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 2024 Annual Meeting of the Council of Sponsoring Institutions will be held March 4-5, 2024 and is focused on "Redefining the Next Generation STEM Enterprise." Topics will be focused on building a future-resilient workforce; equitable access for an innovation economy; and strategic alliances to advance the K-16 education ecosystem.

Meeting information

• Registration

  Registration will be available in late 2023.

• Agenda

  Stay tuned for 2024 Annual Meeting agenda.

• Speakers

  Stay tuned for 2024 Annual Meeting speaker information.

Past meeting archive

• 2023: Climate Security and Environmental Justice: Pathways to Achieving the 2050 Carbon Net-Zero Goal

  Monday, March 6

  Opening Remarks

  • Ken Tobin, Chief Research and University Partnerships Officer, Research and University Partnerships Office, ORAU
  • Andy Page, President and CEO, ORAU
  • Special Introductory Video

  Special Welcome Address

  • Bruce Gnade, Chair, ORAU Board of Directors (Virtual)
  • Joseph Heppert, Chair, Council of Sponsoring Institutions

  Opening Keynote Address

  • Sanah Baig, Deputy Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics, USDA [View presentation]

  Session: Technology Innovation and Transformation

  The goal of the session is to identify best practices, lessons learned, and research gaps and barriers related to how technology can enable us to achieve the 2050 carbon net-zero goal. This will be a true panel discussion moderated by the ORAU facilitator, rather than separate presentations.

  • Katherine Smith, Director, Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center, U.S. Geological Survey
  • Eric Svendsen, Director, Office of the Deputy Director for Non-Infectious Diseases, CDC
  • Kimber Bogard, Deputy Executive Officer for Programs, National Academy of Medicine [View presentation]
  • Allen Walker, Senior Advisor, Technology, Innovation and Partnerships Directorate, NSF

  Second Keynote Address

  • Christopher Frey, Science Advisor and Assistant Administrator, Office of Research and Development, EPA

  Session: Science-Based Models for an Environmentally Equitable Society

  The goal of the session is to identify best practices, lessons learned, and research gaps and barriers related science-based models. This will be a true panel discussion moderated by the ORAU facilitator, rather than separate presentations.

  • Jeanne Herb, Executive Director, Environmental Analysis and Communications Group, Rutgers University [View presentation]
  • Ann Marie Chischilly, Executive Director, Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals, Northern Arizona University
  • Hunter Jones, Program Manager, National Integrated Heat Healht Information System, NOAA [View presentation]
  • LaToya Miles, Deputy Director, Air Resources Laboratory, NOAA

  Tuesday, March 7

  Opening Remarks and Introduction of Keynote Speaker

  • Ken Tobin, Chief Research and University Partnerships Officer, Research and University Partnerships Office, ORAU

  Third Keynote Address

  • Gavin Schmidt, Director, Goddard Institute for Space Studies, NASA (Virtual) [View presentation]

  Session: Growing Future Thought Leaders through Strategic Alliances

  The goal of the session is to identify best practices, lessons learned, and research gaps and barriers related to strategic alliances. This will be a true panel discussion moderated by the ORAU facilitator, rather than separate presentations.

  • Shalanda Baker, Director, Office of Economic Impact and Diversity, DOE
  • Edward Maibach, Director, Center for Climate Change Communication, George Mason University
  • Simon Malcomber, Acting Assistant Director for Biological Sciences, NSF
  • Lisa Greenwood, Assistant Professor, Rochester Institute of Technology

  Closing Remarks

  • Ken Tobin, Chief Research and University Partnerships Officer, Research and University Partnerships Office, ORAU
  • Andy Page, President and CEO, ORAU
• 2022: Public Health Security and Innovation: Lessons Learned from COVID-19

  Monday, March 7

  Opening Remarks

  • Ken Tobin, Vice President and Senior Research Officer, Research and University Partnerships Office, ORAU
  • Andy Page, President and CEO, ORAU Special Welcome Address

  Special Welcome Address

  • Debra Reinhart, Outgoing Council Chair
  • Bruce Gnade, ORAU Board of Directors

  Opening Keynote Address

  • Georges Benjamin, Executive Director, American Public Health Association

  Panel: Preparedness: Detection, Prevention, Response and Control

  • Charles C. Branas, Gelman Endowed Professor of Epidemiology and Chair, Department of Epidemiology, Columbia University; and Member, Committee on Applied Research Topics for Hazard Mitigation and Resilience, National Academy of Sciences Report, “Enhancing Community Resilience through Social Capital and Social Connectedness: Stronger Together!”
  • John Drake, Director, Center for the Ecology of Infectious Diseases, and Director, Global Infectious Disease Intelligence Consortium, Coronavirus Working Group, University of Georgia
  • James Hodge, Director, Center for Public Health Law and Policy, Arizona State University

  Panel: Bio-Economy: Supply Chain Resiliency and Workforce Needs

  • Diane DiEuliis, Assistant Director and Senior Fellow, National Defense University; Member, National Academy of Sciences Report, “Safeguarding the Bio-Economy;” and Former Deputy Director for Policy, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, DHHS 
  • Rachel Lipson, Director, Project on Workforce, Malcolm Wiener Center for Social Policy, Harvard University; and Committee Member, National Academy of Sciences Meeting Regional STEMM Workforce Needs in the Wake of COVID-19
  • Eleftherior “Lefteris” Iakovou, Professor, Engineering Technology and Industrial Distribution, Texas A&M University

  Tuesday, March 8

  Council of Sponsoring Institutions Engagement

  This time will be set aside for council business and announcements.

  Panel: Modeling and Forecasting: Predictive Analytics

  • Mitra Basu, Program Director, Predictive intelligence for Pandemic Prevention, National Science Foundation
  • Katelyn Jetelina, Assistant Professor, Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
  • Jade Mitchell, Associate Professor, Department of Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, Michigan State University

  Closing Keynote Address

  • Hon. Keith Martin, Executive Director, Consortium of Universities for Global Health

  Special Closing Panel: Global Action Summit – Adaptive Solutions for Abundant Food, Health and Prosperity in a COVID-Disrupted World

  • Rob Dongoski, Partner, Food and Agribusiness Lead, Ernst & Young
  • Luis Gabriel Cuervo, Senior Advisor, Research for Health, Pan American Health Organization
  • Scott Miller, President and CEO, Circles USA

  Closing Remarks

  • Ken Tobin, Vice President and Senior Research Officer, Research and University Partnerships Office, ORAU
  • Andy Page, President and CEO, ORAU
• 2021: Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

  Monday, March 8, 2021

  Opening Remarks

  • Ken Tobin, Vice President and Senior Research Officer, Research and University Partnerships Office, ORAU
  • Andy Page, President and CEO, ORAU

  Special Welcome

  The Honorable Sethuraman Panchanathan, Director, National Science Foundation

  Keynote Address

  Jill Crisman, Ph.D., SES, Principal Director for Artificial Intelligence, OUSD (R&E)

  Panel: Advancing R&D and Resiliency

  Speakers:

  • Bruce Draper, Program Manager, Information Innovation Office, DARPA
  • Roberto Gioiosa, Director, Center for Artificial Intelligence-Focused Architectures and Algorithms, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
  • Shane Shaneman, Strategic Director, National Security and Defense, Carnegie Mellon University

  Tuesday, March 9, 2021

  Panel: Skilled Workforce Needs

  Speakers:

  • Patricia Martinez, Fellow, AI and Technology Office, U.S. Department of Energy
  • Remco Zwetsloot, Research Fellow, Center for Security and Emerging Technology, Georgetown University
  • Sidney D’Mello, Associate Professor, Institute of Cognitive Science, University of Colorado Boulder

  Council Engagement Session
  

  Wednesday, March 10, 2021

  Keynote Address

  Gil Alterovitz, Director, National Artificial Intelligence Institute, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
  

  Panel: Ethical, Legal, and Societal Implications

  Speakers:

  • Partha Bhattacharyya, Program Director, AI and Technology Centers for Aging Research, National Institute on Aging, NIH
  • Darrell West, Vice President and Director, Governance Studies, Brookings Institution
  • Brian Bataille, Chief Data Officer, Defense Intelligence Agency

  Closing Remarks

  • Ken Tobin, Vice President and Senior Research Officer, Research and University Partnerships Office, ORAU
  • Andy Page, President and CEO, ORAU