ISA Announces Keynotes and Schedule for Automation Week

The International Society of Automation (ISA) announces the keynote presenters and presentations, executive panels and technical sessions at its ISA Automation Week Technology and Solutions Event, which will take place 5-7 November 2013 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.

Leading automation and control experts, authors, innovators and thought leaders across the globe will come together at the event to demonstrate how to fully leverage the power and potential of automation solutions.

ISA Automation Week 2013 keynote presentations and executive panels

Opening Keynote Address
US Major General Robert E. Wheeler (invited)
Deputy Chief Information Officer, US Secretary of Defense
Tuesday, 5 November 2013
8:00 a.m.–9:00 a.m.

The opening keynote address will feature US Major General Robert E. Wheeler, one of America’s leading authorities on SCADA and industrial infrastructure cybersecurity, who will speak on the current cyber threats to the automation industry.

Currently serving on the staff of the Secretary of Defense as the Deputy Chief Information Officer for Command, Control, Communications and Computers (C4) and Information Infrastructure Capabilities (DCIO for C4IIC), the general is a highly engaging, experienced expert with intimate knowledge of the threats to government and critical infrastructure.

Tuesday General Session - Executive Panel
Cybersecurity Challenges to Industry
Brigadier General Rudolf Peksens, US Air Force (Retired) – Panel Moderator
Tuesday, 5 November 2013
11:00 a.m.–12:30 p.m.

Brigadier General Rudolf Peksens, US Air Force (Retired), is an independent consultant that helps organizations adapt to cyber challenges. General Peksens previously worked in the defense industry for 15 years where most recently he was the Director of Strategic Pursuits in the Raytheon Company's Network Centric Systems.

From 1966 to 1995, General Peksens served in the US Air Force as a combat aviator and the only US Air Force officer to have flown fighter, bomber, and reconnaissance aircraft in combat. He is a highly experienced pilot with nearly 3,900 flying hours, including more than 600 combat hours in operations over Vietnam and Iraq.

Invited panel members:

Samara Moore, National Security Council, Director for Critical Infrastructure
Eric Cosman, Dow Chemical
Timothy Rudolph, USAF, Ph.D.

Wednesday Keynote Address
A Vision of the Future in Manufacturing
J. Patrick Kennedy, Ph.D., CEO and founder of OSIsoft, LLC;
Founder of Lit San Leandro and San Leandro Dark Fiber
Wednesday, 6 November 2013
8:00 a.m.–9:00 a.m.

Dr. J. Patrick Kennedy is the CEO and majority owner of OSIsoft, a software company founded in 1980 that today employees nearly 1,000 people and operates in 142 countries. This year, OSIsoft was selected for the Presidents E-Award (Export Award) for exporting over $0.5 billion over the last five years.

Dr. Kennedy has established two additional companies in San Leandro, California (the headquarters of OSIsoft): San Leandro Dark Fiber LLC and Lit San Leandro LLC. He holds a patent on control of a catalytic reformer control system, is an expert in advanced process control and process data management, and has received numerous industry awards and honors.

Thursday General Session Keynote - Executive Panel
Workforce Development and Today’s Automation Professionals
Maurice Wilkins, Vice President, Yokogawa Corporation of America, Moderator
Thursday, 7 November 2013
8:00 a.m.–9:00 a.m.

This executive panel will focus on critical workforce development issues and how they affect professionals working in process and factory environments. The panel will feature top executives representing the supplier, the systems integrator, and the education and institutional communities, who will share their inside views of future trends and inevitabilities that will affect us all. Lively discussions are inevitable as these experts express their unique vantage points on the critical issues affecting those working in industrial automation.

Panelists include:

Paul Galeski, CEO & Founder of MAVERICK Technologies
Peter G. Martin, VP, Invensys
Michael Milligan, Executive Director of ABET

ISA Automation Week 2013 Education Track highlights
The technical program of ISA Automation Week—spanning six educational tracks--is built on the premise that every automation professional and every automation decision can in some way influence operational results in safety, business, people and technology.

For instance, decisions made and actions taken in one area, such as migrating to a new technology, can sometimes have adverse and unforeseen effects in others, ranging from higher total cost of ownership to concerns over employee training and plant safety.

The six educational tracks are:

Below are some highlights of the many content-rich technical sessions that will be conducted at ISA Automation Week 2013.

Within the Industrial Automation & Control educational track

Avoiding Process Industry Accidents – You won’t want to miss the “town hall meeting” with open discussion on process safety issues led by safety expert Paul Gruhn, or his talk on process industry accidents and lessons learned the hard way. Related sessions on SIS and functional safety will cover design, verification, and maintenance and will be delivered by experts from leading supplier aeSolutions.
Model Based Controls, Dealing with Oscillations, and Mentoring - Industry giant Greg McMillan will host a session on the causes of oscillations, quick fixes, and long term solutions. Also – don’t miss Greg’s session on enabling new automation engineers through the ISA Mentor Program which has produced stunning results. Controls expert Russell Rhinehart will also host a tutorial on model-based controls used as an alternative to gain scheduling.

Within The Connected Enterprise educational track

Designing and Implementing Plant Automation Networks – A tutorial presents the latest concepts in the design and set-up of plant networks. Learning what to do is almost as important as learning what not to do. We’ll cover both sides of the coin in this session.
Making Automation Do More and Cost Less – Optimizing the enterprise on a foundation of instrumentation and automated processes can be achieved by doing more with less. And doing more with less is the road to financial stability and sustainability of the enterprise – and your career.

Within the Industrial Network Security educational track

Your Firewall is Probably Being Compromised – How can you detect whether your system is being compromised and what can you do about it? Detecting problems and protecting plant systems will be discussed, including performance monitoring techniques to find security compromises.
User Experiences in Cyber Security – Users relate their experiences dealing with cyber security issues and threats in digital oilfields, the chemical industry and related applications. Intellectual Property theft and risk is also addressed.

Visit www.isaautomationweek.org to gain more details about ISA Automation Week 2013, including the full technical program, author resources, solutions providers, attendee resources, the complete conference schedule, hotel arrangements and registration. For immediate assistance, call +1 919-549-8411.