KALAPAKI BAY — Corporations large and small brought out their newest and best offensive and defensive weaponry to a captive audience of other civilian contractors and military officials here yesterday.
Approximately 600 officials, guests and other interested individuals were on hand at the opening of the 2003 International Test and Evaluation Association (ITEA) symposium yesterday at the Kaua’i Marriott Resort & Beach Club.
The event, through Friday, features over 70 exhibits and 50 “poster papers” from various government agencies, in addition to private research corporations, showing off their new, high-technology defense systems.
“This is the first time that we are holding an international symposium for the ITEA in Hawai’i,” said symposium co-chairman Dave Nekomoto.
“So far, things have gone very nicely. The hotel has been very accommodating, and the exhibitors out here have been really fantastic. The beautiful part about it is that the weather has been cooperating this week.”
Some of the companies and entities on hand at the event include the U.S. Navy and most of its contractors at the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands near Kekaha; the Kauai Test Facility; Summit Instruments; Scientific Research Corporation (SRC); and the Boeing Company.
Boeing officials brought a new, airborne, laser-guided missile defense system, and the other current or hopeful military contractors here have new ideas and technologies to show the federal government as well.
Symposium co-chairman Stu Burley said that this year’s event is big for the island.
“Location, location, location,” Burley added about the large turnout for Tuesday’s opening event. “The fact that we have international people coming to this event is significant. We have a whole contingent from France here. We have people from Canada, Australia, Germany, and all over here for this symposium.
“This is the largest ITEA event ever scheduled in the history of the association,” he added.
According to Burley, the event will generate approximately $5.3 million in revenue for Kaua’i, when event participants pay for hotel rooms, meals, rental vehicles, gifts, and other expenses incurred on the island.
Several exhibitors showed off their newest technology systems.
Among those is Envisioneering, which plans on opening an office in Waimea and has locations across the Mainland. The company was at the symposium conducting engineering assessments of defense-application technologies.
The company also helped pave the way for several Kaua’i Community College students to participate in the event.
Envisioneering sponsored 22 of Dr. Francis Takahashi’s trade-technology students to attend the symposium.
“Our goal is to bring technology to the students so that they can learn more about the field,” said Envisioneering associate Michelle Wiesen. “They were all very excited about being here.”
Many of those students traveled through the symposium, gathering information about various companies such as the SRC, which showed radar instrumentation and training systems as well as a system designed to detect, intercept and destroy enemy missiles from hundreds of miles away.
In addition to the new technology systems, the KCC students also were invited to Tuesday’s evening lu’au at the hotel.
As part of the Mayor Bryan J. Baptiste’s adopt-a-school program, Burley and Nekomoto extended invitations to Kaua’i’s three high schools, particularly seniors who are interested in careers in advanced technology, to visit the exhibits at the symposium today.
Students will have about one hour to go through the exhibit floor, view the exhibits and ask questions.
The ITEA is a nonprofit educational organization founded in 1980 to further the exchange of technical information in the field of testing and evaluation of military products.
Its members include professionals from industry, government, and academia, involved in the development and application of policy and techniques used to assess the effectiveness, reliability, and safety of new and existing systems and products.
Business Editor Barry Graham may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or mailto:bgraham@pulitzer.net.
