Rensselaer Signs $100 Million Partnership with IBM

Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York announced a partnership with IBM Corp. valued at $100 million that would make RPI one of the top 10 supercomputing centers in the world. The supercomputing program would be folded into RPI's Computational Center for Nanotechnology Innovations (CCNI).

The CCNI will focus on reducing time and costs of designing and manufacturing nano-scale materials, devices, and systems. In addition to spawning new developments in nano-tech, the deal is expected to bring economic development revenue to the New York state area, according to RPI president Shirley Jackson. The creation of 300 to 500 new jobs is expected. New business is also expected to migrate to the area to collaborate with the partnership. For more information, click here.

Indiana, Ohio State Med Schools Launch PDA Programs

Indiana University’s School of Medicine and the Ohio State University Medical Center signed deals with computer systems integrator CDW-Government Inc. to create personal digital assistant (PDA) buying programs on campus.

After an evaluation period, Indiana picked the Palm Tungsten C through CDW-G and established a requirement that all third- and fourth-year medical students purchase a PDA with a Palm Operating System. The requirement was driven by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education's (LCME) mandate for all medical school students to track clinical encounters on their rotations to ensure quality of patient care.

Ohio State’s Medical Center also established a PDA program to comply with the accrediting regulations, as well as to provide reference materials and patient care software digitally. Ohio State now has more than 3,200 devices in circulation. The university recently upgraded to the Palm TX, purchasing the handhelds in bulk for third-year medical students, residents and pharmacy students from CDW-G. For more information, click here.