News from Mississippi Enterprise for Technology

Mississippi Enterprise for Technology Newsletter

September / October 2011

2011 Stennis Industry Day

The right event for the right time?

With the Gulf Coast region flexing its muscles in aerospace and NASA pushing a large part of its activities to the commercial sector, the upcoming Stennis Industry Day offers businesses a chance to tap into a valuable resource that appears poised for growth.

"Stennis Industry Day will bring people together to make things happen," said Charles Beasley, CEO of the Mississippi Enterprise for Technology (MSET), mostly known for its business incubator and technology transfer office. "I look forward to seeing hundreds of federal agency representatives and corporate leaders learning from each other, developing relationships and identifying opportunities."

Stennis Industry Day is Nov. 17 at the Northshore Harbor Center in Slidell, La. Hosted by MSET, the event is designed to bring together large companies and small, as well as Stennis Space Center and regional agencies to cultivate relationships and share information.

Presentations at Industry Day will feature existing and emerging needs, as well as information on how to do business with each organization. Opportunities for exhibit booths, networking, informal business matchmaking, and sponsorships exist.

The last Stennis-wide industry day was before 2005's Hurricane Katrina, and a lot has changed since then. In 2009 more than 3,900 acres of NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center became the first site to earn certification in the new technology park category of Mississippi Power's Project Ready certification program.

Then in August 2011, NASA formally took over ownership of the 1.6 million square-foot former Mississippi Army Ammunition Plant and 4,000 acres that had been owned by the Army. That increased NASA's building space by a third.

Stennis Space Center, where NASA has tested rocket engines since the 1960s, has a global economic impact of $875 million annually and a $616 million impact within a 50-mile radius. It's home to operations of 30 agencies, including NASA, the Navy, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Environmental Protection Agency and more. Well-known names in the aerospace industry also have operations at SSC, including Lockheed Martin, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne and Rolls Royce.

On the broader front, South Mississippi and the Gulf Coast region are continuing to develop aerospace and other science and technology activities. In September the first ever region-wide aerospace summit was held in Sandestin, Fla., where experts said they expect the aerospace industry to continue growing.

Stennis Industry Day Nov. 17 will provide participants with a detailed look at the programs of the federal agencies and commercial contractors that reside at Stennis Space Center. Additional events scheduled around that day include a networking social, hosted by the Gulf Coast Government Contracting Association on the evening of Nov. 16. The same day the Small Business Administration will be providing training on their small business programs. A golf tournament in association with the Rotary Club of Stennis is scheduled for Nov. 18 at the Oak Harbor Golf Club.

The industry day is an extension of the Stennis Business Consortium (SBC), founded earlier this year and coordinated by MSET, the Louisiana Technology Transfer Office, and representatives from local agencies and prime contractors.

As facilitator of the Small Business Consortium, MSET provides a platform for the various federal and state agencies, prime contractors and commercial industries to come together to share and exchange ideas, to learn about new regulations and other relevant industry issues, forge new business relationships, and form strategic partnerships. Quarterly consortium meetings are a prime venue for business development.

MSET is positioned to serve as a catalyst for business growth in the region by leveraging the assets of Stennis Space Center. It provides specialized regional economic development services and access to federal agencies and research facilities. MSET seeks to improve and strengthen the business climate at Stennis utilizing regional resources and strategic partnerships.

"This will be an enjoyable event that we hope is a permanent entry on a lot of people's annual calendars," said Beasley.

For more information, visit MSET's Web site at www.mset.org.

We hope that you found our featured article very informative. If you would like to learn more about the Mississippi Enterprise for Technology, please contact us at (228) 688-3144 or www.mset.org.

Sincerely,

Charlie Beasley, President and CEO
Mississippi Enterprise for Technology

Marstel Day Joins MSET Community at SSC

Mississippi Enterprise for Technology is pleased to welcome Marstel Day to its business community of advanced technology companies located at Stennis Space Center.

Marstel Day's mission is to execute projects that enhance the environment and permanently conserve natural resources and wildlife habitat, while reconciling the often disparate objectives of numerous segments of society through a process of open-minded communication, discussion, analysis and negotiation. This environmental company offers green consulting to the public and private sectors. We provide clients with concepts, strategies and plans of action for desired outcomes associated with smart growth and transportation plans, landscape-scale conservation of natural resources, managing encroachment, energy planning and "Net Zero" strategies, and more.

Marstel-Day's more than 80 thinkers, planners and strategists combine strong analytical techniques with stakeholder outreach and engagement to devise solutions to potentially contentious issues for our clients at the federal, state and local levels, as well as in the private sector.

Rebecca Rubin, founder and managing partner of Marstel-Day, leads this woman-owned, small, certified HUBZone business headquartered in Fredericksburg, VA with the close counsel of three partners and an advisory committee. The company has garnered numerous awards including Environmental Business Journal's Gold Medal award, the Virginia Chamber of Commerce "Fantastic 50," INC Magazine's 500/5000, and Zweigwhite's HOTFirm list, among others.

About Mississippi Enterprise for Technology

Mississippi Enterprise for Technology is a unique economic development organization within Stennis Space Center.

MsET is also a technology transfer office and incubator uniquely positioned to grow companies by providing a supportive environment, business services and access to federal agencies and research facilities.

The organization is charged with developing and attracting new business and employment opportunities to John C. Stennis Space Center and the region.

The organization seeks to improve and strengthen the center's business climate utilizing business resources from the region. For more information on MsET, or to see upcoming events visit www.mset.org.

In This Issue

Marstel Day Joins MSET Community at SSC

Upcoming Events

Infinity Science Center

Stennis Business & Technology Digest

Join Our Mailing List

Upcoming Events

October 13, 2011
MsET Lunch & Learn - Alyssa Dausman, USGS
Herman Glazier Conference, Bldg 1103, Stennis Space Center, MS
Link to Details...

October 31, 2011
MsET Service Provider Seminar
Herman Glazier Conference, Bldg 1103, Stennis Space Center, MS
Link to Details...

November 17, 2011
Stennis Industry Day
Northshore Harbor Center, Slidell, LA
Link to Details...

INFINITY at NASA Stennis Space Center

INFINITY is a new, state-of-the-art science center and visitor attraction currently under construction in Hancock County, MS. INFINITY will inspire, amaze, and engage those who visit and promises to be a place like no other, where curiosity is nurtured and discovery is rewarded - a place where we lose ourselves in the depths of the ocean and the farthest reaches of space.

The goal is not to be another museum, but a science and math education center where visitors will explore our earth, oceans and space through deepening levels of involvement, ranging from traditional gallery tours, to hands-on experiments, to participation in activity-based "missions."

INFINITY is the result of a 2001 partnership between NASA and INFINITY Science Center, Inc., a non-profit organization of business leaders. INFINITY Science Center, Inc. was developed to help Stennis Space Center build a science and education center to feature the world-class level of exploration and discovery that has been part of NASA, Stennis Space Center and Mississippi for almost 50 years.

The impact of INFINITY promises to be vast and will prove a vital learning experience for the millions who travel I-10, plus the school groups from throughout the tri-state region of Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama. The project's feasibility study indicated that INFINITY would approximate over 350,000 annual visitors. INFINITY's exhibitions will target the 296,000 primary and secondary school-age children who live within a 75-mile radius of the Science Center.

Stennis Business & Technology Digest

Stennis Space Center is a well know landmark on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, but not many people truly understand what really goes on inside the secure gates of the 1400 acre campus.

Originally established as a rocket engine test center for NASA, Stennis today, is one of the largest federal cities in the nation. Over 30 federal and state agencies as well as a variety of companies involved in a host of fields. The variety is surprising from space-related work to riverine warfare training and more.

Mississippi Enterprise for Technology (MSET) is a business incubator and technology transfer office located at Stennis. More recently MSET took on the additional job of playing a role in the economic development of Stennis Space Center. As part of this role, MSET wants to do what it can to tell the Stennis Space Center story. That means highlighting the accomplishments, successes and innovative work of the organizations located at Stennis Space Center. But in an age of information overload, it's a challenge simply to be heard above all the noise.

MSET decided to create the Stennis Business and Technology Digest, a news feed communicating some of the activities that occur at Stennis Space Center, not just at MsET. This is in no way a bid to usurp the separate communications activities of the various organizations at Stennis. We see the news feed as a vehicle to insure those valuable communications reach a wider audience.

MSET monitors and pulls together in digest form all the announcements and notices coming from NASA, the Navy, NOAA, the universities and any of the other organizations that call Stennis home. The news is provided in a brief format, with links to the original source of the information.

You'll be amazed by the contributions made by Stennis Space Center that benefit the region, the nation and the world. Visit the MSET Web site Home page to subscribe to the news feed and increase your understanding of Stennis Space Center.

LOCATE YOUR BUSINESS AT STENNIS SPACE CENTER
GAIN ACCESS TO FEDERAL AGENCIES
POSITION YOUR BUSINESS FOR SUCCESS

Mississippi Enterprise for Technology (MSET) is located at John C. Stennis Space Center, the foremost center for innovation in Southeast Mississippi and one of the nation's largest federal cities. MSET is uniquely positioned to facilitate your company's growth by providing a supportive environment, business services and access to federal agencies and research facilities.

We are currently offering prime office space at low rates in the heart of Stennis Space Center. Seize this rare opportunity and put your start-up or small business on the fast track to success.

Contact: Belinda Gill, Facilities Manager, belinda.n.gill@nasa.gov, telephone: 228-688-3144