Google and NASA Launch Singularity University

by Andrew Lennon | Managing Editor | The Daily Anchor

Google, NASA and a handful of other science and tech companies are starting a school, Singularity University.

Since we’re all a little ADD, here are the key takeaways, some pretty pictures, and a video…

Key Takeaways

• The school’s mission = to solve “humanity’s grand challenges”
• It will be based near Mountain View, CA, at NASA’s Ames Research Campus at Moffett Field
• The university is named after the idea of singularity, a “theoretical future point of unprecedented technological progress, caused in part by the ability of machines to improve themselves using artificial intelligence”
• SU will enroll only 30 students this year, and ~120 students next year
• The school is modeled after the International Space University
• Academic tracks include:
  • Future Studies & Forecasting
  • Networks & Computing Systems
  • Biotechnology & Bioinformatics
  • Nanotechnology
  • Medicine, Neuroscience & Human Enhancement
  • AI, Robotics, & Cognitive Computing
  • Energy & Ecological Systems
  • Space & Physical Sciences
  • Policy, Law & Ethics
  • Finance & Entrepreneurship
• Tuition is expected to be around $25,000/student for the Graduate Studies Program
• There are 3 separate programs:
  • Graduate Studies (9 weeks, June 27 – Aug 29 2009… 30 students this year, ~120 next year)
    • First 3 weeks of each session = Forming a basic understanding in all of the fields
    • Middle 3 weeks = Learning how each of these fields can possibly intermingle (for example, you might study how 3D printers traditionally used in prototyping could be used to build organs out of stem cells)
    • Final 3 weeks = Applying the newly-learned knowledge to solving real-world problems
  • 10-day Executive Program (starts Fall 2009… 40 students per session, 8 sessions per year)
    • “For mid-level managers/leaders to better understand the convergence happening in various cross-disciplinary technologies and how this may affect their planning and day-to-day operations”
  • 3-day Executive Program (starts Fall 2009… 20 executives per session, 8 sessions per year)
    • “For C-level executives to give a strategic review of the rapidly changing landscape of business created by accelerating technological change”

Additional info

• Founding members include:
  • Individuals:
    • Dr. Ray Kurzweil (author, technologist, and futurist)
    • Dr. Peter Diamandis (XPRIZE)
    • Pete Worden (Director of NASA Ames)
    • Dr. Robert Richards (co-founder of the International Space University)
    • Dr. Robert Richards (ISU President)
    • Dr. Michael Simpson
  • Start-up capital sponsors:
    • Corporate Founder ($250k+)
      • Google
    • Associate Founders ($100k+)
      • Moses Znaimer, Founder, MZ Media
      • Keith Kleiner, Founder, The Haymar Hedge Fund
      • Barney Pell, Founder, Powerset
      • Klee Irwin, Founder, Irwin Naturals
      • Sonia Arrison, Senior Fellow, Pacific Research Institute
      • Dan Stoicescu, Founder, Sindan
      • Georges Harik, Distinguished Engineer, Google Inc.
    • Supporters ($5k-100k)
      • Eric Di Benedetto, Founder, Active Starts
      • Chris Haley, Founder, Nested Universe

Tagged as: Google, NASA, Tech news