ASME Think Tank Summit Registration Complimentary Through May 28 (5/16/07) The ASME Think Tank Summit — a gathering of engineering professionals from industry and academia to examine and discuss important issues in engineering today — is less than a month away. Registration for the forum is complimentary through May 28. The ASME Think Tank Summit, to be held in Toronto, Ontario, June 10–11, will first probe a recent report by the National Academies that calls for the need to maximize the potential of women engineers and scientists in academia. The summit will also address issues related to product lifecycle management, and examine the various aspects of design through the eyes of human factor engineering. The Summit, to be held in conjunction with the ASME Summer Annual Meeting, June 9–14, will draw executives, managers, educators and others in the engineering and technology community to participate in three town hall-style meetings led by a panel of experts and opinion leaders in their respective fields. The opening session will spotlight a report released last year by the National Academies that said educational institutions are biased in their approach toward women in engineering disciplines. "Women are capable of contributing more to the nation's science and engineering research enterprise, but bias and outmoded practices governing academic success impede their progress almost every step of the way," according to the report. This controversial report will open the series of discussions on June 10. Carolyn W. Meyers, the president of Norfolk State University and past vice president of ASME's Board on Minorities and Women, will be among the panelists in the opening session beginning at 4:30 p.m. at The Fairmont Royal York Hotel. In the first of two sessions on June 11, The Summit will draw its attention to the "Fruits and Pitfalls of Product Lifecycle Management." Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) is a solution that provides the necessary requirements and capabilities companies need to successfully manage information and facilitate communication and collaboration across the entire product lifecycle. PLM has emerged as the primary means by which to improve product development processes across the value chain to deliver the most business value. Beginning at 8:00 AM, this session will feature panelists Marc Halpern, research director at Gartner Inc., Ron Lasser, of Tufts University and a former international consultant in product development, innovation and product portfolio strategy, and other notable participants including speakers from both Toyota and The Boeing Co. The final session at 1:00 p.m., moderated by former Apple Computer vice president and well-known human factors author Don Norman, will focus attention on Human Factor Engineering — designing products with the customer in mind. Businesses are realizing that style and function are now as important as performance in the products consumers buy. Hear more as this session delves into this topic with designers and critics and the audience. Speakers include representatives from the National Science Foundation and Northrop Grumman. If you register online before May 28, registration is free of charge. After May 28, on-site registration fees will apply. Those rates are $150 for ASME members, $200 for nonmembers, and $75 for students. For more information, visit http://www.asmeconferences.org/thinktank07/confregistration.cfm. OMAE 2007 to Address Industry, Academia and Government Next Month Industry, Academia and Government ... Sailing Together," is the theme of the 26th Annual Conference on Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering (OMAE 2007) to be held June 10–15 in San Diego. The conference will be held at the Paradise Point Resort and Marina, San Diego. This international conference is co-sponsored by ASME and more than 20 leading engineering societies around the world. This is the first time the conference is being been held in the United States since 2000. The opening keynote session begins on June 11 at 9:00 a.m. with a lecture by Elmer "Bud" Danenberger III, chief of Offshore Regulatory Programs, Minerals Management Service, U. S. Department of Interior. He will speak on the topic "Cooperating to Achieve Offshore Energy, Safety, and Environmental Objectives." Three other plenary lectures will feature Professor Emeritus Walter Munk of Scripps Institution of Oceanography discussing "Waves"; George Rodenbush of Shell Exploration and Production Co. discussing "Technology Continues to Make a Difference in Offshore Developments," and R. J. Brown, a pioneer in offshore and arctic pipelines, discussing the technology of pipeline installation in deepwater and the arctic. Technical sessions will follow the keynote and plenary sessions covering a range of technologies represented by twelve symposia and 474 technical peer reviewed papers. Charles Smith of the Minerals Management Service will lead a new specialty symposium, this year, on the important subject of offshore renewable energy, an extension of last year's successful symposium in Hamburg, Germany on offshore wind energy. Three special short courses — covering vortex induced vibrations, computational fluid mechanics and carbon sequestration in sedimentary basins — are offered on the weekend preceding the conference. To find out more about OMAE 2007, visit www.asmeconferences.org/OMAE07. ASME Power Hits Texas in July ASME Power, the conference for those design, build, operate, overhaul and maintain power plants, or who are in power plant and equipment R&D, will be held July 17–19 at the Marriott Plaza San Antonio in San Antonio, Texas. At the meeting, participants will discuss real day-to-day operating, maintenance and equipment issues inside the power plant. You will take home information you can use today. You will also learn about the latest methods and cutting edge technology that will help you operate even better tomorrow. Technical areas to be covered at ASME Power will include operations and maintenance; reliability, availability and maintainability; turbines, generators and auxiliaries; power plant heat exchangers and cooling systems; fuels, combustion, emission technologies and material handling; combined cycle power plants; components and plant system design optimization; performance testing and performance test codes; renewable and advanced energy systems; and integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plants. For more information or to register, visit www.asmeconferences.org/Power07.

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