AIAA Holds Another Successful California Aerospace Event

by Steve Sidorek, AIAA Publc Policy

For the fifth straight year AIAA helped plan and hold the California Aerospace Days event, which took place in Sacramento 29 February – 01 March, 2016. A joint select committee hearing, networking reception, exhibition, and several educational briefings brought together state lawmakers and their staffs with members of the California aerospace community to learn more about the importance of the aerospace industry to the state’s economy, education system, manufacturing base, and workforce. The State Assembly and the State Senate passed a joint resolution recognizing the event.

The Assembly Select Committee on Aerospace and the Senate Select Committee on Defense and Aerospace, held a hearing with notable female aerospace executives, including Sandy Magnus, exploring the challenges and opportunities for women in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The event also featured briefings on the breadth of the aerospace community in California, including how small businesses are transforming the aerospace sector, the challenges faced by aerospace suppliers statewide, how unmanned aerial vehicles will be integrated into the National Airspace System, and an aerospace economic impact study encompassing eight Southern California counties.

Images

Left to right: Senator Tony Mendoza, Senator Ben Allen, Senator Connie Leyva, Lt. Col. Kelly Latimer (Virgin Galactic), Madeline Salazar (Boeing), Senator Hannah Beth Jackson, Dr. Deborah Larson (Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo), Senator Jean Fuller, Julie Van Kleeck (Aerojet Rocketdyne), Senator Sharon Runner, Dr. Sandra Magnus (AIAA), Senator Ted Gaines, Senator Andy Vidak, Senator Patricia Bates, Senator Jim Nielsen.		Left to right: Dr. Debra Larson (Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo), Kelly Jill T. Henning (Northrop Grumman), Madeline Salazar (Boeing), Dr. Sandra Magnus (AIAA), Senator Jean Fuller, Lt. Col. Kelly Latimer (Virgin Galactic), Dr. Tamara Jernigan (Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory), Assemblymember Tom Lackey, Dr. Malina Hills (The Aerospace Corporation), Julie Van Kleeck (Aerojet Rocketdyne), Senator Patricia Bates

Left to right: A NASA JPL representative and Senator Jeff Stone		Left to right: Senator Patricia Bates, Dr. Sandra Magnus, Senator Jean Fuller, Senator Sharon Runner