By Dr. Randall W. Hill, Jr, Vice Dean, Viterbi School of Engineering, Omar B. Milligan Professor in Computer Science (Games and Interactive Media), Executive Director, ICT
On Monday Aug 19th 2024, at 18:30 hours, ICT’s Executive Director welcomed esteemed guests to the Opening Ceremony for our 25th Anniversary, after an afternoon of demos from our researchers throughout our 16 Labs.
Welcome to ICT 25! We are so glad you have joined us, for what promises to be an incredible 2-day event.
As we celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Institute for Creative Technologies, we are honored that so many of you have been able to travel to Los Angeles for this event, despite us holding it in August, right in the middle of many peoples’ summer vacations. I assume most of you are TSA Pre-check anyway, so zipped through those lines en route to LAX.
On a serious note, the list of people who have made ICT what it is today is both long and illustrious – and looking around, I can see that many of you are here with us this evening. Thank you for helping us reach this milestone.
ICT has two “parents” – we are part of the University of Southern California and, for that, I want to acknowledge Dr. Carol Folt, who is the 12th President of USC, and holds the Robert C. Packard President’s Chair, alongside Dr. Yannis Yortsos, Dean of the Viterbi School of Engineering.
We are also proud to be a University Affiliated Research Center, or UARC, sponsored by the US Army. Representing our nation’s military this evening are Brigadier General George C. Hackler, Deputy Commanding General of the U.S. Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM), and Mr. Doug Tamilio, SES, Director, Combat Capabilities Development Command: Soldier Center, United States Army, who will be speaking later. And I would particularly like to acknowledge GEN(ret) Robert Brown and GEN(ret) Paul Kern; both are retired four-star generals who outrank everyone in the room. We salute you all.
We have a lot to get through this evening, so I’m going to keep my speech short and sweet to keep us on track. Let me highlight a few other people who are here this evening, who have made ICT what it is today:
I want to thank Bill Swartout, our Chief Science Officer, and Cheryl Birch – who will be retiring at the end of this year as our Director of Finance, Business and HR – they are two of ICT’s founding staffers, and nurtured the fledgling institute as it found its feet. If you haven’t had a chance to read Bill’s and Cheryl’s essays about joining ICT, I encourage you to do so. Their stories are part of our DNA – and you can find them under the News & Updates tab at ict.usc.edu.
Our founding Executive Director, Richard Lindheim sadly passed away in 2001. I want to say how grateful we are that Elaine, his wife, has joined us here this evening to celebrate his great influence.
Other important guests tonight include James Korris, who was our first Creative Director, and Neal Sullivan, who was the Vice Provost for Research. He was the most senior person at USC to be involved with the founding of ICT who is present this evening. Also in this room this evening is Dr. Jacqueline Ford Morie, who presented not one, but two papers in 1996 at Modeling and Simulation: Linking Entertainment and Defense – the original workshop, hosted by the National Research Council, which led to the creation of ICT.
You’ll be hearing from him later, and I want to thank him now – the HON Louis Caldera, who served as the 17th United States Secretary of the Army. Louis was here at ICT’s signing ceremony – and, Louis, I want you to know that the photograph of you signing us into history is front and center in my presentation for all our VIP events and tours. On a personal note, Louis and I are West Point classmates, and I am so grateful he accepted our invitation to come and speak today.
Today, ICT is not just looking back over its 25 years, but planning the next 25 years ahead. To do that, we need to change, and pivot, with the times. The world today is very different to the late 90s. The incoming Gen Z workforce is challenging us, in a good way, and we are responding by examining our ethics, values and goals, especially around diversity, inclusion and belonging. The Army has changed too, and we are changing to reflect that. As Ryan McAlinden, our Director for Defense and Intelligence Initiatives wrote in his essay for ICT 25 (also on our website):
“The world around us is changing, towards a new set of threats and world order that the United States must position itself to meet head-on. ICT is pivoting as well, investigating new and disruptive ways of using technology to help the Nation maintain its scientific superiority on the battlefield, and across the World.”
We are proud of our work at ICT – and continue to strive to forge new frontiers. We seek to create a world where humans can flourish.
Thank you all for being part of our past, present and future. And I hope you have a wonderful time with us as we celebrate ICT 25!
Following Dr. Hill’s speech:
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ICT “Journey” Film
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Mr. Douglas Tamilio is the Director of the US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center (DEVCOM Soldier Center) and he also serves as the Executive Agent for the Army overseeing the ICT and its programs. Under Mr. Tamilio’s leadership, the US Army DEVCOM Soldier Center delivers world-class research, development, systems engineering, and services with a unique “Soldier”-centric focus. The center’s work is critical to ensuring the readiness and well-being of our nation’s combat forces. He is a member of the Senior Executive Service.
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Dr. Carol Folt serves as the twelfth president of the University of Southern California and holds the Robert C. Packard President’s Chair. Dr. Folt is known for always placing students at the center. She is a collaborative academic leader and an internationally recognized life scientist with faculty appointments in biological sciences, civil and environmental engineering, and population and public health sciences.
// President Folt introduces HON Louis Caldera
// Voiceover introduction of Dean Yannis Yortsos