Beyond If Beyond If
If/When Aug 25, 2020

Blockchain: Equalizing Access to Information

Show Contributors: Dr. Shermin Voshmgir, Thomas Wendling, Paul Thies

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Since its introduction in 2008 by Satoshi Nakamoto in support of the cryptocurrency bitcoin, the promise and capabilities of blockchain and distributed ledger technology have intrigued professionals from a wide array of verticals, from financial professionals to technologists, supply chain experts to engineers. In this episode of If/When, our guests are Dr. Shermin Voshmgir, founder of BlockchainHub and Thomas Wendling, Jacobs community of practice leader for distributed ledger technology. We discussed how smart contracts, distributed ledgers and tokens are being used in the engineering, architecture and construction industries; what business and technology leaders should consider when investing in blockchain technology; and more.

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Episode notes

Dr. Shermin Voshmgir is the founder of BlockchainHub in Berlin and the Research Institute for Cryptoeconomics at the Vienna University of Economics. Author of the book “Token Economy: How the Web3 reinvents the internet”, Shermin has worked with several Web3 related projects during her career – she was a curator of TheDAO (Decentralized Investment Fund), and she was an advisor to several groups such as Jolocom (a Web3 based Identity Solution), Wunder (specializing in Tokenized Art Solutions) and the Estonian E-residency program. Her educational background is Business Administration with a focus on Information Systems Management from the Vienna University of Economics.

Thomas Wendling is a systems engineer at Jacobs. An experienced engineer and actuary, he is responsible for technical and commercial aspects of water, wastewater, power, transportation, military utilities privatization, design, build, operate, and maintenance services in a variety of delivery methods and program management context. He also leads Jacobs' community of practice of 120 members dedicated to distributed ledger technology in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction industry. In 2016, he became an advisor to the Integrated Engineering Blockchain Consortium, a think tank composed of leaders from major organizations that provides thought leadership, best practices, and networking opportunities to professionals working in engineering and manufacturing. Prior to that, he was Chief Innovation Officer of a start-up called CoEngineers, a blockchain talent networking platform.