OSU hosts national unmanned aerial systems forum

Thursday, October 23, 2014

A national conference exploring the burgeoning unmanned aerial systems (UAS) industry comes to the Wes Watkins Center at Oklahoma State University Oct. 29-30. The event will bring together national and regional business leaders, manufacturers, state and federal agencies and research institutions for presentations on the commercialization of the industry.

The World’s Best Technology Open Innovation forum on unmanned aerial systems is designed to help small to mid-sized companies connect with UAS researchers, technology developers and other industry leaders to learn how to become part of the growing commercial side of UAS technology development.

“The WBToi forum, focusing on UAS, is a perfect fit for Stillwater and Oklahoma,” said Dr. Stephen McKeever, Oklahoma secretary of science and technology and director of OSU’s National Energy Solutions Institute. “OSU has one of the nation’s leading research and education programs in the design of unmanned aerial systems, leading to the creation of new companies and innovative applications.”

Companies and institutions on the program include OSU, Boeing, General Atomics, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and NASA’s Johnson Space Center and Goddard Space Flight Center. Program topics include the growing global demand for UAS platforms and the current state of the technology, UAS technology acquisition and intellectual property licensing, and forming alliances with research institutions.

OSU President Burns Hargis and Stillwater Chamber CEO Lisa Navrkal will welcome forum attendees on Thursday, Oct. 30. William F. Lyons, director of Global R&D Strategy at Boeing, will deliver the keynote address.

The WBToi UAS Forum is hosted by OSU, the City of Stillwater and the Stillwater Chamber of Commerce. The deadline for online registration is Oct. 26, though onsite registration is available beginning Oct. 29 at the Wes Watkins Center. The forum agenda and registration information is available at http://wbtoi.com/uas. OSU students interested in attending should contact Amanda Radovic at aradovic@wbtshowcase.com or call (480) 477-6408.