NASA News National Aeronautics and Space Administration John F. Kennedy Space Center Kennedy Space Center, Florida 32899 AC 321-867-2468 ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________ For Release: Nov. 27, 2002 KSC Contact: Bruce Buckingham (321) 867-2468 KSC Release No. 115 - 02 MEDIA OPPORTUNITY: NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL RESEARCH LEADERS MEET DEC. 1-4 National and international research leaders from government, industry and academia will gather Dec. 1-4 at the Walt Disney World Contemporary Resort in Lake Buena Vista to share ideas on how research and innovation can transform the world. NASA-Kennedy Space Center is partnering with event host University of Central Florida in support of the 55th annual National Conference on the Advancement of Research (NCAR 55). Among those addressing the group of senior scientists and engineers will be President Bush's Assistant for Science and Technology Jack Marburger, National Security Agency Associate Director of Research Eric Haseltine, best-selling technology author Jeremy Rifkin, NASA Advisor Gen. Spence "Sam" Armstrong, and heads of the nation's defense research complex. Rep. Dave Weldon who serves as Vice Chair of the House Committee on Science Space Subcommittee and Congressman-Elect Tom Feeney also will be among the distinguished speakers. With this year's theme of "Transforming the World through Research and Innovation," the conference will address the challenges and opportunities that now face the nation's research and development enterprise. Vice presidents of research, major laboratory directors and policymakers will be in attendance. In addition to KSC, also partnering with UCF and its Florida Solar Energy Center and Research Foundation in support of the event are the U.S. Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the U.S. Navy Office of Naval Research, U.S. Army STRICOM, The City of Orlando Office of the Mayor, the Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission and the Florida High Tech Corridor. Highlights of NCAR 55: SUNDAY: The event begins (1 p.m.) with a welcome from UCF President John C. Hitt and the opening keynote address by Haseltine (1:30 p.m.) on "The Future of Science." Before taking on his national post Haseltine served as executive vice president for research and development for Walt Disney Imagineering. The afternoon plenary session (3 p.m.), which includes Weldon and Feeney, will focus on congressional perspectives on research. The panel will be moderated by Dr. Helga Rippen, Director of the RAND Science and Technology Policy Institute. Following will be a keynote address (4:30 p.m.) by Chris Stapleton, UCF's director of Entertainment Research. He will discuss "Imagination and Innovation," delving into what the next generation of media will look like and how it will transform society. MONDAY: The morning session (8 a.m.) on "Economic Transformation and the New Economy" will feature two of the nation's leading experts on how states and communities can adapt to the "new economy," as well as discussions on current benchmarks that nationally rank the Orlando metropolitan area as well as the State of Florida. The second plenary session (10:15 a.m.), moderated by the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies on "Redefining Defense Research," will feature the 29th Commandant of the United States Marine Corps, General Alfred Gray (ret.); the Director of the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, Dr. Lyle Schwartz; Director of the Army Research Laboratory, Dr. Robert Whalin; and the Commanding Officer of the Naval Research Laboratory, Captain David Schubert. During the luncheon (11:45 a.m.) Dr. Marburger, who also serves as director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, will speak to the conference theme from his perspective as the President's science advisor. Following an afternoon where attendees will visit the Industry/Interservice Training Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC), the NCAR will shift to the Orlando Science Center (7:15 p.m.) where Orlando Mayor Glenda Hood and Metro Orlando Economic Development Commission President Ray Gilley will showcase how Orlando is "Putting Imagination to Work." The keynote address will be given by Rifkin, internationally renowned author of The End of Work, The Age of Access, and The Biotech Century. The speech will center around his latest book, The Hydrogen Economy: The Creation of the Worldwide Energy Web and the Redistribution of Power on Earth. TUESDAY: The morning session (8 a.m.) moderated by Dr. M.J. Soileau, vice president for Research at UCF, on "The role of Partnerships in Florida's Technology Based Economic Development Strategy" will feature Enterprise Florida President Darrell Kelley; JoAnn Morgan, Director of External Relations and Business Development at NASA Kennedy Space Center. Gathering "International Perspective on Supporting Research," the U.S. State Department will moderate (1:30 p.m.) a distinguished panel of science diplomats from the embassies of Germany, the People's Republic of China, and the European Commission on Tuesday afternoon. WEDNESDAY: The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation will moderate the morning session (8 a.m.) "Shortages or Surpluses: What's the Truth about our Nation's Science and Engineering Workforce." The panel, featuring Harvard economist Daniel Goroff, NASA Advisor Gen. Spence (Sam) Armstrong, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science's Shirley Malcom will debate their views about whether or not our nation has too many * or too few * high tech workers. NOTE: NCAR 55 sessions are open to the public with advance reservation. For more information on the conference or to register online, visit www.ncar.org <http://www.ncar.org> or call Greg Schuckman, UCF Director of Federal Relations and NCAR 55 Program Chair, at (703) 898-8485 (cellular). Media who wish to attend sessions should call Kathy Hagood at (321) 795-4153 (cellular). -- end -- ------------------------------------------------------------- For automatic email subscriptions to this KSC originated press releases, send an Internet electronic mail message to mailto:ksc-news_release-subscribe@kscnews.ksc.nasa.gov. With no subject or message. The system will reply with a confirmation via e-mail of each subscription. 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