The Federation of Enterprise Architecture Professional Organizations (FEAPO), which is led by Brian Cameron, executive director of the Center for Enterprise Architecture (EA) at Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) held the Summit on the Enterprise Architecture Profession in early May at The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel. FEAPO is a worldwide association of professional organizations which have come together to provide a forum to standardize, professionalize and otherwise advance the discipline of enterprise architecture. Representatives from a diverse array of organizations met at the conference to more precisely define EA and chart a course for the profession.

Sociology is a highly esteemed field with a massive canon of literature, but according to Dr. Andrea Tapia, an associate professor at Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST), many sociologists are not well-versed in using social media to promote their research and activities. As a recently appointed member of the American Sociological Association’s (ASA) new Task Force on Social Media, she will have an opportunity to help other sociologists gain greater exposure by using social media as a publicity and networking tool.

The legendary Funnel of Nurnberg was said to make people wise very quickly when the right knowledge was poured in—a philosophy that designers continue to apply whenever they over-structure information designs. However, according to Jack Carroll, Edward M. Frymoyer Professor at Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST), and the author of a landmark book on minimalist design, designers should prescribe less, and enable users to think and do more with new technologies.

The second annual Start-up Week, which was held at Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST) March 18-23, 2013, featured more than 25 entrepreneurs from trailblazing companies such as Weebly, Reddit and Songsplit, who networked with students and dispensed advice on starting and growing innovative technology-based companies. Several IST students decided to foster the connections established with the entrepreneurs and educate themselves about the field of entrepreneurship by embarking on a trip to San Francisco, Calif.

Andrea Tapia, an associate professor in Penn State’s College of Information Sciences and Technology (IST), seeks to develop information and communication technology solutions that promote better decision-making across all responders in disaster settings. Starting in the Fall 2013 semester, she will have the opportunity to engage students in the Schreyer Honors College in a deeper discussion than what is typically allowed in a classroom setting of how technologies can be used to save lives during a crisis.