2006-2007 season

March 22: Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, Director, Office of Intelligence and Counterintelligence, Department of Energy

Rolf Mowatt-Larssen, director of intelligence and counterintelligence at the U.S. Department of Energy, challenges U.S. national security thinkers and policy makers to look ahead to the energy and environmental state-of-play in 2020 and its relationship to other global trends that will be coming to fruition at that time-and to consider the strategies and tools we can deploy now to shape the future for maximum national security.

Feb. 22: Regents Professor John Shroder, University of Nebraska at Omaha

Professor John Shroder, an expert in the geography and geology of Afghanistan, will discuss his work with U.S. counterterrorism agencies to use geographic information system (GIS) technology to map cave systems used as hideouts by al Qaeda operatives in that region. His lecture is set for Thursday, Feb. 22, at 6 p.m. in the Bush Library's orientation theater. A reception for Dr. Shroder, who is regents professor in the Department of Geography and Geology at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the Bush Library rotunda. Admission to both the reception and the lecture is free and open to the public. The event is co-sponsored by the Integrative Center for Homeland Security and the Center for Geospatial Information Science and Technology, both at Texas A&M.

Jan. 16: Gen. William S. Wallace, commanding general, U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command

POSTPONED DUE TO ICE STORM THAT SHUT DOWN THE TEXAS A&M CAMPUS. As the U.S. Army evolves to meet ever-changing global threats, the Training and Doctrine Command must anticipate those threats and prepare soldiers to confront them. Gen. William S. Wallace, commanding general for the U.S. Army’s Training and Doctrine Command, will discuss his role in building the future Army during the first ICHS Lecture of the spring 2007 season. The Tuesday, Jan. 16, program begins at 6 p.m. in the George Bush Presidential Library’s orientation theater. A reception for Gen. Wallace starts at 5:30 p.m. in the library rotunda. Both the reception and the lecture are free of charge and open to the public.

Nov. 16: Ken Senser, global security chief for Wal-Mart.

Hurricane Katrina was one of the worst disasters in our nation’s history. But a “culture of preparedness” helped Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. mount an impressive and effective response to the storm. Today, more than one year later, the company is evaluating and perfecting its response . . . and government agencies are learning important lessons from this private company. Ken Senser, Wal-Mart’s Senior Vice President for Global Security, Aviation and Travel, will bring his company’s perspectives on business preparedness for catastrophe to the George Bush Presidential Library on Thursday, Nov. 16, as part of the 2006-2007 season of the ICHS Lecture Series. The lecture begins at 6 p.m. in the library’s orientation theater. A reception for Mr. Senser starts at 5:30 p.m. in the library rotunda. Both the reception and the lecture are free of charge and open to the public.

Oct. 19: Peter Macintyre, Manager of EMS in Toronto

Peter Macintyre saw in 2003 how much damage could be inflicted upon a city by an outbreak of an unusual and unexpected contagious disease. In March of that year, 375 Canadians became ill during an outbreak of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) in Toronto. Almost half the cases were among health care workers, and four of them died. The total Canadian death toll was 44. “This relatively small outbreak devastated the economy of Canada’s largest city and extracted a significant toll on the physical and emotional well-being of thousands of health care workers and their families,” says MacIntyre, the manager for Community Safeguard Services for Toronto EMS.There are lessons from the SARS outbreak that may be applied in preparing for pandemic, Macintyre says. He will share the insights that are guiding Toronto’s EMS planning. “And it’s not a question of ‘Will there be a pandemic?,’” Macintyre says, “but, ‘When will there be a pandemic?’” The lecture is set for Oct. 19 in the Bush Library Theater, beginning at 6 p.m. with a reception at 5:30 p.m.

Sept. 7: Col. (Ret.) Tom Matthews, WMD division chief at the Pentagon

On the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, COL (Ret.) Tom Matthews was the chief of the Weapons of Mass Destruction Division of the Joint Staff in the National Command Center inside the Pentagon. He was there when terrorists flew American Airlines Flight 77 — traveling at 350 mph — into the west side of the Pentagon, killing 64 onboard and 126 Pentagon employees on the ground. Mr. Matthews will bring his perspective concerning the events of 9/11 to the George Bush Presidential Library on Thursday, Sept. 7, as the first speaker for the 2006-2007 season of the ICHS Lecture Series. As the Special Assistant to the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence, Mr. Matthews will also address our nation’s new approach to intelligence and our prospects for victory in the war on terror. The lecture begins at 6:30 p.m. in the library’s orientation theater. A reception for Mr. Matthews starts at 6 p.m. in the library rotunda. Both are free of charge and open to the public.