ORAU's Annual Meeting of the Council of Sponsoring Institutions is held to explore relevant topics in higher education. The meeting not only provides presentations by nationally recognized experts, but also gives our university consortium members the opportunity to partake in valuable discussions with council representatives and ORAU staff in conjunction with the meeting's yearly theme.

ORAU’s 75th Annual Meeting of the Council of Sponsoring Institutions will be held March 9-11, 2020 and is focused on “Smart Cities and Communities.” The meeting will provide an opportunity for attendees to discuss key technology, economic and policy challenges and opportunities. Experts and leaders from academia, federal agencies, and national organizations will share their views on critical infrastructure systems and resiliency, as well as transitioning innovative research to practice.

*Location change for 2020* Please join us at the Hilton Knoxville Airport for the 2020 meeting, which will begin on Tuesday, March 10, at 8:30 a.m. and conclude on Wednesday, March 11, at 12 p.m. On Monday, March 9, a special session on the value of membership will be held for our university attendees.

Meeting information

• Registration

  Registration for the 75th Annual Meeting of the Council of Sponsoring Institutions is now open. To attend, please register at the Annual Meeting registration site. 

  This is an invitation-only meeting and is not open to the media.

  There is no limit to the number of university representatives allowed to attend the Annual Meeting; however, students are not permitted.

  Councilors: If you cannot attend this year but would like to designate a proxy, please complete the Annual Meeting proxy delegation form. Once completed, your designated proxy MUST complete the main Annual Meeting registration to provide all necessary information and become officially registered. Please communicate this information to your Proxy because the system does not automatically generate a notification to them.

  Registration closes Tuesday, February 11, 2020 for all attendees. 

• Agenda

  *Tentative agenda (subject to change closer to event date)
  

  Monday, March 9, 2020

  3:00 – 7:00 p.m.           Registration – Hotel Lobby

  4:00 – 5:30 p.m.           Leveraging ORAU Membership Session

  Tuesday, March 10, 2020
  

  7:30 – 8:30 a.m.            Registration and Continental Breakfast – Hotel Lobby
                                           Networking Opportunity

  8:30 – 8:40 a.m.          Opening Remarks

  • Andy Page, President and CEO, ORAU
  • Arlene Garrison, Vice President, University Partnerships

  8:40 – 8:45 a.m.           Introduction of Keynote Speaker

  8:45 – 9:30 a.m.           Keynote Addresses
  

  Ben Levine, Executive Director, MetroLab Network

  9:30 – 9:45 a.m.           Keynote Q&A

  9:45 – 10:05 a.m.         Break

  10:05 – 11:35               Panel Session 1: Critical Infrastructure Systems and Resiliency

  Moderator:  Chester Maze, Vice President, Chief Information Officer, ORAU

  Panel Speakers

  Paula Alvarez Pino, Program Director, Sustainable Smart Cities Research Center, University of Alabama at Birmingham [Invited]

  Sam Visner, Director, National Cybersecurity FFRDC, MITRE Corporation

  Zack Huhn, Chairman, Smart Regions Initiatives

  11:35 – 12:00 p.m.       Panel Q & A

  12:00 – 1:15 p.m.         Lunch
                                          Networking Opportunity

  1:15 – 2:45 p.m.           Panel Session 2: Transitioning Innovative Research to Practice

  Moderator:  Jeff Miller, Interim Program Director, Health, Energy & Environment, ORAU

  Panel Speakers

  Operationalizing University/City Smart Cities Partnerships: Portland State University's Digital Cities Testbed Center, Jonathan Fink, Director, Digital City Testbed Center, Portland State University, and Kevin Martin, Manager, Smart City PDX, Portland, Oregon

  David Corman, Program Director, National Science Foundation

  Debra Lam, Managing Director, Smart Cities and Inclusive Innovation, Georgia Institute of Technology

  2:45 – 3:05 p.m.           Panel Q & A

  3:05 – 3:25 p.m.           Break

  3:25 – 4:45 p.m.           Business Meeting

  4:45 – 5:30 p.m.           Break

  5:30 – 6:15 p.m.           Reception
                                          Networking Opportunity

  6:15 – 7:00 p.m.           Dinner

  Wednesday, March 11, 2020

  7:30 – 8:30 a.m.            Continental Breakfast
                                           Networking Opportunity

  8:30 – 8:35 a.m.            Opening Remarks

  • Arlene Garrison, Ph.D., Vice President, University Partnerships

  8:35 – 8:40 a.m.            Introduction of Keynote Speaker

  • Eric Abelquist, Executive Vice President & Chief Research Officer, ORAU

  8:40 – 9:30 a.m.            Keynote Address

  Diana Furchtgott-Ruth, Deputy Assistance Secretary for Research and Technology, Volpe National Transportation Systems Center, U.S. Department of Transportation – Advanced Transportation Systems

  9:30 – 9:45 a.m.            Keynote Q & A

  9:45 – 10:15 a.m.          Break

  10:15 – 11:45 a.m.        Panel Session 3: Social and Economic Impact

  Moderator: Eric Abelquist, Executive Vice President and Chief Research Officer, ORAU

  Panel Speakers

  Ben Green, Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society, Harvard University

  Reinhold Mann, Deputy Vice Chancellor for Research & Chief Scientist, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

  Erik Johnston, Co-Director, Center for Smart Cities and Regions; and Professor, School for the Future of Innovation in Society, Arizona State University

  11:45 – 11:55 p.m.         Panel Q & A

  11:55 – 12:00 p.m.         Wrap-up

  • Andy Page, President and CEO, ORAU

  12:00 p.m.                      Adjourn

  12:00 p.m.                      Box Lunches Available

• Speakers

  Keynote Speakers

  

  Ben Levine (bio)
  MetroLab Network

  

  Diana Furchtgott-Ruth (bio)
  U.S. Department of Transportation

  Panel Session 1: Critical Infrastructure Systems and Resiliency

  

  Paula Alvarez Pino
  University of Alabama at Birmingham

  

  Samuel Visner (bio)
  MITRE Corporation

  

  Zack Huhn
  Smart Regions Initiatives

  Panel Session 2: Transitioning Innovative Research to Practice

  

  Jonathan Fink (bio)
  Portland State University

  

  Kevin Martin (bio)
  Smart City PDX

  

  Debra Lam (bio)
  Georgia Institute of Technology

  

  David Corman
  National Science Foundation

  Panel Session 3: Social and Economic Impact

  

  Ben Green (bio)
  Harvard University

  

  Reinhold Mann (bio)
  University of Tennessee at Chattanooga

  

  Erik Johnston (bio)
  Arizona State University

• Meeting location
  The 75th Annual Meeting of the ORAU Council of Sponsoring Institutions will be held at Hilton Knoxville Airport.
  

  Hilton Knoxville Airport
  2001 Alcoa Highway 
  Alcoa, TN 37701

• Hotel reservations

  Hilton Knoxville Airport
  2001 Alcoa Highway
  Alcoa, TN 37701
  USA
  Phone: 855-680-3239

  Book your hotel reservation

• Badging and attire
  Badges: You MUST register to receive your required attendee badge. If you do not have your badge, you will not be able to attend the meeting.

  Attire: Dress should be in standard business attire.

• Area information
  Knoxville and the surrounding area offer a variety of cultural and recreational activities for every age and topic of interest. For more specific information about these opportunities, visit one of the links below.

  • Knoxville Tourism and Sports Corporation
  • Knoxville: Museums
  • Knoxville: Clarence Brown Theater
  • Knoxville: Tennessee Theater
  • Knoxville Opera Company
  • Zoo Knoxville
  • University of Tennessee sports
  • University of Tennessee Lady Vols sports
  • Oak Ridge Chamber of Commerce
  • Oak Ridge: American Museum of Science and Energy
  • Oak Ridge: Children’s Museum
  • Oak Ridge Playhouse

Past meeting archive

• 2019: Ensuring a Robust U.S. Energy Future

  Tuesday, March 6, 2019 - Pollard Technology Conference Center

  Keynote Address

  • Clean Energy: Technology, Policy and Finance, Dan Reicher, Executive Director, Steyer-Taylor Center for Energy Policy and Finance, Stanford University

  Panel Session 1: CO₂ Capture

  Purpose: R&D activities to reduce the cost of carbon capture, storage and utilization
  Moderator: Wanda Gamble, Vice President, Business Development, ORAU

  Panel Speakers

  • An Overview of DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy Carbon Capture Program, Lynn Brickett, Manager, Carbon Capture and Carbon Use and Reuse R&D Technology, National Energy Technology Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy
  • Air Capture and the Need for Negative Emissions, Klaus Lackner, Director, Center for Negative Carbon Emissions, Arizona State University
  • Deployment of Subsurface Carbon Sequestration with and without EOR: Challenges and Lessons Learned, Brian McPherson, Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Utah; and Science Director, DOE Southwest Regional Partnership on Carbon Sequestration

  Panel Session 2: Environmental Impacts

  Purpose: Critical issues in meeting the energy and environmental challenges
  Moderator: Donna Cragle, Senior Vice President and Director; Health, Environment & Radiation Management, ORAU

  Panel Speakers

  • Understanding the Health, Environmental, and Climate Change Consequences of Different Energy Technology Strategies in the United States, Inês M.L. Azevedo, Professor, Engineering and Public Policy; and Co-Director, Center for Climate and Energy Decision Making, Carnegie Mellon University
  • Research Priorities for Understanding Potential Population-Level Exposures to Unconventional Oil and Natural Gas Development, George M. Hornberger, Distinguished Professor and Director, Institute for Energy and Environment, Vanderbilt University
  • Chemical Looping Combustion, Gasification and Reforming Technology and CO₂ Capture, Liang-Shih Fan, Distinguished University Professor, Ohio State University

  Wednesday, March 7, 2019

  Keynote Address

  • Using Coal as a Precursor for Value-Added Products, Edgar Lara-Curzio, Distinguished Scientist and Leader, Mechanical Properties and Mechanics Group, Oak Ridge National Laboratory

  Panel Session 3: Future of Fossil Fuels

  Purpose: Advanced technologies and policy issues
  Moderator: Eric Abelquist, Executive Vice President and Chief Research Officer, ORAU

  Panel Speakers

  • Getting to Near-Zero Emissions Coal Generation, Angelos Kokkinos, Associate Deputy Assistant Secretary Clean Coal and Carbon Management, Office of Fossil Energy, U.S. Department of Energy
  • U.S. National Fossil Fuel-CO₂ Emissions Determined from Measurements of Carbon Dioxide and Its Radiocarbon Content, John B. Miller, Chief, Carbon Cycle Greenhouse Gases Group, Earth System Research Laboratory, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
  • The Future Directions of Food-Energy-Water Nexus Research, Brandi Schottel, Associate Program Director, Environmental Engineering and Sustainability Cluster, National Science Foundation
• 2018: Public Health Security and Biological Threats

  Wednesday, March 7, 2018 - Pollard Technology Conference Center

  Keynote Address

  Pandemics, Bioterrorism, and Global Health Security: From Anthrax to Zika and Beyond, Col. (Ret.) David R. Franz, U.S. Army Medical Research and Materiel Command; Former Commander, U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases; Chair, ‘Bio’ Sub-Panel, National Academy of Sciences Committee on International Security and Arms Control

  Panel Session 1: Bioinformatics

  Purpose: Application of Bioinformatics to Proactively Predict and Analyze Public Health Threats

  Moderator: Alan Janssen, Group Manager; Health, Energy and Environment, ORAU

  Panel Speakers

  • A Framework for Real-Time Zika Assessment in the U.S., Lauren Ancel Meyers, Professor of Integrative Biology and Statistics and Data Science, University of Texas at Austin; and Lauren Castro, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Texas at Austin
  • Food Safety Bioinformatics, Hendrik den Bakker, Assistant Professor, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Center for Food Safety, University of Georgia

  Panel Session 2: Cyber Biosecurity

  Purpose: Explore the Interconnectivity of Bio- and Cybersecurity to Detect and Respond to Emerging Threats

  Moderator: Carol Iddins, Associate Director, Radiation Emergency Assistance Center/Training Site, ORAU

  Panel Speakers

  • The Digitization of Biology: Defining A New Risk Landscape, Diane DiEuliis, Senior Research Fellow, National Defense University
  • Synthetic Biology: Safety, Security, and Promise, Gigi Kwik Gronvall, Associate Professor, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; Senior Scholar, Center for Health Security, Johns Hopkins University; and Member, Synthetic Biology Study Committee, National Academy of Sciences

  Thursday, March 8, 2018

  Panel Session 3: Technological Innovations

  Purpose: Leveraging Emerging Technologies to Strengthen Public Health Emergency Preparedness and Countermeasures

  Moderator: Eric Abelquist, Executive Vice President and Chief Research Officer, ORAU

  Panel Speakers

  • Biodefense Readiness - Today's Challenges, Rachel Levinson, Executive Director, National Research Initiatives, Arizona State University
  • Medical Diagnostic S&T Investments to Strengthen Medical Biodefense Capabilities, Lt. Col. (Ret.) Richard Schoske, Chief, Diagnostic Detection and Threat Surveillance Division, Chemical and Biological Technologies Department, Defense Threat Reduction Agency
  • Critical Science Gaps in the Cleanup of a Wide-Area Release of Biological Agents, Gregory Sayles, Director, National Homeland Security Research Center, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• 2017: Compliance Complexity in Higher Education

  Wednesday, March 8, 2017 - Pollard Technology Conference Center

  Keynote Address

  Recalibrating Regulation of Colleges and Universities: Report of the Task Force on Federal Regulation of Higher Education, Nicholas S. Zeppos, Chancellor, Vanderbilt University; and Task Force Co-Chair

  Referenced Report: Recalibrating Regulation of Colleges and Universities - Report of the Task Force on Federal Regulation of Higher Education

  Panel Session 1: Conduct of Research

  Purpose: The Impact of the Changing Federal Landscape on Research and Innovation
  Facilitator: Eric Abelquist, Executive Vice President, ORAU

  Panel Speakers

  • The Impact of Recent Export Control Regulations on Higher Education Institutions, Doug Backman, Co-Chair, Federal Demonstration Partnership Project; and Director, Research Compliance, University of Central Florida
  • America Invents Act and Its Impact on University Research, Carl Mahler, Executive Director, Office of Technology Transfer, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
  • Faculty Consulting: Conflicts of Interest and Beyond, Karen A. Mullin, Chief General Counsel and Director of Technology Development, The Forsyth Institute

  Panel Session 2: Enhancing and Supporting a Diverse Faculty Environment

  Purpose: New Challenges and Strategies to Recruit and Retain Faculty
  Facilitator: David Duncan, Senior Vice President and Program Director, Scientific Assessment & Workforce Development, ORAU

  Panel Speakers

  • Title IX by the Numbers: Using Campus Climate Surveys to Improve Campus Culture, Meredith Smith, Title IX Coordinator, Tulane University
  • Building an Effective Compliance Program, L. Lee Tyner, General Counsel, University of Mississippi, and Immediate Past Chair, National Association of College and University Attorneys
  • Academic Freedom and the New Challenges to Faculty Rights, Robert Shibley, Executive Director, Foundation for Individual Rights in Education

  Thursday, March 9, 2017 - Pollard Technology Conference Center

  Keynote Address

  Optimizing the Nation’s Investment in Academic Research: A New Regulatory Framework for the 21st Century, Larry R. Faulkner, Chair, Committee on Federal Research Regulations and Reporting Requirements, National Academy of Sciences; and President Emeritus, University of Texas at Austin

  Panel Session 3: Balancing New Policies and Practices

  Purpose: Creating New Models to Strengthen the Future of Higher Education
  Facilitator: Rachel Lokitz, Associate General Counsel, ORAU

  Panel Speakers

  • Evolving Higher Education Business Models: Leading with Data to Deliver Results, Louis Soares, Vice President for Strategy, Research and Advancement, Center for Policy Research and Strategy, American Council on Education
  • T rajectories in Teaching and Learning: Emerging Practices, Technology, and Who Knows What Else, Malcolm Brown, Director, EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative
  • The Lion in the Path: Challenges and Opportunities for Research Universities in Uncertain Times, Tobin L. Smith, Vice President for Policy, Association of American Universities