2010 R&D Showcase heads to the Alerus Center Sept. 28-29

An all-star lineup of scientists and entrepreneurs are slated for the 2010 R&D Showcase on Sept. 28-29 at the Alerus Center in Grand Forks. The headliners include a former chief scientist at NASA, a nationally recognized innovator in public/private partnerships and an expert on the Gulf oil spill.

Each year, the R&D Showcase shines a spotlight on cutting-edge research initiatives, scientific advances and commercial applications from innovative faculty and students at North Dakota universities. In many cases, these university scientists are allied with business professionals from the region and beyond, forming solid collaborations that package intellectual property for the marketplace.

The showcase also routinely features keynote speakers who are leaders in the research and development industry, both in government and the private sector. This year is no exception.

Guest speakers for the 2010 version of the R&D Showcase include:

Kathie Olsen, vice president for international affairs, Association of Public and Land-Grant Universities. She is the former deputy director of the National Science Foundation; former associate director for science at the Office of Science and Technology Policy; and former chief scientist at NASA. She is a neuroscientist with a federal government science career that spans nearly 25 years.

Phil Singerman, senior vice president of B&D Consulting, is the former under secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce as well as a former CEO of Maryland TEDCO and Pennsylvania’s Ben Franklin Program. Singerman is a recognized national expert in public/private partnerships to promote local economic development.

Showcase speakers also include faculty researchers and administrators from UND and North Dakota State, including both schools’ heads of research, Phyllis Johnson and Phil Boudjouk, respectively. The showcase will highlight three of the state’s foremost science and technology areas: energy, nanotechnology and life sciences, with a focus on vaccines and immunology.

Also this year, North Dakota EPSCoR (Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research) will be holding its State Conference at the same time and same place as the R&D Showcase. The EPSCoR State Conference kicks-off on Sept. 29 at the Alerus Center with poster displays highlighting innovative research being done by undergraduate, graduate and post doctorate students at North Dakota’s universities.

The EPSCoR conference also will feature special keynote speak Robert Twilley, associate vice chancellor of research and economic development at Louisiana State University. Twilley is also director of the Coastal Systems and Society Initiative. He will talk about the recent oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

For more Information about the showcase, go to www.rdshowcase.com

— David L. Dodds, writer/editor, University Relations, 777-5529, daviddodds@mail.und.edu.