Ghanaian Fiber Optics Innovator Gives Keynote Speech At Microsoft

Fiber Optics Inventor and Innovator, Dr. Thomas O. Mensah of Light wave Systems Corporation was the Invited Keynote Speaker at the Headquarters of Microsoft Corporation located in Redmond, Washington on November 14, 2014.

Microsoft Corporation and the United Athletes Foundation teamed up to organize a Software Competition for Windows based Apps for Smart phones, and the top 12 finalists from US Universities were invited to the Redmond campus, Headquarters of Microsoft.

Dr. Thomas Mensah in his keynote address entitled “Inspiring the Next Generation Software and App Developers”. Congratulated the Hackathon organizers and the participants involved in making such an inspiring competitive program a success and challenged the organizers to expand their search for future talents in the field of software and app development to countries outside the US including emerging countries like Ghana. He also invited all emerging countries to fully participate in educating the next generation experts, since they are the future, with the shift in innovation to software and app development which does not require expensive engineering laboratories, he appealed to educators to involve students early in computer coding and partner with other organizations, like the Hour of Code, to bring computer science to their classrooms. This Message was well received.

The Competition moderated by Fernando Hernandez, Director of Supplier Diversity at Microsoft involved presentations by each of the 12 University teams, addressing areas of Innovation, Functionality, Markets and Business Case as well as product demonstration.

Among some of the highlight of the competition was one of the teams’ presentation of a software app that allows videos to be transmit using basic cell phones and SMS for linking the user to a doctor. Another team developed a robotic car that can be remotely controlled using the cellphone.

Dr. Thomas Mensah announced the top 3 winners of the competition, with Fernando Hernandez, Ray Lewis Vice Chairman and Reggie Howard President of the United Athletes Foundation and the Judges presented the teams with prices totaling $70,000 donated by Microsoft Corporation. The Invited panel of judges includes Ron Busby, President US Black Chamber of Commerce, Eliza Hernandez Executive Director US Hispanic chamber of Commerce, Avis Yates Rivers, President of Technology Concepts, and one of Managers of Software Development at Microsoft.

SPELMAN TEAM DISPLAYS THEIR PRIZE AT MICROSOFT

Dr. Thomas Mensah, Reggie Howard, Fernando Hernandez and the Judges