Important Space Focused Events this November

Almost 40 events are being tracked for our October 7th, 2011 Space Conference News listing of "Upcoming Events for the Month of November 2011" and quite a few of these are focused specifically on targeted areas of the Canadian space systems industry. For example:

Retired NASA astronaut Gene Cernan.

• The 1st Canadian Aerospace Summit, organized by the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada (AIAC), will be held in Ottawa, ON from November 2nd - 3rd. This event focuses primarily on the "aero" component of the aerospace industry but is at least making the attempt to cater to the Canadian space systems industry with Canadian Space Agency President (CSA) Steve MacLean scheduled to moderate the "Space Leaders Panel" and ex-US astronaut Eugene A. Cernan ("the last man on the Moon" and a strong advocate of the cancelled NASA Constellation program) scheduled as keynote speaker for the gala dinner. Other speakers include Federal Minister of Industry Christian Paradis, Pratt & Whitney Canada President John Saabas, Bombardier Aerospace president and COO Guy Hachey, Airbus President of Procurement David Williams and Export Development Canada President & CEO Stephen Poloz. The core focus is on on opportunities to meet and interact with procurement executives and government representatives from Industry Canada’s Industrial & Regional Benefits (IRB) branch, Export Development and Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT). Maybe next year, once they've got a bit more confidence under their belt, the AIAC will feature a Canadian astronaut as their keynote speaker.

• The 3rd International, Interdisciplinary, Congress on Space Debris Remediation will be held in Montreal, PQ from November 11th - 12th. This event is organized by the McGill University Institute of Air and Space Law, the Cologne University Institute of Air and Space Law and the International Association for the Advancement of Space Safety. This widely respected legal event is co-sponsored by the Erin JC Arsenault Trust Fund and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs.

• The Canadian Space Agency (CSA) will be holding a Canadian Workshop on Composite Structures and Materials for Space Applications in St-Hubert, PQ, from November 14th - 15th. The forum will include presentations on state-of-the-art composite structure technology from Canadian companies, the potential applications in aeronautics and astronautics plus possible uses for the technology in upcoming Canadian space missions. It's one of a series of events the CSA organizes throughout the year and a good introduction to what our space agency does and how private firms and researchers can contribute to space exploration.

• The 2011 Canadian Science Policy Conference (CSPC) will be held in Ottawa, ON from November 16th - 18th. It bills itself a "multidisciplinary, multi-sector national forum on science, technology and innovation policy in Canada," and has achieved international recognition in only three short years of existence. The focus is on science, politics and culture, enabling private sector innovation and the major issues confronting current Canadian science policy with speakers including Federal Minister of State for Science and Technology Gary Goodyear plus over 70 other experts on public, academic and private sector issues surrounding science and technology development in Canada.

• INNOVATION 2011, organized by the Alliance for Commercialization of Canadian Technologies (ACCT), an advocacy group focused on "the interface of academic research-industry engagement and research discovery mobilization" will be held in Montreal, PQ from November 20th - 22nd. This is a networking and professional development conference that "draws from the global community of technology transfer and industry engagement practitioners from academia, industry and government as well as venture investors and other managers of Canada’s intellectual assets." This might sound kind of dry, but the documents and presentations from the INNOVATION 2010 conference, are a useful compilation of best practices related to innovation projects, collaboration initiatives and the Canadian Innovation Collaboration Program which makes this years program worth attending. The higher proportion of venture capitalists at this conference are also useful for start-ups looking for funding.

• The 2011 Canadian Space Summit, focused on the challenges and opportunities surrounding the collection of "Big Data from Space and Earth" will be held in Calgary, Alberta from November 23rd – 25th. I'll be devoting a future post to this event so stay tuned.

If your event is not on this list and you'd like it to be, please send an e-mail to mr.chuck.black@gmail.com describing the event and I'll include it in an upcoming blog post.

The next listing of conferences, covering the December 2011 period, should be ready for publication in Space Conference News around the middle of November.