Smart Grid Summit Preview (Part 1)

First, let’s start with the keynotes. We’re very excited to have keynotes from four top caliber speakers and companies. Our first speaker on Wednesday is Dr. Ronald M. Sega of Colorado State University. Aside from his active role in smart grid, Dr. Sega was a NASA astronaut, having flown on several Space Shuttle missions. That’s a tough act to follow, but we’ve got a good one. Following Dr. Sega will be Kevin Suitor, VP of Corporate Marketing at Redline Communications (News - Alert). Those of you who attended our first summit will remember Kevin, and he’ll expand on the topic of WiMAX and the value it brings to smart grid.

 

Our next set of keynotes comes on Thursday, beginning with Ryusuke Masuoka, Ph D. of Fujitsu (News - Alert) Labs. We’re awaiting details on his topic, but I know it’s going to be quite thought provoking. I should add that we’re seeing a fair number of registrations coming from Asia, and I suspect his research is one of the key reasons. Following Fujitsu will be John Bryan, President of the Secure Smart Grid Association. John is well versed in smart grid, particularly related to PHEVs – but will be speaking about security, around which the newly formed SSGA is focused. In my view, security is one of the top smart grid issues today, and you’ll be hard pressed to find a better way to spend a half hour getting up to speed here.

 

I’m just going to touch on one panel session now, and it’s the opener. Ever since we put this program together, we’ve felt that a 101-type session would be the right way to kick things off. We’re very cognizant of the fact that we’ll have a mix of energy veterans along with those who are new to smart grid. This space is still young enough where basic education is needed, especially at this event, where our vision is to bring the worlds of energy, telecom and IT together in one place.

 

Our Smart Grid 101 panel runs Wednesday at 10am, and will be moderated by fellow scribe, Bob Emmerson (News - Alert). Bob is coming all the way from the Netherlands to be with us, and with a current focus on M2M, he brings a rich perspective that makes him more than just a moderator. We’re also looking forward to his European take on smart grid, which further adds to our international flavor.

 

Joining Bob will be two speakers, each with a distinct view of the 101 spectrum. Christine Hertzog is the Managing Director of the Smart Grid Library, and she could easily run this session on her own. Christine is a well known speaker on this topic, and publishes the Smart Grid Dictionary. This may be familiar to you, as it’s being offered as a bonus to current registrants. If you’re not in this group and would like to buy a copy, Christine will be happy to oblige – and sign it too. 

Pairing up with Christine will be Jeremy Griesbach, VP Sales at Telkonet (News - Alert). Jeremy’s perspective will be quite different but complementary to Christine’s, and together they’ll cover a lot of ground. Depending on what attendees are interested in, we may well expand our Smart Grid 101 feature in future summits, as there’s so much to explore here. We’ll be looking for your comments, so don’t be surprised if Shidan or I ask you a few questions out of the blue.

 

I hope that gets you thinking more what’s coming next week. We want you to see what we’re seeing, and once you do, we hope you’ll come to see for yourself first-hand next week.