East Coast-Asia trade connections focus of Trident Technical College symposium
August 9, 2011
CHARLESTON, SC – August 8, 2011 – The widening of the Panama Canal will bring more ships to Atlantic ports and create stronger connections between the East Coast and Asia. Trident Technical College will explore how growth in Asia will impact the Eastern United States in a free symposium to be held Sept. 2-3, 2011.
The symposium, Eastern Passages—The Atlantic Coast, Pacific Rim & Asian Trade Connections, will bring together leaders in business, higher education and government. Speakers include Ray Burghardt, former U.S. ambassador to Vietnam; David Matsuda, head of the U.S. Maritime Commission; Ka Zeng, political science professor and director of Asian Studies at the University of Arkansas, and co-author of Greening China: the Benefits of Trade and Foreign Direct Investment; and Avind Panagariya, professor of Indian political economy at Columbia University, former chief economist of the Asian Development Bank, and author of India: The Emerging Giant.
Carl Bentzel, vice president of the DCI Group and an industry-recognized expert within the areas of transportation, energy and commerce, will participate in a panel discussion during the symposium. Bentzel spent 15 years as a House and Senate professional committee staff member, including most recently as senior Democratic counsel of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. His primary areas were maritime transportation; rail, trucking and pipeline transportation; hazardous materials; and homeland security. He also dealt with matters impacting passenger rail service and economic regulation of rail and surface industries before the Surface Transportation Board.
The symposium is open to the public and will be held TTC’s Palmer Campus in downtown Charleston. Seating is limited and reservations are required. To register or for more information, visit the symposium website or call conference coordinator Katharine Purcell at 574-6457.
The symposium is being sponsored by the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawaii.
