Providence Technology Group

Andrew McCarthy is the photographer behind the incredibly detailed 81-megapixel HDR image of the moon that recently went viral. McCarthy says it’s actually a composite of almost 50,000 photos. It’s rich in texture and contrast as it shows the moon in half shadow and makes the viewer feel as if they could reach out and feel the craters. It looks like something that NASA would proudly feature in its image library. Keep reading this article at Format.com

Sophisticated computer tracking and mapping technology is the next line of defense in attacking wildfires that have become increasingly deadly and destructive in California and around the world, experts said at a conference Wednesday at Sacramento State. But more firefighters on the ground, better forest management, improved alert systems and “hardening” of infrastructure also must play roles in controlling wildfires that now occur throughout the year in western states, said speakers at the Wildfire Technology Innovation Summit. In California in 2017 and 2018, fires killed more than 100 people and destroyed thousands of homes. Wildfires burned 875,000 acres in the state last year. Global warming and drought have conspired to fuel extraordinarily intense fires that are exploding through for...[Read More]

Child welfare better empowered to implement Continuum of Care Reform Yuba County Health and Human Services (HHS) is investing in new technology—Traverse®—that uses artificial intelligence to surface key case information to help child welfare caseworkers make critical safety decisions. “With the shift in California to implement Continuum of Care Reform, we are focused on reducing the use of congregate care and increasing capacity in home-based placements for youth. In order to effectively locate home-based placements, we need to identify and connect with extended family members and existing natural supports who we can revisit as a potential placement. Currently that information exists in a two-foot tall paper case file. To read through that volume of paperwork and get a good picture o...[Read More]

Greater Sacramento, CA – It is all right here in the Greater Sacramento region.  In the past month, IBM announced an expansion into Aggie Square – A UC Davis led innovation center focused on life sciences, food systems, mobility, and civic technology.  Centene celebrated a cornerstone dedication of its new facility and touted that the project will bring up to 2,500 net new jobs to the region. And Sacramento was named one of the best places to find a new job by Forbes magazine. “This is what an innovation ecosystem looks like. IBM, a Fortune 500 company, is bringing a select group of specialized staff to work alongside the UC Davis Office of Scholarship and Public Engagement and Aggie Square staff,” stated UC Davis Chancellor Gary May during a recent press conference.  “The announcement sho...[Read More]

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Information technology leaders descended on the capital city this week to share ideas and strategies during the 2019 California Public Sector CIO Academy. California CIO Amy Tong gave opening remarks at the two-day event and touted the state’s IT achievements over the past year, while also looking to the future for change. “2018 was a very productive year,” she said. “2019 is going to be another exciting year.” During the past 12 months, the CIO noted, the state has seen a number of successes. One was its ranking in the Center for Digital Government’s* Digital States Survey, which evaluates states’ use of IT to deliver services. After 10 years of California receiving a B+ grade in the national survey, the Golden State finally broke t...[Read More]

UC Davis and IBM are collaborating on the proposed Aggie Square project in Sacramento. UCD Chancellor Gary May announced the agreement on Thursday. A group of IBM specialists joined staff from Aggie Square and the UCD Office of Public Scholarship and Engagement in a newly leased building on Stockton Boulevard. The proposed building will also include a flexible innovation center for UC Davis faculty, IBM and others to host events to demonstrate their latest innovations and collaborative projects. “Aggie Square is off to an amazing start,” said May. “There is still much to do before we start new construction, but we won’t wait to share ideas and create opportunities for the university, for the community and for industry. I couldn’t be more grateful to IBM for their interest and their leaders...[Read More]

Whilst it is often said that the vast bulk of consumer interest in cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology is based on speculative financial gain, it is always refreshing to see its usage considered for the greater cause. This is exactly what innovators at IBM are hoping to achieve, with a recent pilot test to ascertain whether blockchain and IoT (Internet of Things) technologies can help track groundwater usage in the U.S. state of California. In collaboration with not-for-profit organization the Freshwater Trust and satellite sensor provider SweetSense, the IBM project is looking to tackle unsustainable usage of groundwater. The key reason that California has been targeted is that the location hosts one of the most at-risk aquifers in the U.S. In effect, the idea behind the project is...[Read More]

Heather Hiles, a former deputy director at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and technology entrepreneur,  was named the first CEO and president of California’s one-of-a-kind online community college. The college was the brainchild of former Gov. Jerry Brown, who pushed it through the Legislature last year to become the state’s 115th community college with $240 million in state start-up funding over seven years. Hiles will be taking over the leadership of a college that holds great promise amid skepticism and scrutiny. Community college faculty were intensely opposed. Key lawmakers questioned the college’s need. But in Brown’s last year as governor, the college and its funding were ultimately approved. Keep reading this article at Ed Source

Today, SMUD CEO and General Manager Arlen Orchard unveiled a vision for the Sacramento region to lead the way in mobility by developing a model for a future Mobility Center that will foster innovation in the clean transportation sector and serve as a catalyst for carbon reduction and inclusive economic development. Building on California’s policy leadership in tackling greenhouse gas emissions, and SMUD’s commitment to electric transportation and innovative mobility solutions, SMUD is funding two feasibility studies to support the Mobility Center. The Mobility Center would bring existing regional efforts to secure an electric vehicle prototyping hub and the Autonomous Transportation Open Standards initiative under one umbrella organization. The Mobility Center is envisioned as a public- pr...[Read More]

Thousands of hospital patients die each year due to communication errors as medical providers hand off patients as they’re changing shifts or transferring patients. Critical medical information frequently gets lost or miscommunicated. In fact, it’s estimated that 30% of malpractice claims are caused by communication errors. Jocelyn Munroe was working as programmer at UC Davis when a resident physician asked her if she could modify some patient sign out software to work for a neurologist. She dove in and did that and then made the software customizable for any discipline. She would eventually, in her spare time, rewrite the system and launch her startup eHandoff, an online online patient note system for doctors and nurses for when they’re changing shifts or transferring patients. Keep readi...[Read More]

Outside security system responsible for sending alerts takes responsibility for failure Due to a failure on the part of the outside security alert company responsible for sending out WarnMe alerts, the majority of UC Davis students and employees did not receive real-time updates from campus police during an active shooter situation in downtown Davis last week. The sequence of events unfolded on Thursday, Jan. 10, during which time a shooter killed 22-year-old police officer Natalie Corona and fired several other shots before taking off into the city. Keep reading this article at The California Aggie

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California would become the first state to require businesses to offer electronic receipts unless customers ask for paper copies under legislation proposed on Tuesday. Many businesses and consumers already are moving toward e-receipts, said Democratic Assemblyman Phil Ting of San Francisco. But he said a law is needed because many consumers don’t realize most paper receipts are coated with chemicals prohibited in baby bottles, can’t be recycled and can contaminate other recycled paper because of the chemicals known as Bisphenol-A (BPA) and Bisphenol-S (BPS). His bill would require all businesses to provide proof of purchase receipts electronically starting in 2022 unless a customer asks for a printed copy. Keep reading this article on The Washington Post