WASHINGTON, August 5, 2002—The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) and West Virginia University (WVU) will hold a regional forum on Thursday, August 22, at WVU's Morgantown campus to examine Appalachia's technology assets and opportunities. This event, which is free and open to the general public, is the first in a series of regional forums to be co-sponsored by ARC and local universities to assess opportunities for economic development in the 13-state Appalachian Region. Based on research studies commissioned by ARC, these forums will feature the concentrated expertise of the authors of the studies, ARC specialists, distinguished regional scholars, and leading professionals and businesspeople.

The forum will take place from 1:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. in Assembly Room A of WVU's National Research Center for Coal and Energy (NRCCE). Randall W. Jackson, director of WVU's Regional Research Institute, will serve as moderator. The first presentations will be made by professors Edward Feser and Harvey Goldstein of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the authors of the ARC-commissioned report Regional Technology Assets and Opportunities: The Geographic Clustering of High-Tech Industry, Science, and Innovation in Appalachia. Feser and Goldstein will discuss the link between science, technology, and sustained regional prosperity and summarize the results of their analysis of Appalachia's high-tech industrial base, knowledge infrastructure, and technology clusters.

ARC senior economist Greg Bischak will provide an overview of the Appalachian Region's capacity for broadening its science and technology sector and steps communities can take to help facilitate this process.

Tom S. Witt, director of WVU's Bureau of Business and Economic Research, will then focus the discussion on West Virginia's own emerging science and technology sector and its potential for growth. He will be followed by James L. Estep, president and CEO of the West Virginia High Tech Consortium Foundation, who will describe the technological innovations being developed by the consortium and what they can mean for the future of Appalachia.

At the forum's close, the presenters will assemble as a panel to take questions from the audience.

To register for the forum, contact Mary Lou Myer of WVU's Regional Research Institute at 304-293-2897 or at mmyer@wvu.edu. Directions to the NRCCE building are below.

National Research Center for Coal and Energy
Directions and Parking Information

From the east: Take I-68 to I-79, then go north to exit 155.

From the north (Pittsburgh) or south (Charleston): Follow 1-79 to exit 155.

From exit 155:

1. Proceed toward Morgantown on U.S. 19.
2. After crossing the bridge, turn left at the third traffic light (Evansdale Drive—first light after the Coliseum).
3. See map below for on-campus directions.

Parking: Park at the short-term pay lot next to the WVU Greenhouse, at the four-way stop sign on Evansdale Drive. Parking is $0.25 for each 30-minute period. Please have exact change; change is not available at the lot.

Parking is also available at the WVU Coliseum. A free shuttle bus runs every 10 minutes from the Coliseum Blue Gate to the NRCCE.