The monthly meeting of the Dallas Section of the Society of Women Engineers will feature a presentation by Dr. Dona Mularkey, a lecturer of mechanical engineering at Southern Methodist University (SMU). She will give a presentation called "Oh, The Places You Might Go As An Engineer" at 6:15 p.m. on Tuesday, April 20 at Nedley's Restaurant, located at 1801 North Plano Road. For more information, please call LeEarl Bryant at 972-699-1649.

Wells Fargo Bank NA Senior Vice President of Strategy and Finance Kevin Zaney of the bank's home office in San Francisco will speak in The University of Texas at Arlington (UTA) Business Millennium Distinguished Speaker Series at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 21, in room 101, College Hall, 600 S. West St.

The address is free and open to the public.

Zaney is responsible for developing strategy for the nation's leading provider of online financial services. His presentation is titled "Leading for Success" and will cover the next stage of online banking. He will discuss the evolutionary process, the current focus in regard to the Internet channel, and what the future requires for Wells Fargo to maintain its leadership position in Internet banking. Before joining Wells Fargo, Zaney was senior vice president at CSC Index and he formerly held positions at Booz Allen and General Electric.

For information, contact Speaker Series Director Dr. Vince Apilado at 817-272-3840 or apilado@uta.edu.

On April 22, 2004, the M.I.T. Enterprise Forum of Dallas- Fort Worth, Inc. will present Hired in America, Fired in America: Offshore Outsourcing on Trial at The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) Conference Center. The program begins with networking at 5:00 p.m. and with the program at 6:15 p.m. Cost is $35, $10 for students, $25 for MIT alumni/alumnae. Contact mitforum@juno.com, or 972-377-4554 for reservations.

The M.I.T. Enterprise Forum of Dallas-Fort Worth, Inc. is a nonprofit organization affiliated with the M.I.T. Enterprise Forum, Inc. at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Sheila Widnall, institute professor and professor of aeronautics and astronautics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will present the first talk in the Dean's Lecture Series April 22 at 5 p.m. in Rudder Theatre at Texas A&M University. In her talk, "Columbia Accident: Lessons Learned," Widnall will discuss the work of the 13-member Columbia Accident Investigation Board and the internal organizational failures at NASA that led to the tragedy. Widnall said the Columbia accident raises important issues for the education of engineers as well as questions about the ethical responsibility of engineers to apply their training to uncover operating defects in their organizations and the systems they develop and operate. Widnall was a member of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board that concluded that human communication failures and NASA's "culture of invincibility" also played a role in the Columbia tragedy. Widnall is a member and the current vice president of the National Academy of Engineering and past president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. She received her bachelor's degree, master's degree and doctorate in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she has been a member of the faculty since 1964. The talk is part of the Dean's Lecture Series and is sponsored by the Bovay Endowment for Engineering Ethics, the ChevronTexaco Forum for Engineering Ethics, the Dwight Look College of Engineering and the Association of Former Students.

Jobin Yvon, Inc. and The University of Texas at Dallas are hosting a three day workshop on Ellipsometry, Raman Spectroscropy and EDXRF Microscope on the UTD campus from April 22-24. The purpose of the workshop is to provide current and prospective users fundamental and in-depth theoretical and experimental knowledge of ellipsometry and Raman methodologies of characterizing a wide range of materials and their properties. Presentations held throughout the two days on the principals behind the fields and practical applications. Researchers and scientists should benefit by understanding the varied uses of the instrumentation, applicability of the instruments to their particular materials, comparison to other methods and efficacy, limitations and sensitivities of differing designs.

The workship will be held in the South Engineering and Computer Science Building on The University of Texas at Dallas campus. For more information, or to register, contact Susan Tutiven at Susan.Tutiven@JobinYvon.com or call 732-494-8660 ext. 231. The agenda can be found at http://www.jobinyvon.com/usadivisions/raman/newsletter/raman_workshop.pdf.

The Texas Entrepreneur & Angel Investor Conference will take place on April 23 in Austin and will bring together leading private equity angel investors and experienced entrepreneurs from Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio as well as special guests from Chicago and California. This event is designed for entrepreneurial companies seeking funding and angel investors interested in investing in privately held companies.

Attendees will hear from experienced angels and entrepreneurs including:
-Barry Moltz, cofounder of Prairie Angels, Serial Entrepreneur & Author
-Jimmy Treybig, founder of Tandem Computers, Investor and Mentor
-Harvey Ring, President, Ring Investments, LP
-Mark Eshelman, Co-Founder, Smarte Solutions
-Keith Moe, Angel Investor, Mentor and former 3M Exec
-Bryan Menell, Chief Executive Officer, Fusion Learning Systems
-Bob Martin, Chief Executive Officer, JumpStart Partners, Inc.
-Ward Greenwood, Partner, First Capital Group
-David Gerhardt, founder of Capital Network and Texas Angel Investors
-Steve Wagh, Entrepreneur, Angel Investor and Author "The CEO Handbook"
-Fred S. Patterson, The SBIR Coach, Facilitating Seed Capital for Innovators
-Joe Milam, President, Legacy Capital Management; Member, Sacramento Angels
-Michelle Weisblatt, Executive Director, Houston Angel Network
-Steve Smaha, Angel Investor and Mentor

More information on the program as well as registration is available at http://www.startupxl.com

Hans Blix, former chief United Nations weapons inspector, will speak on "Disarming Iraq" at 8 p.m. Friday, April 23 in Rudder Theater as part of Texas A&M University's Memorial Student Center Wiley Lecture Series.

Blix, appointed in 2000 by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan to head the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspections Commission (UNMOVIC), will give his first-hand account of events leading up to the 2003 war in Iraq.

As the world urged Saddam Hussein to disarm, Blix says he and his team, through onsite inspections, tried to determine if the Iraqi leader was complying. While the United States and its allies pushed for justification for military action in Iraq, and key opponents on the U.N. Security Council called for further inspections, Blix stood between the two, trying to fairly and impartially determine the true scope of Iraq's weapons program.

Planners add that the lecture is particularly relevant because his commentary will provide unprecedented insight and understanding of the inspectors' work, findings and conclusions.

Blix is chair of the International Commission on Weapons of Mass Destruction. His first book, "Disarming Iraq," was released in March.

For more information on MSC Wiley Lecture Series' program, call (979) 845-1514 or visit http://wiley.tamu.edu. Tickets to the event are $5 for students and $10 for non-students and are available at the Memorial Student Center Box Office at (979) 845-1234 or toll free at (888) 890-5667.

The Greater Dallas Crime Commission is presenting a presenting on conducting financial investigations at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, April 27 in Room 2.102 of the South Engineering and Computer Science Building on The University of Texas at Dallas campus. Featured speakers include Special Agent in Charge Michael Lacenski, Senior Special Agent Sandy Moore and Supervisory Special Agent Sam Sloan. There is a $100 charge for GDCC and ASIS members, a $150 charge for non-members and a $75 charge for law enforcement. The cost includes both breakfast and lunch. For more information or to register, call 215-965-9000.

The Emerging Venture Network provides emerging, minority, entrepreneurs with access to investment capital and resources to grow their companies. Presented in partnership with The Westchester County Association and Pace University, the Northeast Boot Camp 2004 will present 25-30 companies to an audience of leading corporate, angel, and venture capital investors, and supplier diversity executives. The conference will be held beginning on Wednesday, April 28 and going through April 29 at Pace University, located at 78 North Broadway in White Plains, New York. There is a $75 registration fee to attend one day and $125 for both days. For more information or to register, see http://www.cvent.com.

To assess contemporary concerns and evaluate the shape of the communications industry of tomorrow the Global Communications Strategy Forum is being organized by the School of Management at The University of Texas at Dallas. It will be held on the campus of The University of Texas at Dallas on May 5-7, 2004.

This forum is designed to assist senior executives in getting engaged in debates that provide strategy shaping and policy making skills with an opportunity to learn how the sector is reacting to current policies. If you are an entrepreneur or investor and are still wondering where to place bets this forum will shed light on where the industry is headed. If you are an academic the forum will help you understand the contemporary phenomena that impact industry evolution and the contours of corporate and business level strategies. If you are a network operator or service provider you will get to know what technologies to invest in and where the markets are heading or what services or products might look promising.

Scheduled speakers include Professor C.K. Prahalad of the University of Michigan and Professor Gerry Faulhaber of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania

Find more information about the forum see http://som.utdallas.edu/gcsf. To download a PDF version of the program please go to the weblink: http://som.utdallas.edu/gcsf/program.

More than ever, automation is being seen as the gateway to efficient and competitive manufacturing. Integrating robotics, machine vision, and sensors into complete systems holds the most promise for manufacturers looking to develop new products that deliver the best value. The Automation & Assembly Summit is an all-new showcase for cutting-edge automation and assembly equipment. With a conference addressing six specific technologies, displays of the latest automation systems, tours of two leading manufacturers, plus industry and government perspective keynotes, this event is an unequalled opportunity to make new industry contacts, exchange ideas, and expand your knowledge. This event will be held from May 10-12 in the American Airlines Training Facility in Fort Worth. For more information, or to register, see
http://www.sme.org/cgi-bin/get-event.pl?D--204-000007-018740--SME-

The North Texas Technology Council (NTTC), the Greater Dallas Chamber (GDC), and the North Texas Small Business Development Center (NTSBDC) are hosting the 2004 SBIR Conference.
The event will be from 8:00 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, May 11 at the The Bill J. Priest Institute for Economic Development located on 1402 Corinth Street in Dallas.

The event is targeted to entrepreneurs, scientists, researchers, and engineers interested in receiving grant dollars from the federal government for the innovation and commercialization of new technologies.

$1.5 billion is awarded in SBIR/STTR funding by the federal government each year; however, Texas receives only a small piece of this pie. This conference will show you how to apply for this federal grant money and provide an opportunity to meet with Program Managers who administer the grants and recipients of past awards in North Texas. Receiving SBIR funding also serves to stimulate the economy and bring visibility to the region.

There is a $125 charge per person for the conference. To register, see www.dallaschamber.org under the calendar section. General questions can be directed to William Adjei at 214-712-1937.

The University Venture Forum will present Chuck Abraham, CEO of OraMetrix. Mr. Abraham will focus on the company's all-digital approach to orthodontics that applies advanced 3-D imaging technologies with robotic design of space age materials to dramatically reduce the amount of time patients are required to spend in braces. This presentation will give an overview of the technologies being applied, the process and how it works, and examples of recent clinical results.

The meeting begins at 7:30 a.m. with coffee and networking; the presentation kicks off at 7:50 a.m. Location: the UTD Conference Center in Richardson, Texas. Cost: $15.00 non-members, students with a university ID, $5.00. For more information or a map, visit www.universityventureforum.org. To RSVP, email rsvp@universityventureforum.org.

The Center for Intelligent Supply Networks in The University of Texas at Dallas School of Management is offering a Certificate in Supply Chain Management. This three-month program begins on May 14 and ends July 24. The program highlights include:
-Focuses on end to end supply chain
- Fast track certificate on completion of six modules of two days each in about three months
- Convenient schedule for working professionals with Friday and Saturday classes that meet two weekends each month
- Industry site visit

The program costs $3600 if registration is complete by March 31 and $4200 starting April 1. Individual classes are $950 each.

To learn more and register http://som.utdallas.edu/c4isn

The ACM SIGGRAPH International Conference on Virtual-Reality Continuum and its Applications in the Industry (VRCAI 2004) will be a forum for researchers, educators, developers and users to share the latest development of the state-of the-art technology in Virtual Reality Continuum. Special emphasis will be placed on growing application areas in Defense and Military Science, Life Science, Design and Engineering, Education and Entertainment. The conference will be held at the Nanyang Technological University in Singapore from June 16-18. For more information, see www.seagraph.org/vrcai2004.