Microsoft builds and operates a worldwide network of datacenter infrastructure. Current programs to reduce carbon dependency, environmental impact, and water usage are reviewed, including Microsoft's unique "Carbon Fund." Several challenges where innovation is needed will be discussed.

About the Speaker: Dr. Winston Saunders holds a Ph.D degree in Physics from U.C. Berkeley, and BS degree in Physics and Math from University of Washington. He is currently leading the Advanced Development Group for Cloud Infrastructure Strategy and Architecture At Microsoft, and aiming to re-invent data center infrastructure to be more efficient, sustainable & available.

The role of Internet and Communication Technology (ICT) in bringing about a revolution in almost all aspects of human life needs no introduction. It is indeed a well-known fact that the transmission of information at a rapid pace has transformed all spheres of human life such as education, health, and economy to name a few. In addition, with the advent in Electronics and Photonics Technology (EPT), we have observed sustained growth and expansion in computation and display technology. From user demography perspective, urbanized population are the major beneficiary of such advances. Therefore, the benefits of ICT and EPT are yet to be experienced by almost 4 billion people in the world who are still "unconnected or under-connected" and suffer as such from the "digital divide," a term coined in order to emphasize the lack of ICT infrastructure in many parts of the world.

Major challenges for widespread adoption of ICT and EPT in these areas are related to cost, lack of power supply, and complexities associated with learning and usage. However, if we can categorically overcome these challenges, then these technologies can be used for food, water, shelter, energy, environment, education, healthcare, and security. In addition, the wide-spread availability of these technologies, will lead to smart suburbs, smart towns, smart villages, etc., without the need to necessarily live in smart cities. This would reverse the trend and allow a more sustainable world with a more balanced distribution of the population density. In this context, this talk will present recently proposed solutions to provide high speed connectivity in rural areas along progress in affordable electronics to serve and contribute to the development of far-flung regions.

In particular, new solutions for both: (i) integrated satellite-airborne-ground networks providing global coverage and connectivity and (ii) terrestrial mesh/multi-hop directive networks connecting underserved areas will be discussed.

Moreover, some examples of democratized wearable electronics using Do-It-Yourself (DIY) assembly of paper along Android DIY applications capturing and displaying vital health signs over connected smartphones for real-time diagnosis will be presented.

About the speaker: Mohamed-Slim Alouini was born in Tunis, Tunisia. He received the Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Pasadena, CA, USA, in 1998. He served as a faculty member in the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA, then in the Texas A&M University at Qatar, Education City, Doha, Qatar before joining King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Thuwal, Makkah Province, Saudi Arabia as a Professor of Electrical Engineering in 2009. His current research interests include the modeling, design, and performance analysis of wireless communication systems.

About the speaker: A graduate of UQAM in business administration, Mr. Clerk is noted for his involvement in Quebec's ICT and innovation sector. He was Director of Communications, as well as General Manager of the Training & Transfer Center, at CRIM, until 2014. Mr. Clerk is a creative leader, focused on collaboration. He has had the opportunity to work closely with many key players in the ICT sector and has contributed directly to several mobilizing and structuring projects in our industry. Mr. Clerk has also served as VP, Strategic Communications, at Vortex Conseils - a firm specialized in organizational performance and which markets technology to assist in quality management. Mr. Clerk has worked with different ICT management teams to assist them with their strategic planning exercises and with the development and implementation of marketing and communication strategies.