Younghee Jung, Senior Design Manager at Nokia, recently moved to London from Tokyo. Learn more about Younghee's groundbreaking work by viewing her LIFT08 video.

Many will remember her presentation in the User Experience Track where she shared research performed in shanty towns around the world. The purpose was to capture input from users with a view to analyzing trends for future development.

Younghee's well-known colleague and Principal Researcher at Nokia, Jan Chipchase, will be attending LIFT08 in Korea. We'll be back with more about Jan's contribution soon.

Jon Cabiria has been travelling extensively, discussing his recent research on virtual world permeability and transference, which he unveiled and summarized at LIFT08 this past February. After LIFT08, his speaking engagements continued through Europe and the U.S. Later this month, he presents a seminar at the U.S. Department of Defense National Defense University, entitled: Virtual worlds: Immersive learning strategies for overseas engagements, focussing on diplomacy uses, not war. He will also be speaking at the prestigious International Congress on Psychology in Berlin, as well as at the 4th European Conference on Positive Psychology in Rijeka, Croatia, both this coming July.

Jon is currently engaged in research that looks at how we can utilize online social networks, along with positive psychology assessments and appreciative inquiry processes, to aid organisations and individuals in achieving goals, especially those related to social issues. He is also looking at online social networks as a natural extension of human evolution, which he expects to discuss during his 2009 speaking tour.

Using communications technologies and online social networks, Jon continues his consulting and coaching practice from wherever he is in the world, as well as facilitates his popular Human Growth and Development course. Jon continues to receive amazing feedback from his LIFT08 appearance and looks forward to LIFT09.

Remember Scott Smith? Scott is a changeist and a regular at LIFT.

This year Scott spoke at LIFT in the Foresight track, which was all about how organisations identify and attempt to benefit from current and future trends. In his role as a changeist Scott helps organisations to understand and to plan for new consumer behaviours as well as the technologies that are likely to have an impact on their lives.

What's Scott up to these days?

Scott will be speaking next in Toronto at the Interactive Content Exchange Conference (ICE08) which will take place from 26-28 March.

And, we'll be looking forward to his book on emotional connectivity which deals with the next frontier in digital communication. Keep your ears to the ground for this one. It is scheduled to be published in 2009.

Why we invited Francesco to LIFT
Francesco is in charge of the development of design strategy at Nokia. He has a really exciting job. His work combines analysis: of evolutions in the way people communicate, enjoy and work, of innovations in design, technology and business models; and intuition to draw inspiring, new directions for design. This viewpoint is very valuable and relevant to LIFT08.

What will Francesco talk about
Francesco has written about the adoption and use of digital technologies, communication, automation and user-centered design. In this context he will present important future trends to us.

See Francesco's LIFT Profile to learn more about her enlightening work.

Why we invited Henry to LIFT
Henry Markram is Co-Director of the Brain Mind Institute, Director of the Center for Neuroscience & Technology and Director of the "Blue Brain Project". He works at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale in Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland. A worldwide recognized expert in his field, Henry Markram, is also local. And, at LIFT we like to promote locals! His main project, the Blue Brain Project, is carried out in collaboration with IBM

What will Henry talk about
In the context of our New Frontiers Track, Henry will present the Blue Brain Project to us. The Blue Brain project is the first comprehensive attempt to reverse-engineer the mammalian brain, in order to understand brain function and dysfunction.

Official biography
Henry Markram started his academic career in South Africa at Cape Town University and became particularly interested in the mammalian brain during his stay at the Weizmann institute of Science in Israel. For more information about Henry see his LIFT profile.

Why we invited Marc
Marc is a man of many talents who wears several hats. We are interested in Marc's observations as a Senior Research Associate at Ecole Polytechnique Fédéral Lausanne (EPFL) specialized in Telecommunication in Asia.

What is Marc going to talk about?
Marc will share with us his perspective on the latest Asian trends in Telecommunication. Many of us in Europe are clueless about this.

Official biography
Marc is currently working as a post-doc at the EPFL - Management of Network Industries (MIR). His research focuses on the coherence between institutional and technological governance in infrastructures. Marc obtained his PhD on China's telecommunication reforms from the London School of Economics' Information Systems Department.

Learn more about Marc on his LIFT Profile.

Why we invited Jon to LIFT?
As adjunct professor in Psychology at the Pennsylvania Institute for Technology and self-employed consultant, Jon is involved in thought-provoking research. His academic discourse is different and challenges commonly held notions about the Internet.

What will he talk about?
Jon' s research includes explorations of virtual communities as tools to aid in the psychological developmental process, and as a means to alleviate real world cultural and diversity issues. His current research looks at the benefits of virtual societies for marginalized people, and how those benefits are transferable to real life.

Official biography
Jon specializes in Human Development and Cultural Diversity topics. He also provides business consultant services, working at the individual, group, and organizational levels. In this capacity he focuses on organizational dynamics with an emphasis on team development, culture change, and conflict resolution.
His executive coaching activities include finding meaningfulness at the individual and organizational levels to increase personal satisfaction and thereby aid in increased productivity.
Find out more on Jon's LIFT Profile.

Like last year, we will profile LIFT08 speakers on the conference blog to allow you to know them in advance, and make decisions regarding the presentations you want to attend.

Kevin Warwick: Cyborg and Professor of Cybernetics at Reading University in the UK

Why we invited Kevin
Kevin's research and achievements have been widely recognised and awarded. Last year Daniela Cerqui (Anthropologist) spoke at LIFT about her research and experience at his laboratory in Reading. She has been exploring from an anthropological perspective what has led Kevin to having chips implanted into his body. So this year we invited Kevin to present us with his perspective.

What will he talk about?
Apart from sharing his insights with us from the point of view of a Cyborg and a professor of Cybernetics, Kevin will also talk about how his work is breaking physical, ethical and philosophical boundaries. For more info on Kevin and his activities, check out his biography.

Official Biography
Kevin Warwick is Professor of Cybernetics and carries out research in artificial intelligence, control, robotics and biomedical engineering. He is also Director of the University Knowledge Transfer Centre, which links the University with Small to Medium Enterprises and raises well over £2Million each year in research income for the University or Reading.
See Kevin's LIFT Profile to learn more about this groundbreaking researcher.