East Coast Travels June 2011

James Searle and Jackie Hayes in front of one of the New York Public Library's famed lions.  Though the library was closed (budget cuts), we were able to sit outside and talk before we made our way to the Museum of Modern Art, also known as MOMA.

Rodin's Balzac is in the lobby of MOMA.

We were not allowed to photograph sixth floor exhibits -- a pity because they included a German Expressionist show as well as a brilliant exhibit featuring the work of Francis Alys, a Belgian architect who moved to Mexico, --  but here are some images from a wonderful show on second floor of MOMA.

Another piece in the African show at MOMA.

Printmaking and photography combined, MOMA African show.

The Jane Hotel in Greenwich Village, one of the most interesting hotels in the city.  It's only a short shot down the West Side Highway to the Financial District.  And I could walk a mile or so to NYU from the hotel.

Lobby of the Jane Hotel.

Safe in lobby of Jane Hotel, a former seamans' home.

Jane Hotel, head of "berth."

View of foot of my berth -- a tight but very workable space.

Ground Zero Construction.

Ground Zero is a bustling place.

View from the deck of the NYU Law School.

View into the summit room with its technology.

Shot from the train, on my way to Baltimore.

I'm sorry that I don't have any photos from my weekend visit at my sister's home in Princeton with its beautiful gardens.  And apologies for the small photos, too!  Next time, I'll upload everything from my iPhone right away rather than have to copy them down from Facebook after the fact.

Traveling light.

One of the real pleasures of my work has always been the ability to combine business, pleasure and train travel. I'm on my way to the East Coast on Saturday, a few days in advance of a conference, so that I can spend time with my family.  I'll set up shop in Princeton at my sister's place for the weekend, and meet my son James on Sunday here in Penn Station for a day of fast talk, good food, a museum or two, and a lot of walking.  We'll have about eight hours before we each take our trains out.  Then on Monday afternoon, I'll come back into the city and check into my hotel to start meetings and then a global risk summit at NYU that goes until Wednesday evening.  Back onto the train again, this time for work in Baltimore/Annapolis/DC. I'll fly back on the congressional milk wagon Friday evening. 

I realize that not everyone is lucky enough to be able to combine all these elements.  For me, it's what makes life interesting.

"Where is your next best idea coming from?"

One of the most successful events for the University of Washington's School of Information is each year's Capstone event, where both selected undergraduates and the graduate students completing their master's degrees present first in short 30 second teasers, and then make themselves available for questions from the audience in a large hall afterward.  Tonight there were 69 such presentations.  Leroy was kind enough to photograph me with three graduates whom I respect highly.

Emily Oxenford has spent this past academic year with me. She took her undergraduate degree with high honors from American University, with a concentration in Peace & Conflict Resolution. She is the author of nine ASA research notes, whose topics include social media and communicating crisis management value. She is interested generally in solving local and global problems through improving information.

Her ASA responsibilities including editing each month's newsletter, writing 8-9 research notes, and participating in several client projects.  She chose to do an information audit of ASA as her Capstone.  How does a shop that is essentially one person move to an information architecture that will support growth? [I suggested that she redraw my photo as Medusa, with information streams as the snakes coming out of my head, but no such luck.]  The poster showing her project is behind us in this photo.

 Her maternal grandparents also attended this evening's capstone presentations. 

This is a bit out of focus but I wanted to use it because it shows the Capstone project undertaken by Shirish Munshi, ASA's 2010 summer research associate, and Swarnika Mehta, where they investigated a complex set of options involving health information data that is bound by privacy laws, with an eye to hosting Campus Health Services in the cloud. 

Norah Abokhodair first introduced herself to me when I guest lectured in an information security course at the UW.  I have followed her progress with great interest since that time.  She will be admitted to the graduate program at the Information School this fall, and she will go far. Her Capstone, conducted with two other students, looked at another record management system in the health care area, with a significant emphasis on interviews conducted with stakeholders.

One last note -- here's Harry Bruce, the dean of the School of Information, whose unfailingly positive outlook and keen dedication to students and faculty alike make its programs a joy to be affiliated with.  Tonight was not commencement, but for me it was the outward manifestation -- the culmination of the work itself -- for awarding the degrees that are to come.