This CNN event coincided with our SIG date, so the SIG meeting met at this event.

Details below are reposted from this page: http://soe.stanford.edu/alumni/cnn_event_042307.html

CNN International Future Summit: Virtual Worlds

Monday, April 23, 7 p.m., Fairchild Auditorium

CNN Future Summit is one of CNN International’s flagship event programs. Examining aspects of the future of Science and Technology, the program is now in its second year.

Guests on past programs have included Apollo XI astronaut Buzz Aldrin, world’s first female space tourist Anousheh Ansari, Virgin founder Richard Branson, renowned roboticist Rodney Brooks, Genetics researcher Craig Venter, stem cell pioneer Alan Colman, and Discover Magazine’s scientist of the year Jay Keasling.

Alumni are invited to attend and participate in this taping of the next show. There is no charge to attend but seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.

The show will air in June on the CNN International Network. Subtitled “Virtual Worlds,” the program will examine how technology is blurring the lines between reality and imagination. Covering the future of movies to the growth of online worlds and the Internet, the show will feature a variety of points of view about how these developing technologies will affect our culture in coming decades. From breathtaking vistas on the movie screen, heart-pounding action in online games, to the increasing popularity of online social networking, CNN will take a look at how these technological developments are shaping our communities and the lives of our children.

Here are the panelists:

Philip Rosedale: CEO & founder, Linden Lab (Second Life)
Philip Rosedale is the founder and CEO of Linden Lab, the company that produces the metaverse Second Life. (Within Second Life, he is perhaps better known as Philip Linden.) Rosedale has a BS degree in Physics from the University of California, and is known for his contributions to the development of streaming media and for having been the CTO of RealNetworks after they bought his company, FreeVue, in 1996. Rosedale has stated that his goal with Second Life is to demonstrate a viable model for a virtual economy or virtual society. In his own words, “I’m not building a game. I’m building a new country.”

Trip Hawkins: CEO & founder, Digital Chocolate; founder, Electronic Arts
Trip Hawkins is the founder & CEO of Digital Chocolate. He is responsible for the strategic focus, overall direction, and performance of the company. Trip has been a new media pioneer for 30 years. Early in his career, Trip played a key role in defining the personal computer at Apple. He went on to found Electronic Arts and built the company into the industry leader. Trip also founded 3DO, a pioneer in digital video, network gaming, and social communities. The author of three patents, Trip introduced the use of celebrities and athletes in video games, and his design credits include award-winning best-sellers such as John Madden Football, Army Men, M.U.L.E., Doctor J and Larry Bird Go One on One, and High Heat Baseball. Trip received a MBA from Stanford University and developed his own major at Harvard University, where he graduated magna cum laude with a degree in Strategy and Applied Game Theory.

Ellen Poon: president & creative director, Lancet Films; visual effects artist
Ellen Poon is the president and creative director of Lancet Films based in San Francisco. Ellen is an acclaimed expert in the high-tech visual effects field with over 21 years of professional experience. Previously, she was Visual Effects Supervisor at George Lucas’ Industrial Light and Magic, the film industry’s premier production house for high-quality 3D animation and graphics. Ellen joined ILM sixteen years ago, and her work for the company has included developing cutting-edge digital effects — on budget and on time — for some of the most successful feature films of all time, including “The Green Mile,” “Star Wars — Episode 1: The Phantom Menace,” “Jurassic Park,” “Mask,” “Jumanji,” and “Men In Black.” Ellen’s computer-generated realization of the miracles in “The Green Mile” and the dinosaurs in “Jurassic Park” are just some of her many on-screen accomplishments.

Nick Yee: PhD Student, Communication, Stanford University
Nick Yee is currently a Ph.D. student in the Department of Communication at Stanford University. At Stanford’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab, he conducts experimental studies exploring social interaction and self-representation in immersive virtual reality. Nick is also the founder of The Daedalus Project, an online survey study that has surveyed over 40,000 online gamers on a wide variety of issues, such as age and gender differences, motivations of play, relationship formation, and problematic usage. His work has appeared in many news outlets, including The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Associated Press, The Wall Street Journal, and Business Week.

Stewart Butterfield, Co-founder Flickr

Butterfield co-founded and was the CEO of Flickr’s parent company, Ludicorp, before its acquisition by Yahoo! in the spring of 2005.

In over a decade of Web design and development, Butterfield’s love for the medium and appreciation for the social possibilities of networked software have only grown stronger. He has had a distinguished career as a designer, entrepreneur and technologist, and is a frequent speaker at conferences and industry events around the world.

In 2006, Stewart appeared on the cover of Newsweek for “Putting the ‘We’ in Web.” The same year, he was included in Time Magazine’s “100 People Who Shape Our World” and Business 2.0’s “The 50 Who Matter Now.” In 2005, he was named MIT Technology Review’s “TR 35,” one of 35 technology innovators under the age of 35, Red Herring’s “Young Moguls,” 20 entrepreneurs under 35, and the Forbes’ “2005 E-Gang.” Flickr has won numerous awards such as LAPTOP Magazine’s “Top Ten Web 2.0 sites” (2007), Webby Awards (2007 finalists, winners 2006, 2005), W3 Awards (2006), PC Magazine’s “Best Community-Based Photo Sharing Site” (2006), and Time Magazine’s “50 Coolest Websites” (2005).

Stewart studied philosophy at the Universities of Victoria (B.A.) and Cambridge (MPhil.), where he graduated with honors. He lives in San Francisco with his wife Caterina Fake and their small dog.
Details above are reposted from this page: http://soe.stanford.edu/alumni/cnn_event_042307.html

Media:
http://edition.cnn.com/CNNI/Programs/futuresummit/panel.virtual.worlds/

http://edition.cnn.com/CNNI/Programs/futuresummit/