PMFORUM Breaking News

Recently retired NASA astronaut James F. Reilly II has been announced as the featured keynote speaker to open the 3^rd Annual UT Dallas Project Management Symposium, to be held August 13-14, 2009 on The University of Texas at Dallas campus in Richardson, Texas. The conference is being sponsored by the Graduate Program in Project Management (PM) in the School of Management's Executive Education Center at the University of Texas at Dallas, in partnership with the Dallas Chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMI^®) and PMForum. The theme of this year's UT Dallas Project Management Symposium will be "Managing in a Changing World".

Born in March 1954 at Mountain Home Air Force Base in Idaho, Jim Reilly currently resides in Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA. A graduate of Lake Highlands High School in Dallas Texas, he received a BS, MS and Doctorate in Geosciences from the University of Texas at Dallas. He is returning to his alma mater, The UT Dallas, to deliver a keynote speech at this major project management event this year.

Selected by NASA in December 1994, Reilly reported to the Johnson Space Center in March 1995, completed a year of training and evaluation, and was qualified for flight assignment as a mission specialist. Initially assigned to work technical issues for the Astronaut Office Computer Support Branch, Reilly also served as the Astronaut Office lead on Shuttle training, as Payloads and Procedures Operations lead for the Astronaut Office ISS Branch, and lead for Crew Exploration Vehicle crew systems and landing operations in the Astronaut Office Exploration Branch.

During his time at NASA, Dr. Reilly also worked on systems development, materials and vehicle engineering and human factors projects for both the International Space Station and the Space Shuttle. He has logged over 853 hours in space, including 5 spacewalks totaling 31 hours and 10 minutes. He has over 2000 hours of high-performance flight time in various NASA aircraft. Reilly retired from NASA in May 2008.

Jim Reilly's space flight experience includes the following shuttle missions:

• STS-89 (January 22-31, 1998) was the 8^th Shuttle - Mir docking mission during which the crew transferred more than 9,000 pounds of scientific equipment, logistical hardware and water from Space Shuttle Endeavour to Mir. In the fifth and last exchange of a U.S. astronaut, STS-89 delivered Andy Thomas to Mir and returned with David Wolf. Mission duration was 8 days, 19 hours and 47 seconds, traveling 3.6 million miles in 138 orbits of the Earth.
  


• STS-104 (July 12-24, 2001) was the 9^th assembly flight of the Shuttle to the International Space Station (ISS). Flight 7A delivered and installed the joint airlock module to complete the second phase of ISS assembly. Three spacewalks, totaling 16 hours and 30 minutes, were conducted during the mission with the third being the inaugural spacewalk from the joint airlock. Mission duration was 12 days, 18 hours and 35 minutes traveling 5.3 million miles in 200 orbits of the Earth.
  


• STS-117 Atlantis (June 8-22, 2007) was the 118^th Shuttle mission and the 21^st mission to visit the International Space Station. The successful construction and repair mission involved multiple EVAs by 4 astronauts. Reilly accumulated 14 hours and 40 minutes of EVA in 2 spacewalks. The mission also delivered and returned with an expedition crew member. STS-117 returned to land at Edwards Air Force Base, California, having traveled 5.8 million miles during 220 orbits in 14 days.
  

Jim is an officer in the U.S. Navy Reserve where he is a certified engineering duty officer, Naval Astronaut and holds a qualification as a Space Systems expert. He is a member of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists where he serves as co-chair of the Astrogeology Committee, Naval Reserve Association, Tailhook Association, Reserve Officers Association, and the Association of Space Explorers. He also serves on the Advisory Board for MediSend International, a humanitarian organization dedicated to supplying medical equipment and training to Third World countries. He also serves as an advisory member of the board for the American Geological Institute Foundation dedicated to earth science education in primary and secondary schools.

Special honors received during his career include the Antarctic Service Medal, 1978. US Navy ROTC scholarship, 1972. Seventh Honorary U.S. Marshal, 2001, FAI Gold Space Medal, 2008, numerous Navy and NASA awards. Following his retirement from NASA, Jim joined TAEUS International Corporation in Colorado Springs, Colorado as Vice President for Product Development. His responsibilities include new product development, quality control, technical solutions and future trends in technology.

Project managers and PM experts, leaders and professionals living and working in North Texas are invited to register now for this major regional project management conference. Don't miss this opportunity to meet and hear one of America's astronauts, with experience on projects where project management really does involve "rocket science."

The 2009 UT Dallas PM Symposium will include five keynotes, 40 speakers, 300+ participants and numerous networking opportunities. The Symposium will be held on the UT Dallas Campus, in the School of Management, a state-of-the-art facility (pictured above) with audio-visual and multi-media technologies in each room. Participating PMI members will receive up to 16 professional development units (PDUs) for PMP recertification. Early registration is $425 per person. For information, visit http://som.utdallas.edu/graduate/execed/projectMgmtProg/projSymposium/.

The symposium will be sponsored by the Graduate Program in Project Management at The University of Texas at Dallas (UT Dallas), in cooperation with the Dallas Chapter of the Project Management Institute (PMI^®) and PMForum, Inc. Both the PMI Dallas Chapter and UT Dallas are registered education providers with PMI, so attendees will receive PDUs for PMP recertification.

The Project Management Program at UT Dallas provides application-oriented education for professionals with significant project, program or general management responsibilities. Established in the Executive Education Center in The UT Dallas' School of Management, students have the option of earning a Certificate in Project Management, a Master of Science degree with an emphasis in project management, or a Master of Business Administration degree with project management emphasis.

The UT Dallas PM program, originally developed in 1997, is accredited by the Global Accreditation Center for Project Management (GAC) of Project Management Institute (PMI^®) and is a PMI Registered Education Provider Program (PMI R.E.P.). The program is taught by world-class faculty with a blend of industrial project management, consulting and teaching experience. UTD's PM Program is delivered both on campus and online, and attracts students from across the USA and worldwide. For more information, visit http://som.utdallas.edu/project/.

The PMI Dallas Chapter is a volunteer-based professional association dedicated to supporting the growth and development of project management practitioners, as well as building awareness of the project management discipline and its critical role in business and organization success. With more than 250,000 members in over 160 countries, the Project Management Institute (PMI^®) is the world's leading membership association for project management. Founded in 1984 and with over 4,000 members, the PMI Dallas Chapter is one of the world's largest PMI components. To learn more about the PMI Dallas Chapter and its service offerings, visit www.pmidallas.org

Established in 1995, www.pmforum.org was the world's first website devoted to professional project management and is still one of the world's most popular sources of project management news and information. PMForum also produces the monthly online PM World Today eJournal where articles, case studies, papers and stories by leading PM authorities from around the world can be found; free subscriptions are available at www.pmworldtoday.net. Through its Events Partnering Program, PMForum helps develop and support major PM events worldwide. For information, visit http://www.pmforum.org/events/partner_program.htm.