Classroom to the Boardroom: Nicholas Reid (New York University)

 BDPA believes that it can help the Black community 'win the future' by providing programs, scholarships and services that will move folks from 'the classroom to the boardroom'. Back in 2003, we created the BDPA Information Technology (IT) Showcase as part of that process. Our vision at the time was to find a way for the students trained by BDPA in coding (programming), database management, web development, presentation skills and teamwork in our local chapter computer camps and the national High School Computer Competition (HSCC) championships to stay within the BDPA family as they moved on to college.

Dr. Jesse Bemley

The IT Showcase was created by BDPA Hall of Fame member Dr. Jesse Bemley with the idea that HSCC alumni (high school or college) could continue to compete at the annual conference. These young people were encouraged to document their research on a relevant technology topic ... write a 10-page paper, create a poster board display and then defend their research in person in front of judges from industry and academia.

This blog wants to begin to highlight some of the young people who have begun their 'classroom to the boardroom' journey in both the HSCC and IT Showcase initiatives. One such student is Nicholas Reid. As a high school student Nicholas represented BDPA New York chapter in the 2010 national HSCC championship. His team finished in sixth place that year.

In 2012, he served as the technical coordinator for the high school students being trained by his local chapter.

2014 IT Showcase Award: Dr. Bemley, Nicholas, Dr. Brown

The past two years (2013 and 2014) Nicholas has been a participant in the college division of the BDPA IT Showcase. In fact, he took home the silver medal at the BDPA IT Showcase held in August 2014!

 Nicholas is the future face of technology. He is currently studying physics and computer science at New York University with a career goal of becoming an astrophysicist.

BDPA is excited to support the efforts of youngsters such as Nicholas. We expect great things from him and others who follow the BDPA path. However, we need support from BDPA members, sponsors and supporters to increase the funds available for BDPA programs, scholarships and services. Won't you take a moment to make a secure online donation right here and right now in the name of Nicholas Reid?

BDPA History: 1st Annual High School Computer Competition

There have been 28 national High School Computer Competition (HSCC) championships with over 1,000 HSCC alumni from all over the nation since the event was created by Dr. Jesse Bemley in 1986.

Dr. Bemley shared his memory of that first competition with us:

The National BDPA Competition was held at Maynard Jackson High School (formerly known as Southside Comprehensive High School), a magnet school for computer science, in Atlanta at 9:00am, September 20, 1986. The competition was made up of two sessions ... an oral question and answer session and a hands-on programming session. The judges ruled the DC team as the winner of the 1st Annual National BDPA Computer Competition and the announcement was made that night at the dinner dance where the trophies were presented. The team trained by BDPA Washington DC team received a long standing ovation.

My understanding is that only two teams competed in that first year: Atlanta and Washington DC.  I would love to learn the names of the high school students who competed in 1986. Don't you wonder where they are now?

BDPA IT Showcase Winners (2003-2013)

Milt Haynes and I asked Dr. Jesse Bemley to create a program in 2003 for our High School Computer Competition alumni and college students. We wanted the program to encourage more African American students to seek Ph.D recognition in the hard science fields.

Dr. Bemley created the Information Technology (IT) Showcase.

The BDPA IT Showcase allows student presenters from educational institutions all over the United States to showcase their research papers on advanced computing topics to an audience of students and IT professionals. Some of the topics covered in the past include: intelligent technologies, wearable computing technologies, web technologies, parallel computing technologies, computing curricula and computer graphics technologies.

Here are past IT Showcase Winners:

2003 - Philadelphia, PA
High School Division

• 1st place: Mr. Bryan Bemley, Washington, DC
• 2nd place: Mr. Eric Lamison-White, Bowie, MD
• 3rd place: Ms. Jessica Eggleston, Columbia, SC

College Division

• 1st place: Ms. Swathi Nibhanupudi, University of Cincinnati
• 2nd place: Mr. Wesley Williams, University of Chattanooga
• 3rd place: Mr. Ayyub Wright, University of Memphis
  

2004 - Dallas, TX
High School Division

• 1st place: Andre Strong, Thomas Edison HS, Alexandria, VA
• 2nd place: Eric Lamison-White, Bowie HS, Bowie,MD
• 3rd place: Julian Waller, Carroll HS, Washington DC

College Division

• 1st place: Robert Garcia, DePaul University
• 2nd place: Jessye Bemley, North Carolina A&T University
• 3rd place: Chris Holt, Southern Illinois University
  

2005 - Detroit, MI
High School Division

• 1st place: Bryan Bemley, Carroll HS, Washington, DC
• 2nd place: Eric Lamison-White, Bowie HS, Bowie, MD
• 3rd place: Joshua Wallace, Duval HS, Lanham, MD

College Division

• 1st place: Chris Holt, Southern Illinois University
• 2nd place: Darrell Edmonds, North Carolina A&T University
• 3rd place: Darren Lamison-White, Bowie State University
  

2006 - Los Angeles, CA
High School Division

• 1st Place: Eric Lamison-White, Bowie High School, Bowie, MD
• 2nd Place: Malcom Parker, Mayfair High School, Los Angeles, CA
• 3rd Place: Alicia Simmonds, Frederick Douglass HS, Upper Marlboro, MD

College Division

• 1st Place: Raymond McGill, Jr., Cornell University
• 2nd Place: Jessye Bemley, North Carolina A&T State University
• 3rd Place: Myles Singleton, Illinois State University
  

2007 - Washington, DC
High School Division

• 1st Place: Jahmal Chase, School for Creative and Performing Arts, Cincinnati, OH
• 2nd Place: Amber Gosby, Mt. Healthy High School, Cincinnati, OH
• 3rd Place: Christian Loggins, Eastern High School, Washington, DC

College Division

• 1st Place: Delano Robinson, University of Minnesota Crookston
• 2nd Place: Jessye Bemley, North Carolina A&T State University
• 3rd Place: Darren Lamison-White, Bowie State University
  

2008 - Atlanta, GA
High School Division

• 1st Place: Fred Smith, III, Charter School of Wilmington, Wilmington, D
• 2nd Place: Tyrell Ferguson, North Point High School, Waldorf, MD
• 3rd Place: Cadeal Chase, Patapsco High School and Center for the Arts, Baltimore, MD

College Division

• 1st Place: Tiffany McCormick, North Carolina A&T State University
• 2nd Place: Bryan Bemley, Bowie State University
• 3rd Place: Jessye Bemley, North Carolina A&T State University

2009 IT Showcase Students

2009 - Raleigh, NC
High School Division

• 1st place: Mr. Naaman Cephas, Hodgson Vo-Tec High School (Newark, DE)
• 2nd place: Mr. Marcus Smith, Pencader Charter High School (New Castle DE)
• 3rd place: Ms. Whitney Wilson, Charter School of Wilmington (Wilmington, DE)

College Division

• 1st place: Mr. Frederick Smith III, California University of Pennsylvania
• 2nd place: Mr. Bryan Bemley, Bowie State University
• 3rd place: Ms. Jovanna Foreman, North Carolina Central University

2010 IT Showcase Winners

2010 - Philadelphia, PA
High School Division

• 1st place: Ms. Cherise Poole, Pencader Charter High School (New Castle DE)
• 2nd place: Ms. Kenyatta Malloy, Friendly High School (Washington DC)
• 3rd place: Ms. Whitney Wilson, Pencader Charter High School (New Castle DE)

College Division

• 1st place: Mr. Frederick Smith III, California University of Pennsylvania
  
• 2nd place: Mr. Naaman Cephas, Delaware Technical & Community College
  
• 3rd place: Mr. Ahmed Mahamad, University of Minnesota

2011 - Chicago, IL
High School Division

• 1st place: Ms. Whitney Wilson, Pencader Charter High School (New Castle DE)
• 2nd place: Ms. Nathasha Sowell, Warren Central High School (Indianapolis, IN)
• 3rd place: Mr. Marcus Smith, Pencader Charter High School (New Castle DE)

College Division

• 1st place: Mr. Michael Bijou, Bowie State University
  
• 2nd place: Ms. Shaneece Davis, North Carolina Central University
  
• 3rd place: Mr. Bryan Bemley, Bowie State University

2012 - Baltimore, MD
High School Division

• 1st place: Ms. Tyra Foulks, Irmo High School (Columbia, SC)
• 2nd place: Mr. Wesley Walker, Groveport Madison High School (Groveport, OH)
• 3rd place: Ms. Brandi Taylor, Irmo High School (Columbia, SC)

College Division

• 1st place: Mr. Michael Bijou, Bowie State University
  
• 2nd place: Mr. Bryan Bemley, Bowie State University
  
• 3rd place: Mr. Adwait Walimbe, University of Minnesota

2013 - Baltimore, MD
High School Division

• 1st place: Mr. Jared Sherrod, Delaware Academy of Public Safety and Security (Wilmington, DE)
• 2nd place: Mr. Ian Crowder, Oak Park River Forest High School (Oak Park, IL)
• 3rd place: Ms. Brandi Taylor, Irmo High School (Columbia, SC)

College Division

• 1st place: Ms. Jazzmine Bess, Florida A&M University
  
• 2nd place: Ms. Jessica Boardley, University of Delaware
  
• 3rd place: Mr. Bryan Bemley, Bowie State University

 These are truly some remarkable students. We will follow their educational progress to determine how many of them receive their Ph.D. in the hard science field. In the meantime, it would be great to hear from you. What are your thoughts as you review this list of winners?

Introducing the 1st Annual BDPA Hall of Fame

Earl Pace

In 2013, BDPA will inaugurate its first members into the BDPA Hall Of Fame. Similar to other national and professional organizations, BDPA will celebrate and acknowledge members of the organization who have made very significant contributions to the existence, advancement and success of the organization.

From August 14-17, 2013, BDPA will conduct its 35th annual Technology Conference and Career Fair at the Washington Hilton in Washington, D.C. In addition to distribution of several organization awards, conducting numerous development workshops, networking sessions and panel discussions, this year’s Conference will also include the first Hall of Fame induction ceremony. It is expected that over seven hundred members, corporate leaders and technology professionals will attend the event.

Diane Davis

This year’s Hall Of Fame group was selected by a panel of the BDPA National Executive Council. In 2014 and beyond, nominations will be accepted from the BDPA Community and enshrines announced during the annual BPDA National Technology Conference.

The following individuals represent the inaugural BDPA Hall of Fame group.

Dr. Jesse Bemley

- Innovator, Dr. Jesse Bemley
- Contributor, Diane Davis
- Co-Founder, Earl A Pace Jr
- Co-Founder, the late David Wimberly

Please visit www.BDPA.org for more information regarding BDPA, our 35th Anniversary Technology Conference and Career Fair or this year’s 2013 Hall of Fame group.

Overview: BDPA IT Showcase

The BDPA IT Showcase is an advanced technology forum where High School and College students from across the nation demonstrate their research and theories in the fields of information technology. Papers will be published in the IT Showcase Proceedings. The purpose of this program is to encourage more students of color to advance their education to the Ph.D. level in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) curriculum.  Click here to see more detailed overview.

BDPA IT Showcase founder Dr. Jesse Bemley notes, "Attendees will be amazed at the thoroughness of the research and the advanced topics presented at the IT Showcase. The IT Showcase treats the audience to challenging 'outside-the-box' thought."

The projects focus on various “advanced thought” topics including: artificial intelligence, database technology, web design technology, wired and wireless communication technology, IT security, data mining, global position systems, graphical processing units, soft computing, production planning tools, high performance computing, cloud computing, green technology, virtual technologies, nanotechnology, robotics, operating systems, IT certification, social media and much more.

The Showcase presentations consist of demonstrations where applicable. Three awards (First, Second and Third Prize) are made in each of two categories: High School and College (undergraduate). In recent years the top performers in the IT Showcase have won college scholarships funded by Johnson & Johnson.

Over the past few years there were 46 undergraduate papers and 74 high school papers presented from students in 14 states, 33 high schools, 12 universities and three community colleges. Our hope is that all 46 local BDPA chapters will find a way to send a student ... ideally one of their HSCC alumni ... to participate in the next BDPA IT Showcase.

Who Am I? - Dr. Jesse Bemley (Founder, IT Showcase and High School Computer Competition)

BDPA and the BDPA Education and Technology Foundation strive to make a difference in both the Black community. We have some serious people who volunteer to implement programs that will advance the careers of African Americans in the IT industry. We don't always get a chance to know our BDPA leaders in a personal way. This blog decided to try and provide you with a different perspective ... a different look ... at our BDPA leaders.

Who Am I?

Dr. Jesse Bemley

IF I WERE A...

• MONTH, I would be... April
• COLOR, I would be... Black
• TIME OF DAY, I would be... Morning
• SUPERPOWER, I would be... USA
• FLOWER, I would be... Rose
• SONG, I would be... 'No Charge' (Shirley Caesar)
• CAR, I would be... Neon
• ITEM OF CLOTHING, I would be... suit
• ANIMAL, I would be... a Pit Bull
• FOOD, I would be... Turkey
• MOVIE, I would be... True Grit
• CITY/TOWN, I would be... Memphis
• SPORT, I would be... Football

Dr. Bemley is the creative genius behind both the BDPA High School Computer Competition and the BDPA IT Showcase. What isn't well-known is that Dr. Bemley is also a past president of the BDPA Washington DC chapter.

Our hope is that Dr. Bemley will join us here on the blog to share deeper insights into these things via the COMMENTS feature! What did you learn about BDPA's intellectual beacon via this blog post that you may never have known otherwise?

BDPA iRadio Show - February 28, 2012

BDPA Education and Technology Foundation (BETF) is very proud to be the creator of the BDPA iRadio Show. Our Internet Radio Show has been up and running for seven months with over 70 guests. You can listen to the archive version of the show using the widget shown in the right-hand sidebar of this blog.

Episodes of the BDPA iRadio Show are now available for immediate and FREE download from the iTunes Store.

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The guests on the show:

Janice Coleman - president, Janice Coleman Corporation - Janice Coleman, is President and CEO of Janice Coleman Corporation (JCC), a company that helps companies and individuals achieve their goals by maximizing the human resource potential through mind, heart, and action-provoking keynotes, training, and career management services. JCC also is an excellent choice for corporate event planning/management. She currently provides a monthly Career Triage webinar for BDPA members. You can follow Janice on Twitter - @JaniceMColeman

Dr. Jesse Bemley - HSCC and IT Showcase founder, National BDPA - Jesse is the director of the Joint Educational Facilities (JEF). JEF provides a wonderful service, giving High School students the ability to build and use sophisticated technology resources. His program makes his students attractive to colleges, universities, and employers and provides his students with the skills and confidence they need to succeed. Jesse is the inspiration behind over a quarter-century of the High School Computer Competition (HSCC) program as well as a decade of the BDPA IT Showcase. There are literally thousands of BDPA students that have benefited from the genius of Dr. Bemley. It should be interesting to learn about the history of his involvement with BDPA as well as with the future direction that he would like to see BDPA take with its student programs.

Pamela Sexton - chapter president, BDPA Chicago - Pam Sexton was recently re-elected to a second term of office as president of the largest BDPA chapter in the nation – BDPA Chicago. BDPA Chicago chapter earned the 2011 ‘Outstanding Community Service’ award under Pam’s leadership. Also, Pam served for the past three years as the national BDPA conference director. Pam can share some remarkable ‘best practice’ ideas because of her unique perspective as both a chapter president and conference director. It is also worth noting that Pam recently agreed to move up to the national level in a new leadership position as our national BDPA vice president, Strategy & Planning in 2012-2013.

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What questions would you like to see answered by these guests?

BDPA Seeks High School and College Students for 2011 IT Showcase

One of the most remarkable BDPA programs is the IT Showcase. This program provides a showcase for talented young people that are the future faces of technology. BDPA is actively recruiting high school and college students to participate in the 2011 National IT Showcase in Chicago!

BDPA wants to take the IT Showcase to the next level in 2011. This year’s goal is to recruit 20 high school students and 20 college students! BDPA would like to encourage each chapter to identify qualified students. Register your students today.


Here is the Call for Presenters issued by the IT Showcase founder Dr. Jesse Bemley:

Call for Presenters: BDPA IT Showcase

View more documents from Wayne Hicks.

Please share this information with any high school or college student who you think will benefit from participation in the 2011 BDPA IT Showcase!

2010 BDPA IT Showcase Participants

National BDPA is hosting its 8th annual Information Technology (IT) Showcase in Philadelphia as part of the 2010 national conference. The program grew out of a desire to encourage more African American students to seek Ph.D recognition in the hard science fields.

The BDPA IT Showcase allows student presenters from educational institutions all over the United States to showcase their research papers on advanced computing topics to an audience of students and IT professionals.  Dr. Jesse Bemley (shown in the above photo) has led the BDPA IT Showcase over the past eight (8) years.

We are pleased to announce the 2010 participants in the BDPA IT Showcase (sponsored by Eli Lilly & Company and IBM)

High School Division

Alex Boardley
William Penn High School
BDPA Northern Delaware Chapter
Topic: NANOTECHNOLOGY

Jessica Boardley
William Penn High School
BDPA Northern Delaware Chapter
Topic: THE BERLIN HEART

Alexander Branch
Largo High School
Joint Educational Facilities
BDPA Washington DC Chapter
Topic: THE AVATAR MACHINE

Kenyatta Malloy
Friendly High School
Joint Educational Facilities
BDPA Washington DC Chapter
Topic: VIRTUAL REALITY IN THE MEDICAL FIELDS

Susan Okullu
Pencader Charter High School
BDPA Northern Delaware Chapter
Topic: ERGONOMICS OF PORTABLE DEVICES

Cherise Poole
Pencader Charter High School
BDPA Northern Delaware Chapter
Topic: COMPUTER SECURITY IN THE HOME

Keenan Russell
Paul M Hodgson Vocational Technical High School
BDPA Northern Delaware Chapter
Topic: ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Avery Sherrod
Pencader Charter High School
BDPA Northern Delaware Chapter
Topic: OPEN SOURCE SYSTEMS

Marcus Smith
Pencader Charter High School
BDPA Northern Delaware Chapter
Topic: BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES

Whitney Wilson
Charter School of Wilmington
BDPA Northern Delaware Chapter
Topic: THE REAL LIFE IRON MAN: The Merging Of Man And Machine Through Prosthetics

College Division

Gabeer Alzabit
North Carolina Central University
Topic: INKJET PRINTERS

Khadijah Celestine
New York City College of Technology
BDPA New York Chapter
Topic: SOME ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE APPLICATIONS IN THE MILITARY

Naaman Cephas
Delaware Technical & Community College
BDPA Northern Delaware Chapter
Topic: IPHONE APPLICATIONS

Shaneece Davis
North Carolina Central University
Topic: THE SECURITY UP THERE: AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT CLOUD SECURITY

DeMarcus Hill
North Carolina Central University
Topic: CLOUD COMPUTING

Brandon Hogan
North Carolina Central University
Topic: MILITARY ROBOTICS

Liu J. Jones
Howard University
BDPA Northern Delaware Chapter
Topic: UNMANNED AERIAL SYSTEMS

Ahmed Mahamed
University Of Minnesota
BDPA Southern Minnesota Chapter
Topic: ROBOTICS AND BIOINFORMATICS IN THE HEALTHCARE INDUSTRY

Frederick Smith, III
California University of Pennsylvania
BDPA Northern Delaware Chapter
Topic: DISASTER VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT

Ariel Alberta Young
George Washington University
BDPA Atlanta Chapter
Topic: THE ROLE OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN THE RESPONSE OF THE CDC TO THE H1N1 OUTBREAK

These are some remarkable young people.  IBM and Eli Lilly have the first opportunity to recruit these IT superstars.  Who needs LeBron James when you have young 'uns like this!

VIDEO: 2005 National BDPA Technology Conference (Detroit, MI)

Here are two video clips (clip #1, clip #2) from our 2005 National BDPA Technology Conference held in Detroit, MI.








Do you have any memories from the 2005 BDPA conference that you would like to share with us?

What STEM Programs Does BDPA Provide for Young People?

BDPA Orlando chapter president Pablo More hosts a weekly lunch'n'learn webinar. Today, the BDPA lunch'n'learn focused on the Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programs that exist within BDPA.

The topics (presenters) were:

IT Showcase (Dr. Jesse Bemley) - Dr. Bemley provided a quick historical context about his 25-year history with STEM-training in BDPA, concluding with an overview of the IT Showcase.

High School Computer Competition (Danna Sturdivant) - Danna will discuss HSCC programs at high level.

Youth Technology Camp (Jamesetta James and Mildred Allen) will discuss the YTC program set to take place in Philadelphia PA on July 29-31, 2010.

BDPA Foundation (Wayne Hicks) Wayne will discuss ways that BETF supports SITES Programs and fundraising efforts.

BDPA Lunch'n'Learn: STEM Programs for Young People

View more presentations from Wayne Hicks.

I encourage you to check out the centralized BDPA Calendar of Events so that you don't miss the next Lunch'n'Learn session!

I would also love to hear your thoughts on the 30-page .ppt presentation that was used during this session. Any questions or comments?

BDPA Washington DC Lifetime Achievement Award * Dr. Jesse Bemley

Dr. Jesse Bemley, Joint Educational Facilities (JEF) founder, is this year's recipient of the BDPA Washington DC Chapter Lifetime Achievement Award for his selfless contributions to National BDPA and BDPA Washington DC. In addition, Dr. Bemley mentored hundreds of minority youth from traditionally underserved communities by enrolling them in advanced science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) programs within the national capital region and throughout the country.

On a national level, Dr. Bemley is the creative genius behind the national high school computer competition (HSCC) and the BDPA IT Showcase. These are programs that encourage high school and college students in their pursuit of STEM-based educational opportunities. Many of the students mentored by Dr. Bemley participated in a variety of TeraGrid and Super Computing events. Dr. Bemley has been a member of BDPA for over 30 years and will retire from the U.S. government this fall.

Dr. Jesse Bemley, Founder of BDPA's High School Computer Competition (Video)

Mario Armstrong interviews national HSCC founder Dr. Jesse Bemley. Dr. Bemley is in the BDPA Hall of Fame. He founded both the national high school computer competition and the IT Showcase. He is an inspiration to African American IT professionals from the 'classroom to the boardroom'.





Do you have any thoughts or memories from either the HSCC or IT Showcase that you care to share with us?

High Performance Computing 101 (Washington DC)

BDPA Washington DC chapter founded in May 1978 is the 6th largest chapter in America. Part of the success for this chapter is the strong program meetings that they hold each month. This month ... January 2008 ... is no exception. The chapter's program meeting will cover everything that you ever wanted to know about to know about high performance computing (HPC), the TeraGrid, “Internet2,” “Web 3.0,” and “next steps”. This is a program meeting that you will not want to miss if you are in the Washington DC area.

The guest speaker will be Dr. Jesse Bemley. He will explore HPC, or a more current and evolving definition of HPC referring to High Productivity Computing, and reflect the purpose and use models of existing and evolving architectures, the supporting ecosystem of software, middleware, storage, networking and tools behind our next generation of applications currently under development.

This is a profesional IT networking and catered chapter event. Online registration is requested. You are encouraged to invite co-workers and college students to this meeting. Here are the logistics:

Date: Thursday, January 24, 2008
When: 6:30pm - 8:30pm

Where: ASAE Conference Center
1575 I Street NW, Washington, DC 20005
Do you have any questions about this topic that you want to ask in this forum?

BDPA IT Showcase Sponsored by Johnson-Johnson

One of the best things that I did while serving as a national BDPA officer was appointing Dr. Jesse Bemley to serve as the conference delivery manager for the BDPA IT Showcase.

My vision was twofold. First, I wanted to find a way for HSCC alumni to continue to participate in the annual BDPA technology conference after their high school careers ended.

Second, I wanted to inspire young African American technologists to continue their educational arc through the Ph.D program by providing role models ... successful African American Ph.Ds in the computer science, engineering and information technology fields.

Dr. Bemley took the BDPA IT Showcase from a one-day event to its current position of being a 3-day event, sponsored by Johnson-Johnson, at the 30th annual BDPA Technology conference in Atlanta, GA. IT Showcase activities are now a part of the Youth Technology Camp (YTC) and Adult Forums. The main IT Showcase occurs on Thursday.

The activities include presentations, both paper and poster, of advanced computing topics. Participants are high school and undergraduate students. The focus is leading edge technologies, hardware and software methodologies, research proofs of concepts encompassing, but not limited to, intelligent technologies (i.e., smart toys, machine learning, genetic algorithms), wearable computing, web technologies, high performance computing, computing curricula, computational science and so forth.

Demonstrations are incorporated in the presentations where applicable. Presentations/projects are judged in two categories, college (undergraduate) and high school. Three awards will be made in each category. Previous showcases have answered questions such as:

• What is a smart toy?
• Can machines actually learn?
• Is there a difference between virtual humans and avatars?
• How will high performance computing change IT as we know it?
• Will genetic algorithms put more programmers out of work
• Can neural networks actually be trained?
• Why would anyone want to wear a computer?
• Should I get an Internet phone?
• Are those movie/video scenes actually computer-generated?
• Can I actually make maps on my computer?

Click here for a copy of the 2008 IT Showcase Handbook.

Our hope is that all 49 BDPA chapters will identify HSCC alumni or college students to participate in this year's IT Showcase. We are pleased that Johnson-Johnson stepped up to become sponsor of the 5th annual BDPA IT Showcase taking place on August 6-8, 2008 in Atlanta, GA. Let's see if we can make this the largest IT Showcase in BDPA history!

Any thoughts or questions?

BDPA Washington DC Plans Ahead

BDPA Washington DC chapter is 6th largest chapter in the nation. One reason for their success is that they plan ahead. There are several events planned by the chapter for members, sponsors, entrepreneurs and our community.

Perry Carter is the chapter president. He let us know that the chapter's Welcome Centre powered by CollectiveX provides additional information, directions, registration fees, and member discounts. BETF-Blog Readers need to subscribe to CollectiveX in order to receive advanced notices, access industry White Papers, and review various RSS/XML news feeds. I subscribed last month and the process is pretty cool.

Just a few tickets remain for his week's Annual Holiday Mixer at B. Smith's Restaurant on a first-come first-served availablity basis. The mixer takes place on Thursday, December 6 @ 6:30 pm. This event is sponsored and free for current BDPA members.

The chapter is accepting reservations for their program meeting in January 2008. The chapter is bringing Dr. Jesse Bemley (Joint Educational Facilities) to the January 24 program meeting to talk about 'High Performance Computing 101'. Click here to register for the January 2008 program meeting.

Do any of you have a digital photo of Dr. Jesse Bemley that you can provide to us for posterity?