Google’s Schmidt Talks Future Tech, World Connectedness at Princeton Turing Centennial

Princeton University celebrated the centennial of Alan Turing’s birth in grand style from May 10-12, 2012. Turing, known as the “father of computer science,” earned his Ph.D. in mathematics from Princeton in 1938, before there was a computer science department at the institution.

The university hosted addresses by some eight winners of the Turing Award, considered to be the “Nobel Prize of computing,” as well as lectures by many other distinguished computer scientists. The range of topics was breathtaking, from quantum computing to modern programming languages and beyond.

A centennial celebration highlight was a public address by Eric Schmidt, Princeton graduate and executive chairman of Google. While not a Google founder, Schmidt has helped grow the search giant from startup to global entity and is credited with finding a way for the company to scale its infrastructure and diversify product offerings while attempting to hold on to a culture of innovation.

Princeton Tech Meetup members gathered beforehand at the local Panera Bread to walk together to Schmidt’s talk at McCosh Hall. Tickets had been reserved earlier. The event was so popular that it was being simulcast to several overflow rooms.

At the heart of Schmidt’s lecture was the belief that technology can be used to benefit all classes of society, including the 5 billion unconnected people on this planet, most of whom live in underdeveloped areas. He called this group “the majority” and was sure that “one day they, too, will be connected.”

Vitech Chooses NJ Over Pa., Will Bring Jobs Here

31 Jan 2012 | by Esther Surden |

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Last week New Jersey and Vitech Systems Group announced that Vitech, a closely held private software company headquartered in New York, would be opening a 20,000-square-foot facility in Iselin.

Vitech provides proprietary insurance, benefits, health claim administration and financial administration software to commercial, public and third-party administrators. A company spokeswoman said the firm had considered expanding to many places, including several sites in Pennsylvania and on Long Island, before settling on N.J.

Several attributes make Iselin a good choice, the Vitech spokeswoman told NJTechWeekly.com. That part of N.J. has access to good roads and is a transportation hub with excellent mass transit. The company believes the state has a talent pool of project managers and software professionals who can help Vitech explore new markets. The firm would not elaborate on the new markets it plans to pursue.

According to an NJBiz.com article, the expansion project was facilitated by the New Jersey Partnership for Action, which includes Choose New Jersey, the Economic Development Authority and the Business Action Center. “We worked closely with the EDA which is a branch of the NJ Partnership for Action program led by Lt. Governor Kim Guadagno,” Vitech’s spokeswoman said. The company will receive a $1.35 million Business Employment Incentive Program grant over 10 years. This is the same grant the firm Fluitec International took advantage of when it relocated from Belgium to Jersey City in September.

To qualify for a BEIP grant, businesses must create at least 25 new jobs within a two-year period; emerging high-tech and biotech companies' eligibility threshold is 10 new jobs. A business must also demonstrate the BEIP grant is a "material" factor in moving the job expansion or relocation forward in N.J., and is economically viable.

The Vitech spokeswoman said the company will allow current N.J. residents working at the firm’s New York location to transfer to the new site to shorten their commute. While Vitech expects 100 people to work at the office building, which should be open in April, it wouldn’t say exactly how many new jobs would open up right away. The site will include office space for 100, a data center and an on-site cafeteria and fitness center.

The company’s website says Vitech is an organization of over 550 employees with staff, offices and clients throughout the world. It has been in continuous, profitable operation for over 20 years.

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