Failure Not an Option
In keeping with AIHce 2011's theme--"Innovate. Integrate. Inspire."--the conference will host a lineup of keynote speakers whose work has embodied those three verbs.
Former NASA flight control director Gene Kranz will command the podium for the opening general session, Monday, May 16, from 8-9:30 a.m. Best known as the leader of the "Tiger Team" of flight directors who brought the imperiled Apollo 13 spacecraft and its crew of three astronauts back to Earth, Kranz received a Presidential Medal of Freedom for his role in that mission and later landed on the New York Times bestseller list for his book Failure Is Not an Option: Mission Control from Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond. Following the opening session, he will be signing copies of that book at the AIHA booth (913) on the expo floor.
For the May 17 general session, from 8-9 a.m., the speaker will be Michael P. Wilson, Ph.D., MPH, associate director for integrative sciences at UC Berkeley's new Center for Green Chemistry. His address, "Green Chemistry: A Strategic Opportunity for Industrial Hygiene," will revolve around the fact that 74 billion pounds of industrial chemicals enter the United States daily. Many of these are toxic, and most will survive long enough to impact the planet. Considering that global chemical production will double in the next 24 years, Wilson will discuss the role IH professionals have in helping businesses understand green chemistry’s potential for reducing or eliminating worker exposures, improving product stewardship and innovation, and accelerating competitive advantage.
OSHA chief David Michaels, Ph.D., MPH, will take the stage for the May 18 general session, 8-9 a.m., discussing OSHA’s initiatives, challenges, and directions. In particular, he will focus on how the agency’s current programs and those planned for the future may affect occupational and environmental health and safety professionals. As part of his presentation, he will field questions from the audience.
Next year's conference and expo will take place for the first time ever in Indianapolis, June 2-7. The year after that, AIHce 2013 will convene in Montreal, May 18-23.