COLUMBIA, Md., April 7, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Universities Space Research Association (USRA) held the 42nd annual meeting of the Council of Institutions (COI) on Friday, April 1, 2011 at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, D.C.  At the meeting, the COI elected new Board of Trustees members, voted on Governance issues and received reports from management, Board of Trustees and COI leadership.  Dr. Judith Pipher (University of Rochester), Dr. Hans-Peter Roser (University of Stuttgart), and Mr. James Crocker (Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company) were elected as new Board of Trustees members.  Dr. Steven Kahn (Stanford University) was reelected as a Board member.  "USRA is proud to welcome these distinguished and leading members of the research and business community to our Board," said Dr. Frederick A. Tarantino, USRA President & CEO.

At the annual meeting, the COI also voted to modify the Association's Purpose Clause to reflect its current research and business needs.  The new Purpose Clause will enable USRA to participate in more international programs, as well as increase its programs in the operational research and development, and engineering areas.

In conjunction with the annual meeting, USRA and The George Washington University's Space Policy Institute hosted a symposium entitled "U.S. Export Controls and Space Science" on Thursday, March 31, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.  The symposium focused specifically on the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) and its effect on collaborative space research.   The Keynote Address at the symposium was given by Mr. Brian Nilsson, Director, Non-Proliferation - Export Controls at the White House/National Security Council. Presentations on Export Controls and Science were given by Mr. Tobin Smith, of the Association of American Universities; Dr. Daniel Baker, of the University of Colorado, Boulder; Mr. Steve Eisner, of Stanford University; and Ms. Adilia Koch, of the California Institute of Technology.  Ms. Paula Geisz, of NASA's office of  International and Interagency Relations; Mr. Anthony Dearth, of the Department of State; and Mr. David Turner, of the Department of State, Office of Space and Advanced Technology (OES/SAT), gave presentations on government perspectives on ITAR regulations.   Ms. Lauren Airey, of the Office of Rep. Don Mazullo (R-ILL), also spoke on Export Controls and Congress. The symposium was followed by a reception hosted by the COI.

About USRA
Founded in 1969, USRA is an independent research corporation with competencies that span space, Earth and life sciences related disciplines, and are closely aligned with the nation's science and national security agencies. As a member based non-profit corporation with 105 major research universities as members in lieu of for-profit shareholders, our members provide our corporate governance, and along with USRA's 300 scientific and technical staff provide a unique platform for conducting ground-breaking research.

SOURCE Universities Space Research Association