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Secure World Foundation Newsletter - July/August 2014

Announcements

July 1, 2014

Farewell Dr. Ray Williamson, Senior Advisor

On June 30, 2014 Dr. Ray Williamson officially retired from Secure World Foundation (SWF). During the August 2014 annual Advisory Commitee meeting, SWF bid a fond farewell to our former Executive Director and outgoing staff member. Joined by his family and long-time colleagues, Dr. Williamson was honored at a dinner and reception held at the Hotel Boulderado. Dr. Williamson contributed a great deal to the founding of SWF, and as a Senior Advisor has helped focus the efforts of the foundation greatly in past years. His expertise on and contributions to Latin American outreach and capacity building as well as his work as a key member of the United Nations Action Team 14 on Near Earth Objects are such examples. We wish him nothing but continued success as he moves forward in his next chapter.

July 9, 2014

SWF Welcomes Andrew Aldrin to the Board of Directors

Dr. Andrew Aldrin officially joined the SWF Board of Directors as a Community Director effective July 19, 2014.  Currently the President of Moon Express, Dr. Aldrin is the former director of Business Development and Advanced Programs for United Launch Alliance (ULA). Before that, Dr. Aldrin served in various positions in Business Development and Strategy at the Boeing Company, including vice president and director of Boeing Launch Services and director of Business Development for Boeing NASA Systems.

July 28, 2014

Staff Changes in the Washington DC Office

We would like to welcome Melissa Pasos as the new assistant for the DC office. She has over 3 years of administrative experience and is currently working toward her MA in International Peace and Conflict Resolution at American University. Melissa replaces Aubry Curran, who joined us for a short time before accepting a full-time position. We wish them both the best in their new roles.

Recent SWF Events

July 9 - 11, 2014

Emerging Space Economies

Executive Director Dr. Michael Simpson was one of four facilitators at the Wilton Park Conference entitled "Emerging space economies: next steps towards prosperity."  Scheduled from July 9-11 at Wilton Park's West Sussex conference center, the session focused on the role of space technology in economic development and on how to translate insights and capabilities provided by space technology into policy with direct economic benefits.  

August 12 - 14, 2014

SWF Annual Advisory Committee Meeting

Secure World Foundation Advisory Committee members met in Boulder, CO for the annual Advisory Committee Meeting. This year saw Gerard Brachet, Cherilynn Morrow, and William Ailor stepping down from the Committee after providing years of guidance, perspective, and insight as we defined our mission and established our operation. SWF would like to thank them for their dedicated service and wish them well in all future endeavors. We also wish to offer our thanks to the returning Committee members for their on-going participation and support. Further, please join us in welcoming Dr. Mazlan Othman to this year's class of new Advisory Committee members.

August 25 & 26, 2014

SWF Co-Sponsors U.S.-China Workshop on Data Policy and Cooperation in Earth Observations

Secure World Foundation collaborated with the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (NAS) and the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) to hold a 1.5-day workshop in Washington, D.C. on Earth Observation (EO) data policy and cooperation. The workshop discussed the opportunities and challenges surrounding the sharing of EO data for human and environmental security challenges on Earth. It brought together experts from the United States and China to discuss the importance of EO, national policies supporting EO data sharing, and case studies on sharing EO data for disaster management.

Staff Activities & Presentations

July 5 - 20, 2014

Chris Johnson served as Visiting Faculty and Guest Lecturer at the 2014 ISU Space Studies Program

SWF Project Manager Chris Johnson discussed the law and policy issues of on-orbit servicing at the International Space University's 2014 Space Studies Program, held in Montreal, Canada. He also consulted with ISU's team projects on Exoplanets, and on Open Innovation. The ISU final reports are available here. SWF Executive Director Mike Simpson attended the ISU final presentations, providing expertise and feedback to the Team Project's presentations 

July 17, 2014

Victoria Samson Presents at Future Space Leaders Foundation's Event

SWF Washington Office Director Victoria Samson spoke at the Future Space Leaders Foundation's third annual event on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. She participated in a panel examining "Space and the Pacific Rim," looking at the role space played in the security of the Asia-Pacific region.

August 7, 2014

Dr. Michael Simpson Delivers ISU SSP Graduation Address in Montreal

SWF Executive Director, Michael Simpson, told the graduates of this year's International Space University Space Studies Program that they would need to "take care of space" if they hoped for long and fulfilling careers in the sector. Highlighting such space sustainability challenges as space debris and the need to coordinate the growing number of objects in Earth orbit, he noted that finding solutions to them would be a worthy investment of their time and talent.  While in Montreal for the graduation, Dr. Simpson also served on the expert team evaluating the four team projects the students presented as the capstone of their nine-week program.

Staff Publications

Victoria Samson's article "Radio Frequency Interference: A Threat to Space Sustainability," was published in the summer 2014 issue of Apogeo Spatial.

Dr. Michael Simpson's article, "International Institute for Space Commerce: Responding to the Need for Strategic Thinking in the Commercial Space Sector," was published in the June 10, 2014 issue of New Space.