ArtsFusion seminar examines the impacts of evolving technology and connectivity
How can organizations maximize opportunities for innovation in an age where computing devices outnumber people? This is the focus of the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology’s upcoming ArtsFusion seminar, “Trillions: Opportunities at the Intersection of Technology, Business, and Design.”
The talk will be led by Mickey McManus, president and chief executive officer of MAYA Design, on Wednesday, April 9, at 5:30 p.m.
The presentation will be held in the Cube, located within the Moss Arts Center at 190 Alumni Mall. The event is free and open to the public.
In 2005, McManus spearheaded the launch of MAYA's pervasive computing practice to help companies kick-start innovation around business challenges in the connected world. To maximize these opportunities for innovation, he leads a team of cognitive psychologists, ethnographers, computer scientists, mathematicians, visual and industrial designers, game designers, architects, and filmmakers. This interdisciplinary group collaborates to design products, services, and environments for people in a trillion-node world — a world whose scale and complexity will dwarf that of today's internet.
McManus will discuss how the pervasiveness of technology is changing the landscape of business. Now, billions of computing devices are part of so many things, and McManus explains, that number will reach into the trillions in a few short years and those processors will begin communicating with each other more often, and with its users. When all of these processors are streaming billions of bits of information from trillions of connections, the very idea of computing will be turned inside out.
According to McManus, instead of information living inside of computers, the information will become a place where people, products, and cultures live. The organizations that thrive will do so by weaving an ecology of information that creates business value from architectural system designs and market forces.
McManus and his team work with a wide range of clients — from Fortune 500 global companies to foundations, government organizations, and startups. To explore the emerging value at the intersection of design, technology, and business, McManus co-authored “Trillions: Thriving in the Emerging Information Ecology."
He holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial design from the University of Illinois, with extended studies in communication design and mathematics. His work has been published in Bloomberg Businessweek, Fortune, Fast Company, The Wall Street Journal, and Harvard Business Review. McManus is a frequent speaker on the topic of design, pervasive computing, and business innovation.
Presented by the Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology, ArtsFusion is a series of thought-provoking events that bring cutting-edge artists, scientists, engineers, and designers to the Virginia Tech campus to explore topics across disciplines. ArtsFusion events take place monthly during the academic year.
Parking is available in the North End Parking Garage on Turner Street. Limited street parking is also available. Parking on Alumni Mall is free on weekdays after 5 p.m. and on weekends.
