Volume IX - Issue V - May 2007
Fascinating Projects
Revolutionary New Theory Presented in Paris on Reported by PMF Correspondent Thibaut Goupil in Paris  A world premiere unveiling of a revolutionary new Great Pyramid construction theory was held in Paris on Friday, 30 March, by Dassault Systems and the theory’s creator, architect Jean-Pierre Houdin. Dassault Systems is a world leader in 3D and Product Lifecycle Management (or PLM) solutions. According to the Dassault Systèmes’ press release received by PMForum, Dassault’s real-time 3D solutions have enabled Jean-Pierre Houdin to model and explore the pyramid in 3D and run simulations confirming his theory that the pyramid was built from the inside! The secret of the Great Pyramid, the sole survivor of the Seven Wonders of the World, has fascinated people throughout time. Countless theories exist as to how it was built, but none stands up to analysis. In 1999, Houdin had an insight, whereby he imagined the construction site of Kheops as the first industrial construction site in history. To further refine and test his theory, he called on Dassault Systèmes to help. As part of its "Passion for Innovation" sponsorship programme, DS decided to help Houdin solve the 4,500-year-old mystery with its real-time 3D solutions. Houdin’s theory is based on three foundations:
"Jean-Pierre Houdin's theory is not only interesting; it is coherent and revolutionary. Take the builders of that time seriously, he sees them as grand masters of construction, as real engineers," declares Egyptologist and pyramid specialist Rainer Stadelmann, ex-director of the German Institute of Archaeology in Cairo. Bob Brier, PhD, Egyptologist and world-renowned expert in the field of mummies adds: "Half-baked theories have been put forward about the Great Pyramid and until now none passed the test of sustained analysis. Other participants in the March 30 conference included: Hui Duong Bui, member of the French Science Academy and research director at Poytechnique, who in 1986 conducted onsite Kheops microgravimetry measurements for the EDF Foundation; Marc Buonomo, project manager for Eiffel and the Millau viaduct; and Craig B. Smith, who has studied the construction of the Kheops pyramid in the light of modern project management techniques. The final step for Houdin and Dassault Systèmes will be to prove the theory in real-life with non-invasive verification techniques conducted on the Kheops site.  For more information, visit www.3ds.com/khufu. To read the Dassault press release, click here.
Une nouvelle théorie révolutionnaire présentée à Paris explique comment la Grande Pyramide de Kheops fût construite Reported by PMF Correspondent Thibaut Goupil in Paris Une première mondiale dévoilée à Paris vendredi 30 mars par Dassault Systèmes et le fondateur de la théorie, l’architecte Jean-Pierre Houdin : il s'agit d'une nouvelle théorie sur la construction de la Grande Pyramide. Dassault Systèmes est un leader mondial dans la 3D et les solutions de management des cycles de vie produits (PLM). Selon le communiqué de presse de Dassault Systèmes reçu par PMForum, les solutions de 3D en temps réel de Dassault ont permis à Jean-Pierre Houdin de concevoir un modèle, d’explorer la pyramide en 3D et de réaliser des simulations qui confirment sa théorie : la Pyramide fut construite de l’intérieur ! e secret de la Grande Pyramide, la seule survivante des 7 Merveilles du Monde, a fasciné à travers les âges. Une multitude de théories existe sur la façon dont elle fût construite, mais aucune n’a résisté à l’analyse. En 1999, Houdin a une idée : il imagine la construction du site de Kheops comme le premier site de construction industriel de l’histoire. Pour élaborer sa théorie de façon plus précise et pour la tester, il appelle Dassault Systèmes à l’aide. Dans le cadre de son programme de sponsoring « Passion for Innovation », DS décide d’aider Houdin à résoudre le mystère de 4500 ans avec ses solutions 3D. La théorie d’Houdin est basée dur 3 fondements :
a théorie de Jean-Pierre Houdin n’est pas seulement intéressante ; elle est cohérente et révolutionnaire. Prenez les constructeurs de cette époque au sérieux, lui les considère comme de grands maîtres de la constructions, de vrais ingénieurs » déclare l’Egyptologue et spécialiste des pyramides Rainer Stadelman, ex-Directeur de l’Institut Allemand d’Archéologie au Caire. Le Dr. Bob Brier, Egyptologue et expert des momies, de renommée mondiale ajoute : « Des théories mal préparées ont été mises en avant à propos des Grandes Pyramides mais jusqu’à présent aucune n’avait passé le test de l’analyse présentée. » D’autres participants à la conférence du 30 mars parmi lesquels: Hui Duong Bui, membre de l’Académie Française des Sciences et Directeur de recherches à Polytechnique, qui a conduit en 1986 des mesures de micro gravimétrie sur le site de Kheops pour la fondation EDF ; Marc Buonomo, Chef de Projet pour Eiffel et le Viaduc de Millau ; et Craig B. Smith, qui a étudié la construction de la pyramide de Kheops à la lumière des pratiques modernes de Management de Projet.
Pour plus d’informations, vous pouvez visiter www.3ds.com/khufu. Pour lire le dossier de presse de Dassault, cliquez ici .
Brazil and Italy Agree to Develop Biofuels Plants Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi has announced that Brazilian and Italian energy companies will build four biodiesel plants in Brazil together. Mr Prodi made the announcement after meeting the Sao Paulo Federation of Industries on his tour of Brazil in late March. The four biodiesel plants are expected to cost about $480m (£244m).  European Union (EU) leaders have committed to producing 20% of their energy from renewable sources such as biodiesel and ethanol by 2020. Brazil is the world's second-biggest ethanol producer and the top exporter. The new plants will be built as part of an agreement between Italian energy company Eni, which is 30% government-owned, and Brazil's Petrobras, which is 60% state-owned. Under a memorandum of understanding signed March 27, the companies will combine their proprietary technologies to jointly produce biofuels in other countries and may work together in commercializing biofuels in the international market. In September 2006, Brazil and Britain announced plans to develop a biofuels plant in Africa, to be located in either South Africa or Mozambique. The plant was to develop ethanol from sugar cane, a technology that Brazil has developed into a robust industry. ENi and Petrobras are also studying the feasibility of developing plants in Africa, to produce ethanol for European markets. Meanwhile, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) announced on April 2 a $3 Billion targeted investment in ethanol and biodiesel projects, technical assistance for Central American countries, and a $300 million Green Energy Program. Brazil is a pioneer in ethanol production and has the world's most advanced biofuels market, with over 30,000 filling stations that sell ethanol. The country is about to make a 2 percent biodiesel blend mandatory in all commercial diesel beginning in 2008. No doubt, biofuels and alternative energy projects will become bigger users of project management in the very near future. Sources: Roiters - The Everest Peace Project - Multinational Team
 The Everest Peace Project was a history-making Everest Climb for Peace in 2006 which people from different faiths and cultures - including Palestinian and Israeli men - united together on the tallest mountain in the world. The result is a unique and emotionally moving, full-length 60-minute documentary film, to be aired worldwide within the next two months.  Filmed on location in Nepal, Tibet, USA, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, and the U.A.E., Everest: A Climb for Peace – will not be just a "typical Everest film", but a socially relevant documentary about peace, war, and the human spirit - an inspirational film, which also has some of the most incredible Everest footage ever shot, including a dramatic rescue from near the summit of Everest. The Mission of the Everest Peace Project, which is ongoing, is to have international, multi-cultural Peace Climbs on mountains across the world. In harmony with the United Nation's fundamental goals - our vision, through the example of international cooperation, is to promote a Global Community that strives for peace and compassion.  Climbers from the multinational team display their native flags of Izrael and LebanonThe Peace Climbs will include experienced mountain climbers from many different faiths and cultures across the world. And although they will celebrate diversity and differences, these events will focus on commonality. Participants climb together not as individuals who belong only to this or that nation or faith, but as a team who all share a common home: the earth. By bringing people together from different cultures The Everest Peace Project is setting an inspirational example of courage, friendship and teamwork - and through Peace Climbs showing the world that people from various faiths can live together, work together, and depend on each other while doing something extraordinary: climbing mountains in the name of Peace. We at PMForum applaud such global projects to improve the world, all of which can also use modern project management methods, resources and tools. If you have news or information related to such
International Space Station Crew - Expedition 14 - The 14th crew of the International Space Station, Commander Michael Lopez-Alegria and Flight Engineer Mikhail Tyurin, along with spaceflight participant Charles Simonyi landed their Soyuz spacecraft in the steppes of Kazakhstan at 13:31 GMT on Saturday, 21 April 2007.  The Expedition 14 mission included many highlights during its seven-month duration, including the setting of several records. Lopez-Alegria completed five spacewalks, which gave him a total of 10 for his career. This set a U.S. record for not only number of spacewalks, but also cumulative spacewalk time, 57 hours, 40 minutes. During the mission Flight Engineer Sunita Williams set the record for number of space walks and total time spent on spacewalks by a woman. She participated in four space walks for a total of 29 hours and 17 minutes. Williams will remain on the station for the first part of the new mission. Three of the crew's spacewalks were conducted over the course of nine days, an unprecedented schedule for a station crew. Starting from scratch, it takes about 100 crew-member hours to prepare for a spacewalk. By doing them a few days apart, considerable crew time can be saved by not having to repeat some of those preparatory steps.  Before closing the Soyuz-station hatches at 1:03 a.m. Saturday, Lopez-Alegria and Tyurin said farewell to the Expedition 15 crew, Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin, flight engineers Oleg Kotov and Williams. The new crew and Simonyi launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on April 7 and arrived at the station on April 9. Lopez-Alegria and Tyurin will now spend several weeks in Star City, near Moscow, for debriefing and medical examinations. Their return to Earth was originally scheduled for Friday, April 20, but was delayed due to wet ground conditions that could have precluded helicopter operations. The one-day change allowed for touchdown in a landing zone farther to the south. For more about the crew's activities and station sighting opportunities, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/station. This story based on a NASA press release.
Ambitious Infrastructure Project in India Reported by PMF Correspondent Raju Rao in India A Delhi Mumbai industrial corridor that is expected to have an investment of about US$ 50 billion has been announced in India. The proposed project would be built along the Delhi-Mumbai freight corridor / road corridor, which is part of the Golden Quadrilateral. This project will be funded through private-public partnership and foreign investment. Japan has agreed to invest in it as well as provide a grant. To be constructed on the lines of the Tokyo -Osaka corridor, the work on it is expected to start in January 2008 and be completed in seven years. It will include a 4,000 mw power plant, three ports and six airports, in addition to connectivity with the existing ports.  Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath announced the project in Mumbai during an address to an interactive meeting organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and attended by Japanese economy, trade and industry minister Akira Amari. According to Minister Nath, "The project will be launched in January 2008 after finalisation of the detailed project report by the end of December this year. It will be completed in seven years and entail an overall investment of $45-50 billion."  The 1,483 km corridor, for which Tokyo was roped in as partner during Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's visit to Tokyo in December last year, will be developed along a 300 km area along the proposed Delhi-Mumbai dedicated freight corridor. It will cover the six states of Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra. The industrial corridor project will be implemented by Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation through special purpose vehicles (SPVs) and is expected to double employment, triple industrial output and quadruple exports from the region in five years. The Japanese economy, trade and industry minister will again visit India in July, accompanied by a high-level business delegation, to finalise the details of the industrial corridor. He is also expected to initiate a policy dialogue on oil, power and energy. Nath said that the government has fixed a foreign direct investment (FDI) target of $25 billion for the financial year 2007-08. "Last fiscal year, FDI touched $15 billion as against $5.5 billion in 2005-06. If reinvested earnings are taken into account, FDI in 2006-07 totalled $18 billion as against $7.5 billion in the previous financial year," he noted. The commerce and industry minister added that the impressive foreign investment flows reflect investors' confidence in India. He also said the successful conclusion of the bidding for several ultra-mega power projects is a welcome respite in the search for capital. "The Sasan and Mundra power projects will provide benchmark for other projects. We have to repeat it in highways, ports and other sectors," he said.
What a Project! American Space Tourist Returns to Earth Space Adventures, Ltd., the world's leading space experiences company, announced on Saturday, April 21, 2007 that Charles Simonyi, Ph.D., successfully landed in the Kazakhstan steppes after a 14-day visit to the International Space Station (ISS). Dr. Simonyi returned to Earth aboard Soyuz TMA-9 with Expedition 14 crew members Michael Lopez-Alegria and Mikhail Tyurin, who both spent seven months aboard the ISS.  "Seeing the space station for the first time from inside the Soyuz was such an unforgettable experience. Seeing the Earth from space, so beautiful, majestic and calm, has filled me with great optimism," said Dr. Simonyi. "I think it is written into our DNA to explore. Space exploration is so important to humanity, that to have been able to participate in it, even in a very small way, was such a privilege." Dr. Simonyi launched aboard Soyuz TMA-10 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on April 7. He joined Expedition 15 commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and flight engineer Oleg Kotov for the flight. They arrived at the International Space Station on April 9 and were greeted by the Expedition 14 crew.
 In preparation for his spaceflight, Dr. Simonyi completed a training program at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center located in Star City, Russia. During his 11-day stay aboard the ISS, Dr. Simonyi assisted several international space agencies by conducting experiments, communicated with hundreds of high school students via HAM radio signal in cooperation with Amateur Radio on the ISS (ARISS) and celebrated Cosmonautics Day by presenting a gourmet meal to the space station crew. Dr. Simonyi's mission to the ISS is the latest destination in a life defined by exploration and discovery. Born in Budapest, Charles Simonyi earned his Bachelor of Science degree in engineering and mathematics from the University of California at Berkeley and a doctorate in computer science from Stanford University. From 1972 to 1980, Dr. Simonyi worked at Xerox Corporation's Palo Alto Research Center (PARC). He left PARC to join Microsoft Corporation, where Dr. Simonyi held the titles of Director of Application Development, Chief Architect and Distinguished Engineer. In August of 2002, Dr. Simonyi left Microsoft and founded Intentional Software Corporation, a software engineering company focused on improving the way organizations write software. He then founded the Charles Simonyi Fund for Arts and Sciences in 2003 to support arts organizations, science programs and educational institutions. Dr. Simonyi is a trained pilot in multi-engine aircraft with current licenses in jets and helicopters and more than 2,000 hours of flying time.
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