Alabama EPSCoR to Provide Partnership Development Opportunities at Annual Conference, Symposium July 22-24

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – The Alabama Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, known as Alabama EPSCoR, will provide networking and partnership development opportunities for academic institutions, government agencies, industry and small business representatives at the 2008 Annual Alabama EPSCoR Conference and Stakeholder Symposium July 22-24.

The event will be at the Embassy Suites Conference Center in Montgomery.

The conference will open with a networking reception and poster session July 22 at 5:30 p.m. Graduate students and young investigators from four-year public and private institutions, as well as community colleges, will present their latest research. These researchers will seek collaborative opportunities with the state of Alabama, those from other state colleges and universities, small businesses, industry representatives and state and federal government agencies.

Small business owners and innovators are encouraged to attend both the networking and conference events.

Guest speakers will include: Dr. Denise Barnes, National Science Foundation program director for Alabama EPSCoR, who will discuss funding opportunities at NSF; Dr. Charles Vest, president of the National Academy of Engineering and president emeritus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, who will discuss the America Competes Act and the Rising Above the Gathering Storm report; and Glenn Kinstler, director of Alabama Launchpad, who will address entrepreneurship opportunities.

For additional information and conference registration, visit Alabama EPSCoR’s Web site at http://alepscor.ua.edu.

Established in 1985, Alabama EPSCoR is a statewide group of academic, government and industry organizations including universities from Alabama’s seven doctoral granting research institutions: Alabama A&M University, Auburn University, Tuskegee University, The University of Alabama, the University of Alabama at Birmingham, the University of Alabama in Huntsville ,and the University of South Alabama as well as the following Federal EPSCoR agencies: The National Science Foundation, which includes four Alabama Centers of Excellence; the Department of Energy, NASA, the United States Deportment of Agriculture, and the Environmental Protection Agency. The primary goal of Alabama EPSCoR is to create and enhance Alabama’s research infrastructure to strengthen the competitiveness of research within the state. Through grant competition in 2007, Alabama EPSCoR projects were awarded grants totaling more than $16 million.