Diamond, Browner featured speakers for energy conference
Renowned scholar and Pulitzer prize-winning author Jared Diamond will deliver the keynote address at the third "Energizing Kentucky Conference," scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, April 15 and 16, at the Lexington Hyatt Regency. The conference is to focus on the role of education in energy production, distribution and conservation.
Organized by Centre College President John A. Roush, University of Louisville President James R. Ramsey, Berea College President Larry D. Shinn and University of Kentucky President Lee T. Todd Jr., the agenda features remarks by Carol Browner, President Barack Obama's assistant for energy and climate change and head of the Environmental Protection Agency under President Bill Clinton.
Diamond, Pulitzer prize-winning author of "Guns, Germs and Steel" and "Collapse: How Societies Choose to Succeed or Fail," is to address the Wednesday night session, which opens the conference. Diamond also is an evolutionary biologist, physiologist and lecturer. The winner of a MacArthur Foundation "genius grant" and the National Medal of Science, he is a professor of geography and physiology at UCLA.
Thursday morning will begin with an overview of Gov. Steve Beshear's energy plan, presented by Energy and Environmental Matters Secretary Leonard Peters. President Shinn will then lead a discussion of the plan with panelists Rep. Rocky Adkins, majority floor leader in the Kentucky House of Representatives; Tom Fitzgerald, director of the Kentucky Natural Resources Council; and Admiral John J. Grossenbacher, director of the Idaho National Laboratory.
The conference will include two sets of break-out sessions. The first set, from 11:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m., includes discussions of energy and sustainability at American Colleges and Universities, a meeting of the state legislature's Special Subcommittee on Energy.
Also during this set, teams of students from elementary, middle and secondary schools and institutions of higher learning from around the commonwealth will host a poster session highlighting energy education that is now taking place in Kentucky.
The second set of break-out sessions includes discussions of ways to teach wise energy use to Kentucky's elementary, middle and high school students; sustainability efforts at Kentucky's colleges and universities; and civic partnerships that can help agencies and communities use energy wisely.
More information on the third Energizing Kentucky Conference is online at www.energizingkentucky.org.
Stantec part of venture winning major FEMA contract
Stantec, a nationwide consulting firm employing 130 in Lexington, has won a role in a four-firm joint venture to fulfill a five-year, $600 million contract with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). The contract is for FEMA's huge flood risk mapping and planning project. Stantec holds a 15 percent stake in the venture, known as Strategic Alliance for Risk Reduction (STARR). The venture is to provide production and technical services.
AT&T to add cell towers across state
AT&T is adding dozens of new cell towers across the commonwealth, and will expand its 3G network in Lexington and Louisville. The 3G service will be delivered for the first time to Danville, Madisonville, Richmond and Somerset.
Conference to highlight tech-driven R&D and entrepreneurship
If your interests relate to technology-driven research and development, Louisville will be the place to be on April 7.
The 5th annual Kentucky Innovation and Entrepreneurship Conference is happening at the Marriott Downtown. An initiative of the Kentucky Science & Technology Corporation, the agenda includes presentations by entrepreneurial scientists on the latest trends of research on biodegradable products and renewable resources; speakers addressing workforce issues and the attraction of talent; and opportunities for selected small businesses to spotlight their companies.
Online Registration is open at http://ksef.kstc.com.
"Science Made Simple" lecture to focus on Alzheimer's
The 3rd annual Alltech/Transylvania University lecture series "Science Made Simple" will focus on aging and mortality.
Dr. Frederick Schmitt of the University of Kentucky's Sanders-Brown Center on Aging will lead a seminar entitled "100 Years of Alzheimer's Research: What do therapeutic interventions have to offer?" Dr. Schmitt's presentation is scheduled for Tuesday, March 24 at 7 p.m.
On Tuesday, April 7 at 7 p.m., Dr. Charles D. Smith, also of UK's Sanders-Brown Center, will discuss the question, "How Can We Prevent Alzheimer's Disease?"
Both seminars will take place in Transy's Carrick Theater, located in the Mitchell Fine Arts Center. Receptions follow each seminar.
New drug shows promise in UK research
UK researchers say a new drug under study is showing "promise of significantly reducing the risk of heart attack," according to a statement.
The drug is said to prevent clotting by breaking down the communication between cells and proteins involved in forming clots. Preventing life-threatening clots is a major concern for doctors whose patients are undergoing angioplasty to restore adequate blood flow to the heart muscle.
The study involved providing the drug, manufactured by Schering-Plough Corporation, to 1,030 heart patients at 77 sites in six countries. UK enrolled 32 of those patients. The next phase of the trial will involve a much larger group before the drug can be considered for approval by physicians in the U.S.
Study investigator Dr. David Moliterno captured the attention of the medical and pharmaceutical communities when he presented preliminary findings at an American College of Cardiology meeting last year. Moliterno and Dr. Khaled Ziada, also of UK, were among the study's authors.
Weeklong gathering on sustainable agriculture coming to Lexington
The concept of the self-sustaining community is rapidly gaining ground in these troubled economic times. It's driving the agenda of a weeklong conference sponsored by the University of Kentucky's Center for Leadership Development. The topic of this year's W. Norris Duvall Leaders in Residence event, March 30 through April 3, is "Focus on Sustainable Agriculture."
The program brings to the UK campus national- and world-renowned leaders who are known for their ethical style of decision making, focusing in particular on those with a Kentucky background.
This year, the program will concentrate on sustainable agriculture and has invited former Henry County farmers Hal Hamilton and Susan Sweitzer, director and program officer, respectively, of the Sustainable Food Laboratory, to share their experiences in this field. The Sustainable Food Laboratory is made up of members from more than 70 organizations that include farming, manufacturing, food service, retail, social, environmental non-governmental organizations and the public sector. The Sustainable Food Lab's pilot projects involve businesses and civil society partners. Some pilot projects target poverty alleviation in Africa and Latin America, others re-regionalize food supply, while still others focus on reducing the environmental footprints of supply chains.
For more information, contact Lissa Pohl at (859)699-0025.
When a business actually is the "lifeblood of the community"
Toyota Motor Manufacturing Kentucky (TMMK) was named "Corporation of the Year" by the nation's blood centers.
Toyota human resources specialist Dan May, chair of the TMMK blood drive and a member of the Kentucky Blood Center board, accepted the award at a ceremony hosted by America's Blood Centers on March 16 in Washington, D.C.
Twenty-one percent of the Georgetown workforce regularly donate. That's more than four times the national average. The automaker has contributed more than $250,000 to the Kentucky Blood Center and hosts three week-long blood drives each year.
New Horse Park arena already has bookings
The Kentucky Horse Park has already booked 13 events, some as far into the future as 2014, in the new indoor arena, authorized and funded by the state to accommodate the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in 2010. The arena is scheduled for completion by late June. First-time events scheduled for summer include the American Vaulting Association National Championship, bringing an estimated 150 competitors to Lexington July 9-12 as well as two WEG test events later in July.
Park executive director John Nicholson lobbied hard for the new facility with the winning argument that it was critical to remaining competitive with the growing number of other states offering equestrian competition facilities.
"Our expectations were very high for this arena," Nicholson said in a statement, "so I am especially happy to report that five months before completion, those expectations have already been exceeded by the number of large events which have contracted with us and by several others which are pending."
Nicholson said a number of events already taking place at the Horse Park are returning, contracted for the indoor arena for the first time.
New BizLex column gets answers to your WEG questions
The World Equestrian Games lands on Planet Lexington in just over a year and a half. Wondering what's going on to prepare the city for this major 16-day event, and how your business fits into the picture, but unsure who to ask?
"WEGWag," a new column by Leslie Deckard, will pursue responses to selected questions and concerns raised by readers of Business Lexington. Submit to tom@bizlex.com.