Doug Heintzman, Director of Strategy for IBM Software Group and Sponsorship Executive of the ICPC took some time to talk with podcast host Amanda Carl about the evolution of the Battle of the Brains.Doug discusses how the competition has increased in size by 800 percent and now reaches 88 countries, including Argentina, Iran, and Cuba since IBM’s involvement. How intense is the competition? Well, Doug answers your questions regarding the types of problems and the rigorous nature of World Finals. He even shares some fun and unique stories from his past visits to World Finals’ events and offers advice for student competitors.
Want to brush up on your problem solving skills? Practice problems are available—so get started on your World Finals preparation!
Leader in the field of Autonomic computing and award-winning technology expert, Alan Ganek, sat down with ICPC podcast host Amanda Carl to discuss his day-to-day responsibilities and IBM’s commitment to a Smarter Planet. Chief technology officer and vice president for IBM Software Strategy and Technology, as well as IBM’s funding executive for the ACM ICPC, Alan provides valuable insight for Battle of the Brains participants as they prepare for regional competitions throughout the world.
An IBM Veteran, Ganek has more than 16 patents to his name and has been presented with a Technical Emmy Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and an Outstanding Innovation award from IBM on behalf of his work on Enterprise Systems Architecture/370 and System/390 Parallel Sysplex Design.
With Regionals already taking place in Asia and abroad, and the first U.S. regional to begin in October, Alan shares his advice on the best ways to prepare for the competition and a future career in technology.
Ni Hao! Or for those of you still brushing up on your Chinese for the World Finals in Harbin, hello and welcome back! As we gear up for the first part of this year’s competition, the 2009 ACM-ICPC Regionals, remember to check the Battle of the Brains page to find updates, podcasts and stories from past participants. The ACM-ICPC and IBM are working diligently to give you the latest contest information, including regional dates, winners and links to other relevant sites.
This year you can also follow us on Twitter, where you will find an open forum of participating students from schools around the world. We expect to kick off the 2009-2010 podcast series in the middle of September by posting an interview with Alan Ganek, chief technology officer and vice president for IBM Software strategy and technology. Not only is Alan an outstanding scientist with 16 patents, he is the funding executive for the ACM-ICPC. We’re all very excited to hear Alan’s advice for Regionals preparation and beyond. For those looking for some practice questions, look no further than past brain busters archived on the ICPC web site:
IBM special guest host, Chris Sciacca sat down with Ivan Romanov, 2006 ICPC Saratov University team member and former World Finals champion. Ivan, a current IBM employee at the IBM Zurich Lab, has been working on Mote Runner, a wireless system network designed specifically to address IBM’s Smarter Planet initiative.
Ivan discusses his preparation for the 2006 World Finals and shares valuable advice for the 2009-2010 competitors as preparation for the fall Regionals gradually creeps up.
Ivan was recently quoted in the Moscow Timesdiscussing his experience.
IBM,KTH-Royal Institute of Technology, and the ICPC did a fantastic job of sharing the Battle of the Brains event with the world. Here are few clips from the worldwide media worth checking out:
Have a story you’d like to share? Please feel free to post a link to the comments section! And, of course, we look forward to seeing everyone again in Harbin, China for the 2010 Battle of the Brains World Finals! In the meantime, see you at the Regionals!
The 2009 World Finals was a terrific showcase of talent, creativity and passion. So many bright young minds in one room demonstrating their amazing abilities is a terrific experience.
Here are the important links for those who don’t know them already:
With seven days left until the World Finals, Dr. Bill Poucher takes a moment to speak with IBM host Amanda Carl. With more schools and students participating than ever, the stakes are high and the competition fierce. The Regionals saw 1,838 universities from 88 countries battle for a spot at World Finals. With only 100 teams headed to Stockholm, Dr. Poucher assures our listeners that the students have practiced in full force and are ready to tackle the world’s challenges and begin charging toward a Smarter Planet.
Award-winning technology guru and leader in the field of Autonomic Computing, Alan Ganek, chief technology Officer and vice president for IBM Software strategy and technology, is our guest today.
Speaking with ICPC podcast host Amanda Carl, Ganek discusses his day-to-day responsibilities at IBM, as well as how he defines business leadership in the IT industry. He also shares valuable advice for the next generation of engineers, including tips on how to prepare for the needs of an ever-demanding global community.
An IBM Veteran, Ganek has more than 16 patents to his name and has been presented with a Technical Emmy Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and an Outstanding Innovation award from IBM on behalf of his work on Enterprise Systems Architecture/370 and System/390 Parallel Sysplex Design.
IBM special guest host, Jim Angstadt, sat down with Adam Gashlin, 2007 ICPC Rutgers World Finals team member and current IBM employee. He carved out a few minutes from his busy schedule to talk about his experience at the 2007 World Finals, offer tips for this year’s class and share how he came to work for IBM from Extreme Blue internto full-time employee.
Doug Heintzman, IBM’s director for business strategy and sponsorship executive for the ACM-ICPC, talked about a few of the most cared about topics by university students and their parents regarding the Battle of the Brains.
He focused on:
How business issues are closely related to students in computer science and mathematics
How the planet faces daunting infrastructure challenges and what the next generation of problem solvers need to know
What skills and capabilities will be employed in the future job market and how it will shape everyday society
How to find tremendous career opportunities from growing customer demand for impactful software services such as cloud computing and clever industry solutions
And, how to use the ACM-ICPC as a world-recognized qualification to prepare for the job market
Looking ahead to Sweden, Doug discussed an IBM traffic management project undertaken for Stockholm as an example of showing students how technology skills apply to societal issues.
Doug also pointed out that today’s generation of problem solvers are emerging from many more countries and not from just a select few. In the 2009 World Finals, he names new participation from countries such as Bangladesh, India, Great Britain, France, Spain, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand to complement World Finals regulars like Russia, China, United States, Canada and others.
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Leader in the field of Autonomic computing and award-winning technology expert, 
