OIT Times: Expo's Thursday Break-Out Sessions Will Focus on Industry-Specific Topices

December 21, 2000

On Thursday, February 22, 2001, OIT Industries of the Future teams will host a series of industry-specific workshop sessions at the Washington Hilton. All Expo attendees are invited to attend these sessions which will also be open free of charge to others who have not registered for the full Expo conference but who are interested in one or more of the Thursday workshop topics.

The Aluminum Team will host an open session from 8:45am to 11:15am to address recent developments in aluminum markets. Speakers will include Richard Klimisch (The Aluminum Assoc.) and Michael Wheeler (Alcan Labs) who will discuss Aluminum in Automobiles: A Progress Report. Randolph Kissell from TGB Partnership will discuss Aluminum in Architecture and Dr. John Green from The Aluminum Assoc. will talk about Aluminum in the Marine Environment: An Update.

The Steel Team workshop will be held from 8am until 3:30pm and will explore the possibility of establishing a steel-utility partnership. Representatives from the steel, electric utility and gas utility industries will give their perspectives. Then facilitated sessions will identify issues and opportunities for potential collaboration and formulate possible next steps. This will be a unique opportunity to network, exchange information and foster an on-going relationship.

From 9am to noon, OIT Metalcasting Team and the Cast Metals Coalition will hold an interactive event drawing on the best minds in the industry to ocus on the Future. A panel of highly regarded industry leaders will set the pace by offering their perspectives of future needs and challenges confronting metalcasting in the new millennium.

The Mining Team will host a Federal inter-agency meeting to discuss and coordinate mining-related topics and issues. For more information contact Toni Marechaux at 202-586-8501.

The Glass Team will sponsor a Glass Melting Technologies of the Future workshop session highlighting various theoretical and practical possibilities for radical technology change. Barriers and alternative approaches will be addressed in formal presentations and roundtable discussion.

The States IOF Team will host a workshop from 9:00 a.m. to noon. The meeting will enable participants to discuss further implementation of State IOF activities. State agencies and universities participating in the State IOF are especially encouraged to attend, although the session will be open to all interested parties.

In addition to OIT Team-hosted sessions, OIT and the International Energy Agency are co-hosting a workshop on Government-Industry Cooperation to Improve Energy-efficiency and the Environment through Voluntary Action from 8am to 6pm. The workshop will focus on: (1) elements of success and ood practicein implementing voluntary approaches to energy and environmental policy in IEA/OECD member countries; (2) the effectiveness of voluntary programs in improving industrial energy efficiency; and (3) the efficacy of various models of government-industry cooperation.

Finally, in addition to the above Thursday sessions, OIT Chemical Team plans to hold its workshop at the Washington Hilton at 1:00pm on Monday, February 19, 2001. This session will allow attendees to (1) celebrate the successes of Vision 2020; (2) announce new steering group organization; (3) detail a business value proposition; (4) announce Vision 2020 challenge; and, (5) review current Federally-sponsored R&D applicable to the chemical industry.