Smart Buildings = $$

Dr. Haas circulated the following article.

IBM Officials See New Jobs Stemming From Smarter, More Efficient Buildings.

Computerworld (3/2, Thibodeau) reports, "The need to improve the energy efficiency of buildings and the reliability of utilities has created a multi-billion dollar market opportunity for IBM, along with new job opportunities for IT professionals, executives say." The company is busy "developing systems that can turn vast amounts of data collected by sensors, GPS and RFID systems in buildings and infrastructure systems into information that can be acted on to save energy and improve efficiency," which it is marketing as part of its "Smarter Planet" campaign. Officials said the integrated infrastructure and IT systems will require professionals skilled with both. Such programs already exist. "In 2004, Carnegie Mellon University has created a graduate program on advanced infrastructure systems," which exposes civil engineers to research "that requires collaboration with the school's computer science and electrical engineering department."