Partnering for Life: Space Teams With Biotechnology

San Diego (June 23, 2001) Space and biotechnology will rendezvous on June 24-25 during the BIO 2001 conference at the San Diego Convention Center. Media representatives are invited to explore the “Space Station Imagination” Exhibit and meet with astronauts and other representatives to discuss how NASA and BIO are “Partnering for Life.”

Roger Crouch, International Space Station Senior Scientist and two-time Space Shuttle Payload Specialist, will be available on Sunday, June 24, from 11 a.m. to noon (PDT) in Room 5B on Level 3 of the convention center, to discuss the importance of space and biotechnology as an expanding industry.

The event is part of a larger initiative under which NASA and BIO are partnering to expand space-based commercial opportunities in pharmaceutical, biotechnology, biomedical and agricultural research. These efforts will also create new opportunities for exchanging research results, developing products and processes, and establishing space-related educational programs and activities.

Dr. Kathie Olsen, Acting Assistant NASA Administrator and Chief Scientist, will speak to BIO 2001 at the Plenary Luncheon on Monday, and will outline the newly agreed-upon language of a memorandum of understanding between NASA and BIO that will push these programs forward.

Hosted by the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO), the BIO 2001 International Biotechnology Convention & Exhibition is the world's largest biotechnology event. The convention runs from June 24 through June 27. For details, visit the meeting Web site at www.bio.org.

BIO represents more than 950 biotechnology companies, academic institutions, state biotechnology centers and related organizations in all 50 U.S. states and 33 other nations. BIO members are involved in the research and development of health-care, agricultural, industrial and environmental biotechnology products.