The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Dinner Invitation.

The IEIA Forum is pleased to announce that all conference attendees are invited to a private dinner at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum on the National Mall. This event will be held on 13 October 2010 from 6:30 PM to 10:30 PM.

The Museum will be closed to the general public allowing you to freely explore the hundreds of original, historic artifacts on display, including the Wright 1903 Flyer; the Spirit of St. Louis and the Apollo 11 command module Columbia.

Also offered for your viewing in the Lockheed Martin IMAX Theater is a short, 30 minute movie titled “To Fly!” where you will watch the Earth drop away beneath you on an 1800s balloon ascent; rocket across the Arizona skies with the U.S. Navy's Blue Angels; soar on a hang glider off the coast of Hawaii; and blast off into space on a Saturn rocket.

The Museum, located at 6th Street SW and Independence Avenue SW, is a taxi ride away from the Westin Washington D.C. City Center hotel or a good mile and a half walk. Photos of the exhibits are permitted. Complimentary parking will be available at the Museum’s Fourth Street garage entrance.

The National Air and Space Museum and the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center together maintain the world's largest collection of historic aircraft and spacecraft among some 50,000 artifacts ranging in size from Saturn V rockets and jetliners to gliders, space helmets and microchips. The Museum is a vital center for historical research on aviation and spaceflight and the related science and technology. It is also home to the Center for Earth and Planetary Studies, which performs original research and outreach activities on topics covering planetary science, terrestrial geophysics and the remote sensing of environmental change.

Since opening in 1976, the National Air and Space Museum has been the most visited museum facility in the world, attracting on average more than nine million people annually.

More information can be found at www.nasm.si.edu. Click on the Museum tab, and then click on National Mall.

An RSVP is required for both dinner attendance and parking needs. If you have any special dietary requirements please include it in your response. Please send your RSVP to Bonnie Coffey at bcoffey@ieiaforum.org.

We look forward to seeing you at the Museum.

The Conference

The International Electricity Infrastructure Assurance Forum announces its Fourth Annual Meeting. The IEIA Forum is a collaboration of industry and government from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom and United States. The conference will bring together government and electric energy participants for in-depth exchange on current infrastructure assurance/critical infrastructure protection topics. The agenda will include keynote speaker addressing topical issues with sessions on cyber security and protection, reliability and resiliency of the electric energy system, critical infrastructure interdependencies, standards and best practices experience, pandemic update as well as country and industry updates and exchange on effective collaboration.

This conference is scheduled for 12-14 October 2010 at the Westin Washington DC City Center in the District of Columbia, USA. To register, please send your request to meeting@ieiaforum.org and send with WASHINGTON DC as the subject line. Please see Registration below for more details.

Hotel Information

The Westin Washington DC City Center is just a 20-minute taxi ride from Reagan National airport and a 45-minute taxi ride from Dulles International airport. Its central location makes it easy to enjoy the nation's capital and the world-renowned buildings and historical monuments found throughout the city. Attractions include the Smithsonian Institute, the U.S. Capitol Building, the National Gallery of Art, and the Lincoln Memorial.

Hotel amenities include: 24 hour fitness center, business center, restaurant, lounge and a Starbucks in the lobby. Every room offers wireless High Speed Internet Access and 24-hour room service. The entire hotel is non-smoking.

Conference room rate is $249.00 USD plus tax. Check-in time is 3:00 PM and checkout time is Noon. Each additional person in the room is subject to a $30.00 USD charge per person. A concierge service can hold bags for those arriving early or needing to stay late. Early check-in can be accommodated upon request, based on availability.

Overnight valet parking is $40 USD per vehicle per day, daytime parking is $18 USD. The parking garage does not accommodate Sport Utility Vehicles, Mini Vans, Pick-up Trucks or passenger Vans. However, walking or public transportation can easily take you anywhere you want to go in the DC area.

Participants must book a hotel room by 20 September 2010 to secure the IEIA Forum group rate. Rates are $249 USD. The discounted rooms are available from 10 October through 16 October 2010. After that, rooms are subject to regular rates.

To book a room at the Westin Washington DC City Center e-mail at http://www.starwoodmeeting.com/StarGroupsWeb/res?id=1004109295&key=89F33. Reservations can also be made by calling the Westin Hotel at 1-800-937-8461.

The hotel's location is served by two metro stations: McPherson Square on the Blue/Orange lines and Farragut North on the Red line. Three different sightseeing companies offer pickups at 10 times throughout each day for full-day, half-day, evening, and trolley tours.

For more hotel information, visit http://www.westin.com/washingtondccitycenter

Meeting Location

Nearly 600,000 people live in Washington DC. The city swells to more than 1 million people each workday as commuters make their way into the city for work. The Washington Metropolitan Area, of which the District is a part, has a population of 5.3 million, the ninth-largest metropolitan area in the country.

Washington DC is a planned city and the design was largely the work of Pierre Charles L'Enfant. His design included a garden-lined "grand avenue," known today as the National Mall.

The National Mall has many monuments and museums, including the Washington Monument, the Jefferson Pier, the Lincoln Memorial, the National World War II Memorial, the Reflecting Pool, the Korean War Veterans Memorial and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial.

The Smithsonian Museums on the Mall include: the National Museum of Natural History, the National Air and Space Museum, the National Museum of African Art, the National Museum of American History, the National Museum of the American Indian and more.

It's easy to get around DC, with its logically laid-out streets and easy-to-use public transportation system that boasts one of the country's highest taxi-to-resident ratios. The Metrorail subway system is efficient and easy to use. Taxi service is plentiful and economical in DC although one of the best ways to experience DC is on foot. DC has been ranked #1 among Walkable Cities in the US.

High fall weather temperatures average 68F (20C) degrees and the average low is 50F (10C) degrees.

Registration

To register for the 2010 IEIA Forum meeting in Washington DC, USA, send an email to meeting@ieiaforum.org or fax to 1 623.561.5695.

Please put WASHINGTON DC in the subject line and include the following information:

Event details

The International Electricity Infrastructure Assurance Forum announces its Fourth Annual Meeting, scheduled in the fourth quarter of 2010. The IEIA Forum is a collaboration of industry and government from Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom and United States. The conference will bring together government and electric energy participants for in-depth exchange on current infrastructure assurance/critical infrastructure protection topics. The agenda will be posted on www.ieiaforum.org. Attire for the meeting will be business casual.

The three-day forum is free to attend. All activities are scheduled at the Westin Washington DC City Center Hotel in the heart of the District of Columbia, USA.
Conference hours are: