Today the average American home has 25 consumer electronic devices. Imagine a day without your cell phone, computer, PDA or GPS, or an evening without your HDTV, DVR or MP3 player.
Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), and one of the foremost experts on the "smart" appliances that transform everyday life, will be the featured speaker on Monday, April 7, 9 a.m., at the Wayne State University Law School's Spencer M. Partrich Auditorium. The lecture, titled "Our Digital Destiny," is free and open to the public.
As president and CEO of the Consumer Electronics Association, Shapiro represents more than 2,300 consumer electronics companies. CEA owns and produces the continent's largest annual trade event, the international Consumer Electronics Show. This trade show is held in Las Vegas and is housed in an area the size of 35 football fields.
Shapiro led the industry in its successful transition to HDTV. He co-founded and chaired the HDTV Model Station and was a leader of the Advanced Television Test Center. He is a charter inductee to the Academy of Digital Television Pioneers, and received its highest award as the industry leader most influential in advancing HDTV. He also was instrumental in urging Congress to establish an official cut-off date for analog television transmissions which will stop Feb. 17, 2009.
As chairman of the Home Recording Rights Coalition, Shapiro led the battle to preserve the legality of recording technology and consumer fair-use rights. He has held several exhibition industry leadership posts and received the industry's highest honor, the International Association of Exhibition Management (IAEM) Pinnacle Award.
Shapiro has testified often before Congress on technology and business issues, and is a member of the State Department's Advisory Committee on International Communications and Information Policy. In 2007, he was named one of Washington DC's 100 most influential individuals by Washington Life magazine.
Last fall, Shapiro outlined his five major predictions for the future in technological innovations. Included on his list was more development in sensory devices, opto-electronics, nanotechnology and biology that will allow new devices and uses of the Internet.
Wayne State University has been developing a multidisciplinary campuswide initiative in nanoscience and nanotechnology. In 2005, Wayne State was the only Michigan university invited to host events in the U.S. pavilion at the 2005 World Expo in Aichi, Japan. This distinction provided an opportunity to demonstrate the global relevance of WSU's research with an international symposium on nanotechnology. Pioneering work in micro-devices is also taking place in the Smart Sensors and Integrated Microsystems Laboratory at WSU's College of Engineering.
Prior to joining CEA, Shapiro was an associate at the law firm of Squire, Sanders and Dempsey. He received his law degree from Georgetown University Law Center and is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate with a double major in economics and psychology from the State University of New York, Binghamton.
Sponsored by Wayne State University's Department of Communication and WDET 101.9 FM Detroit Public Radio, "Our Digital Destiny" is free, but seating is limited and RSVP's are required. Register at www.specialevents.wayne.edu/Shapiro.
For more information, call (313) 577-0300. Parking is free for the event and is available in the WSU Law School surface parking lot and in Parking Structure #1 . Both lots are located on Palmer west of Cass Avenue. The Law School's Spencer M. Partrich Auditorium is located at 471 West Palmer, Detroit, on the main Wayne State University campus.
Wayne State University is a premier institution of higher education offering more than 350 academic programs through 11 schools and colleges to more than 33,000 students.