International Society for Gerontechnology Conference Competitive Bid Won by USF

The University of South Florida, against stiff international competition, has won the right to host the 2018 International Society for Gerontechnology conference, which will be held in St. Petersburg, Florida. Past conferences, which average 500 attendees, have been held in prime international venues such as Pisa (Italy) 2008, Vancouver (Canada) 2010, Eindhoven (The Netherlands) 2012, and Taipei (Taiwan) 2014. The 2016 conference will be held in Nice, France and is accepting abstracts and presentations.
 
Dr. William Kearns, CFS Associate Professor in the Rehabilitation and Mental Health Counseling program, is the President of the International Society for Gerontechnology North American chapter. He was instrumental in obtaining the local bid for the conference.  “We are delighted with the outcome of the bid and look forward to hosting the ISG meeting in May 2018,” said Dr. Kearns.
 
The city of St. Petersburg offers an exceptional mix of cultural and culinary delights in a seaside venue that will appeal to most discerning tastes, and the venue highlights the growing importance of Gerontechnology on the world stage as countries struggle with their populations’ aging issues.
 
The mission of the ISG is to encourage and promote technological innovations in products and services that address older peoples' ambitions and needs on the basis of scientific knowledge about aging processes including cultural and individual differences. The ISG vision is to work toward the realization of a society fully served by technology that is as accessible to aging people, as it is to people in younger generations.