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Keynote speaker:  Dr. Moira Gunn, host of Public Radio's TechNation

With a growing economy and new innovative businesses locating to the area each year, Central Oregon is quickly becoming a high-tech hot spot. In response to this budding industry, Cascade Business News, UNICOM and Economic Development for Central Oregon have partnered to create the first ever LaunchPad Innovation & Technology Expo, which will provide powerful networking opportunities and quality programming for Central Oregon’s business leaders.

The expo will take place October 11, 2005, 4pm - 8pm at the Epic Air hangar located at the Bend Municipal Airport.  The event will kick off EDCO’s well-established Industry Week and feature a trade fair, a variety of insightful speakers and an award ceremony to honor the Innovator of the Year.  Attendees will have the chance to meet some of the region’s high-tech trailblazers and ways in which they are enriching Central Oregon’s economy. In particular, the expo will feature advancements in the automotive, aviation, computer software and hardware production, biotechnology and telecommunications fields and how these advancements are changing the face of the high desert.

To help spotlight emerging high-tech companies in Central Oregon, Dr. Moira Gunn, host of Public Radio’s Tech Nation, will be the keynote speaker.  Dr. Gunn holds advanced degrees in both engineering and science, though is well-versed in liberal arts as well.  Her weekly syndicated radio program, Tech Nation, is the only national program of its kind and seeks to educate the public on issues concerning science and technology. With over 2,000 in-depth interviews in her repertoire, Dr. Gunn has interacted with industry pioneers such as Google’s Larry Page and Sergei Brin, Intel’s Andy Grove and Yahoo’s Jerry Yang and David Filo.  Tech Nation can be heard locally on Oregon Public Broadcasting, and on National Public Radio’s Sirius Satellite Radio Channels: NPR Talk and NPR Now.

The LaunchPad expo will ultimately equip participants and attendees alike with the tools necessary to harness and utilize the benefits of emerging technologies. With powerful networking opportunities, quality programming and participation of the brightest high-tech companies in Central Oregon, the LaunchPad Innovation & Technology Expo promises to enhance this already-growing sector. 
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For more information, please visit LaunchPad's website at:  www.launchpadbend.com