Carbonara Appointed To International Task Force

Dr. Corey Carbonara, professor of communication studies at Baylor University, has been appointed to a task group for the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), an international regulatory agency that is part of the United Nations. Carbonara is the only U.S. representative from a university to serve on the task force, which will create international standardization on the production, distribution and exhibition of digital cinema.
In addition to Carbonara, members of the U.S. contingent include representatives of manufacturers of digital equipment, networks and motion picture companies.
"The Digital Cinema Committee will draft standardization recommendations that would allow for those who distribute motion pictures and live venue events to have a standard approach," Carbonara said. "A lot of people are surprised that the State Department gets involved in this, but it has to do with the fact that there are trade issues and security issues involved."
Carbonara said motion pictures are one of the largest exports of the U.S., but billions of dollars are lost each year because of piracy.
"Digital cinema can actually minimize the risk of piracy through fingerprinting and encryption techniques," he said.
In September, Carbonara will represent the U.S. as a member of the delegation for the State Department -- one of about a dozen people who will do so -- at the ITU Conference in Geneva, Switzerland. U.S. representatives will deliberate the country's position on digital cinema issues throughout the year at various locations.
Named "One of the 25 Most Powerful Texans in High Tech" in March 2000 by Texas Monthly magazine, Carbonara served as a U.S. representative to the ITU in the late 1980s, when the regulatory agency examined standards for HDTV production. He also has served as principal investigator for numerous research grants and projects, including ones for the Texas Association of Broadcasters, NASA, and Human Code and his scholarly presentations include those for the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers, National Association of Broadcasters and the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration.
Carbonara participates in wide range of national and international engineering committees, working groups, subcommittees and panels for the FCC, SMPTE and ATSC and is a member of the Board of Fellows for the University of Texas at Austin Innovation, Creativity and Capital (IC2) Institute. Prior to his appointment at Baylor, Carbonara was the product manager of high-definition systems at Sony Broadcast Products Co.
For more information, contact Carbonara at (254) 710-1511.