October 2018 Top Blog Roundup

With October already in the rear-view mirror, take a look at the month’s highlights from the public sector blog.

1. Estimating Hurricane Wind Speeds with Machine Learning

Better estimates of hurricane wind speeds can lead to better decisions around evacuations and general hurricane response planning, saving both lives and property. Hurricane windspeed estimates are currently made using the manual Dvorak technique. The National Hurricane Center releases them every three to six hours. Artificial intelligence (AI) experts with the IMPACT team at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and Development Seed created the Deep Learning-Based Hurricane Intensity Estimator to automate this process. Learn more.

2. The Five Ways Organizations Initially Get Compromised and Tools to Protect Yourself

A guest post by Tim Rains, EMEA Regional Leader Security & Compliance, Amazon Web Services

Over the years, many organizations’ on-premises IT infrastructure have been compromised. Often times, organizations are left defending infrastructure, data, and people without understanding who is attacking them and why. But the silver lining is that attackers often use the same tactics to try to initially compromise their targets. Knowing the ways that attackers try to get a foothold in your environment can help you defend it better. Learn more.

3. AWS and National Institutes of Health Collaborate to Accelerate Discoveries with STRIDES Initiative

We announced that we are collaborating with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) STRIDES (Science and Technology Research Infrastructure for Discovery, Experimentation, and Sustainability) Initiative to foster innovation in biomedical research using technological advancements in the AWS Cloud. Learn more.

4. Canberra Grammar School Code Cadets Use AWS for Athletics Carnival

The Canberra Grammar School Code Cadets are a group of students with a passion for technology and applying their knowledge towards interesting projects beyond the classroom. The Code Cadets have been working with AWS technology for many years, being long-time participants in GovHack, which AWS has supported in the past – and are planning to use AWS Educate in their Year 9 and 10 elective software development courses next year. Learn more.

5. Driving Momentum in Genomics Research: AWS Collaborates with Broad Institute

The cost of sequencing a human-sized genome has fallen to $1,000, from $10 million in 2007. As this figure continues to drop, data from genomic experiments is growing at a rate faster than computing capacities at most research institutes can handle. Learn more.

For more news and updates from the public sector, check out more of the AWS Government, Education, & Nonprofits Blog, and find stories of technology used for the public good on our podcast.