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Annual Meeting of the Council of Sponsoring Institutions

ORAU’s Annual Meeting addresses key issues facing higher education

ORAU Annual Meeting logo

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 will be available in late 2023.

  • Stay tuned for 2024 Annual Meeting agenda.

  • Stay tuned for 2024 Annual Meeting speaker information.

Past meeting archive

  • 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
  • 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
  • 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
From the Further Together Podcast: Previewing ORAU's annual meeting with Ken Tobin and Cathy Fore

From the Further Together Podcast: Previewing ORAU's annual meeting with Ken Tobin and Cathy Fore

ORAU's Annual Meeting of the Council of Sponsoring Institutions is held to explore relevant topics in higher education. This year's topic is “Climate Security and Environmental Justice: Pathways to Achieving the 2050 Carbon Net-Zero Goal.” Experts and leaders from academia, federal agencies, and national organizations will share their views on technology innovation and transformation; science-based models for an environmentally equitable society; and future workforce development needs. Further Together host Michael Holtz, along with Ken Tobin, ORAU chief research and university partnerships officer, and Cathy Fore, senior director of university partnerships, preview some of the speakers, panel discussions and other aspects of this year's all-important gathering.

Listen now on the Further Together page

Watch the closing panel discussion from the 2022 meeting

 

Watch the special panel discussion on the Global Action Summit covering the topic of "Adaptive Solutions for Abundant Food, Health and Prosperity in a COVID-Disrupted World."

Contact us

To learn more about the ORAU Annual Meeting, contact the University Partnerships office:

Casey ThomasP.O. Box 117, MS 29
Oak Ridge, TN 37831-0117