Dr. Weidong Kou is a Chief Architect and a Senior Manager of IBM Greater China Group, and an Adjunct Professor of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. He was a Dean of the School of Computer Science at Xidian University, a Director of the Chinese Key Laboratory on Integrated Services Networks (ISN), and an Associate Director of the E-Business Technology Institute at the University of Hong Kong. Dr. Kou is a Laureate of 2004 Friendship Award of China, the most prestige award and the highest honor from Chinese National Government to recognize an international expert. He has over 12 years of industry experience in IBM, AT&T, and Siemens in North America. Dr. Kou was elected as a Member of the New York Academy of Sciences in 1992. He is also a Senior Member of IEEE. Dr. Yelena Yesha is an Exceptional Research Professor in the Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. Formerly, she served as the Director of the Center of Excellence in Space Data and Information Sciences at NASA. Dr. Yesha is a Senior Member of IEEE, and a Member of the ACM.