State
of the Fest Address
AP Photo: From left to right: Vice President Ruth Kiefer, President Larry Bock,
and Speaker of Larry's House, Diane Bock.
As
we approach the end of the year, here's a review of what has been accomplished
with your help over the first three months and what our goals are for the
beginning of next year.
We
have been laser-focused on the finale event of the USA Science &
Engineering Festival: the two-day Expo on the National Mall on October 23rd
and 24th, 2010.
Currently,
over 300 Partner Organizations have committed to present fun, hands-on
interactive science and engineering activities. The exhibits are a true
representation of the scientific and engineering outreach communities and span
the entire gamut of sophistication from flight simulators and virtual reality
environments to making virus structures with marshmallows and toothpicks.
Our
Festival Partners include a grassroots collaboration of:
>75
Professional Science & Engineering Societies including the National
Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Engineering, AAAS, American Physical
Society, American Chemical Society, IEEE, Association for Women in Science,
Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, National Society of Black
Physicists etc.
>75
Universities/Colleges/Research Institutes from 35 States including Harvard,
MIT, Princeton, Georgetown, University of California San Diego, University of
California Berkeley, Johns Hopkins, U.S. Naval Academy, Duke, University of
Maryland, J. Craig Venter Research Institute, Carnegie Institute of Sciences
etc.
>25
Government Agencies and Federal Laboratories including NSF, NIH, Department
of Energy, NASA, USDA, EPA, Office of Naval Research, Air Force Office of
Scientific Research, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Lawrence Livermore
Laboratory, Fermi National Accelerator Facility etc.
>20
High Technology and Life Science Companies including Lockheed Martin, ResMed,
Agilent, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, NuVasive, Hitachi, Amgen, SpaceX, Celgene, Dow Chemical etc.
>50
Informal Science Outreach Organizations including the Smithsonian, American Museum
of Natural History, US Botanic Gardens, Marian Koshland Science Museum, E-week
Foundation etc.
>25
Community Organizations including FIRST, Girls Inc., Boy Scouts, Earthday
Network, National Girls Collaborative Project, Alliance for Climate Education
etc.
>25
Local High Schools
We
add three to five major organizations everyday. You can see the growing list
at: www.usasciencefestival.org
Our
primary goal right now is recruiting more high tech and life science companies
and DC-based community organizations as well as programs related to the science
of "pop culture" such as NASCAR, National Football League, Marvel Comics,
Hollywood, etc. We always appreciate your ideas so email Larry Bock at biobock@mac.com
We
are well on the way to raising the necessary funds to put on the
Festival. We have secured over $900,000 in sponsorship and grants from a
growing list of corporate, government and individual sponsors including Host
Sponsor Lockheed Martin, the US Department of Energy, Larry & Diane Bock,
Farrell Family Foundation, ResMed, Agilent Technologies, Amgen, Celgene, Vertex
Pharmaceuticals, Sandia National Laboratory, You Can Do the Rubik's Cube,
Genentech, NuVasive, FEI Company, and Silicon Valley Bank.
For sponsor benefits, click here.
As
2010 begins we will turn our attention to firming up the two weeks of Festival
Programs leading up to the Expo. In early January, we will start
accepting proposals from Partner organizations to host Festival events.
We
will also ask all Partner organizations to nominate a "Nifty Fifty" scientist.
From this we will pick fifty of the most dynamic American scientists and
engineers to present one assembly at a local middle or high school during the
two weeks just prior to the Expo. Start thinking about a scientist or
engineer who can really (I mean really) get kids excited about science.
And
we will begin to provide Partners with materials to help broadcast the Festival
message.
We
could not have accomplished this if not for our Advisory Board and growing list
of volunteers who have been inspiring and helping us on a daily basis. We
would like to especially thank a few individuals who have gone above and
beyond: Charles Britt, Ed Brogie, Juan Burciaga, Ines Cifuentes, Jennifer
Collins, Leslie Collins, Lucinda Crabtree, Patti Curtis, Delta Esparza,
Christopher Frew, Margaret Glass, James Hollenhorst, Toby Horn, Patrice Legro,
Brian Malow, Stanley Maloy, Elizabeth Marincola, Lisa McDonald, Suzan Onel, Shawn Otto, Sheri Potter, Karen Roehr,
Duane Roth, Stacey Rudolph, Brian Schwartz, Ed Shapiro, Judy Scotchmoor, Janet Sun and
Carrie Wolinetz.
We
would especially like to thank Dr. Ray O. Johnson and Lockheed Martin for their
founding vision, support and encouragement in launching this unique event.
Have a Happy Holiday Season!
Larry Bock and Ruth Kiefer
Thanks, Ray, for your direction!