2002               2003               2004               2005               2006

CANEUS 2006 Conference

The CANEUS 2006 Conference solidified CANEUS’ position as an international leader in the cause for transitioning emerging Micro- and Nano-Technologies (MNT) for Aerospace applications. Hosted in Toulouse, France, the week of August 27-September 1, the CANEUS 2006 Conference exceeded expectations in its objective to establish a worldwide MNT Concepts-to-Systems community in order to address the critical challenge affecting the transition of emerging MNT concepts to Aerospace and Defense applications, namely how to successfully bridge the Mid-TRL “Valley of Death.” Over 300 speakers and attendees contributed their expertise by actively participating in the CANEUS 2006 Conference.

The CANEUS 2006 Conference began with topical short course sessions designed to provide necessary background and learning tools for the conference participants. Attendees were provided with up-to-date knowledge in key areas such as the product/system development process from concept to systems, MNT-based missions, intellectual property (IP)-related issues, and inter-governmental agreements, all of which were pertinent to understanding the issues raised in the subsequent conference sessions and workshops. ITAR and export control issues were a key focus, since they affect international collaborations involving the US. Mr. George Grammas gave a presentation on this important topic that was highly informational and interactive.

The first three weekdays featured 23 technical sessions addressing key issues involved in three broad topical areas: Technology Overview, Technology Applications, and Programmatic Issues. All the speakers at the conference sessions were world leaders in their respective fields, describing their work in the context of the broader global picture. The conference sessions were very informative, and succeeded in bringing the audience up to date with current developments in all aspects of the technology transition process.

The two-day Pilot Project workshop sessions followed the technical program, and used a step-by-step approach to first describe the candidate MNT concepts, and ultimately formulate the pilot projects as sustainable businesses. The focus was on developing credible “business plans” by fostering international partnerships that bring together complementary core competencies. The Pilot Project workshops formed the centerpiece of the CANEUS 2006 Conference and proved invaluable both to the participants and organizers alike in going through the exercise of developing viable business plans for each of the selected concepts. Although the conclusion from all of the workshops was uniformly that the business plans were not ready yet, it was agreed that the workshops provided valuable experience for all involved: coordinators, developers, end-users, investors and participants all gained.

Numerous tangible benefits arose as a direct result the Workshops, a highlight of which was the concerted efforts made towards creating a $5M fund for the CANEUS NPS Pilot Project. Several agencies have expressed their interest in contributing to the fund.

It was recognized by several participants that a great benefit that the CANEUS 2006 Conference provided its attendees was the chance to network across a broad spectrum of expertise from researchers in the laboratory, to system developers, to program managers and investors, to government policy makers, all of which is integral to being able to successfully bridge the “Valley of Death.” This networking will go a long way in developing robust international collaborations aimed at rapidly and cost-effectively infusing MNT into Aerospace and Defense applications.