SAN DIEGO, Oct. 24, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- World's Best Technologies (WBT) Innovation Marketplace 2012, presented by Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC), is a showcase event for vetted and mentored technologies and intellectual property ready for the marketplace. It will take place Oct. 24-26 at the San Diego Convention Center.
The WBT Innovation Marketplace will be packed with 130 technology presentations, keynote speeches and a range of panel discussions. Hundreds of private equity and venture capital investors, angel investors, Fortune 1000 licensees and representatives from federal agencies will convene to peruse more than 400 licensable deals.
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Paul Meyer, sector vice president and general manager of advanced programs and technology for Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, will be the keynote speaker on Thursday, Oct. 25. "Defense contractors are innovators," said Meyer. "At Northrop Grumman, we continue to harness innovation through organizations such as our advanced programs and technology team. Our participation in the WBT Innovation Marketplace provides us with the opportunity to interact with today's visionaries and problem solvers to build a more exciting, safer tomorrow."
Jim Zortman, Northrop Grumman sector vice president and Unmanned Systems Development Center site manager, will speak on the "Hot Markets, Sizzling Sectors" panel. The panel will discuss innovation and market opportunities, which products have been successful, which ones haven't and which unexpected products may become success stories within the next five years.
Zortman provides leadership of the full spectrum of logistics and product support functions in support of a "design anywhere, build anywhere, support anywhere" strategy within Northrop Grumman's Aerospace Systems sector. "Northrop Grumman has produced unmanned systems for nearly 70 years and delivered more than 100,000 to customers worldwide," said Zortman. "As an unmanned systems powerhouse, Northrop Grumman has always been on the cutting edge of unmanned systems technology and continues to look toward the future at ways to develop innovative, efficient and affordable products for our customers."
Doug Shane, president of Northrop Grumman's Scaled Composites business, will speak on the "Open Innovation" panel. The panel will discuss how corporations successfully tap the innovation ecosystem and how start-ups can benefit.
"The success of Scaled Composites owes itself to the philosophy that the best ideas come from the collaborative efforts of small, closely knit project teams and an environment unlimited by adversity to risk," Shane said. "Our aerodynamic analysis and design capability, when combined with our proof-of-concept building experience, provides our customers with the most cost-effective and accurate development data available. Having flight tested one new air vehicle per year on average since our founding in 1982, we have the experience necessary to provide our customers with the development data they need. We look to the future with the same focus on the approach we have used in the past, creating an enjoyable, and rewarding work environment to achieve success while attacking difficult challenges."
Shane was hired as an engineer when Scaled Composites opened for business in 1982. He has had a significant role in the 15-fold growth in company sales over those 20 years. Shane's flight test experience includes the first flights of eight new prototypes, including the White Knight, Adam 309, VisionAire Vantage and Williams International V-Jet II.
Northrop Grumman leveraged Scaled Composite's culture of innovation in the rapid manufacture of the Firebird demonstrator aircraft. Firebird provides persistent operation of multiple intelligence sensors in a modern, composite airframe that is designed for both manned and unmanned operations.
As part of its support for educational programs in science, technology, engineering and math, Northrop Grumman has invited a partner school from Poway Unified School District that participates in Project Lead the Way engineering classes and the FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics Competition robotics team to attend the conference.
About the WBT Innovation Marketplace
The WBT Innovation Marketplace is an elite showcase converging revolutionary new energy, life science, nanotech, material science and information technologies to seed solutions for current market needs. Attendees will experience a forum that is both deal-focused and unbiased with regard to geography, funding source or originating research institution. Additional information can be found by visiting www.wbtshowcase.com.
About Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in unmanned systems, cybersecurity, C4ISR, and logistics and modernization to government and commercial customers worldwide. Please visit www.northropgrumman.com for more information.