ATTENTION: TECHNOLOGY AND BUSINESS REPORTERS

01.30.01
Contact: Catherine Zandonella
(510) 643-7741 clz@pa.urel.berkeley.edu

The National Technology Agency of Finland (TEKES) and University of California, Berkeley, researchers affiliated with the International Computer Science Institute (ICSI) will announce a novel collaboration to advance research in computer science, commerce, intellectual property rights and the sociology of the information society.

Speaking at the event will be:

* Nelson Morgan, ICSI director and UC Berkeley professor of electrical engineering & computer sciences

* Manuel Castells, UC Berkeley professor of sociology and professor of city & regional planning

* Beth Burnside, UC Berkeley vice chancellor for research

* Veli-Pekka Saarnivaara, TEKES director general

* Maria Serenius, consul general, Finnish Consulate in Los Angeles

BACKGROUND: One of the most technologically advanced societies in the world, Finland is both an incubator for innovations and a model location for studying the impact of technology on society. This new collaboration will provide a platform for Finnish researchers to spend a year or more at UC Berkeley or ICSI working on projects including:

* The impact of technology on society (Manuel Castells, UC Berkeley)

* Designing speech-recognition software for computers (Nelson Morgan, UC Berkeley and ICSI)

* Intellectual property rights for electronic-format books, movies and other information (Hal Varian, UC Berkeley School of Information Management & Systems)

* How the brain's structure shapes our capacity for thought and language (Jerome Feldman, UC Berkeley professor of electrical engineering & computer sciences and researcher at ICSI)

The International Computer Science Institute is an independent, nonprofit basic research institute affiliated with UC Berkeley. The National Technology Agency of Finland is the principal government sponsor of applied research and development in Finland.