Sen. Warner to Host Virginia Science Summit at National Academy of Sciences

Press Release

U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) will bring together a cross-section of Virginia's most talented leaders in the sciences this Friday as host of the inaugural Virginia Summit on Science, Engineering and Medicine. This first-ever summit will focus on fostering collaboration between Virginia's members of the National Academies, with a goal of advancing science, engineering and medical research in the Commonwealth.

Participants include representatives from Virginia Tech, the University of Virginia, Virginia Commonwealth University, and George Mason University; health care organizations including the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Carilion Health System and UVa School of Medicine; government agencies including NASA Langley, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Naval Research Academy and National Science Foundation; and private sector partners including Orbital Sciences, Lockheed Martin and GE Aviation. Each participant is also encouraged to bring a protégé, to help engage the next generation of the Commonwealth's leaders in the sciences.

"I hope this summit helps to unleash the incredible potential of sciences to boost innovation, investment and jobs in the Commonwealth," Sen. Warner said. "With the current budget constraints on research and development, it's more important than ever to foster collaboration between our leaders in the sciences, as well as connect them with Virginia's business community."

The Summit will feature a keynote address by world renowned author and scientist Dr. Mildred Dresselhaus. Dr. Dresselhaus is an Institute Professor at MIT in the departments of Electrical Engineering and Physics, and has received numerous awards, including the National Medal of Science, the Fermi Award, the Kavli Award, and 30 honorary doctorates worldwide. Dr. Dresselhaus is the co-author of six books on carbon science and is particularly well known for her work on carbon nanotubes and other nanostructural systems.

Other speakers will include Dr. Francis Collins, Director of the National Institutes of Health, Dr. Paul Alivisatos, Director of the Lawrence Berkeley Lab, and Dr. Arun Majumdar, the first Director of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) and current Vice President for Energy, Google. The full agenda is copied below.

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