Planners of technology conference look forward to welcoming inventor, students

Technology Futures of North Central Pennsylvania will host its fourth annual technology conference at the Pennsylvania College of Technology April 9.

The conference will focus on technology topics for technology professionals and will feature presentations on nanotechnology, energy and open innovation for product development. The first half of the conference will feature speakers on all topics, with the afternoon featuring exhibits and networking opportunities, according to Katie Bell, co-chair of the event.

The keynote speaker will be Ian Walsh, chief innovation officer at Lycoming Engines.

"This year, the conference will be on a few topics that we know people are interested in. We will bring in some experts to talk about the topics," Bell said.

Nanotechnology is a big buzz word that has been talked about for a while now. Rick Hoover, a research director at Penn State, will talk about how nanotechnology could benefit a business, according to Bell.

A representative from Keystone Nano will also talk about the topic.

"We will have Jeff Davidson or one of his staff members from Keystone Nano, which is a nanotech company in State College, come in and talk about what the company does as it relates to nanotechnology and how it relates to other businesses," Bell said.

There will also be a Marcellus Shale update.

"The focus is going to be on the whole water management issue. A lot of people are concerned about water management. This will be from the technology side. (We will discuss) the methods that can be used to treat the water," Bell said.

Act 129 and grant opportunities as they pertain to technology and energy will also be a topic at the event.

Under Act 129, Pennsylvania's electric distribution companies need to develop other methods of reducing the amount of electricity consumed by customers, according to the state's Public Utility Commission.

"We will have two speakers, one from the state and one from PPL, to talk about how businesses are affected and who can apply for the grants," Bell said.

Debbie Nifong, director of strategic initiatives at the Department of Community and Economic Development and Ray Murphy, manager of major accounts at PPL will discuss the topic further.

Collaborative innovation will also be discussed.

"What collaborative innovation is, is companies looking outside of their four walls to develop something new or solve a problem. That is a little bit different than traditional companies that want to develop everything in house," Bell said.

Bell will discuss online open innovation resources.

There will be two other speakers as well. Don Brown, inventor of the Ab Roller, will speak from the small company perspective and how they need to work with larger entities to market a product.

Another speaker, which is still to be determined, will speak from the larger company perspective, according to Bell.

There will also be a new feature added this year - incorporating students into the learning venture.

"We are working with Lycoming College, Penn College and K-12 to get students to come to learn about the companies in the area," Bell said.

The Tech Futures organization was established about four years ago, according to Bell.

"The goal was to provide a forum for technology professionals to get together. It is an underserved group of individuals. There are a lot of them in the area, but no way for them to find each other. It is also a way to recruit other technology companies to come to the area," Bell said.

Tickets are $50. Registration for the event begins at 8 a.m. at the Penn College Field House April 9.

Space is limited and individuals interested in attending, may do so by registering online at www.techfuturesncpa.org or by calling Lauri Moon at 329-3200 ext. 8085.