Hillary Lipko: Frustrated Bunny

In 2006, the Office of Policy Analysis and Research (OPAR), a small department within the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), piloted a conference that brought together researchers, businesspeople and legislators to discuss a handful of issues in the domain of science and technology that was of interest and consequence to the state of Georgia. I was among the small group of interns in OPAR that helped launch this event. The format has essentially remained the same: five or six state legislators, typically associated with Assembly leadership or S&T committees, sit on a panel moderated by a notable research professional from within the Georgia Tech community. OPAR sets the agenda via a handful of policy briefs that provide the framework for the topics discussed by the panel.

Each year, the event has been fine-tuned; repeat panel members seem to have become more comfortable with the format, as have repeat attendees, resulting in a much more interactive (and much more interesting) experience. New to the mini-conference this year, a number of companies with products, services and ideas within the areas of discussion were invited to set up exhibits. The combination of these elements resulted in what I think is the best roundtable event that OPAR has done yet.

This year’s panel was moderated by Dr. Mark Allen, Senior Vice Provost for Research and Innovation at Georgia Tech. The panelists, all members of the Georgia General Assembly, included Sen. Cecil Staton, chairman of the Senate Science & Technology committee; Rep. Amos Amerson, chairman of the House Science & Technology committee (a committee I used to work for, might I add); Rep. Hardie Davis; Rep. Kevin Levitas and Rep. Jimmy Pruett. This year’s discussion topics included the use of virtual worlds (like Second Life) in education, particularly as how it relates to increasing and maintaining interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM); state-level legislative analyses of community wireless, innovation and biotechnology; and renewable energy portfolio standards. Many of the topics flowed well into others, which helped the discussion move naturally. Dr. Allen did an excellent job in facilitating this and keeping all of the panelists as well as members of the audience involved in the discussion. (more…)