Former Nasa flight director Eugene Gene Kranz highlights a plenary session at LabAutomation2007, the conference and exhibition on emerging laboratory technologies
The conference is being held in Palm Springs, Calif, 27-31 January 2007.
Best known for his role in saving the crew of Apollo 13, Kranz will discuss many of his insights and inside notes from his days as the leader of Tiger Team, on duty during Nasa missions.
His session is at 9am on Tuesday 28 January.
With his trademark flattop hairstyle and direct, engaging style, Kranz also will draw upon and explore the many similarities between the exuberant youth of the Space Age back in the sixties and seventies and the future that lies ahead for the science of laboratory automation and technology.
His role has been depicted several times in movies, most notably by Ed Harris in the 1995 movie Apollo 13, with Tom Hanks.
Before Kranz engages the LabAutomation2007 audience, attendees will hear Norman Dovichi, endowed professor, chemistry department, University of Washington, give the keynote address at 8:30am on Monday 29 January.
Dovichi's research focuses on ultra-sensitive chemical analysis based on capillary electrophoresis and laser induced fluorescence.
This technology is now being applied to characterize the composition of single eukaryote cells.
Following Dovichi's presentation, the first winner of the new US$15,000 ALA Medal of Excellence Award sponsored by Symyx Technologies, will be announced.
On Wednesday 31 January, Daniel Wilson will address the LabAutomation2007 audience at the awards luncheon and closing ceremony.
Wilson is a robotics and data mining engineer who has worked in top research laboratories, including Microsoft Research, the Palo Alto Research Center (Parc), and Intel Research Seattle.
Wilson, who currently lives in a fully wired smart house in Pittsburgh, is also a writer who recently published his first book, How to Survive a Robot Uprising, to which Paramount pictures recently secured the movie rights and plans to cast Mike Myers of the famed Austin Powers trilogy.
After Wilson's presentation, ALA will announce the winner of the $10,000 Innovation Award.
