2007 National Conference Guest Speakers
The 2007 National Conference on Educational Robotics has an impressive line-up of guest speakers scheduled from such organizations as NASA, iRobot and SPAWAR. Attending a guest speaker session is a great opportunity for students to hear from professionals who are currently working in robotics and technology related fields.
NCER Guest Speaker Schedule:
David Lavery - Program Executive for Solar System Exploration, NASA
July 10, 2007 - 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Mr. Lavery is responsible for executive oversight of the design and development of the next generation in Mars exploration spacecraft, and the advanced technologies to enable them. He is currently responsible for the two Mars Exploration Rover missions, and NASA’s participation in the joint European-U.S. Mars Express mission, all of which arrived at Mars this past year. In addition, he leads the Mars Advanced Technology Program, which is creating new approaches to remote exploration by robotic systems. Prior to these assignments, Mr. Lavery directed the NASA Telerobotics Research Program for 12 years. He also founded and continues to direct the NASA Robotics Education Project, including the agency’s participation in robotics competition programs, like the Botball Educational Robotics Program.
John Billington - Sr. Product Manager, iRobot
July 11, 2007 - 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
John Billington is a Sr. Product Manager at IRobot Corporation and is responsible for product definition, product marketing and business development for iRobot Create and other home robots. John has 10 years of consumer product marketing experience, a BS in mechanical engineering from the University of Virginia and an MBA from UC Berkeley.
Estrellina Pacis - Project Manager for SPAWAR Systems Center’s Robotics Technology Transfer Project
July 13, 2007 - 10:30 am - 11:30 am
Ms. Pacis serves as the Project Manager for SPAWAR Systems Center’s Robotics Technology Transfer Project. Her main responsibility is to oversee the evaluation and advancement of robotic technologies from the R&D environment for transition to deployed military systems. The current near-term fielding objectives include autonomous capabilities for EOD missions, building/bunker exploration, and countermine operations. Ms. Pacis oversees numerous collaborations with various academic institutions, other government laboratories, and private industry partners. She has been a volunteer with First Lego League, recently a judge in the 2006 Championship Tournament at LEGOLAND.