West Virginia University officials will join with the Appalachian Regional Commission to co-sponsor”Appalachias Technology Assets and Opportunties”from 1-5 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 22, in Assembly Room A of WVU s National Research Center for Coal and Energy (NRCCE).
This is the first in a series of regional forums to be co-sponsored by the ARC and local universities to assess opportunities for economic development in the 13 state Appalachian region.
Based on research studies commissioned by ARC , these forums will feature the concentrated expertise of the studiesauthors, ARC s own experts, distinguished regional scholars, leading professionals and businessmen and businesswomen.
Randall W. Jackson, director of WVU s Regional Research Institute, will moderate the Aug. 22 forum at NRCCE .
The first presentations will be made by Professors Edward Feser and Harvey Goldstein of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the authors of the ARC commissioned report”Regional Technology Assets and Opportunities: The Geographic Clustering of High-Tech Industry, Science and Innovation in Appalachia.”Feser and Goldstein will discuss the linkage between science and technology and sustained regional prosperity while summarizing the results of their analysis of Appalachias high tech industrial base, knowledge infrastructure and technology clusters.
ARC s senior economist, Dr. Greg Bischak, will provide an overview of the Appalachian regions capacity for broadening its science and technology sector and steps communities can take to help facilitate this process.
Professor Tom S. Witt, director of WVU s Bureau of Business and Economic Research, will then focus the discussion on West Virginias own emerging science and technology sector and its potential for growth. His presentation will be followed by James L. Estep, president and CEO of the West Virginia High Tech Consortium Foundation, who will describe the technological innovations being developed by the Consortium and what they can mean to the future of Appalachia.
Following the presentations, the group will reassemble as a panel to take questions from the audience.
For more information on the forum, contact the WVU Regional Research Institute at 304-293-2897.