GEOINT 2009 Registration is Open
Registration for the sixth annual GEOINT Symposium opened on July 15. Also now available is the limited block of discounted rooms at the two Marriott hotels, serving as GEOINT’s lodging headquarters. Discounted early bird registration pricing is available for a limited time, and the hotels always book fast, so be sure to register soon to take advantage of these cost savings.
Produced by USGIF, the GEOINT Symposium is the premier event for the defense, intelligence and homeland security communities to come together with academia and industry to discuss the most pressing challenges to our national security. USGIF, recognizing the current economic conditions, has worked hard to keep the registration costs the same as last year for our attendees while still increasing the value of admission.
Additional high-level keynote speakers and non-traditional panel discussions featuring policy decisionmakers will dominate the agenda in the morning. Already, confirmed keynote speakers include Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair, Under Secretary of Defense for Intelligence James R. Clapper Jr., Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Air Force Lieutenant General David A. Deptula, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Director Vice Admiral Robert B. Murrett, and Major General John M. Custer III, the commanding general of the Army Intelligence Center and Fort Huachuca, Ariz.
Each year since 2003, GEOINT has brought together an exciting agenda of keynote speakers, panel discussions and breakout sessions, while providing unique opportunities for attendees to learn from leading experts, share best practices, and uncover the latest developments from government, military and privatesector leaders. This mix of community leaders with an ever-growing exhibit hall featuring the industry’s top solutions and capabilities, brings attendees and exhibitors back year after year.
Of course, GEOINT wouldn’t be GEOINT without the rich networking opportunities. An opening welcome party, charity golf tournament, GEOWalk corporate hospitality night, closing celebration and exhibit hall receptions—as well as some impromptu events—provide tremendous networking opportunities with immeasurable benefits and return on investment.
To register now or book your discounted flights and hotel, visit www.geoint2009.com.
GEOINTeraction Tuesday and YPG Event at ESRI UC
USGIF’s Young Professionals Group (YPG) and GEOINTeraction Tuesday are hosting a networking event at the Hard Rock Hotel during the ESRI International User Conference in San Diego, Calif. The event, which runs from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. on Tuesday, July 14, is open to all members of the GEOINT community.
USGIF launched its Young Professionals Group this year with a networking social at the Rock Bottom Restaurant in Arlington, Va. Although only 30 or so young members of the community had been expected, more than 60 of the community’s next generation joined USGIF for a beneficial evening of community solidarity. The purpose of the YPG is to not only unite young GEOINT professionals, but also provide them with the tools to fulfill their needs and wants to advance in their careers.
If you would like to become involved with the USGIF Young Professionals Group, please contact USGIF at
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or 1-800-MY-USGIF.
100 Members Attend NGA West Showcase
USGIF’s first-ever NGA West Showcase was a fantastic success. Almost 100 USGIF members flew out to St. Louis, Mo., to participate in the June 25 event.
Attendees had the unique opportunity to first hear from and ask questions of NGA employees who recently returned from deployment in support of the war on terror. Afterwards, the audience split off into smaller groups to see live demonstrations of the unique work that NGA houses in St. Louis.
The conversations with the NGA personnel combined with the senior leadership from NGA Bethesda made the NGA West Showcase a wonderfully beneficial event for the USGIF membership.
Open Source Intelligence Conference
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and USGIF will bring together professionals from the U.S. intelligence, defense and homeland security communities with leading experts from outside these communities to create a collective learning environment and foster greater partnerships in the area open source.
Based on the success of last year’s DNI Open Source Conference, USGIF will assist in 2010 to allow the GEOINT community to gain insight and learn from the experience of academics and other subject matter experts; private industry; state, local and tribal partners as well as international partners so the organization can best meet the nation’s security challenges.
Open source intelligence provides an ideal mechanism for information sharing. By exploring uses of common concern and creating a platform for discussion, the community seeks to break down the barriers to collaboration and new relationships.
This completely unclassified conference is scheduled for April 2010. It will be open to the public, and media will be encouraged to attend. Two days of exhibits, panels, keynotes and networking opportunities will create an impressive and valuable event not to miss.
Please stay tuned for more information about the Open Source Conference and check back on the USGIF Website at www.usgif.org for more information as it becomes available.
GEOINT: The Hunt
At the GEOINT 2009 Symposium, the USGIF Technology Demonstration Subcommittee will unveil a new feature for attendees, GEOINT: The Hunt.
This event is an interactive “scavenger hunt” competition open to all GEOINT Symposium attendees. The goal is for participants to learn about USGIF member products and services by discovering hidden clues and tokens within the exhibitors’ showcased booth demonstrations.Mp> Complete with prizes, attendees can participate in one or both of two levels of The Hunt—easy and challenging. The easy competition will require participants to learn about and use two interoperable geospatial Web services via tools or clients hosted by a participating USGIF member exhibitor. Discovering the clue provides a token for a prize.
For those looking for a bit more of an adventure, the challenging hunt may be in your interest. In a more competitive race, participants must collect a series of clues from various USGIF member exhibitors. The multiple clues expose the participants to a wide range of interoperable Web services, and the competition offers fewer, more coveted prizes.
A “genius bar” on the GEOINT exhibit hall floor will be staffed with a rotating group of experts to answer any questions about The Hunt and provide help for any participants. Please visit www. geoint2009.com/expo/opportunities/interop-demo for more information.
USGIF and Replogle Donate Globes to Local Schools
Sycolin Creek Elementary and Simpson Middle schools in Loudon County, Va., Rose Hill Elementary and Bush Hill Elementary schools in Fairfax County, Va., and Brunswick County Schools in South Carolina have been provided with new globes for classroom learning, compliments of USGIF and Replogle Globes.
Seventy-five Explorer model globes were donated by Replogle to be distributed by USGIF. The globes were placed on display as centerpieces during USGIF’s GEOGala black-tie dinner in early June. Following the dinner, where it was announced that the globes were to be distributed to schools, USGIF has been distributing these great learning tools to schools that most need them.
From its humble beginnings in a Chicago apartment, Replogle today is the world’s largest globe manufacturer. From handcrafted masterpieces in the offices of presidents and dignitaries to classroom models that help students understand the world, Replogle’s belief in the globe as a source of wonder hasn’t changed.
USGIF also believes in this philosophy and through a variety of programs such as its scholarship program, the James and Susan Clapper Initiative, which awards grants to underprivileged schools and programs like this, the foundation is dedicated to advancing the GEOINT community— from the earliest academic stages throughout lifelong learning and tradecraft development.
GEOINT: The Hunt 2010 ICRS Symposium
Exciting new commercial remote sensing capabilities and applications are developing around the world. USGIF is partnering with the Department of Commerce and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to host the 2010 International Commercial Remote Sensing Symposium (ICRSS).
Scheduled as a three-day event in the first week in March, the 2010 ICRSS will provide the international and U.S. communities a forum in which they can discuss current and future technologies, government needs and capabilities, and programs and policies affecting the remote sensing community.
Attendees can expect to come away from this event with a better understanding of the current government and commercial marketplace along with its challenges and opportunities, key policies that need to be re-examined, ideas to improve industry/government partnership, future trends, the benefits of commercial remote sensing to society and the global economy, and the perspectives of government officials dealing with remote sensing matters.
Although planning for the event is just under way, the buzz is already building. The agenda will be rounded out with an expected mix of panels with industry chief executive officers, roundtables with the user communities, discussions of academic/industry/ government partnerships, keynotes from policymakers and possibly simulated debates on contentious issues from respected academic institutions.
More information about the 2010 ICRSS will be available on the USGIF Web site at www.usgif.org in the coming month. Those interested in exhibiting at the event are encouraged to contact USGIF at 888-MY-USGIF.
