Annual Meeting of the Council of Sponsoring Institutions
ORAU's Annual Meeting of the Council of Sponsoring Institutions is held to explore relevant topics in higher education. The meeting not only provides presentations by nationally recognized experts, but also gives our university consortium members the opportunity to partake in valuable discussions with council representatives and ORAU staff in conjunction with the meeting's yearly theme.
ORAU’s 2026 Annual Meeting of the Council of Sponsoring Institutions will be held March 16-17, 2026 and the theme is “Building a Collaborative Framework for Disaster Resilience and a Culture of Preparedness.”
Key takeaways and opportunities from the 2025 ORAU Annual Meeting
The 2025 ORAU Annual Meeting of the Council of Sponsoring Institutions emphasized advanced manufacturing 4.0, including discussions on technology, sustainability and education. It showcased collaboration between universities, government and industry, with insightful keynotes, panels, and a unique building-block challenge.
The 2026 Annual Meeting will be held at the Hilton Knoxville Airport over two days. There is no virtual option. Sessions will begin on Monday, March 16, and conclude on Tuesday, March 17. There is no registration fee. Registration is capped at 250 attendees, and is open to university faculty, administration, and students, as well as ORAU staff and other invited guests.
The Hilton Knoxville Airport is located adjacent to the McGhee Tyson Airport (airport code TYS). Additional lodging information may be found on the registration site.
4:30 – 6:30 p.m. - Poster Session, Reception, and Networking
6:30 – 7:30 p.m. - Dinner
Tuesday, March 17
7:30 – 8:30 a.m. - Registration, Breakfast, and Networking
8:30 – 9:00 a.m. Grand Ballroom
Council Engagement Session
Rebekah Hersch, Council Chair
9:00 – 10:00 a.m. Grand Ballroom
Panel: Collaboration at Work: How ORAU and Universities are Impacting the Seismic Community
Panelists:
Andy Clifford, Partnerships & Applications Program Manager Cascadia Region Earthquake Science Center, University of Oregon
Laurie Holien, Director, Homeland Security and Emergency Management, Idaho State University
Amanda McHale, Research Associate 2, ORAU
Demian Saffer, Director, Institute for Geophysics, University of Texas at Austin
Moderator: Frank Pasztor, Interim Chief Business Development Officer, ORAU
10:00 – 10:30 a.m. - Break
10:30 – 11:30 a.m.
This session is under development and will be finalized in January.
11:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. - Lunch and Networking
1:00 – 2:00 p.m. Grand Ballroom
Panel: Emerging Technologies and their Impact on the Field
Panelists:
Mary Crowe, ExLENT Program Co-Lead, National Science Foundation
Meiyi Ma, Assistant Professor, Vanderbilt University
Masood Parvania, Director Utah Smart Energy Laboratory, University of Utah
Ashley Stowe, Chief Research and University Partnerships Officer, ORAU
Moderator: Kathy Rollow, Senior Director, Energy and International Strategy, ORAU
2:00 – 2:30 p.m. - Break
2:30 – 3:30 p.m. Grand Ballroom
Keynote: Looking Ahead to the Next 25 Years of Disaster Preparedness and Resilience
Jeffery Freeman, Director and Special Assistant to the President, National Center for Disaster Medicine and Public Health, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences
3:30 – 4:00 p.m. Grand Ballroom
Closing
Ashley Stowe, Chief Research and University Partnerships Officer, ORAU
Meghan Millwood, Chief Executive Officer, ORAU
Speakers for the 2026 meeting will be announced in late 2025.
Key takeaways from the keynote addresses and panel discussions, along with engagement opportunities for members of the ORAU University Consortium, are outlined in the document.
Monday, March 3, 2025
Opening Remarks and Special Welcome Address
Ken Tobin, Chief Research and University Partnerships Officer, Research and University Partnerships Office, ORAU
Deborah Crawford, Vice Chair, ORAU Board of Directors; and Vice Chancellor for Research, University of Tennessee
Keynote Address Michael Molnar, Advanced Manufacturing National Program Office and Office of Advanced Manufacturing, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) | View presentation (.PDF, 4.9 MB)
Panel 1: Clean Energy Manufacturing Moderator: Alan Icenhour, Chair, ORAU Board Research Committee Panelists:
Howard Grimes, Chief Executive Officer, Cybersecurity Manufacturing Innovation Institute (CyManII), Associate Vice Provost and Vice President for Institutional Initiative, University of Texas at San Antonio
William Peter, Director, Advanced Manufacturing Program Director, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL)
Ira Moskowitz, Chief Executive Officer, Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM)
Day 1 Wrap Up Ken Tobin, Chief Research and University Partnerships Officer, Research and University Partnerships Office, ORAU
Tuesday, March 4, 2025
Opening Remarks and Charge to the Consortium
Rebekah Hersch, Chair, Council of Sponsoring Institutions
Quincy Quick, Vice Chair, Council of Sponsoring Institutions
Keynote Address Omar Perea, Chief Innovation and Protoyping (OL El Paso), Space Systems Command
Alexander “Sasha” Stolyarov, Chief Executive Officer, Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA)
Panel 3: Redefining Manufacturing Jobs Moderator: Michelle Goodson, Director, Workforce Solutions, ORAU Government Services Panelists:
John Balchunas, Workforce Director, National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals (NIIMBL), Securing American Biomanufacturing Research and Education Center, University of Delaware
Mark Buckner, iSchool Founder, Robotics Innovation Design and Manufacturing Teacher, Oak Ridge High School
Scott Halliday, Director, Center for Advanced Manufacturing, Navajo Technical University
Panel 4: Transitioning Manufacturing Innovation to Market Moderator: John Dolynchuk, Capture Manager, Business Development, ORAU Panelists:
Susan Ipri-Brown, Strategic Initiatives Manager, Office of Advanced Manufacturing, National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST)
Sandra DeVincent Wolf, Executive Director, Manufacturing Futures Institute and NextManufacturing Center, Carnegie Mellon University
Closing Remarks
Andy Page, President and CEO, ORAU
Ken Tobin, Chief Research and University Partnerships Officer, Research and University Partnerships Office, ORAU
Key takeaways from the keynote addresses and panel discussions, along with engagement opportunities for members of the ORAU University Consortium, are outlined in the document.
Monday, March 4, 2024
Opening Remarks and Special Welcome Address Ken Tobin, Chief Research and University Partnerships Officer, Research and University Partnerships Office, ORAU Ken Rueter, Chair, ORAU Board of Directors
Panel 1: Building a Future-Resilient Workforce Speakers:
James Brown, Executive Director, STEM Education Coalition
Gabriela Cruz Thompson, Senior Director, University Research and Collaboration, Intel Labs
Joyce Malyn-Smith, Co-PI, STEM Learning and Research Center, Education Development Center, Inc.
Carol O’Donnell, Senior Executive and Director, Smithsonian Science Education Center
Alex Swartsel, Director, Center for Artificial Intelligence and the Future of Work, JFFLabs, Jobs for the Future
Day 1 Wrap Up Ken Tobin, Chief Research and University Partnerships Officer, Research and University Partnerships Office, ORAU
Tuesday, March 5, 2024
Opening Remarks and Charge to the Consortium Rebekah Hersch, Chair, Council of Sponsoring Institutions
Keynote Presentation Elizabeth Albro, Commissioner of Education Research, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education
Panel 2: Equitable Access for an Innovation Economy Speakers:
Lizanne DeStefano, Executive Director, Center for Education Integrating Science, Mathematics and Computing, Georgia Tech
Diana Gehlhaus, Director for Economy at the Special Competitive Studies Project
Gregory Goins, Associate Dean for Research, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, North Carolina A&T State University
Todd Mann, Executive Director, National Consortium of Secondary STEM Schools
Panel 3: ORAU STEM Accelerator Speakers:
Olivia Blackmon, Director, ORAU STEM Accelerator, Research and University Partnerships Office, ORAU
John Dyer, Associate Vice President, Workforce and Economic Development, American Association of Community Colleges
J. Wesley Hines, Nuclear Engineering Department Head, Chancellor’s Professor; and Co-Chair, Education/Workforce Committee Chair, Tennessee Nuclear Energy Advisory Council, University of Tennessee
Nakeisha Ricks-Pettyjohn, Senior Fellow, Workforce Development, National Skills Coalition
Panel 4: Strategic Alliances to Advance the K-16 Education Ecosystem Speakers:
Courtney Brafford, Director, UofM Global, University of Memphis
Dennis Foutz, Lead, University Consortium for Applied Hypersonics, Joint Hypersonics Transition Office, U.S. Department of Defense
Ashley Greeley, NCAE-C K-12 Mission Lead, Center for Education, Innovation and Outreach, National Cryptologic University, National Security Agency
Scott Lucas, President, National Coalition of Advanced Technology Centers
Keynote Address Hassan Khan, Senior Advisor for Economic Security, CHIPS for America, U.S. Department of Commerce
Closing Remarks Andy Page, President and CEO, ORAU
Impact Areas
Building the future together through advanced manufacturing: Highlights from the 2025 ORAU Annual Meeting
The 2025 ORAU Annual Meeting of the Council of Sponsoring Institutions emphasized advanced manufacturing 4.0, including discussions on technology, sustainability and education. The meeting offers a platform for university consortium members to have meaningful discussions with council representatives and ORAU staff, all centered around a yearly theme.
What is ORAU’s annual council meeting? How does it advance STEM?
ORAU’s annual meeting brings together consortium members with ORAU employees, as well as some invited non-members from industry/adjacent partners and Oak Ridge leaders. The meeting also features keynote speakers and panelists, so there are a lot of subject matter experts in the room.
