The International Society of Automation (ISA) announces that inventor Dean Kamen will deliver the opening keynote address at ISA Automation Week 2010 on October 5 at the Westin Galleria Hotel in Houston. Kamen's speech will focus on the organization he founded in 1989, FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology), dedicated to motivating students to understand and enjoy science and technology. In 2010, the FIRST Robotics Competition (FRC) reached more than 45,000 high school students on more than 1,800 teams in 43 regional competitions, seven district competitions, and the national championship.

ISA Automation Week includes three days of technical sessions, networking, and social events, and a 10,000-ft² display area featuring more than 100 exhibitors. Conference sessions will highlight the theory and application of automation technologies in processing and manufacturing environments across seven technical tracks. Each session is designed for engineers, technicians, management, marketing, and academia/scientists. Using the PathFinder tool, attendees can create a combination of sessions covering topics across all tracks. For more information, visit isaautomationweek.org.