Contact: Phil Hearn
A daylong event Tuesday [March 2] at Mississippi State will spotlight a collaborative effort by the university and Tennessee Valley Authority to strengthen regional education, research, economic development, and outreach programs.
University President Charles Lee and TVA Chairman Glenn L. McCullough will be among featured participants in "MSU and TVA: Collaborating for Excellence," a series
of presentations and displays featured 9 a.m.-5 p.m. at several campus locations.
"The MSU-TVA work plan is a collaborative effort designed to combine the university's education, research and outreach capabilities with TVA's resources so that, working together, we can help improve the quality of life in Mississippi and throughout the region," said Lee.
"Mississippi State and TVA's combined resources are being put in action for the benefit of the people we serve," added McCullough. A MSU alumnus and former Tupelo mayor, he will lead a program titled "Innovative Use of Technology" during a 4 p.m. Entrepreneurial Forum at Bost Extension Center theater.
TVA is America's largest public power company, serving nearly 8.3 million residents through 158 locally owned distributors in seven states of the Tennessee Valley: Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia.
McCullough will be joined at the forum by two other MSU graduates. The event is the first in a planned series of similar MSU/TVA-sponsored programs.
David B. Latham, a partner in the New York City investment firm of Delta Capital Management LLC, will deliver the forum's keynote address, "Turning Technology into Money." Participants also will hear from Hines Brannan, a retired executive of Atlanta-based global business network Acenture.
In general terms, each speaker will discuss how to navigate the highway to success, exploit intellectual property and turn technology into money-making ideas through licensing and new venture start-ups.
"Collaborative efforts already are under way in areas that include power quality, economic development, K-12 education, alternative fuels, affordable housing, and technology development and commercialization," Lee said.
Displays 9 a.m.-2 p.m. in the Colvard Union ballroom will provide information on geothermal heat pumps and other energy-efficient technologies used in heating and air conditioning systems, outdoor lighting, cooking, and water heating. A hybrid car display will feature TVA's novel gas-and-battery-operated vehicle.
Committee reports at the Bost auditorium 2-3:45 p.m. will focus on various aspects of a 6-year-old MSU-TVA master plan of commercial and cooperative interactions designed to promote education, research, service and outreach, economic development, and K-12 initiatives. Increasing awareness of and promoting interest in TVA career opportunities are a part of the action plan.
The day's program kicks off at 9:45 with two simultaneous 45-minute seminars: "Geothermal Heat Pumps" led by David Samokar, president of Clotfelter-Samokar Architects in Lexington, Ky., in the union small auditorium; and "Power Quality" by Jim Rossman, TVA's senior manager of power quality, in the fourth-floor faculty conference room of Mitchell Memorial Library.
The Power Quality seminar will include a presentation on last summer's blackout in the Northeast, focusing on problems that can occur if system protection and control are not properly coordinated. McCullough said TVA has taken a number of steps, from tree-trimming to advanced relaying, to minimize the risk of a blackout in the Tennessee Valley.
Joe Bynum, executive vice president of TVA's Fossil Power Group, will discuss generation and air quality issues during an 11-11:45 a.m. presentation in the union small auditorium.
Lee and McCullough will join with the participants and other guests for an invitation-only lunch to begin at noon in the Bost auditorium.
The forum is being coordinated by MSU's Office of Intellectual Property and Technology Licensing, with support from other campus departments, units and centers.
View the complete agenda at http://www.ur.msstate.edu/news/stories/2004/tvadayagenda.pdf . For more information, contact Amy Tate of TVA Communications at (662) 338-3999.