Media advisory: ASME offers special half-day program on Wednesday for engineers, entrepreneurs and others

BUFFALO, N.Y. – What’s the latest NASA technology? How did oxygen production systems developed by Amherst-based AirSep Corp. spawn a billion dollar industry?

For the cost of an oil change, you can learn that much and more during a special half-day session on Wednesday afternoon at The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) conference in downtown Buffalo.

Geared toward engineers and entrepreneurs, the innovation and entrepreneurship session will be held at the Buffalo Niagara Convention Center from 1:30 p.m. to 5:10 p.m. The cost is $25 and the session includes, but is not limited to, speeches by:

• Jim Lawton, chief marketing officer for Rethink Robotics, which has developed one of the most talked about robots in recent years, Baxter.
• LaNetra Tate, a principal investigator in NASA’s Game Changing Development Program.
• Ravi Bansal, CEO of AirSep, which pioneered the development of portable oxygen generating systems that ultimately have helped ease the pain of millions of people suffering from lung illnesses.

Co-hosted by the University at Buffalo, the conference includes up to 2,000 engineers who work for Fortune 500 companies and startups, as well as higher education, government and other organizations.