05
December
2024

Events From the Community

My Week at TechEX: Lucrecia Kim-Boswell from Stanford University

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By Iain Oldman - Copywriter - Content Marketing, Internet2

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

How a First-Timer Plans to Get the Most Out of TechEX

In the My Week at TechEX24 series, we spotlight research and education (R&E) community members as they gear up for the Internet2 Technology Exchange, Dec. 9-13, in Boston, MA.

Lucrecia Kim-Boswell, the director of Hosting Services and IT Infrastructure for University IT at Stanford University, is new to Technology Exchange.

“This is my first TechEX. I look forward to hearing from my amazing colleagues at other institutions and sharing some of my experiences at Stanford,” Kim-Boswell said.

Even though this is her inaugural visit to TechEX, Kim-Boswell has already plotted out a full week of sessions to attend. Kim-Boswell is primarily focused on the Cloud Technology track but said she also has eyes on sessions covering Identity & Access Management topics.

Ahead of TechEX 2024, Kim-Boswell gave us a breakdown of where she’ll be throughout the week, from workshops on artificial intelligence (AI) to morning runs through Boston.

Lucrecia Kim Boswell profile picture

Lucrecia Kim-Boswell

  • Director of Hosting Services and IT Infrastructure for University IT, Stanford University
  • First-Time TechEX Attendee
  • Years of Experience in the R&E Community – 17 years
  • Track of Interest – Cloud Technology

What session or speaker within your primary track of interest are you most excited about at the 2024 Internet2 Technology Exchange?


Kim-Boswell: Gosh, it’s hard to limit to a single session or speaker. I have so much respect and admiration for other speakers in the Cloud Technology track. 

I am interested in hearing what the amazing Kari Robertson (along with James Monek, Damian Doyle, and Bob Flynn) has to say at Where in the Cloud Are We? A Facilitated Discussion About the State of Cloud in Research and Education at 2:40 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 11. I’ll also sit in to see Ben Rota and Al Paceco from Harvard University present Migrating Cloud-Resistant Workloads at 10:20 a.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 10.

Additionally, I look forward to hearing from speakers that I have not met or heard from. For example, Eric Person’s talk, Navigating the Cloud: Aligning Essential Roles for Successful Data Center Exit at UCOP, at 2:40 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 10, is especially interesting since that is the world I live in now.

TechEX is also a great conference for cross-topic exploration. Is there a session from one of the other tracks that you’re planning to attend?


Kim-Boswell: I am intrigued by the idea that there will be other topics outside of my own area of expertise that I will be available to attend. 

I will likely pop in on one of Heather Flanagan’s two sessions on the Identity & Access Management track — Looking Past the Person: Non-Human Identities in Academia at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 10, and Navigating the Future of Browser-Mediated Federated Identity at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 11. 

Most of it will go over my head, but Heather has a special way of translating “geek” to human. Heather is someone that I worked with early in my career and was a great mentor and influencer to me. It will be great to see her again after all these years. 

What’s one innovative topic or trend in advanced networking, cloud, identity and access management, or security that you’re eager to explore more deeply at the event?


Kim-Boswell: AI, of course! I signed up right away for the Azure Open AI workshop during registration.

In my role at Stanford, my team helps the campus community access services from our cloud service providers. We have seen a large uptick in requests for Azure and the use of Azure OpenAI.

I am looking to learn more about using Azure Open AI to support the Stanford community. I also plan on attending the other AI sessions in the Cloud Technology track — Artificial Intelligence as a Service and Generative AI for All: An Open Source GenAI Platform for Your Campus Community on Dec. 11 — and the poster session Democratizing AI in Education: Vocareum’s LLM Gateway on Dec. 11.

TechEX offers plenty of opportunities for fun and networking. Which social activities are you most looking forward to, and do you have any plans to explore Boston while you’re there?


Kim-Boswell: I’m really looking forward to the 5K Walk/Run at 6:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 11. Being from California, I hopefully won’t turn into an icicle and will be dressed appropriately for doing a 5K run in Boston in December.

Build Your Agenda for TechEX24 and Register Today

Are you ready to join us in Boston, Dec. 9-13? If you haven’t yet registered for the 2024 Internet2 Technology Exchange, now is the time!

Review the full program today to start building your own agenda. Don’t forget to add Kim-Boswell’s own session to your calendar.

Kim-Boswell will present as part of the Cloud Technology track at her session Serving Up TPAS: A Flavorful Take on Stanford’s Technology Platform Assessment & Strategy Effort at 4 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 11.

TechEX24

Don’t miss out on this opportunity to connect with peers, gain fresh insights, and be part of one of the year’s most essential gatherings for IT professionals in R&E.


Register Today

About the Author(s)

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Iain Oldman ioldman@internet2.edu

Copywriter - Content Marketing, Internet2

Iain writes for the Internet2 Community Engagement team with a focus on digital content and strategic communications. He has a background in digital marketing and journalism, with his byline appearing in newswires, regional publications, and nonprofit news organizations.