better trained, more competitive and innovative workforce. SRI International, based in Menlo Park, Calif., will conduct the majority of the research.

Santa Cruz Sentinel, May 19
San Mateo County May Require Employers to Give Commuters Incentives to Use Transit
This article reports that many workers in San Mateo County would get discounts of up to 40 percent to ride trains and buses to their job under proposed regulations modeled after a San Francisco law. According to the article, some Peninsula employers such as SRI International in Menlo Park and Rigel Pharmaceuticals in South San Francisco already offer commuter tax benefits to their workers.

Times of India, May 19
Counseling May Help Smokers Kick the Butt
This article reports that a randomized trial compared three ways to deliver a behavioral smoking cessation program using varenicline (Chantix): by phone, Web, or both. According to the article, the phone counseling had greater treatment advantage for early cessation and appeared to increase medication adherence, abstinence outcomes did not differ at six months. The findings suggest the three programs are all effective treatment options when combined with varenicline. Gary Swan, director of the Center for Health Sciences at SRI International is quoted in the article.

BioSpectrum, May 18
Gates Foundation Funds 78 New Innovative Global Health Projects
This article reports that the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has announced 78 grants of $100,000 each in the latest round of Grand Challenges Explorations. According to the article, the grants support research across 18 countries and six continents. Among the awarded projects is SRI's research to develop Vitamin A probiotics to combat diarrheal diseases. "Douglas Watson and colleagues of SRI International in the U.S. will develop probiotic bacteria that produce Vitamin A to stimulate a healthy gastrointestinal tract in children and reduce diarrheal diseases, the second-leading cause of childhood death."

The Atlantic, June 2010
The Enemy Within
This article reports that when the Conficker computer "worm" was unleashed on the world in November 2008, cyber-security experts didn't know what to make of it. This article details the timeline of the Conficker computer worm, and discusses Phil Porras', program director at SRI International, role as one of the "good guys" in fighting the worm. According to the article, "Porras is part of a loose community of high-level geeks who guard computer systems and monitor the health of the Internet by maintaining "honeypots," unprotected computers irresistible to "malware," or malicious software. Porras, who operates a large honeynet for SRI International in Menlo Park, California, noted the initial infection, and then an immediate reinfection."

CryoGas International, May 2010
SRI International Awarded DOE Project for Carbon Capture
This article reports SRI International announced it has been awarded a $4.5M Department of Energy (DOE) project to evaluate the technical and economic viability of carbon dioxide capture using an ammonium carbonate-ammonium bicarbonate (AC-ABC) process at gasification plants, including integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plants. According to the article, this project is one of several projects at SRI aimed at finding cost-effective ways to recover carbon dioxide from power plants to be sequestered. The article discusses the advantages to using the AC-ABC process, and includes a quote from Gopala Krishnan, Ph.D., associate director in the Materials Research Laboratory at SRI International.

URL: PDF available - if interested please email press@sri.com

Daily News Record, May 14
SRI Gets $100K Research Grant
This article reports that the Rockingham County (Virginia) branch of SRI International is receiving a $100,000 Grand Challenges Explorations grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The grant will support a project related to improving health in developing countries.

HS Today, May 14
SRI International and V.C.O.R.E. Partner to Provide Security Solutions
This article reports that SRI has announced it is partnering with V.C.O.R.E. (Virtual Command Operations & Response Environments) Solutions, a developer of solutions for homeland security, emergency preparedness, and rapid response environments, to offer security technology solutions that will allow first responder organizations to communicate more effectively during emergency situations.

Medical Design Briefs, May 2010
Going the Distance: Surgical Robotics and Remote Medical Care in the Battlefield
This article, written by SRI International's Pablo Garcia, principal engineer and head of medical robotics, and Tom Low, director of medical systems and robotics, reports that providing medical care from afar using robotic technology is a fascinating concept that could save more lives on the battlefield. According to the article, the technology still has a way to go, but it is starting to make its way into reality. The article highlights some of SRI's robotics technologies, including the Trauma Pod and M7 surgical robot, and describes SRI's work for the NASA Extreme Environment Missions Operations (NEEMO) project.

URL: PDF of article available - if interested, please email press@sri.com

The Independent, May 13
Health in the Future: Smartphone Malaria Diagnostic, Male Contraception, Laser Vaccines
This article reports that recently 78 researchers were awarded grants of $100,000 for their innovative global health solutions. According to the article, this marked the fourth round of Grand Challenges Explorations, a five-year $100 million initiative to promote innovation in global health funded by the Gates Foundation that began in 2008. The 78 grants awarded will support research in 18 countries across six continents ranging from vaccines to headscarves and successful innovations can receive extra funding exceeding a million dollars. The article list the grantees, that includes, "Vitamin A probiotics to combat diarrhea: Douglas Watson and colleagues of SRI International."

UPI.com, May 13
SRI, V.C.O.R.E, Form Partnership
This article reports that SRI International has partnered with V.C.O.R.E. (Virtual Command Operations & Response Environments) Solutions in a strategic move to address first responder communication needs. Under the partnership, SRI says it will leverage its Aware Mobile Network solutions with V.C.O.R.E.'s fourDscape interoperable virtual four-dimensional visualization platform to provide a network supporting next-generation communications for first responders in the event of an emergency.

WHSV, May 13
Lifesaving Grant Money Heads to Rockingham County
This news story reports that SRI announced it has a received a $100,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to support research aimed at reducing childhood vitamin A deficiency and curbing diarrheal diseases. Krishna Kodukula, Ph.D., executive director of SRI's Center for Advanced Drug Research (CADRE), is interviewed in the video story explaining the significance of the ongoing research.

News RX, May 11
Reports from SRI International Describe Recent Advances in Drug Research
This article reports that current study results from the report, 'Behavioral counseling and varenicline treatment for smoking cessation,' have been published. According to the article, information from the American Journal of Preventive Medicine reports that "Smoking remains the primary preventable cause of death and illness in the U.S. Effective, convenient treatment programs are needed to reduce smoking prevalence." Information in the article is attributed to Gary Swan, Ph.D., director of the Center for Health Sciences at SRI International, and his colleagues at SRI.

Ohio.com, May 5
Jobs Issue, Changing Casino Site Win Voter Approval (article originally appeared in the Associated Press)
This article reports that voters recently approved two statewide ballot issues: "One renews a state program aimed at creating technology jobs and the other changes the site of a casino planned in Columbus." According to the article, "Issue 1 extends the Third Frontier program to 2016 by authorizing the issue of $700 million in additional bonds over four years. The program, which has bipartisan support at a time when the state's unemployment rate is 11 percent, provides startup money for companies in industries such as alternative energy and biomedical research." According to the article, the program has spent about $1 billion, generating $6.6 billion in economic activity in Ohio and creating 41,300 jobs, according to a study conducted by SRI International.

Mustang Daily, May 4
Distinguished Scholar and Scientist Presents at Baker Forum
This article reports that Walter Moos, Ph.D., vice president of the Biosciences division at SRI International, recently presented "The Dollars and Sense of Pharmaceutical Innovation: Saving Lives Through Drug Discovery" at the Baker forum, held in the Alex and Faye Spanos Theatre on the California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) campus. According to the article, throughout the lecture he emphasized the fact that despite significant efforts by certain non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and other groups, there is not enough being done in the field of drug discovery. "Dr. Moos said people like him in the field of drug innovation "can measure their success in terms of lives saved." He talked about how NGOs and nonprofits currently play a vital role in the research and development of new drugs, and in the process of getting them on the market to save lives."

On Drug Delivery, May 2010
The Right Formulation - and How to Get There
This article reports that the objective of drug formulation is to develop a product with the correct amount of drug in the right form, and to maintain its chemical and biological integrity for delivery at or over the proper time, at the proper rate, and in the desired location. According to the article, SRI International's approach to drug formulation is customized according to the client's needs and the stage of development. The article, by Gita Shankar, Ph.D., director of Formulations R&D, Pharmaceutical Sciences at SRI, describes the strategy that the organization uses to develop an appropriate formulation.

MIT Tech Review, April 29
Apple Snaps Up Intelligent Assistant Start-up
This article reports that "Apple has snapped up Siri, which makes an "intelligent assistant" application for mobile devices." According to the article, Norman Winarsky, vice president of ventures, licensing, and strategic programs at SRI International, who is on Siri's Board of Directors, says the research project that spawned Siri will soon be the foundation of another startup company. "Winarsky says that another CALO-based startup should be spun out in about six months from now." According to Winarsky, "It also comes out of this concept of the virtual personal approach to information. In this case, it won't be an assistant, it'll be a personalized service that uses CALO technology." The article also reports that Winarsky noted that more startups will come out of SRI in the future, in the "reasoning and dialogue space."

PEHUB (Private Equity Hub), April 29
5 Questions for Norman Winarsky on Siri and What's Next from SRI
This article reports that Apple recently acquired Siri, a virtual personal assistant for the iPhone. According to the article, Siri was a VC-backed spinout of SRI International, a non-profit R&D lab whose past hits include Nuance Communications and Intuitive Surgical.

The New York Times, April 29
Apple Buys a Start-Up for Its Voice Technology
This article reports that Apple Inc. continued its migration into Google's turf this week with the acquisition of Siri, a mobile application that allows users to perform Web searches by voice command on a cell phone. According to the article, Siri, a start-up based in San Jose, Calif., describes itself as a virtual personal assistant for the iPhone and the iPod Touch. For example, Siri users can speak commands like "find a table for two at 9 tonight" or "send a taxi to my house"; using GPS and speech-recognition technology, the application translates the commands and uses search algorithms to find answers. For results, Siri worked with several companies, including Citysearch, OpenTable, and Taxi Magic. Norman Winarsky, vice president of licensing and strategic programs at SRI International, a research lab that helped develop the application, confirmed the sale but declined to disclose any financial details of the transaction. Winarsky described the sale of Siri, which was released as a mobile app in February, as "a great event for us in terms of our impact on the world."

BusinessWeek, April 28
Apple to Buy Siri, Maker of Virtual Assistant App
This article reports that Apple Inc., maker of the iPhone and iPad, agreed to buy mobile-application developer Siri Inc. to gain technology that lets users do Web searches from their phones by talking to them. According to the article, Siri said its free iPhone app, which currently works only in the U.S., is based on technology developed over five years by SRI International and funded with a $150 million investment from DARPA - the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The CALO (Cognitive Assistant that Learns and Organizes) Project was the largest artificial intelligence project in U.S. history according to Siri.

CNET, April 28
Apple Buys Virtual Assistant App Maker Siri
This article reports that an application developer called Siri confirmed to the Business Insider blog that it had been acquired by Apple. According to the article, Siri's main product is a mobile virtual personal assistant that allows users of the iPhone or iPod Touch, to ask questions about finding consumer goods, services, or destinations. The company developed out of an artificial intelligence project at SRI International, and was financed by DARPA. The free iPhone app lets users speak or type questions, such as "What's a romantic place for dinner?" The app uses an algorithm that interprets the request as it applies the person's location, time, preferences, and other context. It was first demonstrated for the public at last year's D: All Things Digital conference.

Sacramento Business Journal, April 28
Apple Buys Search App Startup Siri
This article reports that Apple Inc. has reportedly bought Siri Inc. just a few months after the startup launched a voice-activated personal-assistant program in the iPhone App Store. According to the article, San Jose-based Siri's "personal assistant" lets searches for information about topics after people ask it questions or type them in. The company was started in 2007 and was spun out of the $150 million DARPA artificial intelligence project CALO, for Cognitive Assistant that Learns and Organizes. Siri's CEO, Dag Kittlaus, was entrepreneur-in-residence at SRI. He started the company with Adam Cheyer, also of SRI, and with Tom Gruber.

The New York Times, April 28
Apple Acquires Personal Mobile Assistant Siri
This article reports that according to a number of well-informed sources, Apple just acquired Siri, the personal mobile assistant that won the SXSW BizSpark Accelerator competition last month. According to the article, for Apple, this acquisition makes perfect sense. Siri was spun out of SRI International, and its core technology is based on the ambitious DARPA-funded CALO artificial intelligence project. With VoiceOver, Apple already features some voice recognition in its projects. "This acquisition, however, will allow the company to take it to a completely new level. You can, for example, ask Siri - by voice - to check for a dinner reservation through OpenTable at a local Italian restaurant nearby or check on local movie listings."

USA Today, April 28
Apple Acquires Mobile Search Company Siri
This article reports that Apple has acquired Siri, maker of a dutiful voice-activated "virtual personal assistant" iPhone app. According to the article's author, "The clever app, which I first saw at the All Things Digital conference last May and reviewed here in February, elevates mobile search to a whole new level. It is meant to help you plan things. Bark out "I need a taxi" and Siri will deliver nearby options. Ask it to remind you to send flowers to your mom for Mother's Day and the app will send an email at the right time to jog your memory. Siri comes out of SRI International's Artificial Intelligence project."

Wall Street Journal, April 28
Apple Moves Deeper Into Voice-Activated Search With Siri Buy
This article reports that Apple Inc., has acquired Siri Inc. just a few months after the start-up's voice-activated personal-assistant program launched in the App Store, an investor in San Jose-based Siri told VentureWire. According to the article, a Siri user can simply say, "Tell my wife I'll be 20 minutes late," and Siri scours the user's social networks, address books and other programs, finds the person tagged "wife," converts the message to text, and sends it directly to her phone. Siri, which is a spin-out from Stanford Research Institute, uses speech recognition technology from Nuance Communications Inc., which is credited with paving the way for start-up companies and established tech giants targeting the growing market of mobile phone users, who are eager for more ways to communicate and find information while on the go without having to type commands on small screens.

WXJM, April 21
STEM Sell Episode #18
This radio interview with Dr. Rajeev Vaidyanathan of SRI International's Center for Advanced Drug Research discusses insect-borne diseases such as dengue fever and leishmaniasis and the complex interactions between virus, insect, and human host.

CryoGas International, April 2010
Making It Safe: SRI Research Hastens the Arrival of the Hydrogen Economy
This article focuses on SRI's hydrogen safety work for the Department of Energy (DOE), and for the New Energy Development Organization (NEDO). According to the article, "in both cases SRI was chosen for this work because of its ability to simulate accidental releases of hydrogen followed by deflagration or detonation of hydrogen/air mixtures under various scenarios." Mark Groethe, program manager for hydrogen safety at SRI is quoted in the article. The article notes that " these experiments – along with SRI's other safety related work – can enable the safe use of hydrogen and hasten the arrival of a true hydrogen economy."

URL: PDF of article available - please email press@sri.com if interested.

RoboCon Magazine, May 2010
Overseas Robotics - Update: SRI International
The May issue of Robocon magazine, a Japanese publication, features an article that gives an overview of SRI-developed robotics technologies, including the daVinci surgical system, Trauma Pod, M7 robot, Shakey, Centibots, and Karto™.

PDF available and recap of article - please email press@sri.com if interested.

Security Info Watch, April 21
Oil, Natural Gas Companies Form LOGIIC Consortium
This article reports that the Automation Federation, a North Carolina-based organization whose members include firms engaged in manufacturing and process automation activities, recently announced the formation of the LOGIIC (Linking the Oil and Gas Industry to Improve Cybersecurity) Consortium. According to the article, the goal of the consortium, which is a collaborative effort between oil and natural gas companies and the Department of Homeland Security, is to partake in various research projects aimed at improving cybersecurity. "According to a statement issued by LOGIIC, member organizations will contribute both money and personnel, who will meet to determine which types of projects to work on and to serve on the consortium's executive committee. Scientific research firm SRI International has also been tapped by DHS to provide guidance to LOGIIC."

The Daily Record, April 18
Third Frontier Funds Help Local Business with Staff, Production
This article reports that SRI International conducted an assessment of the Ohio Third Frontier program and concluded the state's direct investment of $681 million between 2003-2008 led to the attraction to nearly $4.2 billion more in investment for a total impact of $6.6 billion. According to the article, SRI also conducted a hypothetical test to determine what economic activity would have resulted if the state returned the $681 million to taxpayers in the form of a tax rebate. The economic impact was projected to be a total of $935 million, of which $214 million would have been in wages for 6,400 jobs.

KHTS, April 6
O'Connell Warns Of Budget Cuts Effect on Teachers
This article reports that the California State Superintendent of Public Instruction, the President of the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning, and the Dean of the Charter College of Education at California State University, Los Angeles all warn that deep cuts to California's public education budget are having a dire effect on the recruitment, preparation, and support of the future teacher workforce. The article notes that according to research conducted by SRI for the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning (CFTL), California's teacher workforce is in a state of decline in several areas: overall pool of teachers, number of first- and second-year teachers, and of enrollees in teacher preparation programs.

Financial Express, April 5
Talking Point: Early Diagnosis
This article reports that SRI researchers are working to develop an inexpensive test that could give some of the world's poorest people an early warning if they are infected with deadly parasites. The new test could be performed by unskilled personnel anywhere, in just a few minutes, with little more than an ultraviolet flashlight. If the patient is infected, a chemical dye turns fluorescent green and glows brightly under a blacklight. The dye reacts with a molecule produced by trypanosomes, the microbes that cause leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, and sleeping sickness.

Discovery News, March 30
Outing Horrific Parasites with an Easy Diagnostic Test
This article reports that those who battle Chagas and similar diseases have been looking for a less expensive, less resource-intensive way to test. According to the article, SRI International is lab testing a system that uses special dyes to reveal the presence of parasites in the blood sample. "Take the blood sample, apply the dye, and then hold up a simple ultraviolet light to it...and voila. All in less than an hour." SRI scientists say they're working on making the dyes more sensitive. Eventually, they hope to create a "dipstick" style piece of paper for the test, something that would be cheap to produce, and would not require extensive field training to use.

Silicon Valley San Jose Business Journal, March 30
SRI International Taps Admiral Vernon Clark as Chairman
This article reports that SRI International recently announced that Admiral Vernon Clark was appointed chairman of its board of directors. According to the article, Clark has been on SRI's board since 2007. Clark retired from the U.S. Navy in summer 2005 after working five years as Chief of Naval Operations, the highest post in the Navy and part of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Previous Chairman Samuel Armacost, former CEO of Bank of America, will remain a board member. The article also reported that SRI has added research centers in Shenandoah Valley, Va., and St. Petersburg, Fla., recently. "The Menlo Park group raises lots of research money from Washington, D.C., organizations like the Department of Defense, DARPA, National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health and Department of Education. So having a former Chief of Naval Operations leading its board will help SRI keep getting funded." The article lists all SRI board members.

TNooz, March 29
TLabs Showcase Siri
This article reports that Siri was created by an all-star team of designers and engineers drawn from Google, Yahoo, Apple, Motorola, Netscape, eBay, RealTravel, SRI International, NASA, and Xerox PARC. According to the article, Siri was born out of SRI's Cognitive Assistant that Learns and Organizes (CALO) Project, the largest Artificial Intelligence project in U.S. history. The CALO Project included 25 research organizations and institutions and spanned five years. "Siri is bringing the benefits of this technology to the public in the first mainstream consumer application of a virtual personal assistant."

San Jose Mercury News, March 28
Artificial 'Muscles' May Pump Up Touch-Screen Typing
This article reports a Sunnyvale company called Artificial Muscle says its thin plastic "muscle" can push a glass screen ever so slightly, nudging back on a texting finger to create the sensation of typing on a real keyboard. According to the article, if the tactile feedback is realistic enough, the technology could add momentum behind touch-screen devices in a market where keyboard phones like the BlackBerry are struggling to keep customers from switching. "The synthetic muscle was dreamed up nearly two decades ago in a basement lab at SRI in Menlo Park, which engineered more than 100 devices utilizing the muscle, including snakelike reconnaissance robots that slither and electric-powered masks that curl into grins. Inventors fashioned Braille touch pads, using the muscle to elevate dots." Artificial Muscle Inc. is an SRI spin-off company, and was recently acquired by Bayer MaterialScience.

Wired, March 28
Diagnosing Parasite Infections with Dye and a Blacklight
This article reports that an inexpensive dye could give some of the world's poorest people an early warning if they are infected with deadly parasites. The dye reacts with a molecule produced by trypanosomes, the microbes that cause leishmaniasis, Chagas disease, and sleeping sickness. If the patient is infected, the chemical turns fluorescent green and glows brightly under a blacklight. Ellen Beaulieu, a chemist at SRI International who helped to develop the dye, and Mary Tanga, a medicinal chemist from SRI international, are quoted.

IRIN Global, March 25
Dipstick Diagnosis for Under-Reported Diseases
This article reports that SRI researchers are developing what they hoped would become a "dipstick" for diagnosing diseases that are caused by the same family of parasites. The objective is to be able to dip a strip into a drop of blood, expose it to ultraviolet light, and have a diagnosis in less than one hour - a quick, single test costing a few US cents per test. In initial experiments, dyes have been able to pick up a parasite "biomarker" - a substance indicating the parasite is present - that glows under a hand-held lamp.

PCTuner, March 24
Logitech Marathon: You Change Batteries Every Three Years!
This article (in Italian) reports that in 1968 Douglas Engelbart and Bill English, in front of room packed with experts, presented the first position indicator for displays, more commonly known now as "mouse". According to the article, the proposed invention had significant success, offering a more intuitive way to interact with the PC and bringing a dramatic improvement in the human-machine interaction which, just in those years, had taken its first steps through the invention of primitive graphical interfaces.

Chemical & Engineering News, March 23
Detecting Parasites
This article reports a new fluorescence test being developed by researchers at SRI International can detect the presence of a family of parasites that cause several deadly diseases. According to the article, SRI medicinal chemists Ellen D. Beaulieu and Mary Tanga recently announced at a press conference at the ACS national meeting in San Francisco that their group engineered a family of arsenic-based dyes and identified three that bind to sulfur-based groups in a peptide unique to trypanosomatid parasites. The peptide-dye complex then glows under ultraviolet light.

San Francisco Examiner, March 22
Three Parasitic Diseases Diagnosed Using a Simple "Dipstick" Method Appears Promising
This article reports that during the 239th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society, scientists from SRI International discussed the development of a simple, inexpensive three-in-one test to diagnose three related parasitic species that cause the following diseases; Chaga's disease, leishmaniasis and sleeping sickness. According to the article, these parasites cause tens of thousands of deaths and innumerable amount of suffering throughout many parts of the developing world. A major goal of the new test method according to Ellen Beaulieu, Ph.D., a medicinal chemist at SRI, is to provide cheap and simple early diagnosis of these parasites which would ultimately improve the treatment options.

Science Daily, March 22
'Cold fusion' Moves Closer to Mainstream Acceptance
This article reports that a potential new energy source so controversial that people once regarded it as "junk science" is moving closer to acceptance by the mainstream scientific community. According to the article, that's the conclusion of the organizer of one of the largest scientific sessions on the topic "cold fusion" being held March 22 - 23 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco during the 239th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS). Among those scheduled to present at the event, is Michael McKubre, Ph.D., of SRI International. McKubre will discuss current knowledge in the field and explain why some doubts exist in the broader scientific community. He will also discuss recent experiments performed at SRI.

Twins Magazine, March 2010
What is a Twin Registry?
This article discusses the importance of twin registries and twin studies, and says that the Twin Registry at SRI International is currently seeking twins for a number of studies, including a seasonal flu vaccine study, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health to develop more effective flu vaccines. Gary Swan, director for the Center for Health Sciences at SRI is quoted in the article. (See page 37).

Smart Planet, March 16
Introducing Siri... Your Personal iPhone Assistant
This online video interview with computer scientist and Siri co-founder Adam Cheyer, demonstrates how Siri can be your virtual personal assistant using the iPhone. In the video, Cheyer shows how Siri allows users to make verbal requests that Siri will process and then act upon, like scheduling appointments, buying movie tickets, and making dinner reservations. Cheyer also explains how Siri was spun out of SRI International's Cognitive Assistant that Learns and Organizes (CALO) project, which was funded by DARPA. Siri was started by Cheyer, Dag Kittlaus and Tom Gruber, who are working to bring more advanced artificial intelligence to mobile devices.

MediaPost, March 15
While Playing With My New Personal Assistant, A Revelation
This opinion piece reports that as search continues to evolve and converge with mobile, new uses for search are increasingly intriguing, and some feel particularly game-changing. According to the writer, this is the case for Siri, a new personal assistant app currently available for the iPhone. He writes: "I've been playing with Siri for a few weeks now (it launched in early February). While its functionality is still somewhat limited, its potential seems amazing. What's more intriguing, however, is what this app portends for the future of mobile commerce and advertising. This cool little app is based on technology called Cognitive Assistant that Learns and Organizes (CALO), originally commissioned by the U.S. Department of Defense and developed at SRI International".

San Francisco Chronicle, March 15
25 Years of .com Domain Names
This article reports that on March 15, 1985, a Massachusetts computer systems firm registered the first .com Internet domain name. According to the article, although Symbolics.com didn't spark an instant gold rush, the event planted the first seed of a transformation that has changed the world into a Web-fueled digital river of news, commerce and social interaction. On March 15, 2010, exactly 25 years later, life B.C - Before .Com - is already a distant memory, especially in the tech-centric Bay Area. SRI International was one of the first 10 .com domains.

Technology Review, March 15
Startups Focus on AI at South by Southwest
This article reports that South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive has a reputation as being the place for social Web startups to hit the headlines. Twitter found one of its first big audiences at the event in 2007, and attendees are among the most eager adoptees of new social Web tools. Chris Valentine, the event's producer, says that social Web businesses are still king--200 companies applied to compete, and there were twice as many in the social media category as in any other. But he's starting to see a shift in the technology behind the companies involved in the event. "We knew we were going in the direction of artificial intelligence," Valentine says, and this year there are a number of startups harnessing technology from the field--especially natural language processing and computer vision. According to the article, a prime example is Siri, a startup that launched this February. The company was spun out of SRI International, a research organization based in Menlo Park, CA, commercializing technology developed as part of the CALO artificial intelligence project. The company offers a virtual personal assistant with impressive voice recognition, learning capabilities, and the capacity to interact with many different apps. Its founders describe Siri as "the mother of all mashups with a big brain in the front."

Twins Magazine, March 2010
What is a Twin Registry?
This article reports that there are numerous research studies that depend on twin registries. The article notes that the Twin Research Registry® at SRI International currently includes more than 2,600 adult twin registrants and their registry members have participated in studies focusing on the pharmacokinetics of nicotine, metabolism of commonly used medications, genetic susceptibility to cancer-causing chemicals, and sleep patterns in young twins. SRI is currently seeking twin pairs of a variety of ages to participate in a seasonal flu vaccine study, sponsored by the National Institutes of Health- to develop more effective flu vaccines. Gary Swan, director for the Center for Health Sciences at SRI International is quoted in the article.

Industrial GHG Solutions Magazine, March 8
High-Pressure CO2 Capture Coming Soon
This article reports SRI has been awarded $4.5 million from the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE) to develop a high pressure carbon capture technology that could be commercially available by 2016. SRI has partnered with GreatPoint Energy Inc. to test its technology at a pilot scale beginning in 2011 and could ramp up the technology for commercial demonstration availability in five years. Gopala Krishnan, associate director of SRI's Materials Research Laboratory, is quoted.

Orlando Business Journal, March 8
Reportlinker Adds Global Anti-Infectives Industry
This article discusses a report that analyzes the worldwide markets for anti-infectives. The report provides separate comprehensive analytics for the US, Japan, Europe, and Rest of World. Annual forecasts are provided for each region for 2006-2015. The report profiles 77 companies and notes that "SRI International partnered with Blanca Pharmaceuticals to develop antibiotics II-89."

Tampa Bay, March 7
Sunday Letters: Don't Underestimate the Value of the Arts in Boosting Economic Development
This article reports that "our country desperately needs more students majoring in the so-called "STEM" programs — science, technology, engineering and math — we also need those students to be acquainted with the subjects that enhance the capacity for creativity, imagination and discovery. The study and practice of literature, painting, sculpture, music and other areas of the arts and humanities play a vital and too often unrecognized role in shaping and inspiring the capacity for innovation, without which more STEM programs will do little or nothing to promote research or to encourage economic development." Curtis R. Carlson, SRI's president and CEO, said, "Without the creative platform provided by the arts, academic science goes nowhere, and nothing productive is accomplished." According to the article, "It is not coincidental that Carlson is a violinist as well as a highly successful entrepreneur and scientist."

Energy Business Review, March 3
SRI Wins DoE Project For Carbon Capture Research
This article report that SRI has been awarded a $4.5M Department of Energy (DoE) project to evaluate the technical and economic viability of carbon dioxide capture using an ammonium carbonate-ammonium bicarbonate (AC-ABC) process at gasification plants, including integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plants. The new project is aimed at finding cost-effective ways to recover carbon dioxide from power plants so that it can be sequestered. An advantage of the AC-ABC process is that it removes carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide at pressure, resulting in less energy needed to capture the carbon dioxide. Results from this DoE-funded project can also be applied to other types of power plants that require carbon dioxide removal pre-combustion, such as hydromethanation plants.

The Wall Street Journal, March 5
The Oxford Companion to the Book
This article reports on the December 9, 1968 "mother of all demos" made by SRI technical adviser emeritus Douglas Engelbart. This seminal event introduced many of the elements of today's digital world: e-mail, teleconferencing, videoconferencing, and the mouse. The event demonstrated hypertext and introduced the 'paper paradigm', which embodied the current standard experience of a computer: windows, black text on white background, files, folders, and a desktop.

New Scientist, March 4
Organic Pesticide Doubles Up as Worm Killer
This article reports that Cry5B, produced by the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis and used as a crop pesticide, is largely broken down in the stomach before reaching the intestine. According to the article, Raffi Aroian at the University of California, San Diego, and his colleagues are now working with SRI to develop coatings to protect the drug from stomach acids and get higher doses to the intestine where the worms live.

San Francisco Business Times, March 3
SRI Wins $4.5M Carbon Capture Study Contract
This article reports SRI won a $4.5 million Department of Energy contract to study ways to cut pollution at power plants. SRI will study carbon dioxide capture using an ammonium carbonate-ammonium bicarbonate (AC-ABC) method. It is meant to be used at gasification plants, which could use the new technology to convert coal to gases before burning. The project is set for completion in 2012.

Silicon Valley San Jose Business Journal, March 3
SRI Gets $4.5M Carbon Dioxide Capture Contract
This article reports that SRI was recently awarded a $4.5 million contract by the Department of Energy to evaluate technical and economic viability of carbon dioxide capture. In the article, SRI notes the new project is one of several it is working on that are aimed at cost-effective ways to recover carbon dioxide from power plants. Gopala Krishnan, associate director of SRI's Materials Research Laboratory, is quoted.

Tampa Bay Online, March 2
Wheelchair Racer Looks Forward to Gasparilla Distance Classic
This story highlights one of the wheelchair racers who participated in a marathon with the help of the "Wheelchairs for Warriors" program. This program was founded in 2008 by former Marine Marc Reed, now a research engineer at SRI St. Petersburg, Florida. His "Wheelchairs for Warriors" program supplies specialized wheelchairs to severely disabled veterans to improve their mobility and prevent further discomfort. Reed hopes to inspire other runners to pair up with veterans for similar events and provide more wheelchairs.

Spirit Magazine, March 2010
Preschoolers Learned 7.5 More Letters While Watching Television
This article reports that researchers at the Education Development Center and SRI tested how digital technologies affect preschoolers' learning capacities. According to the article, for 10 weeks students watched TV shows like Sesame Street and played video games created by the programs' producers. In the end, the media-enriched kids could better identify letters, knew more letter sounds, and better understood story concepts than their peers.

NewsRX, February 24
New Findings from SRI International in the Area of Lung Cancer Described
This article describes an SRI study that appears in the Journal of Pharmaceutical and Biomedical Analysis. The study, "LC/MS characterization of impurities and degradation products of a potent antitumor peptidic dimer, CU201," was supported by the National Cancer Institute's (NCI's) Rapid Access to Interventional Development (RAID) program, to assess the purity and stability of CU201.

Technology Review, February 22
Stopping Stealthy Downloads
This article reports that researchers at SRI and Georgia Tech are preparing to release a free tool to stop "drive-by" downloads, which the article defines as "Internet attacks in which the mere act of visiting a Web site results in the surreptitious installation of malicious software." According to the article, the new tool, called BLADE (Block All Drive-By Download Exploits), stops downloads that are initiated without the user's consent. SRI's Phil Porras is quoted.

San Jose Mercury News, February 19
Opinion: Remember the Historical Role of Federal Investment in Silicon Valley
This editorial explains that in response to Sputnik, the Defense Department created the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA), which funded research projects in Silicon Valley — including the ARPANET, which led to the development of the Internet. The author notes that much of the initial research on the ARPANET was done at SRI.

The Silicon Valley San Jose Business Journal, February 18
SRI Launches Neurodegenerative Research Program with $6.2M Funding
This article reports that SRI recently established a new neurodegenerative diseases research program with $6.2 million of funding from the National Institutes of Health. Funding also comes from the California Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program, the Michael J. Fox Foundation, Backus Foundation, the Alzheimer's Association, and commercial clients. Gary E. Swan, director of SRI's Center for Health Sciences, is quoted in the article.

Gulf Coast Business Review, February 12
A Big Wish List
This article reports that SRI has located its marine technology program at the Port of St. Petersburg with the help of the Qualified Target Industry Tax Refund program (QTI) and a $20 million Innovation Incentive Fund grant. According to the article, the move created more than 100 jobs. The article includes a picture of Larry Langebrake, director of SRI St. Petersburg.

Scientific American, February 10
Seeing Forbidden Colors
This article reports that the observation that people never see mixtures of opponent colors has been one of the most secure in cognitive science. According to the article, in 1983, SRI's Hewitt D. Crane and Thomas P. Piantanida reported a way to dodge the perceptual rules that forbid such colors as reddish green and yellowish blue. The article discusses Crane and Piantanida's research and experiments, and says that "Crane had invented their special eye tracker, and it was expensive and difficult to use." A PDF of this article is also available. If interested, please email press@sri.com.

The Star (Malaysia), February 7
Planning Ahead
This article reports that the Universiti Putra Malaysia's (UPM) vice-chancellor Prof. Datuk Dr. Nik Mustapha R. Abdullah shared that the university had established a working relationship with SRI to help commercialize UPM's research findings on the international stage. According to the article, UPM is the first institution in Malaysia to use SRI expertise to further strengthen the marketing of UPM's technology and research products on the global stage. "Through this collaboration, SRI International will help UPM researchers establish strategic relationships with the right technical experts and marketing entities," the vice chancellor said.

PC World, February 5
Siri Wants to Be Your Personal Assistant
This article reports that SRI spin-off company Siri has a "conversational interface". According to the article, the Siri application is not a search engine, but consolidates a number of functions that might otherwise require several different apps. Siri relies on a range of notable data partners, including Yahoo Local, Yelp, NYTimes.com, StubHub, OpenTable, MovieTickets, Rotten Tomatoes, and CitySearch. "Here's the AI angle: Siri supposedly gets smarter as it learns about you, and will adapt to your preferences and make better suggestions."

USA Today, February 5
Review: Siri Personal Assistant for iPhone
This article reports that "Siri is meant to help you plan things, and it's off to a very promising start." According to the article, "the venture-backed San Jose startup behind Siri includes a team of designers and engineers late of Google, Yahoo, Apple, and NASA, among other places. And Siri comes out of SRI International's CALO Artificial Intelligence project."

New York Times, February 5
A Personal Assistant on Your iPhone
This article reports that Siri hopes to bring a "virtual personal assistant to your pocket — more specifically, to your Apple iPhone." The article quotes Dag Kittlaus, co-founder and chief executive of the company, who explains that Siri is "speech recognition with a brain." Siri is an SRI spin-off company and was founded in 2007 as part of a DARPA-financed artificial intelligence project called CALO, or Cognitive Agent that Learns and Organizes.

Read Write Web, February 5
Siri: Your Personal Assistant for the Mobile Web
This article reports that "Siri is one of the most ambitious mobile services we have seen in the last few years." Siri is a virtual personal assistant that can recognize a voice query and either give the answer or connect you to the right web service. According to the article, Siri was spun out of SRI International and its core technology is based on the ambitious CALO (Cognitive Assistant that Learns and Organizes) artificial intelligence project.

San Francisco Examiner, February 3
Ohio Lawmakers Meet Deadline to Approve $700M Third Frontier Program Renewal for May Ballot
This article reports that recently "legislative leaders hammered out a compromise agreement to continue the Ohio Third Frontier Program at $700 million over four years." According to the article, the Third Frontier program funds efforts by Ohio-based businesses and research institutions to commercialize high-tech products and processes. The goal is to attract venture capital and create jobs. A study on the impact of the Third Frontier program released in September by SRI found the program attracted significant new investment to the state. SRI reported that $681 million in state Third Frontier money invested from 2003 to 2008 generated $6.6 billion of economic activity, 41,300 jobs and $2.4 billion in employee wages and benefits.

Wired, February 3
Pentagon Funds Spider-Man Tech for Real-Life Wall Crawlers
This article reports that a team of chemical engineers at Cornell have created a palm-sized device that could one day turn troops into human wall crawlers, using an adhesive bond inspired by beetles. According to the article, "No surprise that DARPA, the Pentagon agency often inspired by sci-fi, is behind this one. Spider-Man capabilities have been a top priority too, in hopes that troops might one day scale verticals "without the need for rope or ladder."  According to the article, in 2006, Stanford researchers took inspiration from geckos to create a robot that clambered along surfaces using synthetic setae, the tiny, sticky hairs that give geckos their climbing skills. Last year, a research team at SRI devised robots that stuck to walls using electrostatic charges.

Daily News, February 1
Honoring a Creative Force in High Tech: Douglas Engelbart Turns 85
This article reports that a birthday celebration was held for Douglas Engelbart at the Tech Museum on January 30, 2010. According to the article, Apple Computer co-founder Steve Wozniak attended the event and gave Engelbart a personal tribute for inventing the computer mouse and for "conceptualizing the possibility of a vast realm of information where people could zip around exploring almost any idea." At the event, Wozniak told Engelbart, "If all the leaders of the world — the presidents of all the countries, the CEOs of all the companies — were here in this room, you'd be my hero." According to the article, after taking a research position at SRI in the 1950s, Engelbart's lab research teams went on to create the computer mouse and the hypertext links now used to click through the Web. 

Officer.com, January 2010
Going Mobile
This article reports that mobile networks like SRI's AWARE™ Mobile Networks let officers communicate better with each other and the department, and also provide the capability to share live video feeds, GPS data location and other tactical information between responding agencies and their remote headquarters. According to the article, this system was first developed by the military to set up a network system in a battlefield environment, or disaster setting where no infrastructure exists. All information sharing can be done on an independent network and happens between users. Chris Lockett, SRI Direct Technology general manager, is quoted.

St. Petersburg Times, January 28
Only 1,100 Jobs for $1.5 Billion? Florida's Biotech Cluster Won't Come Cheap
This article reports that Florida's $1.5 billion-plus in state and local economic incentives has generated 1,100 jobs. According to the article, a portion of the incentives were used to build SRI St. Petersburg's Marine Technology Program. The goal is to attract more biotech firms to create a cluster or concentration of industry activity and create more jobs.

Source News, January 27
Preschool Children's Literacy Scores Improve through Classroom Integration of PBS KIDS Media and Professional Development Curricula
This article reports that a new study conducted by Education Development Center, Inc. and SRI demonstrates measurable improvement in a preschool child's literacy skill development when participating in a media-rich PBS KIDS Raising Readers literacy curriculum combined with professional development, in comparison to students who did not use the research-based public media tools.

Financial Post, January 25
Building a Better Mouse
This article reports that "the Engelbart mouse, designed at the Stanford Research Institute [now SRI International] in 1968, positions the user's hand in a palm-down position on top of it and translates physical movements into digital signals. It remains the platform for most top-selling computer mice."

Marietta Times, January 23
Lawmaker Supports Renewal of Third Frontier
This article reports that according to an independent evaluation conducted by SRI, the Ohio Third Frontier program has already created 41,300 jobs over the past seven years with more than $2.4 billion in employee wages and benefits. According to the article, the report also showed that taxpayers were seeing more than a 10-to-one return on their investment. From 2003 to 2008 an investment of $681 million of state funding resulted in over $6.6 billion of statewide economic impact.

eScience News, January 18
Artificial Muscles Restore Ability to Blink, Save Eyesight
This article reports on a new procedure described in the January-February issue of the Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery. Surgeons from UC Davis Medical Center demonstrated that artificial muscles, developed by engineers at SRI, can restore the ability of patients with facial paralysis to blink, a development that could benefit the thousands of people each year who no longer are able to close their eyelids due to combat-related injuries, stroke, nerve injury or facial surgery. In addition, the technique, which uses a combination of electrode leads and silicon polymers, could be used to develop synthetic muscles to control other parts of the body.

Ohio.com, January 17
Next Frontier
This article reports that "the truth is, Ohio must not miss the chance to build on the Third Frontier's achievement the past four years." An SRI study reported that $681 million in state money has generated $6.6 billion in economic activity, including the creation of more than 41,000 jobs. According to the article, the Third Frontier provides a vehicle for attracting talent and branding Ohio as embracing a new economy, moving beyond the tired tag of the Rust Belt.

Columbus Dispatch, January 8
Everyone Should Be Behind Third Frontier
This article reports that Third Frontier is Ohio's $1.6 billion, 10-year investment project, created in 2002 to support technology-based economic development through strategically focused programs. According to the article, these programs support university-based research, encourage collaborative research and commercialization activities, and spur high-tech innovation, company formation and job creation. SRI International, hired to assess the benefits of Ohio's investment in technology-based economic development programs, reports that $681 million in Third Frontier funds invested between 2003 and 2008 have generated $6.6 billion in economic activity, $2.4 billion in employee wages and benefits, and 41,300 jobs. According to the report, the rate of return was made possible because Third Frontier grant recipients were able to attract additional investment of more than $4 billion from private, federal, foundation, and local sources.

Government Security News, January 13
BARDA Awards $35 Million in Contracts for Tests and Devices to Respond to a Radiological Emergency
This article reports that the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has awarded nine contracts for the advanced research and development of more effective tests and devices to determine the level of radiation a person has absorbed after a nuclear or radiological incident. The contracts total $35 million for the initial phase and up to $400 million over five years. The contracts are awarded to Arizona State University in Tempe, AZ.; Chromologic LLC in Pasadena, CA.; Duke University in Durham, NC; Meso Scale Diagnostics LLC in Gaithersburg, MD; Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems in Linthicum, MD; SRI International in Menlo Park, CA; Stanford University in Stanford, CA; the University of Rochester in Rochester, NY, and Visca LLC in Troy, MI.  

Dispatch Politics, January 14
House Votes to Put Third Frontier on May Ballot
An SRI report is cited in this article about an upcoming vote on Ohio's Third Frontier program, an initiative that supporters say is one of the state government's top job-growth tools.

SchoolCIO, January 2010
Students Learn Math, Have Fun in Virtual World
This article reports a recent study, conducted by Education Development Center Inc. and SRI commissioned by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, showed that children were better prepared for success in kindergarten when their preschool teachers incorporated educational video and games from public media.

Venerdí di Repubblica (Italian magazine), January 2
The Robot Surgeon Developed by the Military that Can Operate by Itself (link not available)
This article discusses SRI's research and work regarding the Trauma Pod, a project funded by DARPA. Tom Low, director of medical systems and telerobotics program at SRI, is quoted: "The robots interpret gestures and vocal commands by the surgeon. For now, we focus on life-saving procedures, such as intervention on the respiratory tract, intravenous access, image diagnostics, and control of hemorrhaging."