Leonardo 40th Anniversary Conference, site recommendation

Email to the Board from Mark Resch, May 7, 2007

Dear ISAST Board Members,

Over the past several months I have begun work put together the event to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Leonardo publication. I have a good idea of what's needed to pull-off the event, and have been making steady progress.

One major part of the process is to select a site to hold the event. Three institutions have expressed their desire to host the event. All three have made strong proposals. The three institutions that have formally expressed interest are: ARTSLab at The University of New Mexico, Stanford Linear Accelerator Center, and the Banff New Media Institute. I have visited each of the three potential venues. Each institution has their own strengths and would color the event in different ways. Any of the three would be able to host an event that we would be proud of.

Site selection is a multi-dimensional decision. Of course the event has to be logistically possible. Logistics include facilities, transportation options and hotel rooms. All three have excellent facilities. SLAC has conference facility with a maximum capacity of about 350, BNMI could host an event of up to about 1000, ARTSLab has facilities options that would allow an event of nearly any size. Similarly, there are nearby hotels for both BNMI and ARTSLab. While we may need some transportation support for each venue, we would have to arrange for buses for those housed in hotels if the event were held at SLAC.

Cost estimates at each institution vary, but over-all, conference costs would be more-or-less the same, with SLAC being cheapest. In every case, we have marketing and promotional expenses, as well as conference management and content expenses. Finding funds to underwrite the conference will be a challenge. SLAC could underwrite some of the expenses, and would be supportive of our efforts to fundraise. BNMI would actively write grant proposals to provincial and national sources in Canada. ARTSLab has already verbal commitments from Intel as a sponsor, and the Governor's Science Advisor who offered state support for part of the event. Additionally, the UNM Foundation will solicit foundation support for the event.

Leonardo is about Art, Science and Technology. The arts are supported by each institution. BNMI has a particular strength in this area, but is weaker with connections to the scientific community. SLAC has excellent connections to the high-energy physics community, and strong interest in the Arts. ARTSLab has good science and technology contacts with Los Alamos, Sandia, SpacePort, the Santa Fe Institute, and the Mind Institute, as well as strong Arts connection.

I am interested in maximizing the impact that the event will have. The event should expand the Leonardo community, bringing greater participation and interaction with the scientific community. A successful event will have a positive impact both on Leonardo and the host institution. As an emerging institution, ARTSLab at UNM would probably benefit most from a successful event. SLAC and BNMI would, of course benefit, but the relative impact would be less.

We are in the luxurious postion of selecting from among strong choices. None of the choices are without risk. Based on my experience, we cannot go wrong with choosing any of the potential partners. But when I weigh all of the various aspects of site selection in my mind, I believe that we have the opportunity to make an excellent decision.

I recommend that ARTSLab at the University of New Mexico to be our partner and host the Leonardo fortieth anniversary event in October 2008.

This recommendation is confidential, and I will need to inform SLAC and BNMI of our choice in a way that will ensure a continuing strong relationship with Leonardo.

I look forward to making this an outstanding event. Please contact me directly with any questions.

Best,
Mark Resch
markresch@gmail.com