NASA ADMINISTRATOR DANIEL S. GOLDIN TO SPEAK AT OCT. 21-22 OLD DOMINION/SACLANT SYMPOSIUM
Daniel S. Goldin, administrator for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, will give the dinner address at "Technology � A Bridge to the Future," a symposium where more than 400 national and international leaders will gather to discuss technology and its effect on strategic thinking and policy formulation, Oct. 21-22 at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va.
Sponsored by Old Dominion and the Supreme Allied Commander, Atlantic, the symposium will provide a forum for NATO ambassadors, international organizations executives, congressional, state and local government representatives, business and industry leaders, think tank representatives and academics.
Goldin will speak at 8:15 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 21 in Webb University Center. In his seven years as NASA's administrator, Goldin has initiated a revolution to transform America's aeronautics and space program. Despite lower budgets, his "faster, better, cheaper" approach has enabled the agency to deliver programs of high value to the American public without sacrificing safety.
Through Goldin's aggressive management reforms, annual budgets have been reduced by $40 billion. He implemented a more balanced aeronautics and space program by reducing human space flight funding from 48 percent of NASA's total budget to 38 percent and increasing funding for science and aerospace technology from 31 to 43 percent. The agency's civil service workforce has been reduced by about a third, while the headquarters' civil service and contractor workforce has been reduced by more than half, without resorting to forced layoffs. At the same time, NASA's productivity gains climbed 40 percent.
Goldin received the 1998 Laurel Award for outstanding achievement in aviation and aerospace by Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine, which said he has "delivered on his promise to reshape NASA into a model government agency.
"The two-day conference opens Thursday, Oct. 21, with an address by Sir John Browne, group executive chairman of BP Amoco, who will discuss "Using Technology to Transform an Organization." Browne's talk will begin at 9:30 a.m. in the Mills Godwin Jr. Life Sciences Building.
The symposium features four panel discussions exploring topics from "Expecting the Unexpected: Unintended Consequences of Technology" to "Opportunities from the Future � Visionary Perspectives" and "Making a Difference: Excellence Through Technology" to "Media Perspectives on Technology."
Other speakers include Jeffrey Papows, president and CEO of LOTUS Development Corp.; Vice-Amiral-d'Escadre (Ret.) Jean Betermier, personal adviser to the president and CEO of Aerospatiale Matra; Gen. (Ret.) William Hartzog, president of Burdeshaw Associates; Arnold Punaro, senior vice president for corporate development at Science Application International; Leonard Pomata, president of Litton PRC; and Andrew Krepinevich, director of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment.
Held in the Mills Godwin Jr. Life Sciences Building on the Old Dominion campus, "Technology � A Bridge to the Future" costs $80, which includes lunches and dinner. For more information call 757-683-3116.