• Welcome, and Background of IEEE and IEEE Milestones

  • Brian Berg: IEEE Region 6 History Chair; IEEE History Committee member; Consultant, Berg Software Design

  • Dr. K.J. Ray Liu: IEEE President-Elect; Professor, Univ. of Maryland, College Park

• Government Dignitary Comments

  • The Honorable Jay Inslee: Governor, State of Washington

  • The Honorable Billy Nungesser, Lieutenant Governor, State of Louisiana

  • Dr. Gaetano Manfredi: Italian Minister of University and Research

• US (LIGO) & European (Virgo) Funding Agency Perspectives

  • The Honorable Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan: Director, National Science Foundation (NSF)

  • Dr. Antoine Petit: Chairman and CEO, French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS)

  • Dr. Antonio Zoccoli: President, Italian National Institute for Nuclear Physics (INFN)

  • Miriam Luizink: Director, Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO)

• Nobel Laureates' Conversation

  • Intro: Katherine "Kate" J. Duncan: President, IEEE-USA

  • Conversation Leader: Richard Abbott: Lead Engineer, California Institute of Technology (Caltech)/LIGO

    • Dr. Rainer Weiss: Professor Emeritus, MIT

    • Dr. Barry C. Barish: The Ronald and Maxine Linde Professor of Physics, Emeritus, Caltech; Professor, UC Riverside

    • Dr. Kip S. Thorne: The Feynman Professor of Theoretical Physics, Emeritus, Caltech

• Historical and Collaborative Perspectives

  • Dr. Antonio Luque: IEEE Region 8 Director; Professor, Univ. of Seville, SPAIN

  • Dr. Catherine-Nary Man: CNRS Director of Research Emeritus; Virgo Instrumentation Specialist

  • Dr. Jean-Yves Vinet: CNRS Director of Research; Virgo Spokesperson (2011-2014)

  • Dr. Takaaki Kajita: Nobel Laureate; Principal Investigator, KAGRA Detector; President, Science Council of JAPAN

• Concluding Remarks

  • Dr. Dave Reitze: Executive Director of LIGO Laboratory (Caltech); Professor, Caltech; Professor, Univ. of Florida

  • A "Visit" to each Observatory, and Milestone Plaque Unveilings

    • LIGO in Livingston, Louisiana USA

      • Dr. Joseph Giaime: Head, LIGO Livingston Observatory; Professor, LSU

    • LIGO in Hanford, Washington USA

      • Dr. Michael Landry: Head, LIGO Hanford Observatory

    • Virgo in Cascina (Pisa), Tuscany ITALY

      • Dr. Stavros Katsanevas: Director, European Gravitational Observatory (EGO); Professor, Univ. of Paris, FRANCE

      • Dr. Bernardo Tellini: Chair, IEEE Italy Section; Professor, Univ. of Pisa, ITALY

      • Dr. Giovanni Losurdo: Virgo Spokesperson; former Advanced Virgo Project Leader; Research Director, Italian INFN

Credits and Acknowledgments

Core Program Planning Team

• Brian Berg: President, Berg Software Design
• Will Robinson: VP of Government Relations, IEEE-USA
• Rich Abbott: Lead Engineer, Caltech
• Bernardo Tellini: Full Professor, Università di Pisa
• Matt Francis: Founder and President, Ozark IC

IEEE Officers

• Region 5

  • Francis Grosz: Region 5 Immediate Past Director

  • Matt Francis: Region 5 East Area Chair

  • Zafar Taqvi: Region 5 History Chair

  • Don Couvillion: Baton Rouge Section Chair

  • Seth Chandler: Baton Rouge Section Treasurer

  • Chan Wong: New Orleans Section Chair

• Region 6

  • Brian Berg: Region 6 History Chair and Milestone Coordinator; Member, History Committee; Director, IEEE-CNSV

  • Leo Fifield: Richland Section Chair

  • Michael Wood: Richland Section Immediate Past Chair

  • David McKinnon: Richland Section Past Chair
  • Evelyn Hirt: IEEE-USA Past President

• Region 8

  • Vincenzo Piuri: Region 8 Director-Elect; Full Professor, Università Degli Studi di Milano

  • Bernardo Tellini: Italy Section Chair

  • Tiziana Tambosso: Italy Section Immediate Past Chair

  • Antonio Savini: Italy Section History Committee Coordinator; Emeritus Professor, Università di Pavia

IEEE-USA's Videography and Speaker Recruitment Team

• Jonathon Choe: Social Media Associate
• Corey Ruth: Media Relations Associate
• Aline McNaull: Senior Legislative Representative in Government Relations

Special Thanks

• Joyce Avery, Webmaster
• Dave Bart: IEEE History Committee Advocate for the Gravitational-Wave Antenna Milestone Proposal
• Stavros Katsanevas: Director, European Gravitational Observatory (EGO); Professor (Exceptional Class), Université de Paris
• Vincenzo Napolano: Communication Responsible, European Gravitational Observatory (EGO)
• Sheree Wen: Founder and President, UNESCO Washington State Center

Recognitions

• Livingston, Louisiana Mayor Jonathan "JT" Taylor: Proclamation