"Effective Innovation: Keeping America on Top," will be held on December 15 at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.  A diverse group of groundbreaking leaders from science, academia, the armed forces, business, and the arts will be among the speakers at this special conference, which will be hosted in conjunction with the Smithsonian and Battelle.  To date, speakers who are scheduled to appear include Jeffrey "Skunk" Baxter, Musician, Missile Defense/National Security Consultant, and Member, Board of Regents and Senior Fellow of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies; Rita Colwell, PhD, Distinguished University Professor, University of Maryland, Former Director, National Science Foundation, and Member, Board of Regents of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies; Bran Ferren, Co-Chairman, Applied Minds, and Former President, Research and Development, Walt Disney Imagineering;  Gen. Alfred M. Gray, USMC (Ret.), 29th Commandant of the Marine Corps and Chairman, Board of Regents and Senior Fellow of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies; RADM Louis Iasiello, USN (Ret.), OFM, PhD, Director of Human Formation, Pontifical College Josephinum, and Former Chief of Navy Chaplains; Michael Swetnam, Chairman and CEO, Potomac Institute for Policy Studies; and Jeffrey Wadsworth, PhD, President and CEO, Battelle Memorial Institute. For more information, please e-mail Laurie Kinney, Director of Communications and Outreach, at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .