Dr. Joseph J. Salvo ’76 will be returning to campus the morning of Friday, October 14 with the GE Mobile Solutions Center, a 53-foot, state-of-the-art trailer demonstrating new shipping technologies. According to a statement from GE, “The unit is designed not only as a customer and prospect education center, but also as a special events hospitality venue.” In addition to a training and conference room, the trailer has three large flat panel screens that demonstrate the benefits of VeriWise technology. GE hopes it will convince prospective customers to adopt their new technology. The Mobile Solutions Center’s visit to PA is its latest stop on a tour of more than 50,000 miles. To support the “Good Stuff: Trucks Bring It” awareness campaign and sell the VeriWise system, the demonstration truck will travel the country for the rest of the year. The trailer will be parked in front of Cochran Chapel from 9 a.m. -1 p.m. for students, faculty, and staff to visit. Dr. Salvo will talk to students about his career as a scientist and the practical applications of laboratory research. The event is designed to show students how math and science concepts from the classroom translate into business and commerce. After graduating from PA, Dr. Salvo attended Harvard University, where he received an A.B. in Biochemistry, and Yale University, where he earned his Ph.D. and M.Phil. degrees in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry. He is currently the manager of process systems technology at GE’s Manufacturing and Business Process Laboratory in Niskayuna, N.Y. The trailer demonstrates GE’s VeriWise Asset Intelligence system, a sensing technology developed by Dr. Salvo that is changing the global trucking and shipping industries. The system is contained in the trailer portion of an 18-wheeler, or in a shipping container, to allow companies to track their products via satellite as they are shipped worldwide. Another benefit of the tracking technology is increased protection from terrorism. One major governmental concern today is the security of cargo containers at ports, on rails, and on highways. The sensors in the cargo containers equipped with VeriWise tell dispatchers if the doors are opened and notify the shipper of the whereabouts of the container at all times. VeriWise technology is a revolutionary step forward for the trucking industry. Until now, truck owners had no way of knowing where their cargos were or of any other critical information about the shipment. According to a statement on the GE website, “VeriWise helps trucking companies better allocate their trailers in the face of a critical national driver shortage.”
