The University of Tennessee Space Institute in Tullahoma, Tennessee, will host the Quick-Goethert Lecture on October 29, 2009 at 4:00 p.m. in the UTSI auditorium. The speaker for the event is Wanda Austin, President and Chief Executive Officer for The Aerospace Corporation, based in Los Angeles, California. The Aerospace Corporation is a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC), and a systems-engineering resource for complex communications, weather, navigation and reconnaissance space systems and supports long-term planning, as well as the immediate needs of our nation’s military.

Austin’s lecture is entitled “The Human Factor: Managing Technical Complexity and Creativity in the 21st Century,” addressing one of the areas that most concerns engineering leaders of today – how to attract the best and brightest minds to the aerospace industry and develop them into the finest systems engineers in the world.

Austin will further discuss the world-view of Generation Y – tomorrow’s systems engineers. She will explain that Generation Y is the embodiment of thoughtful and authentic professional vision and values and these young people have the imagination and integrity that are prerequisites for systems engineering innovation today.

In an interview with Aviation Week, Austin was recognized as someone who “…. has brought to the task a laser-like focus on people, attracting fresh new thinking and assuring that the expertise of highly experienced people is passed on”.

Austin is a member of the National Academy of Engineering and is currently a member of the Augustine Commission.

Please join us for this year’s Quick-Goethert Lecture in the UTSI auditorium on October 29th at 4 p.m. to hear the latest on what future systems engineers need in order to take their place in the aerospace industry of the near future.

The event will be followed by a banquet in the UTSI cafeteria. There is no cost for the banquet; however, if you would like to attend, please RSVP by October 23rd to Scott Van Zandbergen at svanzan@utsi.edu or by phone 931-393-7402.