Smarr on Environmental Genomics

Jack Dangermond presented the Lifetime Achievement Award to Dr. Larry Smarr, Director of the University of California San Diego’s Institute for Telecommunications and Information Technology. Smarr proceeded to discuss the relatively new field of environmental genomics, or adding the genetic diversity of life to geographic information systems. Smarr, who in the past worked with Marc Andressen to launch Mosaic, is now working on the National LambdaRail project which is comprised of a consortium of universities developing an advanced nationwide network infrastructure for streaming terrabytes of data to a single location. He envisions a time when high definition data will be streamed in to an elementary school classroom. He challenged the audience this way: "As you begin to tell us the nature of the planet of where you are, this is how collectively we are going to come to shepherd the planet."