About The Conference
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute (UMBI) will co-host the “Accelerating Innovation in 21st Century Biosciences: Identifying the Measurement Standards and Technological Challenges” Conference (Symposium and Workshop) to be held October 19-22, 2008, at NIST headquarters in Gaithersburg, Maryland.
Planners hope that the outcome of the conference will be a detailed “road map” list of measurement, standards and technology needs that will inform and guide researchers at NIST, as well as others in the measurement and standards communities worldwide.
Plenary Session
Highlighting the conference will be an opening plenary with a morning Panel Session with International Policy Directors and the Director’s of National Metrology Institutes. The afternoon plenary symposium will have lectures from visionary bioscience leaders discussing future trends and measurement, standards, and technology needs for the focus areas. The speakers include:
- Agriculture: Dr. Pamela Ronald and Mr. Raoul Adamchak, UC Davis, USA; Authors of "Tomorrow's Table"
- Energy: Dr. Anna Palmisano, U.S. Department of Energy
- Environment: Dr. Stephen Weisberg, Southern California Coastal Water Research Project Authority, USA
- Manufacturing: Dr. James Thomas, Amgen, USA
- Medicine: Dr. Leroy Hood, Institute for Systems Biology, USA
About The Workshop
Objective: To identify and prioritize measurement, standards and technology barriers to the realization of optimal economic and broad societal benefit from new discoveries in the following focus areas:
- Agriculture - increasing yield, quality, & safety in the world's food supply
- Energy - obtaining sustainable energy from biological sources
- Environment - understanding our planet through linking molecules to ecosystems
- Manufacturing - obtaining higher quality products through better bioprocess measurements
- Medicine - improving health through measurement of complex biological signatures
- Closing the Gap - unrecognized, overlooked, underestimated and ignored challenges.
Technical Panels
Six concurrent Technical Panels will take place on October 21-22 focusing on the topics shown below. These will include an interactive presentation and discussion session (Closing the Gaps) focusing on eight special topics. When you register you will be asked to select your first and second choice for these sessions.
Each Technical Panel will be comprised of facilitated discussions to identify and prioritize the measurement, standards and technological barriers in each topic. Due to time and space constraints, experts in the field will be pre-selected from among registrants to actively participate in the majority of facilitated discussions. However, to ensure the broadest possible exchange of information there will also be space available for observers, and time set aside for general Q&A where observers may comment and add input.
The concurrent "Closing the Gaps" presentation session will be open to all, and will include presentations on the eight topic areas plus extended discussion of questions pre-submitted by registrants.
| Technical Panel | Details |
|---|---|
Agriculture |
Increasing Yield, Quality and Safety in the World's Food Supply The Agriculture panel will identify measurement, standards, and technological barriers to innovation for increasing yield, quality, and safety of the world's food supply, with emphasis on sophisticated measurements for complex biological systems (plants, animals, microorganisms). |
Energy |
Obtaining Sustainable Energy from Biological Sources The Energy panel will identify potential measurement, standards, and technological barriers to innovation of sustainable production methods for non-food-based biofuels, such as biodiesel produced form oil-rich algae or biology-based production of next generation feedstocks. |
Environment |
Understanding our Planet Through Linking Molecules to Ecosystems The Environment panel will explore the potential measurement, standards and technological barriers that must be overcome to assess the status and trends of the environment and identify potential threats at local, regional, national and global scales. |
Manufacturing |
Obtaining Higher Quality Products Through Better Bioprocess Measurements The Manufacturing panel will focus on critical capabilities and new or novel metrology methods, standards, and technologies needed to help blaze the path to 21st century biomanufacturing systems that are risk based, efficient, agile (high throughput), flexible, and focused on quality. |
Medicine |
Improving Health Through Measurement of Complex Biological Signatures The Medicine panel will identify potential barriers impeding innovation in biomeasurements, clinical trial design, and information processing and visualization technologies required to make disease signature analysis translatable into clinical practice. |
Closing the Gap |
Addressing Overlooked Challenges and Needs This two-day session will include short talks from industry, government, and academic experts in strategically important bioscience areas, followed by facilitated discussions to identify major measurement and standards barriers in topical areas. Questions will be solicited in advance from registrants and will be discussed. The topical areas are:
|
Registration Details
Pre-registration is closed. If you wish to register please contact Donna Kimball at donna.kimball@nist.gov
- Registration Fee: $425.00
- Register By: October 10, 2008
Registration includes admission to all sessions and workshops.When you register you will be asked to designate your first and second choices for technical panels and the Closing the Gap session.
Credit card payment is required to register online. You will receive a confirmation email after the registration process is complete.
If you do not receive this email shortly after you register the registration process may not be complete. If online credit card payments fail for any reason, the registration process will not be complete.
All requests for cancellation and refund must be submitted in writing by Friday, October 10, 2008 to Energetics Conference Services.
Any questions regarding payments should also be directed to Energetics Conference Services.
Energetics Conference Services
7164 Columbia Gateway Dr.
Columbia, MD 21046
Phone: 410-953-6269
cs@energetics.com
NON U.S. CITIZENS PLEASE NOTE:
All foreign national visitors who do not have permanent resident status and who wish to register for the workshop must supply additional information. Failure to provide this information prior to arrival will result, as a minimum, in significant delays (up to 24 hours) in entering the facility. Authority to gather this information is derived from United States Department of Commerce Department Administrative Order (DAO) number 207-12.
Non U.S. citizens, please complete the Foreign National Visitors Form (PDF 51 KB) before you register for the workshop. Please fax, mail or email the completed form to Angela Ellis.
NIST
Angela Ellis
100 Bureau Drive, Mail Stop 1071
Gaithersburg, MD 20899-1071
Fax: 301-948-2067
Email: angela.ellis@nist.gov
Location
National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
Red Auditorium and Lecture Rooms
100 Bureau Drive
Gaithersburg, MD 20899
Transportation Information and Directions
Accommodations
A block of rooms has been reserved at the following hotels.
Marriott Gaithersburg Washingtonian Center
9751 Washingtonian Blvd
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
Phone: 301-590-0044
Marriott Courtyard Gaithersburg Washingtonian Center
204 Boardwalk Place
Gaithersburg, MD 20878
Phone: 301-527-9000
Group Rate: $201 plus tax.
Cut-off Date: September 29, 2008
Group name: NIST Biosciences Symposium
* The group name, cut-off date, and rate is the same for both hotels
Agenda/Discussion Materials
Download the agenda and discussion materials (PDF 609 KB)