SPIE Defense, Security, and Sensing 2010

The city of Orlando is receiving plenty of attention from the conference industry in 2010, to say the least. Pittcon 2010 will make a splash in early March at the Orange County Convention Center, and right on its heels will come one of the up-and-coming events in the field of materials analysis, the SPIE Defense, Security, and Sensing conference, to be held April 5–9 at the Orlando World Center Marriott Resort & Convention Center, Orlando, Florida.

The increasing importance of research into the area of homeland defense and security is all too obvious to anyone watching the news in recent months. With the attempted bombing of an airliner on Christmas Eve 2009 and the pending trials of the 9/11 masterminds keeping this issue fresh in the public consciousness, a show dedicated to defense research is certainly a topical and timely one.

The primary focus of the conference will be on the following technique and application areas:

Sensing Systems and Platforms
• IR, Radar, Passive Millimeter-wave, and Terahertz Imaging
• Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear and Explosives (CBRNE)
• Cyber Sensing
• Energy Harvesting
• Biometric
• Laser Sensors and Systems
• Nanosensors
• Biomimetics
• Unmanned, Robotic, and Layered Systems
• Displays
• Space Technologies and Operations
• Sensing and Systems including Fiber Optics

Sensor and Data Analysis
• Image and Data Processing
• Visual Analytics Situation Management
• Information Systems and Networks

Plenary Lecture and Banquet Lecture
The technical program begins Monday, April 5, at 8 A.M. with opening remarks by each conference chair, and runs through Friday afternoon, April 9.
The plenary lecture will be delivered by the Honorable Zachary J. Lemnios, who will present “Transforming U.S. Defense R&D to Meet 21st Century Challenges.” Currently, Mr. Lemnios serves as Director, Defense Research and Engineering and CTO for the United States Department of Defense.
Before assuming this position, Mr. Lemnios served as the CTO of the MIT Lincoln Laboratory, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and as Director of the DARPA Microsystems Technology Office. Mr. Lemnios will present his plenary Tuesday, April 6, 2010, 8:30–9:30 A.M.
In addition to the plenary lecture, Dr. A. Fenner Milton will present “Sensing Challenges of Asymmetric Warfare” at the DSS banquet, which will be held Wednesday evening, April 7, 2010. Dr. Milton is currently the Director of the Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate at the U.S. Army Research, Development & Engineering Command in Fort Belvoir, Virginia.
He is responsible for a laboratory that develops all aspects of electro-optical technology for the Army including Image Intensifiers, Infrared Sensors, and Tactical Lasers.

Technical Program
The technical program runs all five days of the conference and is divided into 10 primary tracks:
• IR Sensors and Systems
• Defense, Homeland Security, and Law Enforcement
• Imaging and Sensing
• Sensing Technologies and Applications
• Emerging Technologies
• Laser Sensors and Systems
• Displays
• Unmanned, Robotic, and Layered Systems
• Sensor Data and Information Exploitation
• Signal, Image, and Neural Net Processing
• Information Systems and Networks: Processing, Fusion, and Knowledge Generation

Exhibition
The exhibition floor will be open from Tuesday, April 6 through Thursday, April 8 at the following times:
Tuesday, April 6: 9:30 A.M.–5 P.M.
Wednesday, April 7: 10 A.M.–5 P.M.
Thursday, April 8: 10 A.M.–2 P.M.
With 325 vendors and instrument manufacturers scheduled to exhibit, the floor promises to be busy, with displays and spectroscopic products from all corners of the defense and security industry.

In addition, the SPIE Job Fair will be in full swing during the conference, with employers from all over the field of spectroscopy present. Whether you are looking for a better job, reentering the workforce, or just starting out, the job fair promises to be a valuable resource during these difficult economic times, so come prepared to discuss your skills and talents with SPIE’s industry leaders.

Orlando
And of course, there is sunny Orlando, Florida, providing conference-goers with as many activities and tourist attractions as any location in the U.S. Disney World, Epcot Center, and Sea World are just a few of the world-famous tourist sites boasted by Orlando, and frankly, an in-depth description of the sites and scenes in Orlando would be too lengthy for this preview. However, all of the tourist information you could ask for is available at the Orlando Travel and Visitor’s Bureau homepage, located at: .

For more information on SPIE or the Defense, Security, and Sensing Conference, please visit: .