TechTrends 2025; Atlantic City, April 3-4, 2025 at the Hard Rock Hotel & Conference Center

Re-Scheduled from 2024

Given that 2024 is an election year, we have postponed our re-start of the bi-partisan TechTrends until 2025. The April 3-4 dates at the Hard Rock remain the same (Thursday – Friday, with Wednesday evening opportunity for exhibit set-up).

Below addresses:

• 2024 Prelim Working Sessions
• NJ Prep; May 16 Request for Rowan U to host and others
• DC, DE, MS & PA Prep
• TechTrends Background and DRAFT Agenda

2024 Prelim Working Sessions

The postponement gives us the opportunity to conduct prelim working sessions to prepare each State’s Public & Private Tech Communities. Especially NJ as the TechTrends re-start host in 2025, MD as the 2026 host and Washington DC, preparing our Congressional Delegation, Federal Exec HQs and International Embassies.

NJ Prep; May 16 Request for Rowan U to host and others

Currently we are working with Rowan U to host our first major prelim event in NJ. We have a request in for May 16th for a day long session that will end with a networking reception among the exhibits. We will focus on our top three priority tech topics; Manufacturing (our NJ MEP partner), Energy/Environment (Rowan host) and AI / Photonics. We expect to select one to three other topics among the full TechTrends 2025 agenda for a session and then summarize planning for the balance.

We will follow up this SMART event with others in Atlantic City, Trenton and North Jersey.

We will participate in the related events of others as invited and available.

DC, DE, MD & PA Prep

We are working with our Board Members from the above to address next steps in each. As plans firm, we will update here.

TechTrends Background, current Planning and DRAFT Agenda Topics

Background:

This R&D-focused series was conducted from 1999 to 2004 in Philadelphia, Atlantic City, Baltimore, Wilmington and Pittsburgh. It was replaced by an annual procurement-focused series, SMART PROC GOVCON, from 2004 to the present held in Frederick MD to leverage Washington DC proximity for our Federal speakers. We will re-start TechTrends 2025 in Atlantic City in the Spring and retain SMART PROC GOVCON in the Fall.

Current planning:

We will re-start the TechTrends series in Atlantic City on April 3-4, 2025. Besides the NJ Host Committee, State-wide working committees are being formed in DE, MD & PA to ensure participation and prepare to host as we rotate among the States; TechTrends 2026 will be in Baltimore MD.

In summary, the two-day event features:

• Morning and afternoon plenary sessions followed by three concurrent breakout sessions.
• Mid-day and late afternoon specific exhibit time; exhibit hall open all day of course.
• First day evening dinner w/ major keynote (US Sec of the Navy invited, among others).
• Closing reception in exhibit hall; Gov Murphy invited to “pass TechTrends” to MD Gov Moore for 2025.

DRAFT Agenda Topics

The current 6 Plenary topics are Congress/States, Major Businesses, Manufacturing, AI, VIP Dinner and Closing Reception (NJ & MD Governors, Invited).

The 12 current breakout topics are Advanced Manufacturing, Women In S&T, Cyber/HLS, Bio/Pharma, Veterans, International, Energy/Environ, Health Care, Ag/Food Tech, Transportation/Infrastructure, Defense and STEM Educ/Workforce Development. These topics may change as major sponsorships develop.

• In closing on TechTrends, please contact SMART Executive Director, Robert Carullo, for details on the above planning, participation and sponsorships at 609-304-2904.
• Again, DE, MD, NJ & PA committees have started; especially NJ Host Committee with TechTrends 2024 Chairman Upendra Chivukula (Retired: NJ BPU Commissioner, NJ Assembly and Bell Labs).

Drive for Data Across America series is in the planning stages for several local Mid-Atlantic drives prior to the above TechTrends working session at Rowan U this May. We will report on these at this event and our plans for the balance of 2024. We will wrap up 2024 with a Capitol Hill event. The DDAA remains SMART’s top priority program.