When I was in college, I didn't have e-mail.  Cell phones were rare and there was certainly no such thing as a smart phone, tablet, a laptop, or Google.   Sometimes I look back and wonder how I ever survived without those technologies that have now become a necessity in my everyday life.

As we go through our lives using these once cutting edge technologies, we don't really ever stop to think that many of these amazing technologies got their start in the Academic Research community.    This type of research is happening daily on campuses around the world. I had the privilege to join close to 800 technology research masterminds in Indianapolis for the Internet2 Technology Exchange October 26^ththrough October 30^th. The objective of the Technology Exchange was to bring together a wide range of technical visionaries to address the challenges facing the research & education community as it supports data intensive research.  Members of the Internet2 community participated in a range of keynote, breakout and networking sessions over the 4 days. Indiana University was the hosting institution with their CIO, Brad Wheeler, participating in a number of panel discussions.

Our passion towards innovation and partnership with Internet2 put Cisco front and center at the Technology Exchange.  Cisco Software Engineer, Tae Hwang, spearheaded the Cisco booth handling a variety of questions and inquiries while delivering crisp demonstrations of the Cisco Modeling Lab as well as Flexible Traffic Steering through ODL.

In addition to our booth, Cisco participated in 3 speaking engagements during the event. Cisco Engineer, Eddie Ruan was an integral part of an industry panel discussing the trends and directions in the SDN market.  Steven Carter, Cisco Solutions Architect, gave a presentation on ODL Intercloud fabric. Christine Bakan , Cisco Director of Product Management, served on a panel discussing ODL and the impact it will have on research & education. Each of the Cisco sessions was standing-room-only and feedback was very positive from both Tech Exchange attendees as well as the Internet2 staff.

In a fascinating demonstration, Cisco teamed with Rice University to present a flexible traffic steering solution using an ODL controller during the Tech Exchange Community Showcase. William Diegaard from Rice University set up the university's scenario and requirements as Cisco's Eddie Ruan demonstrated an ODL solution that solved the specific Rice requirement.

Harper Reed, CTO of the Obama re-election team was the featured keynote speaker for the Technology Exchange. Reed was a popular speaker with his mix of technology insights and irreverent humor. He noted a few key messages that were critical to the success of the 2012 campaign that have broad applicability for Cisco and our customers. Reed noted:

1)        When execution is critical, make sure you build the right platform -scalable, agile, and adaptive.

2)        Big data is only important in its ability to drive big answers

3)        Micro-targeting is a big source of value in analytics of both structured and unstructured data.

Cisco is continuing to build its engagement with the Internet2 community. Plans are already underway to increase our visibility at the 2015 Global Summit which will be held April 26-30 in Washington, DC. Additionally, next year's Technology Exchange will be held in Cleveland, Ohio with Case Western as the host institution.

We are proud to be an active partner with Internet2 in the university research community and look forward to the positive impact our partnership will make on these institutions. Together the possibilities are endless. We can't even begin to fathom what the next generations will experience as they go to college and how their research will impact our world. Join me on this exciting journey as the next big thing unfolds into that staple technology we can't live without.

To learn more about Internet2, check out their upcoming events, and join us at the global summit in April.