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Jim Spohrer, Ph.D.
Director, Almaden Services Research, IBM Almaden Research Center
Jim Spohrer, Ph.D., Director of Almaden Services Research at IBM's Almaden Research Center in San Jose, CA, leads a team committed to providing research innovation for IBM Global Services (IGS). Human sciences, On-Demand Innovation Services (ODIS), deep industry knowledge of future trends and operations technology are areas of active exploration.
From 2000-2003, Spohrer was CTO of IBM's Venture Capital Relations Group, where he identified technology trends and established relationships between IBM and VC-backed portfolio companies. Previously, he directed Almaden's Computer Science Foundation Department and before that was senior manager and co-strategist for IBM's User Experience/Human Computer Interaction Research effort.
Before joining IBM, Spohrer was a DEST (Distinguished Engineer, Scientist, and Technologist) and program manager of learning technology projects in Apple Computer's Advanced Technology Group. He led the effort to create Apple's first on-line learning community and vision for mobile any time, any where e-learning. From 1978-1982, he developed speech recognition algorithms and products at Verbex, an Exxon Enterprises company.
Spohrer received a B.S. in physics from MIT in 1978 and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from Yale University in 1988. He is widely published and has helped establish two education research non-profit web sites: The Educational Object Economy and WorldBoard: Associating Information with Places. He is a frequent advisor to the National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Education, and other groups on the implications of rapid technological change to the future of education.