Information technology (IT) has become an integral part of everyday life. From commerce and government to scientific discovery, healthcare, education, entertainment and environmental management, IT is indispensable and will continue to fuel further advances in all facets of human endeavors. At the same time, IT provides a powerful foundation for tackling many of the problems that we face in the 21st century. These include data modeling and prediction to help manage rapidly graying populations, analysis of satellite imagery to manage deforestation or resource exploration, etc. We have witnessed rapid advances in IT in recent years, and further advances in IT will help solve (or mitigate) many of the problems we face in the future.