You asked for tech answers, so here we go! Building on our January luncheon, Dr. Morgan Benton (JMU CISE) will "dig deeper" with us and discuss how blockchain technology works and what the difference is between bitcoin and ethereum. In order to understand what he'll cover, attendees should be aware of how hashing algorithms work, and know what a public/private key is.

Please read ahead:

• Public key cryptography, or asymmetrical cryptography, is any cryptographic system that uses pairs of keys: public keys which may be disseminated widely, and private keys which are known only to the owner. This accomplishes two functions: authentication, where the public key verifies a holder of the paired private key sent the message, and encryption, where only the paired private key holder can decrypt the message encrypted with the public key. Details: Public-key cryptography (Wikipedia)
• A very good and easy-to-digest explanation for Symmetric Cryptography, Asymmetric Cryptography, and Public Key Cryptography is here:  Explaining public-key cryptography to non-geeks. (Panayotis Vryonis/Medium.com)
• About  hashing algorithms: The main features of a hashing algorithm are that they are a one way function - or in other words you can get the output from the input but you can't get the input from the output - just like elliptic curve cryptography where you can't get the private key from the public key. The other property is that the same input creates the same output. More details re. hashing algorithms (Cryptocompare.com)

Thanks to our sponsors!

        

 

February 16, 2018 (Harrisonburg, VA & Foster City, CA)

Rockingham Insurance , one of the ten oldest mutual insurers in  the United States , and  Guidewire Software , Inc.  (NYSE: GWRE), a provider of software products to Property and Casualty (P&C) insurers, today announced that  Rockingham Insurance  has selected Guidewire InsuranceNow™ to modernize its technology platform and transform the way it does business. The company plans to implement InsuranceNow's All-in-One functionality by line of business in three phases.  Rockingham Insurance  will start with its dwelling properties line of business and will follow with its other personal lines - auto, homeowners, mobile homeowners and umbrella. The final phase will bring in its commercial lines of business [farmowners, business owners (BOP), etc.]

"Guidewire's product maturity and market share, as well as their responsiveness, industry knowledge, and track record of successful implementations were important factors in our decision-making process," said 

Eugene Vatnik , CIO for  Rockingham Insurance . "We look forward to leveraging the best technology and tools available to continue improving upon our success, and our team is excited about what the future holds for our collaboration with Guidewire."

 

Read More (New York Times)

At its core, User Experience (UX) is defined as how someone feels about using a product, system, or service. Regardless of what we're designing - a website, an Android app, or a toaster - we all strive to make our designs useful, easy to use, and enjoyable to use. But how exactly do we make something useful, easy to use, and enjoyable? How do we know if the target audience is having a good or bad experience? This class will arm you with the essential tips to find those answers.

This class is for anyone who makes (or wants to learn how to make) websites, mobile apps, or other software. If you're a developer, a designer, a project manager, a content creator, or something else, you can integrate UX research and design into your practice.

This is a hands on course which will give you actionable tools to get started with user experience in your work day!

Tech Requirements
Your laptop. Note: A netbook or tablet is NOT a substitute.

Ready to become a dynamic online and offline business destination? Nationally renowned marketing expert and small business strategist, Jon Schallert of The Schallert Group will lead this dynamic workshop that will give business owners the tools to strengthen their web presence and transition to an experience-based business. 

Business owners will learn how to become a destination business - both online and in-store. In addition, attendees will:

• Get the strategies to make sure customers can find you.
• Discover ways to create an engaging and sales-driving website.
• Hear what creative businesses around the nation have done to defy impossible customer markets and attract people from miles away by creating an experience-based destination.
• Find out how to offer more than a transaction in order to become a destination - whether meal delivery subscriptions are eating into your dining room sales or Amazon is clicking away at your bottom line. 

Register for Feb. 27, 2018 workshop  

Virginia Space Grant Consortium is partnering with NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton and NASA Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia's Eastern Shore to provide hands-on research experience opportunities for at least 23 Virginia Community College students during summer 2018. These paid opportunities will be identified by both NASA Centers with current Center missions and projects that are at a point which would maximize hands-on engagement of the students at project critical stages, while inspiring students, teaching them the nature of project work, communications and teamwork, and providing strong exposure to a wide range of technical and scientific career paths. Student researchers will work with NASA research advisors on the designated research project over the course of a 10 week, 40-hour- per-week, summer research experience. Students will receive a $5,000 stipend. Application packages are due February 26, 2018.

Deadlines

• Summer 2018 Application Due: FEBRUARY 26, 2018
• Electronic Recommendations Due: MARCH 2, 2018
• Selection Notification Deadline: On or about APRIL 16, 2018

Contact 

Debbie Murray, Program Manager, Virginia Space Grant Consortium, [email protected]; 757-766-5210 or Nicole Shaw, Program Assistant,  [email protected]

More information, eligibility requirements, and registration for summer research program

The upcoming Networking at Noon is presented by  Tech Team Solutions. The e ducation moment will be presented by Toastmasters. Toastmasters will be focusing on, "Communicating with Confidence".

Networking at Noon will be held the 4th Tuesday of the month from 12-1:30 p.m. at the Holiday Inn Historic Gateway. During this luncheon attendees will have time for open networking, networking at their table, and hear a short educational moment from a guest speaker.

Register for Feb. 27, 2018 luncheon

Join Northern VA's leading big data and analytics companies and prominent thought leaders at the second annual Capital Data Summit on Feb. 28, 2018 at The Ritz-Carlton, Tysons Corner.

Featuring keynote speakers and panels offering unique insights on how big data and analytics are transforming industries and producing results for organizations and their customers, a technology showcase of the region's leading big data and analytics companies, and unmatched networking opportunities, the Capital Data Summit will provide exceptional business development and educational value for NVTC members and the entire Greater Washington technology community.

Keynote Speakers
William Ruh, CEO, GE Digital, and Senior Vice President and Chief Digital Officer, GE
Mark Ryland, Chief Solutions Architect, Amazon Web Services Public Sector

NEW IN 2018!
The 2018 Capital Data Summit will include a new University Data Challenge, in which teams of students representing the region's universities and community colleges will be challenged to analyze and respond to a topic/question using any combination of data sources and statistical, mathematical modeling, big data, and related techniques available to them.

Cost
Member: $395.00
Additional Member Attendee: $345.00
General Audience: $550.00
Student: $50.00
Government Employee: $25.0

The challenge is simple. Build something using computer science and technology that can help solve an imminent social problem under one of four themes - global health, a safer world, intelligent technology, and bridging inequalities. You can think of it as a virtual hackathon for middle school girls.

Step 1 - Register

Before you start working on your project, decide whether you want to work as an individual or in a team. Then,  register yourself or your team before the registration deadline. No unregistered individuals/teams will be allowed to participate. 

Step 2 - Build The Project

You're about to embark on an exciting journey over the next few months while you're building your project. After you pick a theme and finalize a project idea, you're ready to get started with building. Building can mean anything from physically putting together machine parts for a robot to writing code for a mobile app to prototyping a new prosthetic device. The possibilities are endless. After an initial build, you'll want to test it to make sure everything works the way you want it to. And after multiple retests and rebuilds, you'll finally end up with a product that you're not only proud of, but which can make a difference. 

Step 3 - Submit The Project

Once you're satisfied with your project, you're ready to submit. To submit, you will need to prepare a te chnical report and, video, and blog post on your project. The submission portal will open in January of 2018.

About ProjectCSGIRLS

ProjectCSGIRLS is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization working to cultivate a love for technology and computer science in girls and encourage them to pursue their interests and careers in these fields. They believe that nurturing an interest in science, math, and technology during the critical middle school period will help girls to better see themselves as the future leaders of tomorrow. They aim to do this through a unique idea - the nation's largest computer science competition for middle school girls. ProjectCSGIRLS is run by high school and college students from around the country who are incredibly passionate about computer science and technology. Simply put, they are here to drive change.

Are you aware of a technology that could transform your industry but you don't have time to explore it? Does your organization have long-range design problems that you don't have the resources to solve yourself? What if you could hire graduates who are ready to start working on your top needs from Day One?

The 2018 *VIRTUES Summit will focus on strategic coordination between higher education and industry with the aim of fostering creative, confident and market-ready students who are experienced in emerging technologies.

JMU X-Labs is entering its third year collaborating with distinguished government and industry organizations that give interdisciplinary student teams real-world experience. We invite industry professionals who are eager to plug into our expanding programs to come work directly with students and faculty from universities across the commonwealth and form mentorships with exceptional students.

*Virginia Industry Resources Through Undergraduate Education Summit

Register for March 1-2, 2018 VIRTUES Summit

Every year, Technovation invites teams of girls from all over the world to learn and apply the skills needed to solve real-world problems through technology. Teams can range in size from 1-5 girls with 10-14 year olds in the junior division and 15-18 in the senior division.

Girls work in teams to build both a mobile app and a business plan to launch that app, supported by mentors and guided by our curriculum. T echnovation's curriculum takes students through 4 stages of launching a mobile app startup, inspired by the principles of design thinking:

• Ideation: Identify a problem in the community
• Technology: Develop a mobile app solution
• Entrepreneurship: Build a business plan to launch the app
• Pitch: Bring the business to market

Who can enter? 
The 2018 Fluor Engineering Challenge is open to K-12 students around the world. Students can enter individually or as teams of up to four students. Only one entry per team is allowed. 

What do I do? 
Build a device to launch a ball as far as possible, and another device to catch it, all from a limited list of materials like pencils, rubber bands, paper, and tape. The farther you can launch the ball (following the challenge rules) before it touches the ground, and the fewer materials you use, the higher your score. Finish your design and submit your score before the March 16, 2018 deadline to enter the contest. Full details, including the building and launching rules, allowable materials, scoring, and testing can be found in the  Ball Launcher project at Science Buddies.

Where is the challenge happening? 
Students can do this challenge anywhere! The 2018 Fluor Engineering Challenge is designed as a fun hands-on engineering project to do at home, in the classroom, or as part of an afterschool program.

When is the challenge taking place?
Students may build and test their ball launchers anytime now through March 16, 2018. Entries may be submitted February 18, 2018 through March 16, 2018. All entries are due by midnight Pacific Time (GMT-8) on March 16, 2018.

Who is eligible for the $1,000 USD prizes?
To qualify to receive a $1,000 USD prize, an organization must be classified as a U.S. 501(c)3 public charity, a public or private primary or secondary school, or an international nonprofit or non-government charity with a valid registration number. The organization must be located in one of the geographic regions listed above. An organization may enter as many teams in the 2018 Fluor Challenge as they desire. Each entry increases an organization's odds of winning, but an organization may only win a total of one prize.

Expanding Your Horizons (EYH) is a one-day math and science conference for girls in grades 6-9. The participants engage in exciting, hands-on workshops organized by JMU faculty, attend science presentations and demonstrations, and interact with JMU students who are studying math and science. Parents and teachers are invited to attend EYH with their students.  We plan to offer adult workshops again this year.  Parents and teachers are also welcome to accompany their students to all of their activities.

About EYH
Expanding Your Horizons at James Madison University engages young women in high-quality hands-on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) activities and small-group interactions with female scientist role models to foster and support the young women's interest in STEM fields, to increase their awareness of opportunities in STEM-related careers, and to empower them to see themselves as future participants in these fields and careers.