1996 work sessions

 

Most general sessions were held in the CITD auditorium. The opening session featured a welcome by John Houck, our Physical Plant Director, and Harry Birdwell, our Vice President. Following their welcome, a microphone was passed around so everyone could introduce themselves and the institutions they represented.

Phil Kreiker, owner of Looking Glass Microproducts and writer for both CADENCE and CADalyst magazines, presented the keynote address. Phil then stayed for the entire conference. There were several comments by attendees expressing pleasure in his participation at this year's meeting. Hopefully, he will be able to return to future conferences.

Unfortunately, the director did not get around to taking pictures of most general sessions. But here is a picture taken in the lobby at the registration table. It shows the director with NCCC'96 staff members Barbara Hudgins, registration and information clerk, and Tim Benedict, Audio-Visual coordinator.

The first day ended with the Big Gripe Breakout. In this session, all participants gathered in the Exhibit Hall dining area. According to instructions given to participants, proposing solutions at this time was inapropriate. Everyone was to make good use of their time by getting as many complaints out on the table as possible in the time alotted. A note keeper was assigned at each table to compile the gripes.

The Steering Committee members can confirm that keeping participants on track during this session was a demanding job. It seems that although everyone was able to see lots of problems, it was hard for people not to try to solve them. It is clear the people attending these conferences year after year are not just a bunch of complainers. They are much more comfortable with searching for solutions. The complaints were used to provide material for the panel discussion on the last day of the conference.

The Panel Discussion is always a popular feature of the conference. From left to right is Brian Harcourt of the University of Michigan, Phil Kreiker, Scott Shader of the University of Missouri, and Rodger Payne of Autodesk.

A session participants look forward to every year is the Autodesk Update provided by Rodger Payne, Manager of Higher-Education Programs for Autodesk, the developer of AutoCAD. While the conference focuses on the use of Computer Aided Drafting and Design systems in general, the large AutoCAD user base on college and university campuses across the nation, as reflected in those attending the NCCC, makes this session especially desirable. For several years, Rodger has provided attendees personal contact with Autodesk and insight into the development process in the company.

The final conference activity of NCCC'96 was the presentation by Bruce Forbes, the CEO of Archibus, Incorporated. Bruce called upon the attendees to be prepared to answer tough questions and meet the challenges that the future is sure to present to us. He pointed out ways in which technology is changing the way we do things.