ITM’s Jeremy Hajek selected by Verizon to be a panelist for “Verizon Internet of Things - Smart Seminars - Smart Cities” seminar

Date

During this interactive seminar, Verizon Smart Cities specialists and strategic solutions providers demonstrated how the “Internet of Things” can make a positive impact on the future of Chicago and its surrounding communities to increase economic growth through sustainability, enhance safety and security, and improve operational efficiencies.

Industry Associate Professor Jeremy Hajek joined an exciting line-up of local guests and speakers for a panel discussion. Included on the panel:

Daniel Burrus
Futurist, Technology Strategist, and Trends Forecaster
Burrus is a New York Times bestselling author, successful entrepreneur, and is considered one of the world’s leading technology futurists and innovation experts. His Hard Trend Methodology has changed how leading organizations and government agencies plan and shape the future of smart connected cities using transformational technologies. His methodology is being implemented by IBM, Deloitte, GE, DoD Joint Chiefs, Homeland Security and city planners from the largest cities worldwide. The New York Times has referred to him as one of the top three business gurus.

Jeremy Hajek
Industry Associate Professor of Information Technology and Management, Illinois Institute of Technology's School of Applied Technology
Hajek is a researcher in the Information Technology and Management program at the Illinois Institute of Technology's School of Applied Technology. He specializes in embedded systems, sensor networks, smart technology (IoT), and wearable computing. His expertise extends to IT infrastructure and operations and his current research is in the area of automated fleet movement of UAVs (quadcopters) for use in commercial delivery.

Michael Jasso
Bureau Chief of Economic Development, Cook County
Jasso manages the bureau that includes Planning and Development, Building and Zoning, and Zoning Board of Appeals. A growing initiative of the bureau is regional collaboration with the City of Chicago and neighboring northeast Illinois counties.

Simona Rollinson
CIO, Bureau of Technology, Cook County
As CIO for Cook County, the 2nd most populous county in the nation and the 19th largest government in the US, Rollinson is responsible for leading the county’s technology strategy and managing the overall IT operations. She oversees a capital budget of over $30 million annually for investment in the county's IT infrastructure and application portfolio.

The seminar was highly interactive and began with an overview of Verizon Smart Cities solutions, followed by a keynote speaker who gave a high-level overview of Smart Cities initiatives in the U.S. and abroad. After the keynote, Hajek was a member of the panel which gave a snapshot of the event city’s Smart Cities initiatives to date including goals, challenges, and discussion of any projects currently underway.

Topics discussed included:

  • Cloud & Security
  • Smart Parking
  • Smart Lighting
  • Traffic Management
  • Smart Building & Energy
  • Smart Water
  • Video Monitoring
  • Public Safety & Offender Tracking
  • Digital Signage
  • Fleet & Asset Management
  • Fleet & Van Pooling Optimization

Learn more about Digital Systems Technology & Embedded Systems at Illinois Institute of Technology